SENSITIZE 96
If you don’t use it, you need to lose it.
Cring explains why.
Every morning, Mr. Cring takes a personal moment with his friends.
3 Things … April 23rd, 2020
Jonathots Daily Blog
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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
3. The power of forgiveness, which does not apologize for appearing weak
Jesonian … October 23rd, 2018
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It is thoroughly possible, plausible and even necessary to separate Christianity from Judaism without being considered an anti-Semite.
Jesus spent the majority of his ministry providing parameters for a New Covenant, which was followed by the Apostle Paul becoming downright blunt over the need to extract the message of Jesus from the Jewish tradition.
Yet most evangelicals and many mainline denominational churches continue to foster a sense of equivalency between the Old Testament and the New Testament simply because they know two important factors about their congregations:
- They don’t want to lose the ability to seek revenge with “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
- They need Jesus to remain the “Lamb that was slain” instead of the Lion, roaring out his commands.
INFUSION OF JESUS
So actually, the teachings of Jesus, the personality of the Nazarene and the mindset of the Christ are often considered to be an intrusion to the organized church instead of welcomed as an infusion.
Simply put, Jesus did not come to contradict the Old Testament–but he certainly did arrive to countermand it. If you’re not familiar with that word, it is most often used in military circles to explain why some officer, usually of a higher rank, comes along to revoke or change the orders of the previous commander. It’s a nice way of saying, “We’re going to change things up.”
MEN OF OLD
Jesus cleverly referred to it as “fulfilling the law.” What an excellent, political word! He then turns around, and in fulfilling that Law, disassembles the instructions of Moses by referring to those who founded Oral Law and taught it as “men of old.”
If we want to become a Jesonian church, infusing the lifestyle of Jesus instead of viewing it as an intrusion, we must understand that, as Hebrews the First Chapter explains, God used to speak through Moses and the prophets, but not anymore. Now He speaks through Jesus.
So stop using Old Testament patriarchs to try to countermand Jesus.
Case in point: it is no longer the Kingdom of Israel–Jesus describes it as the Kingdom of God, which is located inside each and every believer. The new Holy Land is within your soul.
The challenge in this generation is to cease looking at our example, Jesus, as an intrusion, and begin to take his choices and use them as an infusion into our everyday existence.
It should keep us busy–because it’s very difficult to insist that Jesus was a Jewish prophet when he said things like:
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
“God can take stones and make children of Abraham.”
And “Your house is left to you desolate.”
Jesus was a new day.
Jesus was a new way.
And he came along proclaiming
“What you say? Go my way.”
If you like the mind of Jesus without religion, buy the book!
$7.99 plus S&H
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Catchy (Sitting 63) Milton and Liver with a Side of Onions… August 26th, 2018
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Jubal hated the beach–even one as beautiful as the stretch of sand in Miami.
He had no interest in tanning any further, and ocean water gave him the creeps because of all the unknown creatures bumping up against his legs.
For sixteen days he had been in south Florida, trying to set up a meeting with Milton Crenshaw, his mission person, who had written a book called “Jesonian.”
He had been able to acquire an autographed copy of the volume from the Internet for $2.99, so most days he sat in his room reading. Every time he called Milton’s house he encountered a personable, but crusty older woman named Cully. She was a long-time friend and business partner with Mr. Crenshaw, and she made it clear to Jubal that Milton didn’t like interviews, didn’t take interviews, and basically didn’t trust interviewers.
Even though Jubal tried to explain that his intentions were pure, Cully cut him off at the pass, leading to this extended vigil of an unwarranted and unwanted stay in “Beach City.”
Jubal didn’t even favor Cuban food. He joked with one of the waiters that Cuban food was “Mexican food without a soul.” Getting some nasty glances from nearby patrons, he decided he should stop his comedy routine.
Yet on the morning of the sixteenth day the phone rang as he was sitting down, getting ready to enjoy his five-egg-white omelet and wheat toast. It was Cully.
