Therefore, holy brethren, who share in a heavenly call, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. He was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in God’s house. Yet Jesus has been counted worthy of as much more glory than Moses as the builder of a house has more honor than the house. (For every house is built by some one, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ was faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, when you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, “‘They always go astray in their hearts;
they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
“‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

–Hebrews 3:1-11

Grandala

By:@sambathsubbaiah pic.twitter.com/haSP044i4e

— Manoco (@Moonlighhy) March 11, 2025

On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

After this he went down to Caper′na-um, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.

–John 2:1-12

Mystical archway. St Michael's tower on Glastonbury Tor. pic.twitter.com/ux16KEaA6V

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) March 10, 2025

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”

–Mark 2:18-22

Ich wünsche euch allen einen guten Morgen und einen feinen Sonntag pic.twitter.com/uE56c7Mypb

— Renate Umundum (@RUmundum) March 9, 2025

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Beth-sa′ida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathan′a-el, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathan′a-el said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathan′a-el coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathan′a-el said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathan′a-el answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

–John 1:43-51

Morning all, interesting shaft of light as the sun was just about to come over the horizon this morning over Burscough in West Lancashire. @bbcweather @kcrewders @TimesPictures @StormHour @LancashirePics @RamblersGB @IWA_UK #sunrise #shaftofsunlight #orangedawn @BurscoughNews pic.twitter.com/Bkr5Ad3bnR

— @Colin Wareing (@ColinWareing1) March 8, 2025

For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

–Titus 2:11-14

Good morning
Buenos días pic.twitter.com/WOUFwmKI37

— Mystic Mel (@Melshenny1) March 7, 2025

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.

–Psalm 37:3-5

Bishop Báez writes: The ashes on our foreheads remind us we are dust and to dust we shall return. But we’re dust shaped by God’s hands, into which He breathed the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). We’re dust loved by God, called to do good and live forever. #AshWednesday https://t.co/gdzP44niVF

— Carmelite Quotes @carmelitequotes (@carmelitequotes) March 5, 2025

But in order to arrive at its full meaning, we must suppose that David felt an inward struggle and opposition, which he found it necessary to check. Satan had raised a tumult in his affections, and wrought a degree of impatience in his mind, which he now curbs; and he expresses his resolution to be silent. The word implies a meek and submissive endurance of the cross. It expresses the opposite of that heat of spirit which would put us into a posture of resistance to God. The silence intended is, in short, that composed submission of the believer, in the exercise of which he acquiesces in the promises of God, gives place to his word, bows to his sovereignty, and suppresses every inward murmur of dissatisfaction.

–From his commentary on the Psalms

Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday. #AshWednesday #Lent2025 #anglican #anglicanchurch #anglicancommunion #acna pic.twitter.com/CBvHmmQ47q

— New Wineskins (@newwineskins) March 5, 2025

“Confess your faults one to another” (Jas. 5:16). He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. This pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. so we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!

But it is the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, that it confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad! This message is liberation through truth. You can hide nothing from God. The mask you wear before men will do you no good before Him. He wants to see you as you are, He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. Thank God for that; He loves the sinner but He hates sin.

–-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

"Remember that from dust you came and to dust you shall return." Today marks the beginning of #Lent2025 with #AshWednesday, a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal. May our faith in the Lord be strengthened as we pray and meditate on His word during this holy period. pic.twitter.com/DzY8Z7GCeQ

— Trinity College Nabbingo (@TRICONAOfficial) March 5, 2025

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:7-14

Whenever you feel hopeless about the hate and ruin and sadness in the world, remember that the sun still rises every day, still draws long shadows on the fields, the birds still sing their little hearts out in the gold, and the spring flowers still push up through the hard earth… pic.twitter.com/dZe1yZsTYN

— peaklass (@peaklass1) March 5, 2025

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would hearken to his voice!

–Psalm 95:6-7

A Fine Morning On The Wolds. 9°C and Spring sunshine. Wood Pigeon. pic.twitter.com/tdRCJ1O38u

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) March 4, 2025

McDermott in his opening address maintained that North American culture “didn’t make sex important enough” and instead saw it “reduced to a recreational exercise.”

The prolific author observed that it is de rigueur to say that sexual difference is a cultural distinction. But, male and female brains are differently wired even before environmental differences can occur.

