Sunday, May 1, 2016
idols and inner needs
"A particular thing may be an idol for one person but not the next, depending on whether or not it is used to meet inner needs." SIW, p. 48, 5th printing 1998
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Faith, an organ of the Spirit
some have been asking for more comments on Sidetracked In The Wilderness...
here's a good one! from ch. 5:
"Faith is an organ of the Spirit allowing us to receive whatever God is doing. Faith is a wonderful thing, something that every believer possesses. It takes the pressure off us to perform and initiate His works, and places emphasis on God, the Creator of the actions."
here's a good one! from ch. 5:
"Faith is an organ of the Spirit allowing us to receive whatever God is doing. Faith is a wonderful thing, something that every believer possesses. It takes the pressure off us to perform and initiate His works, and places emphasis on God, the Creator of the actions."
Friday, April 24, 2015
Recap & Exhortation
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 67
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. Why a blog? So that many can receive the weekly thoughts
I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
Last
week’s writing brought to a conclusion our “study” through SIW. It has been a wonderful journey. It is my heartfelt desire for every Christian
to own and read (more than once!) Sidetracked In The Wilderness. So, today I want to share some thoughts to
move us on to enjoying the Life of Christ in us.
RECAP &
EXHORTATION
Why possess a copy of SIW?
Whether
it be for one’s own personal good, or to have as a resource to share the truths
with others…it is one book that can help defeated Christians to get out of the
wilderness walk, better than most any ever written.
Why read it more than
once?
None
of us get ALL that is in a book from reading it just once. Some books don’t need to be read more
times. SIW will benefit you and I EVERY
time we read it. I have read it several
times, and I get something each time. It’s
like reading the Bible over and over…each time God shows us something that we
didn’t “see” the other times.
Recommend SIW to your
family and friends
Have
you ever noticed the “Suggested Reading” lists that are usually on one of the
last pages of a book (near the back cover)?
Yes…there is one in SIW!
Why? Because it is good to read
as much as we can about something as important as the subject of these
books. Don’t you want your family and
friends to know and apply these truths?
Buy several copies of SIW
and give them to family and friends
We
like to claim “we can’t outgive the Lord.”
Well, try it with this book. See
how many different ways God will bless you…give back to you for your generosity
in giving someone a copy of SIW who could use its truths.
Continue to look for future
emails…
God
is at work moving me into a different phase of ministry. I expect to be writing examples, updates, and
other insights relative to the material Michael Wells has given me and you in Sidetracked
In The Wilderness. Look for future
contact via this resource, although it won’t be on a consistent weekly basis as
for the last 16 months.
Contact me if you like…
I
have always given my mailing address, phone number, and other contact info for
anyone who wants to comment, ask questions, or share life’s experiences with
me. I will still enjoy the communication
as I have from folks all over the world.
Praise the Lord…
for
Betty Wells, Michael’s widow, giving me permission and the opportunity to write
these weekly thoughts and to copy portions of SIW into the writings. My wife, Barbara, and I met Betty the same
time we first met Michael. She is one
sweet Saint! I am grateful for God
having let us meet, know, and even host Michael in one of the churches I
pastored. The various times we went to
see him speak elsewhere, be with him at a retreat, or get to “visit” on the
phone or by email…each was a gift from God to two hearts seeking all the
indwelling Christ could give us. Christ
in us, our hope…Michael brought that to our attention and cultivated it in a
huge way. Well, amen!
Note: if you don’t have one of
Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Getting
Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My
Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”. You can
access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com This weekly
writing continues today with a different “day” of the book being looked at and
enjoyed. It, too, can be purchased from
ALMI.
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
(twitter) @bleemc67 (email) leemccm@gmail.com
1737
CR 2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
Friday, April 17, 2015
Lie # 9 - We Need Not Work
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 66
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. Why a blog? So that many can receive the weekly thoughts
I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
The
last lie of the enemy that Michael exposes and expounds upon is one that I have
witnessed in the past from some who talked a good game, but were as “tinkling
brass” in their life as a Christian. The
very life of God that indwells every Believer longs to flow through each one,
and it is an absolute denial of His existence in oneself to be one who declares
“we need not work” and slinks into passivity.
