The Power of Our Thoughts

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discerning the spirits, encouragement, entering his rest, experience, Flesh vs. Spirit, freedom, Jack Helser, joy, Michael Clark, peace, T.A. Sparks, thought life, thoughts, trust

Picture credits http://www.mvnazarene.org/includes/ckfinder/userfiles/images/I-Am-620×250.jpg

This is another joint article Michael Clark and I wrote which springs from our own experiences and from what the Lord has been teaching us lately.

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Paul signed off his letter to the Philippians saying,

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:8-9, nrs)

How opposite this is to our human natures! We search the news looking for the latest terrorist attack or natural disaster. We even listen to gossip hoping to get some information that will make us feel superior to someone we know. Someone pointed out that Christians seem to have a vested interest in the misery of this world. We truly need new hearts and minds from God.

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Is the Church Age over?

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called by God, church, experience, glory, joy, Michael Clark, prophesy, suffering, T.A. Sparks, the cross

Destruction of the Church of Reconciliation in Berlin’s ‘death zone’ in January 1985
(Picture credits https://www.rbb-online.de)

My thoughts on this issue were inspired by Michael Clark with whom I had an exchange regarding the time we might live in now, about 2,000 years after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Even if we merely look at the circumstances around us, the political situation of so many run-down countries, the increasing number of trouble spots in the world, and the not even remotely comprehensible approaches of “truths” in religion, science, and pseudo-scientific fields (such as esoteric and occult doctrines), we might begin to feel uneasy by the threat of chaos closing in on us.

How to Detect False Spirits – The Spirit of False Unity and Fake Love

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church, deception, discerning the spirits, Ecumenism, evil spirits, exhortation, experience, fake love, false spirits, feeling, God's love, knowing God, love, Nicky Gumbel, obedience, Satan, sin, the devil

Picture source http://www.datekoupdatekar.com/blog/fake-world-fake-people

God knows how often since October last year I asked Him when this series about discerning the spirits finally would be over. However, I never got a direct response from Him. Instead, He taught me consistently new lessons about dangerous spirits that look so innocent and “holy” on the outside. If this kind of teaching was only a “mind thing”, that would be no problem at all. But God always lets me FEEL those evil spirits, meanwhile even before I meet them. Brothers and sisters, that is not fun!! Yet I believe it must be important to God that we learn to merely listen to His voice and to keep ignoring those other seducing spirits that approach us every day.

Under the shadow of His wings

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Becky Johnson, darkness, dying to self, exhortation, experience, light, Oswald Chambers, pain, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the new self, the old self

Our God is a consuming FIRE
(Photo credits http://eskipaper.com/awesome-volcano-wallpaper.html#gal_post_29139_awesome-volcano-wallpaper-1.jpg)

I have been struggling a lot with dying-to-self pains lately. For those who wonder how that might feel, it is as if your inmost being (mainly heart and belly region) is getting burned after one or more flashes of lightning had struck you. Whenever God fills me surprisingly with His light, it often occurs as flashes of bright light I can see moving very swiftly from head to toe through my whole body. And a few hours later, the pain begins. Just lately I have begun to sense an increasing fire in my bones that causes both intense pains for the old self, just as the new self is irresistibly drawn toward the Eternal God, away from all that is created. Although it is extremely painful to lose all those natural attachments to which we might have been used for decades, there is an invisible power and an indescribable love that surpasses all understanding. However, it cannot be felt with our natural senses at all and before we get there, we must die to everything which once caused those fears that were related to our loved ones who we naturally love with a love that is common to all human beings. Also, nostalgic feelings regarding past events die away gradually. In fact, everything that had a deep connection to our old Adam nature and his heart is being stripped off. That hurts as if countless sharp knives were enucleating the heart until nothing is left of the old self. But instead of continuing to complain or lament on here, I copy and paste a quote which Becky Johnson recently made me aware of.

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

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behavior, deception, discerning the spirits, dream life, experience, eyes of the heart, God, Jesus Christ, John Gill, peace, Satan, sin, thought life

Bad Company Corrupts Good Character.
(Picture credits http://www.trivalleylifechurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/one-bad-apple.jpg)

I decided to write a not-so-long blog article that deals with the question, once again, how far our relationships with “difficult” people may go. I do not speak of our family members here since our family and relatives were God-given and, of course, you might find some very difficult persons to deal with among them, too. However, where we have a choice is the question of making friends, even more, of seeking spiritual fellowship with other people who are no relatives. Regarding our family members who have really become our enemies because of Christ in us, we know we should love them. As for me, I keep praying, often with many tears and a hurting heart, but I know it would make no sense to talk with them openly or to even share the gospel, in particular when they ridicule what I write about my experiences with God on the net. If they keep attacking and nourish their feelings of hatred continually, we can be sure that Satan has blinded their eyes. Yet I hope and pray that God finally opens their eyes to the truth which is Jesus Christ alone. May we never fall prey to Satan’s lie that we should have fellowship with such people who hate us because we think WE should save them. It is so important to know that Christ is Savior!!! If God has not given us supernatural strength to endure their attacks and doubtless faith that He wants us to stay with them (accompanied by His peace that surpasses ALL understanding!), then we have most probably listened to the devil who always wants to burden us with something that is too difficult for a simple human being, especially without God’s help.

Jesus Christ is LORD

Tags

deception, discerning the spirits, experience, God's love, God's voice, heart, mind, Oswald Chambers

Picture credits http://wordoncanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jesus2.jpg

At first sight, this article might seem to contradict what I said in my latest post where I mentioned that the first impression we sense in our heart and mind was the voice of God, i.e., the voice of the One we love. However, today I want to be more precise on what loving God really means. Although I want to affirm that God who created man offers His continued help to every human being by making them feel uneasy about wrong decisions and restful about the proper decisions in His view, those who have come to know and love their God also know that His voice is the one they fear the most. I am not speaking of a slavish fear that helplessly makes us react in order to not be punished for our “mistakes”. Instead, I refer to the fear of God that makes our soul tremble when we perceive His warnings all of a sudden in our mind and heart. If we really love Him, we want to please Him, and we will eventually obey out of that love God has poured into our very hearts beforehand. The apostle Paul told us,