Jesonian … October 16th, 2018

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(3827)

Jesus was right there with them and they still wanted to talk about Pontius Pilate.

Politics. It just makes fellows strange.

Obsessed with a candidate or a party, human beings try to make life fit around existing ideas and platforms. Here’s the problem–they don’t.

Every situation is different. Some human struggles demand a conservative approach–others, liberality.

REPENT OF POLITICS

Jesus warned them.

When they asked him about Pontius Pilate, he said, “You need to repent, or you’re going to perish.”

Here’s the meaning: repent of politics or you will perish along with your failing politician.

He also said “you can’t serve God and Mammon.”

What is Mammon? It is the misuse, misunderstanding and mistreatment of money. There we are–right back to politics.

The issue is not whether the Republicans are right or the Republicans are wrong.

The issue is also not whether the Democrats are in the catbird seat or if they’re fallen doves.

The issue is that the Spirit of God demands that we be led in the direction that will benefit other human beings.

It cannot be decided politically and too many Christians have turned their faith over to politics and their hearts over to their favorite candidate.

JESUS’ CAMPAIGN SLOGAN

For Jesus’ campaign slogan is simple: “By this people will know who we are–that we have love one for another.”

Politics is a blood sport. Jesus has already shed all the blood needed.

Politics allows for lying. Jesus said “the truth will make you free.”

Politics favors its own. Jesus said “when you only love them who love you, you’re no better than the heathen.”

Politics wants to bolster its constituency. Jesus wants us to find the “least of these” and relate to them.

DO NICE GUYS FINISH LAST?

The other day on television I heard a noted politician say, “Nice guys finish last.”

Let’s look at some people who finished last:

• Julius Caesar
• Attila the Hun
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Adolph Hitler
• Idi Amin

Not a nice guy amongst them.

Nice guys just have to wait until the Earth is available for them to inherit–like allowing your landlord to wash and paint your condo before you move in.

Repent of politics or you will perish with your politicians.

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Jesonian… March 11th, 2017

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(3243)

 

Buyer’s remorse.

It is that eerie sensation that seeps into the human heart when the realization that the passion for the project, the person or the purchase has lost some of its original gleam due to the passage of time, and perhaps even the accumulation of disappointment.

It happened to a disciple named Philip.

He was one of the fellows on the ground level of the Kingdom Movement. Matter of fact, it’s believed that he was a disciple of John the Baptist and popped up right after Jesus popped out of the Jordan River.

He was thrilled. He was one of five of the Apostles present for the changing of water to wine. He was so encompassed with the potential of this new experience that he sought out friends, like Nathaniel, and told them that the Messiah had been found, and “come and see.”

But two-and-a-half years later, when there were five thousand hungry men in front of him, and Jesus put him on the spot, asking how Philip intended to feed all those people, he freaked out, explaining that it was too expensive, and ended up feeling like a fool when Jesus found a way.

So on the night of the Last Supper, a weary, flustered and maybe even disillusioned Philip posed a suggestion:

“Show us the Father, Jesus, and it will be enough for us to continue to believe.”

He is rebuked.

Jesus asked him why, after all these years of being in the presence of the Teacher and the teaching, he did not realize that to be part of this beautiful anointing was to be with the Father.

Philip had buyer’s remorse. He was not alone.

• Judas betrayed Jesus in an extreme fit of buyer’s remorse.
• Peter denied and decided to go back to fishing before being personally interrupted by Jesus, once again on the seashore.
• And as you know, Thomas had his doubts.

This problem happens when what we expect is not delivered. It’s why many Christians have a Baptism certificate and a brief story of their salvation, but very little contentment brought about in their Earthly lives.

Jesus was both–he was both a Savior and a motivator.

Most of the churches in America preach him as a Savior. Those who don’t, but rather, present him solely as the motivator, fail to offer his saving grace and forgiveness. But it’s the balance.

Although your church will be quick to tell you what Jesus will do for you, they are not honest about what he will not do:

1. Jesus is not going to take away the problems.

He said, “In the world you have tribulation.” It’s not going away. But your defense is to be of good cheer.

2. Jesus is not going to do all the work.

He said, “You are the light of the world.” Men are going to see your good works. And it is up to each and every one of us to multiply our talents.

3. Jesus also wants us to know that salvation is not a one-time experience.

The remission of our sins is a cleansing, but we continue to experience the “graces of salvation” over and over again, as we walk faithfully through the power of the Gospel.

4. Jesus does not have favorites.

Although the religious system may tell you that the Jews are the “chosen people” or that Christians have become the new “royal priesthood,” Jesus said, “in the Kingdom of God there is neither Hebrew nor Greek, Jew nor Gentile.” God just does not look on the outward appearance.

5. So therefore, Jesus will not join you in hating people.

Matter of fact, if you make the foolish mistake of deciding that certain folks are lesser, those are the very ones he will expect you to love the most.

And finally:

6. Jesus demands visual love.

Not the cursory spoken kind or the single hug during greeting time in the sanctuary, but the temperate, compassionate affection that we grant to one another when periods of craziness seem to make us intolerable.

Are you experiencing some buyer’s remorse?

Are you afraid to admit it?

If you’re smart, like Philip, and you decide to hang around, there is always the possibility of a resurrection … and being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

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Populie: There are many truths… June 11, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2260)

It is very popular to seek for truth.

