“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children
of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." ~Jesus (Matthew 5:43-48)
The Hippie Christian Manifesto
Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Sunday, January 05, 2020
Rock Mass 01-05-2020
Rock Mass on the first Sunday of the month.
Rock Mass for Sunday January 5, 2020
"The spirit of war is at the extremely opposite point to the spirit of the gospel"
~Charles H. Spurgeon from "The Vanguard and Rereward of the Church" December 26, 1858
"We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever; and this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world."
~The Quaker Peace Testimony, Declaration of Friends to King Charles II, 1660
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
- Jesus (Matthew 5:9)
Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)
The
inspiration for creating "Rock Mass" came from the Rock Mass at All
Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena California back in the early 1970’s. On the
first Friday night of each month All Saints held a Rock Mass which was a mix of
traditional Episcopalian Mass and rock concert. A live band would play popular
rock music which couldn’t necessarily be called “Christian” but contained spiritual
phrases and references to God or Jesus. During the 1960’s and early 1970’s
there was an explosion of these songs coming out of the "secular"
music industry way before there was “Contemporary Christian Music”, in a way, it could be called "The Gospel According
To Billboard's Top 10".
(Stained glass guitar angel found at www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber)
Fair Use Notice
(Stained glass guitar angel found at www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber)
Fair Use Notice
Wednesday, January 01, 2020
On Becoming a Peacemaker
If you have been following my blog you most likely have noticed
a recurring theme, Peace! One of my favorite verses in the Bible comes from The
Sermon on the Mount where Jesus proclaims “Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called the children of God”. I am contemplating what it means to
be a peacemaker and how to personally live a life of peacemaking. Primarily, I
have seen this as someone who promotes world peace, advocating the end of war. This
limited understanding of peacemaking is easy to live out, but what I am seeking
is a lifestyle of peacefulness which is a little more complicated than simply protesting
war. Being a peacemaker involves the messiness of day to day relationships.
I am finding that remaining calm while in the midst of
conflict is no easy task. I do not like it when my personal peace is quickly
eroding and self-control gives way to feelings of anger. I am seeking tools to
disengage and take a step back from the edge. Breathe, I tell myself to breathe
deep breath after deep breath until I feel my peace return. I'll take a walk,
breathing in the calm and breathing out the toxic. When my mind clears and my
ability to think in terms of solutions returns I am able to fulfill the role of
peacemaker.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone
should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because
human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (James 1:19-20)
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on
your wrath (Ephesians 4:26)
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking
be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians
4:31-32)
Peace, Love and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)
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