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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.
The headline above was taken from 1 Corinthians 15, verse 33 (ESV). The apostle Paul goes on with verse 34 where he said,
“Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”
That was not “nice” by our brother Paul to tell his brethren that they were in drunken stupor. What did he mean by that? Did he refer to an overindulgence of alcohol here? I assume, rather, Paul related to a spiritual stupor in which these people had fallen by listening to the wrong persons and by opening up their hearts to them. They certainly ignored God’s small and still voice and thought it would be “unloving” if they excluded several persons. Well, that is human reason which can easily be fed by Satan unless our human will is already in constant submission to the Eternal God. I found John Gill’s explanation on these two verses above quite helpful. Since Gill explained Scripture according to King James Version, I inserted that translation before his exposition.
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. (1 Cor 15:33-34 KJV)
Verse 33. Be not deceived,…. By such as deny the doctrine of the resurrection, and by their reasonings about it; or by such libertines who go into the denial of it, and argue from thence in favour of their licentious course of life:
evil communications corrupt good manners. This is a sentence taken out of Menander, a Heathen poet, showing how dangerous is the conversation of evil men, and what an influence bad principles communicated and imbibed, have on the lives and practices of men. This the apostle cites not out of ostentation, or to show his reading, learning, and acquaintance with such sort of writers; but partly to observe, that this was a truth obvious by the light of nature, and partly because such a testimony might be more regarded by the Corinthians, who might be fond of such authors, and what was said by them; just as when he was at Athens among the philosophers there, he cites a passage out of Aratus, Acts 17:28 as he does another out of Epimenides concerning the Cretans, Titus 1:12.
Verse 34. Awake to righteousness, and sin not,…. The apostle represents the Corinthians as inebriated with bad principles and notions, and as fallen asleep, and as greatly remiss, and declined in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty; and therefore calls upon them to awake out of sleep, to watch and be sober, and attend to “righteousness”; to the justice of God, which requires the resurrection of the dead, and makes it necessary that men may receive the things done in the body, whether good or evil; for as it is a righteous thing with God to render tribulation to them that sin against him, and trouble his people; so it is but just, that those bodies which Christ has purchased with his blood, who have served him, and suffered for his sake, should be raised again, that, together with their souls, they may enjoy the happiness provided for them; and to the righteousness of Christ, to look unto it, lay hold on it, exercise faith upon it, desiring to be found in it living and dying; and to works of righteousness, to a holy life and conversation, a living soberly, righteously and godly; and not spend their time, and give up themselves to vain speculations and notions; which were so far from being edifying, that they were very detrimental to themselves and others.
[…]
for some have not the knowledge of God; are like the Gentiles that are without God, and know him not; they know not, or, at least, do not own the truth of God in his word, declaring and testifying the doctrine of the resurrection; they err in that point, not knowing the Scriptures, the sense of them, and this truth contained in them; nor the power or God in raising the dead, nor the justice of God, which makes it necessary that the dead should be raised:
I speak this to your shame; that there should be such ignorant persons in their community; that there were any of such bad principles as to deny the resurrection of the dead, and of such dissolute lives as to give up themselves to sensual lusts and pleasures: that such were continued in the church, kept company with, indulged and caressed; and that there was so great a corruption in doctrine, discipline, and conversation, among them.
http://www.christianity.com/bible/comments/1corinthians/gill/1corinthians15.htm
I like particularly this part of John Gill’s exposition where he wrote,
Evil communications corrupt good manners. This is a sentence taken out of Menander, a Heathen poet, showing how dangerous is the conversation of evil men, and what an influence bad principles communicated and imbibed, have on the lives and practices of men.