When you link that with the lie that there are many representations of that truth that all work equally well, you create today’s populie.

Religion loves to wallow in self-pity over the assertion that there are many truths because it not only gives the faithful a chance to be pious over their rendition, but also various outsiders to attack as cults for not agreeing with them in the first place.

Politics revels in this philosophy because it establishes a voting block that agrees on the platform of the party, and an obvious enemy to attack–one who fails to honor the planks.

Entertainment pursues this discussion because it fosters a conflict to resolve. Therefore minority opinions are touted as being as valuable as the majority–just that they are subjugated and attacked.

It seems that when it comes to our minds and bodies, we accept immutable facts, which we call science. This is why we have an educational system and physicians who treat ailments with proven remedies.

Yet when it comes to the realm of the emotional and the spiritual, we think there is a potpourri of options, subject to individual taste.

Here me carefully–if there is a science to our physiology and intellect, then believe you me, there is a science to our emotions and our soulful nature.

You can feel free to pursue philosophies and religious practices of your particular taste, but that does not make them truthful and scientific to our earth’s situation.

Everything that is emotionally and spiritually true in our world must contain three undeniable facts:

1. The Earth is our present heaven.

How we treat the earth, how we care for it, respect it, learn the ways of nature, and ultimately, how we conduct ourselves as citizens of this planet determines the true value of our belief system.

The test of your faith is not whether you believe in God, but whether you believe that if God gave you a heaven which was merely a continuation of your life on earth, would you be angry and disappointed, or joyful over the prospect of being able to continue and improve?

2. People are God’s children.

Any attempt made to harm humans, relegate them, destroy them, intimidate them, ignore them or cheat on them is contrary to the emotional and spiritual science of earth. That’s why Jesus told us that our focus should be on “the least of these” in our society, because in doing so we know we’ve covered all of God’s concerns for his offspring.

3. The kingdom of God is within you.

The true sign of passing the emotional and spiritual science test is realizing the need to take responsibility for your life and the world around you. Lying, blaming, retreating, self-pity and intimidation are all ways of escaping this simple statement: “if there is a kingdom of God, it is within me, and therefore it is up to me to manifest it.”

If your derivation of truth does not include these three ideas as supreme, I will tell you that you are following a false spirituality. You are chasing superstition and you are honoring the idea of faith without the works that keep it from being dead.

The populie is that there are many paths to truth. This notion just leaves us with a jumbled debate and accusations instead of a fluid belief in the beauty of earth, the power of people and the responsibility each one of us possesses.

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After an appearance earlier this year in Surprise, Arizona, Janet and I were blessed to receive a “surprise” ourselves. Click on the beautiful Arizona picture above to share it with us!

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Money is Deaf… January 15, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

(2121)

• Money talks–if we give it voice.
• Money answers–if we infuse it with intelligence.
• But money is deaf to the cries of those who often need it the most. It is oblivious to the pleas of the disenchanted, disheartened and disenfranchised.

Many selfish people use this obvious disability of money as a pretense for their greed. After all, what good does it do us to have finance if we’re surrounded by those who feel compelled to beg and steal to procure their solvency?

The world is not safe with those who cling to finance, ignoring the capability of money to talk and money to answer.

So what we have is a ritual of guilt, where religious people and charitable organizations will, from time to time, hold campaigns or telethons to intimidate the public into giving from their income to help the needs of others. Often, in doing so, we have to degrade those without and portray absolute destitution, deprivation and near destruction.

It is a nasty process.

I would like to present an alternative. I only offer it as a solution to the “deaf and dumb” condition of the coins that rattle around in our purse, unwilling to leave our possession to aid the world around us. It’s a two-step process:

1. As pertaining to money talking, I suggest we learn to “give small.”

I don’t like to give away hundreds of dollars. It makes me feel intimidated, angry, begrudging and put upon, so that I swear I will not give again for a good long time. Yet anything under ten dollars can leave my possession with me remaining cheery.

So rather than waiting to be accosted by “the least in the kingdom,” I look for them. Yes, I probe for a way for my money to gain voice while it is still my choice, and kept small.

If you want your money to “talk” and you don’t mind hearing it speak, you might want to think about “giving small.”

Don’t wait until some organization or individual needs thousands of dollars. Catch people when they are just beginning to struggle.

A couple of days ago I saw a young lady bagging groceries at an HEB grocery store. She was very good. But I could tell by her body language that she was fatigued and growing weary in her task. When she finished packaging my material (in a very proficient way, I might add) I handed her three one dollar bills. It was nothing to me, but in that moment, it was gold to her.

I whispered, “You’re doing great.”

As I left the store, I noticed she was sharing with her friends. Give small.

2. If you want your money to answer the real problems in your life, invest big.

Not in lame-brain schemes, but in areas which need obvious improvement. Otherwise you spend your time repairing instead of expanding. Repairs are never noticed, but investments show that you’re growing.

Perhaps some people think it’s better to “give big” and “invest small,” so as to salve their conscience. I find this unrealistic.

I have enough spirituality within me to give small, and I can learn to be smart enough to invest big. Therefore, my investments will allow me to have more “small money” to give.

Money is deaf. It just refuses to listen to need.

So help it talk by “giving small.”

And encourage it to answer by “investing big.”

 

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