16 items | 2 visits
Quaker-related or authored.
Updated on Apr 10, 14
Created on Dec 20, 10
Category: Religion & Beliefs
URL:
"I now clearly understand that the Bible does not say what I'd been told it says. The Bible is my friend, not my enemy."
"Jesus is the name I know best for the God who stands at my shoulder urging and guiding and comforting me, the one who has been through all the delusions, discouragement and temptations of being human and yet at the same time remained anchored in the depths of God. "
"Are you ready to surrender everything you are and have into the hands of the one who knows and loves you best?"
So if we are to speak prophetically in our Meetings, we must approach the silence with an attitude of respect and perhaps awe. ... To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools.
In times such as these, when it is so clear that we are out of control as a people, I need to know that a sovereign God is at the helm. With evil running amok and our planet facing horrific destruction, I need to know that there is an infinite ocean of light and love that flows over the ocean of darkness and death.
I cried unto the Lord, saying, “Why should I be thus, seeing I was never addicted to commit these evils?” and the Lord answered, “That it was needful I should have a sense of all conditions, how else should I speak to all conditions?” and in this I saw the infinite love of God. I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death; but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness. In that also I saw the infinite love of God, and I had great openings….
God is not miserly with His spiritual gifts to His body. He gives them freely. Within a community of Jesus followers who are open to receiving and sharing His gifts, there will not be a shortage of prophets or anything else.
Quakers have a history of equality for men and women in ministry... And yet, in my yearly meeting, there are only three women who are released full-time to pastor a church. The other 64 churches have either men as pastors or none.
This year, God has called me to pay more attention to the work that Christ is doing in the city and region where I live. As I have yielded to God's nudges to be attentive to the life of the Church in Washington, DC, much of my energy and focus has been directed towards nurturing a new worship group on Capitol Hill.
For me, scripture points us to Jesus and is not an end to itself. I love the Bible, in truth I love it too much to place it above God. I wish to live in the Power that the taught by the Holy Scriptures, and not a mere form of godliness that has lost its power. (c.f. 2 Timothy 3:5)
Christ’s ministry is more than the forgiveness of sin, it is also teaching us to live in Righteousness — and giving us the power to do so.
Are we ready to turn our lives over to Christ's direction? Are we willing to be filled and changed by the Holy Spirit? Are we prepared to surrender our own will, imitating Christ's submission to the Father?
That of God is that which will guide us if we receive it and join with it but becomes our condemnation if we reject it or use it as a cover for following our own wills...
Prophecy did not cease with the closing of the biblical canon. On the contrary, one of the signs of the coming of Christ's reign is the prophetic witness of women and men.
The wealth of the western Church in the face of widespread global poverty is an indictment of our lack of faith. We have refused to trust in God, instead relying on our own human wisdom - our economic theories, five-year plans and retirement packages. What would happen if we threw ourselves into the arms of Jesus and risked everything for love?
...If Friends are serious about wanting to make something beautiful with all the gifts of the people in our midst... we are going to have to learn to attend to the importance of allowing time to do its transformational work. ... Baking the cake at 500 degrees won’t make the cake better. It will only ruin it quicker.
16 items | 2 visits
Quaker-related or authored.
Updated on Apr 10, 14
Created on Dec 20, 10
Category: Religion & Beliefs
URL: