A look at Paul in the Book of Acts.

It has been a long time since a post to this blog, so first a brief summary of the goals and prior posts.

The intent of the series of blogs is to follow a thread that George Fox and other early Friends lifted from Scripture to describe Jesus as Messiah.  The thread starts in Deuteronomy 18:15 and goes through Peter’s sermon in Acts 3 and Stephen’s defense in chapter 7.  In prior posts I pointed to the theme in other parts of the New…

Of all the Early Quaker tenets, the doctrine of moral perfection is perhaps the most misunderstood. When confronted with the idea that we can expect complete deliverance from sin in this life, we too often think, Oh no, God expects me never to make mistakes--how can I possibly achieve that? or Now He truly expects the impossible: how can I keep from losing my temper and screaming at my spouse and children in moments of extreme stress? or I can't stop coveting my neighbor's wife…

The focus of the Early Friends was on listening to God. This is why they held silent meetings. They knew that human activity, such as a programmed worship service, was not likely to be in response to a direct leading, received within after much waiting and prayer.…