What Really Counts in Life

Tags

aging, blessings, books, commandments, death, disaster, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, following Jesus, God's love, hurry, Judgment, mind, obedience, rest, restlessness, the fear of God, the Kingdom of God, the new self, the old self, this world, thought life, waiting, wisdom, youth

If someone nurtures soaring hopes and plans, we might tell them to stay more grounded or earthed instead. But have you ever heard someone suggest to you to get more ‘heavened’? 🙄 If you, like me, often times wonder about the seeming hopelessness of our existence as we cannot sense the presence of God while (sometimes ridiculous) everyday troubles keep preying on our minds, you might have also observed non-Christians who can seemingly live their lives confronted with less problems and difficulties than we can. Yet, in the long run, that is not the truth. The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us some sobering facts.

Advertisements

“I see!” – Receiving Supernatural Spiritual Sight

Tags

), discerning the spirits, experience, following Jesus, heart, light, mind, spiritual blindness, suffering, T.A. Sparks, the god of this age, the new self, the old self

If we long to have (more) spiritual sight and insights, we must be prepared that God will take us through many, many severe sufferings. Who wants this? Surely, our old nature hates suffering. And this is why God takes us through these things. He knows that our new spiritual nature that is opposed to the flesh will finally come out victoriously. Below I offer you an excerpt from T. Austin Sparks’ writings that deals with the topic I have just touched on. Sparks described here the cause of spiritual blindness that both springs from our old nature and Satan’s work in our soul.

Life in the Spirit

Tags

carnal mind, discerning the spirits, experience, good works, joy, mind, peace, prayer, rest, service, soul-life, spiritual flow, spiritual transformation, T.A. Sparks, the mind of Christ, the new self, the old self, thought life, walking by the spirit

This title might sound a bit simple to some, yet I was wondering whether it is always that easy for us to distinguish between our natural way of living and its spiritual counterpart which springs from Christ’s Life in us. Just lately I got aware of certain differences between my natural soul life’s powers and God’s supernatural powers we might receive through spiritual communion and fellowship with Him. Sometimes these two ways of living take turns within a few seconds and I am amazed at how different they really are! Even if our natural thinking, speaking, and doing is sophisticated, sooner or later we get exhausted if we remain on this level… UNLESS we can be sure of man’s approval and appreciation! If someone applauds, our soul receives new power and energy with which we can go on, even without God, and even without realizing that we left Him somehow behind.

Worth the Fight… Extending Inner Quietness

Tags

abiding in Christ, abundance of life, discerning the spirits, encouragement, entering his rest, experience, eyes of the heart, faith, God, Jesus Christ, joy, mind, pain, peace, prayer, rest, suffering, thought life

Last week I felt a strong nudge to get closer to God and to let go of more and more, partly self-imposed, duties. As a woman, you might know how difficult it is to get rid of old habits and of letting go to care for others (more than they really need it) in order to meet EVERY expectation perfectly. I have also been used to care for my body daily and I sensed that my exhausting workouts tend to make my life more and more burdened. However, I could not get rid of swimming ‘the English Channel’, so to speak. 😉 I do know that I am no longer twenty or thirty and therefore I had begun to take at least one break during the day some years ago. Mostly after dinner I spend time in bed praying. Admittedly, sometimes I fall asleep because of exhaustion. 😉

The Spirit of This Age

Tags

discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, God's guidance, good works, heart, mind, T.A. Sparks, the new self, the old self

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Pt 2:11-12 KJV)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

During the last few months I got more and more aware that this whole world is in enmity with God. Just yesterday I watched a female teacher walking in the street with about 20 boys and girls who were heading toward school again. Having taught children myself, I know how difficult it is today to make yourself heard (not only by kids). It seems that the (fallen) human mind is so busy with thinking about itself and how they can get their way with others that they hardly perceive the needs of other people, even of those close to them. It seems to me that most people do not know that our mind and heart naturally live in rebellion with God, with laws of any kind, and with authorities like parents, grandparents, teachers, and official institutions. Even if our old nature submits to authorities, do we always obey out of love for God and others or, rather, isn’t it the fear of punishment that makes us often do what was demanded?