She explained that she’d been able to convince Milton to see Jubal that afternoon for two hours. Jubal was overjoyed. He took the directions, as Cully explained that they lived in a trailer park–a simple life–surrounded by a multitude of neighbors of all cultures.
Finding himself on the doorstep of the small mobile home of Milton Crenshaw, Jubal knocked on the door. Opening up to him was a woman–Cully, he assumed–sixtyish, energetic, physically fit and absolutely grounded in courtesy.
She ushered him through the door and there he was. Sitting in a wheelchair was a big man–about 325-plus pounds–with a bald head and a huge smile. He stuck his hand out.
“Milton Crenshaw. Sorry you’re not going to get to meet my wife. She’s off working one of her assignments at a local department store.”
Jubal nodded. Cully offered something to drink and Jubal opted for an iced tea.
She brought the tea and Jubal sat down in a chair next to Milton. Crenshaw noticed that Jubal was looking at Cully, so he piped in. “I don’t do much of anything without Cully in the room, so I hope you don’t mind. If your matters are personal, and you would rather she not hear, I’ll make an exception, but other than that, let us enjoy her presence.”
Jubal glanced at both of them and once again, nodded his head.
“So what is it you want to know, young man?”
“I’ve been reading your book,” Jubal began. Milton interrupted.
“Cully,” he said, “that makes six readers…”
He laughed and so did Jubal, who realized that Milton had no intention of pretending he was something he wasn’t, nor did he expect Jubal to fudge on the truth.
Milton continued. “And I’ve been keeping up with your work, young man. You certainly have captured the fire of the Gospel in your rallies.”
“What do you mean by the fire of the Gospel?” Jubal asked.
“Well, my son,” Milton explained kindly, “the Gospel is not just the good news. It’s the explanation of why everything is here. You see, Jesus did not come to complete the Old Testament stories, linking Moses with the Christ. Jesus came to link the Creator with Earth–so his teachings are full of science, references to nature, personal awareness and an understanding that the kingdom of God is inside each of us. So what I mean is that you bring the enthusiasm, but much of what you share fails to bring the heart and the mind and the soul of Jesus of Nazareth. Yous is the strength.”
Jubal crinkled his brow. Milton continued.
“You see, I can tell by your face that you’ve fallen into the errant thinking that because you’re doing something successful, it must be complete. Nothing could be further from the truth. What you’ve done is, you’ve struck up the band and made people aware that faith should have the works of joy. But Jesus had a heart. And oh…Jesus had a soul. And of course, we’re all in pursuit of the mind of Christ.”
Jubal’s heart melted. The room was so quiet, the tea was so cold, the smile on Cully’s face was so sincere, and Milton’s voice was so soothing that as he sat there, he experienced a sensation of healing in his own soul.
For two solid hours they talked.
Milton explained that the whole message of the Gospel was simply, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.
“In other words,” Milton shared, “Everything that works on heaven works on Earth. It’s just a matter of linking things up instead of acting like there’s some spiritual war between good and evil.”
It didn’t take Jubal long to realize why he was there. The Soulsbury Movement had passion but no direction. No way for people to carry the groceries of faith and hope to their homes to make real meals.
“So,” Jubal asked, “what is Jesonian?”
Milton lifted his head up and spoke. “It is the realization that Christianity has failed simply because it’s trying to follow a book instead of the Spirit. Jesonian is the Spirit of Jesus, brought into practicality in the lives of human beings living on the Earth right now. I think it’s a rallying cry.”
When Jubal heard those words–‘rallying cry’–a chill went down his spine and he nearly dropped his glass of tea.
That was it: the world needed a word to explain the yearning.
They needed a word to represent their hearts.
And they needed a word that had not been tainted by crusades, killings, bickering and molestations.
Jubal started to cry.
