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commandments, cults, discerning the spirits, encouragement, exhortation, experience, faith, false spirits, God's love, Holiness, image of God, Jesus Christ, obedience, prayer, Righteousness, Seeking God, sin, the Bible, the fear of God, the Word of God
More than 20 years ago after having left the Christian cult we were in, I felt that God was not half as judgmental as it had been suggested there in that missionary congregation. My own experiences with God and Jesus made me think that HE was quite the opposite of what I had heard back then. It would seem to me that God’s grace revealed in Christ did not judge anyone at all. From hence, for quite some time I was convinced that God was love, and only love. However, what about all this evil in the world and what about evil people? No judgment? No condemnation? Only forgiveness for everyone without any consequences? So many questions which I, sooner or later, could not ignore any longer…
Nonetheless, over the years afterwards when God had been withdrawing His presence from me again and again, I started out to search other possible ways that might lead to God. I would question Jesus as the only way to God and I would question the Bible, especially the Old Testament with all its cruel descriptions since I could no longer imagine that this could have really been God’s doing. Therefore, I did not read the Bible any longer. In fact, I COULD not read it as countless Bible verses had taken on a twisted significance for me and I hated rereading these Scriptures because they triggered several pains experienced in the cult.
On my long way of searching for the truth, I asked God’s forgiveness beforehand as I was looking for some grain of truth everywhere but in the Bible. However, I also asked Him to show me the way where I could find the truth/enlightenment/God/deliverance – whatever. A strange prayer, indeed, but God heard it, though not immediately as it is often the case with Him. It was about eight years later that Jesus slowly came back into my life. His light began to shine dimly and thus I knew I saw some truth again. How so? I do not really know… but I believe it is called faith when you all of a sudden KNOW, “This is the Truth!” Nobody told you or tried to convince you, yet you know it anyway. From that day on I began to devour the Bible again and again. I also delved into the depths of the Old Testament that I had avoided before. I saw God’s love there as well as in the New Testament, in God’s only Son Jesus Christ. However, God also let me feel His Holiness and His Righteousness through the fear of Him so that I ‘knew’ again that God despite His longsuffering love always judges sin. But as we as weak human beings with our old nature cannot but sin, He made a path to redeem us.
It was God Himself who became a man who walked the earth in the likeness of our flesh, yet without any sin. Jesus Christ, our Lord, was crucified for the sin of the whole world so that every human being could get access to the love of God, i.e., through faith in Christ alone “[f]or everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13 ESV). If God had not cared about sin at all, why would He have created a path to redeem us? To deliver us from what? 🙄 So, just in case we have been wondering about how to deal with sin, we should not forget that following Jesus through His grace bestowed on us is ALL about setting us free – from sin, from our soulish nature with its old habits and from our darkened thought life so that we are (being) conformed to the image of God – in Christ. If we ever ask ourselves whether God might be rather violent or soft, more cruel or rather tender, the answer has been given to us as
“He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Col 1:15 ESV)
He is our judge; He forgives us as we approach Him in humility. But God opposes the proud and those who claim to know better than Him how to deal with sin. If someone calls himself a Christian but refuses to obey Christ and His commandments, dear reader, please run! These spirits are dangerous! It always begins with a tiny doubt. “Hath God really said?” – “Is the Bible actually God’s Word?” – “The writers of the Bible were only human beings, like you and me ….so, maybe they listened imperfectly/wrongly to God’s inspiration….?” – “Times have changed, we cannot live like these guys almost 2000 years ago anymore” – maybe this…. maybe that….. Satan has been a liar from the beginning and his insinuations are so very subtle. If we grant him repeated access to our minds and trust such and similar thoughts, the devil also offers us some good feelings to affirm his lies. But the end of submitting to his lies should be clear as well. The one who does not obey Christ, will not experience eternal life as
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (Jn 3:36 ESV)
Jesus Himself told us clearly,
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” (Jn 14:23-24 ESV)
But what might happen if we do not love, that is obey, Christ by following His lead through the Holy Spirit? The author of Hebrews gives us this warning,
“For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:30-31 ESV)
as the Apostle Peter confirmed,
“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Pt 4:17-18 ESV)
After these severe warnings to not take God’s word lightly, I want to conclude with these comforting words from the Apostle John who said,
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 Jn 5:3 ESV)
May our Lord help us to do His will. Amen.
All images by Susanne Schuberth 2020
Entering the Promised Land 
I wholeheartedly agree, Susanne. 1 John 5:3 which you have cited captures the sentiment precisely. We obey God’s commandments for love of Him.
