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controlling spirits, destruction, discerning the spirits, entering his rest, eternal life, experience, following Jesus, God's guidance, Jesus Christ, life, Resisting the Devil, spiritual power, the hard way, The Kingdom of Heaven, the narrow gate
Instead of writing another long-winded article in which I decribe my latest experiences with God, I am going to offer you a link to an older entry, see further below (*), which I just reread and edited a bit. As I described lengthily in my last blog, Jesus has started to set me free from all bondage that kept me from closely following His lead on a moment-by-moment basis. With ‘bondage’ I mean old habits, human tradition, and obligations of all kinds. You can hardly imagine how often I find another seemingly good work I have been used to, of which I now see that that has not been God’s will for me at all.
Just a short example… The door bell rings, should I go and open the door? 🙄 You might be inclined to think just as I have thought, “What a question is this? Of course, I open the door, that’s what door bells are for, right?” Not so this morning…
In the same way Jesus taught me to resist an unnerving phone caller (a family member) lately by not answering the phone at all (!), I heard the door bell and felt an internal, “No.” No explanation why, simply a strong desire to RESIST. I assumed it was a new neighbor and I felt they were looking for fellowship (drinking a cup of coffee or else) which is something normal people do, don’t they? 🙄 It is not so that God always explains His leading immediately. Yet He gives us first His will and then the power to follow Him closely (see Phil 2:13) if we allow Him to guide us. And of course, we can only resist strong and controlling spirits in other people when we have submitted to God before (cf. Js 4:7). So, what I saw today was that we also, like Jesus, might turn out a rock of offense to other people when we try to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. We won’t be understood, sometimes we will be hated, and some people (esp. Christians) might even call us ‘unchristian’ as to our words and behavior. However, the other side of walking with God is THIS:
The more Jesus Christ sets us free from complying with other people’s demands (or even commands), the sooner we are able to enter His Rest. It has not happened that often yet, but three times lately I was allowed to experience such an extraordinary quietness of heart for many hours where I felt that I had no requests any more. No questions, no words disturbing this condition. Feeling God’s presence in such a deep and silent way, I have discovered a closeness to Jesus Christ which surpasses my “normal” understanding by far. In fact, my heart started to tremble when I wrote that our Lord has begun to become more real to me than any other human being… 🙄 That is, indeed, what I always hoped for! That has been the reason for my relentless quest for more of God! And that has been the motivation why I once started this blog and chose its title, “Entering the Promised Land – by Walking in the Spirit.” Beneath you can find the link to the older blog post I announced right at the outset; it includes two further examples on how God’s peaceful leading can be discerned from the devil’s manipulations and his controlling minions.
(*) https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/entering-his-rest-but-how/
9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:9-13 ESV)
Striving to enter His rest is really hard work; it costs us everything we might have appreciated more than God on this earth before. Everything. Even, it costs our former life! But whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake, he will find it! (cf. Mt 10:39) This promise still stands, just like the promise of entering His Rest (Heb 4:1). Eventually, having entered God’s Rest through the narrow gate means at the same time that we have entered eternal life which is described as “know[ing] you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” according to John, chapter 17, verse 3. Therefore, might God help us
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Mt 7:13-14 ESV)
Amen.
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. (Mt 11:12 ESV)
All images by Susanne Schuberth 2021
Entering the Promised Land 
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Thank you, Susanne!
Once again I find a recent question answered simply and kindly through you by the Spirit.
I am guilty of overthinking often which does not help. Lists of pros and cons are also of no use for it robs me of trusting the Spirit’s leading in multiple areas. I even thought that with the COVID lockdowns my life would simplify and be “ easier” 😝- NOT!
Time will prove this out but I seem to find myself daily kept by the Lord from falling over a cliff! I need a job but as I consider what to do for work I get this big NO! inside. I am invited to go or do something and again it is NO! A no that is like a punch in my gut. 🤢 I went through these “No’s” in the past and suffered the consequences 🙁 It has taken me, what seems like, forever to finally recognize this as from the Spirit!
The verses come to mind from Isaiah 30:15 AMPC
“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength.
But you would not…”
The recent themes here and at Michael’s blog show how the enemy is not necessarily externally sourced but internally and blocks our fellowship with the Lord and each other – with “unbelief”, imo, still being the main block.
