Jesonian … March 31st, 2018

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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 For thirty-six hours, God walked away and left humanity to dangle in its notorious decisions.

Long ago, from six o’clock Friday to six o’clock on Sunday morning, the conclusions derived by the honoring of religion, the promotion of politics and the inclusion of jealousy reigned supreme on the Earth.

In the process, a hapless lamb was slaughtered so that a less-than-noble tribe of Bedouins could believe they were special because their ancestors had the fortitude to escape Egypt.

A governor of Judea slinked away to Caesarea to spend a quiet weekend with his wife, only to discover that she was enraged because he had failed to take her dream into consideration when judging an innocent man.

A betrayer from Kerioth who was blindly jealous of his Master, his best friend, climbed a small hill, tied a rope around his neck and hung himself from a tree.

Soldiers were demanded to guard a tomb to make sure that nobody went in, or for that matter, nobody came out.

Disciples who had followed a messenger of love were scared into hiding because they simply believed that “loving your neighbor as yourself” was not a greeting-card sentiment.

Repairmen came to clean up after an unexpected earthquake shook the region, leaving behind great damage, even in the Temple.

The world proceeded with a nauseating sameness, which gained the smugness of superiority because it appeared that any variables were nailed down and silenced.

The kingdom of religion seemed to succeed–a philosophy contending that tradition must decide.

The kingdom of politics stomped around the Great Hall, believing that greed decides.

And the kingdom of jealousy slithered away to lick its wounds, confident of temporary victory because fear had made its decision.

For thirty-six hours, God removed Himself from the circumstances, leaving religion, politics and jealousy to win the day.

It seemed that the obvious forces in power were as formidable as advertised–because everything which had objected, contradicted or shared a different approach was beaten, crucified and buried.

At first sight, there was no light.

And then God returned.

Actually, it was the Kingdom of God, which is within us. It is a Kingdom where faith decides because we are the ones who offer the input.

Even though the disciples of the slain Master were still tucked away, three women bravely made their way to a tomb.

They were not expecting a resurrection.

They were not anticipating finding a miracle.

They did what women have done since the beginning of time–they viewed how men had screwed everything up and they came to clean up the mess.

No bands played, no dignitaries arrived with a key to the city, no men who had pledged eternal allegiance surfaced.

Just three women carrying a bunch of spices, which they immediately dropped when they saw an empty tomb.

Easter is a time when we celebrate more than a resurrection. It is a moment in history when God shows us that even though insanity may temporarily take control, His grace, mercy, understanding and wisdom are never far away.

It was not easy to survive thirty-six hours without God. But because those thirty-six hours showed us the foolishness of religion, politics and jealousy, we can now revel with great joy in the Kingdom of God, which allows our faith to decide.

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Day One, Part Four — Good God Almighty! … February 18, 2012

(1428)

 

They got us lookin’ for bad.

 

What a horrible statement. I mean, it’s the antithesis of good writing, good thinking or good reasoning. Who is they? For that matter, who is us? And it certainly would be valuable if we could define what is bad.

 

Because even though my opening line was a bit intolerant and certainly riddled with the energy of a conspiracy theorist, I must confess, I do stand behind its veracity. It’s not always easy to ascertain who “they” are in the equation–anyone who is in the pursuit of ego or even goodness, but totally disregarding people and life, certainly is destined to do damage to others. 

 

There are forces at work in our world that are obsessed with power and glory but have no interest whatsoever in the kingdom. They would like to skip that step because they know, as Jesus said, that the Kingdom of God is within people–and these adherents of power and glory would love to ignore people and get right to the bottom line.

 

I will say it to you clearly: I don’t care how many quotations you have from the Constitution of the United States, how many verses from the Bible you can recite to prove your assertion, or what historical or even scientific data you possess to prove your point–when you leave people out of the equation, lessen their value or intimidate them, removing their free will, you naturally become “they.”

 

“They” are all the institutions, political parties, religions and private individuals who have decided to forego the “kingdom” of human influence and just pursue the power and glory. This is why “we” or “us” in this equation need to take the time to back away from the screaming insanity of  over-hyped and incorrigible adolescents, and start a meaningful mess, water it with our heart, soul, mind and strength and then lighten it up with who we are, unashamed of our weaknesses. If we don’t, the pursuit of bad, the intrigue over evil and the promotion of darkness will continue to cloud our society, dragging us back into either medieval thinking or total disregard for one another’s feelings, resulting in the worship of abstract liberty.