But we have entered a time of increasing darkness. There are wolves in sheep’s clothing disseminating a false gospel to believers. Oral Roberts during his lifetime spread the prosperity gospel. Kenneth Copeland defends his use of a private luxury jet. Carlton Pearson proclaims there is no hell.
Those unfamiliar w/ Scripture are particularly vulnerable to this twisted and diluted message. We must pray for discernment, and test any special revelation against Scripture.
Thank you for staying true to the Word.
With love,
A. ❤ ❤ ❤
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You are so right about the dark times we are in, Anna. Sometimes it seems to me that there are way more wolves in sheep’s clothing than real gospel preachers or writers. The Bible is not a book we are allowed to judge; instead, the written Word of God has the authority to judge us! But alas, even evangelicalism has left its former biblical roots more and more. Yet it is so easy to be led astray, I know it myself!
These false teachers you mentioned can always mislead us without any problems if we are unfamiliar with Scripture as you so rightly pointed out. These properity preachers claim the blessings of the Old Covenant (Dt 5:28:1-14) for themselves. They see they have been blessed with money and success and thus they think they must have been obedient to God before. However, what they fail to see is that we now live in another dispensation which is completely spiritual. Looking at Jesus and how He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, we ought to realize that it is no longer about fame, riches, and success in this world. It is all about following Him by wearing our crosses daily. And we also know that Jesus gives us rest and peace when our souls and bodies are weary (quite often, huh?). Isn’t that far better than the applause of the fickle crowd? 🙄
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and encouragement, dear Anna! 🙂
With love,
Susanne ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us, Susanne. I love your pictures as well. That is a cute snowman with his wild hair.
In Hebrews we read a most revealing passage,
“For the Word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in HIS sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of HIM with whom we have to do.” (Heb 4:12-13, KJ2000- emphasis added)
There is many a Bible thumper who will quote verse 12 without verse 13 for the latter verse leaves no doubt that “The Word of God” is a living Being with piercing eyes who knows we are but dust, yet loves us so much that He died for each of us with all our imperfections. To read or teach from the Bible without the Holy Spirit making it “Living” is to perpetrate and operate in a dead letter. The devil is quite able in himself to do just that and use it to mislead others, as you and I both know from our “Christian” cult experiences. Jesus was tempted to disobey His Father in the wilderness by a Bible quoting demon.
Reading the Bible is not so much about having the “right translation” as it is about having spiritual enlightenment as we read it of hear it preached. Elijah prayed over the dead son of the widow in Zarephath and God heard him and the boy came to life again. Then she said to him, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” (1Kgs 17:24, KJ2000). Oh, how many times have we heard the Bible preached and ended up with a dead feeling in the pit of our stomachs, where we should have been filled with His life giving Spirit? The word of God in their mouths was NOT Truth, because the Truth of God is Jesus Christ and His great love for us who is spread abroad in out hearts by His Spirit. The Bible plus the enlightenment of the Spirit is LIVING. Without His Spirit revealing the word of God in our hearts… we might as well be trying to get spiritual meaning by reading a 400 page phone book… in Chinese!
Jesus, please open the eyes of our hearts and give us spiritual understanding to see you and know you as you really are moment by moment each day. Amen.
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I am glad you loved my pictures, Michael. 🙂 Maybe, you happened to see in the first picture that there is not only a question mark but also a smaller exclamation mark underneath. As I had seen the first sign lately from the balcony in the evening time, I took the picture by asking God, “And what is the question here??” It was only later that I came to detect this little exclamation mark further below in the picture. I knew I would use the photo for publishing, yet back then I had no clue when. 🙄
My brother, I believe we were also misled in(to) these Chritian cults because we trusted in other ‘higher elevated Christians’ to teach us the truth. However, there was no biblical balance in what they made us believe, was it? They used the Word of God as they wanted and needed it to prop up their own selves. It might be true that for someone without the Holy Spirit the Bible might seem like a phone book. Nonetheless, it is the Word of God. My caveat in this blog post here should read,
“Although the Word of God is Jesus Christ Himself, if we throw the Bible away, Satan will most certainly mislead us again.”
I have observed that saddening fact both on the net regarding other bloggers, just as I have been watching my neighbors here who tend to trust in their feelings, in their wonderful worship music, in their ‘inspired’ preachers or nice priests, and heaven knows in what else. But the Bible… this book does not seem to be so important anymore. If I sometimes add one or two verses to what they have shared with me, they look astonished as they usually avoid digging deeper in the Word. If we indeed have come to know Jesus, we ought to follow His leading and we can believe what He said,
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Mt 24:35 ESV)
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (Jn 6:63 ESV)
Or like you wrote,
“The Bible plus the enlightenment of the Spirit is LIVING.”
