Intro to the Anamchara Fellowship Community!
Tag: Episcopal
The book of Jude
🌈 Important message about inclusion…
“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.” (Jude 1:17-19)
Who is dividing us more or doing more damage to souls out there than the priests and church leaders who have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit (unconditional love and mercy), and instead, teach the literal interpretation of scripture which divides, puts certain people before others, and marks some for heaven and others not so? If I may vent for a minute: The other day I was on the phone with a very vocal newly baptized born again Baptist. He not only told me that prior to getting saved he was going to hell (but now he is not) and that everyone in the lbgtq community is going to hell and all people from other religions are also going to hell. It was hard to listen to this because every ounce of me knew all he said was a lie. But what made it worse was that he had heard that kind of talk preached at his new church. I felt every word of his produced a death in me somewhere. So, let it be very clear: If you think you’re going to hell or live in a similar world this man does, you’re already there, in hell. I personally don’t believe hell exists outside of this world. God is Love and Mercy. God will NOT guilt you, nor does God want anything to do with your guilt. God wants you to notice God in creation and love creation, and God loves you no matter who you are. Your spirit was created in Love because of God’s Love and to Love your spirit will return. Period. Just be Love, because it’s the only Truth we know. I said my piece to that man on the phone with peace and love, and hopefully, someday he will remember my kind words to him and they will ring through the hell in which he is currently living. My prayers go out to him and to all others trapped by lies of hatred and division.
The book of Ecclesiastes
The absence of God leads to a life of vanity & vexation. This is the main theme of Ecclesiastes. What are we filled with when God is absent from our souls? Ego, pride, vanity—the ‘self’. When we are consumed with ‘self’ all we produce and put into the world is filled with ‘self’ and therefore false. Without God we are empty vessels with no foundation, empty because anything we put in our vessel falls right through the bottom and we spend our lives hastily trying to fill it up again with no success. I have watched people spend their lives this way, and any mention of God makes them laugh. God hasn’t yet touched them, and they have not yet touched God. It is a mutual reaching out. I like to think of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel when I picture this union.
Ecclesiastes is a special book to me because it began my deeper journey with God. It was the moment God reached out for me, woke me up and unlocked the door on which Christ was perpetually knocking my whole life. You see, it all began because I had a dream. A woman came to me and told me to read the Bible, Ecclesiastes specifically. It was a profound dream and it changed my life, because I listened to the woman, I read Ecclesiastes the next morning and the rest of the Bible too. And now I write these posts for the public as evidence of His calling. Christ is always knocking, waiting, calling. It is the person who listens for His voice that gets called. Those who volunteer themselves for His work and pray: ‘I am listening. What is it you’re calling me to do? Use me as you wish for good in the world.’ Then listen carefully with the ears of your soul and watch carefully with the eyes of your soul. Then make use of time to discern what you are hearing & seeing is truth, denies ‘self’ and promotes love. If it does all of these then act on that nagging notion, because God is calling
The book of Proverbs
“Truthful lips endure forever,
But a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” (Proverbs 12:19)
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. “Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
But those who promote peace have joy.” (Proverbs 12:20)
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Most of Proverbs was written by Solomon, known to be the wisest man who ever lived. In Hebrew, the word proverb means to rule or to govern. This book is written in poetic couplet form and contains words of wisdom with which we should govern ourselves. Both proverbs above are about truth. The top one is understood if we look at it in a broad sense. The truth is we should love each other and promote mercy and empathy, the lying tongue is the one who tells us certain people should continue to be marginalized, this argument will not endure, because it is nothing but a frivolous lie coming from those who refuse to love with their WHOLE hearts.