Hope… in spite of it all

Tags

blessings, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, feeling, God our Father, God's voice, grace, healing, hope, mind, Oswald Chambers, pain, Satan, Seeking God, will

Restaurant “Alte Veste” (Zirndorf/Bavaria)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

Before going to bed I read Oswald Chambers’ devotional on “Friendship with God” which I will copy and paste further below. Although I read that one before and would believe it was true, I always felt that there was something missing. God who does neither act logically nor chronically as we might like it, revealed the missing piece to me a few hours before I would read this devotional.

Being Perfectly Balanced

Tags

balance, discerning the spirits, emotions, experience, feelings, following Jesus, God's guidance, God's voice, heart, intellect, mind, Oswald Chambers, reason, self-will, T.A. Sparks, The Holy Spirit

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Mt 7:19-20 ESV)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

As I lately took the picture I posted above, I was sure I would use it for a blog article. Nonetheless, I had no clue about what to write as yet. A few days later I added Scripture and, still, I had no idea and no desire to write at all. Just today as I was meditating on this Scripture from Matthew chapter seven again, I wondered what this ‘good fruit’ Jesus spoke of might be and how we could recognize it immediately. It seems to me that all things God is allowed (!) to work in us and through us automatically produce good fruit. Good works, however, we do apart from being led by Him have not sprung from this tree which is rooted in Christ and, therefore, they are not really good in God’s sight. They are even bad! That reminds of the following Scripture where Jesus told us,

Love is Obedience, not Feelings

Tags

anger, anxiety, darkness, doubts, encouragement, experience, faith, fears, feelings, God's Humor, God's love, heart, joy, love, mind, obedience, peace, self-will, thought life, true faith, worries

After the Sunset…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth, colors enhanced by Michael Clark)

Just for clarification, having chosen this particular title, I did not want to suggest that God’s love would not provide a wide range of wonderful feelings, both for our soul and body, that are intrinsic features of an abundant life in Christ (cf. Jn 10:10). Rather, my intention was to point to the fact that our walk with God is often characterized by a lack of good feelings when we find ourselves in another trial where we suffer according to His will. We might also call our walk with Him in these times a mere walk of faith. It is in these times where we learn to trust in what we cannot see (yet) and in what we cannot understand (yet).

Ha! While writing I just had an interesting experience with God I want to share with you.

Speaking the Words of Eternal Life

Tags

confusion, discerning the spirits, doctrine, entering his rest, eternal life, evangelism, experience, fear, freedom, God's guidance, hope, John MacArthur, mind, Old Self, peace, philosophy, Satan, spirit and life, The Great Commission, thought life, worries

“Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.” (Ps 74:16 ESV)
– Photo by Paul Schuberth

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:63-69 ESV)

Jesus told His disciples that the word HE had spoken were spirit and life. How could he claim such a thing? And why is that true? How come that over the centuries so many educated people falsely assumed that the words written in the four gospels would automatically have the same spirit and life in them as they originally possessed when our Lord voiced them? I know that my questions are challenging here. However, it is so important to see how easily confusion can arise when we read for example about the Great Commission.

Having the Mind of Christ

Tags

Christlikeness, discerning the spirits, experience, eyes of the heart, God, heart, Jesus Christ, marriage, mind, new creation, old creation, relationships, Satan, spiritual power, T.A. Sparks, the devil, The Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, the new self, the old self, thought life, true faith

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:22 KJV)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

We all might have heard about the difference between the male mind that works rather ‘left-brained’ (logical, purpose-oriented, and goal-focused) and the female mind which is said to be quite ‘right-brained’ (emotional, empathic, and all-round perceptive). Since women and men are pretty different as to how their thought life and feelings proceed, a lot of misunderstandings between them are inevitable… unless they have the mind of Christ! What I mean by that is that our old and fallen nature thinks it knows it all better than the opposite sex. How many marriages and relationships fall apart because men and women have given up on trying to relate to what the other one is really saying! The bad news is that there is not much hope as long as we cling to our old nature which, whether we realize it or not, usually submits to Satan. In fact, our thought habits that spring from the self-centered old creation are filled with suspicion, doubts, fears, worries and all other negative tendencies you might think of. Just trying to watch one’s own thoughts for one or two minutes only and counting how often negativity pops up might leave you completely discouraged.