Hardcore Jesus...is He too hardcore?

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:57-62.
As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "(Lord,) let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
(To him) Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
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No one who sets their hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.
I've got one thing to say to that statement - Ouch!

What is Jesus saying here? We all have second thoughts. We all wonder in our minds if we are doing the right thing. We daydream about how things were and about our childhood, do you think He's referring to that?
"Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." How do you think Doctor Phil would respond to Jesus over that statement? Sounds like Jesus is not looking for closure and does not seem to care if we have any either. What is the number one point here? Where do you see yourself in this conversation? Are you the person who says to Jesus, I will follow you anywhere? Are you the person who simply asks to go back and say goodbye to their family to which Jesus basically says, let it go and let's get going! Remember, by this time Jesus had already separated Himself from His family in a way. When He was teaching in a small house and His family came to hear Him and the people told Him His brothers and sisters were outside. Jesus responds and says that only those who listen to the words of His Father and follow them are His brothers and sisters...ouch. The cousins were cut off. (Hebrews do not have names for uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces, etc. everyone is a brother or sister in the family).

Jesus is what today would be termed as isolated and focused on His lone quest regardless of who in His life He leaves on the curb. By today's psychological standards this is considered unhealthy. That family is important and we should be on the look out for isolationists, that they may be planning something dangerous and we should alert authorities. Jesus is saying plainly that we are to be like Him in this respect, to look forward and go with a purpose in mind and heart. To cast off family members, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters to carry out the purpose of the kingdom of God. Almost sounds cultish if I may say so but Jesus is not telling people that He is to be adored and worshiped but rather our Heavenly Father who is truly God of all. So is Jesus being too hardcore here? How important was spreading the kingdom of Heaven to Jesus? How seriously did He take His purpose and goal? How important are you taking your part in His purpose and goal? Many will make Jesus to be a piece of milk toast, a person who has gentle features and soft spoken voice who would not swat a fly because it was a creature He created thus it would be out of His character to kill or maim something or someone He created. I respond to that type of thinking by saying that here we listen to and see the real Jesus and His mindset. He is focused and He is driven, He tells others that if they want to follow Him and His ways then they too have to become focused and driven. Jesus is not a frustrated nerd who lived His life at home close to mother and had no real friends and so now is seen as a person striking out because He lacks being heard. Jesus is the Son of God and He has a Holy calling on His life, He was baptized by John in the river Jordan and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and God, the Father spoke and stated that this is His Son. Jesus is the right hand of God the Father and every behavior, every act, every proclamation Jesus exhibits is straight from the character of God the Father Himself.

Is the proclamation too hardcore for you? Is what Jesus says too cultish for you? Have you ever given yourself over to anything in your life in such an extreme way as this? Does it excite you to think about doing it? To cast off all of the world's trappings and follow Jesus with great abandon? To press into God and rely completely upon His provision? Then my friend, why wait any longer, you are fit for the preaching of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Don't wait any longer, run to Him and find your life.

And all were astonished...

"And all were astonished by the majesty of God."
I was reading this just now and it occurred to me that all were astonished. How long has it been since You were astonished? I don't mean just surprised that God remembered you but actually, really astonished in what God has/had done for you in your life? In the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Saint Luke in Chapter 9 and verse 43b, Doctor Luke points out that all were astonished. According to Webster the definition of astonish is:"to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise."

I pose to you that in this day and age with the glitz and glamor of western culture we have little capacity to be astonished. We see different corners of the globe from the safety and security of our living rooms, viewing from our computer screen through the miracle of the internet. I say miracle because it has enabled you and I to make contact and to share thoughts and ideas and concerns. Your circle of community and mine just grew by a few million at least who may at some time in space view this blog and/or the comments you may leave. This conversation will for just a short sliver of time in God's continuum live for as long as the world wide web does. Do you find that idea astonishing? I do. I may not show my astonishment on the outside but I am astonished that what I write will live on in cyberspace because whatever is posted to the Internet never goes away. 