Lie #9 – WE NEED NOT WORK
excerpt
from pages 187-188 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 189-191 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
If
we have worked so hard in the past to gain victory, the enemy would now have us
doing nothing at all. The life of faith
is a life of activity, although there is an immense difference in work that is
an expression of our faith and work that is trying to produce faith. The life of Christ within us is always
active. “My father is working until now,
and I Myself am working.” (John 5:17) As
we allow this life to flow, we will be very active. Those who live in passivity, never allowing
the life of Christ to be expressed through them, are simply not abiding.
…for
the abiding Christian…there will be extended periods in which no activity is
overtly seen, but in the deepest parts of his being he is being strengthened
for the day when life within is made apparent in fruit for those around
him. Let me remind you, too, that God
does not intend to resolve every manifestation of the flesh through a quick
answer…we will allow the Lord as much time as He sees fit to make us mighty
oaks. However, the passive believer who
never shows manifestations of life is not abiding, no matter how spiritual he
may sound. True faith cannot help but
produce work; it is inevitable and cannot be blocked, for faith is from God and
possesses His power.
Just
as a tree, by the power of its life, can break in two a mighty boulder beside
which it is planted, so faith is the power within you which will overcome all
obstacles. It is not from you but from
Him. Therefore, if you possess faith, it
will be manifested. We will not allow
the enemy to stifle our faith through the deception of inactivity.
One
of the worst thoughts I have ever heard expressed is that “those who teach
‘abiding’ are teaching passivity.” I am
not sure whether that comes from one who is misguided about what abiding is, or
whether it comes from one who is mad at God about something…perhaps both. Since abiding in Christ is being so connected
to Him that His life can, and will, flow through me…it is inevitable that “my
life” will be an active life, but it is not me, but Him.
I
summarize the most outstanding points for me as such:
·
The
life of faith is a life of activity.
·
The
life of Christ within us is always active.
·
As
we allow this life to flow, we will be very active.
·
True
faith cannot help but produce work.
·
Faith
is from God and possesses His power.
·
Faith
is the power within you which will overcome all obstacles.
·
It
is not from you but from Him.
·
If
you possess faith, it will be manifested.
And
then, as Michael concludes, “We (I) will not allow the enemy to stifle our
faith through the deception of inactivity.”
Well, amen!
Note:
if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books,
please contact ALMI
(www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Getting
Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My
Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”. You can
access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
(twitter) @bleemc67 (email)
leemccm@gmail.com
1737 CR
2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Lie # 8 - It Doesn't Work
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 65
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. Why a blog? So that many can receive the weekly thoughts
I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
Michael
gives us a great look at the proverbial “it.”
Always the same story, isn’t it? lol!
Lie #8 – IT DOESN’T WORK
excerpt
from pages 186-187 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 188-191 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
Often
we believe that abiding and walking by faith will bring harmony in every area of
our lives. It will, in fact, bring great
peace within; however, be assured that the flesh opposes the Spirit. Having this battle resolved within through
applying the moment-by-moment cross does not assure that the battle is resolved
without. For if we decide to walk after
the Spirit, and those with whom we have the most dealings (mates, partners,
children, coworkers in the church, and those in our places of employment) are
walking after the flesh, there will still be clashes. (I have often observed that marriage partners
get along better when both are walking after the flesh than when one decides to
walk after the Spirit.) The enemy will
use this situation to beat the spiritual believer down and bring him to the
place where he feels that it is no longer worth the effort to walk in the
Spirit. With this experience comes the
thought that it doesn’t work. However,
the proof that it does work is the fact that there is a battle between the
flesh and the Spirit. Conflict is being
created through contrast.
By
walking in the Spirit, you are exercising pressure on those around you, like
salt that burns in an open wound. Don’t
give in to the enemy; the Lord is using you in a mighty way. Allow your life to continue to be leaven to
those around you, for what you have has proven itself throughout the centuries
to be contagious!