Milton sat quietly, looking off in the distance, giving his brother a private moment. Cully rose to her feet, offering the visitor some Kleenex. There was a juncture of sweet silence for about five minutes, as all the people in the room took time to consider good things. It probably would have continued, except Jubal’s phone buzzed with a message.
It read, “Matthew in hospital. Emergency.”
Even though Jubal knew he needed to leave, he wanted to cap his conversation with Milton with a sense of appreciation. He stood, walked over and hugged the man in the wheelchair.
He leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Listen, my brother. I want you to come and speak in front of a huge crowd of people, and tell them what you told me today.”
Milton pulled back and laughed. “It is my understanding that to ‘go into all the world’ requires a pair of legs, and knees that are not busted up–and a body that is not quite so plump.”
Milton reached up and put his hand behind Jubal’s head, pulling him close to his face. “You are my legs, brother. Just come down here every once in a while, and we’ll talk Gospel.”
Jubal wept again.
He hugged Milton and Cully, and was on his way to the airport–to fly to Las Vegas to see what was happening with his friend, Matthew.
*****
Meanwhile, one week earlier, Michael Hinston, with the aid of Jo-Jay, had discovered through blood tests that his liver was a match for Matthew. So when they received the notice that Matthew had been rushed to the hospital, Michael made immediate plans to fly to Vegas and surprise Matthew with the good news that he was a donor.
The morning of his departure, Jo-Jay discovered that the CLO was making moves to bring an indictment against Michael Hinston from the American people, for malfeasance and the misuse of campaign funds. Michael was scheduled to be picked up for questioning that very morning.
Jo-Jay kept the information from him and drove him to the airport to catch the plane. Michael had no idea that he was about to face new persecution.
Michael sat on the plane and cried, knowing that he had the blessed position of being able to offer life.
Jo-Jay stayed behind and made phone calls, setting some plans in motion. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Michael found a limousine waiting for him at the airport, which zoomed him to the hospital in no time at all.
He stood at the bedside of an old friend–who certainly did look old.
“I have some good news and some bad news,” said Michael, taking Matthew’s hand.
Matthew sighed. In a weak voice, he replied, “Well, I don’t need any more bad news, but you better give me that first.”
“Well, the bad news,” said Michael, “is that this drama you have planned–your death–has to be temporarily postponed.”
Matthew squinted up at Michael, who continued. “Because the good news is that it turns out, my liver is a match for yours. So I’m going to give you a piece of mine. It may be the first time in our lives that we ever agreed on anything.”
Matthew laughed, which was interrupted by his crying–tears of relief and gratitude.
Michael didn’t want to wear him out, so he excused himself and headed off to prepare for the operation.
A couple of hours later the medical staff entered Matthew’s room to prep for surgery.
“Where is Michael?” Matthew asked. “Can I see him? How was his operation?”
Questions poured out of Matthew. The nurses calmed him down, gave him a sedative and he was on his way.
The next thing Matthew knew, he was waking up in recovery, surrounded by friends–Jo-Jay, Soos, Jasper and Jubal. They were all beaming.
It must have gone well, he thought.
He looked at the people in the room and even though his throat was sore, he whispered, “Would you pray for me?”
Jubal looked surprised. “What’s this? A change of heart?”
Matthew coughed and smiled. “A change of liver…” he managed.
They prayed. Exhausted, Matthew dozed off halfway through the supplication.
The four visitors left the room. Soos and Jo-Jay headed to the nurses station to get information on future treatment. Jasper turned to Jubal and asked, “When are you gonna tell him?”
Jubal replied, “I don’t know. I guess when he’s ready.”
Jasper continued. “What happened?”
Jubal shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is that Michael passed away on the operating table.”
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Jesonian … October 14th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3459)
“God so loved the world that He gave His son.”
That’s what the Good Book says.
Theologians, churches and interested parties have their own focus about why this gift came from God. Of course, we have a hint–if you believe, you don’t have to perish.
But what do we mean by “perish?”
