#ritual

Human beings seem to have a perpetual tendency to have somebody else talk to God for them. We are content to have the message second-hand. One of Israel's fatal mistakes was their insistence on having a human king rather than resting on the theocratic rule of God over them. We can detect a note of sadness in the word of the Lord, 'they have rejected me from being king over them' (1 Sam. 8:7). The history of religion is the story of an almost desperate scramble to have a king, a mediator, a priest, a pastor, a go-between. In this way we do not need to go to God ourselves. Such an approach saves us from the need to change, for to be in the presence of God is to change. ↗

— Richard J. Foster

#god #old-testament #pastor #priest #spiritual-mediation

Life and the universe are not a spiritless chance occurrence without a purpose, nor are they a trick performed by a supernatural magician." - A Time of Change ↗

— Paul Greene

#evolution #intelligent-design #islam #judaism #pyramids

To understand the love of being loving, radically changes us. People, in and of themselves, cannot give us happiness. Activities, in and of themselves, cannot give us happiness. One becomes a loving presence, a centre for Divine grace. ↗

— Donna Goddard

#change

Introverted seekers need introverted evangelists. It's not that extroverts can't communicate the gospel, either verbally or nonverbally, in ways that introverts find appealing, it's that introverted seekers need to know and see that it's possible to lead the Christian life as themselves. It's imperative for them to understand that becoming a Christian is not tantamount with becoming an extrovert. ↗

— Adam S. McHugh

#christians #evangelism #extroverts #introverts #spirituality

Our outer relationships are a mirror of the relationship and communication between our own inner male and female sides. Our outer relationships with a man or a woman are a possibility to understand our own inner man or woman. ↗

— Swami Dhyan Giten

#inner-man-and-woman #joy #love #psychology #relationships

Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that one. ↗

— Black Elk

#crazy #dreams #horse #philosophy #real-world

Compassion crowns the soul with its truest victory. ↗

— Aberjhani

#famous-quotes-from-classic-books #forgiveness #healing #inspiration #positive-inspiration

Love, Mercy, and Grace, sisters all, attend your wounds of silence and hope. ↗

— Aberjhani

#classic-books #famous-quotes #famous-quotes-from-classic-books #grace #haiku

I can almost picture the disciples faces. "No, not the drink-my-blood speech! We'll never get on the list of fastest-growing movements if you keep asking them to eat you! ↗

— David Platt

#dreams

While spirituality provides an efficient and endless fuel for your mind and body, you must burn that fuel with human action towards your goals, dreams, and desires. ↗

— Steve Maraboli

#body #desires #dreams #efficient #fuel