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The second proverb can be understood from an individualistic point of view. Like those who are protesting for peace and justice in the streets all over the world right now I’m sure feel joy in their hearts when they see how many others are doing the same, and they go home feeling uplifted and inspired because they know, with every core of their being, they are fighting for truth and for good. No part of their soul feels heavy or burdened by the lie, because the lie died with them, it went no further, it was barricaded by the truth they amplified. So, by this we could in fact change the world if we stop the lie when it comes to us and instead promote peace and truth. We all need a little more courage in that
The Book of Revelation
I’ve been looking forward to sharing this book. For many, the book of Revelation is one of the most frightening books of the Bible. I too was afraid to read it thinking it would destroy my faith out of fear. But I read it…carefully…and was fascinated by it. It is one of my favorite books now, because it is so colorful, dripping with allegory, and Jesus is alive & speaks again, so I’m immediately inspired. There is so much to study and make out if this book.
We have the Apostle John who has seen a vision of Christ and is told to write down all he will soon see as a prophecy of things to come. “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” ( Revelation 1:17)
This quote said by Christ sums up everything: He said this to His faithful servant, John, someone who meditated and gazed on the face of Christ consistently, in everything he did and Christ tells him to not be afraid (because to you, John—we could insert) I am the First and the Last. We must begin our faith with Christ and continue our faith with Christ throughout our days, make Him first and make Him last, the first thought in the morning and the last thought at night. Make Christ and His truth your everyday, and you should not be afraid of anything you read in Revelation (or life’s trials), but only be in awe and marvel at the mystery of it yet to be truly understood
The book of Philemon
What do you miss?? These are my own contemplative thoughts. You might disagree and that’s ok! .
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The book of Philemon is a brief letter from Paul to Philemon begging for the freedom of Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus. He asks Philemon to think of Onesimus instead as a brother in Christ. Onesimus knows he must return to his owner because it is the honest thing to do, but this time he comes with a letter, an appeal for his freedom, to be seen and treated as a brother and friend. .
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For a moment we are still. Ask yourself, what do you really miss? It is the question I’ve been asking myself lately as I remember old projects and ambitions I had my heart set on before quarantine. As this time allows for stillness I can self-examine without the usual distractions asking myself—What was holding me captive? Or do I now feel like a prisoner?
I can tell you with all honesty that I don’t miss anything except the freedom to hang out and be close to my family and friends. Host little bbqs, make food for them, talk at a short distance, and even though I’m not much of a hugger, I even miss those. That’s it. My old projects took me to Detroit a lot, but when I think of it, I’ve never been a city girl and lately all I can think about is owning a sheep farm (for milk) and possibly making it a spiritual retreat. I wanted to work with animals when I was a child, where did that inclination go? I have found that I don’t think my purpose is protesting injustice and speaking out aggressively against anything, that is not my nature. God made me for a reason, so what is the honest thing for myself & God’s call for me? It is instead feeding people, whether spiritually or with actual food, beauty, color, light—probably why I loved working the soup kitchen so much. I think if we all asked this question (what do I really miss?) and went back to the places from which we began, I think we would find new things of ourselves.
The Book of Esther
In what simple way is God calling you to act that would draw you closer to Him? For me it was spending a year to read and study the Bible. .
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These are my own contemplative thoughts. If you disagree with the below that’s ok! .
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Before Christ, in the Old Testament, under the old covenant, only priests were allowed near the altar, and they acted as the mediators between God and man. The book of Esther is symbolic to this as it describes her standing in the inner court in front of the king’s hall. The king sees Queen Esther just outside his inner court, HE FINDS FAVOR IN HER (a statement we read often in scripture when God’s relationship to his people is discussed) and holds out his scepter to her as a sign that it is ok to approach him. She moves towards him and touches the very tip of his scepter, a sign of her obedience and humility. To me her approach is like those hoping to come to God either for the first time or after a long hiatus. We have to approach with humility and an open heart, yet we do not have to be pure, or holy, or of a certain worldly stature. We are allowed to come as we are. Esther, who despite knowing she was doing something against the man-made laws of the day said she would approach the king to save her people the Jews from being slaughtered, “even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” In this statement she showed her bravery. This kind of bravery is what God wants to see from us, wants us to cut through all the worldly “laws” like our own expectations, guilt, rules, etc., right to Him. And He will find favor in us for this—we will become his special students in that moment, He will take us under His wing and show us wonderful miracles and bless us tremendously, especially show us how to find His kind of joy in this life if we keep our eyes open to Him. .