Many thousands of churches of the faith who are of a Judeo-Christian swing, contend with great certainty, that Jesus came to be a Messiah. In doing so, he was fulfilling the Old Testament. They rejoice that they can use Jesus as a conduit between the Old and New Testaments, therefore joining in covenant with the Jewish faith, often to the detriment of the Muslims.
Unfortunately, Jesus does not fulfill the role as a champion of the Hebrews very well. He was critical of their approach to God and ended up declaring their rendition of theology as “desolate.”
The second group, which often refers to itself as “Pauline,” placing great value on the Epistles of Paul, believe that Jesus is a Savior. In other words, he came to fulfill the New Testament covenant through his blood. But the actions, motivations, mission, verbiage and deeds of Jesus often contradict the assumption that he was merely to be a human sacrifice for sin.
Offering a Messiah and a Savior to a human populace which is battling insanity is just not sufficient.
It is Jesus who best explains his mission.
He made the essence of his Earth journey clear in the Good Book in John 10:15-16. Jesus proclaims that “he knows the Father and the Father knows him,” and that he’s willing to “lay down his life for the sheep.” But then he goes on to say, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
Jesus is the Shepherd.
Being a shepherd, he laid down his life for the sheep.
He also made it clear that those who would be part of the fold were not just Jews, but that the end result is one fold and one shepherd–all over the world.
In a day and age when we extol the differences among us by celebrating culture, the Shepherd is looking for the commonality that will make us one fold, dispelling any notion that Jesus welcomes a little of Mohammed, a twinge of Buddha and a fortune cookie of Confucius.
Even though many believe he came to fulfill the Old Testament or the New Testament, he actually came to fulfill humanity.
He offers simple truths with simple applications to simple people who are living simple lives.
So if you go to a church that insists that “Jesus is the Messiah,” they will probably load you down with Old Testament traditions and outdated spiritual practices.
And if you attend a congregation that promotes “Jesus is only the Savior,” be prepared to endure sermon after sermon on the sacrifice of the Christ, and how we must repent and be baptized, so we all can go to heaven.
Jesus’ main mission is to be the Shepherd.
Matter of fact, he joyfully called himself “the Good Shepherd.” And the night he spoke these words to the disciples, he envisioned a message that would include sheep from the Native Americans, the Chinese, the Mongolian horde, the Anglo-Saxons and the Afrikaans, to name just a few.
He saw one fold–not many cultures.
And one Shepherd–not many interpretations.
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Catchy (Sitting 16) Switch … October 1st, 2017
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Matthew was still so rattled from his meeting with Jubal that when he arrived back at his hotel on the Vegas strip, he couldn’t remember his suite number. So in his usual overcomplicated, confusing way, he explained his situation to the front desk clerk, who retrieved his number from the records and then said, “That suite, 772–your wife was here earlier to pick up the key.”
Matthew didn’t have a wife.
His face apparently communicated that thought, because the young desk person giggled and winked.
All the way up on the elevator, Matthew wondered if he was headed toward a surprise hooker hired by some of his clumsy friends, or if there was a serial killer waiting to end his brief and tumultuous life.
He took the key provided by the winking worker, carefully opened the door and walked in. Sitting on the edge of his couch–pensively, as if waiting for a dental appointment–was Soos.
“What are you doing here?” asked Matthew, quickly shutting the door.
“I followed you. Well, we followed you.” She said, rising quickly to her feet.
Matthew crossed the room, leaned against a chair and asked, “Why did you follow me, and who is we?”
Soos sat down, took a deep breath and replied, “We is Jo-Jay and myself, and why… Well, that’s why I’m here. You see, Jo-Jay has a crush on you and she wanted to follow you to Vegas hoping that something might actually happen in Vegas that could stay here. Well, she was too chicken to come by herself so she asked me to come along, and then when we got here, she was too scared to come up here. So she asked me to go first and talk to you to see if you were interested in her and if you would mind her coming to visit your room.”