Really, the whole of chapter 30 is amazing, in a nutshell, as to showing the difference between heeding the Spirit or rebellion : it could even be called “Entering the Promised Land ~ by walking in the spirit” 🤔 if summarized and brought up to New Covenant specs.😉
❤️ In Christ’s love! His Grace, Grace to us all dear sister and friends 🤗 Judi
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You are very welcome, dear Judi. Thanks for the LIKE. 🙂
Actually, I have been of the same type you described yourself. I am an analyst, overthinking every possible problem in seemingly endless mental run and re-runs (when something already happened). Am I right or am I wrong? 🙄 These thought patterns tend to be paralyzing as I never get through to the end with the proper decision (according to my own reasoning). How easy, instead, seems to be God’s leading.
“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Mt 5:37 ESV)
Or from the wonderful chapter you quoted (which is one of my favorites, too!!) ❤
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Is 30:21 ESV)
Right or left, yes or no. Not perhaps… maybe it would be convenient to do so….. it seems to be logical to me…… human tradition and socially accepted behavior tell me to behave that way…. However, the Lord simply says, “NO!!!”
I fully agree with your observation that the enemy appears to be on the inside. The devil works on our hearts also. Where God put His law of the Spirit into us in order to set us free, Satan gives us old or new laws of sin and death instead. If we do not follow the enemy’s rules, we will feel bad, too. But that is never the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit. I guess that is why God told us to protect our own heart carefully.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. (Prv 4:23-27 ESV)
May God show you what to decide regarding your job-to-be!
In Christ’s love, ❤
Your sister Susanne
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Judi and Susanne, thanks for bringing Isaiah 30 to mind for me. Yes, it is a rich chapter on entering into God’s rest.
Love in Christ,
Michael
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You are welcome, Michael. I am glad Judi quoted Isaiah 30. 🙂
Love in Christ, too.
Susanne
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I can relate to you both! A few months ago as our savings run out and we were in debt with my older son’s school (a couple of months) I felt God’s NO about talking to a former employer who would surely have given me a job, and in fact, shortly afterwards placed an ad seeking translators. And He challenged me with certain psalms about God feeding us on our wilderness journey: 78, 95, 100. And the following question kept coming to mind: “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”
These verses also spoke to my troubled mind:
“For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.”
“Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
This situation lasted for around a month. Praying about these passages, for endurance, for trust, for true faith and hope and God’s miraculous power of sending water through a Rock and manna from Heaven. And finally a job opportunity which I felt was God opening the door, though the money was actually less than I would have earned at the other place, but with a less stressful task.
Indeed, sometimes it takes more effort to “do nothing” in the flesh, than to go to and fro attempting to solve things out with our self-effort. To learn to quiet our striving minds, to keep praying the Scriptures we know we’re not fully believing yet, to keep knocking the gates of heaven seeking His wisdom, His help, His comfort and healing. That’s no easy task.
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Indeed, it is anything but easy, Carina. As long as God has not given us perfect faith, we keep struggling (which can be very exhausting).
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Thank you, Susanne. This was another heart searching blog by you for me to read. I am so happy you are being set free from all those inner-laws that we all seem to have. How many of them were imprinted on our minds by our upbringing! Our parents put them there, so we reason that they MUST be good…Right? Yet, how much of this was nothing more than their attempts to conform us to their own controlling natures instead of setting us free to follow Christ above all? Not only that, but adverse events in our childhood and adolescence brand us deeply as well. The scripture says,
“Therefore from now on know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet from now on know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Cor 5:16-17, KJ2000)
The word “know” in the Greek is gnisko which means “to know fully.” We are not to know people by their fleshly soulish natures alone, but by the spirit that drives them. Doing so their hidden motives become evident. The disciples were learning to quit seeing Jesus as a mere mortal, but rather as the Son of God. “Master, you must eat!” To this He replied, “I have food you know not of for my meat is to do the will of my Father.” The people of Nazareth told Jesus that they “knew” him as the carpenter’s son and as the brother to His siblings… THEY KNEW HIM AFTER THE FLESH, but not as the Son of God and therefore they did not receive Him. Truly, to function in the Spirit as He did (and does) we must be made a NEW creation and the old things that once controlled us must pass away as HE makes ALL things NEW within us. Because of this Jesus, regarding His own earthly family, was able to say, “Who is my mother, my brother and my sister? He who does the will of my Father is my mother, my brother and my sister.”
Susanne, it is such a joy to watch the Lord setting you free to follow Him moment by moment. Pray for me that He might do the same in me.
Michael
P.S. Those are some beautiful pictures!