It is dangerous to think that what we read, hear, see or watch (for real, on TV, or in a movie) would have NO consequences on our thinking, speaking, and behavior. Those thoughts and pictures presented to us can follow us – more or less subliminally – in our thought life, in our dream life, and if they hit a certain point in our heart, they will become our daily companions. If we have perceived good things – wonderful! 🙂 But if bad things follow or even persecute us somehow, then there must be something wrong. It is certainly not my intention to introduce a kind of “law” here that tells us what to do and what to avoid. Instead, as my readers might know, I always point back to Christ because I know there is freedom in His presence when our will and His become one. Then we know immediately what to do and what to drop. Whatever it might be, doing or not-doing, His peace is ours, for it is written,
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Is 26:3 ESV)
Oops, this article got a little bit longer than expected. Sorry… 😉
In the computer world they say, DIDO – “Data in – data out.” A computer can only play back what is in its program or data base. Then the military got onto this and they noticed that the minds of the men became what they spent their time on and thus they came up with GIGO – “Garbage in – garbage out.”
The human mind tends to play back what it feeds on… If we feed on bad news and ugly things, we tend to talk or write about bad and ugly things all the time. But if we think on the wonderful works of God and HIS grace and love toward us we will write and speak about those things which are uplifting. Or as Paul put it,
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8 RSVA)
“And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2 KJ2000)
Thank you, Susanne for this timely word. ⭐
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You’re very welcome, Michael.
From DIDO to GIGO… that was a great exposition on how our minds work, my brother! I am impressed, very good! And as always, the Scriptures you pasted fit perfectly! ⭐
Thinking about another Scripture which says, “Out of the abundance of the HEART the mouth speaks,” [Emphasis in caps mine] I believe that we can only speak of these things we heard, read, or saw which have a deeper (invisible) root in our heart. But if our heart fully belongs to God, the wrong thoughts cannot survive in our minds, much less can they take new roots in our hearts once again. Here is the Scripture I thought of.
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Mt 12:34-37 ESV)
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The exact scripture verses you, Michael shared in Philippians 4 came to mind as I read Susanne’s post. May I add these to the meditation;
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.”
Blessings to you both.
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Great Scripture, Patrick! ⭐ Thanks for sharing it with us, my brother.
Every divine blessing to you,
Susanne
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It seems that THE WORD, puts a high value or devalue on our words for they portray what is in our hearts and God looks upon the heart of a person and makes His judgement there. “Oh, Father, give each of us that NEW heart that you have promised us, the heart of your Son. Amen.”
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Amen!! Excellent explanation, Michael, once again! ⭐
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Susanne, you wrote,
“It is dangerous to think that what we read, hear, see or watch (for real, on TV, or in a movie) would have NO consequences on our thinking, speaking, and behavior. Those thoughts and pictures presented to us can follow us – more or less subliminally – in our thought life, in our dream life, and if they hit a certain point in our heart, they will become our daily companions.”
They have found that these kids that went into schools and killed children, fellow students or killed their parents had spent hundreds of hours in their dark bedrooms playing video games that graphically depict them murdering their opponents. Young minds especially tend to be influence readily by the media they watch.
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Alas, yes, Michael. That is sooo sad. 😦
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Thank you. I found some of this out the hard way, memories of things I have seen bother me at times.
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You’re very welcome, dear Fred.
I am so sorry to hear that about tormenting memories. Will keep praying for you that God extinguishes these pics in your mind over time.
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Well said, Susan. This is a really important one, “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.” Only Jesus Christ can save people. We don’t have that power. Sometimes He arranges a few Divine appointments and allows us to plant a few seeds, seeds that may fall on hard ground or get eaten by the birds, but we are not tasked with saving anyone, nor are we supposed to sacrifice ourselves doing so. I sometimes say, Christ already did that. It is finished.
Garbage in, garbage out, you are absolutely right. Considering how much garbage we take in with TV radio, media, internet, that is really scary. I sometimes think of clowns, once harmless and fun circus entertainers, but in the modern world, now symbolic of violence and scary things. Those cultural shifts are no accident. The blood of the Lamb however, can wash those things away if we let Him, and He will replace them with something much better.
Recently I had a couple of women trying to get me to attend a bible study and you know that uh oh feeling you get, as if this is all wrong? I got that and politely declined, which then progressed to trying to guilt and pressure me into going. It was very interesting because at first it was just a quiver and than it became a full blown stomach ache, and the more they pushed, the more convicted I became that this was really God saying uh uh, no way. They could be wonderful people for all I know or not, but still they were not what God wanted for me at this particular time.
