church fails. system suffocates. God Frees.

 

God is not Bound by our BS.

This meme is for ALL of us

The full quote is below and focused on women.

.

And this conversation reminds me of blog post I made over a decade ago,

• When we Follow God: Everything Must Go!

“

God doesn’t play by our rules…

God doesn’t care about our culture or the leader/follower game…

God is not stopped by our beliefs about the Bible… controlled by the traditions of our church.

“

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"

Let’s be real: The conservative church…isn’t built for the well-being of women.

Not fully.

Not mentally.

Not emotionally.

Not physically.

Not spiritually.

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Think about it: women are taught

their thoughts are dangerous,

their desires are suspect,

their bodies are shameful…unless to be perfected only for marriage. Curiosity? Curiosity is a threat. Intellect? A distraction.

Embodiment? It’s scary.

And yet, somehow, women are supposed to be “holy” while denying everything that makes them human.

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It’s messy because it’s true:

your body carries the shame,

your mind carries the doubt,

your spirit carries the loneliness.

And the church acts like that’s normal. Like the tension, the ache, the rawness of what God made in you…that’s a problem to fix.

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This isn’t theoretical.

The constant tension between your lived experience and the rules you’re told to obey is soul-crushing.

And yet…Jesus came for women exactly here. He talks to us directly, honors our bodies, engages our minds, doesn’t shy away from our desire, and gives authority we aren’t even supposed to claim.

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The church often fails.

The systems often suffocate.

But God? He’s not bound by them. He’s for the whole of you. Your body, your mind, your voice, your desire. And learning to live there: fully, messy, holy, embodied…is one of the hardest and most freeing things you’ll ever do.

"

@Sydnee.Layne.Clark

in Threads 4 Dec 25

When we Follow God: Everything Must Go!

Many Religious folks want us to believe,
that following God means being Good and staying out of Trouble
- but really it is the opposite!

story:
One class-series many years ago, I was blessed to teach a group of very powerful Jewish women how to use basic soul tools - not to work with Jesus, just to Open to Spiritual information and action.

They all enjoyed the class, and did well.  One particular woman, I will call her Ruth, was really lapping it up, she opened-up a whole new relationship with God.

SO class series over, Ruth says I don't know what I am going to do
- how can I practice this spiritual way,
AND do my religion?

- she was some kind of Jewish Orthodox, a combination of strictness and freedom that wasn’t completely comprehensible to me
- but this is her Life, it is her Family, it is her Culture, it is her Religion, it is her Identity…

I told Ruth, in this practice, you are following God, loving God, connecting to God.
You are letting in the blessings of God, and more overtly co-creating with God in your world...
this is all good, right?  yes

Ok, now in your religion, in your way of life, you do good, you love your family, you serve people.  You have rules, and it is normal for you to follow them;
there is no necessary contradiction, right?  yes

SO, I say to Ruth:
Ok, you are good for now:
Listen, Deepen, Heal, Love, Follow God, Do good works - all is well - FOR NOW.
For awhile everything will be fine…

But, eventually, sooner or later...
God will lead you Out.

I don't know how or what, but I can promise you,
that you will be led in a way that is not aligned with your religion, family, traditions, community...

I don’t know How, What, Where, When, Who...
But I do know God’s leading will cross the lines of the life you have.

And THEN you will have to choose.
Follow God or follow your traditions...
Until then, enjoy yourself ; )


How can I possibly say this??

Because
God doesn’t play by our rules, or any rules. 
So, following God’s leading sends us on a collision course with the tyrants of our inner and our outer world.

Therefore, as Jesus said:

If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me - Luke 9 YLT

Because here is the thing:
I have been watching life,
I have been learning from lots of other people’s challenges - and my own.

I have noticed many kinds of spiritual literature,
as well as what is written about Jesus, and in the Bible,
and watching how Spirit leads me, and many others...

So, I can say for sure:

God doesn’t play by our rules.
God doesn’t care about the little fiefdoms we set-up.
God doesn’t care about our culture or the leader/follower game.

God doesn’t care about gender roles or what day of the week it is.
God does not care about our little games we set-up about how life is, and how everyone should do it.
God doesn’t take politics or economics or religion seriously.

God is not limited by our beliefs about Life, the Universe, and Everything.
God is not stopped by our beliefs about the Bible. 
God is not controlled by the traditions of our church.

All the Domination systems of this world, are meaningless to God.
All the games we think we have to play to survive, to fit-in, to get love, to be successful...
All the Lines we draw in the sand, and then think we or God can not cross.

God does not honor or pay heed to any of them.


Isn’t it interesting:

Jesus always seemed to be healing on the Sabbath - which was against the rules.
Jesus didn’t care if his disciples followed this rule or that - it drove the religious people batty.

