Jonathots Daily Blog
(3782)
A. What your country can do for you? DON’T ASK!
B. Fourscore and seven were scoreless
C. For God so hated the world…
D. Make America grape again.
E. Black Lives Mutter
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3768)
There was an old gospel song that used to get the hometown folks clappin’ and snappin’. It had a lyric which proclaimed, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”
I grew up in a small town that believed, like most small towns, that if the world behaved like they did, there would be eternal peace. But since the world didn’t behave, all the children needed to be careful going into the big city, or worse yet, into the world.
Matter of fact, like most small towns, over half of my graduating class still lives within ten miles of the place where they got their first kiss.
It’s easy for people who have religion to attack the world. Matter of fact, there are many preachers who wouldn’t have anything to share if they couldn’t criticize the world, sin and the souls around them. Even those practitioners of philosophies which portend to have more open-mindedness will still gladly join into a conversation of discussing how damnable things are on the planet.
Sometimes I wonder how it’s possible to be so in love with God and so hateful of the home He’s given us.
Now I remember. I forgot the lyrics: “This world is not my home.”
It makes me wonder why Jesus prayed that heavenly things be done on Earth.
God is a good Father. As a good Father, he knows His children. And the Earth is filled with His children.
He understands that the world is stuck in a rebellion resembling a sixteen-year-old: snotty, bratty, selfish, indulgent, unappreciative–but certainly unwilling to go anyplace else. That’s a sixteen-year-old.
So maybe we should walk away from our gospel songs and even our theology and take a careful look at what Jesus said about the world.
Two things:
1. “In the world you have tribulation.”
I suppose you could blame God for that–not because He steps back and lets things happen, but because He gave us free will. Honestly, if I had created beings that possessed as much intelligence as humans, I would have curtailed free will.
It doesn’t make sense. For people to have imaginations from the time of their youth, but for those musings to be generally evil, doesn’t bode well for blessings to flow across the land.
But it was God’s way.
He made us smart, with the ability to choose to be stupid.
Therefore, at one time or another, somebody is always being stupid, which makes it seem like all matter is about to fall apart. Jesus called this “tribulation”–a sense that things never find peace or settle down.
Now most religionists love that particular verse about tribulation in the world. Matter of fact, they stop right there and use it as a platform to preach against every sin that comes to their minds. They never factor in the second thought that Jesus had on the world:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. And He didn’t send His son into the world to condemn the world, but so that they could choose to be saved (paraphrase).
Of course, the key coupling there is “so loved.”
Not a passive appreciation.
Not a duty of being a parent of something you wish you could abandon.
But a deep emotional commitment, free of condemnation.
So here’s the truth of the matter, although I don’t want to anger some gospel song writer: this world is my home, for the time being, and I am passing through.
My job is to have good cheer when I see the tribulation, and make sure, through my face, my actions and my tenderness, that those around me know exactly how much they are so loved.
*****
If you like the mind of Jesus without religion, buy the book!
$7.99 plus S&H
*******
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this inspirational opportunity
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2872)
Somewhere between faith and unbelief lies doubt.
As faith is promoted as a God-pleasing virtue and unbelief is denied by those who are fearful of coming across calloused, doubt is universally regarded as a negative. Yet doubt is the most prevalent sensation that inhabits the human heart.
Yesterday, former First Lady Nancy Reagan was laid to rest next to her husband, Ronald. When asked, the most common response given by the surrounding mourners was, “At least Nancy is where she wants to be–with her beloved Ronald.”
No one knows that to be true.
No one is certain of any factor that occurs after human life has ceased. Our information is not even anecdotal.
It is based solely on faith–or a deep, abiding worry that we will be considered unbelievers if we don’t say something hopeful.
Actually, we all doubt.
So the correct way of addressing the issue should be, “I do think it would be Nancy’s hope to finally be back together with Ronald.”
That’s factual.
That comes from a place of uncertainty that keeps us searching, and also humble.
Jesus, himself, had doubts.
There were moments when he spoke to the crowds with great faith, saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
But time would pass, rejection would come his way, and in unbelief, he would turn to the multitudes who were leaving him because of his teachings, sigh, and ask his disciples if they were going to go away also.
Yet he would then land in the middle of doubt, where the balance of his hope and the tentative nature of his mortality could mingle, and he spoke in great mercy: they’re human. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
Even as he was hanging on the cross, he shared with great faith, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” But only moments later, he cried out in an agony of unbelief, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But realizing that only his death would reveal ultimate truth, with his doubts intact, he cast his eyes to the heavens and said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Doubt is a powerful emotion:
Without honoring doubt, we give up too soon, we divorce too early, we despair too often, and we abandon frequently.
Doubt is where our miracle begins.
It is when we continue to believe without being sure.
It is Jesus who shouted in faith, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son,” only to be cast aside by his brethren and to bitterly tell them “not to weep for him, but for their own children and themselves.”
Not positive, not negative, but with a certain amount of doubt, he finally landed on the balance:
“Whosoever will may come.”
Doubt is where faith continues its work–to avoid the emptiness of unbelief.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2514)
Every fall comes from a trip
All my trips happen in the Fall
Laughter is a medicine
I am medically cleared to laugh
Ask and it shall be given
‘Tis a given that I will ask
God bless America, my home
Home is when America is a blessing for God
Cross that bridge when I get to it
Getting to the bridge is often the cross I get
I fell in love
Love fell on me
In the beginning, God created
Creating a beginning is God
Coming to my senses
My coming is sensible
All men are created equal
Equal men are all created
Don’t give up the fight
The fight is, don’t give up
Save myself for the right person
The right person helps me save myself
Terrorism kills people
Real people kill terrorism
For God so loved the world
The world loved … and there was God
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
click above for information on 567!