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You are so welcome, Michael. I have been praying for you, my dear brother.
Thanks for the compliment as to the pics. I took them a few days ago when I was on a bike ride along the Europe channel. As I saw this red line in the midst of the grainfields from afar for the first time, I knew I wanted to take pictures. However, God’s leading was not there on that very day, so I had to wait until my third bike ride when I suddenly felt Him setting me free to, “Go and take the pics now!” 🙂
The Scripture you quoted fits so much in here as a page of my daily kitchen calendar (from June 20) with 2 Cor 5:17 is lying to my left in front of the computer. I have been mulling on it for a few days already.
What you wrote was very helpful for me,
“The word “know” in the Greek is ginosko which means “to know fully.” We are not to know people by their fleshly soulish natures alone, but by the spirit that drives them. Doing so their hidden motives become evident.”
I always thought loving my enemies meant to endure people’s manipulating behavior, esp. when my family was concerned. But pleasing them neither pleased me, nor was I set free. I believe we only begin to hate them when we did NOT listen to God’s leading before. If we become people’s doormat, instead, the liberty which should be ours in Christ will be lost. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there should be liberty, right? 🙄 If we feel ‘forced’ into uttering certain (polite) words or displaying socially accepted behavior, then it is never the Lord, I guess today. But oh, how different does it feel when God has led us to do something which is pleasing in His sight?
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8:14-17 ESV)
No falling back into the fear of (wo)man! Having a cup of coffee with someone else is not forbidden, but everything ought to happen according to His leading and timing, “[f]or the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17 ESV) Where there is no peace but the accuser who says, “You should have done this, you should have done that…” and we feel bad, we ought to flee into Jesus’ presence as He alone can set us free, completely!!
Your sister and friend in Christ,
Susanne
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This is very interesting Susanne, Just this week having battled with the thoughts you mention many times over, “Where there is no peace but the accuser who says, “You should have done this, you should have done that…” and we feel bad”, I had a conversation with God where I asked how to deal, and the answer was, “walking in the Spirit.”
I’ll be checking out the other blog post where you ask the same question, “…but, how?
Thank you for being so open to share with us God’s dealings with you.
Patrick
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You are very welcome, Patrick.
I am inclined to say that God’s answer to you was somehow ‘typical’ for Him. We ask Him something which usually belongs to this life and our earthly problems, but He decides to answer on His level that is always spiritual and heavenly. Then we try to figure Him out. But no, no chance to understand His ways, ever.
I recall that I have struggled for many years with really bad tooth aches on a daily basis (meanwhile much better, though not completely gone). Everyone around me, Christians included, told me to change the dentist who obviously made a few mistakes that caused many of my severe pains. But I had no leading from God to do leave him! Instead, He answered me, “Meet Me in the Spirit!!” ‘But…..what does that mean…?’ 🙄 (*)
I kept asking Him over the years why He let my stay there, yet did not heal me completely. I also realized that the dentist eagerly wanted to help me, yet only partly could do so over time. Eventually, I saw that God wanted to extend His grace through me to the doctor. Usually people complain and accuse those who do them wrong, intentionally or not. In this case God helped me understand the dentist who is human like everyone else. And as humans we all make mistakes; alas, we cannot avoid it.
(*) https://enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com/2017/01/15/meet-me-in-the-spirit/
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Hi Michael,
The passage where Jesus rejects his family’s visit sounds harsh. However, when you read Mark 3, you catch a glimpse of what Jesus discerned about his family’s intentions at that moment.
Mark 3:21 states, “When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”
A few verses later we find His family insisting to talk to Him, and then He says this “unloving” phrase about family relationships.
Not unlike Peter, whom Jesus dearly loved, and yet had to rebuke with a very harsh “Get behind me, Satan”. Not unlike John and James, also dearly beloved, but who needed to be warned “You do not know what spirit you belong to.”
We have to be on a constant guard as to our true motives, and pray that God will reveal to us anything is hidden. Because like the apostles and Jesus’ family, we can be a stumbling block. And most certainly, other people can be a stumbling block for us. Most often this is unintentional, but it still happens a lot! God’s ways and thoughts are so different from ours, that if we don’t have an ongoing communication it’s much easier to default into a law-based, “Christian” morality mode of reacting instead of seeking God moment by moment to renew our minds to know His will for us.
