Good News and Better News … September 12th, 2016

Jonathots Daily Blog

(3062)

There is certainly nothing more representative of the heart and mind-set of Jesus than compassion.

Arriving yesterday in Milford, I felt that gentle enthusiasm from Pastor Doug, his wife Marianne and the gathered souls.

They yearn to reach others.

Matter of fact, next Sunday they’re going to invite the community in to join them for breakfast, casting aside the trappings of religion, and making themselves vulnerable as human beings.

Yet in the midst of needful outreach to the community, we must be aware that the church was never intended to be a refuge to nurse the wounds or the grudges of purposely “little people.”

The message of Jesus is clear:

• Heal the sick
• Help them discover abundant life
• And make sure everyone is free indeed

So even though we want to be forgiving and kind, we must remember three very important attributes of Jesus’ ministry:

1. Jesus refused to tolerate complainers.

The Pharisees didn’t have a good word for any good word. They didn’t realize that their hypocrisy was their problem, not Roman domination.

2. Jesus was not too available.

People had to ask about him. The lepers had to seek him out, and some determined souls even had to knock through the ceiling of the house to lower down a comrade for healing.

Jesus required people to make a personal emotional effort so he could make their encounter effortless.

3. Jesus was looking for faith.

Even though the dictionary may not agree, the opposite of faith is complaining. Once you begin to complain, you are proving that your circumstances determine your good cheer. Faith is the ability to deal with difficulty and laugh at it while waiting for fresh opportunity to come your way.

If we can incorporate this into our compassion for those who are non-complaining, seeking answers and bringing their faith, such as it is, we can become a church.

But when we extend grace to those who have been touched by the mercy of God and have decided to growl at the environment and people around them, then we’re wasting our time on souls who have plotted to be out of sorts.

The good news is that Jesus has compassion.

The better news is that compassion is much more effective with those who are not demanding it.

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

---

Jonathan’s Latest Book Release!

PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant

Click here to get your copy now!

 

Ask Jonathots … April 14th, 2016

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2904)

My son, a sophomore in high school, has a part-time job at a fast food restaurant. He came home talking about making fifteen dollars an hour when the minimum wage is raised. I’m not against raising the minimum wage, but at the same time, I don’t really think my high schooler really needs that wage. What do you think?

Paying people based on what they require is un-American.

It may sound good–it may seem generous. It may even temporarily appease the aching need of some folks who are living on the cliff of poverty. But it is un-American.

I will go as far as to tell you that it is also un-Christian.

At no time in the ministry of Jesus did he suggest that the best way to handle the poor was to drop everything you were doing, sell everything you had, change all your policies, reject your own desire for financial prosperity, and divvy up the money more evenly, so that “those who have a frown can turn it upside down.”

The most important thing any government program should encourage is initiative.

If you’re going to do the same work you did before, but make twice the amount of money doing it, you’re not stimulating productivity.

No, you have just purchased yourself a baby alligator. At first the little amphibian sitting in his bowl appears harmless and kind of cute. But it will not remain a small alligator. It will grow until it eats you.

Likewise, giving people more money for what they’re already doing without demanding additional increase in effort is the formula for disaster. It is not an issue of being a conservative or a liberal, but rather, taking a more intelligent political stance: practical.

If I allow myself to be concerned about the wages my employees are receiving based on their monthly needs, I will soon lose sight of the goal of my company, which is to make money and thrive so I can hire more people.

What we need is a compromise with a caveat.

• The compromise is a dollar amount which is more representative of the work and the financial climate.
• And the caveat is that this extra money will require additional training and pursuit of excellence.

Hand-outs take people off their feet.

And our economy runs on foot power, not charity.

So even though it may seem noble and may get the vote of tens of thousands of hourly wage Americans, to suggest that they should double their intake for the same amount of output…well, it is completely unnecessary and certainly un-human.

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

 

Simply Interesting… May 17th, 2015

   Jonathots Daily Blog

(2583)

I’ve got it figured that it must have been a Monday morning, shortly before dawn, when Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s son, gathered up his few possessions and walked out of the door of his family home to begin a mission to change the world, one heart at a time.

Things were a mess.

• God was too big.
• Heaven was too far away.
• And the rules were way too hard to follow.

On top of that, there were professional religionists who made a living by keeping God big, discussing how far away heaven was, and making up new rules and ceremonies.

So where was Jesus supposed to start?

Jesus thought it was a good idea to change Jehovah into a Father--selling the idea of Father by telling stories about what a good Daddy He is to all his children.

Jesus brought Heaven down to Earth and told us that “the Kingdom of God is within us.”

And he changed the rules. He made it clear that the true sign of God being with us was how well we love our neighbor.

So he brought God home to be our Father, he put Heaven in our hearts and he told us the only rule was believing that no one is better than anyone else.

For this magnificent gift to mankind, he received the death sentence.

Ironically, as I walk out of my room today, I face the same three monsters.

Instead of Father, we’ve gone back to Old Testament names for God and made Him too big.

Instead of the Kingdom of God being within us, we keep yearning for a Heaven which is neither of our making or our taking.

And instead of loving our neighbor, we’d rather put significance on rituals and doctrines that puff us up with meaningless discussions.

Still, we need a Father.

We need to know the Kingdom is within us.

And we desperately need to love our neighbor before we kill each other off.

So learning from Jesus, I will try to share his essential message–and bring a little bit more good cheer and comedy… in the hopes of keeping the nails out of my hands.

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

click above for information on 567!