Bad Memory is Godliness
October 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgression for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins,” Isaiah 43:25.
There are two things in the passage that strike me. We are made in the image of God, Who says, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake.” When those to whom you minister, those who minister to you, those you minister with, and those to whom you will never minister do something to hurt you, the thought of the transgression can haunt you for years. It only takes a name being brought up, an event of the past, or a painful experience to renew the transgression. If the hurtful person completely disappears from the scene, never to be heard of again, he can still take up residency in your head and heart. As I often note, the purpose of forgiveness in the Bible is restoration. However, there are those who do not want restoration; hence, they would see no need for forgiveness. There are relationships I have tried to restore in the past by asking for forgiveness, only to be told of more offenses and to stay away. For my own good, I need to forget. Oh, to able to forget, to wipe out a transgression, to remember the sins no longer, just for our own sakes. When I got married, Betty quickly realized what was ahead of her, for each day I would ask, “Have you seen my keys? Have you seen my wallet?” Everything would shut down while we looked. Then a few years ago I got glasses, and we have added them to the list of things that are lost daily, along with a cell phone and the key to the mailbox. You get the picture. “Betty, have you seen my keys, wallet, glasses, phone, and key to the mailbox?” One day, justifiably, she said, “Can’t you remember anything?” I jokingly said, “Forgetfulness is a sign of godliness. Only God could wipe out transgressions and remember no more, and we are in His image. I am glad that in His image, I can forget. I just do not want to remember everything from my past, and if not being able to remember where my keys are is part of not remembering, then it is a fair tradeoff.” You can see why I can be difficult to live with! However, to forget is a great blessing. Research (if it can ever be trusted) says that the average person only loses about 10% of the ability to remember. The difference is that past age 60 it takes more physical effort to correct the forgetfulness. In the younger years, we forgot the mail and thought nothing of running back to get it. In the older years the extra effort is a frustration. My grandfather used to complain about his memory loss, and I would remind him that I had worked with him most of my life and never remembered his having a razor-sharp memory, only now it was annoying him. Start this day knowing that the Lord wipes out your transgressions for His own good. He does not want to think about your failures all day long, so why should you? Second, He does not remember your sin; it is the enemy coming from your past. Guilt is the undertaker’s best friend.
Divorce and Bitterness
October 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
When I talk to a brother or sister contemplating divorce, I immediately explain how he or she is presently feeling. The response most often will be, “How did you know exactly how I was feeling?” Quite simply, I say, I just described the characteristics of a bitter person. The mate’s behavior is not dictating how the person now feels, although he or she believes that it is. Bitterness is the true dictator, a most divisive and destructive force to which many believers have succumbed. “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31, 32).
What are some of the common signs of bitterness in a relationship? The bitter person is responsible for them, remember, for it is not the actions of others that cause bitterness, but rather a hard heart and ears attuned to the enemy’s voice, providing the soil bitterness needs to grow. There is a difference between being offended and being bitter. We do not find Jesus, the one Man in all of humanity who was offended the most, ever bitter. Blame must rest squarely on the shoulders of the person who is bitter.
Bitterness is an attitude that grows until its roots are entangled throughout the person’s mind, will, and emotions. Any attempt to remove this poisonous plant will be met with resistance through desire, intellectual arguments, and the feeling of hopelessness. Bitterness can even be considered an addiction. There is a soothing inner calm for those who have become accustomed to it, for though everything outside of them seems out of control, they can at least control their bitterness and make others pay for the perceived wrongs they have done. The majority of believers under emotional stress will either have an outer or inner explosion (which normally converts into depression), and with the passing of time all is forgotten. However, the bitter do neither of these; their explosions do not pass. They accept a lifestyle, a path that allows them the luxury of avoiding personal responsibility for the remainder of life. A child grows embittered toward the parent, and the more the child fails in life, the more anger he exhibits toward the parent. This is living in a distorted reality, a neurosis. When events begin to pressure the bitter people into accepting blame, they immediately recall all of the wrongs that have been done to them, once again avoiding responsibility. An interesting thing about Christians is that they often maintain their bitterness under the guise of being extremely spiritual, “so spiritual” that God has called them to suffer and be cut off from others, and yet the proof of carnality is that everyone who has disappointed them is covertly punished for the perceived failure.
