Jesonian: It’s An Adjective … September 6th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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Jesonian.

I coined the word.

Originally I came up with it because I felt that the term “Christian” had lost some of its pungency and impact, having been diluted by indifference and hypocrisy.

But mainly, I use the word as an adjective. For after all, we have made the error of turning “Christian” into a noun.

It’s supposed to stand alone, to singularly represent an ideology which has already been divided into at least 362 different denominational compartments. No wonder it suffers from overuse, misuse and abuse.

Jesus never intended his philosophy and approach to life to become a religion. It was meant to be the impetus which fuels the lifestyle and career of our choice.

So there should be Christian businessmen and women, Christian musicians, Christian plumbers, Christian athletes. But because we changed Christian into a noun, it is supposed to mean something in itself, while we continue to fuss and argue about its significance.

Jesonian is an adjective.

It’s a way of telling those around us that we actively pursue the activities of our lives and professions while fueling those efforts with concepts and beliefs born from the mindset of Jesus.

It is the hope that we can have Jesonian Baptists, Jesonian Lutherans, Jesonian Methodists, Jesonian Catholics and Jesonian Charismatics who freely admit that they may have a preference for their style of consecration and worship, but no difference in the application of their thinking.

It was the Apostle Paul who said, “Now abide faith, hope and love…” But the Jesonian comes along to help us define those three words with much more cohesion.

• Faith is not what we believe. In the Jesonian lifestyle, faith is what we live out.
• Hope is not what we dream. It is what we visually and actively pursue.
• And love is not what we feel. It is confirmed by what we do.

The Jesonian: living out, pursuing, doing–and leaving all the rest to the grace of God.

 

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

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NEW BOOK RELEASE BY JONATHAN RICHARD CRING

WITHIN

A meeting place for folks who know they’re human

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Jesonian: The Jesus Con… July 5th, 2015

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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Condemn, condone, console, consider.

These are the four basic approaches available to us when dealing with our fellow-humans.

Jesus had his angle. The Jews, the Romans and the culture did not agree.

Just this week, one of my sons asked me what I thought about marriage equality. I smiled. Because honestly, you cannot approach individuals as a group and develop an opinion of “them” and think you’re doing anything that resembles righteousness.

In other words:

• Not all Baptists are Southern.
• Not all Catholics are Pope worshippers.
• And not all homosexuals are hapless victims of a bigoted society.

So Jesus had his criteria for evaluating life.

Jesus did condemn. It is ridiculous to assume that he was “liquid love” seeping into every hidden crevice of human existence. It’s just that he didn’t condemn what most people condemned. It’s popular to condemn things that are different from us and try to make them look weird.

Jesus condemned hypocrisy.

It would be easy to get along with Jesus of Nazareth as long as you didn’t go into your bull-crap mode. You could make mistakes, fall short, have inconsistencies or even sin, and his profile would basically be, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Likewise, Jesus always condoned those who insisted on finding a way to love. When James and John became infuriated with the Samaritans because the disciples were forbidden entrance into the city, Jesus cautioned them that when we fail to give a loving response, we lose control of the end result.

Jesus did console. Yet when they asked him to express his empathy and pity for those killed by a tower falling on them, he surprised them all by saying, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

But Jesus always consoled those who repented. Repentance is the first journey we must take on our way to receive our gift of grace.

And Jesus certainly was a man who took time to consider. He considered the lily. Why? Because it did what it was supposed to do without demanding attention while producing great beauty.

Jesus always chose to consider those who knew there was more to believe, more to receive and more to retrieve.

What you do with condemn, condone, console and consider will determine the quality of your life, and possibly even your eternal destination.

So as a Jesonian follower I will condemn hypocrisy, condone those who pursue life with love, console the repenter and consider the individuals who comprehend, yet still know there is more.

 

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

***************************

NEW BOOK RELEASE BY JONATHAN RICHARD CRING

WITHIN

A meeting place for folks who know they’re human

 $3.99 plus $2.00 S&H

 

$3.99 plus $2.00 S & H

 

Part VI: And Finally … December 5, 2011

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Live from Fernandina Beach

I always try to give you a good report about my travels and journeys across these United States. Generally speaking, this narrative is positive because most of my experiences are either extremely joyful or at least I find a way to coax some jubilation out of them. But there are times that I go into places and see the effects of religion, politics and desperation on the faces of the people sitting in front of me. It is a strange cocktail of hapless, helpless and hopeless.

Because quite bluntly, my dear friends, if you tell people there is nothing they can do about their situations–that it’s either beyond their pay grade or completely in the hands of God–you will make them feel hapless.  It’s a quiet desperation that eeks out of the eyeballs with a pending sorrow which could, at any moment, produce a bit of rage.

And if you tell people they are hapless for too long, they will begin to abandon all of their talents and walk around in a coma like the living dead, feeling totally helpless. Helpless people resent the notion of solution. Helpless people are angry with those who appear to be doing well. Helpless people find testimonies of God’s grace to be annoying rather than uplifting. Helpless people like to discourage any attempt at transformation and revival in favor of maintaining a unsatisfying status quo.

