Faint Desire

"The reason we are not able to see God is the faintness of our desire." 

- Meister Eckhart -

He talks about Daniels  pagan education in Babylon at the best university with Nebuchadnezzer.

"Babylon has one simple goal to eliminate Daniels distinctiveness as a god follower and absorbed into the values of their culture."

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality 

Expectations

"We all know the unpleasant experience of other people having expectations we never agreed to."

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality -

Lies About Love

We talk like love comes naturally and we have nothing to learn. Same attitude about motherhood and fatherhood. Because we birthed a child we naturally could not have any level of incompetence, or lack of knowledge on the subject. We were born knowing how to raise chuldren.  

"Many of us believe loving well is learned automatically. 
We underestimate the depth of our bad habits and what is needed to sustain long-term... change in our relationships."
- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality -

Forsaking What Assembly?

Assembling Yourselves Together

Of all the scriptures used to unsettle or even to condemn those who have chosen to worship "outside the camp", this one is supreme:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Heb 10:25)

Does this verse not command regular worship in church? Let's see. We do see here that the first Christians "gathered together". But look at what this verse DOES NOT tell us:

• how often they gathered;
• on which day they did so;
• how many there were,
• what they did,
• where they gathered (though other verses explain this was in their homes as we have already seen).

Why do people read into this verse a command to "go to church"? Perhaps it is that word "assembling"? But the word simply means "gathering" nothing more or less. It is not talking about going to a church on Sunday mornings!

We must certainly gather together with other believers, but I do believe there is no lack of desire and willingness to obey that scripture amongst the Remnant. Why else would they be desperately seeking for fellowship?

Decentralized And Destructured Church

"It is also becoming plain that God himself is taking his beloved children on a journey, that involves a different type of fellowship with HIM and with EACHOTHER, an informal destructuralised Church.

This has been likened to the Church "Outside the Camp""

Swallowed Up Lives

"We go through the motions of doing so many things as if there is no alternative way of spending our days....... Any sense of Rhythm in our daily, weekly, and yearly lives has been swallowed up in the blizzard of our Lives. Add to this the storms and trials of life that blow into our lives unexpectedly and catch us off-guard, and we wonder why so many of us are disoriented and Confused. "

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. 

Why Church Leaders Might Apologize.

"A problem of my leadership has been that I often desired you to join my ideas? affirm my program, my vision and my calling.

Yet I did so incredibly little to affirm you in what you are doing for others in your sphere of life, for family, and at work outside of this structure.

I apologize!"

- A former ministers confession to his congregation after going off salary and working a regular job just as they do and volunteering like they do.

Be A Source of Joy

BE A SOURCE OF JOY

Be someone people will really miss.

Be someone, that when the skyhook of mortality yanks you from this mortal corpse, people will miss you like they had a ventrical ripped out of their heart.

Be someone that people will miss.

Be somone that people will treasure so much that if you're gone, they will ache.

Be someone who people will miss.

Fill people up, so that when you are gone they will notice.

Don't be one of these people the neighbors have to wait for the flies to gather and the stench to spread before they call the body removal people.

- Stefan Molyneux -

Repugnant Interpretations

39 Articles of Religion

Anglican Church

VI. Of the Sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation.

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. 

XX. Of The Authority of the Church

"Controversies of Faith: And yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another."

When Darkness Is Our Friend.

What is Up With Some Psalms?

Like the Darkness of Psalm 88?

"The very presence of these prayers in scripture is a witness to God's understanding.

God knows how men speak when they are desperate."

- Derek Kidner -

We Are Limited - Accept it!

Embrace the Gift of Limits

We will finish our lives with unfinished goals and dreams ...

Our egos tend to be so inflated that we act as if we were God. Often we have larger fantasies and wishes for ourselves than our real lives can support....

Getting off our Thrones and joining the rest of humanity is a must for growing up. A part of us hates limits. We won't accept them.

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

We must Believe The Resurrection!

“Anyone can be sentimental about the nativity; any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the main event; if you don’t believe in the resurrection, you’re not a believer.

“If you don’t believe in Easter,” Owen Meany said. “Don’t kid yourself—Don’t call yourself a Christian.”

― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

We Are Cups

"We are all cups.

Whatever we are filled with on the inside

is what comes

spilling out

when we are jostled."

