Dear Jesus

 

Dear Jesus,

How do you put up with it all?

I mean...every day, thousands upon thousands of people make social media posts that pretend to understand what you've said and what your priorities were while living on the planet. And every day, thousands upon thousands of people attribute to YOUR heart whatever notion THEY are committed to.

Your name is used to express contempt for everything from human trafficking to getting cut off in traffic.

We swear to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then pray for you to help us get even with those who disagree with us about how we voted in the last election.

I talk a good talk about starting my day with you in my heart and your word in my lap, but somehow, checking to see how many Likes my last post got takes precedence.

I honestly don't know how you put up with it.

I mean...with me.

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Truth is (P.S.)...If you didn't love us all so much, you wouldn't be so quick to show us grace and mercy. And all I can do is be grateful and pray for the power of the same Spirit that resurrected your dead body to stand me up, brush me off, and push me in the right direction again.

And again.

A Thankful Stream of Consciousness

 

Getting into a sun-warmed vehicle on a crisp autumn day

My car starting immediately and running smoothly

Having an app on my phone that verbally directs me on the fastest route

Arriving 15 minutes earlier than needed

Sharing a meal with a friend

Having friends who like eating and laughing with me

Having friends who actually pray for me when I ask

Having a Lord who listens to prayers

Jesus providing answers that are even better than my requests

Being loved and forgiven

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Truth is...I am thankful.

The Truth Behind John Belushi's Final Flight

 

The uncontrollable end of John Belushi, as described by his agent, Bernie Brillstein, in Where Did I Go Right?

"One day in early March 1982, I flew with John Belushi from Los An­geles to Martha's Vineyard in a private jet. We had it all to ourselves. He was thirty-three. I was fifty-one. The accommodations were first class and we should have been having the time of our lives. We weren't. In fact, John Belushi no longer had a life. He was stretched out across two cramped seats in the tiny jet, wrapped up in a body bag. Our destination was his funeral.

"Everybody loved John Belushi. The problem was that he didn't love himself enough to believe he had value in the world and that he wasn't indestructible. As John's TV, then movie, career took off, and his fame grew, so did his inability to control his appetites. After he left Saturday Night Live, his life lost the discipline having weekly responsibilities im­posed, and his erratic behavior became more frequent. Total strangers gave him drugs just to get close, to be cool to tell their friends they'd done it. And John consumed it all. It wasn't just an over-large lust for life; he was trying to fill a hole inside. If God hadn't created drugs, John would have found something else to abuse. Lorne and I thought Belushi craved love and acceptance. I could identify with that. I wanted the same things; we all do. But instead of using drugs, I became a personal manager.

"Belushi could be, and often was, a great guy. The rest of the time, as he careened toward the end he was either crashed out or out of control. Those who cared about him would say, 'You're hurting yourself and the people who love you,' but he'd just try to charm his way past the warnings. When I pushed him too hard to straighten up, he'd tell me to back off.

"There's nothing more painful than watching a man you love de­stroy himself. I don't know why it happens. I'm not a psychologist, though sometimes in my job I have to act like one. I suppose there are as many reasons as there are people who [mess] up: Fear of success. Fear of failure. Fear of being a fake. Feelings of worthlessness. A need for love. Arrogance. Narcissism. They're played out with drink, infidelity, drugs, domestic violence, and other weird behaviors that are hard to imagine. Even performers who aren't screwed up sometimes act this way, so it's hard to tell what's going to happen or how serious it is -- until it's some­times too late."

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Truth is...Whatever your fear or source of pain or lack of self-esteem causes you to do that distracts you from recognizing God's unquenchable love for you, get rid of it now, before your own "it's sometimes too late" moment catches you off guard.

The Overwhelming Fury of God's Love

 

Rich Mullins sang about the love of God being a "reckless, raging fury"; an ocean of both joy and sorrow. That is so much more than an encouraging thought. It is meant to be a transforming truth.

Brennan Manning makes the point in powerful prose from his book The Furious Longing of God.

Jesus cried from His heart, nails in His hands, and poured out His blood that we might believe His love for us. Significantly, Jesus chose the giving tree, His cross, as the demonstrative sign of His absolutely furious love for men and women. In the words of one early church father: "the mightiest act of love ever to arise from a human soul."