I leave you with this thought and that is, if we do not find ways to allow ourselves to be astonished, to be surprised, to be elated in our relationship with God then what sort of response do you believe you will express when you meet God face to face?  On one hand I expect there will be some familiarity because of the relationship I have with Him and along with that I expect to feel great levels of awe and wonder. What would help me to overcome the shock and awe will be the warmth from His eyes into mine, the smile He gives to me, the kind of smile that says,"what..you thought it would be Miami Beach?" As a gift, I would like to present Him with something that I can do for Him, offer Him my astonishment. I realize I do not have to do anything for God and I am not speaking of a payback or offering to enter Heaven. What I mean is as one friend offers another friend a precious gift, when the receiver has a face of surprise, a face of unexpected elation, the look of elation and appreciation for the giver becomes all the thank you they need. Does God need my thank you? I do not believe God needs anything, if He did then He would not be God, He would be an incomplete being the same as you and I. What I do believe is that God is love and love is God (First John) and love excites and grows with more and more love. Love unrequited is love still but do you not see and believe that love deserves love in return? I believe God deserves my love in return because of the love He has shown and constantly shows to me in my life. I cannot wow God but do I need to? I believe as my friend, Lord and Master that God would and could be surprised by the look on my face of astonishment because God does not disappoint and God does not leave any detail unattended. God will accept my face of astonishment and elation and be joy filled at my jubilation of entering into the Kingdom and for my gift to Him, He will bless me with a smile that only a parent can give to their child. I believe it is only kind and loving to prepare myself to give a look of astonishment when I see Him in all His splendor and majesty and to prepare myself I am going to practice not being so cynical, not so Not-impressed with nature and the Holy Spirit. I am going to allow myself to become more sensitive to the movements of God in my life. They are subtle and quiet and they are swirling around like a wisp of wind and it takes getting pushed over with a feather, not a 2X4 to receive what God is sharing with you or me today. If someone offers you an ice cream cone today, take it and show your enjoyment when you eat it. If someone gives a "hello," receive it and share with them a look directly into their eyes and give a smile and say, "thank you, and hello to you too!" You never know who you may be encountering, sometimes it will be angels.

Making some dust

Some may notice the Feedburner icon on the right side of the page. I am in the midst of learning how to publish a podcast and then let you know about it. I am putting the cart before the horse in certain respects, I am setting up the framework and then I will post a podcast episode. The technical side of it is all new to me so I am going slow. Please bear with me on the podcasting.

On another side I was looking at Matthew 16: 1-20 where Jesus is telling about the vinyard owner who goes and hires workers in the morning, afternoon and just before the end of the workday. At the end of the day the owner tells his foreman to pay out the wages to all. All were to receive the same wage and that the last to be hired would be the first to get paid. When the workers from the morning saw this they balked and felt it unfair. Jesus gives many good responses about the attitude of the workers and their geleousy toward the others who only worked for an hour and yet received a full day's wage.

A thought ocured to me is that the workers hired in the morning were given the opportunity to work in the vineyard all day. All day they were in the presence of the Master and yet they grumbled at what they saw and took little note of where they were. Those of us who are called into the Kingdom of Heaven by our Master and Lord, by the One who bled and died for all of us on the cross at Calvary are blessed simply to be in His presence. If someone lives a life of sin and on their dying breath they accept the Lord and go to be in His presence should we grumble because this person who lived a life of sin and gets a pass to go and be with God and Jesus for eternity? We who are already called and who already dine at the Lord's supper when we attend communion, we are already in His presence and we work in His vineyard each day. Today is another opportunity to work in His vineyard and the harvest is plenty, the branches hang low with sweet plump juicy fruit and we are provided the best of baskets to put it into along with gloves and a hat. Breaks are whenever we need one and there is cool water for the taking. Lunch will be at the Lord's table and all are invited.  "The harvest is plenty, laborers are few, come with me into the fields. Your arms will grow weary, your shoes will wear thin, come with me into the fields." An old song from church.

Today go and be blessed for you work not for flesh and blood but for the Lord and He gives you special work.

explanation on Fractional Reserve Banking made simple

Thank you for taking a look at this post. I am adding a link to a video created by Pastor Dowell of Straightway.
The video is simple and to the point with great explanation and clear understanding. You may ask if it is necessary to understand fractional reserve banking and should we know it? Yes! Oh Yes! This country and its financial institutions have run on fractional reserve banking since the days of President Andrew Jackson who at the time was very much against such systems or a central bank. Please take time out to listen and view what is said, the information will help you to see how our country is going broke and why. How to convert your useless paper debt note into real usable money such as silver or gold. How the bible even discusses silver and gold and how it can be so easily manipulated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ibJcGSW2hw&feature=channel_video_title

Economic Hitman - 1986

Hello all and happy Labor Day, today I bring a link to a blog, The Energy Non-Crisis blog featuring economic information from Pastor Lindsey Williams and others. This particular entry has a video link for a video series of Lindsey Williams giving a talk to a small crowd and bringing to light some amazing facts. A lot of this was news to me and at the same time filling in the blanks to many unanswered questions. I recommend viewing the videos and if you believe it worthy, please pass along the Non-Crisis blog link to others. Information is key in how we make decisions and what decisions we make. http://lindseywilliams101.blogspot.com/2011/09/lindsey-williams-presents-jonathan-may.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LindseyWilliams+%28Lindsey+Williams%29

Mixed Signals from the author?