Bitterness becomes a compulsion, the opposite of which would be the passive blame-taker, whose first response whenever life circumstances get the best of him is to roll over, play dead, and accept all responsibility. Each morning there is the comfort of the known that will take him through the day with the assumption that whatever happens, he is to blame. There is no fear of change. Similarly, but conversely, the bitter can be assured that no matter what, a problem is someone else’s fault.
Yes, bitterness is an addiction that can be likened to smoking cigarettes. When someone starts that habit, he can smoke when he desires: after dinner, at a party, or during leisure times. However, soon enough something very interesting happens. Instead of exercising free will, the smoker heeds the domineering command of a cigarette and goes whenever it calls. At this point, there is addiction. A glorious creature created to listen to the Father above listens instead to a cigarette below. The creature is a slave to a new master. When the misery of this revelation sets in, the smoker begins to make a series of vows and smokes hundreds or even thousands of what become known as “the last cigarette.” Soon there develops frustration, anger, and even depression.
At first bitterness is used as an excuse, but with the passing of time, bitterness uses its holder. The fact most evident, yet rarely discerned by the bitter, is that whoever they are bitter toward has become their god. While in the wilderness, Jesus heard Satan make the request to “fall down and worship me.” The word “worship” means to give attention. Jesus said no! Only God, the Father, would have His attention. Most of us have been hurt by others, but is making those others our gods by continuing to give them our attention not a greater tragedy? Do we want to worship those who offend, abuse, use, and neglect us?
Jesus gives commands not in order to make us more acceptable to God but to make us happy. Forgiving makes any person happy! When we forgive, we rule! When we do not forgive and become bitter, others rule us! The command to love is not for the good of others, but for our own good. What a deception the enemy imparts, that to obey will hinder our happiness. A paramedic once made the observation that he had never had an emergency call from a Bible study, yet he had received many calls from bars and parties. Does the disregard of the commands make us happy?
Bitterness is oppression. The embittered person is oppressed by the enemy, who has invested many hours of whispering about the supposed misery caused by others. The most predominant trait of the bitter is that he considers himself a victim, having had to suffer and go it alone without help, support, or respect. He is isolated, forced to a place of self-sufficiency. No one even cares, and he is angry.
This attitude of bitterness can begin with a dislike, or even hatred, of one’s mate, but soon turns into hatred of the opposite sex. Women are complainers, impossible to please, picky, manipulators, non-submissive, rebellious, and dominant; they only care about seeing a paycheck, they lack respect, and a man never knows what he is coming home to. To a bitter wife, men are proud, insensitive, arrogant, passive know-it-alls who only care about themselves, sex, and having their egos continually stroked; they are slow to fulfill their responsibilities and cannot do things right. Soon, both decide that they can live without sex, communication, approval, or support from their mates. I have personally discipled couples that mutually decided through bitterness to withdraw sexually from one another for periods of more than twenty-seven years, and some were pastors, at that! These attitudes will often be communicated to the children of the couple through various overt or covert messages, resulting in many today being fearful of the opposite sex.
The addiction of bitterness takes surprisingly little time to become a person’s comfort zone. It is actually easy to withdraw and put the mate under the magnifying glass, waiting for the next word or action that will confirm the negative assessment of the relationship and the hopeless state of the mate. I have been amazed how frustrated a bitter believer becomes at the suggestion that his mate may not be as bad as he believes; he hates to hear such a thing! And as I draw attention to the bitter one’s inability to love in spite of offenses, the conversation is immediately turned away from his failure back to the inexcusable behavior of the other. I can only ascertain that this type of person has every intention of remaining bitter.
