Orthodoxy… Diversity

SAT., OCT. 18, 1997, 6:14 AM
FARM, STUDY

One of My strongest and most frequent “messages” to you is that I, the Holy Spirit of the One, Triune God, love diversity. I am supremely competent as Creator and Sustainer of life here in the earth. In almost every aspect of this created and functioning plane there is diversity. And I tell you, yet again, that I am neither angered nor saddened by the diversity I see in relation to Me. Yesterday you read… and reread… the article on the Orthodox Church, of which your son Michael and his family are faithful members. Let that be the stimulus for the Teaching this morning, a cool autumn one.

It still is hard for you to feel the lack of acceptance of what you and I do together… these Teachings… by this Orthodox family. You are aware of… and try to appreciate… the reasons for this, in the Orthodox way of approaching Me. Their highest value is in linking the present with the past. The way “the early Church” was is the way the current one should be. Everything about Me must be evaluated and judged by “how it should always have been”. Any “new approaches” must be held in abeyance until it can be determined, by the church Fathers, that they “fit” with Orthodox interpretations of Scripture and with the long-held traditions of Orthodoxy.

In contrast I come to you, the father of an Orthodox son, in a mystical way, which forces you to admit, when you will, that the Holy Spirit speaks to you directly. I am in this Orthodox movement, but I can never be bound or limited by it. I still am as free as when I came as the dove on My shoulder, as Jesus… or as wind and fire at Pentecost. I tell you to remain an active and enthusiastic member of the Presbyterian Church, in the tradition of John Calvin, a reformer of the traditional Church. And yet I certainly realize that this church no longer accepts the perception of predestination, yet is also leery of people like you, who claim special access to Me.

Your church’s traditions are not as long, historically, as those of Orthodoxy or Catholicism, but they still must be “protected”. I tell you that you are not a prophet, but I offer you Teachings which help interpret My views of this earth scene in this present time, which, in some ways, is different from the past. I have always selected a few mystics, as a balance, in some ways, to tradition and “orthodoxy” in its various forms. (For there are “orthodox” Pentecostals who can be as leery of you as these “orthodox Orthodox” are.) Mystics are rarely popular as they are actively reporting what I tell them… or as they report other spiritual experiences that most of you humans don’t have. After you’ve passed will these Teachings survive and be valued? This is not your concern. Just be faithful to this “task” of hearing and writing… and to who you are, in the life you’re privileged to lead. Just know that it is possible that sometime in the future, when you are part of the past, these Teachings could be recognized for their perceptions about life, as communicated by Holy Spirit. But not by the Orthodox, which does include Michael. Win some, lose some.

You will worship tomorrow in a service led by two women clergy, with neither having a beard. You shall sit in a pew, sing hymns led by a powerful organ, use non-traditional… and some traditional… words in participation, and there shall be no Holy Communion. There are no icons, no bells, no incense, and while you can appreciate these occasionally they are not important to you as a part of true worship.