“Why does God create so that tensions in marriage can make us into better people?” McDermott asked. “We’re being created for something else.” Marriage, he described, is a sign in the visible world of a future love and union that surpasses what we enjoy today.

“It is not good to live as though my sexuality makes no difference,” McDermott stated. “I must live in relation to the other.”

Read it all.

“The profound implication of having been made in God’s image affects every aspect of our lives,” @jadykoch explained in framing the To Be Human conference. “Our work and witness as Christians in the world upholding this truth is needed now more than ever.” https://t.co/FV1vaKYb7G

— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) March 3, 2025

To thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in thee I trust,
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
Yea, let none that wait for thee be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know thy ways, O Lord;
teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
for thou art the God of my salvation;
for thee I wait all the day long.

–Psalm 25:1-4

Bamburgh sunrise.#photography #landscapephotography pic.twitter.com/JyCUVYQ5bN

— Jim Scott (@jimscottphoto) March 3, 2025

“Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it; that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them; that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Welcome to Sunday and a mellow yellow Hellebore #SundayYellow #SpringtimeGardens pic.twitter.com/Gq6DisXHZY

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) March 2, 2025

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.

–2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Chasing horizons where the red sky meets the ocean this Saturday. pic.twitter.com/EAzGSgIXHQ

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) March 1, 2025

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

–2 Corinthians 4:1-12

A cold and frosty walk this morning with hints of mist lying below. Taken from Glastonbury Tor at sunrise. pic.twitter.com/aNLQP6mIhG

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) February 28, 2025

From there:

To my brothers and sisters in the Gafcon family,

The recommendations of the December 2024 Report of IASCUFO (the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order) will fail to bring about renewal in the Anglican Communion.

There is merit in the leadership of the Primates’ Council and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) being handed over from the Archbishop of Canterbury to a rotating, international chair.

But their proposed restructure of the ‘Instruments of Communion’ fails to bring genuine renewal to our Anglican Church.

The IASCUFO recommendations weaken the foundations of our common doctrine by sanctifying the revisionist theologies of provinces and dioceses that have wandered from the truth.

They call on us to embrace the diverse theology of locally-authorised prayer books throughout the Anglican world, including those that have departed from the biblical doctrine of human sexuality expressed in our foundational 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

This only repeats and reaffirms the errors of successive Archbishops of Canterbury who failed to prevent the tearing of the fabric of the Anglican Communion by continuing to endorse those bishops and dioceses who had wandered from the truth.

To renew our Communion, we must submit to Holy Scripture.

The Bible is very clear: those who embrace immoral behaviour will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9), and if we will not trust the Bible’s teaching about sin, we cannot trust the Bible’s teaching about salvation.

Gafcon represents 85% of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, and we believe that the only ‘Instrument of Communion’ that ultimately matters is the word of God.

In two weeks’ time at our Gafcon G25 conference in Plano, Texas, we are gathering our senior leadership from around the world, along with some of our newest bishops, to consult together about how we will continue to lead the renewal of the Anglican Communion.

True unity can only be found in the faith once for all delivered to the saints, which alone can bring order to our beloved Anglican Communion, within which we steadfastly remain.

We give thanks for our brothers and sisters within the GSFA who desire that Anglicans everywhere would speak the truth in love, so that the people of all nations might believe in the Lord Jesus and be assured of their salvation.

The Most Rev’d Dr Laurent Mbanda
Chairman, Gafcon Primates Council
27th February 2025

A Song of Ascents. Of David. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother’s breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.

–Psalm 131

Guten Morgen wünsche euch einen bunten Tag
Das Leben ist so bunt wie die Farben deiner Gedanken
Marc Aurel pic.twitter.com/o3S1ILFrGZ

— Renate Kleine (@RenateKleine) February 27, 2025

Now Na′omi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a man of wealth, of the family of Elim′elech, whose name was Bo′az. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Na′omi, “Let me go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she set forth and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Bo′az, who was of the family of Elim′elech. And behold, Bo′az came from Bethlehem; and he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” Then Bo′az said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose maiden is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “It is the Moabite maiden, who came back with Na′omi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Pray, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, without resting even for a moment.”