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Thank you, Gabrielle.
Your description of how these women tried to “nicely convince” you of representing God’s will for you and your inner reactions to their attempts really hit me. OUCHEEEE!!!
Susanne
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Gabrielle, you might be interested in our article about this busybody thing that church people do and how really UNCHRISTLIKE IT IS!
https://awildernessvoice.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/making-room-for-the-spirit-to-mature-others-in-christ/
Michael
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Thank you for that article, Michael. I read it once before and I really appreciated it. I’m chuckling here, but I am often the one that has to quiet my tone and make room for softer voices, so your article was a good reminder. “I must decrease so He can increase,” yes? In my case that is often true, but Christ is usually very good at showing me when and where.
I’m chuckling here, but I got to pour some encouragement and support over this guy that was learning to be a pastor…except he was nervous and didn’t like speaking in front of people. It was downright comical watching me try to keep quiet, still, and just stand next to him or nod and wait patiently. A valuable lesson however, because it really helped his confidence grow.
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“there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.” (Mark 7:15 NASB)
And yet, everything that comes out of a man, somehow got into the man in the first place …
When I get around kids, I become a kid or at least I start to act like one; I believe that is a genetic trait among males. Anyway, my wife who is a retired high school teacher occasionally scolded me for mischievous behavior in front of her students, claiming that I was “putting ideas into their heads”. I’d remind her of that scripture, to no avail. It did come back to haunt me once, when I was invited to eat some chili made by a group of boys in her cooking class. When one of them called to invite me, I asked whether they planned to cook it on the stove, or just add so much hot sauce that it would cook by itself? They boys added way too much of some hot sauce called “The Liquifier” and laughed while I guzzled milk to extinguish my tongue.
Seriously, it is for the sake of “ideas in our heads” that Karen and I watch so little TV, among other avoidances of the world. Neither of us want to make this walk any more difficult than it already is, by polluting our minds and opening up new mental battle fronts with the enemy. We view unfiltered television and radio akin to opening a door to our home through which the enemy is waiting to rush in.
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It has been similar for me, Jack. I did not watch TV nor did I read a book since 2008 and I am no longer interested in anything that happens in this world (politics, people, wars etc. pp.). But that freedom has not come from my own doing, for sure, the Lord took it all away and BOOM, left some “holes” inside me that have not yet been filled with Himself as far as I know. 🙄
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I so relate to that, Susanne. But I think that which you consider “holes” has been filled by Him, or are at the very least, are under construction by Him. It might be that He just hasn’t turned the light on to show you “what He’s done with the place”, yet. 😉 My dear wife loves to watch home remodeling shows and especially the final few minutes when the host “reveals” the new home to the owner. It’s always an expression of surprise and joy. The only problem with her watching such shows, is that she thinks I should get every thing done in 30 minutes, an hour at most. Hahaha! 😉
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You’re funny, Jack. 🙂
Thank you for your comforting words.
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Yes indeed we gotta feed but what we eat will be the thing we seed and only the tree of life will give us what we need.
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Oh, Ken, that was sweet! AND so very true, too. 😉
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Michael, I would almost turn GIGO into GISI…because the garbage going IN always stays IN, in some subtle way. We really have no idea how these visuals and moving pictures affect us on the subconscious level. I have really become aware of this in the last couple of years and almost watch nothing any more, because Hollywood truly is a CIA mind control program designed to socially engineer society.
It’s the same way with everything DIGITAL these days, the digital waves alter the way our brain receive and process information. They did not just change from ANALOG to DIGITAL because the latter is better, but because it affects the brain in a whole different way and produces another consciousness to blend in with trans-humanism.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to go all technical about it on you here. But it is important to guard our “gates” to the soul on every level. Reminds me of John Bunyan’s book “Holy War”. Have any of you read it?
