Good News and Better News… September 4th, 2017

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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Is peace merely the absence of war or a majestic anointing to dissuade all conflict?

This question crossed my mind Sunday morning when Janet and I had the privilege of sharing our program at Peace Lutheran Church in Palm Bay, Florida, under the able leadership of Pastor Paul. Although the folks were hesitant at first to open their hearts to “us strangers,” in no time at all the glory of Spirit filled the room with reconciliation, realization and renewal.

It was good. It felt good.

Which brings me to my point this morning. Even though we may exalt ourselves for being extremely intellectual or even spiritual, we actually spend most of our lives being prompted by our feelings. Some would insist that this predilection is our weakness, but I have discovered that our emotions are what endear us to the Creator.

So when anyone steps into Peace Lutheran Church, they are taking the pulse of the heartbeat in the place.

Is it a sanctuary for redemption minus the fussiness propagated by our society? Is it warm with human smiles–aglow with care, and just lit up by the notion that “all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord?”

Only after we feel good about a place do we actually look around to see.

We notice faces. We observe actions. God forgive us, we become spies at our present location. Are we critical? Unfortunately, yes.

This is why there must be a belief system on Earth that understands that we’re constantly letting our light shine before all men. There is no backstage for the journey of faith, nor are we given a dressing room. There is no time to learn lines because all the daily setups are improvisational.

• The world is looking.
• The world is critical.
• The world must see evidence for what it feels.

And finally, if we like what we feel and we’re pretty satisfied with what we see, we’re ready to hear.

As we know, faith comes by hearing, so it is the responsibility of every believer to bring peace to our quadrant by providing a faith that can be seen and felt.

That was our message yesterday. We must stop insisting that merely opening the doors to a house of worship promotes brotherly love, good will or recognition of our Creator.

No–if people don’t feel it they will never see it.

And if they don’t see it, they won’t hear it.

So the good news is that by the time I left Peace Lutheran I felt them and I saw the love of God. They let me eyeball their soul.

And the better news is, I can now trust what I hear from them.

 

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PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … April 27th, 2016

 Jonathots Daily Blog

(2917)

Nexus

Crazy, loony, mixed-up clan

Tears apart the family of man

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

Rape my heart, tear my soul

Leave me with an empty hole

That saved a wretch like me

I will scream in belief

Send a beam of light’s relief

I once was lost but now I’m found

Now I sense a welcoming nod

From the mercy of a loving God

Releasing the fear that smothers my breath

Atoning my sin of a sentence of death

Was blind but now I see

Dispel the night

Hope in sight

Amazing

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All I Know… August 19, 2013

Jonathots Daily Blog

(1980)

Aggravated–even though he felt foolish to manifest such a nagging emotion. After all, the improvement in his circumstances certainly had eliminated any need for additional vendettas or sprouting frustration.

He could see. The power of that simple phrase was that just short days before, he couldn’t.

See, that is.

Call it a miracle, a transition, an intervention or just the “course of human events”–no matter what position you took on the issue, he had gained a great gift, which to his delight, was not dimming with the passing of time.

It wasn’t so much that he was angered by those who had passed by him as strangers during his dark time, musing over the question of whether his excesses or some genetic flaw passed on my his parents had caused his condition. That’s just what people do. When they peer at something unpleasant they start looking for dark reasons which caused the affliction, so as to distance themselves from both danger and responsibility.

He was shocked, however, when his friends, who had known him since his birth in blindness, pretended they didn’t know who he was, or weren’t sure he was the same person they had been acquainted with. Or they offered that dastardly opinion: “Since his healing, he’s just not been the same.”

It was terrifying–and enraging–to go through the questioning from the investigating elite, who kept probing with repetitive inquiries about the source of his new-found sight, only to reject his story and rebuke him for believing in some sort of “Godly gift.”

At times, he was tempted to deny the measure of grace that now permitted him to eyeball the world instead of merely considering what the images might be, since those around him felt he was a sinner or a friend they used to know or some riff-raff who was confused by the unfolding of events.

Yes, doubt began to creep into his own soul about his good fortune. But you see, he stopped himself short of turning into a denier of his own blessing … because he could see.

He had never done that before. It was impossible to reject the manifestation.

So after hours and hours of grilling by people with agendas to destroy his miracle, he finally simply stated, “All I know is this: once I was blind but now I see.”

Of course, this simple statement of trust did nothing to deter his critics. He was so grateful he was able to see–because if he had been surrounded by those who refute, rebuff, renounce and reject and was only able to hear their words, it could have turned into a living hell.

But his eyes gave him the ability to look past their short-sightedness into the face of a heavenly intervention.

Why couldn’t people just rejoice? He didn’t know.

But he did realize that faith is not what we believe–faith is when what we see and hear begins to jive … with what we hope

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

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event

Quatrain of Faith … April 23, 2013

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I cannot see it

It needs to be

I’ll pursue with hope

I’ll build with effort

 

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

Please contact Jonathan’s agent, Jackie Barnett, at (615) 481-1474, for information about personal appearances or scheduling an event.