Jonathots Daily Blog
(4507)
Click here to visit the Clazzy Art website!
Xantrippe–known as “the King of Egypt” in the novel on the life of Jesus, “I’M…the legend of the son of man,” takes the young Jesus on a journey to visit the Great Pyramids.
You can find the book on Amazon (Kindle or hard copy) by clicking the book below
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2409)
What if a voice of sanity had risen up at various stages in the story of human history, to offer a challenging view when craziness was about to win the day?
If …
It all revolved around a game of intimidation.
The only way to protect your particular parcel of land from intrusion and invasion was to convince other kingdoms nearby that you were well-established, well-fortified and darned well intent on fighting to the death to “keep your own.” Thus the purpose for building huge walls, great monuments and fortifications.
Thutmose III was well aware of the situation.
As Pharoah of Egypt, it was his job to maintain the order of his domain and keep his citizens safe from the marauding hordes. Any sign of weakness was an invitation to be destroyed by the stronger villains of the desert.
To build such huge constructions took man power. Now, society was divided into four sections:
After many years of peaceful coexistence with the Jews, the Egyptians grew tired of this clan of immigrants who seemed to be overtaking the social order of the land. A movement began against them. It was decided that the free meal ticket provided by the previous Pharoah, out of loving deference to Joseph, should be terminated and that these people should be put to hard labor, working for the state.
The pressure was immense.
Matter of fact, sitting in front of Thutmose III was an edict to proclaim all Jews as slaves. All that was needed was his seal. Then the document would become a holy edict, enforced viciously by the taskmasters against these people without a country.
He delayed.
He stalled so long that his critics began to call him a coward, and even a traitor. Thutmose III tried to draw a deep breath of wisdom and sanity. For after all, what seems prudent today has arms, legs, breath and anger in the future generations subjected to the treatment.
What should he do?
After many nights, lying sleepless in his bed, he devised a plan. He decided to alternate his work force–take the relocated Jews and put them in the fields for part of the year and bring the field workers in to build the walls and monuments necessary to maintain a sense of control.
He also concluded that it was unnecessary to build many pyramids–one for each Pharoah who died. Why not one gigantic pyramid for all the rulers who had gone on? It would be just as intimidating and beautiful, but more easily conceived and carried out by the workers.
When Thutmose III presented his plan to the council they immediately rejected it, which made no difference whatsoever, since he was a dictator.
Reluctantly, the plan was carried out and the Jews, rather than being slaves, were turned into brethren with a variety of tasks to contribute to the cause.
After many years and much success with this new plan, the Council of the Jewish people, under the leadership of a man named Moses, came and asked for permission to emigrate to another land, where they would take the experiences of Egypt and their own faith, and build a life.
It was negotiated. It was agreed.
The transition was smooth because it was not the escaping of slaves, but rather, the releasing of friends to their new mission.
Thutmose III died a happy man, interred in the greatest pyramid ever constructed, having saved a whole race of people from slavery and allowing for that same tribe to find their God and their expression.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
The Sermon on the Mount in music and story. Click the mountain!
Click here to get info on the “Gospel According to Common Sense” Tour
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.
Click here to listen to Spirited music
Jonathots Daily Blog
(2288)
Shortly after Joseph died, his friend, the Pharoah, passed away, bringing a new monarch to power, who had an inordinate interest in building pyramids.
A project of such magnitude demands labor, preferably cheap. And the best way to acquire this workforce is to convince one group of people that they’re superior to the other, and to intimidate the other conglomeration of souls into believing that they’re inferior.
So the created human beings who had found provision under Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph suddenly found themselves strangers in the land of Egypt and were gradually subjugated to be servants of the locals.
Since they had been a people provided for by their Creator, they didn’t make very good slaves. The sense of entitlement caused them to rebel against the oppression, creating an ongoing conflict and growing hostility.
Even though the Father in Heaven had found great joy in being a Provider, He now found Himself in need of becoming a Protector.
