tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post2262606468985217402..comments2023-06-28T11:56:24.073-04:00Comments on The Lamb's War: The Price of DissentMicah Baleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-30270803234632099722012-07-16T11:28:26.350-04:002012-07-16T11:28:26.350-04:00Micah. Peace be with you, messenger of the most hi...Micah. Peace be with you, messenger of the most high! Be encouraged! There are more with you than there are with those who 'seem' powerful. Truly. Tangeably. Warrior-spirits of light are NOT 'fairy tales.' May you percieve them going before you, preparing things; and be encouraged even more.<br /> <br /> The questions, demands, and challenges that you servants bring towards the powers over our communities are 'ours' as well as yours. Just as a solitary 'prayer voice' is heard, but lifted by many hearts 'in agreement', so also we say in our hearts "God of Lovingkindness.. look on this work for you. Increase! may it be so! amen!"<br /><br /> We thank you Micah. The reporting of this work is a 'lasting work' in itself. I am comfortable sharing your reports because they are not so rife with the standard 'chants, rants, and rude, foolish, and counter-productive character assasinations' that pervade the expressions of those around me engaged in various 'battles'. This written report is already encouraging a humble and hardworking group named Chattanooga Organized for Action, whose ways and means are respectful and effective. I intercede for them and encourage them to 'stay alive' by staying 'spiritually minded'. Please continue to give updates.<br /><br /> I wish i could hire you a personal secretary and somebody to haul you around on the back of a custom tandem bike while you engage in your communications. You're a mighty valuable character, son. Work fresh! Keep your perspective.. (5-600 entire Quaker families in jail just in Bristol England alone in 1650 ..celebrate strange urination moments..) Joy moves the darkness back more than bitterness and complaints do. Youre in the BEST work. Congratulations. <br /> Be the brightest light. David-StephenAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15482406600441510172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-44311123858983111412012-07-13T19:34:11.685-04:002012-07-13T19:34:11.685-04:00Dear Friend,
I found when I engaged in Civil Diso...Dear Friend,<br /><br />I found when I engaged in Civil Disobedience a few years ago it to be very important to my sanity to follow my leading to the letter to stand against the war in Iraq. If I had allowed my arrest to become me standing against my culture as a whole or our entire corrupt system of government I would never have been able to stay grounded in the spirit, because it would have become about me and my political opinions rather than following spirits leading. I am not greater than the system, or my culture but spirit <br />is. I experienced to change the system it must not be me standing in the way of an evil system but that of god within me, the rest of my body is more of a follower. And while you can put me in handcuffs, you cannot put that of god within me in handcuffs.<br /><br />It sounds as if you are seeing many things that are wrong with the world and contrary to the spirit of Christ. My question for you is, what is Christ leading you to do friend? I am holding you in the light as you go through this process. <br /><br />Thank you for your faithfulness to spirit and your willingness to follow your leadings into the belly of the beast. <br /><br />Holding you in Christ's Love<br />ShannonShannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16694974489977346898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-61280445952465045052012-07-13T13:22:34.961-04:002012-07-13T13:22:34.961-04:00Marshall - I appreciate these observations, and I ...Marshall - I appreciate these observations, and I think that you pose some excellent areas for discernment. <br /><br />It is easy to get fixated on the details of what our spiritual ancestors did in the past, but what does it look like to live into that same Life and Power today, in our present context?Micah Baleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-52810778105513329972012-07-13T12:59:56.947-04:002012-07-13T12:59:56.947-04:00Micah, my sense is that drug tests violate our rel...Micah, my sense is that drug tests violate our religious beliefs. Our yea is yea, our nay is nay. A drug test states, "We don't believe you," just as requiring us to swear says we might lie.<br /><br />~Paulapaulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891195958481806488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-11944612203976018792012-07-13T12:32:15.889-04:002012-07-13T12:32:15.889-04:00“...I found it extremely difficult to stay grounde...“<i>...I found it extremely difficult to stay grounded in God and in my true identity as a child of the light.</i>” Yes. And the fact that you say this, without being prompted, is very reassuring to me, because it declares that you are making the effort. My prayers are with you, Friend!<br /><br />“<i>...I am beginning to understand how truly bold George Fox was....</i>” Now, <i>that</i> is an interesting matter, and deserves a bit of further exploration.