A Modest Proposal

by Fred Harris

Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water
After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water
Zen proverb

The Urantia Book encourages us to spread the “good news.” How that is accomplished has been a debate over the years. Some have been proponents of reader groups and slow growth. Others have wanted to publicize it to advise the world of this epochal revelation. More recently social media has been employed, and also The Urantia Book is now available for free, in multiple languages, over the internet.

But people crave community as well.

There has been some talk about starting a Urantia church and creating Urantia housing enclaves. But there is a substantial upfront capital cost as well as a history of failure to accomplish these goals.

Currently, in most communities, there are far too few Urantia Book readers to support a church or separate housing development. Even in the places where there are more Urantia Book readers, such as Boulder, Colorado, or San Francisco, California, the logistics of such efforts are difficult and expensive.

At the same time, the membership in most mainstream Christian churches is shrinking. My proposal is simple, effective, and low cost. Join a Christian church (actually, any church or spiritual community will work, but for this proposal, I’m suggesting a Christian church). I joined one and the following is informed by my experiences with the Presbyterian Church of Quincy, Florida, of which I am a member and a deacon.

First, go to several Christian churches in your area to see which one has a preacher whose message is most consistent with The Urantia Book. Then, attend that church as a visitor. You will be noticed and approached by people in the congregation, as they want to welcome visitors and encourage them to join the church.

After a few weeks of visiting, if you are interested in joining, go to the minister and tell him that you are interested, but let the minister know that you are a Urantia Book reader so that you won’t be joining under false pretenses. If the elders of the church (who will be told about your beliefs) vote to admit you, then the chance that you will be asked to leave as a result of your Urantia Book beliefs will be diminished significantly.

Once you become a member, be friendly and get to know the people who are members of the church. Volunteer for service projects. We build ramps for the elderly, have a food bank, and have a clothes closet. Go to Sunday school, which is a good place to discuss Urantia Book concepts. If possible don’t mention that The Urantia Book is where you are getting your ideas. If pushed, by all means, fess up, but don’t become overbearing about your Urantia Book beliefs. It is best to demonstrate them.

Once you show yourself to be friendly and a part of that church community, your ability to influence people will be expanded. Plus, you will find yourself in a spiritual community.

This proposal does not require a large capital investment (although you will be expected to financially support your church, just as you would if it was a Urantia Book church). All parties are benefited. The Christian churches add members. Urantia Book readers get to join a spiritual community and are able to assist in adding Urantia Book concepts to the theology of the church. The “good news” can be spread.

The Urantia Book basically tells us that this will work when it says:

This [Christian] church is only the larval stage of the thwarted spiritual kingdom, which will carry it through this material age and over into a more spiritual dispensation where the Master’s teachings may enjoy a fuller opportunity for development. Thus does the so-called Christian church become the cocoon in which the kingdom of Jesus’ concept now slumbers (170:5.21 [1866.4]).

Hold high the mission! Lighten life!

[embed title="The Living Water" url="https://spiritualfamily.net/file/view/54459/the-living-water" guid="54459"]

Why Jesus Loved Friendship        Peter Wehner 

The enduring significance of Christmas is that it represents perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Christian faith — the concept of the incarnation, the belief that God took human form in Jesus. Theologians refer to the “hypostatic union” of Jesus, meaning the mysterious fusion of his divinity and his humanity.

The humanity of Jesus manifests itself in his moments of grief, agony, anger, frustration, joy and compassion. But one particular aspect of that humanity that has long intrigued me is his professed friendship with the rest of us.

In the New Testament, this point is made emphatically in the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John. The context is Jesus’ discourse with his disciples, in which he tells them that as God the father has loved him, so he loves them. His command to his disciples is that they love one another. Jesus then says this: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my father I have made known to you.”

John Swinton, an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and a professor at the University of Aberdeen, calls this shift from servant to friend a “profound act of renaming.”

I understand why the relationship between an all-powerful deity and less than all-powerful human beings — between the creator and the created, the perfect and the imperfect — would be defined by the latter’s awe, reverence and obedience. But a relationship between God and us — between God and me, between God and you — that is defined by true friendship is startling. Why would a divine, transcendent entity, referred to in the Scriptures as the everlasting God, the Lord Most High, not only condescend to become human but also initiate a relationship with us that is defined by mutual affection, intimacy and self-revelation? So I reached out to ministers and theologians to ask: What does it mean for Jesus to call us his friends?

The thread of friendship can be traced back to the Old Testament, to the book of Isaiah, where the prophet conveys God’s description of Abraham as “my friend.” The concept of God as a friend is not foreign to the Hebrew Scripture, then, though it seems to have been limited to Abraham and, in a somewhat different way, to Moses, “as if they have an especially intimate relationship with God in distinction from others,” in the words of the Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman III. “But there is an intensification and expansion of intimacy as we move to John 15.”