The verse of not knowing people after the flesh has always challenged me. Also the exhortation by James to pray for God’s wisdom but then don’t be double-minded because if God provides wisdom by telling you to walk in a certain direction and you decide, no, this can’t be God’s voice and go the opposite way, why did you pray for wisdom in the first place?
Indeed, we need to be delivered from the prison of the “ought tos” and “shoulds”, which is the hidden motive behind much of what we do.
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Excellent insights, dear Carina! ❤️🙏🏼🕊️👌🏼
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Carina,
Have you ever noticed that Jesus wasn’t always “nice”? He calls a Samaritan woman who wanted Him to heal her child a dog, Yet He was kind to a hated Roman Centurion who’s servant was sick and dying. His mother points out to him that the marriage feast they were at was out of wine and He says, “Woman, what have I to do with you?” Yet, He was kind and considerate to the woman at the well that had had five husbands and was living with a man that was not her husband. He said all kinds of piercing but true things about the Scribes and Pharisees who lived by their own righteousness. In each case He did not know these people “after the flesh” but rather listened to the voice of the Father regarding them. He refused to be brought under the control of any man or woman for then He would have missed the will of the Father. How much more is this important today for us?
Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” and “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1Cor 6:12, KJV) This includes being brought under the power of controlling people which Jesus also refused to do.
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
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For further reading on Jesus not being that nice, I was just reminded of two older blog posts of mine.
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Absolutely, Michael! Jesus hardly ever acted according to our reasoning. But I find it encouraging to think of His ultimate motives in all His dealings with us: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
Jesus is not naive like we are more often than not. He knows what’s in our hearts, and how deceitful our motives can be. He will pierce through a very well-constructed image of ourselves, and reveal what is really lurking within to which we are totally unaware of. His diagnoses are always precise, though sometimes it hurts a lot to hear them. His sometimes “tough love” sometimes doesn’t look like love at all, but just like you wouldn’t expect an oncologist to treat you nicely, when you consider the depth of the “incurable wound” we have, absolute honesty on His part and ours is required for healing.
Thank you, Susanne for the repost. You make very good points. I’m still too much of a “nice girl”. I’m trying to find the right balance because for a long time I was a “brutally frank” kind of person with parents and siblings and with husband and children to some point. And we have to speak the truth “in love”, always remembering exhortations such as James 3, because pride and bad measuring sticks which are strict with others and lenient with ourselves can make a lot of damage. With non-family members, however, I have tended to be a people-pleaser and a flatterer, an avoider of conflict. I’m learning when to speak and when to just pray, and when to leave altogether, because it’s no good arguing with fools who have no desire to change.
When we look at Jesus, we see a lot of the arguments He had with Pharisees happened because they came to Him to provoke Him with loaded questions. And indeed they hated Him because His preaching quite often touched on the kind of empty religiosity of theirs. But my point is that He wasn’t always trying to pick up a fight like we often find religionists on social media. More often than not, He simply responded to their confrontations. He didn’t avoid confrontations but he wasn’t argumentative for the sake of winning an argument like we often can be. He was more interested in displaying truth than in proving to everyone He was right. He always said, “Those who have an ear to hear, let them hear.” Because ultimately, we just present the other side of the coin and let people decide what to believe and think and how to act. We cannot decide for them. And as for dealing with people, we need to decide for ourselves what is acceptable and according to God’s will. So much wisdom is needed and we can be so double-minded. A simple “Am I serving God or man?” can help us get out of default people-pleasing modes, or egocentric modes.
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You are very welcome as to the repost, Carina.
I know this problem of rather being a people pleaser with strangers but harsh toward my family members instead. The Lord convicted me strongly years ago as to this very issue so that I had to realize that He loves everyone in my family just like me. God shows no partiality and He has no favorites. He also showed me that there is no such thing as a ‘righteous anger’ I sometimes heard/read from other Christians. When we are upset because others do not agree with our views, we need to keep in mind what James wrote in his letter,
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (Js 1:19-20 ESV)
“Speaking the truth in love”… I had always wondered what it meant until God showed me that if I was ‘in love’ with Him – through His grace, of course – then I would be able to love others just the same “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5 ESV)
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Gracias Susanne por esta enseñanza, también te pido al igual que Michael, que ruegues por mí, para que el Señor haga esa obra en mí que está haciendo en ti.
Pero, es interesante que hoy el Señor me haya regalado esta reflexión el día de hoy y quiero compartirla con ustedes. He estado meditando mucho sobre este tema y lo que dijo Carina me toca grandemente, realmente hay más esfuerzo en “no hacer nada”, que en tratar de hacer las cosas.