Finding the way out of bitterness requires the revelation that the person toward whom we are bitter has become, through inappropriate attention, our god. Where there was one problem–the other person’s despised behavior–now there are two, for self-hatred also arises when worshipping someone that caused offense. The third problem occurs when the actions of the one toward whom we are bitter begin to control our actions and even our personality, making us a distortion, no longer ourselves. The behavior of the one that “made us bitter” is blamed for all behavior. “If only you knew what had happened to me, you would be acting even worse than I am right now.” “Of course I am not sleeping with you; do you not understand my pain?” “Of course I am in a bad mood; under similar circumstances you would be in a bad mood, too.” The person that caused the bitterness is in control of every aspect of the “sufferer’s” family and relationships. However, Jesus tells us to love an enemy and pray for those that persecute; by so doing, the enemy will remain the same, but we will walk away free.
I was told of a man who, upon hearing of the hurricane in New Orleans, immediately got in his truck to bring a family to his state and help them get started in a new life. He had trouble finding a black family that wanted to live with a strange white man from the north, let alone in his basement (they do not have basements in New Orleans). At last a pastor persuaded an old woman, her daughter, and granddaughter to go with the man. They arrived to discover the white man lived in a mansion, and the basement had been completely redone for them; it was a walkout basement with a beautiful view. The family had never been in such surroundings. Six weeks later, the white man found the old woman in the kitchen weeping. He approached her, put his arm around her, and said, “I am sorry! Are you homesick? I know it had to be hard to leave everyone you knew! Is there something here that you want changed that is making you uncomfortable or unhappy?” The old woman looked up with tears flowing and said, “None of those things are bothering me. See, I was raised to hate white people, and all my life I have done a good job of it. Yet your kindness has proven me wrong, and I am so sad that I would have acted and talked that way.” His love had broken the stronghold that bitterness had on her. Now her family is settled on the east coast, and the two families take turns annually hosting one another for Thanksgiving dinner!
I must repeat myself over and over again: Anything that can be done without Christ cannot be Christian. We cannot love an enemy but must ask Him to love the enemy; we receive the victory that He gives by simply walking across the room and loving. Often I will be in a place where someone has developed hatred toward me. Inviting Jesus along, I go over and start talking to the person, asking his opinions, what work he does, what about his children, his take on the government, and more. At first his head appears to be spinning with a real look of confusion, for on the one hand, it was settled in his mind and emotions that I was some kind of deceiving monster. On the other hand, I cannot be completely hopeless, because we have found common ground. This is Christian life; the first person to lose is the first person to win. Take up your freedom and walk away from bitterness.
I Hate Divorce, Part 2
October 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
Malachi 2:16, “For I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel.”
Let God be true and every man the liar: God does hate divorce. However, He does not say that he hates those people who get a divorce. I am still baffled and ignorant concerning the interpretation of the Scripture by some who spread the notion of no divorce at any cost. I do not understand that, when there can be child abuse of every kind, addictions that deform the whole family composition, children overdosing on drugs, and Christians holding a handgun to their heads and pulling the trigger, all because of a bad marriage. Come and live in my shoes, hearing what I have heard over the decades of marriage counseling, and see if somehow perspective changes. It will never change the fact that God said, “I hate divorce,” but it might make you wonder if He does not more greatly hate the things that lead to divorce, the “hardness of heart.” If the lesser gives way to the greater, then is not the end result of the divorce the lesser in view of the more terrible sins that led up to the divorce? I so often wish that believers could plug a jack into my head and hear the screams from the children that lived with parents who decided to stay married to be obedient. Mind you, the parents’ behavior was not dutiful to any other directives indicated in the Gospel, but somehow not divorcing became to them the supreme act of obedience and a feat in which they could boast. I see this same conviction being widely promulgated by believers.