How is it then that we've come to imagine that Christianity consists primarily in what we do for God? How has this come to be the good news of Jesus? Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read their Bibles every now and then, vigorously oppose abortion, don't watch x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for the favorite team, and get along with everybody? Is that why Jesus went through the bleak and bloody horror of Calvary? Is that why He emerged in shattering glory from the tomb? Is that why He poured out His Holy Spirit on the church? To make nicer men and women with better morals?

The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creations. Not to make people with better morals, but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in ever greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love. This, my friends, is what it really means to be a Christian. Our religion never begins with what we do for God. It always starts with what God has done for us, the great and wondrous things that God dreamed of and achieved for us in Christ Jesus.

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Truth is...It's easier to type this than to live it, but if God's love is an ocean, I long to drown in its reckless, raging fury.

Holy Obsession: Jesus Quote #6

Before seeing the quote I'm about to share, I had never heard of Leslie Ludy.

Apparently, she and her husband, Eric, wrote a book, When God Writes Your Love Story, that was pretty popular around the turn of the century. It wouldn't surprise me if that book is the source of this quote:

"Until Jesus Christ is the obsession of your heart, you'll always be looking to mere men to meet your needs that only He can fill. Only when you make Jesus Christ your first love, will you be ready for a love story that reflects His glory."

That's a pretty bold claim. But then, Jesus is pretty bold, too.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep, leading to life. All who came before Me as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders are thieves and robbers, but the true sheep did not hear them. I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved and will live forever, and will go in and out freely, and find pasture/spiritual security. The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, to the full, till it overflows. -(John 10:7-10 AMP)

Truth is...That doesn't sound like the words of a "good teacher" or "an example of loving and accepting everyone." That sounds like someone obsessed...and someone worthy of obsessing over.

What I Learned from Penguin-Watching

Consider, for a moment, the lowly penguin...

The penguins' farcical walk is quite deceptive. Those stiff feet, so ill at ease on land, act as a rudder underwater, allowing penguins to make hairpin turns at speeds of over thirty miles per hour. They are the fastest maneuverers and deepest divers of any bird; emperor penguins can reach depths of over sixteen hundred feet. These seabirds spend 80 percent of their lives as slick predators, but we only get to see the 20 percent spent staggering around on land like Charlie Chaplin.
     "Our perception of animals is based on where we are able to ob­serve them," Dr. Rory Wilson explained. "Seeing penguins stumble around being failures on land is like seeing the world's greatest athletes stumble around in the dark and never re­alizing what they are capable of. It's impossible to swim like a penguin and run like a cheetah on land." (From The Truth About Animals by Lucy Cooke ©2018)

Take your pick as to what lesson you want to waddle away with from this:

• You can't judge a book by its cover.
• Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their moccasins.
• Never compare your best moment to someone else's worst day.

Truth is...Yahweh is able to avoid all these cliches. "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

And the really good news is, even though God knows us so clearly, He still loves us so dearly. "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31)

The Gospel According to You

I was cleaning out the inbox of one of my email accounts and found a poem I had sent to myself back in 2006. There was no author named, so I went searching on the poem's main phrase to see if I could find out who wrote it.

I found a couple different versions, one credited to Paul Gilbert, one to Arthur McPhee...neither an exact match for what was in my email, which I happen to prefer:

Men read and admire the Gospel of Christ

With its love so unfailing and true.

But what do they say and what do they think

Of the Gospel according to you?

You are writing each day a letter to men -

Take care that the writing is true;

‘Tis the only Gospel that some men will read,

That Gospel according to you.

It immediately brings to mind a song my wife has been singing for years as she presents talks and concerts around the country. It's on her fourth album, living letters of HOPE, written by Gordon Jensen and titled "You're the Only Jesus".

If not in you, I wonder where

Will they ever see the One who really cares?

If not from you, how will they find

There's One who heals the broken heart

And gives sight to the blind?

You're the only Jesus some will ever see

And you're the only words of life

Some will ever read

So let them see in you the One in whom

Is all they'll ever need

'Cause you're the only Jesus

Some will ever see

And if not you, I wonder who

Will show them love

And love alone can make things new?