En muchas oportunidades Dios ha dicho NO, a tratar de querer hacer las cosas o querer hacer que las cosas funcionen o tratar de buscar ayuda humana, y en esas ocasiones escuché la voz de Dios y el Señor hizo las cosas a Su manera, pero cuán difícil es calmar nuestras mentes esforzadas, como dijo Carina, en eso estoy, orando para que el Señor aquiete mis pensamientos que muchas veces me asaltan.
Esta fue la reflexión que el Señor me regaló hoy:
“Y Agar dio a luz un hijo a Abram, y llamó Abram el nombre del hijo que le dio Agar, Ismael”. Génesis 16:15
No hay un decálogo para ser buen esposo, buena esposa, buen padre, buena madre, para ser buen hijo, buen ser humano, ser buen cristiano, para tener un hogar feliz y demás, hay cientos de libros que te dicen cómo ser bueno en todo eso, pero si tenemos a Cristo y Su vida forjada en nosotros todo eso se dará espontáneamente por la guía y la obra de Su Espíritu en nosotros, abrazar la cruz es la mejor manera de ser eso que queremos ser. “…ya no vivo yo, mas vive Cristo en mí”. Gálatas 2: 20
Podemos rendirnos y simplemente decir: “Señor fracasé, no sé como ser buena esposa o buen esposo, buen padre, buen hijo y todo lo demás, enséñame y haz tu obra en mí”.
Por eso escribo de Cristo, porque en Él se encuentra todo, Él nos guiará.
“Reconócelo en todos tus caminos, y él enderezará tus veredas” Proverbios 3:6.
Conoceremos la Verdad y esa Verdad que es Cristo nos hará libres, libres de nuestro esfuerzo y de las leyes que hemos creado para ser algo que en nuestra naturaleza no podemos ser, solo a través de la Vida de Cristo, Él hará en nosotros Su obra de transformación, ¡qué bendita libertad que nos ha dado y qué gracia tan maravillosa tenemos!
Y mientras tengamos la fuerza para producir un Ismael, Dios no hará nada, es Dios mismo que forja a Cristo en nosotros y cuando Él brote de nuestro interior, seremos lo que Él quiere que seamos y haremos lo que Él quiere que hagamos.
No es lo que hacemos o lo que somos en nosotros mismos, es poseer o no poseer la presencia de Dios obrando en nuestro interior. Cuando Cristo es nuestra vida podremos cumplir el propósito de Dios.
Abrazos,
Patricia
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
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I have already prayed for you that the Lord will finish the work He has begun in you, dear Patricia. He leads us all differently and we experience different trials at different times. Yet, there is only one God and one Spirit Who eventually makes us all one although we often struggle to follow Him closely.
Hugs back to you! ❤
Susanne XOXO
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What was Jesus’ ultimate purpose while on this earth?
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” (Heb 10:5-7, ESV2011)
Yes He had compassion on the hurting masses and was quite abrupt with the self- righteous religious establishment, but He came to do the will of His Father who is both love and truth. Sometimes He manifested love and at other times He spoke with piercing truth, but it was always in tune with the Father’s will.
I just noticed in the context of the above passage the words, “I have come to do your will, O God… a body have you prepared for me.” We who have ears to hear the will of the Father are His body on this earth. We also must be ready to do His will if we truly walk in Christ and this nullifies our religious sacrifices and offerings and preconceived ideas of “What would Jesus do?” Our call is to HEAR what the Spirit is saying to the body of Christ (the one thing He repeated over and over to the seven churches in Revelation).
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Very well put, Michael! ⭐
I think this reply of yours was meant for Carina…? Maybe, the reply button did not work…. 🙄
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I think it was for us all.
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Michael, I think I just found a confirmation as to your latest revelation from God in T. Austin Sparks’ daily devotional from June 28, 2021.
June 28
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NIV)
If it is true that you and I have been anointed of the Holy Spirit, as we ought to be, our presence in this world ought to register something positive for God. It ought to be impossible for us to come into this world, and go out of it, without having registered something upon it. People in this world ought to feel something when we are near them. The devil himself ought to take notice that, because we are here under the Holy Spirit, Jesus is here. It is impossible for Jesus to be anywhere without something happening, and now Jesus is here by the Holy Spirit in believers. Therefore there ought to be nothing neutral about any Christian….
