Job 29 – Job reminisces about his blessed past “when God’s company graced my tent” (29:4).  “The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me. . . . Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming” (29:5-8).

“All who saw me spoke well of me. For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.…

The following is drawn from a message delivered in ESR and Bethany Joint Worship on February 22 by David Johns:

Job 27 – Job continues, maintaining that for “as long as there is life in me and God’s breath is in my nostrils, my lips will speak no wrong, nor my tongue utter deceit” (27:3-4).

“I will never concede that you are right; I will defend my integrity until I die. I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live” (27:5-6).

Job goes on to speak nearly the same “wisdom” he has heard with such…

I love the book "What would Jesus Do".    I love the bracelets.  We need more of them, but the title of this blog is not meant to stand for What would Jesus Do? but What would Jimmy Do?  In this case I'm not asking what would Jesus Christ do but what would Jimmy Carter do if he were president and Dennis Rodman came back from North Korea and said pick up the phone and call your enemy.  Based on his post- presidential record I think he would pick up more than a phone.  He would pick up Dennis,…

Job 24 – “Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? (24:1). Job sets out a picture of the world where the wicked freely persecute the poor and the poor quietly go about trying to survive. “The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God ignores their moaning. Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways or say in its paths” (24:12-13).

Job seems to take some comfort in the fact that evil-doers…

The Method of the Guide

The ‘Guide to True Peace’ offers a simple method of prayer, referred to as the prayer of inward silence.  The method is stated in Chapter 1:

“We must retire from all outward objects, and silence all the desires and wandering imaginations of the mind; that in this profound silence of the whole soul, we may hearken to the ineffable voice of the Divine Teacher.  We must listen with an attentive ear; for it is a still, small voice.  It is…

Job 22 – Eliphaz now talks: He seems to say the Almighty gains nothing by the conduct of the virtuous man. But then he goes on to accuse Job of iniquity, the kind of iniquity that some think the rich are always guilty of. Job was, after all, a very wealthy man before he was struck down:

“You exact pledges from your fellows without reason, and leave them naked, stripped of their clothes; you do not give the thirsty water to drink; you deny bread to the hungry.…

Job 20 – Zophar speaks out of an emotional response to the insults he hears from Job. The joy experienced by those who are “wicked” is always brief. “Though evil is sweet to his taste, and he conceals it under his tongue; though he saves it, . . .holds it inside his mouth, [t]his food in his bowels turns into asps’ venom within him” (20:13-14). This is what God does to the wicked man.

Job 21 – Job replies: He rebukes Zophar for thinking he is assailing him.…

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A Brief History of ‘A Guide to True Peace’

Dear Friends:

What follows is a brief textual history of the Quaker contemplative work, “A Guide to True Peace”.

The work is based on the works of three continental Quietists; Madam Guyon, Archbishop Fenelon, Miguel Molinos.  The ‘Guide’ weaves together passages from these authors’ works.  Primary sources include “A Short Method of Prayer” by Guyon, “The Spiritual Guide” by Molinos, and “Maxims of the…

Instead of not seeing the forest for the trees, I have recently come to realize, that the we are in danger of not seeing the trees for the forest.  Concerns for the state of the Religous Socienty of Friends overshadows concern for the individual souls of its members and of those who enter its doors.  Discussions over what is a Quaker miss the point entirely.  When Jesus told his listeners to love their neighbor he was asked who is my neighbor.  He then told the parable of the good…

The B-I-B-L-E

O what have they done to thee?

You used to be the Word of God

And now thee’s bad TV

That’s what I thought last night when I started watching “The Bible” on History Channel last night.  It’s Hollywoodishly dramatic enough that when my good wife fell asleep watching it and awoke during “The Vikings” which…

Job 18 – Bildad offers his piece: Too much talk, he says. Why does Job view us [his “friends”] as stupid “brutes”? (18:3)

What does Job expect? That the order of the universe will be upended because he is angry?

The “wicked” [like Job??] will be led “into the net” (18:8) of oblivion. “All memory of their existence will fade from the earth; no one will remember their names. They will be thrust from light into darkness, driven from the world” (18:17-18).…

Job 16 – Job continues in anger: “I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are! Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air? What makes you keep on talking? I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you. But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief” (16:2-5).

Times when people are going through profound suffering and grief are…

Job 14 – Job continues with these amazing words: “How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?” (14:1-3) The limits of man in the face of God are so infinite, it seems simply unfair to be so demanding. But denying human accountability to God also undermines the…

Dear Friends: We marvel at incarnation, at the way that Life walks the earth in carne, in these bags of flesh we call bodies. By some mysterious grace we are given the power to live and to think and to act. Then gravity holds us down. Biochemistry drives us. History and community constrain us. Information limits our imagination. A tangle of powers confronts us with a chaos of demands. It’s enough to drive you to drink. It’s enough to drive whole civilizations mad.

But…

Job 10 – Job says he is disgusted with his life and must complain about it. “I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me—tell me the charge you are bringing against me’” (10:2).

Job believes God does not “see” with the eyes of men – God is eternal and so mysterious, it is pure pride to claim any kind of “knowledge.”

“You guided my conception and formed me in the womb. You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together. You…