Susanne, for an empty well you sure write amazingly wonderful… it must be from the fact that in your weakness He is indeed strong… He can flow thru freely without Susanne’s interruptions. 😉
❤
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Oh, dear Elli, that was so encouraging for me to read! Thank you very much! ❤
If only I could sense anything positive, either regarding God or as to what I write. While writing this blog post I felt some relief, peace and joy. But soon afterwards the death of self struggles with these tormenting pains and fears began again…
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Dear Susanne, I don’t know exactly what you are going through, I can only tell that it feels dark and lonely. We all have our very individual “valleys of darkness”, but I think that the Lord has one and the same answer for all situations. When we don’t know anything at all, we can know this… “Be still, and know that I am God” Ps 46:10
In passing you mentioned that you have been getting a number of dreams lately. I want to encourage you to pay close attention to them, for it is often in such that the Lord sends comfort or direction in regards to what’s up ahead.
He’s been so precious in giving me a few of those comforts for my current trial, but when I get frightened I keep asking for more… and you know what He told me last? He said, I have given you enough comforts, now I want you to be still and trust Me to see this thing through to the end! (Yes Sir! – and I go to sit down back to waiting).
Sometimes, we forget what we have already been given, and don’t apply those things to ourselves. Like I said, you are not an empty dry well, there is so much stored up, but maybe you are so occupied with giving a drink to everyone else, that you forget to drink yourself. hugs
Just be still for a while, dear sister… and just know He IS God. It is by His own design to bring us into places where we can’t help ourselves. Peace, be still… don’t try to change anything… and let Him BE and DO what He does best.
Much love in Jesus!
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Thank you for your comforting comment, Elli.
You said, “…maybe you are so occupied with giving a drink to everyone else, that you forget to drink yourself.” Ahem, ahem… You are right, dear sister. Well, my family situation has become very complicated in the last year and it does not really get better. Sometimes I feel torn between several persons who want me to do the exact opposite of what the others want. But what does God want me to do? I keep asking Him in prayer several times every day…and I often wish I was not so weak and helpless.
You are absolutely right, I truly need my restful times with God where I can be still. So often lately I had to tell those people and even brothers and sisters on the net that I need more time for myself in order to be with God since without living in His presence I am nothing. My prayer time this morning was almost two hours, but God only showed up during the last two minutes. That has been very often the case, but at least, I can sense short times of comfort from those continued cutting heart pains and fire that kills the old self.
As for my dreams, thanks for the reminder, or rather, thank you for confirmation! I have seen lately that they were, though often seemingly confused, always a help and prophecy from the Lord about what would happen soon. Meanwhile He announces what will happen the very next day. Although these dreams have no literal meaning, when things happen I am reminded of the respective picture in the dream and thus I know I am guided 24/7. So, I am not alone, but feel lonely without His “felt” presence if you know what I mean. I know that I only want HIM. Nothing less!!! I can so relate to the following part of a Bible verse that says,
“…for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Rev 12:11 ESV)
I hate my “life” without Him since there is indeed no LIFE without Jesus who is THE LIFE.
Much love to you, too, Ellie! ❤ ❤ ❤
Susanne
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No, Elli, I have never read that book by Bunyon, only Pilgrims Progress.
You wrote to Susanne, “…for an empty well you sure write amazingly wonderful… it must be from the fact that in your weakness He is indeed strong… He can flow thru freely without Susanne’s interruptions.”
Amen! I have also been trying to tell her this and so have others. I don’t think that it is so much the words that we speak or what we even feel, but the ONE who originates them in His love that gives them power. The more we decrease, the more He can manifest His power and love in us to others. We do our best work “for God,” dear Susanne, when we are clueless it is Him in us doing it.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 RSVA)
Bless you two sisters,
Michael
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Thank you very much, Michael.:-)
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Thank you for the admonition. My prayer is, Father, help. I am so in the world.
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I have never had concerns regarding you, dear Pat. ❤ And I cannot believe that you are so in the world. Unimaginable! You are such a wonderful sister who seeks God earnestly; could not be better! ⭐
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Susanne, so glad to hear you are on the mend. I have a nephew who grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons religiously in high school along with his friends, and to this day he cannot function as an adult 100%. He is now in his mid 30’s and will probably never marry – can’t support anyone but himself, barely. I personally believe that he became demon possessed during his teens while engaging in this game, and this has affected his maturity and growth. Prior to his involvement with this game, he was developing normally (healthy) for his age. His parents are not saved and those who were around him (friends) growing up were not saved. It’s a very sad situation. The remedy…medication and financial assistance. I am no doctor, but I truly believe that if he could be released from the possession (bondage) of this evil spirit(s), that he could lead a normal life moving forward. This is one of the more extreme cases of what can happen when you associate yourself with bad company.