We
must also be on guard against judging those who we now can easily see are living
a life after the flesh. It is always
easy to forget from where we have come and how miserable an existence we were
leading. The enemy does not want us to
stick it out with others, giving to them what the Lord has given to us. We will, however, by His grace, resist all
temptations to turn away from any believer, not being satisfied until we see
them raised to victory in Christ. “…Freely
you received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
IT
never works…HE always does. Well,
amen.
Whenever
there is a battle between the “flesh” and the “Spirit” there is a battle
between “it” and “Him.” What a
contrast!!! If we read what Paul wrote
in Galatians ch.5, we get a vivid picture of that contrast.
No
matter how much the enemy tries to beat us down and bring us to the place where
we could feel we can no longer acknowledge the worth of the effort to walk in
the Spirit, we must resist and remember: “There is nothing the nearness of
Christ cannot overcome.” AMEN! Come, Lord Jesus, and be my “all” in
resisting the enemy’s efforts to take me out of walking in the Spirit.
And
Michael draws us to another perspective: “judging those who we now can easily
see are living a life after the flesh.”
Oh, Lord Jesus, please help me to remember “from where I have come and
how miserable an existence I was leading.”
And to always be alert to the fact that I couldn’t
see anything about living
life in the flesh or Spirit UNTIL Christ became my life at salvation! I should never be judging others who are not
seeing this.
Thank
you, Lord, that You always make the “Spirit walk” WORK!
Note:
if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books,
please contact ALMI
(www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Getting
Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My
Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”. You can
access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
(twitter) @bleemc67 (email) leemccm@gmail.com
1737 CR
2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Lie # 7 - The Deception of Lying Emotions
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 64
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. Why a blog? So that many can receive the weekly thoughts
I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
The
“emotional hook” that the enemy gets in a Believer is one of the biggest tools
he uses to keep one in constant turmoil or defeat. Read today’s “lie” and see if you, or someone
you know, suffers from this battle. If
so, there is hope in the Lord…you can find victory from all that is shared on
this page.
Lie #7 – THE DECEPTION OF
LYING EMOTIONS
excerpt
from pages 185-186 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 187-188 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
As
we begin to experience the abiding life, our emotions will take their proper
place under the influence of the Spirit.
They will begin to express the life of Christ within and will no longer
exercise their influence from without, changing our perspective of ourselves
and the Lord from one moment to the next.
This situation is not pleasing to the enemy, for in dealing with the
defeated, he likes to use emotions to get them into the condition of feeling
out of fellowship with God, in the hope that with time such false feelings can
lead the believers to an ordeal of actually being out of fellowship. The enemy also knows that it is much easier
to perpetuate a lie in the emotions than in the mind.
Therefore,
it stands to reason that as the emotions are brought under the control of the
Spirit, the enemy will work in quiet, hidden, unnoticed ways to bring them back
under his influence. To do this, he uses
what I like to call “jumping time,” which is when our minds return to past
events that caused turmoil and our emotions are stirred afresh and applied to
the present.
For
example, when one is riding along in the automobile and his mind wanders to an
event in the past that caused great pain, embarrassment, or loss. As the event is vividly remembered, the
emotional turmoil associated with the occurrence also returns, and soon he
finds himself feeling today about an incident that took place years earlier. All of a sudden he is depressed and cannot
discern why, for his mind has by then moved on to another thought, but the
emotions stirred by the past experience have remained.
Many
who have suffered emotional hurts in the past are susceptible to this type of
attack from the enemy. It is important
to remember that if our emotions are not based upon something specific that we
can pinpoint the very moment that we are experiencing them, they are to be
rejected.
I’d
like to highlight several points from what Michael tells us:
1.
our minds and our emotions are two different parts of us that have great input
and
influence in our daily lives.
2.
our mind can make one “decision” and our emotions can make “another.”
3.
our mind can “move on” while our emotions “stay put.”
4.
the enemy is wise to all this…and he loves to work in that part of our life
that is
our emotions. (for far too long Christians have been ignorant of
this critical aspect of
dealing with “the past”)
5.
the “emotional hook” that the enemy sinks deep into one’s inner being is easily
jerked by him to remind and return us to
that spot of hurt, pain, and suffering.
