PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … September 30th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2708)

A Well, Defined

Precious must confirm some value

Faith is better with substance

Love requires a commitment

Hope is energized by a vision

Kindness is empty without action

Belief, annoying minus fruit

Equality should prepare for the challenge

And peace must outsmart all war.

God is mean without mercy

Church comes alive through heart

Music is tuneless when heartless

Money mocks without a companion

Salvation begins in the here and now

Heaven, the sequel to a well-written Earth

Hell is always denying there is more

Romance, the culmination of great conversation

Failure is the chance to humbly succeed

Success, the spotlight on our remaining need

Parenting is God’s therapy for wounded children

Childhood, the time to question blind tradition

Freedom is what allows the truth to be told

Truth is what grants us the freedom to be bold

Knowledge is the book, but understanding, the eyes

Patience is the learning that makes fools wise

Time is our friend if we don’t surrender

Surrender, our savior when it’s time to remember.

 

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Cracked 5… September 29th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2707)

Some Major Changes In College Football Following the Results of Saturday’s Games

A. They-tah, We-tah, Utah

 

B. Apparently, Ar-CAN’T-Saw

 

C. Arizona is definitely a state for retired people

 

D. Auburn has returned to being a shade of women’s hair color

 

E. The Oregon Ducks officially became the Oregon Sucks

 

 

 

 

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Good News and Better News… September 28th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2706)

Many years ago, I sensed a voice within me, encouraging me to go out and share my heart and abilities with the world. Some people would say it was the voice of God, while others would probably insist that it was just me, declaring my own bidding.

I don’t care.

I heeded the call, and that decision has taken me on an exotic adventure.

Kindness. I deeply love that word. It saddens me that it has been equated with weakness. There is actually nothing that takes more human strength than to be kind. It threatens to attack us if we dare consider it.

I spent the weekend in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I felt kindness–whether it was the surprise bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup given to me with the meal I purchased at the restaurant or the warm-hearted folks strolling across the green at the Farmer’s Market, sniffing the tomatoes and pondering a pumpkin.

Then we arrived at the church, with half a dozen folks, ready and able to help us carry in our equipment and assist us in any way possible. They are shepherded by a man named Rick who has a gentleness which oozes the aforementioned kindness.They received the strength of my teaching while being sensitive to the weakness that presently inhabits my body.

I am moved at their interpretation of the soul of Jesus. I am so in love with this particular congregation that I will tell you, they are on the precipice of discovering a greater understanding. And what is that greater understanding?

True spirituality is a three-step process:

1. Listen.

That’s right. Shut up. Talking is exhausting and it’s also boring. Try to listen to what people are saying. Try to listen to the pain and the joy of the world around you. Try to be a hearer of the Word before becoming a doer.

2. Change.

Because I can tell you, as you listen to the patter of your brothers and sisters, you will feel the need to change.

When they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they explained to him that the law of God said that she should die by stoning. He didn’t argue the theology with them–he questioned the practicality. What chance is there for righteousness to grow if we kill off all the sinners?

Jesus changed, right there on the spot. Jesus altered religious fervor in deference to God’s favor. He forgave the woman.

If you’re not ready to change, don’t expect anything of quality to happen.

3. Respond.

Once you’ve listened carefully and altered your philosophy to be sensitive to humans instead of critical of them, you are prepared to respond, and that normally will be kindness.

Thank you, Sheboygan, for being kind.

Please do not grow weary in your well-doing. 

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Jesonian: I’ve Got a Question… September 27th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2705)

Jesus went to church.

He didn’t go there to hear the pastor preach or the praise band’s licks.

He went there because it is meant to be a bastion for souls who are in need.

At church that day was Willie with the withered hand. (I don’t know his name was Willie, but to give the story a little color, let’s call him that.)

There were also a bunch of religious people sitting around who didn’t particularly like Jesus. The reason they didn’t like Jesus was because he didn’t honor the rituals, the standards and their concepts of worship.

He came to church to help people.

I know this because Jesus asked them a question:

“Are we supposed to use church to help people, to save lives or just to convince one another that we’ve fulfilled the worship calendar?”

They didn’t answer him.

Jesus becomes angry. Do you know why? Because of the hardness of their hearts. Somewhere along the line the worship of God had become more important than the helping of people.

So even though he would receive great criticism, Jesus goes ahead and heals Willie.

And rather than coming out of the church service convicted by the power of a miracle–convinced to become more conscientious at loving the human race–the religious folks leave, get together in a committee, trying to figure out how to get rid of the renegade, Jesus.

So heads up:

When how we conduct church becomes more important than using the time to help people…we are damned by the same angry stare of a loving Jesus.

 

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Confessing … September 26th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2704)

XXI.

I confess so I can heal.

If I deny, I remain sick.

• He was 69 years old and I was counting down the days to my 18th birthday.
• He was slender and I was fat.
• He was a veteran of World War II and I was trying to figure out how to get out from under the Vietnam draft.
• He was an agnostic and I was “Little Charlie Church Chum.”
• He was a psychiatrist and I, on the other hand, was impatient.
• He loved his daughter and I was having a high school affair with her.

This man and myself shared absolutely nothing in common, which became obvious whenever we were left in a room alone together.

But despite all these differences and the fact that he did have a reputation for being a curmudgeon, he allowed the two of us to take his Corvette convertible to the prom. He gave me about three minutes of instruction, and with that exhaustive training, I went out in the middle of the night on the 3-C Highway to see how fast the car would go. When it hit 105 miles per hour, I chickened out, slowed down and went home.

I think he felt fairly confident in being supportive of his daughter’s present romantic choice because he knew that in a couple of months, he was retiring to Mexico to live by the ocean, taking his little family with him.