Familiar With Scriptures

"But there's really only one thing I see that gave Paul such an intimate knowledge of the word of God:repeated exposure. Paul nowhere speaks of any discipline of memorizing scripture. He never commanded it, never mentions it, and never chastises anyone who can't recall the text that will. But he knew the text. He could recall it at will, just as Jesus could, and not just the favoured proof-texts. Paul knew the words, the context, the meaning, the situation, the direction toward which scripture was pointing, and it's intended goal. And he knew it because he had repeated exposure to it, from his childhood to his "college" years to his preaching and teaching as an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul new scripture thoroughly because he was constantly around it."

- Leslie Hardin. The spirituality of Paul

When We Don't Care To Know God.

The study of theology is considered by many to be dry, boring, irrelevant, and complicated. But for those who want to know God, the study of theology is indispensable. The word “theology” comes from two Greek words, theos (“God”) and logo: (“word”). The study of theology is an effort to make definitive statements about God and his implications in an accurate, coherent, relevant way, based on God’s self-revelations. Doctrine equips people to fulfill their primary purpose, which is to glorify and delight in God through a deep personal knowledge of him.

Meaningful relationship with God is dependent on correct knowledge of him. (Editors note: understanding a person for who they are, not a fabricated illusion we have created about them. My husband/wife is not an abuser... he/she is like this because they want me to produce the best within me.)

Any theological system that distinguishes between "relational propositions about God" and "a relationship with God” fails to see this necessary connection between love and knowledge. The capacity to love enjoy and tell others about a person is increased by greater knowledge of that person. Love and knowledge go hand in hand. Good lovers are students of the beloved. Knowledge of God is the goal of theology.

Knowledge without devotion is cold, dead orthodoxy. Devotion without knowledge is irrational instability. But true knowledge of God includes understanding ev-

erything from his perspective. Theology is learning to think God’s thoughts after him. It is to learn what God loves and hates, and to see, hear, think, and act the way he

does. Knowing how God thinks is the first step in becoming godly.

Many would like to think that just being a“good” person and “loving” God, without an emphasis on doctrine, is preferable. Bit being a good person can mean radically different things depending on what someone thinks "good" is, or what constitutes a “person.” Loving God will look very different depending on one's conception of "God" or "Love". The fundamental connections between belief

and behavior, and between love and knowledge, demand a rigorous pursuit of truth for those wanting to love God and to be godly."

ESV Study Bible Doctrine Notes in back. 

When Church Buildings are a Target

HOUSE CHURCHES

The uniform evidence of the NT is that the church in the first century met together for worship in domestic houses (cf. 16:19). Houses were used not because other options were unavailable (for example, a lecture hall) but because the house provided what was necessary for the gathering: kitchen space to prepare and serve the common meal. Houses were also by definition private space, allowing Christians to gather together as a community and drop the social boundaries that otherwise defined their daily lives. The host may have only provided

the space; this is the case in Philippi, where Lydia hosted the

"brothers" while Paul was leading the assembly (Acts 16:40).

Almost any house could have hosted a gathering, from small

flats in large Roman block apartment buildings (insulae) to

expansive urban villas. The size of the available rooms would

dictate the size of the worshiping congregation. Only once does Paul explicitly state that the whole church in a city was present in a single house (Rom. 16:23).

A house church was a domestic residence used at least weekly by the Christian community; therefore, by definition. a house church would be almost impossible to identify archaeologically unless it was altered to accommodate

Christian worship. A possible house church has been identified

in Capernaum, venerated in later generations as the site of Peter’s home The first architecturally defined house church known in the Roman Empire is from the mid-third century in Dura-Europos, a frontier city on the Euphrates River. This house was altered to include a large assembly space, a special space for baptisms, and special decorations. A third-century prayer hall has been found in a Roman military camp at Kefar Otnay in Israel. A floor inscription mentions “the God Jesus Christ.”

Born Married

Meryl and I are sitting side by side in our wing-back chairs tonight.

She turns to me and asks, “so... tomorrow makes 37?”

Me: “yep”.

Meryl “LORDY!! I shouldn’t even be that old yet, much less married that long!”

Me: “we were born married”.

Meryl: “oh, ok”.

With Meryl Vogh. Still.

Cliff Vogh.

The Leveling Effect Of Hell

OVERHEARD ON THE ISLAND

“Belief in hell was a great leveller. The Protestants believed the Catholics were going to hell, and the Catholics were just as sure the Protestants were headed there, so there was pleasure in it for everyone.”

