默念主禱文時，被「願袮的旨意」帶動，領會到進入幔內好比與主一同「出死入生」。耶穌先是贖罪的羔羊，後又「被放到無人之地」，他即是被殺的羔羊又是永遠活著的大祭司。願你的旨意「行在地上」如同「行在天上」。
默想活祭：
所以弟兄們，我憑著 神的仁慈勸你們，要把身體獻上，作聖潔而蒙 神悅納的活祭；這是你們理所當然的事奉（“理所當然的事奉”或譯：“屬靈的敬拜”）。 不要模仿這個世代，倒要藉著心意的更新而改變過來，使你們可以察驗出甚麼是 神的旨意，就是察驗出甚麼是美好的、蒙他悅納的和完全的事。(羅馬書12:1-2 新譯本)
This post is part of my research paper entitled, "A Contextualized Discipleship Framework for the Young Adults at Seattle Chinese Alliance Church." If you are interested to read the full version, please access here. I would love to hear your review and comment below, thanks.
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| P.C. Institute for Mystical Experience Research and Education, www.imere.org |
What is said here is very counter-intuitive, a mystical experience that is not very mystical, but shared by many. It may not resonate with all mystics, but this understanding of faith in the public square is the norm in many religious departments or divinity schools such as Harvard, or Hunter College where I majored in Religious Studies.
The institute (IMERE) has a very encompassing understanding, "mystical experience is often referred to by different names, including, but not limited to, cosmic consciousness, ecstatic experience, enlightenment... experience of god, experience of oneness... self-realization, spiritual awakening, spiritual experience, transcendent experience... unity experience, and unitive experience."
(If you believe that you have had any of these experiences, then we warmly encourage you to complete our Mystical Experience Questionnaire.)
The followings are quotes from the website,
"During a mystical experience, there exists a simple unity, a pure consciousness, or non-duality of observer and observed. In addition to oneness, the defining features of mystical experience include feelings of sacredness, peace, and bliss; a sense of transcending time and space; and an intuitive conviction that the experience is a source of objective truth about reality.1
The effects of mystical experiences are of enormous value to both experiencers and humanity. On a personal level, mystical experience leads to sudden and lasting positive changes in an experiencer’s character and values.2 And on a global scale, mystical experiences lie at or near the foundation of religions generally and thus even of civilization itself. Indeed, the mystical roots of conscious experience reveal a deep human identity, transcending all national, racial, personal, and theological differences.3 It is therefore vital to further our understanding of these important, transformative experiences."
The following is an excerpt of an article written during the time when Alliance National Office revisiting the current statement of faith and in particular about the postmillennial position. The author, Steve Fowler has provided helpful resources for Alliance members to understand the issues at hand from a perspective of Essentials vs Nonessentials.
