Tags
coronavirus, discerning the spirits, encouragement, experience, infodemic, Jesus Christ, pandemic, peace, Satan, spam mails, thought life
Sometimes I wonder about God’s inexplicable leading. Really, I cannot understand His way of thinking at all! Just lately He began to teach me about something that has been very unnerving for me. For several weeks, even months, I detected in my spam and trash folder on WordPress many, many spam mails. During the last weeks even about one thousand every day! These mails come from different email addresses; however, the common thing is that they are written in Spanish and that their message consists of only one question.
“Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?”
Meanwhile it seems to me that there is no human being behind this cyber-attack. There must be a server that spits them out continually, minute after minute. In English, this message means,
“Thank you very much. How can I log in?”
Interesting… Thanking me for what? For NOT having read my blogs? 🙄 And why do they want to log in to MY BLOG? 🙄 Whatever the lie they suggest, just today I saw that there were only 57 spam mails plus one in my trash folder, so it seems to be over. Nonetheless, I rather wanted to tell you what God has been showing me about this seemingly innocent yet strange message.
Just imagine that behind everyone who writes or speaks to us is a spirit that drives them. Whether it is a member of our families, one of our friends, a neighbor, a politician, an anchor or host on TV, or a journalist who presents an article – whoever transfers a message of sorts, everyone of them whether they are aware of it or not wants to convince us of something as they get access to our minds. Or in other words, the spirits behind people want to ‘log in’ in order to spread their convictions.
There is no need to tell you that many of what we can hear and read today during this coronavirus pandemic can get very poisonous for our minds if we yield to this information overload. That means, if we follow the pressure people on social media, in newspapers and magazines, on TV and radio stations try to put on us, our minds will be hopelessly polluted and confused. Indeed, I get notifications from Google on my cell phone several times a day and I do know if I start to read one article they suggest, I will be more inclined to read the next entry and even more to read the third and so on… Actually, this infodemic is anything but God’s doing. This is Satan at work who wants to perturb our minds. It is the devil alone who wants to see us restless and anxious 24/7. In his view, our minds must be busily occupied with trying to solve all the problems of this world which we cannot solve at all. Dear brothers and sisters, let us be cautious to not drown out God’s still and subtle voice as our Lord wants to see us at peace. We read in Isaiah,
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.” (Is 26:3- 6 ESV)
At the very end of this short entry I was also reminded of these verses from Proverbs.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” (Prv 3:5-8 ESV)
His Peace to all of you in these difficult times! 🙏
Susanne ❤️
All images by Susanne Schuberth 2020
Entering the Promised Land 
Today I was led by the Holy Spirit to begin reading the songs of ascents, Psalms 120-134. Apparently these were the songs that pilgrims to Jerusalem sang as they ascended (because Jerusalem is located on a hill area). Anyway, I was meditating on how we can ascend from an earthly perspective to a heavenly one, and the Lord had me check out these Psalms for keys.
The first one begins with something like this “In my anguish I called out to the Lord”. You begin to be delivered from oppression when you call out to the Deliverer. And then the prayer requests that God will deliver us from lying lips and deceitful tongues. The world is full of such, not just on the media but everywhere, and we have to deny access to all but a very short list of people. Not that they are necessarily evil, but they have been deceived by Satan and they are his tools and sadly many “Christians” are among the worst vipers. You try to be at peace with everyone, but Jesus warned us that our very presence brings a sword of confrontation because the enemy hates us and causes the world to hate us.
I no longer listen to covid-19 news. Honestly, I have weightier matters to ponder about, and this period has been so fruitful in Revelation and fellowship with Abba that I am wondering if God is leading me to take up blogging again.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Thanks, Carina.
There a different kinds of news, not only about covid-19, as this world is getting more and more rebellious against any kind of authority. I read about the coronavirus and its long-term effects at times as my hubby and I fell sick with this disease more than four months ago. Our doctor did not test us and so we thought we had influenza. But no, over time it got worse. I have still been struggling with heart pains and lung problems, but it seems to be getting better now. However, Paul’s lung problems are still worse than mine.