- David Weale

WHY I Desire To Experience Good & Evil

An Intimate Knowledge & Experience With Good & Evil

Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

1) Serpents Lie About GOD to Humanity (Eve)

A. God Lies - Contradicts God "will SURELY not die."

God just lied to you Eve! He's holding humanity back from improving themselves. From came creative powers and decisions. Liberate yourself!

But God said double verb emphasis in Hebrew "dying you shall die"

B. You are Not Made In God's Image. (Serpent isn't)

God lied! HE in fact held back the most important part of the "image".

Therefore;

C. It's Most Beneficial Not To Believe God.

If you eat the forbidden fruit.

Eyes will be opened - Liberated, see more clearly. GOD DUPES HUMANITY. It's a grand Delusion! You can gain knowledge and wisdom apart from God, if you pursue the opportunities.

Will be like God - He's holding back his key to success. Humans have incredible creative ideas and power. We are gods. Just realize it.

Know both good and evil - Knowledge and experience are power. Indulging in evil is power, it gains human insight. Deny no experience! Try it all - seek every last experience!

"Know Good and Evil" Meaning of KNOW. ??

Hebrew Know - יָדַע YADA - Verb.

Means to experience, to understand, to bring forth,

Serpents View of God.

1) God is Evil & Good.

God knows, experiences, and brings forth both Good and Evil. Typical ancient Pagan view of vindictive, petulant deities. This God is no different... like all others. God does some good, but is the cause of much evil in the world. Humanity should understand this, we are better than a God of evil. We are like God in Good, but we are unlike God in evil, we are better. God expressed Deceit & Selfishness by trying to knowlege to himself.

2) God stands in the way of Human enlightenment. Prefers their naivete!

Prefers unknowing, not understanding, not seeing, eyes shut puppets with little knowledge.

3) Humans Can Break the Boundary. Be Gods equally Creative as God.

4) God uses threats to gain Compliance.

Result of Human ingenuity

1. Relationship with Environment Broken 3:17-19

2. Relationship between Men and Women Strained 3:16

3. Relationship With God Distanced. 3:22-24

4. Free Will became a source of too many selfish and evil desires and acts.

5. Following Human Wisdom is Always a possible Choice. All actions have significant consequences, many of which we desire not to bear!

Adam and Eve Got exactly what they wanted. An intimate knowledge of both Good and Evil.

Freedom - not Happiness!

A Greater Detachment.

"The critical issue on the journey with God is not "Am I happy?" But "Am I free? Am I growing in the freedom God gave me?"

Detachment is the great secret of interior piece. Along the way, in this journey with Christ, we get attached to (literally "nail to") behaviours, habits, things, and people in an unhealthy way.

Like you I rarely realize how attached I am to something until God removes it. Then the power struggle begins....

When we put our claws into something and we don't want to take them out, we are beyond enjoying them.

Richard Rohr has written extensively about five essential truths to which men must awaken if they are to grow up into their god-given masculinity and spirituality.

Life is hard.

You are not that important.

Your life is not about you.

You are not in control.

You are going to die.

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

Pretend Initiators

" Gutenberg culture encouraged one-sided events in which Spectators pretended to be initiators."

- Leonard Sweet. Viral

ThecWay I Exist

"It is one thing to be able

to tweak and

control external behaviours;

it is another thing to experience those internal seismic shifts that change the way I exist in this world."

- Ruth Barton -

Sacred Rhythms

How Regularly I Love To judge

"Before we go through the Wall, we prefer to exercise that right to determine good and evil rather than leave this knowledge to God. Afterward, we know better.

I know. I am embarrassed when I think of how I regularly judged

other people's journeys with Christ that were different from mine. I had an opinion and attitude about almost everyone who was different

from me.....

People on the other side of the Wall are freed from judging others."

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

God My Secretary!

"God doesn't appreciate being demoted to the rank of our personal secretary or assistant."

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality 

The Government Has No Money!

"The "Government" has no money.

Everything "government" has

They have TAKEN

PRINTED

Or BORROWED?

Most of "government" money

Has been Borrowed."

House Church Is Biblical Church

Acts 2:46 - Breaking bread in their homes.

Acts 5:42 - House to house taught and preached Jesus.

Acts 10:2,24 - Feared God ith whole household, invited all relatives and close friends.