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Thank you for your very kind words of concern, dear Nancy. ❤ I am on the mend, yes, but it is still a daily struggle with dying to self pains and valleys of tears and fears. I experience only short times of relief. But at least that…
Alas, the story you shared here hits very close home with me and I do not dare to get into details publicly. I think you are right regarding demon possession. The only thing that helps is to get them more and more often away from the internet and from games. And that is VERY difficult!!! But then their minds clear up over time and they begin to feel real life again, occasional relapses included. That at least has been my observation.
Warm regards,
Susanne
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Susanne, I’m sorry you are having to go through this “valley.” Please forgive me, I misunderstood and thought you were on the mend. You are in my prayers.
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No need to feel sorry, dear Nancy. ❤ And thank you so much for your compassion and prayers; I truly need them!
You could not know about my spiritual condition since I did not openly write about it. Sometimes I am so fed up with complaining about the fact that the Dark Night of the Spirit has lasted for more than two years now (continuously) where I sometimes felt relief (peace, joy, love) again, but soon afterwards the Lord plunged me into a much deeper pain than before. I cannot count how often that has happened to me meanwhile. And I can no longer say where I stand, where I was, and when I will be “where” (at the goal)…. the only thing I know is that it is very dark. Posivitively, I can say that God keeps leading me in the darkness through all the pains and adverse circumstances, but I do not feel comfort from seeing His guidance because of those cutting “knives” in my heart almost all the time (even while sleeping). I would have never thought that dying to self could last that long…
Love,
Susanne
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Susanne wrote: “Sometimes I feel torn between several persons who want me to do the exact opposite of what the others want. But what does God want me to do?”
Susanne have you read Oswald Chambers for January 11th? It sounds to me you are just in lock-step with that devotional. What My Obedience Costs Other People.
As you are hinting at the complications that come with having family, I can only think that you are struggling with not wanting to cause pain to either party. Hence, I felt that OC was once again very much to the point today. Our obedience to God will cost other people and cause much pain. And this is our greatest struggle if we happen to be prone to being people pleasers.
I hope I don’t sound like those foolish comforters of Job here, oh Lord forbid it. But, I believe your darkness is not to do with being far from God, but rather how to battle out this confusion. I recall from my own experience that whenever I am caught up in confusion, it is usually due to me refusing to make a decision. God spoke a clear word, but to follow through on that is extremely unpleasant and somehow I manage to avoid it… and that’s when the “darkness” or fogginess begins. We tend to say we are confused, when in reality it’s our unwillingness to do what God directed.
I am confident that God has given you a clear path to follow, but you fear the consequence of that step because it is so close to home. hugs
And I pray that the Lord would bring His clear path to your remembrance once more and then also give you the courage to go forth with it. Once we obey God’s direction, the fog will clear instantly and every evil work will subside.
I hope my words don’t cut, or sound trite… I have nothing but a heart full of love and wish to bear you up under your burden.
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Thank you for taking the time to think about my problems that deeply, dear Elli. All you wrote is logical and true since I have been inclined to be a people pleaser and usually I don’t want to hurt anyone.
Nonetheless, I am convinced that my “darkness” comes from God’s closeness (He protects me “under His wings”, so to say, and it is not that bright there 🙂 ). This is something I “know” in my spirit”, yet my spiritual senses cannot taste His presence as they could in the years past. I know if the dark night is finally over, I will be able to feed on the Lord in a much deeper degree as I could before. So, I will try to be patient…
I have not yet read Ossie’s devotional, but will do later – God willing.