As wonderful as it is to get new revelations from God, the testing period of what He has been showing us usually follows immediately. God is not a “Man of Theory”, indeed.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes, Susanne, the spirit of this age is the god of Rebellion wherein men cast off all restraint, all His commandments that keep society civil. Hosea saw it then as it is now…
“Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn…” (Hos 4:1-3, NKJV)
You are so right, God is not a “Man of Theory,” for He knows the “knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” With every new revelation we receive, trials and testing follows so that our egos are kept in check and these firey trials purify the silver He puts in us that our righteousness will be of HIM alone and not our own.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Very well said, Michael! It seems the times have not changed since Hosea walked the earth. 🤔 Same spirits today. 😔
LikeLiked by 3 people
Oh, yes, tests! As the Lord enlightens and comforts me with things I had never seen before, my body is acting up so it’s like word, test, word, test. I am crying out in my weakness daily, because I get better for a couple of weeks, and then my legs once again feel inexplicably weak and crampy. But I am hesitant as to going to the doctor for tests. Because, first of all, in my country not much attention is given to non-covid cases so I don’t know if it’s the right time to get tests done. What I believe the Lord told me is that I have a deficiency in magnesium. It doesn’t sound that bad but some days I am completely bedridden. Sorry to hear about you and your husband having this strange disease. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
Carina, I have had deficiency in magnesium plus potassium often so I know this kind of cramps. Sometimes the pills help and sometimes they don’t. Word and test and word and test… yes, that’s it. 👍🏼
Praying for you, my sister. 🙏❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a very timely post, my dear sister. I really needed it. You quoted two of my favourite passages at the end, also. I was also reminded of this passage and how it applies to today if we are to keep in the perfect peace that is ours in Christ…
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:4-9, ESV)
The devil would like to surround us with all these fearful reports and negative words from the media and individuals, but Paul reminds us that “THE LORD IS AT HAND!” We have every reason to rejoice for Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you even unto the very end.” With Him at hand we have nothing to fear or be anxious about. Satan wants to steal our God give peace by distracting our minds with his evil ways in this world. Don’t let him. You have done well, my sister! Thanks for your wonderful encouragement in this hour.
Love you in the Son,
Michael
LikeLiked by 4 people
Oh wow, Michael! Your comment truly made my day!! 🤗
You are very welcome as to the encouragement. Indeed, I really needed to hear this Scripture from Philippians, too. So true, we should ask God to help us regarding EVERYTHING, even if we do not get it always immediately (like healing from sicknesses or being freed from sleep deprivation caused by loud ppl).
As you might remember, sometimes we have prayed for months or even years until He finally heard us as it was His timing then, but not before as we had seen fit. That was not always easy as the temptation to give up on always praying about the same issues was knocking on the door often.
Love you in Jesus!
Susanne ❤️
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sometimes in our prayers we must be like the widow was before the “unjust judge” and persevere. But OH HOW MANY PRAYERS HE HAS ANSWERED! Thank you, Jesus that you are always with us, no matter what. Amen.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, Michael, this widow has been on my mind as well. I will keep praying as I am extremely tired and it is 2:30 am. Still, another corona party outside. 😢🙏
LikeLiked by 2 people
Reblogged this on idahodimple and commented:
Excellent reminder…or, if you had never thought of this, excellent thought!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for the reblog and for these encouraging words, dear Louise! That means a lot to me!! 🙂
Love ❤
Susanne
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing this, Susanne. These are perilous times, just as Scripture warned us they would be. May God keep you in His care.
Much love,
A. ❤
LikeLiked by 3 people
You are very welcome, dear Anna. Indeed, these are very perilous times we live in! May God keep you and protect you, body, soul, and spirit!
Much love ❤️
Susanne
LikeLiked by 3 people
Infodemic! Thanks for that word, Susanne! We are definitely in the midst of an infodemic.
“Dear brothers and sisters, let us be cautious to not drown out God’s still and subtle voice as our Lord wants to see us at peace.”
Amen. “Drown” is also a very fitting word. It’s a veritable deluge of information, and the unwatchful will drown in it. I find it a battle myself. There is so much that, it seems, must be read.
I must seek daily, and earnestly, to be in fellowship with the living Word. It’s a matter of life and death.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks for your edifying words, Allan.