Through Moses, Joshua and David, the people were freed from Egypt, wilderness bound, conquering Jericho and gradually became a warring tribe, attempting to secure what they considered to be their “Promised Land.”
So the Creator who had regretted making human beings and repented by deciding to provide for them, now found Himself protecting them, only to discover that the instinct to conquer is an overwhelming vice in the human spirit, turning us once again to abstract violence. (Matter of fact, when King David wanted to build a Temple, God refused to allow him to do so because his hands were covered in so much blood.)
It was an awkward situation.
The people weren’t dissatisfied with their status as aggressors, and they deeply believed they were pursuing both a nationalistic and a religious goal by destroying the heathen. But since the root word of Creator is “create,” the Father found himself very saddened by the destruction of other human beings in order to protect a tiny handful.
And as violence often does, it led to other depravity.
What was the answer?
What was the next step in learning how to be a Father to Your children?
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
Click here to get info on the “Gospel According to Common Sense” Tour
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about scheduling SpiriTed in 2014.
Click here to listen to Spirited music
(1,899)
This is my last night in Shreveport. I had fun this week, not only interacting with new folks, but also walking down Memory Lane, as it were, without tripping up too many times with my veracity or recollections.
But one thing that tickled my soul earlier today was recalling when we made a decision thirty-two years ago, to take our little Artist’s Haven, which was meeting at the museum, and place it in a more centrally located building in town. We decided to rent an H&R Block store, which was on hiatus since tax time was all finished and there was no more need to drain finance off the common man.
It was a small place. They said it was 750 square feet, but I’m sure that included the roof. I jokingly told the real estate agent that we were a fellowship of creative Christian musicians and writers, so we thought it was quite apropos to have our gathering place in a building of tax collectors. I don’t know whether the joke escaped his Biblical purview or if he thought it was in poor taste, but I moved on quickly, signed the lease and set up shop with our little entourage in the enclosure.
We were young and adventurous, so we decided we wanted a really cool sign outside to advertise that something different was happening in town–and it was happening right here. We got permission to remove the H&R Block logo from the lighted pole, and we purchased some white, shiny plywood that was the perfect width to slide into the slot for illumination. Little did we know that cutting out the letters to spell “The Haven” was going to be an arduous task, demanding several different kinds of saws (of which I had no acquaintance).
After about four or five days of being in a perpetual state of disappointment and exhaustion, we actually completed the sign, climbed up on two rickety ladders and were delighted beyond our wildest dreams when it slid down through the gap, into its place of rest.
That evening when we turned on the light, the sign was so bright that you could see it for blocks. Matter of fact, we had hoped to get recognition in the Shreveport Times for having such an attractive sign–but unfortunately, only received a story in the Gazette about people complaining because they nearly crashed from being blinded by the light.
It was so audacious that some of the religious folk thought we were a Satanic cult because they mistook the word “Haven” for coven. (As you may have heard, there is no IQ test involved in church membership.)
We didn’t care. The first night the sign was lit, I drove by it at least thirty-five times, reveling in the beauty of the symbolism of being a “city set on a hill for all to see.” After a while, as things often do, all the furor about the sign disappeared and it was just another message in the night.
But I was always thrilled when I saw it–partly because it was so difficult to make that it reminded me of the Pyramids, but mostly because a handful of simple, young people got together and did something in unity–for no other reason than just trying to bless and enlighten their world.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
******
Jonathan’s thinking–every day–in a sentence or two …
Jonathots, Jr.!
Click below
https://jonathots.wordpress.com/jonathots-jr/
******
Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
 | Jonathan on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
| Anonymous on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
| Anonymous on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
| Anonymous on 1 Thing You Can Do When Your F… |
 | Nolan on 1 Memory About Jonathan Richar… |
 | Maxine Mantooth on Drawing Attention … Dece… |
| Steve on From the Stacks … Octobe… |
| Maxine Mantooth on Scrambles … October 20th… |
| Maxine Mantooth on From the Stacks … Octobe… |
| Maxine Mantooth on Scrambles … October 13th… |
A voice writing in the wilderness
Jonathots Daily Blog 