Acts 12:12 - Houseof Mary wheremmany were gathered to pray.

Acts 16:32 - Lydias House.

Acts 18:7 - Tutius Justice house? Family and many others there.

Acts 20:20 - Taught house to house.

Romans 16:5 - Greet the church at their house. Prisca & Aquila.

1 Cor 16:19 - Together with the cburch in their house.

Col 4:15 - Greet Nymoja & church in her house.

Phil 1:2 - Philemon & the church at your house.

I like Control - God Should Consult Me!

"I like control.

I like to know where God is going, exactly what he is doing,

the exact route of how he is getting there,

and exactly when we will arrive.

I also like to remind God of his need to behave in ways that fit in with my clear ideas of him.

- Peter Scazzero -

Emotionally healthy spirituality

We Will Stamp Out Liberty

"If there's a liberty somewhere we haven't tried to stamp out, don't worry -- we have good people working on it."

Babaylon Bee

I'm My Own Judge and Yours

"Before we go through the Wall, we prefer to exercise that right to determine good and evil rather than leave this knowledge to God. Afterward, we know better.

I know. I am embarrassed when I think of how I regularly judged

other people's journeys with Christ that were different from mine. I had an opinion and attitude about almost everyone who was different

from me.....

People on the other side of the Wall are freed from judging others."

- Peter Scazzero. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

Murder or Work To Death?

"The lawyers..... did not challenge the formal charges... but asked only whether the defendants might avoid execution. Is it more useful, Comrade Judges, "to have their corpses or their labour?""

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The Gulag Archipelago. 

My Arrogant Judgement

"The root and origin of sin is the arrogance in which man wants to be his own and his neighbor's judge."

-Karl Barth-

Trained Sheep!

"But no, 

one thing was missing! What's missing is the conduct of the defendants. They have not yet 

become trained sheep."

They were still people!

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -

The Gulag Archipelago

Thought Crimes!

For us, intent and action were identical! A resolution had been passed - we would try them for that. And whether it was "carried out or not had no essential significance."

Whether a man whispered to his wife in bed that it would be a good thing to overthrow the Soviet government or whether he engaged in propaganda during elections or threw a bomb, it was all one and the same! And the punishment was identical!"

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The Gulag Archipelago

Thought or Deed Was Punished

For us, intent and action were identical! A revolution had been passed - we would try them for that. And whether it was "carried out or not had no essential significance."

Whether a man whispered to his wife in bed that it would be a good thing to overthrow the Soviet government or whether he engaged in propaganda during elections or threw a bomb, it was all one and the same! And the punishment was identical!"

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The Gulag Archipelago

You Must Denounce Or You're Guilty!

"Our favourite prosecutor pulled out his canonical weapon of last resort:

"Ultimately, failure to 'denounce' is a category of crime....

Now there's something that couldn't miss! This represented a discovery that judicial thought had made in the new Code.

It was a paved highway along which they would keep driving and driving grateful descendants into Siberia!"

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The Gulag Archipelago.

The Two Signs Of Great Leadership

The most significant discovery unearthed by the leadership literature of the past twenty years is that two signs indicate successful leadership: improving relationships, and the improving stories that are spawned by the improving relationships. Interestingly, these signs of successful leadership constitute two of the three “signs of the Spirit” that were so central to early Christianity.

The early church touted three tests of authenticity, or as it called them, “signs of the Spirit.” First, and the one missing from the leadership literature of the past twenty years, is the Lordship of Christ and the centrality of an apostolic witness.14 For the Christian, everything else pales by comparison to the preeminence of Christ.

The second sign of the Spirit consisted of manifestations in the life of Christians of “fruit of the Spirit.”15 James exhorts us to “humbly accept the word planted in you.”16 The Word of God bears fruit, not when it is comprehended, but when it is lived—implanted and transplanted. And the fruit of the Spirit is proven in relationships. When relationships get worse, things go bad. When relationships get better, things improve. This is true in the corporate world17 just as it holds true when Christians relate to one another in the church.

The third sign of the Spirit was the usefulness of spiritual manifestations to the churches.18 In other words, when relationships get better, there are stories to back up the improving relationships. Relationships, not numbers, show if growth is biblical, healthy, and truly fruitful. Perhaps it’s time to declare a moratorium on statistics in the church. What if the only thing we reported was the answer to this question: “Is spiritual fruit in evidence in your church? Give me the stories, not more statistics.” My dream for the church? God’s people telling more God stories than golf stories. An authentic Great Awakening is when people can’t stop talking about what God is doing.