What he didn’t know was that his daughter was pregnant.

I wish I had been man enough to sit down with him and own up to the situation, but I was frightened over my actions and also feared that he would send her away to New York to get an abortion.

So instead, we plotted against him. And just a month and a half later, when my girlfriend was supposedly safe at the University of Arizona, learning how to be a freshman, I flew out, grabbed her and we took off to start a life together.

He was furious.

He was so upset that he called the Tucson, Arizona, police department to stop us, but of course, there was nothing they could do.

He disowned her.

Being a young foolish boy, I cast him into the role of the villain, easily fitting him with the required black hat.

I wish I could tell you that things worked out.

They didn’t.

Seven years later, he died of cancer in Mexico, having never reestablished contact with my wife nor having ever seen his three grandchildren.

I suppose I could tell you the reasons for my action or convince you of her father’s more sinister side.

But you see, that’s not what Confessing is about. It is not being apologetic while simultaneously trying to explain away your motivations.

I was young, dumb, careless and unappreciative to a man who could have used the image of a responsible Christian fellow.

I failed him.

Whatever he’s doing, wherever he is, I want him to know today that I’m very sorry that I interrupted his plans.

 

 

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G-Poppers … September 25th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2703)

Practicing: working on something to get it to where you want it to be.

Practicing piano, football, dance, law–each one has a process. Each has a defined path which determines quality.

So let’s look further:

• Practicing Judaism.
• A practicing Muslim.
• Practicing Buddhism.
• A practicing Republican.
• A practicing Democrat.
• A practicing atheist.
• A practicing Christian.

No difference?

In each case, there is a philosophy, a platform, a journey, an insight, a doctrine or a purpose which has to be acted out faithfully in order for the practitioner to be proven worthy.

G-Pop feels that we err when we think the conclusion of all the organizations and religions listed above are moving in the same direction. As ignorant as it is to be intolerant, it is equally as ignorant to be unaware of what the end result is to the religions, politics and procedures around us.

To find out what a Muslim believes, you have to study Mohammed. He is their prophet.

To find out what a Jew believes, you must combine the Torah with the prophets, and a study of the Jewish kings.

To understand a Buddhist, one must consider Buddha.

A Republican is comprehended by looking at the climate of the Party in its present form and also perusing the platform.

Likewise with a Democrat.

An atheist seems to make it quite clear that his or her pursuits are absent any recognition of a deity.

So it may seem to be intelligent or even high-minded to throw everybody in a big pot and say we’re all the same, but as long as the people in that pot believe they are unique or even superior, then you’re not making a human stew–just a pot with stewing humans.

Even as G-Pop looks at his life as a Christian, he sees that it falls into three categories:

Is he a Judeo-Christian, believing that the Old Testament has as much anointing as the New Testament?

Is he a Catholic Christian, in the sense of finding his solace in the teachings of the Roman Church and the authority of the Pope?

Or is he a Pauline Christian, pursuing the instruction of the Apostle Paul as regards the formation of a New Testament congregation?

G-Pop offers a fourth alternative: Jesonian–basing one’s faith and practice on the heart and mind of Jesus.

So before you condemn others–or condone them–sit down and read up a little bit on what they treasure, and realize that in the eyes of God there are only two standards for a civilized and spiritual society:

1. How do we treat women?

Are they equals or subordinate in any way?

2. How do we educate our children?

Do we lock them into a narrow-minded curriculum, force them into a limited culture or give them more of a world-based view?

G-Pop passes this information along to all of his children.

“Study to show yourself approved unto God.” Don’t make so many blanket statements.

Understand who and what you’re talking about, and realize that what people practice they will not only preach … they will also act out.

 

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Ask Jonathots … September 24th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2702)

It seems to me that you only win in life if you’re aggressive. For instance, Donald Trump, who is extremely defensive and cutting, leads in the Republican polls. I’m not asking you to talk about politics, just answer this question: how can Jesus suggest that we get anywhere by “turning the other cheek?” Or is he just talking about the afterlife?

I think the problem in most people’s thinking is that they like to characterize certain words as positive or negative. Putting it in simpler terms, most folks would consider passive to be the opposite of aggressive.

But the issue is not whether we should be aggressive. The issue is, to whom?

You are absolutely correct–aggression expressed to others as a means of domination or for generating payback is not only non-spiritual, but also generally considered, in the long run, to be a lame choice.

Yet we are certainly supposed to be aggressive to ourselves. Intertwined in the teachings of Jesus is a strong motivational message to go the second mile, be perfect even as the Father in Heaven is perfect, and take care of the beam in your own eye instead of worrying about the mote in your brother’s eye.

The foible in humans is that we would much rather be aggressive toward other people’s weaknesses than our own.

Donald Trump is characterized as aggressive, but he isn’t alone. There is a general consensus in our society that we can achieve success by–pardon the expression–“trumping” others. Nothing could be further from the truth.

After all, insult may be the only word that never requires a period. As long as an insult is hanging in the air, it’s just awaiting the arrival of the next insult.

So what does it mean–to be aggressive to yourself?

1. Take an inventory.

Consider what you actually can do instead of what you want to do, and then work on those talents.

2. Practice what you want to achieve until you reach the point that you don’t have to make excuses for your shortcomings.

There will still be failures but you want to make sure they are not caused by your lack of perseverance.

3. Don’t compare your work to the work of others.

Compare it to your own vision and what you desire to achieve.

The Jesonian life–a life following Jesus–is an aggressive one–but not in relationship to our judgment and critique of others.

Rather, in our own passion to perfect our ways … and learn how to go the second mile.

 

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