Then Bo′az said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my maidens. Let your eyes be upon the field which they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to molest you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” But Bo′az answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Then she said, “You are most gracious to me, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not one of your maidservants.”

–Ruth 2:1-13

Pink Robin
by: @biglenswildlife pic.twitter.com/X4tHFCcaSI

— Manoco (@Moonlighhy) February 26, 2025

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

–Psalm 121:7-8

A Gentle Wander On The Wolds. 9°C and a keen Westerly. Blackbirds. pic.twitter.com/SgFAfjK8Kt

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) February 25, 2025

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elim′elech and the name of his wife Na′omi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chil′ion; they were Eph′rathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elim′elech, the husband of Na′omi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years; and both Mahlon and Chil′ion died, so that the woman was bereft of her two sons and her husband.

Then she started with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was, with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Na′omi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find a home, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Na′omi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

–Ruth 1:1-14

Grand Rising…#NewWeek #MondayMood #winter #weather #StormHour #sunrise #grandrising #GoodVibesOnly #jefinuist #Scotland #OuterHebrides pic.twitter.com/DaLrdkf97T

— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) February 24, 2025

 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his steadfast love endures for ever!

Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures for ever.”

 Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures for ever.”
 Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures for ever.”

 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
    What can man do to me?

–Psalm 118:1-6

Vandaag hopelijk weer de zon erbij. Fijne zondag #zonsopkomst pic.twitter.com/CrlWWU0W4f

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) February 23, 2025

 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
till I put thy enemies under thy feet.’

David himself calls him Lord; so how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

–Mark 12:35-40

First light…#WeekendVibes #winter #weather #StormHour #sunrise #grandrising #seatherapy #bluemind #GoodVibesOnly #jefinuist #Scotland #OuterHebrides pic.twitter.com/3PjdWexCto

— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) February 22, 2025

But thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever;
    thy name endures to all generations.
Thou wilt arise and have pity on Zion;
    it is the time to favor her;
    the appointed time has come.
For thy servants hold her stones dear,
    and have pity on her dust.
The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
    and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
For the Lord will build up Zion,
    he will appear in his glory;
he will regard the prayer of the destitute,
    and will not despise their supplication.

–Psalm 102:12-17

Guten Morgen mit einer kleinen Winterimpression, heute aus Quedlinburg.#Deutschland pic.twitter.com/rGNAKOFcle

— Thomas Stiegler (@StieglerThomas) February 21, 2025

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;
    I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here am I, here am I,”
    to a nation that did not call on my name.
I spread out my hands all the day
    to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
    following their own devices;
a people who provoke me
    to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
    and burning incense upon bricks;
who sit in tombs,
    and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
    and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
 who say, “Keep to yourself,
    do not come near me, for I am set apart from you.”

–Isaiah 65:1-5a

Happy Thursday all and hope your weekend has been better than mine! pic.twitter.com/zRrqtD0jqU

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) February 20, 2025

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

–1 Timothy 3:14-16

Bell then comments:

‘Such a vision of unity is surely what must lie at the heart of any theological vision for the Anglican Communion. The gift of unity, intertwined with truth and holiness, empowered and initiated through and by love, flowing from its Trinitarian source, and finding its visibility not only in our structures and institutions but in our relationships and lives of Christian service, witness mission. Unity as gift and imperative sits above our disagreements requiring us not to contort ourselves into pseudo- agreement, but instead to recognise that metaphysical unity precedes our disagreements and will be revealed in different visible ways as we journey on together.’ (p.191)

What conservative Anglicans would want to say in response to these paragraphs is that Archbishop Rowan is right to say that the unity that all true Christians possess is the ‘pure gift’ of  ‘being summoned and drawn into the same place before the Father’s throne.’ However, they would want to add that this pure gift also includes a summons to ‘bear much fruit’ (John 15:8) or in other words to begin to live a new life enabled by the Holy Spirit which fulfils God’s intentions for his human creatures. In addition they would want to say that according to the witness of Scripture, and the uniform tradition of the Christian Church based on Scripture, living this new life involves living as the men and women God created us to be and observing a strict sexual ethic involving sexual faithfulness within (heterosexual) marriage and sexual abstinence outside it.  