Several people I heard from mentioned how revolutionary this concept of friendship was, pointing out that it would have been almost unheard-of for an ancient king, let alone God, to refer to his subjects as friends in the way Jesus did. An earthly king would certainly not have walked and lived among them in the way Jesus did. In ancient times people of unequal wealth and status were very unlikely to be friends. But Jesus shattered those expectations and the hierarchical relationship between God and human beings.

“Jesus is elevating his listeners,” the philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff told me, “treating them as on a level with him.” Jesus is recognizing the intrinsic worth of human beings, who are not only made in the divine image but also are his confidants and companions.

Scott Dudley, senior pastor at Bellevue Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, Wash., pointed out to me that the exchange in John revealed God’s radical love and grace. “You would expect God to befriend worthy people, educated people, brave people, or, at bare minimum, moral people,” he told me. But instead, Jesus chose to be his followers the uneducated (several fishermen), the reviled (Matthew, a tax collector for the hated Roman regime), a person who would deny him (Peter) and even betray him (Judas). Access to the divine is no longer the province of a special caste of influential, privileged people. And what Jesus did in the process is profoundly alter the understanding of the power dynamic between God and mortals.

“Power cannot generate love,” Pastor Dudley told me. “Power can generate obedience, fear, awe, grudging submission — but not love. The God who comes to us in Jesus doesn’t want grudging submission; he wants us to love him and be loved by him. He wants relationship, including friendship, and so he came in vulnerability, not in power.”

The concept of a vulnerable God, meek and lowly in heart, was almost unfathomable to many at the time, and for many people it still is. But a vulnerable God is an essential part of the Christian story. We see it in Jesus’ life, from his birth in a manger to his weeping over the death of his friend Lazarus to the anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he was betrayed on the night before his crucifixion. Jesus was accompanied by three of his closest friends — Peter, John and James — whom he asked to stay awake and pray with him. (They failed, with Jesus finding them sleeping, “exhausted from sorrow.”)

Renée Notkin, a co-pastor of Union Church in Seattle, in explaining the friendship verses in John, told me that Jesus’ words “Love one another as I have loved you” are essential to understanding what Jesus meant. Among other things, a proper understanding of friendship radically changes our perspective on how we are to live in community.

“Our witness is not right doctrine; it is our relational orientation,” Pastor Notkin told me. “As friends of Jesus, we love one another — and that includes people different from us. In fact, no one can be an ‘other’, because in Christ we belong to one another.” We are called to love one another, honor one another, welcome one another, encourage one another and bear one another’s burdens. “Instead of being people who stink with judgment and criticism,” she told me, “we are to be an aroma of blessing, hope, joy, peace and love.”

John Swinton contrasts friendship as understood in contemporary Western society with what Jesus had in mind: “The friendship modeled by Jesus is for ‘the outsider,’ the socially marginalized, the stigmatized, the outcast, the prostitute, the sinner.”

“If the church claims to be the community of the friends of Jesus,” he adds, “it must engage in Christ-like friendships toward all people, particularly those who have been and are marginalized. The gift of friendship shows and reminds people that they are valued and indeed valuable individuals. That is a gift the church must offer all people.”

The theologian Curtis Chang told me that in the lives of Christians, friendship with Jesus doesn’t replace the call to be obedient to him or his authority. Mr. Chang compared it to an employer-employee relationship that has moved to a deeper level of trust and shared knowledge. In this reading, we must still submit to the authority of our employer, but the relationship has expanded to include much more than just that. Jesus does not relinquish his role as Lord and teacher; he has added new dimensions to it.

“In true friendship, there is mutuality,” Shirley Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, told me. “When Jesus called his disciples his friends, he both elevated them and brought them closer.” Their worlds merged.

When Jesus told his disciples he would call them friends rather than servants, he was expressing in words what he showed during his life, which is that God is seeking above all else to be in a meaningful relationship with us. Jesus modeled what it means to take us into his confidence, to self-disclose, to encourage and correct us, to weep with us, to love us, even to die for us.

Those are the qualities — more than God’s power, more than his perfection — that ultimately won the affections of my heart as a person of the Christian faith. It is the knowledge that we can be seen and known by God, and that we can see and know God. That we need him, but that also, in some essential way, he needs us.

But the friendship Jesus speaks of comes with a condition attached. In articulating what Gail R. O’Day calls his “theology of friendship,” Jesus says if we are his friends, we will do what he commands, and several times in John 15 he is specific about what that means: Love each other as I have loved you. There are countless ways to love others, based on our talents and life circumstances, but the command is clear enough. We are not only to experience love; we are to extend it to others.