If not from you, how will they learn

There's One who'll trade their hopelessness

And give joy in return?

You're the only Jesus some will ever see

And you're the only words of life

Some will ever read

So let them see in you the One in whom

Is all they'll ever need

'Cause you're the only Jesus

Some will ever see

So let Him shine, let Him show

Let them see Him in you

You've gotta let them know

'Cause you're the only Jesus

(You're the only Jesus)

You're the only Jesus some will ever see

https://youtu.be/2neQ5Hx0Hw0

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Truth is...we are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20). And people pay far more attention to how we live than what we say. So let's get out there and live our lives so full of the Spirit that when someone bumps up against us, they can't help but get sloshed on.

Loving Like Jesus...Yikes: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #8

I'm not sure what I expected when I started writing about the top 25 quotes about Jesus as listed at azquotes.com, but I certainly didn't expect to be challenged to the extent that these words of Ravi Zacharias challenge me.

"Love is a commitment that will be tested in the most vulnerable areas of spirituality, a commitment that will force you to make some very difficult choices. It is a commitment that demands that you deal with your lust, your greed, your pride, your power, your desire to control, your temper, your patience, and every area of temptation that the Bible clearly talks about. It demands the quality of commitment that Jesus demonstrates in His relationship to us."

You might read that and think that Jesus has an easy job of loving us. He doesn't HAVE any lust or greed or pride that he has to deal with.

Think again.

He has to deal with OUR lust and greed and pride and, and, and....

And that can be a pretty tough row to hoe.

Let's put it in terms you can relate to: What if your special someone came and admitted that they have been cheating on you? How easy would it be for you to forgive? How easy would it be for you to swallow your pride and your sense of being betrayed? How easily could you die to all those feelings of hurt and keep on loving them?

Not easy...but worth it.

Worth it because the alternative would be to continue living in a stagnate pool of low self-esteem and high expectations; wallowing in the muddy sludge of holding a grudge; drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.

Truth is...Jesus loves us in spite of how we treat him. His commitment to desiring what's best for us never wavers. And we are called to love each other the same way. Paul wrote Ephesians 5:25 to husbands, but it can certainly apply to wives as well:

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Jesus Seems a Little Needy: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #9

At first glance, a lot of what Jesus says seems kind of narcissistic and self-serving.

I mean, "If you love me, keep my commands," (John 14:15) is just a churchy way of saying "Come on, prove you love me by doing what I want," right?

Wellll...I guess I can see why a person might think that way. It is certainly what came to mind the first time I read this quote from the 19th-century bishop of Liverpool, J. C. Ryle:

"Abide in Me says Jesus. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be, as it were, rooted and planted in Me. Do this and I will never fail you. I will ever abide in you."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...The second half of that quote is when Jesus' true intent starts becoming clear. Pretty amazing that the creator of the universe invites us to give our burdens to him and to use him as a firm, trustworthy foundation for our whole existence. It's not about feeding Jesus' ego. It's about living our best possible life.

Your Life or His: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #11

Today's Jesus quote could also qualify as another "You Have Heard That It Was Said" entry.

It comes to us from Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the moral and public policy agency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

I've got just enough of the 1970s left in me that those credentials would normally be enough for me to move on to a different quote, but these six sentences contain some things that deserve some consideration:

For too long, we’ve called unbelievers to “invite Jesus into your life.” Jesus doesn’t want to be in your life. Your life is a wreck. Jesus calls you into his life. And his life isn’t boring or purposeless or static. It’s wild and exhilarating and unpredictable.

I understand, of course, that there are plenty of people who will immediately take umbrage at the phrase "your life is a wreck." And I don't blame them. At surface level, not every unbeliever is living a miserable life. For that matter, at surface level, not every believer is having a grand ol' time.

But let's get beyond the surface level. When you think about deep satisfaction, sense of purpose, eternal significance...how are you doing?

In those kinds of categories, I don't need a Jesus-shaped bandage or a gulp of God-elixir to temporarily cover-up my hurt or disguise my symptoms. I don't need a Jesus wristband or a Holy Spirit bobblehead as an accessory.