Jesus Being himself,
saying what Abba was saying,
doing what Abba was doing:

Jesus Undermined the Religious Authorities
and the Political/Economic Authorities
and the Cultural/Family Authorities.

So of course, he Had to Go
- he had to be put-down. 

Jesus crossed all their lines
of right and wrong,
of good and bad,
of religious and profane,
of oppressor and oppressed
- willy nilly.

And so will we.

Fortunately, we don’t have it so bad.
The age of the martyrs is pretty much over - thank God - we have had enough of that!

So,
Usually it is merely spiritual, not physical death that we sign-up for when we follow Jesus.

Usually it is some mix of emotional, rational, religious, relational, social, familial, financial, vocational, wellness, ego-identity death that we sign-up for
- and that is WAY more than enough!

As we grow-up spiritually...
As we get-beyond the honeymoon phase in our relationship with God...

Spirit WILL likely lead us to cross the wrong people, authorities, structures, belief-systems outside us.
AS WELL AS inevitably lead us to stand-up to the limiting beliefs, limits, structures and energies… within us.

And THEN we will have to choose
- the old way OR the new way...
- the way of the body, ego, world... OR the way of the spiritual warrior/death…
- following OUR current thoughts, beliefs, feelings, habits, religion, culture About God, Life, Truth, Love, Light, Way...
*OR*
ACTUALLY Following our God, Life, Truth, Love, Light, Way...

When we follow God:
We are gonna Change,
our Life is Gonna Change,
eventually the World around us is gonna Change!

From this place, we can engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

We are gonna die... daily.
Anything and Everything that we hold on to, except God, is on it's way out.
Until then, enjoy yourself ; )

: ) Wendy

My favorite Christian Teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say this often:

Our God is a consuming fire,
who burns up everything that is not God

This is in NO way a downer, BTW.
This is the greatest gift we can receive
- there is sooo much blessing on this road, this narrow way:

And having called near the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them, ‘Whoever doth will to come after me — let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me;  for whoever may will to save his life shall lose it; and whoever may lose his life for my sake and for the good news’ sake, he shall save it;  for what shall it profit a man, if he may gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? - Mark 8 YLT

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this post has a similar theme, if interested: This is love: we lay down our lives for our friends

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Christ is Died. Christ is Risen. Christ is coming again, and again...

SUBTITLE: Death, Destruction, Demise: Hooray!


Unlike Calvinism, and the Puritan ethic that pervades much of modern Christian America;
I believe that bright, shiny, outward 'success' is not the only sign of an inward grace.

Don't get me wrong, it's great when we are on 'top'.
But when we find ourselves on 'the bottom',
it doesn't mean there is SOMETHING WRONG here.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens...

Jacob met Divinity face-to-face, in struggle,
and henceforth walked with a limp.
My thoughts below are primarily meant to encourage those of us who are in struggle, limping:

- If you feel crappy
- If you think you are a square peg in a round hole
- If the folks around you judge you, and you are tending to agree

- If you are wishing for some 'do-overs' and hoping for a miracle
- If you are tempted to believe you are on the WRONG track, a FAILURE,
- If you are experiencing Death, Destruction, Demise...

Perhaps your spiritual reality is just the opposite of your outward experience:
perhaps it is time to validate YOUR unique PATH,
keep your eyes on God (and not on 'the world, the flesh or the devil') and KEEP GOING!

as Paul said:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

...

I just listened to an hour interview with Matthew Fox.
From my perspective, I found this interview covered a lot of ground in Christian life:
sweeping through some of our ancient and modern experience. 

I came away excited about the changes that we and God are bringing about in structures as well as cultures, and of course, as always, members (individuals) in particular.
I was encouraged in my faith and in my personal journey, which is currently challenging (about par for the course ; )

I find that I am more inspired to send Easter greetings, than I have been for a very long time; so here we go...


My favorite Christian Teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say this often:

Our God is a consuming fire,
who burns up everything that is not God

It isn't always comfortable, or easy...
WAIT A MINUTE: what am I saying?!

Let's be honest:
This process is almost Never comfortable or easy.
Because we Will Not let it be so!

My resistance, and judgment, and invalidation, and habits, and emotions, and stories...
make changing Very Painful and Hard!
But, the changes come.

Regardless of our complaining and foot-dragging,
we can trust God in the Long Run to bring us into conformity with Christ.
In this relationship, experiencing this BE-ingness, lies comfort and ease: the meeting of all our need.

Us as souls, and us together as the body of Christ:
we die and we are born again:
again and again...

Into more alignment with our true selves:
God with us, God in us, God through us, God as us:
this is the Good News. Hallelujah!

Meanwhile, DEATH comes before Resurrection.
I appreciate how Leonard Cohen put it:

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah...

