Leaving the Security of the Shore Behind or… Following HIM Wherever HE Goes

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dying to self, experience, faith, following Jesus, God's love, Jesus Christ, rest, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit

Gstad/Chiemsee (Upper Bavaria)

Having not much to say at the moment, I decided once again to simply publish some of my pictures and Scriptures in the hope that they might communicate that which I cannot share currently [Note: If you click on a pic, you will see it full screen].

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God’s humorous guidance

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authority, discerning the spirits, dreams, experience, fear of the Lord, feeling, God's guidance, God's love, God's voice, inspiration, Jesus Christ, joy, Martin Luther, Michael Clark, pain, prayer, rest, resurrection, spiritual power, suffering, visions

What a nice surprise…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Well, basically, I had a day full of back pains and toothaches, but at the end of that day I dare say, “It was a pretty good day, though…” Originally I wanted to go to bed earlier than usual and I told my family about it one hour ago. As I thought about what to do in the following half hour before going to bed, I would ask God if He had any ideas or what HE wanted to do. At first I reflected on reading a bit… or on making a Sudoku puzzle… or not… however, I began with tidying up our flat as Jesus answered my question. “I want to spend time with you!” Wow! That came across pretty forcefully, even passionately. I immediately knew our Lord had spoken and my heart began to flutter in joyful anticipation.

Trust and obey or… On how to walk after the spirit

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discerning the spirits, entering his rest, entering the Kingdom of God, experience, feelings, heart, inner man, intuition, joy, mind, new life, obedience, outer man, pain, soul, spirit, the dawning of a new day, the new self, the promised land, thought life, walking by the spirit, Watchman Nee

“Blessings to those who are doing his Commandments; their authority shall be over The Tree of Life, and they shall enter The City by the gates.” (Rev 22:14 Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

Just lately God both nudged and even urged me to do several things which, to my own reason and habits, did not make any sense to me at that time. I saw no real danger, I only felt uneasy in my belly region about certain people and their way of thinking and believing. However, more and more every day, I felt that God wanted me to obey Him without understanding in advance WHY I should follow Him. In order to make me do so He caused great pains in my heart, severe sorrow and deep grief so that I thought I could not endure it any longer. As I eventually gave up on my own ideas of how life should turn out, how people should be, and on my own habits of dealing with and thinking about people, God gave me the strength to obey Him in a way that was not possible for me before. As I finally did several things He wanted me to do, my heart was all of a sudden flooded with such an intense supernatural joy that I even had to cry out loudly. “Wow!!!” 🙂 Oh, how quickly heartfelt obedience that seeks the approval of God and no longer the approval of man is rewarded by our Father in heaven who is ALWAYS pleased when His children ask Him for His wisdom and guidance in all things! In order to bring my joy home to you too, I posted  that photograph above. I would see that beautiful tree on my prayer walk yesterday and I KNEW I had to take a picture.  😉

Some Thoughts on the First Commandment

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darkness, experience, first commandment, following Jesus, heart, idolatry, Jesus Christ, light, Martin Luther, mind, other gods, the cross

Rose Hips above the Rhine-Main-Danube-Canal
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Actually, I do not want to convey the impression I was into law keeping here since we live in New Covenantal times. Instead, I think we could use the OT law at times as a mirror that shows us what might be still wrong in our hearts and minds.
It appears to me that keeping the first commandment that says we should have no other gods beside our God tells us to somehow look through everything of which we think it is good around us as being blessing from God only. As soon as we cling to a person or a blessing they gave us as if he, she, or it represented the ultimate good that could make us happy or unhappy if we lost it, we have another god. I just thought I could share some thoughts on this topic from my fellow countryman Martin Luther with you on here.

Becoming Like Little Children

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childlike faith, experience, healing, little children, Oswald Chambers, peace, rest, spiritual power, surprises, the promised land, triggers, trusting God, vacation

Moving on to pastures new…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Imagine God asked you to go on vacation with Him. Not next year, not tomorrow, no, right now. You would not know where you’d go to, how it looked like, and what might happen to you, however, you could be sure that God would care for everything you might ever need and that He would give you perfect peace 24/7 if you trust in Him (Is 26:3). Furthermore, God told you that you could stay there with Him, even forever. “Pipe dreams,” one might say, “Interesting,” might add another. These two responses certainly came from adults who not only lost their illusions, which might be a good thing, but maybe, they also lost their hope and dreams. Now imagine God asked a little child this very same question. How would he or she react? I think we know the answer…

Can God Heal?

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A.W. Tozer, being born again, Carl Gustav Jung, darkness, following Jesus, John of the Cross, light, psychology, spiritual power, the cross, the dark night of the senses, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the narrow way, the strait gate

Crooked trees after being pruned… not that beautiful yet 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Now this is a silly question, Susanne! Through the whole Bible we find witnesses who were healed by God, especially in the New Testament. “Yes… but today?” Having been tortured by many sicknesses all my life, my faith in being healed by God is not the strongest, as I need to honestly admit. However, I have had a few healing experiences during the last year which caused my mustard seed faith to increase a bit. 😉
Apropos Bible, I was just thinking of the situation where Jesus healed a certain woman who had been sick for a very long time. Let’s take a closer look at that special event.

The End of Illusions or… Should We Trust Anyone?

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disillusionment, experience, following Jesus, freedom, illusions, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, thought life, true faith, trust, trusting God

Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. —John 2:24-25
(Picture taken from http://utmost.org/the-teaching-of-disillusionment/)

Before God makes us permanent partakers of His divine nature who have been enabled to already enjoy eternal life in their spirits while living on this earth, He puts us through severe acid soapsuds that rob us of all illusion, both of what we thought we were and of what we might have seen in others. I am speaking of being stripped off from the ability to ever put man on a pedestal any more. Eventually, we see that, truly, only ONE is good, that is, our Father who is in Heaven.

Who wants to experience the final death of self aka “Mystic Death”?

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being born again, darkness, Evelyn Underhill, experience, following Jesus, illumination, pain, psychology, purification, sanctification, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, unbelief, unification with God, walking by faith

Clouds Obscuring the Source of Light
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

If there was another way to encounter the Living God and to stay in His holy and pure presence 24/7 here on earth and eternally too, I would have immediately said, “No, thank you, I am content as it is, no more death in my life needed.” Well, having been plunged into the second part of the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, in fall 2013, yet without interruption only one year ago, I today gave in after so many struggles with and against God since I saw it makes no sense to pray to God that I might have it my own way any longer. That means, if this death will continue to last for years in which I neither have any interest in God nor in spiritual things and in which God gives me more and more sickness and pain, then so be it. Period.

Dependent on HIM

Tags

childlike faith, children, earthly parents, entering the Kingdom of God, faith, freedom, God's love, hope, peace, the promised land, trust, trusting God

Blackbird Baby Enjoying the Sun on a Bicycle Pedal
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

What does a baby know about tomorrow? Is it really necessary that children who have reliable parents care about their own wellbeing?
I do know that not all earthly parents can be good parents because some have had a bad childhood that made them incapable of perceiving the needs of their own children. And some of you who read this blog even lost your parents when you would be little children yourselves. But you might have become parents of your own and thus you know that parents usually are able to give good gifts to their children as Jesus confirmed,

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:11-13 ESV)