Truth is...I need to back up several yards, get a running start, and hurl myself full-tilt into "the reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God."

https://youtu.be/FZXJbKA8680

Eleven Things I've Learned About Love By Listening To Music

I've learned a few things about love by listening to songs on the radio.

Love will find a way.
Love will keep us together.
Love is all you need.
Love isn't always on time.
Love is an open door.
You've got to hide your love away.
Can't buy me love.
Only love can break your heart.
Love is a battlefield.

When a man loves a woman, he can't keep his mind on nothin' else. He'd change the world for the good thing he's found.

According to Johnny Cash, love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring. A ring of fire into which one can fall.

More than anything else, we hear about falling in love. Like it’s something that uncontrollably happens to you.

Yes, there is a certain level of the unexplainable that happens when you find yourself being attracted to one person instead of all the other people you’ve met, but the love that Paul wrote about in First Corinthians isn’t a lacy, fuzzy-focused thing like an emotion. The love that couples say “I do” to isn’t as flimsy as a feeling.

Brides and grooms promise to love each other as long as they both shall live, but that's not a feeling or an emotion. You can’t promise to feel a certain way for the rest of your life.

“I will always like Frosted Flakes more than any other cereal! The Beatles will always be my favorite band!”

You can’t do that, but you can promise to behave a certain way. You can commit to being patient. You can promise to be kind. You can devote yourself to humbly putting the other person’s needs first and to always protect, always trust, always hope and persevere.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...Love hurts, but I don't care what they say, I won't stay in a world without love.

Acts 2:36 With Footnotes

All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that it is this Jesus, whom you nailed to the cross, that God has made Lord and Messiah!

Open your eyes and see

That the morning comes with Me

For I am the light of the world

No one goes to the Father but by Me

Why must we be so blind and not see

That the Light is free?

Oh, just to think that He died

Thinking of you and me

And the lives we would lead

In the sins of our words and deeds

And yet He loves you

He loves me

He loves us, hallelujah!

Oh Jesus loves you

And He loves me

He loves us, hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

He took away my sin and shame...

Lord, here I am

And I can't change a thing

Except my appearance

And that don't mean a thing

I don't wanna hide

Or tear myself in two

That's not up to me, Lord

That's up to You

Oh, Lord, let me see how I've used You

To sing my song

Yes, I know I do wrong

Even though I belong

And yet You love me

He loves me

He loves me, hallelujah!

Oh Jesus loves me

Yes He loves me

He loves me, hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

He took away my sin and shame...

Lord, here I am

©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/8aO5oWS-E7Y

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Truth is...I don't know exactly what each phrase of this song means, but the main thing is the plain thing: Jesus was motivated by love to pay the debt of my rebellion, He continues to love me beyond measure, and my appropriate response to that is to place myself at His disposal.

Lord, here I am.

Self-Awareness Made Holy: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #14

It was C. S. Lewis who said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less."

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3 NASB)

I would generally agree that thinking of oneself at all is a dangerous, slippery path.

And yet...

Brennan Manning traveled a long and twisted road to get to a place where his observations on life and love and himself mattered and were able to influence and encourage hundreds of thousands of people.

From page 19 of The Ragamuffin Gospel, this is Brennan at his best:

"My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it."

Truth is...I believe the more I can see myself in this light, the more I will be able to live a life of powerful humility...like Christ.

Acts 2:28 With Footnotes

You have shown me the paths that lead to life, and by your presence you will fill me with joy.

Love...Peace...Joy

Stop, think it over

Over again

Love...Peace...Joy

Stop, think it over

Over my friend

You can have these

If you're born again

My friend

So don't you try to hide any longer

'Cause you need love

You won't have to cry any longer

'Cause you'll have love

In your heart...

Love

"Love Peace Joy"
©1974 Latter Rain Music and Word Music, Inc.

https://youtu.be/WtV3EyZDspc

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Truth is...When I suggest Jesus as the appropriate object of your devotion, I'm not being judgmental or pushy. I'm just "one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread" (Daniel T. Niles).

When You and Your Parents Don't Share a Common Faith

In recent years, Taylor Swift and other songwriters have earned a reputation for writing songs that publically express some very personal feelings or events. But they've got a long way to go to match the heartfelt transparency Keith Green displayed in "Song to My Parents (I Only Wanna See You There)".