Leonard Sweet, "What Matters Most"

More A World Than A State

"It required borders on the Adriatic and Danube, the Mongolian plateau, and Caucasus barrier, too, was breached and folded in, bringing Russia into the Black and Caspian seas, and giving it borders with Iran and the Ottoman Empire. Imperial Russia came to resemble a religious Kaleidoscope with a plenitude of Orthodox Churches, mosques, synagogues, Old Believer prayer house is, Catholic cathedrals, Armenian Apostolic churches, Buddhist temples, and shaman totems........ Whereas the Ottoman empire stretched over parts of three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa), some observers in the early twentieth century imagined that the two continent Russian imperium was neither Europe nor Asia but a third entity unto itself: Eurasia. Be that as it may, what the Venetian ambassador to the Sublime Porte (Agosto Nani) had once said of the Ottoman realm - "more a world than a state" - applied no less to Russia. Upon that world, Stalin's rule would visit immense upheaval, hope, and grief."

- Stephen Kotkin.  "Stalin"

More A World Than A State

"It required borders on the Adriatic and Danube, the Mongolian plateau, and Caucasus barrier, too, was breached and folded in, bringing Russia into the Black and Caspian seas, and giving it borders with Iran and the Ottoman Empire. Imperial Russia came to resemble a religious Kaleidoscope with a plenitude of Orthodox Churches, mosques, synagogues, Old Believer prayer house is, Catholic cathedrals, Armenian Apostolic churches, Buddhist temples, and shaman totems........ Whereas the Ottoman empire stretched over parts of three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa), some observers in the early twentieth century imagined that the two continent Russian imperium was neither Europe nor Asia but a third entity unto itself: Eurasia. Be that as it may, what the Venetian ambassador to the Sublime Porte (Agosto Nani) had once said of the Ottoman realm - "more a world than a state" - applied no less to Russia. Upon that world, Stalin's rule would visit immense upheaval, hope, and grief.

Mongered Holiness By Rules?

"The Holiness that God desires cannot be mongered by rules,

and so is now produced

from the Heart ( do you hear Echoes of The Sermon on the Mount?) by the Spirit of God. (Gal 5:16-25, Rom 6:15-23, 8:9-17).

And what the Spirit does

cannot be regulated by law.( Gal 5:24)."

- Dr. Les Hardin -

The Spirituality of Paul pg 38

Greek Hebrew Latin Belong At Foot Of The Cross

"Scriptures are given to lead us to holiness and to Christ, it doesn't mean that we are to set aside our intellect and understand them neither does it mean that those who are interested in learning more about scripture are to forsake study of the text and its original language. These things can be helpful but they must be done while leading us toward holiness, not toward intellectual snobbery, and certainly not in a way that reinforces and elitist hermeneutic. David Alan black puts it best:

'Greek, Hebrew, and Latin all have their proper place. But it is not at the head of the Cross, where Pilate put them, but at the foot of the cross, in humble service to Christ.'"

- Dr. Les Hardin. The spirituality of Paul. Pg 34

Quoting David Alan black. "Using New Testament Greek in Ministry: A practical guide for students and pastors. (Grand Rapids.v Baker, 1993), page 21.

Scripture Given To Male Us Holy

"The Bible is not there to give us God's approval for anything and everything we want in life. It is given to us by the Breath of God (2 Timothy 3:16) to make us holy."

- Les Hardin

The Spirituality of Paul

Miserable Ordinances Of Princes

"..... miserable man, if he cannot often say and sing to himself those lines of Pindar,

"To love the slender cypress, and to leave the Cretan pastures lying near Ida. I have but little land, where I grow strong, and have nothing to do with sorrow or faction,"

or the ordinances of princes,

or public duties in political emergencies,

or state functions hard to get off."

- Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals. First Century Greek Philosopher.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

This is a powerful prayer of Protection, also known as The Deer's Cry. It is attributed to

Saint Patrick of Ireland. 

The story goes that Saint Patrick sang this after an ambush had been laid against him, to

prevent him from going to a certain community to spread the gospel. It is said the man lying in

ambush did not see Saint Patrick and his monks as they passed by, but rather wild deer with a

fawn following them (thus the name the Deer's Cry). 