Because they would want to say this, they would also want to say that unity is broken not only when Christians are not ‘able to see in each other the same kind of conviction of being called by authoritative voice into a place where none of us has an automatic right to stand,’ but also when they are not able to see in each other a recognition of God’s call to bear fruit in the ways just described. They would also add that this is what is currently the case in the Anglican Communion and in the Church of England.

In response to Bell’s comments conservative Anglicans  would agree that unity is both a gift and an imperative and would also agree that it is ‘revealed in different visible ways.’ However, they would say that these ways have to include Christians living as the men and women God created them to be and observing the Christian sexual ethic as outlined above.

Read it all.

We may subjectively dislike what God has said, but true Christian humility lies in accepting what God has said and acting upon it anyway' Martin Davie https://t.co/EUCULJ0Bk1 #anglican #marriage #theology #sexualethics #anthropology #scripture #religion #uk pic.twitter.com/WyjgnobT0k

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 10, 2023

The Apostle Paul manifests his apostolic care for the Galatians. Sometimes he entreats them, then again he reproaches them, in accordance with his own advice to Timothy: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort.” In the midst of his discourse on Christian righteousness Paul breaks off, and turns to address the Galatians. “O foolish Galatians,” he cries. “I have brought you the true Gospel, and you received it with eagerness and gratitude. Now all of a sudden you drop the Gospel. What has got into you?” Paul reproves the Galatians rather sharply when he calls them “fools, bewitched, and disobedient.” Whether he is indignant or sorry, I cannot say. He may be both. It is the duty of a Christian pastor to reprove the people committed to his charge. Of course, his anger must not flow from malice, but from affection and a real zeal for Christ. There is no question that Paul is disappointed. It hurts him to think that his Galatians showed so little stability. We can hear him say: “I am sorry to hear of your troubles, and disappointed in you for the disgraceful part you played.” I say rather much on this point to save Paul from the charge that he railed upon the churches, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. A certain distance and coolness can be noted in the title with which the Apostle addresses the Galatians. He does not now address them as his brethren, as he usually does. He addresses them as Galatians in order to remind them of their national trait to be foolish. We have here an example of bad traits that often cling to individual Christians and entire congregations. Grace does not suddenly transform a Christian into a new and perfect creature. Dregs of the old and natural corruption remain. The Spirit of God cannot at once overcome human deficiency. Sanctification takes time. Although the Galatians had been enlightened by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of faith, something of their national trait of foolishness plus their original depravity clung to them. Let no man think that once he has received faith, he can presently be converted into a faultless creature. The leavings of old vices will stick to him, be he ever so good a Christian.

–Luther, Commentary on Galatians, Chapter 3

#OTD February 18, 1546:
Martin Luther, the German reformer who sparked the Protestant Reformation, dies in his birthplace of Eisleben.

After his death, a scrap of paper was found on a nearby table containing his final recorded words: “We are beggars. This is true.” pic.twitter.com/eHE9jhcxFe

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) February 18, 2025

The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lighten the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.

–Psalm 97:1-6

Cold and colorful #ogunquit #maine ⁦@AaronMylerWX⁩ ⁦@TVLeeG⁩ ⁦@SharonRoseNCM⁩ ⁦@RyanBretonWX⁩ ⁦@danaosgoodwx⁩ ⁦@StormHour⁩ ⁦@newscentermaine⁩ pic.twitter.com/R7n2Kajumv

— Realtor Rick (@rick03907) February 18, 2025

Thou hast a mighty arm;
    strong is thy hand, high thy right hand.
 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne;
    steadfast love and faithfulness go before thee.

–Psalm 89:13-14

Guten Morgen und einen guten Start in die neue Woche! pic.twitter.com/HSAxEnPMJa

— Die Bergziege (@brauchtfreiheit) February 17, 2025

Go through, go through the gates,
    prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
    clear it of stones,
    lift up an ensign over the peoples.
Behold, the Lord has proclaimed
    to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion,
    “Behold, your salvation comes;
behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.”
And they shall be called The holy people,
    The redeemed of the Lord;
and you shall be called Sought out,
    a city not forsaken.

–Isaiah 62:10-12

Guten Morgen. Ich wünsche Euch einen schönen Tag. Alles soll Euch gelingen und vieles soll Freude bringen. pic.twitter.com/sHnfPi30Py

— Ursula Dahinden (@UrsulaDahinden) February 16, 2025