Was Jesus a nice guy?

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discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, flattery, following Jesus, Jesus Christ, knowing God, Michael Clark, people pleaser, Satan, the new self, the old self, truth

Jesus cleanses the temple…
(Source http://thinktheology.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Jesus_temple.jpg)

Wikipedia offers the following description of a nice guy. It reads,

“A nice guy is an informal term for a teenage or adult male who is gentle, compassionate, sensitive and/or vulnerable.[1] The term is used both positively and negatively.[2] When used positively, and particularly when used as a self-descriptor, it is intended to imply a male who puts the needs of others before his own, avoids confrontations, does favors, gives emotional support, tries to stay out of trouble, and generally acts nicely towards others.[3] In the context of a relationship, it may also refer to traits of honesty, loyalty, romanticism, courtesy and respect. When used negatively, a nice guy implies a male who is unassertive, does not express his true feelings…”

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Confusion vs. Clarity or… The Difference Between God’s and Satan’s Voice

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discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, following Jesus, God, God's voice, heart, joy, light, Nicolas Chamfort, peace, Satan, Satan's voice, the new self, the old self, thought life

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Rev 3:7-8 ESV)
(Picture taken from http://www.alive.com/health/from-confusion-to-clarity/)

Let’s say some people request you to do various things for them, but you immediately see that it would be an impossible task to do everything during the free time you have been given by God. If you are like me, you might have tried to do ALL things as quick as possible, though. In fact, I always thought that would be loving, kind, and polite to act that way. However, lately the Lord showed me how unloving it was. Not that I had been unloving toward others, but it began to dawn on me that I neglected my own needs extremely, or in other words, I hated myself. On Saturday I discovered an interesting quote on my daily calendar in the kitchen. It reads,

“The ability to give voice to the word ‘No’ is the first step toward freedom.”
(Nicolas Chamfort)

How do we define SIN?

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deception, delusion, experience, faith, following Jesus, listening, Michael Clark, mind, peace, Satan, sin, true faith

Walking with God…
(Photo credit https://revlisad.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/walking-with-god.jpg)

This is another joint article Michael Clark and I wrote together.

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Jesus was without sin because He only did what He saw His Father doing and He only spoke His words. This is why Paul could say that nothing of itself is sin, but only that which is done without faith… which is not doing what our Daddy in Heaven shows us to do and say. Faith is not law keeping. Faith is obeying the Spirit and the wind of the Spirit blows where no man expects it to. We must be free to follow the leading of the Spirit if we are to walk by faith. This is why Peter was sinning when he refused to eat with Gentiles, though the law forbade him to do so, but the Spirit of the NEW covenant often surpasses the law. The apostle Paul told us the following,

“I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.” (Rom 14:14 ESV)

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” (Titus 1:15 ESV)

There is confusion ahead or… Some other strange spirits you might know

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becoming one, confusion, controlling spirit, demons, discerning the spirits, end time spirit, evil spirits, experience, false spirits, God's voice, light, listening, prayer, Satan, sin, the devil, wisdom

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)
Picture taken from https://confessionsslp.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/shutterstock_106645070.jpg

Do we know how easy it is to confuse Satan’s lies with what God has been telling us? I do know how often that happened to me in the past and I am glad to have received continued access to the heart of God so that I immediately sense another spirit in whatever someone tells me. Without even thinking about it, I immediately feel a sort of uneasiness, even a strong feeling of disgust at times, depending on how evil the spirit was who talked to me through others.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (Jn 8:42-47 ESV)

Can we see God in this life already?