 

And if you keep helpless people in an environment that is always in a state of flux, like our world is, they will most assuredly become hopeless. And hopeless folks are self-destructive and don’t mind spreading their mayhem out to others.

 

So if we’re going to change this, we have to empower people with a message that tells them they are not without resource or absent ability; and not only do they possess these gifts but it is actually anticipated that they use them and multiply them. They can no longer hide behind a sense of inadequacy, pretending that their particular brand of depression gives them a pass from participation. They need to be encouraged.

 

This is exactly why I believe that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

 

1. Jesus knows the hearts of people. We are a baffling, befuddling, bewildering and bewitching blend of ego and power. But you do not separate ego from power in the onset. You must allow them to coincide until accomplishment proves that skill is available and then it will be time to teach humility. I just don’t see the power of instructing people in humility when they haven’t yet established that they can do anything. Humility is the virtue of those who are accomplished, not those who are inept. Jesus allowed people to experiment with their abilities and then he challenged them that ego was unnecessary because the fruit of their labors screamed their prowess much louder than any stump speech ever could.

 

2. Jesus despises religion. Why? Because religion keeps people hapless–overly dependent–which makes them feel helpless and at the mercy of the world around them, which then renders them hopeless and angry at the world, taking it out on its inhabitants. Religion waits for a heavenly pay-off without any earthly investment. Religion weakens the human spirit instead of manifesting it. I use the word “despise” because Jesus didn’t hate religion, as if it were some powerful force to be reckoned with, but rather, just found it despicable. In other words, religion is unable to deliver any of its promises, but insists on being worshipped.

 

3. Jesus marvels at faith.  And faith is when we teach people to take the mustard seed they have and instead of pocketing it, plant it in the nearest soil and then do everything possible to use effort towards the second mile. No one ever became exhausted from pursuing excellence. There is just too much energy infused into us through that quest for us ever to sense weariness. On the other hand, we do become exhausted, waiting for something to happen that never comes our way, because we didn’t plant our mustard seed, nor did we pursue the second mile.

 

4. Jesus believes in the Father. Matter of fact, he made a very bold statement. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by me.” I suppose you can pursue other paths to God–or gods–or even religious fervency, but the only path to the Father is Jesus. And the only way to truly understand the divine nature of a creator who inserted his own image into his offspring is to realize that He truly is a Daddy. I don’t know if there are other paths to heaven and I don’t care, because quite bluntly, if I can’t find a way to enjoy my journey here on earth and live in a household of a Father who loves me, why would I want to spend eternity with this being? I know this–Jesus came to show us the Father, to reveal the Father, to talk about the Father and culminated his ministry by saying that he was one with the Father.

 

So who is God? The closest representation we have is Jesus–and we know that he knew the hearts of people, despised religion, marveled at faith and taught us of the Father. Can you imagine what would happen if ONE church in a single community decided to abandon the futility of religious practice and simply taught these four principles to those who would dare gather and have an ear to hear? We would remove hapless, replacing it with intelligence. People would no longer feel helpless, but instead, empowered by the gifts God has given them. And hopelessness would be out of the question because enthusiasm would spring out of our souls over the successes we would be experiencing through communion with our Father.

 

intelligent, empowered and enthusiastic. Do you really believe that these three emotional energy boosts would be against God’s will? Of course not.

 

So Jesus IS the same. It’s just that we’ve changed … to become religious instead of like him.

 

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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!

Part V: He Is the Same … December 4, 2011

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Charlotte, North Carolina

Jesus believes in the Father.

Yes–he abandons Jehovah. He vacates the mystery of Yahweh. He makes the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob obsolete. He really even moves past the word “God.” He calls our creator, our friend and our benefactor and instructor–Father.

Actually, he rather insists on it. For you see, for those who had a good experience with an earthly daddy, the parallel is fairly obvious and expresses the generosity of the closeness. And for those who had a bad experience with their sperm donor, the yearning in their hearts to replace that encounter is achieved with a more heavenly realization.

Mostly, Jesus lets us know that the God in Heaven doesn’t respond any differently than fathers on earth. He is a proud papa. It’s valuable insight.

Jesus tells us that this Father is in heaven. That’s rather nice–it’s good to have a friend in high places. My Father made me … but He is also the ruler of the universe. Cool.

Our Father’s name is hallowed–not holy in the sense of religious, but whole because He has been tried and tested, proven to be trustworthy.

Here’s some good news–our Father has a kingdom. That means that within the spectrum of all His creation, He has prepared a place for me and for Him to dwell and fellowship. And He’s placed that kingdom within me. How intimate.

He has a will. (There would be nothing worse than a wishy-washy daddy.) He has an idea on what he wants to accomplish and how successful He wants me to be. He edifies me when I’m heading in the right direction and exhorts me when I make some bad turns.

And this Father of mine, even though He lives in heaven, has a complete understanding of earth. It’s kind of like having a dad who spends a lot of time listening to Beethoven but is also familiar with all the deep cuts from the Led Zeppelin albums. He knows both worlds.