I need to say these things 'cause

I love you so

And I'm sorry you get angry when I say that

You just don't know

That there's a heaven waiting

For you and me

I know it seems every time we talk

I'm only tryin' to just make you see

And it's only that I care

I really only want

Just to see you there

Please try and overlook my

My human side

I know I'm such a bad example

And you know I'm so full of pride

But Jesus isn't like that

No, He's perfect all the way

I guess that's why we need Him

'Cause by ourselves, there's just no way

And it's only that I care

I really, really only just want to see you there

To see you there

Close the doors

They're just not coming

We sent the invitations out long, long, long, long time ago

We're still gonna have a wedding feast

Big enough to beat them all

The greatest people in the world just wouldn't come

So now we'll just have to invite the small

And it's only that I care

I really, really only want

Just to see you there

Isn't that Jesus?

Isn't that Joseph and Mary's son?

Well, didn't He grow up right here?

He played with our children

What! He must be kidding

Thinks He's a prophet

Well, prophets don't grow up from little boys

Do they? From little boys?

Do they?

©1977 April Music

https://youtu.be/2LOoBRW5Nxk

Truth is...it's a hard thing to put a desire for a smooth, peaceful relationship aside in favor of the desire for an eternal one. Talking to our parents or other dearly loved family or friends seems scary, but if we really love them, and Jesus is really real, their rejection of Christ should scare us even more.

I Am Loved: Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #22

If you go to TimothyKeller.com, you are immediately greeted by a picture of Keller apparently speaking from a pulpit or lectern. In large type, like a banner across the top of the page, is this quote:

The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, but more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope.

That's a pretty good collection of words right there, and it relates to Jesus Quote #22 in two ways:

     1.   It covers similar ground...talking about how Jesus has an effect on what I think about myself.
     2.   Its source is the same person.

The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.

Truth is...While I have often said that God loves us so much He would rather die than live without us...and there is truth in that statement...I am also reminded of something Rich Mullins said: "I grew up hearing everyone tell me 'God loves you'. I would say big deal, God loves everybody. That don't make me special! That just proves that God ain't got no taste. And I don't think He does. Thank God! Because He takes the junk of our lives and makes the most beautiful art."

Your Love Broke Through

Like every good tale of spiritual conversion, Keith Green's "Your Love Broke Through" starts by describing what he was like before Jesus, continues with what it was like meeting Jesus, and ends by declaring what life is like while following Jesus.

Like a foolish dreamer trying to build a highway to the sky

All my hopes would come tumbling down and I never knew just why

Until today, when you pulled away the clouds that hung like curtains on my eyes

Well I've been blind all these wasted years and I thought I was so wise

But then you took me by surprise

Like waking up from the longest dream

How real it seemed

Until your love broke through

I've been lost in a fantasy

That blinded me

Until your love broke through

All my life I've been searching for that crazy missing part

And with one touch you just rolled away the stone that held my heart

And now I see that the answer was as easy as just asking you in

And I am so sure I could never doubt your gentle touch again

It's like the power of the wind

Like waking up from the longest dream

How real it seemed

Until your love broke through

I've been lost in a fantasy

That blinded me

Until your love, your love broke through

©1976 April Music/King of Hearts Music

https://youtu.be/_g6th8E83d0

Truth is..."Sharing your testimony" really is just that simple. And not all that different from "Amazing Grace," eh? "I once was blind, but now I see."

Top 25 Jesus Quotes: #25

If you've never been to azquotes.com, I urge you to make the trip. There you can find words of wit, wisdom, and whimsy. You can search by subject or by who the quote was spoken/written by.

And you can also find a list of the top 25 quotes about Jesus, as selected by the thousands of users of the site.

Or, you can hang out here for a while as we take a look at the quotes and those who are being quoted.

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Napoleon Bonapart was a man of war and political intrigue. Among other official positions, he was Emperor of France from 1804 to 1815. His biography reads like a script for an action-packed thriller.

And yet, he seems to have recognized the superiority of the spiritual when he uttered these words...

Truth is...Jesus knew there was a difference between him and the political leaders of his day. When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36)

And to verify Napoleon's assessment, consider these words of Christ from John 13:35: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."