Isaiah 63 – A poem written in the form of a dialogue between the prophet and Yahweh, depicted here as one who treads grapes with his garments stained red. The prophet asks why his garments are red. Yahweh responds he has “trodden the winepress alone” (63:3) with not one man with Him. In His anger he has trampled them, an anger that supported Him in His loneliness. The prophet sings of Yahweh’s goodness in saving His people. “It was neither messenger nor angel but his Presence…

Isaiah 62 – I, the prophet, will not grow weary of Jerusalem until her “integrity shines out like the dawn” (62:1).

“The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. . . The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—a splendid crown in the hand of God” (62:2-3).

She will be like a crown in God’s hand. No longer “forsaken” or “abandoned”, she will be the Lord’s delight, wedded to Him like a bride. “[O]n your…

Isaiah 61 – The spirit of the Lord has been poured out on the prophet to “bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison” (61:1).

I exult in Yahweh “for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity . . . .as the earth makes fresh things grow, as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord Yahweh make both integrity and praise spring up in the…

Isaiah 60 – A poem meant to be read with 62 as well, probably composed by the author of the Book of Consolation [40-55 according to Jerusalem Bible note]. “[T]hough night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples . . . the glory of Yahweh is rising. . .” (60:1-2).

Kings will come to you and people from everywhere. A note says that these words were seen as applying to the Magi coming to Jesus’ birthplace. The wealth of the nations shall flow into the city…

I am featured in today (Jan. 13) Albany Democrat-Herald, as having been present at 1963 March on Washington and having heard MLK's I have a dream speech.  Text of article can be accessed through Freedom Friends Church facebook page.
Vail

Does this sound like something to be excited to join?

The idea of this game is more important than the contestants playing it. However, no one can really tell you what the idea is exactly, but only that it is more important than the players. In fact, the idea, now an objective, is so important that it needs to be considered from every perspective by the not-as-important contestants. This process of deciding the essential idea of the game of life will take up most of life's playing…

Isaiah 59 – The iniquities of man create a gulf between man and God. When we sin, God veils his face from us.

Relying on idols is relying on “nothingness” (59:4). “We looked for light and all is darkness, for brightness and we walk in the dark” (59:9). Our “faults are present to our minds, and we know our iniquities: rebellion and denial of Yahweh” (59:12).

The following translation is different from what I remember – “He put integrity on like a…

Isaiah 58 – The prophet must tell of the people’s faults. If you do not respect the days of fasting, but do business all day, you cannot expect to please the Lord. If you do these things and only do them superficially, you cannot please the Lord.

What the Lord wants is for you “to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free . . .share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor . . .clothe the man you see to be…

Life in the Presence is experience un-borrowed. Conscious and conscience no longer mirrored in the borrowed experience of institutions and other individuals drawing from the conceptual world.

This filling of conscious and conscience in the Life ... the Presence ...  is conscious no longer dependent on the borrowed reflections that others draw from the conceptual world; but on direct and immediate and un-borrowed ...…

The January/February 2014 issue of Christianity Today ran a cover story entitled: "The World The Missionaries Made".  The author is Andrea Gilley.  The author ID said that she "spent part of her childhood in Kenya as the daughter of Quaker missionaries."

Her essay focusses on the research of Robert Woodberry, a sociologist who teaches at the U of Texas.  For his dissertation, he examined the impact of "conversionary" Protestant…

Isaiah 57 – The offspring of the adulterer and the whore jeer at the devout. They offer child sacrifice. “You have struck a pact with those whose bed you love, whoring with them often” (57:8). You put on oil for Molech.

Why have you disowned Yahweh? “When you cry, let your hateful idols save you! The wind will carry them all away, a breath will take them off. But whoever trusts in me shall inherit the land and own my holy mountain” (57:13). The Lord lives in a high and…

Isaiah 56 – “Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you” (56:1).

The Lord will not reject foreigners or others rejected by you like Eunuchs. Those who will commit their lives to me will prosper. “I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a…

Isaiah 55 – If you are thirsty, “Come and drink” (55:1). If you have nothing, come and “take your choice of wine or milk: (55:1). “Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good . . . Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life” (55:2-3).

I will give you the same undying love I gave to my servant David. “I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and…

Blog post by Jamie Johnson, Associate University Pastor and Director of the Friends Leadership Program at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon.

What would George Fox say about "What Does George Fox Say?"

http://blogs.georgefox.edu/life/?p=2639

I recently heard a Ted Talk by a lesbian liberal who often appears on Fox News.  Her talk really resonated with me - recalling my time when I lived and worked in a theologically/politically/socially conservative community, doing HIV work, and making friends in places I never expected, all of which deepened my belief that there truly is that of God in all.  Here's a link to more...

Isaiah 54 – A time of growth and prosperity is coming, “Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense! For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities” (54:2-3).

You will no longer live in shame or dwell on the “sorrows of widowhood. For your Creator will be your husband” (54:4-5). “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back.…

If the Brits can refer to the Atlantic Ocean as "the pond", then who's to say that the experience of Judeo-Christian religion is not a day at the park.

Weighty Friends are just the latest stones that God has skipped across our troubled waters. Certainly, the O.T. prophets, and even a couple of kings, came at the chosen people with competitive purpose.

Of course, the stones that hopped, almost to dancing, into salvation history by psalm and story are a delight, still experienced…

Isaiah 53 – Continuing the prophecy begun in the previous chapter, again in the past tense, but “past” in God’s eyes only.

“My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was noting beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (53:2-3).

We despised him and did not care about his sufferings.…

Isaiah 52:13-15 – He who will be sent, God’s servant “will prosper, he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights” (52:13).

The people looked on him and were appalled. Written in the past tense, it passes into the ears of Christians as a prophecy of what WILL come:

“[S]o will the crowds be astonished at him, and kings stand speechless before him; for they shall see something never told and witness something never heard before”…

Isaiah 50 – The “marriage” of Yahweh to Israel, while taxed by her unfaithfulness, is not formally ended. Then comes the Third Song of the “servant of Yahweh”:  The Lord has given the prophet an open ear and a willing spirit. “I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard”(50:5). The Lord helps him endure. Those who fear the Lord should listen to the voice of his servant.

Isaiah 51 – Those who “pursue integrity” (51:1) and who…