My Father is practical. He doesn’t only give me scripture and prayers, but also provides my daily bread. He knows I have needs–even addresses my wants. And He knows these desires come in daily portions, not just once in a while or on my birthday.

My Father is a little tough, though–tough in a good way. He does withhold his forgiveness of me based upon how well I forgive my brothers and sisters in the household. He will not allow me to become spoiled or ever think that I can manipulate Him to my desires by praying more, fasting or reading more of His books. Yes, my Father is pretty clear. If I forgive people, I will be forgiven.

And you know one of the nice things I like about my Father? He doesn’t tempt me. He doesn’t taunt me. He doesn’t ridicule me. He doesn’t send me off into areas of temptation just to prove my ability and therefore establish what a good Father He is, but instead, He purposely delivers me from the evil around me. Does it make me soft? It’s not so much that as the fact that we don’t become strong by continually being beaten down by our own weaknesses.

So because I have such a good Father, I know that He and I share a kingdom. And in that kingdom He has power and is worthy of all the glory I can give Him. And because of all of that, my life hums along with a great “amen.”

Jesus believed in the Father. He believed that it was his mission to show us the Father. And he believed that the discovery of our Father is the end of us feeling orphaned, abandoned or just cast aside in a meaningless heap.

You can continue to persist, if you wish, in the terms and names of God listed in all the books of antiquity, but Jesus believes in the Father. Jesus teaches the Father. And he tells us that if a child asks for an egg, a father will not give him a scorpion. That means that if I ask my Father for guidance and wisdom, He won’t answer with more problems and difficulties.

This brings to the forefront a word called “trust.”

Without trust, relationship is a bondage instead of a bonding.

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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!

Part II: He Is the Same… December 1, 2011

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Charlotte, North Carolina

Jesus knows the hearts of people. It would be ridiculous to have a friend–especially if he insisted on being your savior–if he possessed no human inclinations or understanding of the feelings and emotions of being a person. Would you agree? It would be like dating a robot. All the right moves would be made with no real comprehension of the passion.

Jesus knows the hearts of people.

What did that knowledge give him? It told him when to be compassionate and when to avoid contact with folks. Both actions are merciful. There are times when people need compassion and tenderness towards the immediate concern—and then there are occasions when the best thing we can do for another person is leave them alone and not allow ourselves to become frustrated by their arrogance, indecision or just confusion.

The perfect example is the feeding of the five thousand, when Jesus had compassion on the multitudes because they were starving. But just short days later, when they were following him, pretending to be disciples when all they really wanted was another miracle of bread and fish, he challenged them and when he did, they pouted and departed.

This is why he tells us that every word out of our mouths comes from the abundance of our hearts. Shall we call it the “exchange system?”

For instance, there is a lot of concern in our society that violence and sex are causing our nation to become a vicious society with a preoccupation with the lurid. Honestly, that’s not the way it works. Watching a violent movie does not make people want to go out and kill each other. There is a switch in the human heart. When we see violence, we develop an emotional tendency towards impatience. We drive more aggressively; we complain more about businesses that keep us waiting and we certainly are not willing to sit for an hour to allow God to enlighten and bless us. When violence comes into the human field of vision–into the eyes–what the heart changes it into is impatience.

The same exchange happens when we see an overabundance of sexuality or pornography. It does not cause people to rape and fornicate. In the “exchange system” of the heart, it becomes frustration. Frustrated people are capable of doing all sorts of stupid activities because they feel they have been cheated.

Likewise, I put forth the same contention about excessive sarcasm in comedy nowadays. It makes the human heart feel that “if life is just a joke, then what’s the big deal?” So it promotes laziness in us.

And finally, all the sadness on the news which is funneled into us daily is translated by the human heart and exchanged out as fear. “If this tragedy happened to them, then what’s going to happen to me?”

Do you see what I mean? Jesus knows the hearts of people.

Compassion given to a starving person is mercy. Mercy given to an arrogant person rubber stamps self-satisfaction and nastiness. So as we understand the exchange system, we comprehend that out of the abundance of our heart we will speak, and if our emotions have been inundated with violence, the abundance we share will be translated into impatience. If we are titillated with sexuality, we will put forth frustration. Too much cynicism and sarcasm in our humor jades us and causes us to lose our motivation and begets laziness. And a constant barrage of melancholy, sad tales produces fear about our next decisions.

If we’re going to understand HOW Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, we must begin by realizing that he took the time to know the hearts of people. And since everything comes from the emotions and the abundance of those expressions, we have to be careful about what we allow to rule our roost.

Jesus knows the hearts of people:

• Give them violence and they’ll become impatient.
• Over-sex them, and they are frustrated.
• Tell them life’s a joke and they’ll turn lazy.
• Repeat one sad tale after another and the abundance that will pour from their hearts is fear.

He took the time to be human so that in understanding humans he could help humans emotionally give a better abundance of human quality.

And that leads me to my next point: what is the most inhuman part about being human? Let’s talk about that tomorrow.

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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!