Jonathots Daily Blog
(4389)
That Can Be Learned by Reading the Story of Joseph from Genesis, Chapters 37 – 50
1. The ever-present danger of pride impersonating confidence
2. The necessity of perseverance instead of drowning in self-pity
Iz and Pal (Bedouin Buddies)
Jonathots Daily Blog
(4126)
Sitting Thirty-One
And then all at once, an interruption came to rob the attention from the cause. The priest sank to his knees, seemingly overcome by the desert heat. He grabbed his head as the perspiration poured off his face. The gathered horde of critics moved to his side, deeply concerned for his well-being.
“You see what you’ve done, boys? I’m very tired of your disrespect,” said the suit.
The robe stepped forward threateningly. “You must learn to hold your tongue, young man.”
And the priest, still on his knees breathing heavily, voiced his objection. “My collar does not pinch me.”
He turned to those holding him up, finishing. “I will be fine, my brothers. Just a little too much heat.”
All the adults turned with one disapproving gaze in the direction of the pair of renegade escapees.
Pal stepped forward. “Listen, you should not be here. He’s sick. Just leave us alone. If you are truly men of God, as you say, you need to realize that there’s nothing wrong with love between two friends.”
“Honor your father and mother,” replied the suit.
All the men vigorously nodded their heads in agreement. They had finally found a common axiom which they could all agree upon.
Iz and Pal looked at the four men and then back at each other. Trying to talk to these immovable statues was a fruitless task. It seemed they were speaking different languages.
“Understand this,” said blue jeans. “We were sent to resolve this peacefully. We mean you no harm. We’re not trying to overtake you. But when they come with the rally, they will not be as nice as we have been to you.”
“Why can’t you just leave us alone?” demanded Pal.
“Because you are children,” responded the collar.
“Weren’t you a child once?” queried Iz.
Now standing solidly on his feet, he replied, “Yes. But I’ve put away childish things.” His face was still flushed with crimson.
Iz stopped and held his hands up in the air, requiring a reprieve. Several times the collar, the robe, the blue jeans and the suit tried to speak, but he covered his ears.
When Iz saw that their lips didn’t move any more and silence had settled in, he said, “I guess we’re just not ready to put away childish things—because you grown-ups pack away all of their dreams along with those childish things. We are not ready to be dreamless.”
The robe screamed at the top of his voice, “Is it true there’s a hand grenade?”
Pal was very nervous, but somehow or another managed to remain cool. He glanced over at Iz, who displayed an unsettling, icy stare. “Would you like to see it?” he asked. “Or would you like to hear it?”
The men were not willing to overwhelm the two boys—not at the risk of their own lives. The meeting was over. The committee stared at the unflinching features of the young men. One by one, the invaders turned and walked slowly down the hill.
Collar spoke as he left. “May it never be said that we didn’t try to warn you.”
Pal yelled after them as they trudged along. “How about Joseph and his brothers? They lived in Egypt and lived in peace—Jew and Arab. Did anyone hold a rally and try to stop them? Were they wrong, Mullah?”
There was no more response.
After all, the mission was not about discovering the truth or even discussing the facts. It wasn’t even about redeeming the time. The whole goal had been to get the little boys to do what little boys were supposed to do.
Yet what do you do when you’re old and the young will not listen? What is your recourse when boys grow into men without your permission?
Iz and Pal stood and watched as the men finished their walk and disappeared.
The rally would be in two days. That meant there were forty-eight hours of freedom left—guaranteed space for Iz and Pal.
They decided not to waste a second of it thinking about religious figures who frowned and never smiled…and also resembled melting snow that had no place in the desert.
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Jesonian … May 5th, 2018
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3663)
Long, long ago, when Jesus and his elves–twelve in all–were on their way to Samaria to assist Conan the Barbarian in rescuing Mary of Magdala from the Cave of Sighs, where she was being tormented by seven hissing demons, they stopped at a well in Sychar, where Jesus turned its water into wine. A party ensued.
There, Jesus told his elves the story of Mary, the Mother of God, who scurried along, following a rabbit down a hole into a stable, where she had a baby, which shone like the light of day. So she went to Egypt, where she met her husband, Joseph, who was a Carpenter Warrior from Cairo.
They took the baby to see Aslan,who wrote the Chronicles, from his den in Narnia, and helped the young family avoid the onslaught of the wicked Herod of the West.
Many baby hobbits were lost, but the young King was preserved. Jesus.
So now, Jesus is walking on water on the Sea of Galilee near the tree where we all can be, can’t you see?
They continue to try to kill Jesus but he runs away and leaps upon a white horse and takes his army into battle, where he destroys all the Telmarines, and establishes his kingdom. Everyone lives happily thereafter.
*****
If you’re going to teach the lifestyle of Jesus to your children like it’s a nursery rhyme, don’t be surprised, as they grow, if they start viewing it as a fairy tale.
And “Frank”ly, it will “Baum” their lives, leaving them only with a “Tolkien” belief.
*****
Like the mind of Jesus–without religion? Buy the book!
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*******
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Cracked 5 … December 12th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3519)
If Amazon Sent a “Complete Christmas Package” for You and Me from Bethlehem.gov it would include:
A. One carton of the finest virgin olive oil from the Middle East
B. Three shepherd pies from the ovens of Scotland
C. The complete video series of The Three Stooges–lots of wise-crackin’ from the “stars”
D. Matching lambs-wool, angel-soft sweaters from Jerusalem International Fashion Gala
E. The latest book: “Nighttime Meditations for the True Seeker” by Joseph Carpenter
PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … December 6th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3513)
I Don’t Fit
I don’t fit the manger scene
Not a lass who’s barely fourteen
Nor a man who heeds his dreams
I’m too possessed with my schemes
Never sheepish, devoid of sin
Willing to welcome a baby in
Yet perhaps an ass from the working class
Grunting a complaint over midnight cries
Where would I fit, with all my lies?
