Looking to the Divine Light Within to Guide & Direct.

Anyone remember the game where everyone sits in a circle, and you whisper a message to the person beside you, and they pass it on to the person beside them, and so on, and by the time it gets to the last person, it is not the same message. As the murmur travels from one person to another it becomes harder and harder to understand the original message, and its intent. As with all communication, what is said is not always what is heard, and what is intended by the speaker, is not always what is understood. The Gospel, prophecy, and scripture is a bit like that too.

Just a couple of words about prophecy, and scripture. Holy people of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, ( Peter 1:21).

Many of our fellow travelers would agree that the scriptures are are a sure word of prophecy. They are safe. The path of the message is simple: God - Prophet - Scripture - Us. Not a lot of chance of the message getting distorted, especially with the Spirit within helping us.

However, Peter makes some interesting comments in 2 Peter 1:16-19.

He says "We have a more sure word of prophecy."

Apparently speaking of the transfiguration, he says, "we were eyewitnesses"... and "this voice which came from heaven we heard"...and so "We have a more sure word of prophecy". It did not come second hand. God spoke to us directly.

Peter heard God's voice personally, and then he says....YOU also "will do well to take heed". Listen to God's voice to your own heart. It is direct, applicable to your own heart, for your own situation, straight from heaven. You don't have to interpret, what another man has said. You can hear God's voice directly. Listen to it like you would pay attention to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns.

You don't have to listen to false prophets, interpreting the scriptures for you, telling you how to live, or what to believe, (2 Peter 2 :1). You have an anointing that abides within you. You don't need anyone to teach you, (1 John 2:20, 27). You don't need someone teaching you their private interpretations. You have access to God yourself. Pay attention to The Light that shines within you, and you will be lead by the Spirit, and will know that you are his Child.

He spoke to holy ones in ancient times, and he speaks to holy (made whole) people today. Yes, God still speaks directly to his children.

We look to the Divine Light within to guide and direct.

Today, if you will hear his voice,
URfriend Dean Johnson

Values to Practice and Cherish

This Blog is built upon the values and practices I treasure most.
So today, I discuss personal faith perspectives. They will come up again and again in our discussions.

The Belief-O-Matic Personality Quiz says that I fit the
Liberal Unprogrammed Quaker Faith.
No surprise to me. It is great having a place to belong.

In The Religious Society of Friends (or Quakers)
I find the same principles that I love. Check them out.

1. We are peacemakers. Actively promoting harmony, peace and non-violence.

2. We cleave to honesty. So we are often not even comfortable making promises or swearing oaths.

3. We hold to simplicity: a socially conscious lifestyle that allows spiritual devotion and service without distraction.

4. We involve ourselves in social action, and humanitarian service, after carefully discerning divine direction. This is done through corporate prayer and listening in silence, rather than through decisions of clergy, or hierarchies.

5. We are radically inclusive, even Universalist. We are all One, regardless, without exception. Perhaps, the most well known Quaker phrase is "There is that of God in everyone." This has led to a deep respect for others, even for those who do not share our views. We hold forth our peculiar perspective without denying the legitimacy of another's journey.

6. We unceasingly promote equality for all people.

7. We emphasize spiritual reality, without any emphasis on outward sacraments or ordinances.

8. We are non-creedal. We understand the Bible as a revelation of God, but not the only revelation, for God continues to reveal truth.

9. We tend to have no salaried ministry, but we do encourage traveling "friends" who visit the meetings. We look to the Divine Light within to guide and direct.

10. Our meetings are open and participatory, often with times of silence until someone is moved to share or contribute.

Lived out, these ideals develop into a radical egalitarian counterculture, a society of friends, powerfully working with divine guidance for the common good, defying oppression, and changing the very fabric of society. This is revolutionary.

Who are you? Take the Belief-O-Matic Quiz for yourself http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html?rnd=28

Discovering my own personal treasure,
URfriend, Dean Johnson