Are you satisfied knowing you or your group proclaims a Christian message rather than the Christian message? The difference between that indefinite article "a" and the definite article "the" is profound. And no, claiming to have the Christian message is not arrogance. It is about our position before Christ and the role he plays in the life of the individual and the life of the Church. A brief listing in the table below makes clear the…

When we think of God's speaking to us, we often assume we will receive clear instructions, if not in words heard inwardly, then in a strong sense of what we should do. This certainly happens, yet there is another way God speaks to us and guides us: by power received according to the extent of our obedience.



For example, years ago I was complaining to my husband that I couldn't control my bad moods. Thus, I lost patience and temper with our two young children and always felt guilty…

I have often heard it said, in one way or another, that "The natural mind is the enemy of God". For me, this has always raised the question of "Why should God have given me a mind that is naturally his enemy?" It is contradictory that if man was created in the image of God, he should have been given a mind that is naturally his creator's enemy, but was "pre-bent" to be subservient.

After pondering this for a while, I was finally shown an answer that makes sense, If we turn to Genesis…

"How do I know which voice to listen to?" is one of the most often-repeated questions when the Quaker practice of listening to Jesus Christ is discussed. "There are so many competing voices, both within and outside, that often it seems impossible to tell when God is speaking."



Yet Lewis Benson has written of a voice that speaks to men and women with "absolute authority, in which they cannot disbelieve, and which evokes a response of humble unconditional obedience." [George Fox's…

EXPERIMENT WITH LIGHT

 At regional meeting in April Diana Lampen gave us a very interesting and clear introduction to Experiment with Light.  I took some notes that may be of help especially for those who seek a ‘way in’ regarding spiritual experience. …

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.…

As Jonah was, so am I. 

I sense that the time has come to allow the Christ, our Lord and Teacher, to speak through me to the auditory that He will guide me to.

Christ has cleansed me from the dross of pride. I must walk in the path of the Guide to the glory of His name.

Pray for me as the way opens.

Brad

A Reflection on Mark 4: 22-25.

Another passage has come to my attention which I want to include. This partly relates to a reflection by Ellis Hein on Post 3 about the oft repeated exhortation, “Those who have ears, let them hear!”

In Post 3, the question was posed, “How might Jesus be a prophet like Moses?” A follow on question might be, “What kind of Messiah is Jesus?”

In chapter 2-4 of Mark, Jesus progressively runs counter to the people’s expectation of the Messiah:…

I feel somewhat constrained to share with you-all an incident that portrays the Lord's protection and care. Yesterday I was hurriedly picking cucumbers; I was late and had a lot to get done before I could stop for the day. Consequently I was trying to be quick while at the same time being careful with the vines. My hand parted the leaves in front of me and there at my fingertips lay a coiled rattlesnake. The snake did not move as I withdrew my hand and my person. I had been working near it…

The following material is taken from an ongoing conversation. But even so, it seemed worth publishing here.

Hello ****,

In our conversations, something has been winking at me off and on. But I have not captured it until now. In all our discussions, I have lost sight of the most important aspect. I apologize for my slowness here.  

What I have neglected concerns the offices or functions of Christ. In so far as I have read and have conversed with others, this is not a…

Among other things, I am a woodturner. From experience, I can state that it is possible to do a lot of things with dull tools. But if you ever come to use a properly sharpened tool, you will never again be satisfied with dullness.

This is the distinction between a life lived hearing and obeying the voice of Christ, the prophet like Moses whom God has raised up, and a life lived subjugated to any man-made discipline you care to name.

The reason for the difference is that hearing…

This year our annual conference will take place in London and will be a one day event.

The theme will be "did George Fox get it right?" which is the title of a talk which Allistair Lomax gave at Britain Yearly Meeting Last year. The day's events will include untimed Meeting for Worship, a question and answer session and a bookstall.

The cost will be £10 per person payable on the day. It would however assist if those attending would contact me beforehand so that we can have make…

What seemed to me to be the best insight during our Fox Reading Conference Call came in response to a statement Fox made in Sermon III regarding walking by faith rather than by sight. Peter Glass pointed out that, contrary to our logic, faith is a stronger, more reliable sense than sight. This must be understood in the context of the sermon we were reading where this faith is the gift of God, written on the heart by Jesus; not the result of my efforts to believe something…

John the Baptist's announcement concerning the Lamb of God, in John 1, came in the midst of a culture of sacrifice and ritual; a culture heavily invested in the perpetual sense of guilt before God and the continual need to appease God. In John, chapter 2, Jesus overthrows money-changer's tables and drives out the merchants of sacrifice along with all their animals. His accusation of making "my Father's house a house of merchandise" has to do with the culture and economy of sin.

Man…

I have never been able to find any significance to the account of the marriage feast in John 2. This morning, I read again the portion of scripture and suddenly I saw. The steward of the marriage feast said to the waiter who brought him the water-now-wine, "Everyone first serves the good wine, and when people have drunk that, then brings out the not as good. But you have served the best last." (my paraphrase) The writer inserts the comment, "This first sign Jesus performed in…

I have published a new book coutesy of Inner Light Books (San Francisco, 2012).

It is entitled, The Early Quakers and the 'Kingdom of God'.

I'm sure NFF folks will really like it.

It's in paperback and hardback and available at FGC and BYM bookstores.

Gerard Guiton

The Workers' Gathering and Meeting for Business took place at Gloucester on 22nd September.  The intended venue-  Gloucester Meeting House -  was not available as it had fallen victim to a fire. However,  Ursula Windsor stepped in and provided wonderful hospitality.

There were several items of business.  After news of Friends,  we discussed Tomasz Kowalski,  who is building a Quaker group in Poland.  He was in England recently and raised the matter of translating some early writings…