That Gaelic phrase might mean, however, a

mist of concealment.

The prayer calls for Christ's protection using a lorica (shield or breastplate), from which it

derives its name, "St. Patrick's Breastplate". This is based on Ephesians 6:10-20 ("God's shield to

protect us ... from snares of devils"). This prayer recognizes the spiritual battle between good and

evil and thus the importance of praying for protection on a daily basis.

I arise today
through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
believing in the threeness,
and confessing the oneness,
of our Creator of creation.
I rise today
in the power of Christ's birth and baptism,
in the power of his crucifixion and burial,
in the power of his rising and ascending,
in the power of his descending and his judging....
I rise today
in heaven's might,
in sun's brightness,
in moon's radiance,
in fire's glory,
in lightning's quickness,
in wind's swiftness,
in sea's depth,
in earth's stability,
in rock's fixity.
I rise today
with the power of God to pilot me, with
God's strength to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look ahead for me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to protect me, ...
God's shield to defend me,
And God's host to deliver me,
from the snares of devils,
from evil temptations,
from nature's failings,
from all who wish to harm me,
far or near, alone and in a crowd.
Around me I gather today all these powers
against every cruel and merciless force
that would attack my body and soul....

In 1889 this poem was adapted into a hymn entitled I Bind Unto Myself Today. There are

many versions of this on You Tube, but here is one version that you can use for your meditation

and worship today - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH4ToVxtn9A.

If you want to add your own thoughts to this to be shared with the c

The "Too Much" Kinda CHURCH

Years ago, I sat in a staff meeting at a church I was serving; the purpose of the meeting was to talk about how we could attract more people to join the church. At one point someone counted the requirements for church membership that were already in place and made the startling discovery that somewhere between five and nine time commitments per week were required of those who wanted to become church members!

Outwardly I tried to be supportive of the purpose for the meeting, but on the inside I was screaming, 'Who would want to sign up for this?' I was already becoming aware of CFS (Christian fatigue syndrome) in my own life and couldn't imagine willingly inflicting it on someone else.

The clarity that dawned In in this moment caused me to start being a little more honest about what my own Christian Life had been reduced to. While I was trying harder and doing more, there was a yawning emptiness beneath it all that no amount of activity, Christian or otherwise could fill. It made no difference at all that I had been a Christian all my conscious life, that I had been in vocational Christian Ministry since early adulthood or that I was busy responding to what appeared to be God given opportunities to become involved in many worthy causes. The more I refuse to acknowledge the longing for more, the deeper and wider the emptiness became until it threatened to swallow me up.......

Life in and around the Christian Community does little to help us attend to our longings, to believe that deep within there is something essential that needs to be listened to, or to offer much hope that our deepest longings could take us somewhere good. At times the deeper longing of our heart are dismissed as mere idealism. The emphasis on human depravity in many religious circles makes it hard to know if there is anything innis that can be trusted.....

Our longing for healing and transformation is met with self-help messages that leave us briefly inspired and yet burdened by the pressure of trying to fix ourselves with some new technique or skill. Our longing for a way of life that works is most often met with an invitation to more activity, which unfortunately plays right into our compulsions and the drivenness of Western culture."

- Ruth Haley Barton -

Sacred Rhythms

How Big Fire?

"How brightly

burns the flame of desire

for a love affair with God, other people,

the world?

- Elizabeth Dreyer -

Bad Situations - Require Rogues

"And Stratonicus asked his host at Seriphus,

for what offence exile

was the appointed punishment,

and being told that

they punished rogues by exile, said,

"Why then are not you a rogue,

to escape from this hole of a place?""

- Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals. First Century Greek Philosopher.

A Snall Mark But Wanting The Whole World.

"Philip, who when he was

thrown in wrestling, and turned round,

and noticed the mark his

body made in the dust, said,

"O Hercules, what a little part of the earth I have by nature, though I desire all the world!""

- Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals. First Century Greek Philosopher.

How To Avoid Politics

"Alcmæon, when fleeing from the Furies, so the poets tell us, dwelt in a place recently formed by the silting of the Achelous; but I think he chose that little spot to dwell in ease and quiet, merely to avoid political disturbances and factions..."

- Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals. First Century Greek Philosopher.

Ecstatic Experiences

"Ecstatic experiences, though they be tantalizing, do not constitute

the warp and woof of Christian

spirituality."

- Les Hardin -

The Spirituality of Paul