The Lighter Side

Christian Owens sent me this joke today and I thought it was hilarious. Enjoy!

-Jason

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Little Carol came into the kitchen where her mother was making dinner.

Her birthday was coming up and she thought this was a good time to tell her mother what she wanted. 'Mom, I want a bike for my birthday.'

Now, Little Carol was a bit of a troublemaker. She had gotten into trouble at school and at home. Carol's mother asked her if she thought she deserved to get a bike for her birthday. Little Carol, of course, thought she did.

Carol's mother, being a Christian woman, wanted her to reflect on her behavior over the last year, and write a letter to God and tell him why she deserved a bike for her birthday. Little Carol stomped up the steps to her room and sat down to write God a letter.

LETTER 1:

Dear God:
I have been a very good girl this year and I would like a bike for my birthday. I want a red one.

Your friend,
Carol

Carol knew this wasn't true. She had not been a very good girl this year, so she tore up the letter and started over.

LETTER 2:

Dear God:

This is your friend Carol. I have been a pretty good girl this year, and I would like a red bike for my birthday.

Thank you,
Carol

Carol knew this wasn't true either. She tore up the letter and started again.

LETTER 3:

Dear God:

I know I haven't been a good girl this year. I am very sorry. I will be a good girl if you just send me a red bike for my birthday.

Thank you,
Carol

Carol knew, even if it was true, this letter was not going to get her a bike. By now, she was very upset. She went downstairs and told her mother she wanted to go to the church building. Carol's mother thought her plan had worked because Carol looked very sad.

'Just be home in time for dinner,' her mother said. Carol walked down the street to the church building and up to the altar. She looked around to see if anyone was there. She picked up a statue of the Virgin Mary, slipped it under her jacket and ran out of the church building, down the street, into her house, and up to her room. She shut the door and sat down and wrote her letter to God.

LETTER 4:

I GOT YOUR MAMA...

IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN, SEND THE BIKE.

Signed,
YOU KNOW WHO

Random Truths About God (Part 5)

Recently, I made some notes about God (as Father, Son, and Spirit). These thoughts did not originate in my brain--they came from Scripture, of course. The particular way these thoughts are worded are not mine either. These are deep, spiritual truths about God that have been gleaned from the whole story of Scripture. No simple proof text can be given to defend these, nor can any be given to disprove them. One must take into account the entire story of the Bible to see how these truths are in fact true. This is Part 5. Once all parts are posted over the next few days, I will give more details on the person and source who helped me pen these random thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Your friend on the journey,

Jason

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Jesus came to show people who God is and most folks only believe it about Jesus. People still play God and Jesus off like good cop/bad cop most of the time, especially the religious folk. When they want people to do what they think is right, they need a stern God. When they need forgiveness, they run to Jesus. But God is all in Jesus. He reflected the heart of God exactly. God loves us and invites us to love him.

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God does not wonder what you will do or what choices you will make. He already knows. Let's say, for example, God is trying to teach you how not to hide inside of lies. Let's say God know it will take you 47 situations and events before you will actually hear Him--that is, before you will hear clearly enough to agree with Him and change. So when you don't hear Him the first time, He is not frustrated or disappointed, He's thrilled. Only 46 more times to go. And that first time will be a building block to construct a bridge of healing that one day you will walk across.

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Guilt will never help you find freedom in Father. The best it can do is make you try harder to conform to some ethic on the outside. Father is about the inside.

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Faith does not grow in the house of certainty.

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God's love for us is a lot bigger than our stupidity. He uses our choices to work perfectly into His purpose.

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True love never forces.

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Nobody know what horrors God has saved the world from because people can't see what never happened. All evil flows from independence, and independence is our choice. If God were to simply revoke all the choices of independence, the world as we know it would cease to exist and love would have no meaning. This world is not a playground where God keeps all His children free from evil. Evil is the chaos of this age that we brought to God, but it will not have the final say. Now it touches everyone that He loves, those who follow Him and those who don't. If He takes away the consequences of people's choices, He destroys the possibility of love. Love that is forced is no love at all.

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We demand our independence, but then complain that God actually loves us enough to give it to us.

