• any of us bent on saving our life will lose it
• through abandoning our life it can be found
• jaw-dropping power through weakness
• life via death
• teachers of God's Law (principles) lead others to become double sons of hell
• recognition comes through humility (not promotion or marketing)
• healing by spit
• be anonymous and you'll be the most recognized
• two swords is sufficient weaponry for a kingdom. A very powerful one at that.
• following a set of rules/principles/codes accomplishes nothing
• God's kingdom can't be found by carefully watching for it
• 20/20 vision doesn't mean one can see. In fact, there's a good chance one can't.
• don't let anyone know about the good being done. This is the great way.
• some insane-sounding dude offers you a trade. He says he wants your crap, your garbage, your pain, your sickness. That scum that's calcified at the bottom of the septic tank of your life for years? He wants that shit, literally. And in return offers a backpack so light it can hardly be felt. You think there've been some lousy stock market trades over the years? None of them is as lousy or crazy as this dude, who actually wants the stock that's tanked, drained and bankrupted us. He wants our shit stock (and it's not because he's selling short).
• success means being broken, crushed and poured out
• staunch rule-abiding is just as strong (or even stronger) a stench to God as loose living
• a camel passes through the eye of a needle easier than a rich man enters into God's kingdom. No, really.
• true wisdom and real life are foolishness to the human race (which we're a part of)
others?
3 comments:
Just letting you know I saw TRUTH in what you wrote. Not the "truth" that is shoved down people's throats, whether it's staunch legalistic bullshit "doctrine", or sweet, "pollyanna" niceness. That was awesome bro.
In other news, I just found out Steve Brown, who has a serious problem with "niceness" also, has a new book coming out.
https://keylife.gospelcom.net/resources/shopping/product_details.php?id=146
Looks right up our alley. I'm planning on getting it. How about you?
I started scribbling that cause I always gag when someone (Follower or otherwise) talks about Jesus as "a wise prophet", "wise teacher", etc.
They always say this in a philosophical sense, and put Him in the same jar with any other dude or dudette.
I see Jesus saying very little that to us sheep seems wise.
When I read the book, the majority of what He says is largely mysterious, confounding and/or confusing. Or "antiwisdom" as I decided to call this.
I just scrapped off the top of my head (or is that crapped?) any recollections I have of things Jesus says that cock the head and raise the eyebrows. I didn't dive into the book to find more, it was just impromptu. But even this (short) list, at least for me, makes me scratch the head.
That's why my favorite of the four g's is John. John more than any other points out how confused the d's all often were, and how often Jesus also openly confirmed this by how frequently He hello-McFly'd them.
I mean He pulled no punches, bro. "How much longer will I put up with you?!?", He often says in there. He calls them (us) dense.
It's the same with us. In this age of Information is the illusion of having God in a box and all predictable and figured out.
We think we're smarter and wiser and more with-it about Jesus, because we've learned from them and we have all this glut of information, and Christian bookstores with "experts" on every subject under the sun about the Way.
I mean, c'mon, all these books on "How to explain the gospel in 60 seconds" and similar bullshit.
The information glut, I think, poisons us. And I think God's heart bruises pretty stinkin' deep about all this order and diction and formula. I think He hates it--there, that's being rawly transparent about it.
And what's sad, man, is I don't think many among us are shaking our heads along with Him.
And that's one of the main kicks of this blog, is "let's wake the hell up!".
Instead of going out and buying an informercial's $29.99 special on "How to Share Your Faith", why don't four of us take that 30 each and beef up a local food bank's shelves?
Why don't we actually do what Jesus says (gasp) and feed some hungry people and visit some hospitals and geriatric homes, instead of focusing on how "blessed" and speed-bump free our own lives can become (through prayer and claiming God's promises over our lives, etc)?
This whole thing is very simple, and yet we spend more time formula-izing and principle-izing this Way instead of just doing the simple things Jesus says to do.
That's why it pisses me off to see the multi-million dollar buildings, and know that 99% of the people who fill those places on Sunday wouldn't go to a 'hood and give some food out, or as you so beautifully said recently, "give a homeless person a hug whose breath smells like whiskey and whose clothes smell like piss".
That is so awesome, bro. Because it's Jesus.
And because I'm longwinded and just now getting around to the Steve Brown thing, I'm gonna gnaw on that. I've never heard of the dude, and I'm browsing his website and mp3's to get a pulse.
Eighteen is no biggie, but I just gotta figure if I want to lay it down. I did read the "knew the words but not the tune" part.
That seems to be what a lot of us are saying: "it's the tune, dudes and dudettes".
I'm sure enjoying getting to know you through the blogs, man. If you and the Mrs. are ever down Tennessee way y'all got a place to stay and a warm meal. Or better we could go serve some people at the Y or mission downtown.
Course we'd probably piss the Mrs. off by staying up all night(s) talkin', making you tired to drive when y'all left. heh heh
That's nice of you man..
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