Jay Forrest

  The Nicene Creed We believe in one God,     the Father, the Almighty,     maker of heaven and earth,     of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,     the only Son of God,     eternally begotten of the Father,     God from God, Light from Light,     true God from true God,     begotten, not made,     of one Being with the Father.     Through him all things were made.     For us and for our salvation         he came down from heaven:     by the power of the Holy Spirit         he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,         and was made man.     For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;         he suffered death and was buried.         On the third day he rose again             in accordance with the Scriptures;         he ascended into heaven             and is seated at the right hand of the Father.        He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,         and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Sp

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. _______ From the Common Book of Prayer , Daily Morning Prayer: Rite Two, "The General Thanksgiving." 

"Being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness" (Rom 6:18). The Greek word that is translated as sin is hamartia . It is usually defined as “missing the mark.” Which gives one the picture of aiming an arrow at a target but missing it. This is not what it means. Sin is not missing the mark, sin means to aim at the wrong object. One is not even aiming at the target. The target is pleasing God. Sin is not trying to please God but failing, sin is not even trying to please God. The aim of sin is pleasing self, not God. Sin is a wrong aim. Sin is selfishness. Romans 3:9 says that "are all under sin." What does this mean? It means that as long as you are aiming to please self, you cannot please God. Selfishness bends all actions to the ultimate aim of one’s own life and interests. Sin makes you a slave of pleasing self. You are "under the power" of the selfish motive (Rom 3:9 NIV). And Romans 6:22 explains, "But now being made f

The LORD is my shepherd;      I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures:      he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul:      he leads me in the paths of righteousness           for his name's sake.  Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,      I will fear no evil: for you are with me;      your rod and your staff they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:      you anoint my head with oil;           my cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me      all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD      for ever. _______ Psalm 23 AKJV

"Biblical inerrancy and infallibility are not accepted by the Episcopal Church." - The Episcopal Church Inerrancy and infallibility is the belief that the Bible is without any error whatsoever. They claim that there are no errors in history, science, chronology, or any other area. Most of the time they limit this to the autographs. The vast majority of Christians are ignorant about scripture, its transmission, its canonicity, and its textual issues. Therefore, they are not in a position to rightly judge the question of the inerrancy and infallibility of the scriptures. I of course, cannot, in such a short span of time, fully educate anybody on the subject. Suffice it for me to say that the scriptures are not inerrant or infallible. For more information, read  The Human Faces of God by Thom Stark or  Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman. Firstly, no original manuscript written in the apostle's own hand exist. All we have is copies of copies of copies. And of these

"Healthy spirituality has always been a question of putting a number of things into delicate balance and then walking a tightrope so as not to fall off either side." - Ronald Rollheiser   It is too easy to be pulled off balance. Equilibrium is a state of spiritual maturity few of us reach. Yet, spiritual health is found in balance. It is known as the middle way. The primary way we get off balance is by going to extremes. By doing one thing really well, yet at the same time ignoring the opposite activity.   When we neglect our home life, we become a workaholic. Dedicated to work, but then neglectful of our private life.   When we neglect our private devotions, we become a person who is religious but not spiritual. We must balance church and home life. Spirituality is about deepening our awareness in the flow of life, not separate from it. We must balance contemplation and action, passion and purity, duty and self-awakening, community and individuality. You must balanc