If you have had a divorce and were a stupid person in your behavior, we at ALMI stand with you. If you have had a divorce after staying in the marriage even beyond when the peace of God left you, we at ALMI stand with you. If you are struggling today, ALMI stands with you. Jesus came that you might have life, and have it abundantly. Our desire, like His, is for you to find abundant life. Remember, we have all failed Him according to the Scriptural directives, but He has never left us nor forsaken us. We can honestly tell Him the facts of our humanity and be open to what He will work into our lives. I remember a couple that had everything going wrong. The husband held two jobs, the wife was sick and yet kept going to work, the teens were rebelling, and their house was in foreclosure. I just said, “I have nothing to give that will relieve your situation. Will you do one thing? Invite Jesus into the pit in which you have found yourselves. Every situation into which you invite Him is one for which He will take responsibility. Only Jesus can lift your spirit.” The next week they arrived with a big smile. I mistakenly assumed something wonderful had taken place—perhaps a new job, kids turning around, or the dynamics of the marriage changing–and I asked what had happened. The husband said, “Well, I lost one of my jobs!” That did not explain the smile until he continued on to say, “We invited Jesus into the pit! Nothing changed but our attitude, and now we have hope.” Invite Him in. Relationship is the hardest and messiest thing you will ever experience. Marriage can be a tough pit; ask Him to enter in. Either we have a God or we do not have a God! Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we have a God. Remember, God does NOT hate you. Do not be a pessimist about marriage; there is no waste in God, and past bad experiences bring new life into today.
Both Hands Occupied
October 9, 2009 by Alex Mathew
Filed under Articles by Alex Matthew
BOTH HANDS OCCUPIED
Life should be a joy for all. That is one of the most intricate ‘shoulds’ of life! For life to be joyful there has to be freedom from wants and the means to live with meaning to ‘BE’. If life has to have some meaning it has to be livable with enjoyable content. Content is the sum total of what is received and what is made of the available inputs. Intelligently put to use, these factors are expected to be sufficient to make life worth a try.
But often life turns out to be hardened and complicated deprived of any joy. No one wants to have a hard life. No one wants to be dealing with conflict all the time. More often than not we are engaged in sorting out hardships and conflicts, large and small.
All of us seek comfort and try to gain it at any cost. In our efforts to gather comfort we make life harder by our chosen lifestyles. And then life often turns out to be burdened, weighing us down with heaviness of heart. But it does not have to be so if we learn the art of handling our burdens intelligently and shedding the weights that weigh us down.
We all go through life with two different baggages holding one in each hand. In one hand we hold the baggage of our ‘Past’ and in the other our ‘Unique Self.’ The size of the baggage that holds our past would depend on all that we have passed through, our interpretations of it and our reactions. The more we go through it, revise it, rejoice in it or reject, repent or react, the baggage keep increasing in bulk.
The unique self is the sum total of our identity formed from our inheritance, attitudes and reactions. In other words, it would depend very much on what we are born with and how we allow our experiences to influence our reactions to life. Our pattern of behavior that contributes to the formation of our unique self is controlled by many and variable factors.
We carry our past ‘History’ and our present ‘Unique Self’, unwittingly allowing the past to exert a large influence on the progress or regression we make in life.
We carry our past ‘History’ and our present ‘Unique Self’, unwittingly allowing the past to exert a large influence on the progress or regression we make in life. Imagine walking with two big baggages, one in each hand, and trying to enter any normal sized door. It is not easy. The problem is even more after gaining entry into any particular space we are not inclined or free to put down our baggage. We tenaciously hold on to our past and our personal dispositions which make us unique. Voluntarily giving up these things amount to losing control and that is a terrible threat. Giving up control is not easy. But accepting the fact that the Lord God is in control is the releasing truth that give us freedom to BE.
Past is deadweight around our necks till we allow the Lord to receive it from us.
Wherever we go, whatever we do, these baggage are our constant companions coming in our way and blocking our progress. Past is deadweight around our necks till we allow the Lord to receive it from us. The Lord Jesus specifically says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Mat.11: 28.
Our present dispositions and entrenched attitudes of our unique self caution us and allow us to take actions in selected and confined manners allowable within our limited perceptions. Our progress is impeded if the baggages are of unmanageable size and shape.