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2156)
I am often puzzled over the hype and gravitas given to what is traditionally deemed to be the top three virtues of human endeavor: faith, hope and love.
I certainly agree that they do abide. They are present.
But honestly, faith and hope must have had pretty good agents to get them on this list. Because as valuable as it may be to hold faith in some creed, doctrine or philosophy, that faith has also been known to be misplaced, bringing about the death and destruction of human life. I dare say that misguided faith has killed many more people than vampires, let alone zombies.
Likewise, hope can be drenched in selfishness, while candy-coated with a thin shell of devotion, but end up being a mere wish list for selfish people. Or worse, a way for a politician or preacher to manipulate vulnerable human beings to enact his or her will.
Yes–faith: “I have something I believe.”
Good for you. But just because you believe it does not make it true, viable or enriching to others.
Hope: “I have something I want.”
When I look back at my personal history, I realize that if all my hopes had been granted, I would at least be a renegade, if not dead.
So love is the salvation of these two ambiguous fellow-travelers. Love: “I have something to give.”
Matter of fact, this may be what getting older is all about–sorting through our faith and throwing out the parts that are useless to humanity or God, and clearing out our closet of hopes and realizing that many of our wants are foolish, if not dangerous. So we gradually come to the maturity that allows us to focus on what we have to give.
God, Himself, made the journey. For after all, the Old Testament is full of faith and hope, as the Almighty stood back and asked people to believe in Ten Commandments, voices coming out of burning bushes and jaunts through the wilderness. Somewhere along the line, our Father which art in heaven decided to become a daddy. He realized that the only purpose for faith and hope is to congeal them into love.
So by the time He got to the New Testament He had a different mantra: “For God so loved the world that He gave …”
There you go–love gives. Therefore I only maintain enough faith to make my love last longer. I pursue hope if it allows my love to continue to abide and interact with human beings. But my main focus is on love. What can I do this very morning to give, never feeling the loss, but knowing that this affection will return to me many-fold?
When we are young we pursue faith–we ardently believe in our own principles. We get a little older, we start hoping. After all, our faith did not deliver its full package of goods, so we need to release a new batch of wishes into the world.
But if we’re going to truly become spiritual and human, we will eventually understand that it’s all about love.
And in the process, suddenly the faith and hope that we proclaimed is resurrected from its death and comes to life again, bringing us glorious options.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Click for details on the SpirTed 2014 presentation
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.
click to hear music from Spirited 2014
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2156)
I am often puzzled over the hype and gravitas given to what is traditionally deemed to be the top three virtues of human endeavor: faith, hope and love.
I certainly agree that they do abide. They are present.
But honestly, faith and hope must have had pretty good agents to get them on this list. Because as valuable as it may be to hold faith in some creed, doctrine or philosophy, that faith has also been known to be misplaced, bringing about the death and destruction of human life. I dare say that misguided faith has killed many more people than vampires, let alone zombies.
Likewise, hope can be drenched in selfishness, while candy-coated with a thin shell of devotion, but end up being a mere wish list for selfish people. Or worse, a way for a politician or preacher to manipulate vulnerable human beings to enact his or her will.
Yes–faith: “I have something I believe.”
Good for you. But just because you believe it does not make it true, viable or enriching to others.
Hope: “I have something I want.”
When I look back at my personal history, I realize that if all my hopes had been granted, I would at least be a renegade, if not dead.
So love is the salvation of these two ambiguous fellow-travelers. Love: “I have something to give.”
Matter of fact, this may be what getting older is all about–sorting through our faith and throwing out the parts that are useless to humanity or God, and clearing out our closet of hopes and realizing that many of our wants are foolish, if not dangerous. So we gradually come to the maturity that allows us to focus on what we have to give.
God, Himself, made the journey. For after all, the Old Testament is full of faith and hope, as the Almighty stood back and asked people to believe in Ten Commandments, voices coming out of burning bushes and jaunts through the wilderness. Somewhere along the line, our Father which art in heaven decided to become a daddy. He realized that the only purpose for faith and hope is to congeal them into love.
So by the time He got to the New Testament He had a different mantra: “For God so loved the world that He gave …”
There you go–love gives. Therefore I only maintain enough faith to make my love last longer. I pursue hope if it allows my love to continue to abide and interact with human beings. But my main focus is on love. What can I do this very morning to give, never feeling the loss, but knowing that this affection will return to me many-fold?
When we are young we pursue faith–we ardently believe in our own principles. We get a little older, we start hoping. After all, our faith did not deliver its full package of goods, so we need to release a new batch of wishes into the world.
But if we’re going to truly become spiritual and human, we will eventually understand that it’s all about love.
And in the process, suddenly the faith and hope that we proclaimed is resurrected from its death and comes to life again, bringing us glorious options.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Click for details on the SpirTed 2014 presentation
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.
click to hear music from Spirited 2014
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
 | Jonathan on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
| Anonymous on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
| Anonymous on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
| Anonymous on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
 | Nolan on 1 Memory About Jonathan Richar… |
 | Maxine Mantooth on Drawing Attention … Dece… |
| Steve on From the Stacks … Octobe… |
| Maxine Mantooth on Scrambles … October 20th… |
| Maxine Mantooth on From the Stacks … Octobe… |
| Maxine Mantooth on Scrambles … October 13th… |
A voice writing in the wilderness
Jonathots Daily Blog 