Beholding Him 24/7

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beholding God, experience, eyes of the heart, heart, Jesus, knowing, mind, Oswald Chambers, purification, soul, spiritual power

Lift Your Eyes and Look at Him
(Picture taken from http://disciplegideon.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/prayer-in-his-presence/)

Is it possible to see God? Can you imagine to meet your Creator before you die? If someone already had visions or dreams where he met God, Jesus, or other saints, he might know that such experiences exist. Biblically speaking, just think about Jesus’ transformation on a high mountain where he could be seen with Moses and Elijah or let us consider the blinding conversion experience of Saul, later called the apostle Paul. However, such events happen rarely.

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The Nature of Unconditional Love

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Adam and Eve, darkness, God, God's love, Jesus Christ, Leighton Ford, light, love, paradise, Stephen Kendrick, truth

GOD LOVES YOU
(Photo taken from http://knowjoy.com/gods-love/)

I am rather sure that most of you have already heard the following quote at some point in your life.

“God loves us the way we are, but too much to leave us that way.”
(Leighton Ford)

Some years ago I listened to an interesting sermon on TV. It was a joy to listen to that man who was a very gifted preacher. However, at the end of his lecture you could see him addressing himself to the invisible viewing public in a sort of altar call, telling them,

Where Do You Suppose to Start with the Prayer without Ceasing?

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Augustine, experience, Francisco de Osuna, Gerhard Tersteegen, God's love, heart, Jeanne-Marie de la Motte-Guyon, mediation, meditative reading, mind, prayer, prayer without ceasing, presence of God, Teresa of Ávila

Madame de la Motte-Guyon

Whether it was Augustine, Teresa of Ávila, or other famous saints, I too made the same experiences they had made before me, that is, for many years I neglected daily prayer because…yes, I was bored with that daily routine. Teresa even admitted that she forgot about it for 14 years during which she lived a “worldly life” (her words) until she found a helpful book from another Spanish spiritual author, Francisco de Osuna, who introduced her to the prayer that finally led her into her inner life in the presence of God.

Instead of presenting another excerpt from Gerhard Tersteegen, I decided to offer you two excerpts from a French woman whose writings were translated by Tersteegen into the German language. Tersteegen as a Reformed Christian also translated Teresa of Ávila’s spiritual writings into German. Thus he gained enormous insight into the riches of Catholic mysticism and was eventually able to present a way deeper gospel to his Reformed fellow Christians.

Focused On Knowing God

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darkness, dying to self, experience, Gerhard Tersteegen, God, heart, light, mind, self-forgetfulness, the new self, the old self

When The Light Comes
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

The following text is an excerpt from chapter 1 “God, Our True Life” of Gerhard Tersteegen’s book “The Quiet Life”. I hope you find it helpful in your quest of experiencing and receiving more from God.

We are conscious these days of a deep-seated hunger, a secret need in our heart’s core, to be set free from sin, from the world, and from self-centeredness, and so to be reunited with our source. We must only be in earnest about it. The power is close at hand. Just stay where you are and unite yourselves with God as with something there already, that you do not need to seek! For God is certainly with you and in you, although hidden by darkness. It is true that this Something to which your heart inclines is not known by you clearly; but this not-knowing is true knowing, and this undefined, better than a thousand definitions.

God’s Gentle Guidance vs. Satan’s Subtle Seduction

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experience, feeling, God, God's love, heart, inspiration, Martin Luther, peace, rest, Satan, thought life

Which Way?
(Photo credits http://mark-hartshorn.co.uk/spiritualguidance.html)

The Lord Will Be Gracious

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (Is 30:18-21 ESV)

How Our Thoughts Can Be Carried Captive

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experience, inspiration, John Gill, knowledge of God, meditation, peace, positive thinking, rest, spiritual power, the new self, thought life

Mind-Battlefield (Picture from http://buddymartin.net/blog/how-to-get-in-your-right-mind/)

I admit that I struggled a bit when I browsed different Bible Commentaries, searching for someone who witnessed what I have been experiencing lately. Yet all I found seemed to be so much more concerned with the idea of people falling away from faith through disobedience toward Christ that I thought I could address the issue on how to take our thoughts captive on a way lower level. That means, I will first share my recent experience and then post an excerpt of a Bible Commentary which was the closest regarding my own lesson learned.
As a starter, here’s the scripture I am referring to.

Been There, Done That

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compassion, darkness, experience, God, God's love, heart, Leonid Afremov, light, listening, love, peace, righteousness of God, Satan, talk, thought life, truth

Walking in the Light Despite Darkness (Painting ‘Romantical Love’ by Leonid Afremov)

Just recently it began to dawn on me that many of the misunderstandings we experience every day could be easily avoided if we tried to listen to one another more carefully. We hear someone say something or we read what someone wrote and immediately think, “Oh well – been there, done that,” without thinking further and deeper about what that particular person might have really meant.

On Receiving (More of) the Holy Spirit

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit, experience, Gerhard Tersteegen, Holy Spirit, light, prayer, spiritual power

Light over Limp Leaves (Photo taken by Susanne Schuberth)

Here’s the empty-minded blogger again. If I had enough time, I could write day and night. However, I never know about what to write. That is somehow funny, isn’t it…
In fact, I was just reminded of those situations in the past when I was sitting for an exam, in front of me some blank sheets of paper and a big brown envelope with still unknown questions or some conceptual formulations in it. How uneasy I always felt until the envelope was open! And how anxious until I had read what I had to do, fearing there could have been a challenge I was not able to cope with.

But today the situation is different. If there was such a brown envelope, it would be empty. No question for me. No conceptual formulation, no task but to write. And there will be no one who will give me bad marks if I fail or high marks if the article turns out to be readable. Honestly, that is relieving. 🙂

“Do Not Worry” – A Poem and Some Quotes

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Albert Einstein, encouragement, inspiration, Jesus Christ, Leo Buscaglia, Martin Luther, Paul the Apostle, poems, quotes, rest

Rev 21:5 ESV
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
(Picture taken by Susanne Schuberth)

Having the Mind of Christ

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inspiration, Meister Eckhart, negative theology, poor in spirit, the mind of Christ, the new self

Meister Eckhart Quote (Picture taken from http://www.truthunity.net)

This is the first time I write an article with NO thoughts about anything in particular on my mind. What I sense is simply that God tenderly nudges me to write – whatever. Many times before I had different thoughts about certain topics in mind, but usually all thoughts were gone when I really started writing an article, a poem, or a comment. That was the way I have been used to be inspired by God for exactly six years now. Tcha…but today it’s a bit different. A completely empty mind, even before I began to type. 🙄