The sum total of what is said is that we limit ourselves in the strangle hold of our past and unique self. The limiting may mean lack of positive progress or movement in a wrong tangent leading to negativity.
The past of every person is distinctly different from others. We would have to deal with an infinite variety of experiences to make some meaningful generalization out of them. Greater and longer persevering study is called for making sense out of the infinite variety of individual experiences. It will be good for you to learn a new spelling for past. What is PAST is DEAD. No one should go around cuddling the past and spending precious time analyzing the past. Learn from the past and then burry it for good, for our Lord God has already cancelled our past sins and wrong doings. Why carry it and create impediment to our progress in life?
Your ‘Unique Self’ too can become a huge baggage if you do not see it as what it is and keep it in manageable size and shape. Every person is unique and generalizations are not easily possible here too. That would largely limit our understanding of the baggage problem. But we have to make a beginning somewhere if we are to get freedom from the limiting heaviness of these baggages that limit our progression in life.
I chose to talk about this subject because an understanding of the ‘unique self’ will help us to effectively deal with some typical problems faced by our children in school. Learn the art of burying the past and administering your ‘Unique Self’.
Everyone is unique, because everyone is created unique. A precise classification is impractical. For the sake of an easier understanding we will consider three major categories as THINKER, FEELER and DOER. The basic characteristics of the three groups are listed separately below.
Try to identify in which group you may fit in, based on these characteristics. Remember none is a pure ‘type’. You do not have to feel lost in case you seem to feel not distinctly belonging in any particular type. All of us are variable and interesting combinations with infinite possibilities.
THE THINKER
• High mental energy.
• The thinker is honest and truthful.
• The thinker is analytical and can get lost in details.
• Loves order and over concerned about security.
• Loves quiet time and be alone for some time. (Danger of exceeding limits at times.)
• Tends to cultivate only one to three close friends.
• Tends to be melancholic and at risk of feeling inferior.
• Refuse to recognize own talents and ability, even when proven.
• Knows all that is bad about oneself.
• That quality makes the thinker to be a ‘blame-collector’.
• Perfectionist tendencies causing them to demand perfection from others too.
• Mood is determined by what is going on in the thoughts.
• Must want to think about something at all times, prefers reading before going to bed.
• Preoccupation with thinking makes the person prone to brooding and anxiety attacks.
• Not quick with advice or disapproval.
• But hoards all hurts and prefers to withdraw.
• Reluctant to share the sad thoughts occupying the mind and prefers to suffer alone.
• Extreme fear of the unknown.
• Reluctant to take risks and therefore tends to be a late bloomer.
• Likes to follow an inner list to do and a higher standard.
• Internalizes anger and does not indulge in explosive outbursts.
THE FEELER
• Relationships are more important than anything.
• Highly subjective and the ‘I’ is a major preoccupation.
• On the look out for ‘rejecting’ attitudes in others.
• Easily gets hurt and pouts when hurt.
• Ready to follow the morals of the crowd, easily gets into trouble.
• Is liable to be used by others.
• Life is an on going party whenever possible.
• Makes others feel important and cared.
• Very keen on pleasing people.
• Will go to the extend of allowing others to fail oneself.
• Good at manipulating others to have own way.
• Good empathizers and sensitive to the needs of others.
• Hardly any control over explosive bouts.
• Easily motivated.
• Very enthusiastic but unlikely to persevere.
• Desires popularity and tends to invite attention.
• Will readily reject anyone who indicates distance.
• Lavish in expressions.
• Prefer to talk ad infinitum and the subject is often ‘I’.
• Self-indulgent and easily gathers self-pity.
• Powerful ‘blame-giver’ whenever irritated.
THE DOER
• The doer is strong-willed and pushy.
• Gets things done through others.
• Never rests without accomplishing what is set forth.
• Easily projects confidence and wants to be ‘in-command’.
• Prefers independence.