So often throughout history, and certainly in the present day, Christians have fallen short, far short, of Jesus’ command; in so many cases the Christian faith has been shorn of love. When that happens, Christianity becomes a religion characterized by hard edges and judgmentalism, by brittleness and moral arrogance, by mercilessness and gracelessness. Those who claim to be followers of Jesus but behave in this way become not his friends but his enemies.

For 2,000 years, despite the failures, there has always been at least a remnant who patterned their lives in the way Jesus asked them to — men and women whose lives have been touched and transformed by the grace and love of God. I know such people. For me, when my own faith was jumbled, uncertain and abstract, when I had more questions than answers, when God seemed a million miles away, they have been reflections of the divine.

These people have shared in the joys of my life and helped sustain me through times of grief and loss. They have loved me, as Jesus loved them. They are friends of Jesus; they are also, friends of mine. And that has made all the difference.

This interesting prayer was by Joe Wright given in Kansas, USA, at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. 

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, 

but this is what they heard: 

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says: "Woe to those who call evil good", but that is exactly what we have done. 

1. * We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. 
2. * We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism. 
3. * We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. 
4. * We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle. 
5. * We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. 
6. * We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. 
7. * We have killed our unborn and called it choice. 
8. * We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. 
9. * We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. 
10. * We have abused power and called it politics. 
11. * We have embezzled public funds and called it essential expenses. 
12. * We have insitutionalised bribery and called it sweets of office. 
13. * We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. 
14. *We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. 
15. * We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. 

Search us, Oh GOD, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!" 

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. 

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively.   

The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea. 

With the LORD'S help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and WHOLEHEARTEDLY become our desire so that we again can be called "ONE NATION UNDER GOD.”

The Urantia Book Library

Dear friend! 

We are thrilled to share some wonderful news with you!  

By Soren K Vestergaard
 

We are thrilled to share some wonderful news with you! Three wise men from Oman have generously pledged a significant sum of money to the Urantia Library Printing Fund to support the translation of the Urantia Book into three or four additional languages, which will be made available in the Public Domain. The Urantia Library has a long-standing reputation for producing some of the best translations on this planet, and we are honored to be involved in this endeavor.

These remarkable individuals were inspired by the exceptional Portuguese translation by linguistic expert Carlos Leite da Silva (OS DOCUMENTOS DE URÂNTIA), which was funded by the Urantia Library, as well as the equally impressive Spanish translation (LOS ESCRITOS DE URANTIA) by Ángel F. Sánchez Escobar, which received partial support from our organization. The Portuguese translation is already available in the Public Domain, and we anticipate that the Spanish translation will be as well. 

To accomplish our goal, we are actively seeking the assistance of skilled linguistic experts to assist us with the next three or four translations. Additionally, we warmly welcome your suggestions on languages that you believe would be valuable to translate. Please send your comments to skvestergaard@gmail.com, and we will thoughtfully consider your recommendations.

We are eagerly anticipating your involvement, and we will provide updates on this project as they become available.

Aarhus, February 22, 2023

Reactions to this post (soon to be updated) here:
 

Did you know? My previous post, “Jesus would never use Facebook“, has been commented by some of the most fine minds in the universe, one among other is Sue Snider Seccombe, President of the Urantia Book Fellowship. Read all new comments here.

These past months and years since Papa Arthur and I began to work with you have been so wonderful!  You lift our hearts with your energy, your love for each other, your diligent attention to education, and your devotion to God.

With gratitude for all you to do to uplift the younger generation and advance the reality of the Fifth Epochal Revelation here on earth,

Mama Lindianna

Michael had determined the time of his final bestowal on to Urantia. Michael presented himself before his brother, Immanuel so he could assign the powers of universe administration which had not previously been conferred upon Gabriel. And we also see that Immanuel is a Supreme Trinity Personality, not a Creator Son, as is Michael.

Immanuel is an important figure regarding the bestowal of Michael on our planet and even was seen as his counselor. Immanuel, in accepting the custody of the universe during the time of the Urantia bestowal, proceeded to impart the bestowal counsel which would serve as the incarnation guide for Michael when he would presently grow up on Urantia as a mortal of the realm.

I open a discussion on my answer above. What do you say?

January Trimester Courses and Schedule 

Registration opens on Monday, January 2.

Courses begin on January 9 and last for ten weeks. 

Join us!

Below you will find several rights and responsibilities that all citizens should exercise and respect. Some of these responsibilities are legally required of every citizen, but all are important to ensuring that America remains a free and prosperous nation. 

