Ellis Hein's Blog (116)

We considered Fox's advice, that when the business was concluded, to sit still a while to feel the power of God and to not go beyond the power.  (Sermon 2 from "That Thy Candles May Always Be Burning) He advised that in the power we are to know God and to love Christ and to keep the household of faith in good order. And when a contrary mind rises within to say, "Why should I do such and such?" then wait in the power of God to know the mind of Christ to flow over us. Thus are we kept in the…

We covered just one paragraph from Sermon 2 in, "That Thy Candles May Always Be Burning."

I would not say we wandered off topic, but we touched on the subject of "being renewed up into the image of God." What did Fox mean by the statement "So now come up to the state before the Fall. Here is the wisdom of God, so in his wisdom to order all things to his glory and honor. Here is the top, and Christ set above all, and God hath made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

Away with the body of death and purgatory! Away with them! Come to the apostles' religion, the true saints! For we are come again to the apostles' days and have that which they had and were in! So we have done with all that hath been set up since the apostles' days and [are come again] to a glorious church which Christ Jesus hath presented to God, that is without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy, and without blemish. (Eph. 5:27) This religion was…

"Which of the books by Lewis Benson is my favorite?" The question came floating up in my mind as I was putting various titles into our estore. The task is not so demanding that it doesn't allow room for such reflections.

However, I could not decide.

Today, I have it. My favorite book by Lewis is whatever one I am currently reading. At the moment it happens to be The Truth is Christ, New Foundation Publication #5.

I have just finished Lewis' essay on The…

Following is an excerpt from Sermon II (That Thy Candles May Always Be Burning) that we were reading and considering on our recent monthly call. We found this to be a very deep and searching time.

So keep the Sabbath; think not your own thoughts, for we are atop of that nature in Christ where evil thoughts are, that nature being taken away by Christ. So you should not think your own thoughts, do your own works, speak your own words. In the outward Sabbath there…

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," or so goes the author of the book of Hebrews. My definition goes somewhat differently, though I suspect it comes to the same thing in practice. Faith is that which keeps me going, following the command of Christ, when all reason, all outward evidence, and all advice points a different direction. Faith is the willingness to look like an absolute fool for the sake of being obedient to Christ's direction. Faith keeps…

I have been enjoying reading Pat Dallmann's The Word Within. I have known Pat for a number of years, so her fresh insights and the depth she brings to her essays are what I would expect, though I can't always anticipate her conclusions.

Even though I have not yet finished Pat's book, I want to encourage others to read it. If you have read it, what do you think of it?

Copies can be purchased from Terry Wallace,…

During the course of a recent gathering and subsequent conservation, the following comments arose that illustrate the confusion about becoming a Christian.

C:

Do we hear Jesus differently or more clearly the more we intentionally come before Him whether that be for the purpose of corporate worship or whether we are practicing individual spiritual disciplines such as silence? I asked the question for the purpose of clarifying your comments about disciples being…

In this age of toleration there are two questions that are not tolerated. The first question is, "Can you be a Quaker without being a Christian?" One's first impulse, on hearing such a question, is to look about at various groups claiming the name of Christian and to wonder, "Does he think I have to be like that?" This brings us to the realm of the second question. "Can you be a Christian without being a Quaker?"

It is time to define our terms. Christian is…

For Yours Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever.*

Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his…

Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil.

Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God.' For God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. (James 1:13-14)

All through this prayer, Jesus has been painting a picture of his Father, a picture that is at complete variance with the "normal" conceptions of deity.

Our Father,…

Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us

Where is the line, beyond which one may not go? Where you say, "Now really! This is unforgivable." What do you hold most dear? It is against our treasure that we will not endure trespass. How then can we pray to be forgiven in the same manner we forgive those who trespass against us, who deprive us of our most treasured possession? That possession may be money, land, family, heirlooms, social status, or…

Explanation of How I Have Handled the Text

In my previous post, I put up two passages for comparison. One was from Deuteronomy 18; the other from John 6. In this post, I would like to explain how I have handled the John text.

If you read from most, if not all, translations, you will notice that I have rendered those portions that say "believe in" or "believe on" as "believe." Verse 27 ends with the phrase, "…for on him God the Father has set his seal." This seal…

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.

This phrase of the Lord's Prayer makes me think of manna and the exodus from Egypt. But there is more to come on that in a subsequent post. In this post I will be putting up two different sections of scripture so that you can compare and draw similarities between them.

The first scripture I am referring to comes from Deuteronomy 18. For background you should read Deut. chapter 5.

When you come into the land…

Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

When you listen to or read the writing of Evangelical or Fundamental Christianity, their expressed purpose is to escape hell, to spend eternity in heaven. There is, however, a noteworthy lack of any mention of "spending eternity" one place or the other in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples.

Instead, He begins with a declaration of lineage and proceeds with a proclamation of purpose. Your kingdom…

Part 1. Our Father who art in Heaven.

Thus begins the familiar words that most of Christendom has known since childhood. But Jesus told the Jews, John 8:31-59, "You are of your father the devil," when they would have laid claim to being children of God and descendents of Abraham. So, you see, there are two families.

How then can we claim "Our Father…" with any assurance of truth" The Jews, addressed by Jesus, were the ones who had believed him when he spoke in…