Soos stopped speaking, as if she’d actually made sense.
“Are we in the fourth grade?” queried Matthew.
“No,” Soos answered. “But to be completely fair, it’s been since the fourth grade that we had to do stuff like this to find out if people like us…”
Matthew eased down into the chair. “Well, of course I like Jo-Jay. And I like you, Soos.”
“What do you mean?” Soos sparked.
Matthew paused. “Well, I mean I think we have a lot of history, and you’re an attractive woman, I’m a reasonably acceptable man with good grooming habits…”
“And nice eyes,” interrupted Soos.
“Thanks,” replied Matthew. “I don’t see them often. Basically the mirror.”
“They’re nice,” said Soos with a smile.
Matthew considered the situation. “So let me get this straight. You’re supposed to come and find out if I would …welcome?…a visit from Jo-Jay so she won’t be embarrassed if I wouldn’t? Do I have this right?”
“Sounds dumb, doesn’t it?” Soos inserted sheepishly. She continued. “It’s especially weird because I like you, too. I can’t tell her about that because it would make her crazy. So I thought I would just lay in the weeds, so to speak, and see if you rejected her, and then wait a respectable length of time…say four days…”
Matthew jumped in. “Four days, huh? Where’d you come up with that?”
“It just seems like a little more than three days,” explained Soos. “Anyway, I would then be able to tell you that I think you’re attractive also, but I wouldn’t feel bad about it because you would have already kicked Jo-Jay to the curb.”
Matthew stood to his feet and sighed. “I’m not gonna kick anybody to the curb. I’m just tired and I’m going to bed.”
Once again, Soos leaped to her feet and moved closer to him. “Would you like some company?”
She touched him on the cheek.
“So we’re skipping Jo-Jay…?”
Soos interrupted. “And the four days. I’m too damn young to be alone tonight in Vegas, and way too old to wait.”
Matthew chuckled and headed toward the bedroom. Soos pursued. She pulled him over to the bed by his belt and said, “Are you interested in me?”
Matthew, looking down at her hands, said, “I’ve always found it very difficult to be disinterested in any woman who had her hands in my pants.”
“Not very eloquent,” said Soos, “but who am I to be picky?”
She pulled him down to the bed, he fell over her, and she put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. She started to remove her blouse when suddenly there was a commotion from the other room.
“Hi! The door was open. I hope everybody’s decent!!”
It was Jo-Jay. There was no time to reframe the choreography. Jo-Jay walked in the room with an expression she might have displayed upon finding herself as a time traveler arriving on the deck of the Titanic at about midnight.
Horrified.
Matthew felt the need to speak, but his brain disagreed. Soos jumped in to fill the awkward moment. She slowly untangled herself from her hold on Matthew as she self-consciously buttoned up her blouse and explained, “Listen, this may seem weird, but it really doesn’t have to be. We are all mature sophisticated adults. The atmosphere is here, the moment is understood and the participants are ready. Why don’t I just move away from the bed and Jo-Jay can come in and resume the action-in-progress? I know it sounds a little avant garde, but a few kisses, a couple of tweaks–and it’ll be a distant memory.”
At this point, Soos moved over and tried to push Jo-Jay toward the bed to create the switch.
Matthew was perplexed, intrigued and somewhat repulsed by the whole situation.
For a brief moment, Jo-Jay considered the extraordinary hostage exchange. Then she stopped in her tracks, turned to Soos and said, “I thought you were my friend.”
Soos replied, “I am your friend. But it’s also been a long time since anybody’s rung my bell.”
Matthew felt it was time to speak. “Listen, I’m not trying to ring anybody’s bell, or whatever euphemism you want to insert. I just came to my room to go to sleep.”
“So why is she in your bed?” asked Jo-Jay.
Matthew answered, “Well, if I was using sports terminology, I would say she tackled me for a loss on the play.”