In this transformative journey we often look bad, and feel worse. 
AND then WE 'add insult to injury' by making up discouraging stories about ourselves and our choices...
But really, so what?

• Is looking bad, really SO bad? Who do we really Have to impress?
• Is falling down really the end of the world? Can't we just get up, now!
• If we go play in the mud, a shower works just fine to send us off, to play, again...

It is in this time of increasing pressure and cold, dark endings, that the gift of FAITH and HOPE carries us through:

• In some way, we have seen, heard or known with our spiritual senses the Still, Small Voice that guides on our unique journey...... God is HERE still, even as we cry: 'My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?'
• We have seen, heard and known with our physical senses: Morning follows Evening, since the first day...... The Sun will rise tomorrow, as well: count on it!
• We have received the gift of example and forerunner: our friend Jesus seemed to come to a messy, inglorious end; then transformed into a beautiful, glorious shining of the Way, the Truth, and the Light...... We have the honor to follow in his footsteps.

We have the honor to follow in Jesus' footsteps, therefore:

• Let us walk, and keep walking.  
• Let us trust God through all our ups and downs; and ask God to open us to Faith, Hope and Love: to keep going through whatever Death, Destruction, Demise we may find ourselves experiencing. 
• Let us Always remember: the end of the story is already written (Spoiler Alert: we all go to the seashore ; )

this is one of the many ways Paul said this:

The Spirit himself doth testify with our spirit, that we are children of God; and if children, also heirs, heirs, indeed, of God, and heirs together of Christ -- if, indeed, we suffer together, that we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory about to be revealed in us...

May God assist each of us us to:
allow God to bless us and keep us,
enjoy God's countenance shining upon us,
and bring us the experience of peace, as well as all the TLC we can stand.

Comfort and Joy to you in whatever phase of Life, Death and/or Metamorphosis you may be experiencing.
You are in very good company.

Blessed Eastertide, Wendy

So if any one be in Christ, there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold all things have become new

(rinse and repeat ; )

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Standing outside the Fire

If your knowledge of fire
has been turned to certainty by words alone,
then seek to be cooked by the fire itself.
Don't abide in borrowed certainty.
There is no real certainty until you burn;
if you wish for this, sit down in the fire.
~ Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

I believe poetry is wonderful because there is no exact meaning,
it means many things, and different things to different folks.
Below are 3 thoughts, of many, I have regarding this awesome quote.
I would love to hear your ideas!

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1)
Experience and practice, being in present time with our body and in this world, ARE reality
- I hear Rumi say: jump in with no holds barred!

Theory and hearsay are shadows of reality.
I would rather directly experience what is real and true and love and God... for Myself... not second-hand.
Hearsay, a borrowed life, is like watching life on TV, it is not LIFE!

AND meanwhile,
oh how reality Burns!

But then, no one can say this theory or that theory to me,
I KNOW my experience
- that is my own certainty, not someone else's belief or theory...

Christian writer Paul says:
"in order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching but... holding the truth in love, we may grow up to him in all things"

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2)
My favorite Christian Teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say this often:

Our God is a consuming fire,
who burns up everything that is not God

for me it is axiomatic.

From my perspective, everything comes from God and everything returns to God.
I can flow with the process or I can resist it. 
Depending on my level of resistance I can suffer little or much. 

But in the end, whether I let-go or I fight tooth and nail (like a cat trying not to take a bath)
- no matter what:
everything that is not only-God, goes into the fire...

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3) One of the Christian spellings for Rumi's quote, I believe, is Jesus saying:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".

I would translate this something like:
I must let go of letting the 'lower/ego self' run the show...
Paul calls this the 'flesh',
I let go of the physically-focused self;

and I be, I identify as who I really am as spirit, a part of God,
and I walk my unique spiritual path.

This fulfills me and naturally serves the world.
AND this Way goes through the fire, the cross, there is no way around it!
Just like Jesus did, in his unique way, we have the opportunity to do, in our unique way.

When we stop chasing around outside of us (fixing, changing, squirreling, consuming, desiring, worrying, scheming, helping, controlling... ad infinitum)
and focus inside of us (which feels like sitting in the fire, no? at least at first!!!)
then, well, that is IT. 

The way can be painful, but the fruit is sweet.

The fire could be THE BELOVED (GOD),
it could be LOVE,
it could be LIFE,
it could be BEINGNESS. 
Here is one possible reading of Rumi's words, that could sum all these things:

If your knowledge of GOD
has been turned to certainty by words alone,
then seek to be cooked by GOD directly.
Don't abide in borrowed certainty.
There is no real certainty until you are consumed/transformed through/by GOD;
if you wish for this, sit down in GOD.

Of course I find myself singing Garth now  ; )

Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire

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