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Baptism in the Holy Spirit, being born again, experience, eyes of the heart, faith, glory, Holy Spirit, John of the Cross, Martha Jesus, presence of God, seeing God, the dark night of the senses, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the new self, the old self, the promised land

SEEING GOD means a shift in perspective… 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

It seems to me that there are at least five different stages of perceiving the presence of God. Our perception, or even sight of Him, increases and improves when we have reached the next stage. All happens by the grace o God, of course. What I did not include here are dreams and visions which are something that can happen anytime whether we find our selves in stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. However, they are not as important as being led by God continuously. In fact, from my own experience I know that an immense amount of dreams and visions have their origin in the dark realm of Satan who loves to appear as the Angel of Light. Stage 5, finally, is the fully enlightened and perfected saint who can see God directly and does not need dreams or visions any longer (regarding dreams and visions I was just paraphrasing John of the Cross). Here is my biblical approach on these five various, progressively blessed conditions of heart, mind, and soul.

Satan’s Subtle Lies

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discerning the spirits, entering his rest, experience, freedom, God's guidance, God's love, God's voice, light in the darkness, pain, peace, rest, restlessness, Satan, Satan's voice, the dawning of a new day, wisdom

A Stony Saint – Banz Abbey, Bavaria
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Imagine that… You experience after a long time of restlessness, fears, doubts, and various pains deep rest that encompasses spirit, soul, and body to an extent that was not known to you before. You cannot grasp how and why it happens, but you eventually can lay back in the arms of God and let Him do what He wants to do. You only watch Him, amazed at His way of dealing with your life – and you only rest.
Suddenly someone suggests to you that in order to keep that almost perfect peace of mind, you should instead read Scripture with an open heart so that you could hear God better or sing some songs in order to not stop praising God who helped you through another trial which had been very hard for you. Why you should do these things? He says that you need to be prepared for the next trial.

Light Casts a Spell on Everything

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Barbara Brown Taylor, darkness, experience, fear, God, Jesus Christ, light, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the light of the world, thought life

“Moonlight reflecting across the ocean” (Wallpaper)

If we were to live in the darkness 24/7, our lives would look much differently. Not only that they were much shorter because of the lack of sunlight and the lack of its positive consequences on our body and soul. Also, our whole environment and surroundings were not that beautiful, I assume. Recently, I was reminded of what I just described when I compared two situations on different days with one another. The other day I was swimming in a lake when there was no sun but only dark gray clouds in the sky. The water did not look that inviting; it was rather obscure, shadowy, and opaque. As soon as “something” touched my legs in the deep water, it made me shudder. 😛

The Pursuit of Happiness

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being born again, experience, fear of the Lord, following Jesus, God's love, happiness, obedience, refuge, spiritual blessings, the new self, the old self, troubles

Seeing the Son in the Sun 🙂
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

I never met anyone who wanted to be sad, sick, and sorrowful. We as human beings might be able to adjust ourselves to a certain kind of pain at times, but no one longs to be unhappy continuously. No, we all want to enjoy our life! Well, but that is exactly our problem since God created us to be happy eternally in His presence, yet we have fallen short of obeying Him and thus have had to face several consequences of sin, one of which is temporal unhappiness. We know that it was Jesus’ atonement and God’s grace that opened the way back into His presence through our Lord, who has become our personal way to an abundant spiritual life. But knowing about it and living to see it are two very different animals. 😉

The Simplicity of the Christian Life

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experience, experiencing eternal life, freedom, Gerhard Tersteegen, God’s presence, Holiness, knowing, peace, prayer, spiritual blessings, the Kingdom of God, the presence of God, the promised land, thought life

Bumblebee Feeding on a Purple Tansy
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

I found three quotes from Gerhard Tersteegen (*) today of which I think that they are quite enlightening with regards to our true Christian “duties”. From my own experience I can confirm that God freed me from so many things of which I had thought I should do them, either because others expected me to do so or I demanded it of myself. It has been a very long struggle and I am not yet through it all, but sometimes I feel a kind of very quiet peace I have not known before. Immersed into a silence where spoken words and even thoughts come to an end, I discover the subtle power of the omnipresent God that is reflected by all creation. And out of the blue, your whole being knows what LIFE is all about…
Q: “How do we get there?”