“I don’t know what that means,” said Jo-Jay in a huff. “I liked you and wanted to spend some time with you…”
Matthew interrupted. “So why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because good girls don’t cavort. That’s what my mother told me long before I knew what the word ‘cavort’ meant. Since I now do know, it would be improper for me to offer myself to you without knowing whether the offering would be acceptable.”
Matthew shook his head. “Hell, have we just gone Old Testament here? Please, ladies, nothing personal. No decision is being made about the future. But right now I need to be alone without the temptation of any lovely lasses.”
Soos said, “Well you don’t have to insult us.”
Matthew sighed. “I don’t know how I insulted you but if I did, I’m sorry, but since I don’t know what I did, maybe we should just talk about this later when we’re not in a room together playing musical beds.”
Jo-Jay turned on her heel and headed toward the door, stopping briefly to throw back a final comment. “I will leave the fornication to the two of you.”
Soos grabbed her purse and followed along. “Wait! I’m not gonna fornicate. I just came up here to represent you.”
Jo-Jay turned around and hugged Soos. “I know. The brute seduced you.”
Matthew lifted one finger in the air. “Let me point out that I am neither a brute nor did I seduce anyone. Just stating for the record.”
Jo-Jay responded, nearly in tears. “I thought you were different.”
“I am different,” said Matthew. “I thought you were not crazy.”
“Well, you were wrong,” Jo-Jay replied. She scurried out the door and into the hall.
“I wouldn’t call her for a couple of days,” Soos whispered to Matthew. “She’ll need some personal space to work this out.”
Matthew lay back on the bed, the memory of female hands in his pants still dancing in his head.
But mostly on his mind was what he envisioned to do with Jubal Carlos.
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Jesonian–Troubling (Part 8)… August 19th, 2017
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I am wondering if Christianity can become a mission, cause and lifestyle instead of slinking back into the profile of being “one of the major religions of the world.”
The decision lies around the word “learning.”
For some reason we have taken the simple message of “love your neighbor as yourself” and complicated it with doctrines, forming a morass of misunderstanding.
If we think that faith and hope are even close to charity, we have misconstrued the message of Jesus. Jesus came to turn love into a lifestyle.
He taught in parables whenever he was with the masses, expecting to motivate them to believe for mighty things. Only when the disciples complained about being confused by the stories did Jesus teach them further. His goal was to get these disciples out on the road as quickly as possible, to share their hearts with other people.
Otherwise we have the quandary found in II Timothy 3:7, which describes a church which is “ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth.” Jesus said his “way is easy and his burden is light” and that the Gospel is so simple that a “wayfaring man” can understand it.
Why do we believe that writing 3,000 new books on church practice will promote revival?
Perhaps I am the hypocrite speaking to the hypocrisy, because I, too, scribe my essays, trying to uncover some hidden meaning.
There is no hidden meaning. Just as we would not hide the groceries from our children to find out how determined they are to avoid starving, God certainly has not withheld peace of mind, contentment and joy from his offspring.
The church spends too much time teaching and not enough time sharing.
That’s troubling.
We keep studying the Old Testament–which really wants to study the New Testament. As Jesus said, Abraham yearned to see the Messiah. Yet we think one more classic tale, another seminar or a sermon series taken from a different angle will suddenly alert the congregation to its true soul.
There are three things that matter. They are what make you a Christian or separate you from the Kingdom of God:
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Don’t judge people.
- Multiply your talents.
The pursuit of these three things will keep us busy for a lifetime. Trying to figure out what the Apostle Paul meant or what I Peter was connoting or if Hebrews was really written by Timothy will not make good disciples.
We think interactive church is having people stare at a screen and sing songs. Interactive church is actually when humans offer a testimony, which builds up other brethren to share, embracing and encouraging each other.
It is troubling.
We have become a church of learning instead of a body of sharing. Until that changes … we will be as boring as we seem.
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