Jesus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)
This life on earth provides joys and pains for everyone, whether we believe in God or not. However, if God has chosen to adopt us as His beloved children, we will experience an additional kind of suffering this world will never know. These pains that spring from taking up our cross daily in order to die to self are by no means an end in itself. As painful as such periods are, there is a goal ahead to which God will surely bring us.
As I was sitting at the hairdresser this morning, I would read several entries on “Dying to Self” on the internet. It dawned on me that only those who experienced such a process…
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A Wilderness Voice 
Thank you so much for the reblog, Michael. I have been blessed by that. My brother, YOU are a blessing! 🙂
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You are welcome dear sister. It is a great article right to the point of where many people are at.
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I must admit that this article by Susanne went right to the heart of what God is doing in my life.
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In my life as well, Michael. We now know that the narrow path that leads to life is painful to go. I will keep praying for you!
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Yes, Susanne. It is amazing how close of a walk the two of us share, both our pains, dying and the joys we experience though we are over 5000 miles apart. Thanks for your prayers… you have mine as well.
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You’re very welcome, Michael. Yes, indeed, such spiritual similarities are amazing. Thank you for your prayers, too.
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I am privileged to read the article and comments that are shared. Thank you.
I don’t have revelation on where I am in the journey of death into life. However, I am so blessed to be loved by the Heavenly Father – that I seem to be camping there at this time.
Love to All,
Pat Orr
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Pat, thanks for your comment. Being “camped” in the Father’s love is a great place to be.
We love you too, my sister. ❤
Michael
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Mike and Sue:I must comment to this wonderful post and re-post by the two of you–I will speak from experience–at one time several years ago I was involved in a battle with another person on the internet–they said some very vile things at me and then I went into my room to talk to Father about what to say back–then my friend came in and said-without knowing the battle that was going on–hey Ken my daughter just gave me this verse to give to you–I said ok thanks–I looked it up and here is what it said–from the MESSAGE translation—Exodus 14:14–“God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!” So I went back to the internet and deleted the whole conversation–the result was silence from them and peace for me–If I had had my way I would have either attacked them or defended myself–but I died to my own decision and listened under the power of Gods leading and did what he told me and all worked out for the good–that kind of leading has worked out every time and every time I do it my way its hayday–death to my being in charge and life to Gods leading and my participation in His glory–what you think?
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Yes, Ken, that is exactly what He has told me to do as well. Don’t defend myself, but as much as possible live in peace with all men and let God be my vindication when needed.
“But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.”
(Isaiah 54:17 AMP)
Thanks for sharing this, my brother.
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As always, Ken, I couldn’t help but hold my breath as I read your thrilling testimony about how God led you in that certain situation. Yes, it is good when we obey His leading since then peace is always ours as you so wonderfully described above.
Thank you so much for the compliment for the post, too! 🙂
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Your welcome Sue–it took me a few days to comment but I was waiting for Dad to give me the right words–I have no problem with the teachings of TAS because I go to a gathering here in Tulsa,OK. that sends his books out all over the world.
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Hey, Ken! Were you the one that invited me to come to the annual gathering there at Emanuel Church this coming fall in September? BTW, it was Susanne that wrote this great blog article. I only re-posted and commented on it.
Love you, my brother!
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Wow, I’ve done this a couple of times over at YouTube, and both times I eventually deleted the conversation. They were both from Catholics, of course, because that’s the only church I’ve been in and the one I left from. I love it when Catholics say this didn’t happen to you, or that didn’t happen to you. Each time I deleted the conversation I kept coming to conclusion that no, this is not my battle to fight. This is God’s and he is doing it, maybe not in these two people yet, but he is doing it within that religion, whether people stay in it or not, or that religion’s numerous daughters. But this is still, I often find, one of the sufferings and a tough cross to bear.
I listened to a recording of a mini-retreat by a Sr. Pat Duffy the other day. I hadn’t listened to it in several years. I think it was 2008 when she spoke at my parish and, at the time, I still hadn’t picked up my Bible, things were still tough and oftentimes I was going to church just for the peace, to get away from the nightmare in my home. But as I was listening with new hearing the other night I heard this woman talk about the love of God, the falseness of what she, and most of us, grew up with in Catholicism, and what the truth was in God’s Word. Again and again, she cited the treasure of Scripture. Read the Bible, she said, over and over again, meditate and keep it on your heart, because this is the Truth, that if you draw near to God he will draw near to you. She is still constantly doing retreats. She came through a horrible car accident many years ago, and this is what she spoke about at the retreat I was at, and how God healed her when doctors were being, as is often the case, pessimistic.
And look what she’s doing now, going throughout parishes, holding these mini-retreats and spreading the truth of God, bringing light into the darkness of the Catholic Church. The retreat I went to, like most spiritual activities in the parish that I went to at that time, was sparsely attended.
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Thanks for sharing this. It is good to hear that a Catholic nun is sharing what the Bible teaches instead of the empty traditions of men. Have you ever read, “Gus, a Nun’s Story”? I met Patricia Nolan Savas about five years before she died. She had a love for the scriptures and despised the captivity that many Catholics (and Protestants) are caught in. We had a great time of fellowship.
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Yes mike that was me and yes I know that Sue wrote the original but the two of you think alike so I say it to both of you and I love all the people that comment on both your sites–what a great community.
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Kenneth, You have been a real blessing to both Susanne and I as well and yes, we have been blessed with a wonderful fellowship with all of you who comment and share on our blogs. As for Susanne and I thinking alike, that has been a miracle of God for sure. One generation ago our relatives were at war with one another in WW2, but God is all about pulling down the walls of separation that man has erected whether they are along religious, political, social and national lines or even gender barriers and creating one new mankind IN Christ. We thank Him for giving us new hearts, putting His Spirit in us and filling us with His great love.
God bless you, my brother!
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