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God's purposes are not for His comfort, or ours. His purposes are always and only an expression of love. He purposes to work life out of death, to bring freedom out of brokenness and turn darkness into light. What we see as chaos He sees as fractal. All things must unfold, even though it puts all those He loves in the midst of a world of horrible tragedies--even those closest to Him.

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Everything is about Jesus, you know. Through his death and resurrection, God is now fully reconciled to the world. The whole world--those who believe and those who do not. But we must remember that reconciliation is a two-way street, and He has done His part, totally, completely, finally. It is not the nature of love to force a relationship but it is the nature of love to open the way.

Random Truths about God (Part 4)

Recently, I made some notes about God (as Father, Son, and Spirit). These thoughts did not originate in my brain--they came from Scripture, of course. The particular way these thoughts are worded are not mine either. These are deep, spiritual truths about God that have been gleaned from the whole story of Scripture. No simple proof text can be given to defend these, nor can any be given to disprove them. One must take into account the entire story of the Bible to see how these truths are in fact true. This is Part 4. Once all parts are posted over the next few days, I will give more details on the person and source who helped me pen these random thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Your friend on the journey,

Jason

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When we think of "church" we usually think of a place people go on Sundays. That's because we're only seeing the institution, a man-made system. That's not what Jesus came to build. What he sees are people and their lives, a living breathing community of all those who love him, not buildings and programs. Jesus' church is about people and life is all about relationships. WE can't build it. It's Jesus' job and he's actually pretty good at it.

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Because humans are so utterly lost and independent, we take what is simple and make it complex.

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An awful lot of what is done in the name of Jesus has nothing to do with him and is often, even if unintentional, very contrary to his purposes.

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Jesus doesn't create institutions--never has, never will.

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Jesus is not too big on religion, and not very fond of politics or economics either. And why should he be? They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those he cares about. What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of these three?

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Jesus came to give us Life to the fullest. His life. The simplicity and purity of enjoying a growing friendship.

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Salvation is a process, not an event. All Jesus wants from you is to trust him with what little you can, and grow in loving people around you with the same love he shares with you. It's not your job to change others or to convince them. You are free to love without agenda. Remember, the people who know Jesus are the ones who are free to live and love without any agenda.

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Jesus is not a Christian.

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Those who love Jesus come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. Jesus has followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. He has no desire to make them Christian, but he does want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of his Father, into his brothers and sisters, into his Beloved.

Defining the Church by Activity

Recently I was became aware of something that I thought was interesting. Over the past three years my paradigm of "church" has changed dramatically. Anyone who knows me knows this all too well. I take great pains to make sure people understand that church is not an event or a place--it is a people. Paul specifically told the Ephesians that the church is the body of Christ. (Eph. 1:23)

Well the other day I was talking to someone about church stuff. This person was not familiar with the Way and our local church family. So when they asked me where I "went to church" I went on to explain in my usual way that I do not "go to" church. I told them who we are and what do. Most of this person's follow-up questions revolved around our meetings. I took a lot of time trying to explain (maybe even justify) our existence as a church family by what we DO--our activities and gatherings.

After this conversation, I walked away and began to question--perhaps at Father's prompting in the Spirit--why we modern Christians seem to define and identify the church in terms of group activities. Whether that is about meetings, Bible studies, praise and worship, prayer meetings, service work, etc., we always seem to identify and define ourselves by these activities. WHY?

In the New Testament the church is rarely if ever identified by group activities. Conversely, the theology of the church as presented in the New Testament is one of a people whose identity is in Christ and who lives the life of Christ in all of their relationships. If the church actually is the body of Christ and we--as individuals--make up that body, then why do we justify our identity as the church by detailing our activities or where we meet or what we do corporately as "church"? Interesting thought isn't it? The next time you get into a conversation with someone about church, pay close attention to how "church" is defined by gatherings, activities and other group things. You will even find yourself--I assume--speaking in these terms. I bet if all Christians everywhere had a more universal (biblical) view of what church is, we'd begin to see unity increase and the focus on group activities diminish while our effectiveness and relevance in the world increase!

I guess I should add "group activities" to my list of things the church is NOT. My new working definition of church will be: Church is not an event, a place, or a list of group activities--it is a people chosen and called out by Father to live the life of Jesus in all of their relationships.

