Some Thoughts on the First Commandment

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darkness, experience, first commandment, following Jesus, heart, idolatry, Jesus Christ, light, Martin Luther, mind, other gods, the cross

Rose Hips above the Rhine-Main-Danube-Canal
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Actually, I do not want to convey the impression I was into law keeping here since we live in New Covenantal times. Instead, I think we could use the OT law at times as a mirror that shows us what might be still wrong in our hearts and minds.
It appears to me that keeping the first commandment that says we should have no other gods beside our God tells us to somehow look through everything of which we think it is good around us as being blessing from God only. As soon as we cling to a person or a blessing they gave us as if he, she, or it represented the ultimate good that could make us happy or unhappy if we lost it, we have another god. I just thought I could share some thoughts on this topic from my fellow countryman Martin Luther with you on here.

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Our True Individuality

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Alexander McLaren, experience, faith, freedom, God's love, individuality, Jesus Christ, love, new life, Oscar Wilde, true faith

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If some believers are tempted to believe that they could lose their individuality when they have finally died to self with Christ on their own (spiritual) crosses, then I hope I can offer some comfort here since nothing could be further from the truth. Although the apostle Paul told us in his letter to the Galatians,          “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” (Gal 2:20 ESV) he had another idea in mind. Let’s read what Alexander MacLaren wrote in his Bible Commentary about this verse.

Becoming Like Little Children

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childlike faith, experience, healing, little children, Oswald Chambers, peace, rest, spiritual power, surprises, the promised land, triggers, trusting God, vacation

Moving on to pastures new…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Imagine God asked you to go on vacation with Him. Not next year, not tomorrow, no, right now. You would not know where you’d go to, how it looked like, and what might happen to you, however, you could be sure that God would care for everything you might ever need and that He would give you perfect peace 24/7 if you trust in Him (Is 26:3). Furthermore, God told you that you could stay there with Him, even forever. “Pipe dreams,” one might say, “Interesting,” might add another. These two responses certainly came from adults who not only lost their illusions, which might be a good thing, but maybe, they also lost their hope and dreams. Now imagine God asked a little child this very same question. How would he or she react? I think we know the answer…

“Walking In the Light as He Is In the Light” by Michael and Susanne

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church, experience, eyes of the heart, feelings, healing, light, Michael Clark, mind, pain, peace, prayer, sanctification, sin, soul, the body of Christ, triggers

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“And we are writing this that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:4-7 RSVA)

Susanne wrote, “Meanwhile I believe that God only shows us that there is no good thing coming from the old man in order to bring forth those genuinely good things that spring from a new God-given heart. But the process until we are through with all these “ouch-experiences” and our natural tendency to run from pain and/or to attack the one who offended us is indeed PAINFUL.”

Can we see God in this life already?

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit, being born again, experience, eyes of the heart, faith, glory, Holy Spirit, John of the Cross, Martha Jesus, presence of God, seeing God, the dark night of the senses, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the new self, the old self, the promised land

SEEING GOD means a shift in perspective… 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

It seems to me that there are at least five different stages of perceiving the presence of God. Our perception, or even sight of Him, increases and improves when we have reached the next stage. All happens by the grace o God, of course. What I did not include here are dreams and visions which are something that can happen anytime whether we find our selves in stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. However, they are not as important as being led by God continuously. In fact, from my own experience I know that an immense amount of dreams and visions have their origin in the dark realm of Satan who loves to appear as the Angel of Light. Stage 5, finally, is the fully enlightened and perfected saint who can see God directly and does not need dreams or visions any longer (regarding dreams and visions I was just paraphrasing John of the Cross). Here is my biblical approach on these five various, progressively blessed conditions of heart, mind, and soul.

Can God Heal?

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A.W. Tozer, being born again, Carl Gustav Jung, darkness, following Jesus, John of the Cross, light, psychology, spiritual power, the cross, the dark night of the senses, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the narrow way, the strait gate

Crooked trees after being pruned… not that beautiful yet 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Now this is a silly question, Susanne! Through the whole Bible we find witnesses who were healed by God, especially in the New Testament. “Yes… but today?” Having been tortured by many sicknesses all my life, my faith in being healed by God is not the strongest, as I need to honestly admit. However, I have had a few healing experiences during the last year which caused my mustard seed faith to increase a bit. 😉
Apropos Bible, I was just thinking of the situation where Jesus healed a certain woman who had been sick for a very long time. Let’s take a closer look at that special event.

Satan’s Subtle Lies

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discerning the spirits, entering his rest, experience, freedom, God's guidance, God's love, God's voice, light in the darkness, pain, peace, rest, restlessness, Satan, Satan's voice, the dawning of a new day, wisdom

A Stony Saint – Banz Abbey, Bavaria
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Imagine that… You experience after a long time of restlessness, fears, doubts, and various pains deep rest that encompasses spirit, soul, and body to an extent that was not known to you before. You cannot grasp how and why it happens, but you eventually can lay back in the arms of God and let Him do what He wants to do. You only watch Him, amazed at His way of dealing with your life – and you only rest.
Suddenly someone suggests to you that in order to keep that almost perfect peace of mind, you should instead read Scripture with an open heart so that you could hear God better or sing some songs in order to not stop praising God who helped you through another trial which had been very hard for you. Why you should do these things? He says that you need to be prepared for the next trial.

When the horizon opens up…

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darkness, experience, God's love, joy, light, love, peace, psychology, rest, thought life

Tulip Flower Field (Wallpaper)

The more we dare to freely admit before God how our real heart condition is and who we really are, the more we will be able to let other people into our hearts as well. The more we understand that we are truly loved without strings attached, the more we will long to show others how much they are loved too.

Light Casts a Spell on Everything

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Barbara Brown Taylor, darkness, experience, fear, God, Jesus Christ, light, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the light of the world, thought life

“Moonlight reflecting across the ocean” (Wallpaper)

If we were to live in the darkness 24/7, our lives would look much differently. Not only that they were much shorter because of the lack of sunlight and the lack of its positive consequences on our body and soul. Also, our whole environment and surroundings were not that beautiful, I assume. Recently, I was reminded of what I just described when I compared two situations on different days with one another. The other day I was swimming in a lake when there was no sun but only dark gray clouds in the sky. The water did not look that inviting; it was rather obscure, shadowy, and opaque. As soon as “something” touched my legs in the deep water, it made me shudder.  😛