It has been a battle for me, too. If I keep reading ANY kind of information (even about The Church), I know I am going to think about the Lord less and less. It is a matter of life and death, indeed!
By the way, as soon as I had finished this short article, I would see to my surprise that it was composed of exactly 666 words. Coincidence? I don’t think so… 🙄
LikeLiked by 3 people
God has a Standard He raises up against such a flood, His Son, Jesus Christ.
“So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” (Isa 59:19, NKJV)
Jesus gave us a warning,
“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matt 13:22-23, NKJV)
Let us be found IN Him as this day approaches, not choked by the cares of this evil world system. Amen.
Love to all who are IN Christ on this blog,
Michael
LikeLiked by 3 people
Amen to your prayer, Michael! These Scriptures really fit in here. 👍🏼
LikeLiked by 1 person
Michael, I read your comment and rejoiced. Just hours ago I read Philippians 3 and the very phrase you mentioned at the end. To be found in Him. Indeed. Everything else we count as rubbish. Just to know Him. It’s worth any pain we may need to go through on the way to such intimacy. Being rejected by the Pharisees of this age. Being despised as a nobody and a failure. And when you get past the initial pain and anger at your offender, to meet Jesus at the Cross. To be able to transcend what we know intellectually and just be there, loving Him and being loved. It is there that the stormy waters are stilled and the deluge can’t drown us. Right there with our loving Savior who keeps us in His right hand. And no one can pluck His chosen sheep from that loving hand. Neither death nor life. Nothing. To just be there and stay there forever.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“And when you get past the initial pain and anger at your offender, to meet Jesus at the Cross. To be able to transcend what we know intellectually and just be there, loving Him and being loved. It is there that the stormy waters are stilled and the deluge can’t drown us. Right there with our loving Savior who keeps us in His right hand.”
That was for me, too, dear Carina. After another horror night which was very loud, I have suffered again from an extreme lack of sleep. I would feel so low and I was soooo ANGRY! Alas, I did not know how to get over it as prayer did not seem to help, either… However, I cannot say how it happened, yet it did! I only sensed I had to talk with my daughter on the phone in order to help her with another English homework for university. As we kept talking, His peace had begun to seize me more and more. If that is not a miracle, Carina, I don’t know. 🙄 Thank God for His loving presence in all kinds of circumstances! 😇🕊️❤️👍🏼
Much love to you,
Susanne
LikeLiked by 2 people
Carina wrote,
“Just to know Him. It’s worth any pain we may need to go through on the way to such intimacy. Being rejected by the Pharisees of this age. Being despised as a nobody and a failure. And when you get past the initial pain and anger at your offender, to meet Jesus at the Cross. To be able to transcend what we know intellectually and just be there, loving Him and being loved.”
Thanks for your reply, Carina. I know well what it is like to be rejected by the visible church system. I tried church after church thinking that maybe thee NEXT one will be right (filled with His love and Spirit), but no, once I got past the thin vernier (the closer you get to the pastor the thinner it gets) it was all the same. Trying to find spiritual fellowship there was like tiptoeing through a minefield. You never knew where the next accusation or attack was coming from. Finally, I cried out to God, “Father, I don’t fit! I just don’t fit!” To this He replied, “YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FIT!” THAT gave me a lot to pray and think about!
This morning I read an excerpt from Austin-Sparks from which I will quote,
“From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16)
The word ‘flesh’ as used here is comprehensive and general. Not knowing Him after the flesh, and not knowing one another after the flesh means really what we should think if we were to say we do not know one another naturally, in the natural realm. Whatever that might be, that is all-embracing. We know one another as we know Christ, spiritually. The context here sets forth that our relationship with Christ in the new creation is purely a spiritual thing, and therefore our relationships with one another as being in Christ are spiritual relationships. The whole new creation is a spiritual matter, because it is Christ.” http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/002211.html
Yet, in those church relationships people were always looking for a reason to be offended. I am an awkward person when it comes to socializing and don’t do the “small talk” thing. I would rather skip all that and focus on Jesus, but not so with church people. As soon as the “service” was over it was all small talk about worldly things. They insisted on knowing one another after the flesh. Like the Pharisees, they had no spiritual eyes or spiritual ears with which they could hear what was on the heart of God.