Rights

1. Freedom to express yourself.
2. Freedom to worship as you wish.
3. Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury.
4. Right to vote in elections for public officials.
5. Right to apply for federal employment requiring U.S. citizenship.
6. Right to run for elected office.
7. Freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Responsibilities

1. Support and defend the Constitution.
2. Stay informed of the issues affecting your community.
3. Participate in the democratic process.
4. Respect and obey federal, state, and local laws.
5. Respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others.
6. Participate in your local community.
7. Pay income and other taxes honestly, and on time, to federal, state, and local authorities.
8. Serve on a jury when called upon.
9. Defend the country if the need should arise.

Question:

• Who is a citizen in your respective countries

Blessings.

Owen Atwebembire

HOW TO INSPIRE MANNERS IN YOUR CHILDREN.

1.
When entering the house greet your children or even hug them. This should help develop their sense of love and self worth.

2.
Be good to your neighbours and never backbite. Never speak ill of other drivers when on the road. Your children would listen, absorb and emulate.

3.
When calling your parents, encourage your children to speak to them. When visiting your parents take your children with you. The more they see you take care of your parents the more they will learn to take care of you.

4.
When driving them to school, don't always play albums or cds in the car. Rather, tell them some motivational stories yourself. This will have a greater impact - trust me!

5.
Read to them a short story and even a scripture a day – it doesn't take much time, but very impactful in creating strong bonds and wonderful memories.

6.
Comb your hair, clean your teeth and wear presentable cloths even if sitting at home and not going out for the day. They need to learn that being clean and tidy has nothing to do with going out!

7.
Try not to blame or comment on every word or action they say or do. Learn to overlook and let go sometimes. This certainly builds their self-confidence.

8.
Ask your children's permission before entering their rooms. Don't just knock and enter, but then wait for a verbal permission. They will learn to do the same when wanting to enter your room.

9.
Apologize to your children if you made a mistake. Apologizing teaches them to be humble and polite.

10.
Don't be sarcastic or make fun of their views or feelings, even if you "didn't mean it" and was "only joking". It really hurts.

11.
Show respect to your children's privacy. Its important for their sense of value and self-esteem.

12.
Don't expect that they will listen or understand the first time. Don't take it personal. But be patient and consistent.

13.
Pray with them. Show them how to pray. Lead by example.

14.
In addition, ask them to discuss their daily plans after the morning prayers. Children without concrete daily plans usually join others in executing theirs. They fall easy to peer pressure.

15.
Hold them and bless them specially every morning.

Remember other parents may need this, why keep it to yourself...! Share it.

May God bless you.

This is the greetings from brothers and sisters from Fort Portal Urantia Book reader spiritual network appreciating all donors who enabled us to be part of the conference!

By supporting us with the transport and we thank God for his grace and mercy that endures forever.

We were of the team of 6 people who managed to attend the conference. 
Two people were from Fort Portal
Two people from Kyenjojo
One person from Hoima
One person from Kagadi

Promising to do the work and sharing the new revelation
Thank you we will continue to serve the Lord.

Ahulire Narasis Kato

in the Fertile soil of Africa

DEAR FRIENDS, PLEASE READ & CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION IN ANY AMOUNT THE SPIRIT DIRECTS YOU WITHIN YOUR BUDGET TO SUPPORT OUR SPIRITUAL BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN UGANDA.

I personally have just started to help and Paul & Monica Kemp who have been working with Derrick Pare and his staff of 5 now since the very beginning of the establishment of Encourage Youth Ministry (EYM). Both Derrick Pare and his staff and charges under his care have embraced The Urantia Book revelation.

Also, Bishop Moses Kaharwa from Kampala Uganda is coming to Nova Scotia to meet with Paul and Monica Kemp this July 24th to August 12th and will be returning to Kampala Uganda with Urantia Books to distribute across Uganda to the many on our Network ( https://spiritualfamily.net/ ) now interested in embracing these new revelations.

The Great Source and The Urantia Fellowship are sending 100 books to be sent for Africa. Other plans are in the works for another 100 books to be sent directly to Kampala at the request of Bishop Moses Kaharwa. Good things are happening brothers and sisters.

It was the poor who first embraced the 4th Epochal revelation of Jesus' life on Earth and brought it out into the world and it looks like once again the poor will be the heroes of these new revelations.

While Bishop Moses Kaharwa is here in Canada we will be planning a Urantia Conference with Moses, Philly Mugweri  EYM staffers and believers , Billy John Waiswa, Matte Jockas, and many others for Jinja Town Uganda in August of 2020.

This will help plant the seeds of a new revelation firmly in the fertile soil of Uganda. Only good can come from this. So I ask all my friends to consider making any sort of donation to help with this worthwhile cause of spreading the GOOD NEWS.

The Campaign for spreading the Good News to Africa is HERE

Also I have become involved in the work of Encourage Youth Ministry now under the direction of Derrick Pare.

