Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 139
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.
How
many of us in “fighting” this SELF thing in us…have ever stopped to consider
whether “Self is a hindrance to God?”…
Interesting. Michael addresses that in this day’s writing.
DAY 71
Self Is A Hindrance To God?
For by the grace
given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly
than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance
with the measure of faith God has given you. –Romans 12:3
Stop
for a minute and take a good look at the self of man. Man hates himself as just man! Self in Adam and
Eve was attracted to the tree offering Godlikeness with its lists of what to do
and not do. It was not life, but bondage. True Life was a few feet away in a completely different
tree; no serpent
was tempting Adam and Eve to eat of that tree. Man left the Garden still
hoping to fulfill the dream of being God; however, he has failed miserably. I
have yet to see a monkey or a dog dressed in human clothing that looks anything
short of inane. Similarly, man
is man, and every attempt to cover himself with something more Godlike just
leaves man looking stupid. Man may try to appear more tolerable by covering himself with
knowledge, possessions, or power, and he might even surround himself with
worshippers. Man can even use his own self-hatred by comforting himself with
the feelings of humility, hopelessness, humanity, and victimization. From
running inconsistent campaigns for the highest offices to committing suicide,
man's actions prove that he has utterly failed at playing God.
We have become a society of selfish Christians--and I am
not excluding myself--wrapping our lives around ourselves and bedeviled by how
every action of others or ours affects our self-lives.
We cannot tell the truth because someone may not like us, but we do not like
ourselves when we lie. We desire others to meet our needs, yet when similar
requirements are placed on us, we run, for to meet others' needs might
necessitate neglecting our own. We change the teaching of Christ to fit
ourselves and only end up changing ourselves into something that is not a good
fit.
Now the good news: Nothing is naturally against the
believer. There is not a single thing that goes wrong in our lives. There is
nothing pitted against us. Life is not a meaningless, senseless string of
disturbing occurrences. Life is not an endless exam administered by a demanding
principal. Life is not an endurance test. Life is not accumulating as much
knowledge as possible. Life is not staring at our spouses with heart-shaped
eyeballs. Life is not being perfect parents, employees, or pastors. Life is
meaningless and boring when it wraps itself around ourselves, draws our
attention to ourselves, and leaves us wondering at our condition. Why? True
life is Jesus and Life obsessed not on us but on the Father in Heaven.
All things are tools in God's hand, employed by Him in His
ministry to us and in revealing His glory. John 12:28,
“’Father, glorify Thy name.’ There came therefore a voice out of heaven: 'I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'" Events and happenings are not
the elements of life; rather, they are the elements that drive us to Life
(Jesus). Nothing is
bad if it drives us to Life. This awareness does not come through understanding, but by revelation.
Anything and everything
that moves us near Life is good.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
Who could be a better instructor on SELF than the Apostle Paul. He had quite an impressive personal
resume…particularly, as the world considers things, coming into
Christianity. And God brought him to a
point he could simply tell us: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you
ought…” Wow! And then he added, “…in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Oh, my goodness…where
did we “get” that faith???
SELF can be a destructive person, but Michael points out that actually “all
things are tools in God’s hand, employed by Him in His ministry to us and in
revealing His glory. All is an element
that is intended to drive us to Life (Jesus) and away from Self. May God reveal all this to us!
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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