The Holy Spirit is positive, and not negative, and if the Holy Spirit is really Lord in our lives, our lives will count for something. There will be an influence from our lives which will be eternal. Thank God for the Holy Spirit! Let us be sure to ask the Lord that the anointing shall have a free way in our lives. The effect of the Holy Spirit may be to condemn some people, and it may be to redeem others, but He cannot be neutral, and if the anointing is upon you and upon me, the devil will take account of it. May the Lord help us to see that that may not be a bad thing! Do you want the devil to say: “Oh, that man, that woman, does not matter. You need not bother about him, or her!” I had a friend once who, whenever we were parting and going our different ways, took hold of my hand and said: “Goodbye, old man. The Lord make you a nuisance to the devil!” Well, that is how it will be if the Holy Spirit is really upon us, for that is how it was with the Lord Jesus.
https://www.austin-sparks.net/english/openwindows/003235.html
😇
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Susanne, thanks for this verification from Sparks. In 1980 I was pretty badly wounded by a church split and the resulting “Christian cult” that was instrumental in bringing it about. I remember thinking that if I just ceased to have any profile in the Kingdom of God and was no longer a threat to the devil and his work, maybe he will just leave me alone. NOT! No, he just kept hammering on me. I was reminded of the lyrics of a pop song from the lake 60’s, “Signs” by the Five Man Electric Band.
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?
Now, hey you, mister, can’t you read?
You’ve got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can’t even watch, no you can’t eat
You ain’t supposed to be here!
In the eyes of this world and its prince I wasn’t supposed to be here! As I looked back on my life at that time I could see that it was always that way even from my youth (I know that many of you can relate). The Prince of this world system and his minions don’t want us here and will do everything they can to discourage and destroy any relationship that might form in us with the Father and the His Son by His Spirit. I think that we are marked by God as ‘one of His’ early on and as a result we become an enemy of the devil without doing anything! It is all about what our Father is doing in us as His sons and daughters, being formed into the image of Christ the Pattern Son. So, with this in mind let us be who we are called to be and let the chips fall. The Lord make us ALL a nuisance to the devil!
So, yes, the more that Christ is formed in us the more the warfare increases and the more impact He has in the lives of those around us. And that impact takes on the similitude of the parable of the four kinds of soil that either rejects the seed or takes root and grows and becomes another manifestation of Christ to this dying world.
“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” (Gal 1:15-16, ESV2011)
Love in Christ,
Michael
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‘ Really blessed by this comment Michael, thank you.
It is just this last week I was led to read the scripture you referenced on the parable of the sower.
I have always read it with the conviction that my heart is of the good soil kind, but this time it was different. It was in seeking an answer to the soul searching question of why even after many years of being a Christian, I feel like I’m still not producing fruit of the sixty, and a hundred fold kind. I saw my heart as having been oscillating from the path soil, to the rocky ground, to the thorny ground – i.e. from not heeding to the word of God, to worrying about my life (what to eat or wear), to deceitfulness of riches…
Interestingly there was no tone of condemnation in the conviction, but rather an invitation to allow God to cultivate my heart into good ground. What an invitation! May we heed this as He who calls us is able ”
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”(Phil 1:6)”
Thank you again Brother
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Dear Patrick, It is good to hear from you again, my brother. I can relate to what you said about the different kinds of ground in one’s self. I know that I received the word of my salvation with great joy at first but when the sun burned down on my patch of soil through trials and persecution it got hard. But God had a plan for that as well. He put me through a time of being plowed up and then harrowed until it was soft again and able to receive His truth in new spiritual light. I was able to see that once I was saved I had expected the seed to grow in a ground that had its own agenda and filled with the goals and drives of a worldly person. Christianity became my new tool to get there. I had adapted the gospel to all my own worldly goals. Somehow, I never personalized verses like this,
“Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!” (2Cor 5:17, AMP)
Although we have been initially saved our NEW creation comes in steps. Our “previous moral and spiritual condition” has to pass away (what a surprise!) as His “fresh and new” comes in and our grafted-in bud takes hold IN Christ.
It was good to hear from you again, dear brother. Christ is doing a good work in you so let the fruitfulness happen as a result of His working and not your own. REST IN HIM.
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Another rich post, Susanne. I could not agree more that striving to enter God’s rest is a difficult process. I think it involves surrender of ourselves to His will.
With love,
A. ❤ ❤ ❤
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Yes, you nailed it, Anna! Surrender is key. Thanks. 🙂
Love,
Susanne ❤ ❤ ❤
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