Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 138
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
Notice: this email is part of a
BLOG, called Living Life With a Capital “C”. Why a
blog? So that many can receive the
weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.
The
“self-life” is a tragedy and malady that plays out far too often in folks who
are constantly dealing with hurt, pain, disappointment, failure, and
depression. And as Michael points out so
succinctly it is very frustrating to see Christians particularly who somehow
miss God’s wonderful words of Life that bring joy no matter what the
circumstances of our life might be.
DAY 70
Does Self Add To The Meaning of Life?
Nobody should seek
his own good, but the good of others. –I Corinthians 10:24
There appears to be one common denominator in the
multitude of approaches to understanding life, and that is self-life.
"What is the benefit in life for
me? Can suffering be justified for me? Can my marriage breakup, the loss of my job, my unwed pregnant
daughter, my illness, or the rejection of others somehow be advantageous to me? Will knowledge help me? How will all my efforts profit me? If not now, will there be a good return for me in heaven? Will I find out then that I was really being blessed by all of those mishaps?"
Recently I was listening to a pastor in Africa relate how
the marriage ministry had depleted the thrust of the church. Those
participating had decided they were not to minister to others until every
minute detail of their marriages was worked out. It seems the
husbands could not justify evangelizing, ministering to the poor, or helping
the sick as long as there was a dissatisfied wife at home. The pastor's conclusion was that
the whole bunch had become too selfish; they wanted perfect comfort before they
ministered to the world's discomfort. I agreed.
One fellow took care
of his ailing parent only to ensure the security of his inheritance. A lady
called nearly everyone in a small town to describe her husband's onset of
cancer, and then proceeded to explain to each one how much she would be
suffering! A man divorced his wife for a younger woman and then wanted to know
how he was supposed to maintain his preferred lifestyle with the financial
burden of a divorce settlement. It is often hard to discern if parents want the
child to walk with God for the child's benefit or their own identity. Self is no stranger to desiring
a throne, crown, and scepter and using others as its footstool.
Each day the first person we touch, clothe, see in the
mirror, feel comfort or physical pain from, feed, and emotionally sense is our
self. Is it any wonder that the enemy would choose to make self a stumbling
block? Each day starts with us; why not continue from that point and make self
the obsession? More often than not, the point stressed in teaching heard on
radio or television is self, whether it is being blessed or cursed.
The frustrating thing is that
there is no happiness derived from self-absorption.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
As a pastor for many years, I have heard members say exactly what
Michael mentions that the pastor in Africa related. Several variations of his story could be the
key to the failure of many ministries in churches today.
How? How could any Christian
think they were not to minister to others until every minute detail of their
life was “worked out”? What is “worked
out”? What about Philippians 1:6? “…He which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
God is still “working out” things in each of us.
So often I find myself asking “why?”.
Why do Christians have God’s instruction manual, ignore His
instructions, then continue to live as if travelling down the road of life in
the opposite direction from God…and somehow expect things to turn out “OK”?
It doesn’t take a PhD from seminary to grasp God’s heart in those words
of Paul from 1 Corinthians 10:24. If we
have any knowledge whatsoever of the life of Christ, we know He came not for
Himself but for others. And then Paul,
in his writing to the church at Philippi, gave a more detailed picture:
(Philippians 2:1-4) “If there be
therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye
be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or
vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves. Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
How simple to understand and follow can “Others: God’s Roadmap to Joy”
be? Yet, SELF somehow continues to
pervade the lives of way too many Christians.
Spend a few minutes before the Lord, re-reading Michael’s writing, and
seeking God’s heart for your life in relation to any issue where SELF is
intervening.
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Living Life With a Capital
“C” by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog on
Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. You can access by logging onto
www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
P. O. Box 633244 Nacogdoches, Tx 75963 936-559-5696
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