• Does not suffer fools and lazy bums.
• Adept at twisting realities to suit the task at hand.
• In all stories ‘I’ am the hero.
• Obstacles are usually invisible.
• Many iron in the fire and makes anyone near to tend his fire.
• Inconsistent yet hates to be bothered by facts.
• Welcomes and enjoys challenges.
• Relatively out of touch with the hurts of others.
• Quick to explode and it is OK if others react exploding.
• Aggressive and energetic.
• Would tend to be creative but speed is the watchword.
• Others are ‘tools’ to accomplish objectives.
• Accepts aggression.
• Enjoys a good fight and tends to forget.
• Does not waste time in brooding.
• No qualms about blaming others.
• Powerful ‘task-giver’.
It does not matter in which group you may find your identity. Make it a point to choose what you think desirable and honorable according to you and in agreement with the Scripture, and then live it fully to your potential. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things…put it into practice” Phil. 4: 8, 9.
Keep both your hands free and clean to act effectively to get ahead in life.
Alex Mathew (Adapted from Mike Wells’ teachings)
The Source of a Decision: Fear or the Loss of Peace
October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
Daniel 4:1-3, “Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: ‘May your peace abound! It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and His dominion is from generation to generation.’”
There is something called buyer’s remorse after purchasing something, like an automobile, and then wondering the next day if the right thing were done. If the doubt lingers long enough, it will turn into fear. Sometimes this is a valid experience. Many find that they have been pressured into making a purchase they later regret; they actually did make a bad decision. However, the problem is that an emotion like buyer’s remorse can have at its source fear or a lack of peace, and both will feel the same way. When I purchased my house (the best investment I ever made), I was filled with fear. “How will I make the payments? What if I lose the house?” I had the peace of God when I bought the house, but the enemy and my humanity (wanting to be a success at playing God) attempted to prompt me to surrender my peace to the situation. Fear began directing me rather than the peace of God. I can have fear and the peace of God at the same time; I just need to recognize the difference. I must ask myself, “Was God leading you? Did you not lift the situation up to Him? Is it not impossible to lead sheep that are not moving? Isn’t it His job to take me to the right place?” Then I can see that my decision was made in peace, and I cannot let fear drive me, even if the situation does not work out as I thought that it should. For example, what if I lose my job and cannot make the house payments? That does not mean that I was not listening on the day that He led me to buy it. Some will say that this is a cop-out. Well, amen. We Christians are the only ones allowed a cop-out, because our God causes all things to work together for the good.
Christians have made mistakes and at times been bad witnesses of the Truth, but they are the only positive in a negative world. Again, the world takes someone that is a .5% success, puts him under a magnifying glass, and tries to make it look as if he were a 100% success without Christ. I have been accused of tearing down the accomplishments of non-Christians. Well, amen. I do not do it by way of judgment, but to prove the point that these people were not the successes without Christ that we were led to believe they were. Also, those who accuse me of this do the very same thing with anyone and everything Christian. I do not buy it. Without Christ’s life in man, we would be in the dark ages. It is also interesting that Christians are the only ones whose belief system allows for them to take criticism. Try to criticize a Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or a communist, and see how far it goes. It will not be heard or accepted. Since Christians are the ones who listen, they get the majority of complaints directed toward them. Watch a group like Amnesty International make more noise about a single instance of discrimination within a Christian country than it does a wholesale slaughter in a non-Christian country. Why? The Christian has a higher standard, that being the behavior of Christ. The Christian is sensitive toward others because he is cognizant of having received mercy, and he will show it in return. The problem is that the world is constantly making an appeal to the wrong people. Christ and His family simply are not messing up the world.