Just thought I'd share some of my ideas. What do you think?

Your friend on the journey,

Jason

Random Truths about God (Part 3)

Recently, I made some notes about God (as Father, Son, and Spirit). These thoughts did not originate in my brain--they came from Scripture, of course. The particular way these thoughts are worded are not mine either. These are deep, spiritual truths about God that have been gleaned from the whole story of Scripture. No simple proof text can be given to defend these, nor can any be given to disprove them. One must take into account the entire story of the Bible to see how these truths are in fact true. This is Part 3. Once all parts are posted over the next few days, I will give more details on the person and source who helped me pen these random thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Your friend on the journey,

Jason

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When you worry about the future, it is our desperate attempt to get some control over something we can't. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn't real, not will it ever be real. You try and play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try and make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear. Why do you have so much fear in your life? It is because you don't believe. You don't know that God loves you. The person who lives by their fears will not find freedom in God's love. I am not talking about rational fears regarding legitimate dangers, but imagined fear, and especially the projection of those into the future. To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe God is good nor know deep in your heart that He loves you. You song about it; you talk about it, but you don't know it.

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For God to force His will on us is exactly what love does not do. Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when our choices are not helpful or healthy. Father wants us to join Him (along with the Son and Spirit) in their circle of relationship. He doesn't want slaves to His will; Jesus wants brothers and sisters who will share life with him. When Jesus is your life, submission is the most natural expression of your new nature within relationships (husband/wife, parent/child, employer/employee, etc.)

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Jesus is not about performance and fitting into man-made structures; he is about being. As you grow in relationship with him, what you do will simply reflect who you really are.

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Jesus came to us as a man to complete a wonderful picture in how God made us. From the first day He hid the woman within the man, so that at the right time He could remove her from within him. He didn't create man to live alone; she was purposed from the beginning. By taking her out of him, he birthed her in a sense. God created a circle of relationship--like His own with the Son & Spirit--but for humans. She, out of him, and now all the males, including Jesus, birthed through her, and all originating, or birthed, from God.

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Submission--just like love--is not something that you can do, especially not on your own. Apart from Jesus' life inside you, you can't submit to your spouse, or your children/parents, or anyone else in your life, including Father.

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Jesus' life was not meant to be an example to copy. Being his follower is not trying to "be like Jesus," it means for your independence to be killed. Jesus came to give you life, real life, his life. Jesus will come and live his life inside of you, so that you begin to see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and touch with his hands, and think like he does.

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So many people believe that it is love that grows, but it is the knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it. Love is just the skin of knowing.

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Father does not stop a lot of things that cause Him pain. Our world is severely broken. We demanded our independence, and now we are angry with the one who loved us enough to give it to us. Nothing is as it should be, as Father desires it to be, and as it will be one day. Right now our world is lost in darkness and chaos, and horrible things happen to those that He loves. Why doesn't He do something about it, you ask. He already has. He did that on the cross where mercy triumphs over justice because of love. Would we have preferred He'd chosen justice for everyone? Do we really want justice for ourselves? I know I don't. I am thankful for mercy.

Random Truths about God (Part 2)

Recently, I made some notes about God (as Father, Son, and Spirit). These thoughts did not originate in my brain--they came from Scripture, of course. The particular way these thoughts are worded are not mine either. These are deep, spiritual truths about God that have been gleaned from the whole story of Scripture. No simple proof text can be given to defend these, nor can any be given to disprove them. One must take into account the entire story of the Bible to see how these truths are in fact true. This is Part 2. Once all parts are posted over the next few days, I will give more details on the person and source who helped me pen these random thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Your friend on the journey,

Jason

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Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself--to serve. This is what God has done for us.

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God doesn't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring us from the inside. It is not God's purpose to punish it; it is his joy to cure it.

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When humans chose independence over relationship, we became a danger to each other. Others became objects to be manipulated or managed for our own happiness. Authority, as we usually think of it, is merely the excuse the strong use to make others conform to what they want. When humans choose to protect ourselves with power we are yielding to the "matrix," not God.

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God will use every choice you make for the ultimate good and the most loving outcome.