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The Book of Romans
These are my contemplative thoughts, you might disagree and that’s OK!
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“The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
Faith in Latin is fides which was one of the highest and most honorable virtues in Ancient Rome among the people involved in public affairs. Fides was a form of trust and an unwavering reliability in someone. But this virtue was considered the foundation of partnerships. Now if we are to take Paul’s quote here which was originally stated in Habakkuk 2:4, and apply it to the term ‘fides’, we could easily change the verse to: the righteous will live by an unwavering partnership with God. The minute we turn our gaze to God, He turns his gaze to us. We both act as a mirror—with Him being the real image we are supposed to reflect. Swipe 👉to see two mirrors reflecting on to infinity—an unwavering, undistorted image as long as the original image remains undistorted.
Even if we sometimes feel He has left us, He has not. His gaze is on us and is unwavering so long as we always keep Him the main focus of our hearts, which, if done with love, should help us through all things in our day to day life.
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#bibleverse #god #jesus #christ #catholic #episcopalchurch #episcopal #devotional #friday #church #spiritual #incense #candles #flowers #bookshelf #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #writerscommunity #writer #writersofinstagram #readersofinstagram #reading #quarantine #covi̇d19
The First Book of Chronicles
These are my own contemplative thoughts. You might disagree and that’s OK!
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“…Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so I may know how many there are.” —1 Chronicles 21:2
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Most of the first part of Chronicles is a genealogical list, which I skipped in my reading. But then the book goes on to speak of David’s
rule as king. As king, David did the best he could, but like all humans he was not perfect. He’s written some of the most beautiful psalms (poems & songs) deticated to God,
because he truly felt he and God were in it together, he truly felt God’s presence in his life and it overwhelmed and inspired him. So the fact that he asks for his troops to be counted so he can measure his army’s strength is very unlike him. In this action he separates himself from God and is relying only on numbers, & on his own strength and pride. The simple definition of ‘sin’ is an act which separates us from God. So David was wrong to count the strength of his men, when he knew (and it had been proven to him many times) that God had his back, that God was with him. By this he pushed God away, thus separating himself from God, thus committing a ‘sin’. But don’t worry, our ‘sins’ are not counted by God. I think this shows that fact. That neither we should count against God, nor should we think God is counting against us. We simply try to keep our faith, and pray God will help us keep our faith in Him. We must hold fast to the sleeve of God’s robe or to God’s hand like a child who does not want to be lost in a world crowded with trivialities. In David’s case he said he was sorry to God and went on his merry way, hand in hand with Him (or if you like, Her) after this, and left with us his beautiful and inspiring dedications to his One & Only True Love.
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#bibleverse #bible #biblejournaling #church #episcopal #episcopalchurch #readersofinstagram #writersofinstagram #catholic #christ #god #jesuschrist #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookphotography
The book of Samuel
I have no authority to teach you. You might disagree and that’s ok.
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“Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” -1 Samuel 17:28
This is David’s brother speaking to him. No one knows anything of our hearts except God. We don’t know much of David at this point, but we know the sound of anger and probably jealousy in his brother’s voice, because David answers with, “Now what have I done?” David, however, does not let criticism stop him, he keeps on with his plan to follow God’s voice. People will always put intent on your motives, but you mustn’t get downhearted, especially when you know in your heart they are wrong. Only you and God can see your innerworkings and all your life up to this point. People will always judge you from the outside, but God looks within. I will add that it is the same for God, we mustn’t judge God based on another’s human interpretation. Even me, if I have ever said an untruth, I would beg someone to correct me, and I hope I would react with humility. We, you, know instinctively the truth of God’s word because His word lives in you and your soul will feel synchronized when you hear and see something that has pure God in it. So, follow this and let no one stop you from being your true good self and doing what you know is right. Remember, God is love. That is ALL.
BOOKS AND LOST STORIES 