Thanks again, dear sister. BTW, confusion is a big part of the Dark Night of the Soul, esp. of the Night of the Spirit as John of the Cross and Dorothy L. Sayers, for instance, experienced themselves. I also remember that T.A. Sparks wrote about similar things. It is not fun, but it is normal, so to speak, until the whole darkness inside us has been enlightened completely. So, no need to worry about confusion here. 😉
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You know Susanne, I really hesitate commenting on these blogs, because every time I hit that ‘Post Comment’ button, that loud voice comes in the back of my head saying “You completely missed the mark now, not knowing what you are talking about. Why did you even sent that???” Now if that isn’t confusion, I don’t know what is. 🙂
I know that perhaps I missed the mark a little bit, but I hope that my care came through in my words. I never know what parts of my ramblings the Lord might enlighten, or who it might touch, but I sure don’t want fear to stop me from saying what someone out there might need to hear.
Now comes a moment of truth… (and that side needs to be shared too, from time to time)
As for the Lord, I do not understand ANY of His ways… especially today, I am having a day of grumbling (or a rumble with God). Today, my eyes are so clouded from seeing His Love at all… I can’t seem to put God and Love in the same sentence. I can only define God as Sovereign, but to say that He is Love… I cannot (at the moment).
Perhaps my curse is wanting to UNDERSTAND everything. I am worn out trying to retain what little I thought I understood. Sometimes, I just want to go away and hide… but how can you hide from God? David already said that there is no place to go to escape from His eye.
I know, I know…like Job, I will have to put my hand over my mouth and apologize for the foolishness I uttered. This flesh that holds me is but a speck of dust, and today it’s taken on the size of a mountain. Who will deliver me from this body of death!?
So you see, we are all in the same boat… we must not compare us to each other. None is more spiritual than the other…. we all are in the same place and ultimately just have to continue looking UP for help.
PS: Do you ever wonder why the world thinks we are mentally nuts? Sometimes, even I begin to wonder about that… but only for a moment.
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Do not worry about anything, please, dear Elli – everything is okay between you and me. And it was good that you commented on here. 🙂
Not being able to put God and love in one sentence, well, I am quite familiar with this. It is also part of that painful purification process to realize that we cannot love God and the way He seems to be since He acts without explaining us anything. That is very difficult!! And wanting to understand God – YES! That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it!?! Alas, I never succeeded in this, either. 😛
PS
Even Christians think we are nuts! Kinda funny, isn’t it…
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I love the vulnerability I am reading here between you two sisters! I see so much love in your words as you both expose your inner fears and troubling thoughts in support of one another.
Elli, I am like you, God was called “Father” by Jesus, but I have had a problem not seeing Him like my father; unkind, strict, unloving and often an abusive alcoholic to me and my mother (and later to my brother and sisters). Susanne with the kindness in her heart has helped me to be able to finally call Him, Daddy, for I never called my father by that name, for it was too affectionate of a word that did not fit him.
Elli, I wanted to thank you for sharing that 1-11-16 devotional by Oswald Chambers. The whole thing spoke to me! I have seen this over and over how my obedience to the leading of the Spirit caused grief and misunderstanding between me and my family. One time He had me get up at my grandmother’s funeral service and tell her sons and daughters (including my dad) that they needed to give their hearts to Christ and let Him give them new hearts to replace their hardened ones. Well, none of them spoke to me again for the most part. I became quite isolated from almost all of them and my cousins after that. So, the hardness among the Clark family continues.
Anyway, Elli, reading that has helped me to take another look at obeying the leading of the Spirit without letting my fear of what it does to those who do not follow His leading enter in. Obeying Him has always proven to be the right thing in the long run. Thanks for obeying Daddy’s leading and posting what you did on here. You are a blessing.
But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50 RSVA)
Thank you, again, dear sisters!
Michael
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You’re most welcome, dear Michael! I do love the Scripture you shared at the end.
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So glad that other people are aware of their ‘mentally ill’ status amongst others (Christians included!) haha
“She’s gone mad!”.
We know they said the same about Jesus and Paul right!?
I laughed at this, “Perhaps my curse is wanting to UNDERSTAND everything.”
Ugh. I’m so that person.
Haha!
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I guess we are all that way, by nature, trying to understand God which can drive you nuts. Only God can change that by giving us Christ’s mind instead of our old Adam and Eve “hamster wheels of thinking and reasoning”.
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