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The real underlying flaw in our lives is that we do not think that God is good. If we knew He was good and that everything--the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives--was all covered by His goodness, then while we might not always understand what He is doing, we would trust Him. But we don't.

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Why is it that we do not plainly see all of the wonders hidden in creation? God's choice to hide so many wonders from us is an act of love that is a gift inside the process of life.

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Evil is a word we use to describe the absence of Good, just as we use the word darkness to describe the absence of Light or death to describe the absence of Life. Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence. God is Light and Good. He is Love and there is no darkness in Him. Light and Good actually exist. So, removing yourself from God will plunge you into darkness. Declaring independence will result in evil because apart from God, you can only draw upon yourself. That is death because you have separated yourself from me: Life.

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Jesus didn't hold on to any rights; he willingly became a servant and lives out of his relationship to Father. He gave up everything, so that by his dependent life he opened a door that would allow you to live free enough to give up your rights.

Just Some Thoughts

Seems our world “way of life” in the US is disintegrating before our eyes. Our Judeo Christian values are being undermined at every turn. The foundations of this nation are being eroded by the far left. I read the Declaration of Independence and the main body of the Constitution the other day. I’ve not done that since middle school. How far we’ve allowed our government to take us form the founding principals that our forefathers set down. I was amazed at the treasonous wording in the Declaration of Independence. And I was even more amazed at the listing of the grievances against the King. I saw many similarities with our current situation in this country. The entire time I was reading I was filled with intense pride – thinking about what these men sacrificed just to write this document and sign their names to it. Their lives were forfeit that day. Sounds a lot like the Messiah - sacrificing all one has, even life. The most amazing thing is that God honored their sacrifice. Even though many of those men did not see the fruit of their sacrifice – The United States of America became a great nation because of their courage. Unfortunately we may see in our life time further usurpations of those founding principals such as: the persecution of Christians – the kind we read about in books and hear about on the news. Can you imagine, being an overt follower of Jesus could be punishable by imprisonment or worse?!!! At the very least I believe our children could well see this come to pass. Scripture says that time will come. It looks like it’s getting closer with every passing day. Makes you think a lot more about the truly important things of this life – family & friends and the most important relationship of all - Jesus. And the current political and social situation in this country makes me want to cling to my guns & bible even more tightly.
I strongly urge you to read the Declaration of Independence http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html pick the tab that says “read text”. People don't talk or seem to think this way any more. Note the several references to our Creator. And the constitution, you can google U.S. Constitution. I think you will be amazed as I was.

Why Modern Preaching is Unbiblical

I spent almost seven years making my living as a preacher. And for about six years prior to that I preached on a part-time basis. It never occurred to me for one moment that my preaching was unbiblical. Not the content, mind you (although that is a whole 'nother blog topic!), but the very fact that I was preaching to a group of Christians.

In September 2006 I preached my last sermon to a church. Since then I have been in the audience of not more than three sermons. I guess when you remove yourself from a situation for an extended period of time, you become more objective and rational about the situation.

This morning I went online and did a search of all forms of the word "preach" in the Bible (www.BibleGateway.com). The New International Version lists 123 variations of the word. I skimmed over the Old Testament occurrences but spent most of my time reading the New Testament occurrences. What I find strangely absent is the "office" of preacher. Not once did anyone in the New Testament carry the title preacher in an official this-is-my-job-it's-what-I-do-for-a-living capacity. Furthermore, it is very evident that in the New Testament there is scarcely a mention of a person preaching to a group of Christians. From my study, I can only see people preaching to non-Christians. And I tried to follow the stories where preaching occurred and I found that the subject of the preaching was exclusively Jesus (specifically, his gospel and his kingdom). Their sermons weren't about how to control your anger, how to be a better father, how to evangelize the lost or how we should give more.

Anyway, my point is that the modern church has downgraded biblical preaching to a homiletical event meant to sooth the church and pump them up to be more active in the church. Why do we do this? It isn't in the Bible. That makes it "unbiblical." It isn't wrong or sinful, but unbiblical. Is it a good thing for churches to be encouraged and "pumped up" from time to time by a skilled orator? Sure. But why do churches spend the majority of their finances on paying a person to perform an unbiblical task? Why aren't we paying real preachers to do real biblical preaching to the lost and poor and needy and sick? That seems to be the example from the Bible.

