How to find out another ‘Christian’ spirit

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common sense, courage, deception, discerning the spirits, duty, exhortation, experience, false spirits, following Jesus, God's guidance, Jesus Christ, light, Light and Darkness, obedience, Oswald Chambers, peace, resurrection power, spiritual power, Truth in Love, Walking in the Light

“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” (Ps 95:7-8 ESV)

I have come to know several people who thought they were led by the Holy Spirit, who believed in Jesus as their Lord, and who prayed to God, their Father. Alas, the spirits they usually listen to are mostly the voices of their own soul’s desires, their own mind’s ideas, and their self’s pushing interests. Here the question arises whether it makes sense to try to correct someone who is absolutely convinced of being led by God? I am afraid it might be of little help to do so unless God tells us to open our mouths in His perfect time. But speaking up and telling them the truth might turn out a damaging experience if these people are too unstable to be confronted with their deception yet. Maybe, they are confused, maybe, they are mentally sick, maybe, they were led into error by the wrong people.

Hope… in spite of it all

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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

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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,

Stern or silky… how should a Christian be?

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discerning the spirits, encouragement, experience, God's guidance, God's love, humanism, Oswald Chambers, preaching, spiritual growth, the cross, writing

His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power. (Hab 3:4 ESV)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

Lately as I read Oswald Chambers’ daily devotional, I was a bit bewildered at first. I read through it, wondering, still, and thought, “Okay, he seems to be right. But maybe, something is missing here…” Before telling you more, I want to show you the text I have been referring to.

How do we recognize if we are guided by the Holy Spirit?

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death, discerning the spirits, dream life, experience, following Jesus, God, God's guidance, obedience, Oswald Chambers, quickening of the spirit, T.A. Sparks, walking by the spirit

Stairs under water (Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

If you and I want to be led by the Holy Spirit 24/7 and we are insecure about whether we have been led by Him or not, the following excerpt from one of T. Austin Sparks’ articles might be helpful to read. What I did not copy and paste were Sparks’ implementations on how and when Jesus refused to do what others told Him (whether his mother, his siblings, or other people were concerned) because that would have been too long an article on here. Nonetheless, if someone has time and wants to read the whole thing, you will find the link beneath the excerpt, as always.

My New Life…

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A.W. Tozer, being born again, David Wilkerson, experience, eyes of the heart, feeling, glory, God's love, joy, love, Oswald Chambers, peace, spiritual power, T.A. Sparks, the dark night of the soul, the new self, the old self, thought life

“Chicken on Horse” – (Photo by Susanne Schuberth)

At first an apology to all those readers and followers of my blog who saw that I had published a testimony by David Wilkerson yesterday which I deleted shortly afterwards. Sorry for the inconvenience.  😦 Well, it began to dawn on me lately that I did not dare to write about my own and deepening experiences with God and Jesus as much as I used to in the past. Somehow it was easier for me to let other writers speak up for God, which certainly is a good thing as long as they were truly led by the Holy Spirit. In David Wilkerson’s case I need to admit that I only partly could agree with him since he had been on a different, spiritually lower level as for example Oswald Chambers or A. W Tozer of whom I believe they had reached a higher level than him, or T. Austin Sparks who, in my humble opinion, had been on the highest spiritual level because he had really died to self and was able to live continually in the presence of God in Christ’s Spirit. So you might have noticed that my articles more and more turned into teachings that feed the left brain half. However, where did the creative flow go?  😉

Glorifying God Goes with Obeying God’s Gentle Guidance

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church, discerning the spirits, encouragement, exhortation, experience, faithfulness, glory, Humility, joy, Oswald Chambers, Righteousness, T.A. Sparks, the new self, the old self

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. (Songs 2:12 ESV)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

Reading the following verses, it appears to me that there are some requirements that must be met by us before we can be sure that it is always God who leads us. King David shared his own experiences with us as he said,

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. (Ps 25:9-14)

Under the shadow of His wings

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Becky Johnson, darkness, dying to self, exhortation, experience, light, Oswald Chambers, pain, the dark night of the soul, the dark night of the spirit, the new self, the old self

Our God is a consuming FIRE
(Photo credits http://eskipaper.com/awesome-volcano-wallpaper.html#gal_post_29139_awesome-volcano-wallpaper-1.jpg)

I have been struggling a lot with dying-to-self pains lately. For those who wonder how that might feel, it is as if your inmost being (mainly heart and belly region) is getting burned after one or more flashes of lightning had struck you. Whenever God fills me surprisingly with His light, it often occurs as flashes of bright light I can see moving very swiftly from head to toe through my whole body. And a few hours later, the pain begins. Just lately I have begun to sense an increasing fire in my bones that causes both intense pains for the old self, just as the new self is irresistibly drawn toward the Eternal God, away from all that is created. Although it is extremely painful to lose all those natural attachments to which we might have been used for decades, there is an invisible power and an indescribable love that surpasses all understanding. However, it cannot be felt with our natural senses at all and before we get there, we must die to everything which once caused those fears that were related to our loved ones who we naturally love with a love that is common to all human beings. Also, nostalgic feelings regarding past events die away gradually. In fact, everything that had a deep connection to our old Adam nature and his heart is being stripped off. That hurts as if countless sharp knives were enucleating the heart until nothing is left of the old self. But instead of continuing to complain or lament on here, I copy and paste a quote which Becky Johnson recently made me aware of.

Jesus Christ is LORD

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deception, discerning the spirits, experience, God's love, God's voice, heart, mind, Oswald Chambers

Picture credits http://wordoncanvas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jesus2.jpg

At first sight, this article might seem to contradict what I said in my latest post where I mentioned that the first impression we sense in our heart and mind was the voice of God, i.e., the voice of the One we love. However, today I want to be more precise on what loving God really means. Although I want to affirm that God who created man offers His continued help to every human being by making them feel uneasy about wrong decisions and restful about the proper decisions in His view, those who have come to know and love their God also know that His voice is the one they fear the most. I am not speaking of a slavish fear that helplessly makes us react in order to not be punished for our “mistakes”. Instead, I refer to the fear of God that makes our soul tremble when we perceive His warnings all of a sudden in our mind and heart. If we really love Him, we want to please Him, and we will eventually obey out of that love God has poured into our very hearts beforehand. The apostle Paul told us,

Let’s choose the easy yoke of obeying Christ instead of submitting to men

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check, devil, discerning the spirits, drawing boundaries, evil spirits, experience, following Jesus, freedom, God's guidance, heart, inspiration, loving your enemies, Oswald Chambers, restraint, thought life, wisdom

Well, God’s leading is never predictable…
Yesterday I had begun to write a longer blog article in which I described one of three dreams I had two days ago, as I felt this morning that God did not want me to publish these things. Maybe later? Only He knows. 🙄 Instead, He began to explain them to me on a deeper level than before, however, since God’s Spirit always shows us the things to come (cf. Jn 16:13), I cannot say when and how these events will finally happen. But lately God often told me one thing in a dream and the very next day, or only two days later, it really happened. Not that He ever shows me literally about whom or about what He is talking to me in pictures. No, without interpretation no dream ever makes sense. But the worst thing we can do is trying to interpret dreams from our own (carnal) understanding and reason since God alone knows what He wants to reveal to us. The apostle Paul told us a lot about the difference between the spiritual and the carnal mind, for example here.