Please click HERE for more information and to donate. Thank You for your consideration and support.

We talk the Canadian Fertilizer Ban, #biofuels , #agriculture , #farming , #oilandgas and much more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMG4kuEN_kM

 Mbira - Thumb Piano of Africa Our Children Should Learn About This Instrument 

 Mbira - Thumb Piano of Africa

The thumb piano, or mbira – a name derived from Shona language of Zimbabwe - is uniquely African percussion instrument. In the distant past it was made entirely of wood or bamboo and could have been used for a few thousand years. Thumb piano with metal “keys” appeared some 1,300 years ago along the Zambezi River in what is now Zimbabwe and Malawi. This instrument spread widely throughout Africa, and in 2020 mbira music was endorsed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Mbira consists of a row of metal strips, used as key, attached to an open-ended wooden gourd or hollow resonator. They keys vary in length, with the longer ones placed in the centre, and each length determines the key’s pitch. The shorter the key, the higher the sound, and the longer the key, the lower it will be. The keys are made from a variety of different metals such as spring wire, and for more contemporary home-made versions, spoon handles, bicycle spokes and other recycled metal objects.

To play the instrument, the performer holds the resonator with his fingers placed underneath and uses his thumbs to pluck the keys. It produces delightfully pleasant and tranquil sounds. Harmonic or rhythmic sounds can be achieved by either plucking the keys simultaneously, or alternating plucks. Tones can be overlapped to make the effect similar to that of an orchestra - full and rich in quality and sound.

Mbira was used in ceremonial functions such as weddings, funerals, and in honour of significant people, as well as for religious purposes, to call on spirits and seek their advice. When calling on spiritual ancestors, the tribe would perform a religious ceremony which involved continuous singing, dancing, and playing music until the spirits appeared. The ritual would temporarily stop in the presence of the spirit, and begin again once it departed. Thus it was necessary for the mbira to produce a sound that would 'project into the heavens' and attract the spirits to earth.

Over hundreds of years, different people across the continent have created variations of the mbira by altering the style and name, but the general design remains consistent. The Australian Museum has a small collection of thumb pianos from several cultural groups, showing diversity in size, material and designs. They include thumb pianos such as likembe and sanza from Congo, kadongo and akogo from Uganda, kalimba from Kenya as well as examples from Zambia.

In the second half of the 20th century the African thumb piano was adopted by contemporary musicians, especially in Europe and both Americas. It not only has a long history, but also a promising future.

Researched by Natalie Cassaniti

Reference
Paul Berliner. 1992. The Soul of Mbira: Music and Traditions of the Shona People of Zimbabwe. Chicago - London. University of Chicago Press.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfYqq1RatuY&t=107s

Spiritual Family Network Limited Jesus Initiative Livelihood Loans Financial Counsel and Ideals

This covenant of Melchizedek with Abraham represents the great Urantian agreement between divinity and humanity whereby God agrees to do everything; man only agrees to believe God's promises and follow his instructions. 

Promise of Jesus: "All the forces of evil and the hosts of sin shall not prevail against this human fraternity of the divine spirit. And while my Father's spirit shall ever be the divine guide and mentor of all who enter the bonds of this spirit fellowship, to you and your successors I now deliver the keys of the outward kingdom -- the authority over things temporal -- the social and economic features of this association of men and women as fellows of the kingdom."

A certain rich man, a Roman citizen and a Stoic, became greatly interested in Jesus' teaching, having been introduced by Angamon. After many intimate conferences this wealthy citizen asked Jesus what he would do with wealth if he had it, and Jesus answered him: "I would bestow material wealth for the enhancement of material life, even as I would minister knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual service for the enrichment of the intellectual life, the ennoblement of the social life, and the advancement of the spiritual life. I would administer material wealth as a wise and effective trustee of the resources of one generation for the benefit and ennoblement of the next and succeeding generations."

But the rich man was not fully satisfied with Jesus' answer. He made bold to ask again: "But what do you think a man in my position should do with his wealth? Should I keep it, or should I give it away?" And when Jesus perceived that he really desired to know more of the truth about his loyalty to God and his duty to men, he further answered: "My good friend, I discern that you are a sincere seeker after wisdom and an honest lover of truth; therefore am I minded to lay before you my view of the solution of your problems having to do with the responsibilities of wealth. I do this because you have asked for my counsel, and in giving you this advice, I am not concerned with the wealth of any other rich man; I am offering advice only to you and for your personal guidance. If you honestly desire to regard your wealth as a trust, if you really wish to become a wise and efficient steward of your accumulated wealth, then would I counsel you to make the following analysis of the sources of your riches: Ask yourself, and do your best to find the honest answer, whence came this wealth? And as a help in the study of the sources of your great fortune, I would suggest that you bear in mind the following ten different methods of amassing material wealth:

"1. Inherited wealth--riches derived from parents and other ancestors.