Very well put! ⭐
Michael, you know how often God speaks to me in my everyday language, sometimes in German, sometimes in my Franconian dialect, often times in English, but sometimes also in other foreign languages. 🙂 But when something is really, really important to Him – as a confirmation, so to speak – He often times uses Bible verses. And then, I KNOW! 🙂
Your sister in Christ,
Susanne
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Very good point, Susanne. He often speaks to us in the quiet whisper and we wonder, “was that Him or me.” But when we pray about it and He follows it up with a scripture so that we have a second witness that seals the deal. Yes, if we had been better familiar with Him speaking to us through the scripture and not so gullible we might not have been taken down that road that John warned us about regarding “many antichrists.”
When I likened the Bible without the Spirit speaking thorough it to us I was thinking of a man I often visit with in our area that refuses to read the Bible on his own. He would rather put his trust in scientific periodicals. He says he doesn’t need the Bible and when I have read passages to him in a discussion, he looks like a deer in the headlights… very little of it is comprehended or he argues that it doesn’t represent the god HE knows. I am more confirmed than ever that the “Word” without the LIVING Word shedding its light into our hearts is useless.
“I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” (1John 2:26-27, ESV2011)
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Excellents comment, Michael!! ⭐ Thank you!
Indeed, we were gullible at that time but thank God for His anointing, His Spirit, that leads us into the truth about ALL things, even for free. No church, no money, nothing but God needed. 🙂
There are so many false images of God, though no longer these visible images described in the Old Testament of which the iconoclasts in the 16th century thought they had to get rid of. Today it is more about spiritual images of the mind, about our reflections on how God might really be. And such an image must be wrong if it is not consistent with Scripture.
I will be praying for this man in your area, Michael. Maybe, he had some bad experiences with Bible teachers in Sunday School as a child… 🙄
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Yes, it is ALL free… that we might be truly free. “He who is free IN Christ is free indeed.” Those who get into doing works so that they can pay back God are not free. They are in debt and still have not found the freedom that is ours IN Christ. Religion must make our loving Father very sad.
“‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?’ “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” (Acts 7:49-51, ESV2011)
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Yes, Michael, thank God, again, we may know where has made his home in this dispensation (aka as the New Covenant in His blood). The apostle Paul asked the Corinthians,
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor 6:19-20 KJV)
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This is very good, Susanne, thank you.
As you said, it is certainly true that the same God of love and mercy is also a God of judgment. That is why in the Person of His Son He bore on the cross the judgment due to sinners, that those who look to Him– as those in the wilderness looked to the serpent lifted up on the pole– might be saved from their sins.
What a wonder it all is!
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Thank you for the encouragement, Allan.
Indeed, it is a wonder for us who believe and an enigma for those who have not been given His Spirit yet. Or as the apostle Paul put it,
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (1 Cor 1:18-21 ESV)
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Susanne, this passage perfectly fits my discussions I have had with this older gentleman in our area who I have mentioned. Not only the message of the cross is foolishness to him, but the whole message of the Bible (which is really a message of salvation from beginning to end) is foolishness to him and he attacks it often. He reminds me of Mr. Worldly Wiseman in Pilgrim’s Progress. The wisdom of the world is a convenient message in this life and the way of the cross is filled with rejections and suffering. But the Life of the Spirit that comes with it makes it all worthwhile. I thank our Father often for the sweet fellowship He has given us as we walk along this path together.
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Yes, Michael, the natural mind cannot grasp what belongs to God’s realm at all. Jesus said,
“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3 KJV)
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:3 KJV)
Our natural intellect does not help us out here, nor do our natural emotions. We can not ‘will ourselves’ into the kingdom of God, either. We must be born of water and of the Spirit so that we can not only SEE but also ENTER the kingdom of God (Jn 3:5).
Thank God for the gift of His Spirit AND for bestowing fellowship not only with Him, but with one another also (1 Jn 1:3). It has been truly helpful to both encourage and admonish one another to stay on the narrow path He put before us!
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Like Jesus said, “The flesh profits nothing. My words they are Spirit and they are Life.”
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Amen, that’s IT, Michael! 🙂
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Fröhliche Weihnachten, Susanne! Viel Liebe, A. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Das ist so süß von Dir, liebe Anna! 🤗💖👍🏼
Dir auch Fröhliche Weihnachten und einen Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr 2021! 🌲💫⛄🎁🎉⭐😃
Alles Liebe und Gottes Segen für Dich, 🙏🏼🕊️😇
Susanne ❤️❤️❤️
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