The Times We Live in or …Thoughts on Today’s Theology

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Catholicism, Christian books, Christianity, darkness, deception, discerning the spirits, dying to self, Evangelicalism, exhortation, experience, false spirits, false teachers, light, Lucifer, Protestantism, Satan, temptations

In recent weeks I got more and more aware of the fact that there has been an alarming trend in (public) Christianity to migrate from often times good beginnings as believers in God and Christ to one of three seemingly different camps of Christendom. Let me give you my observations for this assertion.

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Small things and big things or… How to meet God in everyday life

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Benedict of Nursia, Christianity, contemplation, deception, discerning the spirits, dying to self, experience, false gospel, false teachers, fame, following Jesus, Francis of Assisi, Jesus Christ, Joel Osteen, John of the Cross, Joyce Meyer, Lester Sumrall, mediation, Michael Clark, mystics, Resisting the Devil, riches, sacraments, Satan, success, Teresa of Ávila, the cross, worldly spirits, ZEN, Zig Ziglar

Photo by Susanne Schuberth

I just did a short research on the internet that left me quite frustrated, at least regarding the Christian notion of small things and big things. It has been quite obvious to me that this world is all about recognition, fame, money, fulfilling all your dreams and the pursuit of happiness through sensual pleasures. However, reading the views of famous and successful Christians (aha!), you could find several instructions and to-do lists on how to ”pray for the big things” (Joel Osteen) or the advice that ”spending time with God through prayer and His Word is a prerequisite for having a great life and fulfilling your purpose” (Joyce Meyer). The latter also said that, “I can tell you from experience that God’s help and presence in our lives is vital. He is the Author of all true success and everything that is good-without Him, we can do nothing of true value.” The problem with what these famous Christian preach and teach is that they sometimes offer a great deal of truth mixed with a tiny amount of lies. That can be really tricky at times as you might see when you read Joel Osteen’s whole quote that says, “I don’t think you should spend your life praying for things, but I do believe you should thank God for what He’s given you… but I think the scripture teaches us that we can pray for our dreams, pray for the big things… he’s not a small God; this God is incredible” (Emphasis in red is my suggestion of the little lies in these two quotes here).

Putting Christianity to the Acid Test

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discerning the spirits, dying to self, exhortation, false spirits, false teachers, God's love, Michael Clark, movements, peace, psychology, soul-life, Spiritual Life, T.A. Sparks, the cross, Truth in Love

Putting our Christian views to the test
(Picture credits http://i0.wp.com/mrvitaminsnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/acid-alkaline.png)

This is another joint blog post Michael Clark and I wrote together. As always, it needs to be seen against the backdrop of our own religious history. We both have had many years of experience in different church groups that were not founded on Christ and see why Paul said, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:2 ASV)

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Imagine you hear or read about a new branch of Christianity and you, of course, want to know whether what those people believe might be the truth or not. How can we quickly discern if we are dealing with real or only fake Christianity? To come straight to the point, without spiritual discernment received by God’s Spirit, the firmness of our conviction will be shaken again and again, depending on our moods, feelings, thoughts, and reasoning. T. Austin Sparks wrote the following about spiritual understanding.

Discerning the Spirits

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Christlikeness, discerning the spirits, evil spirits, experience, false teachers, prayer, self-forgetfulness, self-will power, selflessness, the devil, true faith, wisdom

Listening to God’s Voice Ensures 100% Quality. 😉
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

Let’s say someone invited you to join a gathering of people who call themselves Christians. That does not necessarily mean that you attend a church, a home church, a conference or a similar thing. Just imagine that you are going to meet people you have never met before and you want to find out whether they are honest and upright Christians – or not. The most common mistake we tend to make in such cases is the conviction that everyone who is friendly must be indwelt by God’s Spirit. Dear brothers and sisters, nothing could be further from the truth, since Satan usually “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14 ESV). Satan tends to be the nice guy who feeds the bunny a carrot first, but later he whips the stick out of his pocket. As wonderful as it is to meet friendly Christians who really radiate the light and love of God, as painful were my own experiences in the past when I had to deal with those other, in the long run, harmful encounters. Today I rather ask God for His wisdom to show me the truth so that I can more easily perceive who is ‘the real thing’ and who is not (cf. Js 1:5). Love bombing to win me does not work anymore as long as I sense the Lord’s gentle voice inside me saying, “Take care, Susanne!” and I simultaneously feel repelled by the presence of false spirits in those persons I am confronted with.

Spotting Sectarian Spirits

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charismatic, church, doctrine, end time spirit, eschatology, false prophets, false teachers, Jesus Christ, nothing but grace, pentecostal, prosperity gospel, RCC, truth

Some Churches seem to be so “cute” (Painting in watercolors by Susanne Schuberth)

It is not always that easy for us to discover sectarian spirits which, indeed, infiltrated the Church from her very beginning, as the apostle Paul prophesied,

“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30 ESV)

Looking at the RCC, the distortion of Scripture is readily identifiable, since the Spirit of Christ indeed left their leaders, who adhered to the idea that (pagan) tradition could be at eye level with Scripture, long since. Also, adding self-invented sacraments and works to mere faith in Christ, who alone can save us from our sins, was definitely the outcome of listening to evil spirits.

But how can we discern evil spirits masquerading themselves as if coming from the Lord Jesus Christ right at the outset?