Moses of the Old Testament presented his mission and, "the people all answered as one: 'Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do'" (Exodus 19:8). God tried to speak directly to the people, but; "when all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die'" (20:18-19). The people were called by God even back then, but they pulled back, in fear. Is this still a pattern today?

Martin Luther (the founder of Protestants) read the Scriptures and talked with God directly, discovering he could serve in the "priesthood of all believers.", without the need for a priest. He turned the Catholic Church upside down by saying that; "All Christians are priests, and all priests are Christians. Worthy of anathema is any assertion that a priest is anything else than a Christian." 

Martin Luther claimed that every person could directly connect with God, without the help or intercession of Catholic Priests. He said that every person could talk with God, and did not need a priest. Further, every person could read the words of God for him or herself, with no priest reading it in Latin and then translating it for the ignorant and disconnected masses.

Martin Luther was radical for his time, and was declared a heretic, but he was not the only one... John Calvin not only said the same thing as Martin Luther, he set up a church structure where laity and clergy served in ordained offices of leadership... all of them equally serving and saying the Word, performing as missionaries, and praying.

A few churches are structured to work without a priest, notably the Quakers, who sit in silent meditation and speaking as God moves them. All Quaker members are equal in their connection to God and in their responsibility to act as ambassadors to God.  

Jesus said; "The Kingdom of Heaven is WITHIN". If this Kingdom is within us, then it is available NOW. Why are most churches saying we have to wait for eons until some future time, yet to come?

Compared to the Quakers, a spiritual inferiority complex seems to be nomal. Deference to Expertism, Clericalism and Officialdom seems to be the accepted way in many churches and in the general population, but that is not the highest and best. Everyone is called to be a high and holy priest, serving God directly, with no intercessor.

What is your connection to God? Are you exercising and fulfilling your calling? What is your holy commission? How are you connecting with others, using your spiritual gifts? How are you serving as a priest of the Most High?

Today, just as in the time of Moses, Martin Luther, and Jesus, God is still calling everyone (including YOU) to be a priest, to connect directly, and to carry out a high and holy mission. God is reaching out to you...Why not learn how to God connect directly? Why not discover what God is saying to you? Why not see the world the way God sees it? 

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