<br /><br />As George Fox records in his <i>Journal</i>, he was led, at the very beginning of his public ministry, to take up a group of testimonies, such as the refusal to swear, the refusal to say “you” to an individual, and the refusal to post bond. What turned out to be significant about this group of testimonies — aside from the plain fact that they were the right things to do — was that they were guaranteed to (<i>a</i>) affront the privileged and self-important, (<i>b</i>) win the respect of people sincere about religion, and (<i>c</i>) provide a clear pointer to the sort of Christianity that had real integrity.<br /><br />All those testimonies turned out to be exceedingly effective in the courtroom. The leading that provided Fox with those testimonies was thus, without a doubt, one of the greatest spiritual gifts he received; we would not have a living Quaker movement today if that gift had not been given!<br /><br />Alas, the same testimonies are not so effective in courtrooms today, because the weasel-mind of worldliness has learned how to neutralize them (e.g., by offering us the choice to swear or affirm as if it were a matter of boring routine, and by perceiving “thee” to an individual as merely quaint). But I daresay that if we start with the same question that Fox seems to have started with — what practices that we take for granted are inconsistent with a Creation fully restored from sin? — we might yet be given testimonies of equal power.<br /><br />I pray that we may given that new gift — you, and I, and all Friends who are sincere in their commitment to the path of Christ.Marshall Masseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18371519122299607819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-78963059988273586402012-07-13T12:31:09.057-04:002012-07-13T12:31:09.057-04:00May we all grow in the ability to keep our hearts ...May we all grow in the ability to keep our hearts tuned into God. <br /><br />Thanks, Micah, for sharing your experiences. They have fanned the flames of the Spirit in me.<br /><br />No powers come into existence without God’s knowledge. Only he fully knows the intentions of those powers and can move us to make responses that further his plans for his creation.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00304774445048524004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-21214153205320450492012-07-13T07:34:34.896-04:002012-07-13T07:34:34.896-04:00Excellent post, Micah. Not that our situations are...Excellent post, Micah. Not that our situations are similar to yours, but having been to municipal court now three times and county court once (and more to come), I know a little of what you're talking about when it comes to the courtroom itself and the stress it imposes. But I think I like this part best: "There are powers and rulers and authorities in this world, and we must decide which authority we are to place ourselves under. Will it be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or will it be some other authority?" I couldn't agree more. What I'm relating with here is the fundamental knowledge you have, as I have also had with the whole St. Mary's ordeal, that there are times when God is specifically asking you to make a stand. Backing down is simply not an option.julielizabethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09011767641721654488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-8359621411280437422012-07-12T23:05:12.787-04:002012-07-12T23:05:12.787-04:00Thank you all so much for your prayers and support...Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!Micah Baleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-49164174527189296122012-07-12T21:47:19.131-04:002012-07-12T21:47:19.131-04:00A good (though challenging) place for meditation a...A good (though challenging) place for meditation and prayer!<br /><br />And as you say, far more educational than reading about courts at a safe distance.forresthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13861950371962268402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-81770302641589087912012-07-12T21:19:08.859-04:002012-07-12T21:19:08.859-04:00You are in my thoughts much of the time these days...You are in my thoughts much of the time these days, Micah. Hope to see you soon.Rayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807624021583134261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-72913160248903674992012-07-12T19:30:41.575-04:002012-07-12T19:30:41.575-04:00Thanks, Micah, for standing with Deborah and other...Thanks, Micah, for standing with Deborah and others who have been foreclosed, and for this description of the atmosphere of worshop-of-the-court's-authority that is so palpable in the courtroom. My prayers are with you.Marcelle Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145301330059056577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-27461922809606182482012-07-12T12:12:11.367-04:002012-07-12T12:12:11.367-04:00With you in all ways prayer can support.
Community...With you in all ways prayer can support.<br />Community is the only true insuranceRobynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01805399324157676417noreply@blogger.com