I would be the shepherd who remained with the flock
Bound and determined to punch the clock
“Angels we have heard on high”
Don’t pay the rent–let ’em fly
Bethlehem’s too simple and quaint
No time to stress or offer complaint
I just don’t seem to belong
With angels singing a heavenly song
Go to bed, get some sleep
Rise again to sow and reap
For I would never stare at the sky
Believing a star had the answers why
And trek across the desert sand
A stranger in a foreign land
To burst into tears of joy
Because I found Heaven’s Boy
I’m so glad I missed Holy Night
Because I would have failed to see the light
‘Tis the story that touches my pagan soul
And allows me a chance to be made whole
I don’t fit in the manger scene
With Mama and child, so serene
God was smart, with all His clout
To give me time to figure it out
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this inspirational opportunity
Good News and Better News… August 21st, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3406)
I had the night off from my gigs.
I decided to take in a church service at a small pioneer work where I’m staying. It is called Renaissance Fellowship. It touts the uniqueness of being a Christian church focused on the arts. Since I’ve been known to have a brain cell or two tuned in that direction, I was titillated.
The church is held at a community center and has about twenty-five folks who attend. The people are typical “church.” About 35% of them are excited, involved, busy scurrying around, and the rest of them have the appearance of folks arriving for a seminar on an unknown subject, with the promise that they might get free passes to a restaurant at the end.
Renaissance suffers from what every church suffers from. In trying to find God, they accidentally kill passion.
The pastor, a young man in his early forties, has a delightful desire and talent for sharing his thoughts. You can tell he is still deeply involved in the pursuit of God and the salvation of human souls, but growing a bit worn around the edges in all the well-doing. It happens to all of us.
But I heard something I liked. I heard rumblings that sounded like possibility.
Even though his message was plagued with too much preaching to the soul and teaching to the brain, I sensed that he’s beginning to reach for the heart.
For you see–human beings are not really spiritual. We aren’t thoughtful. We are emotional.
It doesn’t matter if it’s about work, play, a football stadium or church–the evidence that we are impacted is always an emotional outburst.
So I speak with great clarity to this pastor and tell him to keep reaching for the heart. Go ahead and abandon preaching to the soul and teaching to the mind. No one cares what Abraham, Moses, Joseph or any of the old patriarchs did. If the stories do not relate to family, Wal-mart and the Internet, they will not touch the hearts of American people.
Instructing the brain by pointing out clever pieces of information may once have been a path of probability, but no longer. Our brains are inundated with too much information, and of course, way too many posts on Facebook about nothing.
- Reach the heart.
- Touch the heart.
- And demand a heartfelt response.
It is the only way people are healed. As Jesus said, “If you say to this mountain, be removed, and you do not doubt in your heart, it shall be done.”
The soul, the brain and the body have nothing to do with moving mountains. It is a heartfelt action.
Although I’m sure they are delightful and blessed people, many of the folks at Renaissance were doing their best imitation of being church cardboard cutouts. But becoming a church of artistry will require that the congregation that’s already there–tiny as it is–become emotionally excited with its own faith.
If it doesn’t, they will be just an average church that occasionally puts on plays.
The good news is that the Gospel is an experience of the heart.
The better news is, the pastor of Renaissance Fellowship and his congregation have a great opportunity to become heartfelt.
I have confidence in them.
For you see, the pastor is my son.
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Jesonian… February 18th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3222)
Christianity is not a religion–it is a lifestyle.
It is based upon the human example left behind by Jesus of Nazareth. Any attempt to build the Kingdom of God on doctrines, practices, rituals, worship, attendance, prayer, Bible study or fasting will flail, because the Kingdom of God is within us.
In other words, until we tap ourselves–our passions, our errors and get our questions answered–there really is no Kingdom of God.
Or maybe better stated, it’s a theory.
To emphasize this, Jesus told us that God is our Father.
Once we realize that He is our Daddy and not the smoke at the top of the mountain, an angry disciplinarian, the Force, or just karma, we can then predict what God’s reaction will be in situations due to His paternal instincts.
- As a Father, He is certainly not going to plan our lives for us. Any dad who would do that would be considered a first-class asshole.
- As a Father, He’s not going to give up on us, disown us, or throw us out in the desert with a canteen.
- But as a Father, He will institute chores for us to perform–and by our faithfulness, evaluate our present mindset.
Jesus came to show us the Father.
We should be studying the life, ideas, tendencies and predilections of the Nazarene. Instead we focus on His arrest, trial and death.
In doing so, we attempt to divert the Christian message from being a revelation of the Father to a pre-destined, pre-ordained human execution in order to acquire blood atonement.
Actually, the crucifixion makes so much more sense when you realize that the Father was hoping his children would be more receptive–but still made a pathway of salvation for all of us through the courage and sacrifice of our elder brother, Jesus.
It is not that dissimilar to the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, who is thrown into a pit by his brothers, left for dead, only to redeem those same brethren in Egypt after he gained power, rescuing them from destitution.
Nothing good happens in the Christian church until we realize that the entire ministry of Jesus was about showing us the Father.
Even in the midst of the agony of the cross, he said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
So if you’re wondering why religion is leaving you flat, and church seems redundant and meaningless, it’s because invented ideas have been passed along and given primary importance, while the congregation thirsts for the relationship with their Father promised to them by Jesus.
It is time for us to show Jesus to the community–so he can reveal the Father to all of us.
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Jonathots Daily Blog 
