Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

When I taught law I took great pains to make the point that as great as our legal system is, you can't count on it to "do justly" or dispense justice, the best you can hope for is to be treated fairly and unfortunately that doesn't happen often enough. Unlike Sharia law it does have room for Mercy and we can probably thank Micah…

Idealism is not the same as love.  Idealism flows from our minds while love flows from our hearts.  I can ramble on about my perception of the difference between the two and many would disagree or simply fall asleep from boredom.  Such a discourse would do nothing but put good people on the defensive in protecting the role of Idealism in our lives which is not my goal.  My goal is to help those who have seen or are in the process of seeing the energy of youthful idealism seemingly soaked up…

There is a difference between prayer and being in God’s presence.  While the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, healing takes place in his presence.  Many of the people healed by Jesus had prayed for healing before they came into His presence where healing took place.  There are exceptions to every thing but when it comes to healing, being in His presence is the best place to start.

There are many ways to come into God’s presence.  Taking time out to sit quietly with the…

It’s a World without Sin, everyone is ok

No need for Grace, from what people say

There’s no Hell to go to, no need to repent

it’s a World without Sin, a world without lent.

It’s a World without sin, the devil’s retired

there’s no one to tempt us, his imps have been fired

There’s no one way to God, Oprah has said

In John 14:6 Jesus was simply misread

It’s a World without Sin, we’re all children of God

we love one another, though sometimes its…

Raised Catholic (Elementary and High School and Catholic Fraternity in college and post grad degree at a Catholic college) I recognize the weakness of the hierarchal structure of the Catholic Church.  However, I also recognize the wisdom of those in power.  They are very good at discerning the gifts of their priests and assigning them titles and roles that make the best use of those gifts.  Even when they disenfranchise an entire sex from participation in management, they do a very good job…

I read a comment on FB about the DACA situation that said "everyone that is in this country deserves to be here" and it struck a nerve.  Have we become so filled with a sense of self-worth that we think we actually deserve the things we have?  I was born in the US but I know I am not more deserving to have been born here than anyone else born on that day in India, Thailand, Mexico or Syria.  I am blessed with a great relationship with God through Jesus but I know I don't deserve that…

I watched a movie last nite where the main character,  embittered by tragedy, posed that familiar question: "If there's a God why is there so much tragedy in the world?".  After posting an earlier blog on the shedding of blood my mind found itself with thoughts of God who knows all things - past, present and future - contemplating how best to achieve His goal (I will not, at least at this time, presume to know what that goal was or is) and the game of chess came immediately to mind.  In…

Hebrews 9:22 tells us that blood must be shed to purge sin from our lives.  I believe this calls for personal sacrifice and not necessarily the physical shedding of blood.  The same personal sacrifice that is inherent in the divine love that Jesus demonstrated by both His life and His death.  When Jesus was approached to act in a family dispute about the distribution of a family inheritance He made it plain that He had come to change hearts and not financial equality (Luke 12:13-15).  More…

Sometimes prayer is the first thing I resort to when I'm in need.  Other times it's the last.  Urgency has a lot to do with it.  When I think I have plenty of time or the pain isn't that great that it stops me from being able to get from point A to point B, I go it on my own - go to the Doctor, reason with others, do what seems to be necessary at the time.  When I have no time left I pray.  When the pain begins to be immobilizing, I pray.  I pray for others when they ask me or God puts them…

Let's imagine you have a tree in your yard that bears rotten fruit.  Every year the fruit kills innocents.  Sometimes squirrels, a feral cat here and there, pets, and eventually a baby.   Are you going to be satisfied with trying to do a better job of disposing of the fruit each year or are you going to do your best to destroy the tree so it can never bear fruit again?

1. So lets say you are a cast iron skillet. Made by the best cast iron skillet maker in the world. Your first owner knows you should be "seasoned" before use but doesn't' have the time to do it right. You are left to soak in the sink in spite of the directions you came with and after repeated failures to adhere to the manufacturer's instructions you are no longer the pride and joy of your owner as you are coated with rust and no one would think of using you for your origina…

Once we form a relationship with the other members of our Body and learn to respect them for their individual abilities and spiritual walk we have to take RESPONSIBILITY for being true to our own spiritual walk.  We have to be open to hearing from the Spirit and following the Light wheresoever it may lead us.  We have the responsibility of trusting our relationship with God enough to let go of our personal fears, desires, plans and any cultural or family ties that stand in the way of…

Many attempts at unity fail because they are based on tolerance instead of respect.  There are bound to be differences of opinion amongst a community of what that community is being called to do.  We can't expect someone to just accept our opinion and change theirs without divine intervention.  Furthermore it's not enough to just tolerate another's opinion.  Though we are often admonished to be tolerant of others who at not like us in one way or the other, it is my contention that tolerance…

Back in the day if you learned the three R's of 'ritin, readin & 'rithmatic you had an education.  If you could read, write, add and subtract you could pretty much handle anything life would throw at you.  That was a much simpler time.  Now you might have to do that in more than one language.  Plus if you can't find your way around a computer don't expect to make much progress on the job.  Inventory?  Bookkeeping?  Sorry!  Adding and subtracting isn't going to do it.  My slide rule from…

A friend of mine recorded this song that goes on about ghosts around the edges of the moon.  He does a very nice job.  On the surface it doesn't make much sense but the music and his voice touches the soul.  He's a very deep Christian who likes to mingle where the people are: subways, central park, occupy wall street gatherings and small cafes.  What comes out is sometimes hard to decipher and this song is certainly that but as I listened to it and reflected upon it the thought came to me…

One of my favorite sayings is "The only problem with common sense is that it's not common."  In the past I used to set aside a month to read the book of Proverbs.  The book has 31 chapters and I would read a chapter a day as part of my old testament reading.  There's a lot of common sense stuff in Proverbs and a lot of good advice as well that deserves meditation time.  When Jesus first became real and personal to me( or when I first experienced His reality) I decided to add a scripture…

Quakers talk about continuing revelation.  I think it's important to define your terms if you are going to have a serious discussion on a topic.  The following scripture involves what I understand a revelation to be:

Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not…

When I was 38 years old I walked away from my political life, resigning as a local committeeman, to follow Jesus.  I re-examined my career and distanced myself from work that would, in my opinion at the time, hinder my spiritual development.  I knew my weaknesses and my desire to please people and did not want to constantly be fighting those weaknesses while trying to reprogram my life into a WWJD lifestyle. 

This course of action came at great cost financially and eventually led to…

The one concept I love most about Christianity is that of a personal God.  One who knows and loves me personally.  One who would have died on the cross for me if I was the only one in the world; one who knew me before I was in my mother's womb; one who called me by name before I was born; and yet there it is: John  3:16 on billboards and placards at sporting events:  For God so loved the WORLD ......  I'm not an only child.  I have siblings whom God loves as much as I and how he treats me…

Mic 6:8  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

This scripture came out of vocal ministry at our meeting a while back and has been a source of ongoing personal revelation for me since.  The latest revelation of its depth was an aspect of "to walk humbly with they God?"

I have a grandson who is always eager to show me how much he knows.  Whenever he learns something…