The Shepherd and The Natural
October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
In my own life it is during walks that God most often speaks to me. “You are selfish! How? By spending so much time thinking about yourself! But how? You are to set your mind on the things above. But you set your mind on the things below. The things below are not just sin. The things below include questioning past behaviors, decisions, wondering if you were a good father, a good husband, how much of the work was Mike-inspired and how much was God-inspired. These things come from below. And what are they to Me? If you did good in the morning, give God the glory. If you did bad, confess, but don’t bring it into the now. When your eyes are set above, you will be filled, and next your eyes will be on others. It is selfish to spend that much time on self.” Next a message came. Jesus is not a general with troops walking in lock step, fearful of making the wrong move. Jesus is the Shepherd, and He leads. He leads, and the sheep do what is natural. I had to ask myself the question, what do I do naturally? I disciple, lecture, and write. I could see that the sheep also eat the grass that looks good to them while the Shepherd leads. I am free to pick the grass while I am doing what I do naturally. What freedom! I can pick the grass I like; not all sheep pick the same grass. I can pick to go to Ukraine, Latvia, or anywhere if it looks good to me. For at the end of the day and the end of the year, I will have been led through what I do naturally to the exact spot I should be. Every believer is led to the exact spot. Now to receive freedom, we must have faith. Unbelief will always emphasize man’s role in getting to the right place in life by listening, plotting, seeking, trying to understand, and deciphering the signs. Is it good? Is it my wants or His wants? What will happen if I make a wrong move? It is bondage, but we think about it. Is it not truly simple because God is so big? As I finished my walk there was one more lesson. It glorifies God that we walk with Him because we want to. In that last day we will all stand before Him, and God can proclaim, “You chose to be here.” God does everything permissible to help us make the right choice. He will close all doors but one; however, ultimately walking through that one is our choice. He does everything He can to push us to the right place. I could see that all of creation had been stayed by the hand of God. Every tree and rock, if given the freedom to do so, would burst out with His praise. Jesus said the rocks were ready to shout, and David said the trees clap their hands. But God will only allow nature to whisper of its Creator, for any more would infringe on choice. But every created thing is proclaiming Jesus.
Let the Dead Bury the Dead
October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
The things of the world belong to the world.
Matthew 8:22, “But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.’”
I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the media. This is not the age of information but the age of misinformation. When I was asked what I thought of the President, and my response was, “I don’t know him,” the inquirer proceeded to tell me exactly what he was like. I asked, “How do you know all that?” “Well, it was on television!” Amazing! I have done the same thing myself. Actually, I have been in different parts of the world when things are unstable or in an uproar; not once have I found it to be like the reports on television. I listened to a reporter who was purportedly asking questions. However, he was only making accusations and then writing his own commentary. The fellow being thus “interviewed” finally asked, “Who told you I ever said such a thing?” The reporter went quiet, because no one had ever said that, he had made it up. There is the constant promoting of an agenda in the media. Why is all the bad news shown on TV? The news is calculated to stir our flesh to fear, resentment, frustration, anxiety, bigotry, and divisions. Once the bad news is received and our focus is on it, we will surrender our peace to it. There is always something the world offers to stir pride, to encourage self-righteousness or unrighteousness, and to make us think the world and its “elite” must do something. It’s all piffle. We can’t believe any of it. I can go months without watching the news, and nothing has changed the next time I see it. It would be interesting to look at what was reported as absolute truth last year and see where the facts lie today. This brings me to my point. Should I just keep my head in the sand and ignore the world and what is happening around me? Well, Jesus said it the best, “Let the dead bury their own dead!” The things of the world belong to the world. The world is creating the mess, let them report it and stew over it. They are dead; let them bury their dead. Lay it all aside and follow Him; we are alive, and we have a kingdom of truth. Like the scuba diver, the things that bother the fish ultimately don’t bother him, for his world exists above. What happens in the world, even if it is true, does not change our job description.
Feeling Heavy!/ How to face anxiety
October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
“Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
“Cast your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you!”