"2. Discovered wealth--riches derived from the uncultivated resources of mother earth.

"3. Trade wealth--riches obtained as a fair profit in the exchange and barter of material goods.

"4. Unfair wealth--riches derived from the unfair exploitation or the enslavement of one's fellows.

"5. Interest wealth--income derived from the fair and just earning possibilities of invested capital.

"6. Genius wealth--riches accruing from the rewards of the creative and inventive endowments of the human mind.

"7. Accidental wealth--riches derived from the generosity of one's fellows or taking origin in the circumstances of life.

"8. Stolen wealth--riches secured by unfairness, dishonesty, theft, or fraud.

"9. Trust funds--wealth lodged in your hands by your fellows for some specific use, now or in the future.

"10. Earned wealth--riches derived directly from your own personal labor, the fair and just reward of your own daily efforts of mind and body.



And so, my friend, if you would be a faithful and just steward of your large fortune, before God and in service to men, you must approximately divide your wealth into these ten grand divisions, and then proceed to administer each portion in accordance with the wise and honest interpretation of the laws of justice, equity, fairness, and true efficiency; albeit, the God of heaven would not condemn you if sometimes you erred, in doubtful situations, on the side of merciful and unselfish regard for the distress of the suffering victims of the unfortunate circumstances of mortal life. When in honest doubt about the equity and justice of material situations, let your decisions favor those who are in need, favor those who suffer the misfortune of undeserved hardships."


After discussing these matters for several hours and in response to the rich man's request for further and more detailed instruction, Jesus went on to amplify his advice, in substance saying: "While I offer further suggestions concerning your attitude toward wealth, I would admonish you to receive my counsel as given only to you and for your personal guidance. I speak only for myself and to you as an inquiring friend. I adjure you not to become a dictator as to how other rich men shall regard their wealth. I would advise you:

"1. As steward of inherited wealth you should consider its sources. You are under moral obligation to represent the past generation in the honest transmittal of legitimate wealth to succeeding generations after subtracting a fair toll for the benefit of the present generation. But you are not obligated to perpetuate any dishonesty or injustice involved in the unfair accumulation of wealth by your ancestors. Any portion of your inherited wealth which turns out to have been derived through fraud or unfairness, you may disburse in accordance with your convictions of justice, generosity, and restitution. The remainder of your legitimate inherited wealth you may use in equity and transmit in security as the trustee of one generation for another. Wise discrimination and sound judgment should dictate your decisions regarding the bequest of riches to your successors.

"2. Everyone who enjoys wealth as a result of discovery should remember that one individual can live on earth but a short season and should, therefore, make adequate provision for the sharing of these discoveries in helpful ways by the largest possible number of his fellow men. While the discoverer should not be denied all reward for efforts of discovery, neither should he selfishly presume to lay claim to all of the advantages and blessings to be derived from the uncovering of nature's hoarded resources.


"3. As long as men choose to conduct the world's business by trade and barter, they are entitled to a fair and legitimate profit. Every tradesman deserves wages for his services; the merchant is entitled to his hire. The fairness of trade and the honest treatment accorded one's fellows in the organized business of the world create many different sorts of profit wealth, and all these sources of wealth must be judged by the highest principles of justice, honesty, and fairness. The honest trader should not hesitate to take the same profit which he would gladly accord his fellow trader in a similar transaction. While this sort of wealth is not identical with individually earned income when business dealings are conducted on a large scale, at the same time, such honestly accumulated wealth endows its possessor with a considerable equity as regards a voice in its subsequent distribution.


"4. No mortal who knows God and seeks to do the divine will can stoop to engage in the oppressions of wealth. No noble man will strive to accumulate riches and amass wealth-power by the enslavement or unfair exploitation of his brothers in the flesh. Riches are a moral curse and a spiritual stigma when they are derived from the sweat of oppressed mortal man. All such wealth should be restored to those who have thus been robbed or to their children and their children's children. An enduring civilization cannot be built upon the practice of defrauding the laborer of his hire.


"5. Honest wealth is entitled to interest. As long as men borrow and lend, that which is fair interest may be collected provided the capital lent was legitimate wealth. First cleanse your capital before you lay claim to the interest. Do not become so small and grasping that you would stoop to the practice of usury. Never permit yourself to be so selfish as to employ money-power to gain unfair advantage over your struggling fellows. Yield not to the temptation to take usury from your brother in financial distress.