 

You see, it’s pretty simple. It’s about life. And when life is discouraged, ridiculed or snuffed out, it’s wrong. People who think it’s about freedom miss the boat because freedom only exists for those who are given life. Those who think it’s about God and His word are far from reality because God loves the world and only expresses Himself through His love for the world. Somewhere along the line “us” has to escape “they”–that machine pursuing power and glory while ignoring the kingdom of humanity–and stop being hapless sheep pretending that we’re destined to be slaughtered by the butcher of mediocrity and start making our meaningful mess, adding the water of honesty, seeking and learning to it, and then lightening up the world around us with what we know thus far. It is what is missing from our society. When shouting becomes the preferred form of communication, then those with the loudest voices begin to appear powerful.

 

I will not participate. I refuse to indulge in such a pre-destined action of idiocy. Instead, after I have made my meaningful mess and I’ve added water to it and I’ve taken my light and placed it within the context of the message, I am going to start looking for good. I refuse to look for bad. I will not join the hunt for the bizarre and cantankerous. I’m looking for good because I am told that I will find God there.

 

The message is clear to me: God is good. It is also clear to me that God is a spirit and I cannot see Him or converse with Him until I locate good things that have received His seal of approval. And when I find good, I will find God–and when I find God, I will find the Almighty power and glory. But the pursuit of power and glory minus the desire for good does not take you to God. It deposits you right in the middle of a heap of human ego, which is always determined to destroy competition. I welcome competition. I welcome those who are better than me at what I do. Because if I found something good, yet I could discover something better, the world is enriched. And since I live on that planet, I will receive benefit also.

 

They got us lookin’ for bad.

• “They”–the force of ego that desires power and glory with no respect for the kingdom of people
• “Us”–the presumed sheep, who, with a little bit of grace and style, can leave the fold and start doing meaningful actions
• “Bad”–“Bad” can no longer be defined as “that which I do not do.”  Bad is the absence of good, and good is when people are encouraged to make a meaningful mess, add the water of their heart, soul, mind and strength, and lighten up the world around them. Bad has one great de-energizing force–discouragement.

 I will listen to a news report until they start telling me how desperate the situation is and how bleak the possibilities. At that point I will turn it off. It just became bad.

You don’t need to tell me that everything is great. You just need to let me know that  we can make a meaningful mess, add water to it, lighten up the world, and that nothing is beyond repair.

 

When you try to have the power and glory without the kingdom, you start feeling the need to defend ideas to the detriment of people. Good is gone, God takes a vacation and Almighty possibilities vanish.

 

A move towards life is when I decide to make my meaningful mess, add the water of my honest emotions with my seeking spirit and my learning mind to my well-nourished strength, and take my discoveries and add my light to the world, proclaiming with confidence, “Let there be light.” I look for the good, I find God–and the end result is something Almighty.

 

In conclusion, recently there has been a lot of talk about politics and religion. Both of these are murdering agents to the human soul if they don’t focus on the kingdom that is within each of us and only seek the power and glory. For I will tell you, any rule that leaves out human feelings that were created by God is evil.

 

This is how you begin Day One of life. You can repeat it every morning.

1. Make a meaningful mess.

2. Add water.

3. Lighten up.

4. Look for the good, find God and pursue the Almighty results.

 

It’s a powerful way to live … a powerful way to live that ends up in glory.

 

 

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Sitting One

 I died today. 

I didn’t expect it to happen.  Then again, I did—well, not really.

No, I certainly didn’t expect it.

I’ve had moments of clarity in my life.  Amazingly enough, many of them were in the midst of a dream. For a brief second I would know the meaning of life or the missing treatment to cure cancer.  And then as quickly as it popped into my mind it was gone. I really don’t recollect dying.  Just this unbelievable sense of clear headedness—like walking into a room newly painted and knowing by the odor and brightness that the color on the wall is so splattering new that you should be careful not to touch it for fear of smearing the design. The greatest revelation of all? 

Twenty-five miles in the sky time ceases to exist.

The planet Pluto takes two hundred and forty-eight years to circle the sun. It doesn’t give a damn. 

The day of my death was the day I became free of the only burden I really ever had.  TIME.

Useless.

Time is fussy.  Time is worry. 

Time is fear.  Time is the culprit causing human-types to recoil from pending generosity. 

There just was never enough time. 

Time would not allow it.  Remember—“if time permits …”

Why if time permits?  Why not if I permit?  Why not if I dream?  Why not if I want?  Why does time get to dictate to me my passage? 

It was time that robbed me of my soulful nature.    It was time that convinced me that my selfishness was needed. 

I didn’t die. The clock in me died, leaving spirit to tick on.  

So why don’t we see the farce of time?  Why do we allow ourselves to fall under the power of the cruel despot?  Yes, time is a relentless master—very little wage for much demand.

I died today. 

Actually … a piece of time named after me was cast away.