When Alex Mathew spoke last summer at the ALMI men’s and women’s retreats, he made an interesting observation. The body is made in such a way that the mouth takes in things good and bad. During processing, the nutrients are absorbed and the waste is expelled. Just like an engine, which with intake must have exhaust. However, mind and emotions are constantly taking in with no way to expel what is not useful. The result is a constipated mind. Chemically, the brain actually becomes loaded and causes the heaviness that many feel. The obvious question is, “How do I get things moving out of my mind and emotions?” There are a few simple commands. I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you,” and I Thess. 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” It is in our fellowship with Him that we are able to release that which has us mentally constipated. In Him we will find everything that we have looked for elsewhere in vain.
Fatalism!
October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
A prominent philosophy that is expounded is that of fatalism. Simply put, it teaches that life is meaningless since everyone ceases to exist, and man is powerless to change that. Therefore, if you are of a mind to, take everything that looks good to you, or just suicide out of the mess.
Solomon examines this approach in detail. In fatalism, choice is not an issue; as man travels toward nonexistence, what is chosen–good or bad–cannot be an issue. We ask ourselves the question, “Are there absolutes in life?” We concluded that there were two. Faith is an absolute. Every single person lives in faith, for it is impossible not to make some kind of statement that shows belief in something that cannot be seen. Second, fact is an absolute. Fact is not any individual’s perception because mankind, independently of one another, will observe the same thing. All men with functioning eyes have seen the sun. Therefore, the sun is not perception but fact. Consequently, there are two absolutes on the earth, faith and fact. Where faith and fact meet we will find truth.
A philosophical system that has only faith is as erroneous as one that only has fact. To simply say, “I believe,” is error. To simply say, “I have the facts,” is error. Truth can only exist where there are both. Hence, what one believes must be proven by the facts. Fatalism is error, for it believes that man ceases to exist. It dose not have the facts to prove it.
There is only one system wherein faith and fact meet perfectly. Actually, it is not a system, but a person: Jesus! In Him we see faith and fact flowing perfectly together to form The Truth! What we are asked to believe is proven in the facts of daily life. It isn’t right for someone to ask you to believe without facts or to walk in the facts without faith. When Jesus appeared to the five hundred, there was a perfect blending of faith, as they were awaiting Him, and fact, He was raised from the grave. In Christ these two absolutes merge, and we have the confidence that there is something beyond the grave.
The Company of the Unknowns
October 8, 2009 by Mike Wells
Filed under Articles by Mike Wells
“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and {began} to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13
Are we happy to be in the company of the Unknowns? To go into the ministry of the unknown, ministering to the Unknowns? This is the true ministry of faith. He came, God in Man, unknown! He didn’t attempt to make Himself known, He wanted the Father to be known. Divine humility! Amazing! We too are to be unknown. We are making Him known.
Why are we unknown? Being unknown keeps us safe. Being unknown will keep the elect from kingdom building, self-righteousness, glory, and image. All these things must be broken at His feet. It is the kind of wealth that we don’t need and belong to Him. We must lose everything to discover the power of the life within. It is crucial that we are unknowns. Amazingly, we are entrusted with the greatest message and kingdom and no one wants to know us! We represent Him, we have direct access to Him, and no one wants to know us. We will judge angels and no one wants to know us.
A ministry of the Unknowns, a company of the Unknowns, all with the same vision to remain attached to the life of the vine, the life of the vine to flow out of the Unknowns. We are all one, yet all different; all tapped into the same life, not branch to a branch but a branch to the vine. The ministry of the Unknowns is a WITH ministry. Unknowns band together. Unknowns are not recognized. We work without recognition.
This world’s system is not an accident. It is all permitted. It is all in the plan of God. It is all there for a purpose: the breaking of kingdoms, righteousness, pride, strength, glory. It is all in the plan of God. Permitted. It is, well, nice, that He is using man’s stupidity. It all works to His end. Nothing is bad. This is the best possible life. How do we judge that things are good or bad? The soulish judge them on the basis of their outer life, their soul life. The soulish don’t like their outer life broken. They fight against being Unknown. However, everything must go that hinders the release of the life in me. Nothing is bad that accomplishes that. Being Unknown accomplishes that, and remember, we are known by Him!