"6. If you chance to secure wealth by flights of genius, if your riches are derived from the rewards of inventive endowment, do not lay claim to an unfair portion of such rewards. The genius owes something to both his ancestors and his progeny; likewise is he under obligation to the race, nation, and circumstances of his inventive discoveries; he should also remember that it was as man among men that he labored and wrought out his inventions. It would be equally unjust to deprive the genius of all his increment of wealth. And it will ever be impossible for men to establish rules and regulations applicable equally to all these problems of the equitable distribution of wealth. You must first recognize man as your brother, and if you honestly desire to do by him as you would have him do by you, the commonplace dictates of justice, honesty, and fairness will guide you in the just and impartial settlement of every recurring problem of economic rewards and social justice.


"7. Except for the just and legitimate fees earned in administration, no man should lay personal claim to that wealth which time and chance may cause to fall into his hands. Accidental riches should be regarded somewhat in the light of a trust to be expended for the benefit of one's social or economic group. The possessors of such wealth should be accorded the major voice in the determination of the wise and effective distribution of such unearned resources. Civilized man will not always look upon all that he controls as his personal and private possession.


"8. If any portion of your fortune has been knowingly derived from fraud; if aught of your wealth has been accumulated by dishonest practices or unfair methods; if your riches are the product of unjust dealings with your fellows, make haste to restore all these ill-gotten gains to the rightful owners. Make full amends and thus cleanse your fortune of all dishonest riches.


"9. The trusteeship of the wealth of one person for the benefit of others is a solemn and sacred responsibility. Do not hazard or jeopardize such a trust. Take for yourself of any trust only that which all honest men would allow.


"10. That part of your fortune which represents the earnings of your own mental and physical efforts--if your work has been done in fairness and equity-- is truly your own. No man can gainsay your right to hold and use such wealth as you may see fit provided your exercise of this right does not work harm upon your fellows."


When Jesus had finished counseling him, this wealthy Roman arose from his couch and, in saying farewell for the night, delivered himself of this promise: "My good friend, I perceive you are a man of great wisdom and goodness, and tomorrow I will begin the administration of all my wealth in accordance with your counsel."



 

UB

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death." It is altogether possible to fall victim to the peaceful deception of pleasant adjustment to the paths of sin and death".

Over the next few decades there will be according to scientists a net increase in global temperatures of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The oceans will rise 1-4 feet and hurricanes will be stronger and more intense. Precipitation patterns will change and droughts and flood will increase. The Arctic will soon be completely ice free in the summer months.

The cause of this climate change according to 97% of scientists is greenhouse gases emitted from fossil fuel consumption. Our global economy runs on oil and the elites who run the global economy are dependent on oil to keep them in power. Changing our economy to an environmentally sustainable economy will crush their dominance over all societies or at the very least reduce their power and increase the power of the average person.

Stating the obvious: The trouble with control freaks is that they like to be in control. So is it all the fault of the elites? No not really but yes kind of...

Democracy is not something that is given to us naturally. It is something that the people must force upon their government. Change has to come from the grassroots level through a global movement of epic proportions or we are all going to die.

Sorry if that sounds radical or extremist but it is nonetheless the truth.

The world’s number one polluter is the US military with jets flying 24/7 and aircraft carriers that consume as much fuel in an hour as 186,000 cars. The United States is in many ways a microcosm of the rest of the world. The eye of the hurricane.

My prediction for the future is that the barometer of US military spending is the best indicator of whether or not the elites are complying with the rest of the world’s desire to survive. Or conversely whether the US/NATO/Israel alliance is willing to risk it all in their bid for global supremacy. So far the barometer indicates that a perfect storm of apocalyptic proportions is coming…

If we want to Make Earth Great Again it isn’t up to our current breed of one percent control freaks. It’s up to you and me. They ain’t gonna cuz they don’t wanna... there is nothing in it for them or at least that’s how they think. They are motivated by profit not service.

What really needs to happen on a global level is a change in our fundamental ethical motivation from a profit based economy to a service based community. People need to get off their nationalist agenda and become world conscious...or we’re all going to expire not with a bang but a whimper.

Let’s Make Earth  Great Again

  ^120:0.4 Michael, therefore, had a double purpose in the making of these seven bestowals upon the various orders of his universe creatures: First, he was completing the required experience in creature understanding which is demanded of all Creator Sons before they assume complete sovereignty. At any time a Creator Son may rule his universe in his own right, but he can rule as the supreme representative of the Paradise Trinity only after passing through the seven universe-creature bestowals. Second, he was aspiring to the privilege of representing the maximum authority of the Paradise Trinity which can be exercised in the direct and personal administration of a local universe. Accordingly, did Michael, during the experience of each of his universe bestowals, successfully and acceptably voluntarily subordinate himself to the variously constituted wills of the diverse associations of the persons of the Paradise Trinity. That is, on the first bestowal he was subject to the combined will of the Father, Son, and Spirit; on the second bestowal to the will of the Father and the Son; on the third bestowal to the will of the Father and the Spirit; on the fourth bestowal to the will of the Son and the Spirit; on the fifth bestowal to the will of the Infinite Spirit; on the sixth bestowal to the will of the Eternal Son; and during the seventh and final bestowal, on Urantia, to the will of the Universal Father.

