Good News and Better News … October 10th, 2016

Jonathots Daily Blog

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Whether you’re promoting the idea that Mexicans are rapists or insisting that your political opponents should be stuffed in a basket labeled “deplorables,” you have basically failed to recognize the central meteoric truth of life on Planet Earth:

Our human journey is about getting along with humans.

The ministry of Jesus is capsulized in how we treat others. Also, our relationship with God is determined by how well we welcome those who have been deemed worthless.

When I arrived at the Holly Calvary Church to meet the energetic and engaged Pastor Cliff and his congregation, I was fully aware that nothing I have to share has any value if I am a grump.

Yes.

• I am my Gospel.
• I am my message.
• My facial expression is what I think God feels about people.

And my attitude is certainly my theology.

During one of the prayers, a word came to my mind: exceedingly.

Looking back on the past week in America, there have been people who are exceedingly mad. They want to get even. They want to hurt somebody. Their energy is fueled by fury.

There are people who are exceedingly sad. They’ve given up. They’ve decided to settle. Despair has become their cry for retreat.

What we desperately need–and what I shared with the good folks in Holly–is the message of Jesus: rejoice and be exceedingly glad.

What does that mean? Why isn’t “glad” enough? Why does it need to be “exceedingly?”

Because mad and sad people try to cover up their true motivations with missions which seem to be legitimate. So if our gladness doesn’t spill out of us like cold water from melted mountain snow, then it will be difficult to set ourselves apart from those who snarl and sigh.

Pastor Cliff is encouraging his church to get back to the Word of God. I agree. That “Word” is personified in the lifestyle of Jesus. He is the Word. And he wants us to be glad.

How do we know when we’re being glad?

1. We decide to love everybody even if it seems ridiculous.
2. We refuse to judge anybody even if it appears necessary.
3. We determine to help everybody find their abundant life.

I truly believe if the absolutely amazing individuals I met yesterday in Holly will generate love, stop judging and aid their brothers and sisters in finding life, which is grounded in the Word, they can also be free of religious chains.

That’s the good news.

The better news is that “exceedingly glad” does come with the additional benefit of personal smiles and inner joy.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

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Jonathan’s Latest Book Release!

PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant

Click here to get your copy now!

 

Quatrain of the Earthquake … April 8, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog  

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Deep within the skin of Earth

A shifting, beating, pulsing, tumultuous fury

Submitting to the changes through time

Curious if I do the same.

The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity

Click here to get info on the “Gospel According to Common Sense” Tour

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.

When and How … December 8, 2011

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• When is it prudent–and dare I say essential–for me to intervene in the life of another human being who is my friend and has fallen into destructive behavior and …
• How can I do so without coming across as some sort of nervous, nosy ninny?

 

• When is it a good idea to order spaghetti in a restaurant because my palate is set in some sort of Northern Italian mode, and …
• How do I know that it won’t come watery, rubbery or with meat sauce that really is just marinara with some bacon bits?

 

• When do I take the opportunity to discuss religion and politics, although it’s often considered to be taboo dinner conversation, and …
• How can I keep from coming across as a demagogue, pounding my fist on the table or screaming out from pent-up terror?

 

• When is it really advisable to get that oil change on my car so that I can have a clean engine, but not be overly exuberant about preempting the need, and…
• How would a mere mortal with no understanding of the combustible engine be able to discern such matters?

 

• When is it time for me to kneel in prayer and supplicate to the great Father beyond about a quandary I see in life, and …
• How can I be sure that He isn’t up there, folding His arms across His chest, waiting for me to stop groveling and start using what I already have?

 

• When is it just a brilliant notion to sprinkle on a bit of cologne to sweeten the fragrance that precedes and follows me, and …
• How do I know I haven’t overdone it and ended up smelling like an over-eager extra in a porn movie?

 

• When is it important for me to inform those around me that I have made resolutions about my life which I hope will transport me to a new and better self, and…
• How can I leave a loophole or two in the proclamation so as to spare a bit of my dignity when I certainly fall short of the glory of God?

 

• When is it necessary to acquire the assistance of a few prunes to aid my digestive tract in relieving itself, and …
• How do I know whether six is too many and might unleash the fury of my innards?

 

• When do I carefully insert my opinion into a given situation so as to produce enlightenment, and …
• How do I avoid coming across as the know-it-all, stuck in past times with no insight into the present situation?

 

• When is it necessary to take a shower or is there a time framework that is socially acceptable, and …
• How would one pose that question to anyone else without coming across as a geek?

 

• When does one become obsessive about one’s eating habits by considering and counting the number of vegetable servings one has in a day, and …
• How else will you know whether you’re getting enough vegetables if you don’t go ahead and count them on your fingers?

When and how? Really, our whole day is broken up into very meticulous decisions about how to relegate these two fellows. Sometimes I think the “when” is completely in God’s hands, and for some inexplicable reason, the “how” has been entrusted to us.

Or wait … is it the other way around?

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Here comes Christmas! For your listening pleasure, below is Manger Medley, Jonathan’s arrangement of Away in the Manger, which closes with him singing his gorgeous song, Messiah.  Looking forward to the holidays with you!