6.
it is tragic that many in Christianity still have emotional hurts which render
them susceptible to attacks from the enemy…that
could have been eliminated
many years prior.
“Getting
Past The Past” is one of the most important ministries where Christian leaders can
help brothers and sisters in the Lord get the victory that is duly theirs in
Christ. It is a matter of believing and
receiving the “healing” of damaged emotions, and not just thinking time will
heal them. Time never does. God can and will.
I
would be happy to share some further insights into God’s healing of emotions
with anyone who wants this. Email me (address is below).
Note:
if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books,
please contact ALMI
(www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Getting
Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My
Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”. You can
access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
(twitter) @bleemc67 (email) leemccm@gmail.com
1737 CR
2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Lie # 6 - We Have Spiritually Arrived
Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 63
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. Why a blog? So that many can receive the weekly thoughts
I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
Lie
#6 is not only appealing to one’s flesh, but it does more devastation than we
can begin to realize apart from what Michael shares in this section of
SIW. Read the pieces I have shared here
very carefully and prayerfully…his writing can be very helpful. Of course…it is best if you have one of these
books and read it over and over!
Lie #6 – WE HAVE
SPIRITUALLY ARRIVED
excerpt
from pages 183-185 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 185-187 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
As
I have emphasized over and over, we are to live our lives moment by
moment. Therefore, spirituality is something
that is possessed only in the present moment of abiding. The subtle deception of the enemy is that he
uses a new truth, freeing though it may be, to make us think that we have at
long last arrived at the culmination of Christian maturity. The danger in such thinking is that as we
abide we continue to expand, while such a deception does not allow for
expansion, but will subtly cause us to become dormant. Teachers who take one truth and camp there
for very long will, with the passing of time, find themselves living a carnal
existence. The explanation for this
happening is really quite simple: Our experiences of the past begin to suffice
for life today…
There
is another difficulty with the enemy’s persuading us that we have arrived. As soon as we come to the point where we
believe we have THE teaching, often we are no longer open to any further
teachings or the manifestations of Christ-given gifts in others. An unteachable man is a carnal one.
…As
I have mentioned previously, those who enter into true faith no longer find a
compelling need to systematize God…
…I
do not want to go through all the gymnastics and gyrations that theologians do
to change the meaning of a Scripture verse so it will fit into their systems of
belief. Nor do I want to attempt to be
clever; I am only stating that I do not know all, I do not know the mind of
God, and I am not the teacher. Christ
alone is the Teacher, and whatever He says I believe, whether I can systematize
it or not.
The
enemy has persuaded many…to choose one…(causing divisions), and in so doing,
they suffer, for they stagnate. We want
to be of those who moment by moment look to the Holy Spirit to reveal what we
need for life right then, not what we think we need for our minds. We want life, not knowledge. When this is our attitude, God will reveal
what we need to know when we need to know it, and with the knowledge will come
life and power.
Every
Christian wants to be recognized as being “spiritual.” After all, in the minds of the church what is
the opposite? That’s something none want
to be (or, at least be recognized as)!
So, to “arrive” is the goal of today’s church discipleship. Imagine that…the church is aiding the enemy!
Michael
gives us a couple of things to be very aware of:
1.
the deception of “arriving” does not allow for expansion and will subtly cause
us to become dormant.
2.
teachers (and it seems students as well) camping at one truth very long will
find themselves living a carnal existence.
3.
an unteachable man is a carnal one.
And
experience has shown us that possessing true faith moves us away from having to
systematize God. That’s a huge blessing,
isn’t it!
So,
a big question for every believer is this: Are we going to believe the lie of
the enemy, or trust Christ our Teacher? And
ditch all the gymnastics and gyrations…and unbelief?
Note:
if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books,
please contact ALMI
(www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Getting
Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My
Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”. You can
access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
twitter: @bleemc67 email: leemccm@gmail.com
1737 CR
2051 Nacogdoches, Tx 75965 936-559-5696
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