Over the past several years study groups have been forming up especially in Uganda and are now spreading into the D.R. of Congo. By clicking the images on this Discussion will load the Groups they have formed which show the revelation outreach and study activities for each of these Groups. 

1. INDWELLING THE MORTAL MIND

 

  ^110:1.1 Adjusters should not be thought of as living in the material brains of human beings. They are not organic parts of the physical creatures of the realms. The Thought Adjuster may more properly be envisaged as indwelling the mortal mind of man rather than as existing within the confines of a single physical organ. And indirectly and unrecognized the Adjuster is constantly communicating with the human subject, especially during those sublime experiences of the worshipful contact of mind with spirit in the superconsciousness.

  ^110:1.2 I wish it were possible for me to help evolving mortals to achieve a better understanding and attain a fuller appreciation of the unselfish and superb work of the Adjusters living within them, who are so devoutly faithful to the task of fostering man's spiritual welfare. These Monitors are efficient ministers to the higher phases of men's minds; they are wise and experienced manipulators of the spiritual potential of the human intellect. These heavenly helpers are dedicated to the stupendous task of guiding you safely inward and upward to the celestial haven of happiness. These tireless toilers are consecrated to the future personification of the triumph of divine truth in your life everlasting. They are the watchful workers who pilot the God-conscious human mind away from the shoals of evil while expertly guiding the evolving soul of man toward the divine harbors of perfection on far-distant and eternal shores. The Adjusters are loving leaders, your safe and sure guides through the dark and uncertain mazes of your short earthly career; they are the patient teachers who so constantly urge their subjects forward in the paths of progressive perfection. They are the careful custodians of the sublime values of creature character. I wish you could love them more, co-operate with them more fully, and cherish them more affectionately.

  ^110:1.3 Although the divine indwellers are chiefly concerned with your spiritual preparation for the next stage of the never-ending existence, they are also deeply interested in your temporal welfare and in your real achievements on earth. They are delighted to contribute to your health, happiness, and true prosperity. They are not indifferent to your success in all matters of planetary advancement which are not inimical to your future life of eternal progress.

 

  ^110:1.4 Adjusters are interested in, and concerned with, your daily doings and the manifold details of your life just to the extent that these are influential in the determination of your significant temporal choices and vital spiritual decisions and, hence, are factors in the solution of your problem of soul survival and eternal progress. The Adjuster, while passive regarding purely temporal welfare, is divinely active concerning all the affairs of your eternal future.

  ^110:1.5 The Adjuster remains with you in all disaster and through every sickness which does not wholly destroy the mentality. But how unkind knowingly to defile or otherwise deliberately to pollute the physical body, which must serve as the earthly tabernacle of this marvelous gift from God. All physical poisons greatly retard the efforts of the Adjuster to exalt the material mind, while the mental poisons of fear, anger, envy, jealousy, suspicion, and intolerance likewise tremendously interfere with the spiritual progress of the evolving soul.

 

  ^110:1.6 Today you are passing through the period of the courtship of your Adjuster; and if you only prove faithful to the trust reposed in you by the divine spirit who seeks your mind and soul in eternal union, there will eventually ensue that morontia oneness, that supernal harmony, that cosmic co-ordination, that divine attunement, that celestial fusion, that never-ending blending of identity, that oneness of being which is so perfect and final that even the most experienced personalities can never segregate or recognize as separate identities the fusion partners -- mortal man and divine Adjuster.

ARCHBISHOP VIGANO - AGENDA 2030: THE GATES OF HELL

SHERIFF CLAY HIGGINS: "THE OPPRESSORS INTEND FOR YOU TO COMPLY WITH THEIR MANDATES AND COMMANDS"

SOUTH AFRICAN PHYSICIAN DR. SHANKARA CHETTY TALKS ABOUT "THE BIGGER PLAN"

This episode also demonstrates that Jesus did not look with approval upon the refusal to employ force to protect the majority of any given human group against the unfair and enslaving practices of unjust minorities who may be able to entrench themselves behind political, financial, or ecclesiastical power. Shrewd, wicked, and designing men are not to be permitted to organize themselves for the exploitation and oppression of those who, because of their idealism, are not disposed to resort to force for self-protection or for the furtherance of their laudable life projects.
http://mm.spiritualfamily.net/Urantia_Book-Online_Reader-2019/Paper_173.html#173:1.11