Different (st)ages of spiritual growth

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit, being born again, following Jesus, God's love, John of the Cross, John Tauler, justification, sanctification, spiritual maturity, Taylor Marshall, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the new self, the old self

On a walk in the evening – Südstadtpark Fürth
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

It has been quite some time since I have wanted to deepen the issue of “The Dark Night of the Soul”, yet I did not know how to tackle that task which is anything but easy. Due to the fact that I can only write about what I know AND have already experienced, I have had to go through very deep and extremely painful valleys of dying to self recently so that I began to see more clearly what particularly the second part of the dark night is all about.

Thank You…

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being born again, eternal life, joy, new life, pain, resurrection, Son of God, spiritual power, thanksgiving, the Kingdom of God

Thank You
(Photo credits http://mareenasrecipecollections.com/?attachment_id=312)

Thank You for some laughter in the rain
And for tears of joy mixed up with pain
For new life that follows death
Resurrection’s first fresh breath

Breathed on us out of clear sky
That makes dry bones surely sigh
See, flesh and skin from on high
Yes, His kingdom’s life is nigh

Life is a Triggery Business

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experience, feeling, healing, heart, mouth, pain, prophets, speaking, spiritual power, the new self, the old self, tongue, triggers, wounds

What Makes Our Life So Difficult At Times
(Picture taken from http://www.meltdownmentor.com/v6/index.php/meltdown-or-shutdown/triggers)

To start off with, I know that life is a tricky business, too, but here I really meant triggery in the following sense. Take for instance a few little children playing in the sandpit. They are not related and are basically happy to play together. You are sitting on a bench, enjoying the first warming sunrays of springtime and you are watching those kids gladly until something unexpected happens. Right out of the blue you might hear exclamations like,

“This is MY shovel!! Give it back to MEEEE!!!!!” (You can easily imagine the picture you can see now… 😉 ) or,

“I don’t want to be your friend!!!” (Because “I hate red hair!”… “Your nose is too huge!”… “Your parents are silly!” – whatever the accusation)

A Peaceful and Quiet Life in Christ

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Dante Alighieri, darkness, experience, following Jesus, God's love, light, peace, prayer, rest

Quietness and Peace
(Photo credits http://unplugreconnect.com/2012/01/more-precious-than-gold-peace-and-quiet/)

Have you ever read what kind of life the apostle Paul had in mind for all who follow Christ? Did he describe a life full of cares and stress that meets the demands of others more than our own needs? Although he said “our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day,” (2 Cor 4:16 ESV), it was certainly not his intention to burden us with that statement. Actually, I began to wonder as I read some writings in the past that implied here an exhausting life for God. To put it plainly, some people thought that running around day and night like a hamster in its wheel in order to preach the gospel, to feed the poor, to help others, to heal the sick, to… (fill in the gap with what you feel is a burden in your life) would be God’s will for us. Do we believe that God really wants to see us exhausted by our doing for Him?