Living Moment by Moment - Part One

LIVING MOMENT BY MOMENT – Part 1

This is the beginning  of ch. 8

In the previous chapter we learned that even though your old self was crucified with Christ and is dead and buried, you still have a mind cluttered with his baggage; and whenever the door just above your heart is closed to Christ’s life, the enemy tempts you to dabble again in the garbage resident in your mind, causing you to live a replica of the life you did before becoming a Christian.  We thought, does this sound like abundant life?  What could be God’s purpose in all of this be?  His purpose is actually quite ingenious.  It is to make your life moment by moment full of joy, excitement, and authenticity!  How?

…Relationships ever flow; what makes them wonderful is not so much what happened in the past, but what is happening in the present moment…

…God has the aspiration to be in fellowship with us moment by moment; He has a plan to bring about His wishes.  First of all, He must destroy the old self that dwells within and replace it with the life of His Son.  If this is not done, then no fellowship with Him is even possible.  The next thing that He does is to leave all the baggage and residue from the old man in the mind.  When through unbelief a person closes the door to His life within and consequently cuts off fellowship, of necessity all the baggage, garbage, residue, lying emotions, false feeling, old idols, inaccurate identity, and every manifestation of the flesh arise.  In fact, this one is now more miserable than dwelling in the world.  God will strive to build the believer’s awareness of a desire to be free from those miseries 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds a minute, yes, moment by moment.  It is then that God can do business!  You see, God structures our lives in such a way as to keep us ever near His side.

…It must be firmly planted in our minds that victory is for one moment at a time, and that in any given moment we are participating in eternal victory or eternal defeat.

We need to keep in mind that one of the biggest problems in helping Christians “get out of the wilderness” is far too many preachers, teachers, writers, professors, etc. IGNORE the biblical truth that the “old, Adam life” has been crucified and is dead & buried.  Gone.  No more.  To keep that “Adam life” around is to excuse behaviors in Christians that Jesus has given us His Life to overcome.  So, it is exciting to enjoy Michael addressing life as a Christian from this important biblical truth.

Now that we can focus on the “old mind” (and will & emotions…the rest of the soul we were born with) that is cluttered with the baggage of the “old self,” we can begin to move toward victory!  It is disheartening to hear Christians say, “the devil made me do it,” “the devil has been working me over today,” etc.  That’s not truth!

Michael gives us a step-by-step picture of God’s “ingenious” plan of the life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10…”life (His Life) more abundantly.”

1. God destroys the old self that dwells within an unbeliever and replaces it with the life of His Son when one becomes a Believer.

2. God leaves all the baggage and residue of the old man in the old mind.

3. God now works in the Believer to build an awareness of a desire to be free from the miseries that arise when the “old baggage” of the flesh arise.

4. It is then God can bring us to the realization that victory is for one moment at a time.

(the rest of the book moves us forward into that victory…)

Now, how much easier for a Christian can it be?  God is in charge.  God is orchestrating all to “keep us ever near His side.”  Trust, rest, release control.   We just need to trust Him to give us truth that will set us free completely.  He has.  We need the revelation.

-  Mike Wells