Good day to you, I am writing to say that I intended to post the gospel readings this morning that had a great impact on me and a great reflection with it. I believe I will do so here and I will also say that I will post other items today. Something from Pastor Lindsey Williams in regards to world economic news. I will give comment on that information when I make that post. For now I want to say that my blog may seem a mixed bag of items with what appears to be no central theme, that I am all over the map as some would say. To those who think that I will say that I really do have a central theme and that theme is about you and what you are doing with your life. For me information is key. A person recently commented to that statement when I made it to them and they responded with, "information is key, but is it the right information?" I don't know about you but something in that statement sounded like a cop-out, that for this person they would not make decisions based on the best available information of the moment but would rather remain inactive until more information came along. I took their words and pondered on them and still am. I do agree that none of us should move too quickly in a rash manner on hear say and take an action that could lead to something illegal or put your safety in jeopardy.


I am one of the most cautious people I know and I am always wanting to hear that someone else did "blank" first so I can decide what action they took worked out well and all was good. I want to eliminate the risk and be able to act in complete confidence that every decision I am making is of sound mind and information. Partly because I don't want to look like a fool or be called a fool because I acted and my decision making went poorly. I don't want to flub up and I don't want to see a look of disappointment on my wife's face. Some days it is difficult to gain respect of others and to enjoy their approval that I feel as though I walk a fine line. Who put me there? I did, because I sought approval of others and acceptance from others when they are in their space and place and I am in mine. It is really difficult for me to read the mind of my neighbor but on the outside he looks like a good person. That is all any of us have to go on, what we see on the outside. So what do I do with information I collect from the Internet? I research it if I can to verify what is being said as to be true. I also listen to other people that I respect who are in the information business and I look to see if they comment on the same issues and what their spin is on the matter. I also look to local information and see what I can find there if anything important. Lastly I turn to my bible and to my prayer time.




In the Word of God I may find where God talks about the very specific issue I am in quest of and I do take what God says about that issue to heart. In the realm of economics I refer to the book of Lamentations where the acts of a society vomited out upon itself, in the case of Lamentations the city was Israel. It makes sense to me that here in America where c.e.o.s and leaders of companies only plot to fatten their wallets as fast as they can and decide to run leaving in their wake hundreds of displaced workers with no income, no pensions and no immediate fiscal future. People do not save money because it was easier and cheaper to borrow it with a credit card. We were lied to and told that if we acted responsibly with the credit that we could have what we wanted now instead of later and we believed them, just look throughout your town or city and look how many boxes are in the trash collection boxes that once carried a large screen t.v. and a surround sound system. We Americans are wowed by electronics and lights and whistles and bells. We grew up on Pac Man and pin ball machines and now the small thrills stick with us. If we can have a home desk top computer in the palm of our hand and communicate with someone on Facebook from the other side of the globe in a matter of milliseconds then we feel invincible and at the best of our game.  We are given an illusion and because we make it happen with our own hands and fingers we believe the illusion. In the next post I will give you more evidence of the illusion and as always it is up to you the reader to determine whether you believe the information presented on face value or investigate it for yourself. I believe the information based on the fact that I know people to be greedy and that ultimate power corrupts ultimately. For you the reader I do expect you to perform some form of investigation and try your best to disprove what is presented so that you will know for your self what to believe. It is important to know what to believe because the decisions and actions you take afterward will propel you down a coarse deeper into the illusion or reverse coarse away from the illusion. My intention for you is to go toward reality and away from illusion but you must be the one who judges for yourself which is which. If you are experiencing mixed signals from me then let me put your mind at ease, I am not sending mixed signals. My blog entries are always focused on information and on the direction of freedom and liberty for the individual. Whether my entry comes directly from the Word of God or comes from tin foil hat sounding articles my intention is always to present information that will empower the individual and enable that person or family to be less dependent upon government services therefore making that person or family more self reliant and not at the mercy of others as they were before.


Grow in wisdom and knowledge and allow God to loosen your bondage through His written word and then through His spirit which resides in the hearts and minds of true believers, amen.



http://www.dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM&module=readings&localdate=20110905
Daily Gospel readings of the Roman Catholic Mass


http://www.oswaldchambers.co.uk/Readings.php?day=05&month=09
Today's Oswald Chambers reflection