Two Kinds of Rest

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bondage, burden, discerning the spirits, duties, encouragement, entering his rest, freedom, relief, rest, the new self, the old self

To be honest with you, sometimes I would rather write theoretically about any topic I have only heard of than always sharing what I have just experienced with God. If I could talk about another great revelation of sorts, okay, everybody would like to share or read such stories. But another lesson learned through worries, doubts, fears, stress and suffering? Therefore, what I ask myself often is this, ‘Who really wants to read my testimonies about the latter anyway?’… Only those who can relate, I guess.

The Secret Fundament of Being Useful for God

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desert, discerning the spirits, dying in the wilderness, dying to self, eternal fire, experience, fellowship, fire, flesh, following Jesus, God's love, honesty, living water, Moses, natural life, revelation, Roger T. Forster, T.A. Sparks, true ministry

Roger T. Forster, whose article “Making History with God” I found in T. Austin Sparks’ library online, would write,

“God is writing history, but He is drawing men into fellowship with Himself as He does so, making them the occasion for a chapter in His book of the story of humanity. There is a chapter for Noah, a chapter for Abraham, a chapter for Moses and many others, and a chapter for you and me. He calls us to share in His great declaration, ‘I am bringing to pass what I am bringing to pass’, encouraging us to be like Moses, a hole in the ground filled with His living water, or a common bush, aflame with the unquenchable fire of His love, so that He can use us in His great movement of liberation.”

https://www.austin-sparks.net/mags/ttm01-5.html

Seeking Silence

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Bibel TV Hamburg, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, Flesh vs. Spirit, healing, health, Jesus Christ, Malaika Orth, peace, prayer, rest, spiritual power, T.A. Sparks, true faith

A week ago I got inspired to write my latest blog post Worth the Fight… Extending Inner Quietness, as I had read the newsletter of a German Bible TV program. Although I stopped watching TV of any kind more than eight years ago, I still get this newsletter and I saw that there are some people whom God gives pretty good thoughts. 😉 I decided to translate for you what would speak to me and to compare it with that which T. Austin Sparks had written about the same issue. At first it might seem to be a contradiction what both authors had to say. But Lord willing, this inconsistency might be dissolved. Please, feel free to share your own thoughts and concerns in a response below. I always appreciate and welcome genuine comments and sharing! So, first see Malaika Orth’s description about her own experiences with seeking silence. Malaika Orth is an editor at Bibel TV in Hamburg/Germany.

“Should we share the gospel without knowing it… personally?”

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entering his rest, exhortation, experience, faith, following Jesus, God's love, Jesus Christ, rest, Satan, T.A. Sparks, true faith

“For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.” (Ps 31:3-4 ESV) – Photo by Susanne Schuberth (Cadolzburg/Bavaria)

What a strange verbalization one might say. Yet in order to get your attention, I decided to put this question the way you can read it in the headline. So, what does it mean to know the gospel? Is it enough for us Christians to have read the Bible, most commentaries, and to know the majority of answers to theological questions? Should we, then, whenever we meet someone of whom we think they might be unsaved speak up and tell them that we already have what they don’t have (as yet)?

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.

Within the Stillness of our Being… (updated November 14, 2016)

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city, desert, discerning the spirits, ears of the heart, God's voice, Michael Clark, Michael Fishbane, Mother Theresa, peace, Philo of Alexandria, quietness of heart, Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel, seek and find, wilderness

Fresh Cucumber Leaf
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

November 14, 2016

I thought I could repost this article from 2015 as a featured post in front of all others because I hope that others might be helped, too, when they are reminded of how we can more clearly perceive God’s still and small voice in our restless and noisy times. May God bless you all who still drop by on here!  

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I think it got more and more obvious to some lately that I spend less time on the internet, both on my blogs, on other blogs and on social media. Not that it had been my initial intention to do so, yet there were some incidents in my family that were like a real “wake-up call” for me. Writing blog posts and comments should not be a burden, right? If I was all alone and had no widely ramified kinship and other tasks apart from the net, I would perhaps go on with writing and reading other blogs as I did before. Although I tried several times during the last year (yes, my blogs will have their first anniversary in June) to step back a bit, I needed to be freed by God recently to really do so, finally. As a dear brother, Michael Clark, often says, “In Him we live and move and have our being, NOT our doing.” I truly love the wisdom of these few words. As long as I cannot rest in Him, I cannot really do a “good” thing for God, either. That’s for sure, since disturbance and a peaceful loving heart rarely go together.

A Peaceful and Quiet Life in Christ

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Dante Alighieri, darkness, experience, following Jesus, God's love, light, peace, prayer, rest

Quietness and Peace
(Photo credits http://unplugreconnect.com/2012/01/more-precious-than-gold-peace-and-quiet/)

Have you ever read what kind of life the apostle Paul had in mind for all who follow Christ? Did he describe a life full of cares and stress that meets the demands of others more than our own needs? Although he said “our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day,” (2 Cor 4:16 ESV), it was certainly not his intention to burden us with that statement. Actually, I began to wonder as I read some writings in the past that implied here an exhausting life for God. To put it plainly, some people thought that running around day and night like a hamster in its wheel in order to preach the gospel, to feed the poor, to help others, to heal the sick, to… (fill in the gap with what you feel is a burden in your life) would be God’s will for us. Do we believe that God really wants to see us exhausted by our doing for Him?

Where Do You Suppose to Start with the Prayer without Ceasing?

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Augustine, experience, Francisco de Osuna, Gerhard Tersteegen, God's love, heart, Jeanne-Marie de la Motte-Guyon, mediation, meditative reading, mind, prayer, prayer without ceasing, presence of God, Teresa of Ávila

Madame de la Motte-Guyon

Whether it was Augustine, Teresa of Ávila, or other famous saints, I too made the same experiences they had made before me, that is, for many years I neglected daily prayer because…yes, I was bored with that daily routine. Teresa even admitted that she forgot about it for 14 years during which she lived a “worldly life” (her words) until she found a helpful book from another Spanish spiritual author, Francisco de Osuna, who introduced her to the prayer that finally led her into her inner life in the presence of God.

Instead of presenting another excerpt from Gerhard Tersteegen, I decided to offer you two excerpts from a French woman whose writings were translated by Tersteegen into the German language. Tersteegen as a Reformed Christian also translated Teresa of Ávila’s spiritual writings into German. Thus he gained enormous insight into the riches of Catholic mysticism and was eventually able to present a way deeper gospel to his Reformed fellow Christians.

Been There, Done That

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compassion, darkness, experience, God, God's love, heart, Leonid Afremov, light, listening, love, peace, righteousness of God, Satan, talk, thought life, truth

Walking in the Light Despite Darkness (Painting ‘Romantical Love’ by Leonid Afremov)

Just recently it began to dawn on me that many of the misunderstandings we experience every day could be easily avoided if we tried to listen to one another more carefully. We hear someone say something or we read what someone wrote and immediately think, “Oh well – been there, done that,” without thinking further and deeper about what that particular person might have really meant.

“Do Not Worry” – A Poem and Some Quotes

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Albert Einstein, encouragement, inspiration, Jesus Christ, Leo Buscaglia, Martin Luther, Paul the Apostle, poems, quotes, rest

Rev 21:5 ESV
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
(Picture taken by Susanne Schuberth)