I found that if I wanted to “advance” in that system, I had to become one of them. Like Jesus said, “Beware of the leavening of the scribes and the Pharisees,” and Paul wrote, “…a little leaven spoils the whole lump.” When we come out of that system, a lot of leavening still clings to us. We are still critical of our Christian brothers and sisters and think it is our duty to set them right. To this Jesus said, “Judge not and you shall not be judged.” And Paul wrote, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” (Rom 14:4, NKJV). Yes, we are to pray and seek the Lord and look past those little things that offend us and leave all judgment up to Him. We are called to love one another and pray for one another, not to judge or condemn.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and wisdom here, my dear brother!! Much needed today! 🙏👍🏼❤️😇
LikeLiked by 2 people
And again, Michael, I find you confirm the teaching of the Holy Spirit. This verse, not knowing anyone according to the flesh, has pierced my heart so many times. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about all the points you mention in your reply, and I agree more than ever.
Mind you, I didn’t return for another attempt at institutional Christianity because I believed in the system. I was very skeptical and indeed, in many ways that saved me from becoming too involved. I couldn’t participate in the “worship” and lately the preaching was in one ear, out the other. Having a two-year-old who just refused to sit still like a good choir boy, I must say, “helped” a lot haha. But we’d returned to “church” for the sake of our children. Well-meaning people convinced us we didn’t have what it takes to disciple them without any guidance (oh, wait, Holy Spirit…) and we were feeling a little lost ourselves. It was perhaps my husband who needed more growth in this area, since he tends to discern less than I do and is still a little naive.
And because all things work together for good, this helped us a lot to see how Jezebel the great whore deceives us into fornicating with other gods (the “pastors” who are not shepherds at all!).
Things we’ve been taught for years by the Holy Spirit are now being revealed to us
more in depth. I’m beginning to understand so much more that there are things that come from the soul, from man, from our concepts and ultimately from the flesh and the devil, and there are things that are born from above. And sadly, more than half of today’s so-called Christians have no idea of how to discern the difference (or that there IS a difference in the first place!). I’m greatly grieved at the lack of discernment everywhere. Not that I am better than anyone! I know the power of deception over myself and my own and so I cry out to God every second for my soul to be treated by the Heavenly Doctor (major surgery is needed for the wound is incurable) so as to finally be fully aware of what comes from Him and what doesn’t.
So your words above provide so much comfort in the midst of this very painful but necessary process. I have no shepherd, no pastor but One, the Good Shepherd who gave His life for me and teaches me every day how to recognize His voice. Thank God He is faithful and able and willing to rescue us from every ditch we fall in. His voice burns within us and He’s patient enough to walk with us and explain the Scriptures one by one. We are not alone, brother.
And Susanne, I know about insomnia. Yes, more than once the lack of sleep was not the result of anxiety I could discern, but the Holy Spirit trying to teach me something or asking me to intercede for someone. But sometimes we would prefer to be given such assignments by day, haha. But He is Lord over us all and in us all!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Carina. May the Holy Spirit guide your family into the fullness of Christ, for “you have no need any MAN teach you for you have been given an unction.” The Spirit is all we need to grow in Christ.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Ones (for so you are, each of you who visits here), I just re-read this. It was more profound, appropriate, and applicable the second time than the first. Be of good cheer! Jesus has overcome the world!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow!!! Oh, Louise, you really made my day with your words!! 🙂
Thank God that Jesus has overcome the world for us as we cannot free ourselves at all!
May God bless you immensely!
Much love to you,
Susanne ❤️
LikeLiked by 2 people
And we are more than conquerors in Him who loved us and keeps us!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Amen, Carina, we are!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Louise, I find this true about Susanne’s blog articles as well. I often read them and seize on one point and comment only to find that something more important that speaks to me was missed the first time through.
The Holy Spirit is truly all encompassing in the way He teaches us. The Bible is the same way. The depths of what is written just keep expanding as we are drawn to the Light of Jesus. “Of the increase of HIS kingdom there will be NO end.” Amen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Am encouraged again! 😇 Thank you very much, Michael!! 👍🏼
LikeLiked by 1 person