Modern preaching--in the conventional church--cannot be defended as a biblical practice.

-Jason

Random Truths about God (Part 1)

Recently, I made some notes about God (as Father, Son, and Spirit). These thoughts did not originate in my brain--they came from Scripture, of course. The particular way these thoughts are worded are not mine either. These are deep, spiritual truths about God that have been gleaned from the whole story of Scripture. No simple proof text can be given to defend these, nor can any be given to disprove them. One must take into account the entire story of the Bible to see how these truths are in fact true. This is Part 1. Once all parts are posted over the next few days, I will give more details on the person and source who helped me pen these random thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Your friend on the journey,

Jason

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God is neither male nor female, even though both genders are derived from God's nature. If God chooses to appear to us as a man or as a woman, it's because God loves us. Most of us would be embarrassed to admit that most of our visuals for God are very white and very male.

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Do you believe you have free will? I do. God is not interested in prisoners. We're free to do anything we want to do. Just because God knows what we will choose to do does not reduce our freedom. Only God can set us free, but freedom can never be forced.

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The Truth shall set you free and the Truth has a name. His name is Jesus. Everything is about him. And freedom is a process that happens inside a relationship with him.

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Jesus chose to go to the cross--he wasn't forced, nor was he abandoned by God. Regardless of what he felt at the time, Jesus wasn't God's whipping boy; furthermore God never left him and God will never leave us. The story of the cross didn't end in Jesus' sense of forsakenness. He found his way through it to put himself completely into God's hands.

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God is not merely the best version of YOU that you can think of. He is far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think.

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When God spoke himself into human existence as the Son of God, he became fully human. He chose to embrace all the limitations that human life entailed. Even though God has always been present in the created universe, he then became flesh and blood. Although by nature Jesus was fully God, Jesus was fully human and lived as such. While never losing the innate abilities and personality of God, he chose moment-by-moment to live as a human. This is why his name is Immanuel, God with us, or God with you, to be more precise.

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Jesus performed miracles he did so as a dependent, limited human being trusting in Father's life and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to perform miracles. Only as he rested in his relationship with Father, and in their communion--their co-union--could he express Father's heart and will into any given circumstance. So, when you look at Jesus and it appears that he is healing the blind, he really is. But what we are actually seeing is Father; Father's life in him. That's how he lived and acted as a true human, how every human is designed to live--out of Father's life.

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The Father, Son, and Spirit are not three gods, and they are not one god with three attitudes, like a man who is a husband, father, and worker. He is one God and he is three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one. What is important is that if He were only One God and only One Person, then we would find ourselves in the Creation without something wonderful, without something essential even. And He would be utterly other than He is. We would be without love and relationship. All love and relationship is possible for us only because it already exists within Him, within God himself. God is love.

Explain This!

Recently, I received an email message through our website asking for a few books that we give away. He also said that he had some questions. I answered a few of those and then he sent some more. These new questions are pretty deep and reveal a sincere desire in his spirit to get to the truth about Christianity and the Church. I asked for his permission to post his questions here and get some responses from those who follow our blog. So read, and then click on "Comments" and leave your answers. Thanks for participating.

Simply,

Jason

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Thank you for taking the time to reply and for the very thoughtful answers. I appreciate this and the fact you understood what I was asking and why. I didn't want to be perceived as short or sarcastic.

Let's say I agree with what you have said yet there isn't a group of Christians who meet like you do, then what? What if you have visited virtually every church near you and they are not something you want to be a part of then what? If the Bible is true and Christians are forgiven and under "grace" why do so many pastors rule their congregations so fiercely and seem so unhappy doing it? Most believers I know are very unhappy. If they are really forgiven do they not believe it because I am thinking if they are really forgiven for their sins they should live like it. Those who are known as "sinners" seem gloriously happy compared to most Christians I know.

I am also having a great deal of difficulty believing many Christians (present company excluded) also because what I hear from them doesn't resonate with what I am told their Savior taught nor do I see many giving evidence in their life and I mean real genuine evidence that they have met the one they claim to worship. I hear them but it often sounds hollow.

I realize some of these you may not be able to answer so again I appreciate your time and thank you again for the Bible/book.