Some Comfort when Confronted with Death

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agony, Charles H. Spurgeon, comfort, darkness, death, dying to self, experience, Jesus Christ, light, pain, peace, the cross, the dark night of the spirit, the valley of the shadow of death

Covered under His Wings…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

The following Scripture both refers to the believer who faces physical death as it refers to the one who was chosen by God to walk through that same valley while He is still alive on earth.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Ps 23:4 KJV)

Jesus confirmed those two different possibilities of dying when He answered Martha,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn 11:25-26 ESV)

Although I am aware of the fact that most expositions on the latter verse where Jesus mentioned the one who lived believing in Him that should never die point to the second death (which is eternal), I believe that Jesus also pointed out the possiblity to enter His kingdom while still living in this world.

Jumping into the Unknown

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Augustine of Hippo, following Jesus, freedom, joy, justification, rest, sanctification, silence, spiritual power, the new self, the old self, the promised land

God’s Hand keeps us secure – always
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

What is the goal we will reach after a comparatively short justification process and very long sanctification process? Actually, I want to offer you some food for thought here.
Although I believe that only a handful of people experienced that blissful condition of having died to self completely, it might be interesting to read Augustine of Hippo’s thoughts about how our whole inner life will have changed as soon as we have entered the invisible kingdom of God.

Faith Comes by Hearing – Only?

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ears of the heart, eyes of the heart, faith, freedom, gospel, hearing, listening, preaching, salvation

Seek The Things That Are Above…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

So often it is stated that faith only comes by hearing and some say if you do not listen to the gospel preached in audible words, you cannot attain faith at all. I often wondered whether that statement was true. Do we know how many people, actually, were able to read and write at the time when the gospel would be preached for the first time? And in the centuries afterwards?

Neither Do I Condemn You

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Brennan Manning, compassion, forgiveness, God's love, judging others, Michael Clark, Shannon L. Alder, sin

Bleeding Hearts
(Photo by Michael Clark)

Michael Clark of ‘A Wilderness Voice’ blog (*) and I were sharing our thoughts on God’s mercy and this is what we wrote together.

Some Thoughts on Spiritual Sight – by Faith

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beauty, beholding God, experience, eyes of the heart, faith, God's love, John Gill, psychology, the Kingdom of God, the promised land

“Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.” (Isaiah 33:17 KJV) – Photo by Susanne Schuberth

On yesterday’s bike ride with the Lord the weather was not that fine. It would be pretty cold and looked as if it might rain sooner or later. Also, I was extremely tired and felt rather low because of a certain dizziness and some physical pain, too. As I was struggling to get ahead against the strong wind, I suddenly saw some lovely spots of color in an altogether gray and green picture that nature presented. I could not help but stop my bike and gather the colorful bouquet of flowers you can see in the photo I posted above.  😉

The Simplicity of the Christian Life

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experience, experiencing eternal life, freedom, Gerhard Tersteegen, God’s presence, Holiness, knowing, peace, prayer, spiritual blessings, the Kingdom of God, the presence of God, the promised land, thought life

Bumblebee Feeding on a Purple Tansy
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

I found three quotes from Gerhard Tersteegen (*) today of which I think that they are quite enlightening with regards to our true Christian “duties”. From my own experience I can confirm that God freed me from so many things of which I had thought I should do them, either because others expected me to do so or I demanded it of myself. It has been a very long struggle and I am not yet through it all, but sometimes I feel a kind of very quiet peace I have not known before. Immersed into a silence where spoken words and even thoughts come to an end, I discover the subtle power of the omnipresent God that is reflected by all creation. And out of the blue, your whole being knows what LIFE is all about…
Q: “How do we get there?”