Fish on Friday. I put my faith in Christ but know I have to do more for those who have less than me.

Good day my brothers and sisters. This is our blog today composted by me,with additional writing by our brother George, who I believe may be a Quaker.   I will post just a few photos of my latest artwork, which after God and me you are the first to see. Then there will be the message in time of war, followed by oodles more of my art.             When one is asked which is ones favourite of something, then for me each one is my favourite.      Same with you my brothers who I have mostly not met yet, but many of you whom I may meet      when this time has past and we are eternal spiritual beings. The picture below captures my attention      for more time than those above. Though the same goes with my sisters whom  I see more of one than the                                                        others! The thing which I like is many of you will not pick perhaps the                                           same as me!     Below is the Fish on Friday              Article     A Message in Time of War by George Amoss Jr.

Looking through my journal from past years, I found a transcription of vocal ministry from April 20, 2003, not long after the U.S. government's invasion of Iraq.

For the past couple of months I've been reading the works of George Fox. A week or so ago, I read a passage there that affected me deeply. It’s mostly a quotation by Fox of words of the prophet Micah.

The prophet, said Fox, was speaking of Christ when he wrote, "He shall judge amongst the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, but they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken it."

That in itself affected me, but I was even more deeply touched by Fox’s own words which followed. In his enthusiasm, Fox wrote, "Is not this vine Christ, and are not these the days of his gospel of peace?"

Those words made me sad, because I knew that if I could respond to Fox today I'd have to say, "These are certainly not the days of Christ’s good news. We still live under the God of war, not the Prince of Peace."

Fox and other Friends believed that the eschaton, the full realization of God's Kingdom of peace and justice, was at hand. They believed so, in part, because they knew by experience that within them was a holy light and power which, when surrendered to, led them to justice and peace. They expected that the extraordinary thing happening in and to them signaled the advent of God's perfect world. After more than three hundred and fifty years of subsequent history, we know that they were wrong in that expectation. But we also know that they were not mistaken in their experience: living in fidelity to the love in their hearts, they did change the world for the better.

To say "better" is to judge. George Fox often insisted, quoting another scripture [1 Cor. 6:2], that "the saints shall judge the nations." He knew that Jesus had said, "Judge not, lest ye be judged," but he saw no contradiction there. The Christ who "shall judge amongst the nations" lives in those who are faithful to the measure of his light in their hearts; their judging, then, is that of his spirit at work within them. In the spirit of the Kingdom we discern good and evil.

When I see rulers who torture and murder those who oppose them, I know that I see evil. When I read that the master of the world's mightiest military said "I feel good!" moments before announcing the imminent destruction of many lives in Iraq, I know that evil masquerades as goodness. When I think of the millions of Christians who demand that death be visited on others even as they pray that they themselves be spared, I know that we are inhabited and surrounded by darkness.

The "ocean of darkness" is disheartening, but I find courage in the example of those Friends who, despite the failure of the eschaton, never forsook their commitment to the spirit of justice and peace. They teach me that, although surrounded by darkness and bereft of grand hopes, I still can cherish compassion and allow myself to live by its light, a branch of the sheltering Christ-vine.

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Note: When giving the message during worship in 2003, I did not recall the statement by Fox perfectly, but for this post I have copied it from the source,  Gospel Truth Demonstrated, Vol. 6 of the 1831 edition of his Works, p. 166.

Note, my brothers and sisters that some of the above writing brought tears to my eyes. When I think of the money spent even in the Philippines on the army and fighting communist and Muslim brothers against Christian brothers and sister. Then remember the orphans I visited and held but had to leave. God I want to do more to heal the hurting in myself and others. Even mother earth seems to be getting raped and ravaged by the greedy who put money and power above love and mercy.  Note, we will reap what we sow if not in this lifetime then in the next. Bro Peter G Kimble.

                                                     

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Read Romans 8

 “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

 “The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”

 “Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own.”

 “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

 “Never seek to tell thy love, / Love that never told can be; / For the gentle wind does move / Silently, invisibly.”

 

“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.”

                            “A science which does not bring us nearer to God is worthless.”

Have a great day plus weekend and know that you are loved. O yes if any of you are having a drought, please feel free to pray you get our rain which has been deluging us for days!

                    My love to you and all beings, bro Peter   ps. please please pass this on to as many people as you can. This is note about me, but about getting known as a spiritual artist who wants to help in healing those (including yours truly) and that which is hurt, like our Mother earth. .