Books and Blogs by David W. Jones
The wise question one thing above all else… their own certainty. See what you see…
In Proverbs 9, wisdom calls out to those lost in their own certainties to find greater understanding,
To those without sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
Jesus said, “Do not worry…” Did Jesus know how hard that is? To not worry, to try and force yourself to not worry, to command your mind to not think about the future, is like telling yourself, “Don’t think about pink elephants.” Try it, tell yourself, “Do NOT think about PINK ELEPHANTS!” As soon as you make such a demand, it’s hard to think about anything else. The pink elephant in the room becomes the pink elephant in your brain. Continue reading “Don’t Worry, Dorothy…”
In this podcast/sermon, Bishop Calvin Ward and I address such issues as “Waking Up White (or Black)”, Racial Reconciliation, and Reconciling Ourselves to The Race God has set before us. https://macland.podbean.com/e/august-26-2018-two-by-two/
“The Lord’s Prayer” contains many phrases that can lead us into life more in tune with Jesus and his way. “Give us this day, our daily bread,” helps us to slow down and enter into each moment. To focus on our daily bread requires an ability to distinguish between what we need and what we want. The current global economy not only encourages no distinction, it is dependent, at least in the short run, on blurring the distinction so wants are treated with the same passion and urgency as needs. And since wants never satisfy when removed from needs, our desires become insatiable. Consider the buying practices and the changes a century has brought. Continue reading “Pray for Daily Bread and Let It Be Enough”
“Don’t be a Doubting Thomas,” was a charge I heard both at home and church. Doubt was bad. It was below lying and stealing, but doubt was otherwise high on the list of nonchristian characteristics and Thomas was the icon for doubt like Judas was the icon for betrayal.
Through the years, I’ve gained a little more respect for Thomas, doubting, and found little use for such polar dichotomies like doubt and faith. I’ve found throughout my life that there are few opposites. Continue reading “Doubt as a Path to Faith”
We speak of God in egocentric language, “I found it!” “I took Jesus as my Savior, you take him, too.” However, the Bible is full of stories of people God picks whether they like it or not. From Abraham and Moses to Mary and the Messiah, they don’t pick their roles in God’s story – they are picked for them!
script:
Our word for today is Rules.
Everywhere we go there are rules.
Pick almost any word, and it is amazing how many rules you can come up with like the simple word ‘keep.’
Keep in touch.
Keep it in mind.
Keep up the good work.
Keep on trying.
Keep out of my way.
Keep out of this.
Keep quiet.
Keep still.
Keep smiling.
Keep this to yourself.
Keep your chin up.
Keep your mouth shut.
Keep your nose out of my business.
Keep your shirt on.
All those rules for one simple word, ‘keep’.
Rules are everywhere.
Rules are basically commands, do this or do that, and most rules are basically negative, don’t do this or don’t do that.
Don’t ask.
Don’t tell.
Don’t stay out too late.
Don’t go.
Don’t be gone to long.
Don’t look at me.
Don’t look at me like that.
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
Don’t get up.
Don’t let it keep you down.
Don’t hold your breath.
Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.
Don’t give in.
Don’t give up.
Don’t speak so loud.
Don’t speak too soon.
Don’t be so naïve.
Don’t be so sure.
Don’t even think about it.
Don’t give it another thought.
Don’t bother.
Don’t bother me!
Don’t call us, we’ll call you.
Don’t put all that in your mouth.
Don’t make me tell you again.
Don’t make me get up.
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t you tell me what to do!!!!!!
Rules. Rules. Rules. Everywhere there are rules.
Jesus said in JOHN 13
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Above all other rules is this one…
love one another.
Above all else…
Love rules.
Why?
All You Need Is Love
Love is all you need.
You can buy me a diamond ring my friend,
But you can’t buy me love.
No, no, no.
No.
I like it.
I love it.
I want some more of it.
More of what?
This crazy little thing called love.
You might as well face it.
You’re addicted to love.
I Want to Know What Love Is
I know you can show me.
People of the world, join in.
Join a love train.
Love train.
Love rules.
Jesus said
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
Love rules.
Through the years as a pastor, I’ve counseled a lot of people about their children, especially their teenagers. Imagine you are Kevin Salwen. He picked up his fourteen year old daughter, Hannah, from a slumber party and was driving her home. At a red light, Hannah looked out their windows and saw a homeless man on the sidewalk holding up a sign asking for money to buy food. On the other side of the car, in the lane next to them, Hannah saw a black Mercedes. She looked from the Mercedes, back to the homeless man, and from the homeless man back again to the Mercedes. Then she said to her father, “If that guy didn’t have such a nice car, then that guy could have a nice meal.” It made sense to her. A less expensive car for one person could keep another off the street. Continue reading “Why Not Sell Your House?”
When I was a youth, we learned a song that made memorizing 1 John 4:7 & 8 quite easy. The verse is,
Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God; and everyone that loveth
is born of God and knoweth God.
He that loveth not, knoweth not God for God is love.
Beloved, let us love one another. 1 John 4:7 & 8.
Through the years, I have not forgotten the song, but I have had to work on trying to begin to comprehend what God is love might mean and have to do with me in my day to day living, and when I can, loving.
I gained help from some who reflect on our human experience in deeper ways than I can. One is Frederick Buechner. In Beyond Words, he wrote of love’s stages:
In multiple spaces and places, Bible writers assert that our spiritual troubles arise from our lack of attentiveness in our daily lives, following our patterns paying very little attention to the moments before us.
There are quotes from scriptures: Proverbs 6:9, How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep? There is also Ephesians 5:14,Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead… Continue reading “Wake Up!”
Matthew 18: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
When I forget the distinct personality, the particular possibility and potential each person has, my children remind me, like when my son, Nathan, showed me the possibilities of a trashcan when seen through his eyes. Continue reading “The Potential of Imagination”
Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” and he replied with this famous story in Luke 10,
30 “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii,[b] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
While the Samaritan has been called ‘good’ while we’ve looked down on the priest and Levite for two thousand years, I’d like to offer them a little sympathy. By nature of their roles as a priest and Levite, they had somewhere to go. They were likely in a hurry. Continue reading “Slow Down to See Your Neighbor”
The Bible has a lot of paradoxical statements, die to live, lose to win, and then there is this one from Paul, “When I am weak, I am strong.” It’s a tough workout to practice, make yourself weaker to become more powerful. Here are Paul’s words of encouragement to the church in Corinth. He begins by sharing about his own struggles and praying three times for relief then opens up to what he learned from the process. Continue reading “Live Your Moments: Don’t Be Stronger Than You Need to Be”
Looking at the Baptism of Christ presents some deep theological questions.
Consider this painting by Pheoris West, what images do you notice?
Can you see:
a rigid image of John the Baptist to the right?
the dove?
the face and arms of God?
why does Jesus face turn? What is he looking toward following his baptism?
Continue reading “Baptism – Just How Long Would John the Baptist Dunk You?”
The Psychology of Jesus summed up in a sermon.
https://www.facebook.com/NLAHopkins/videos/1170698599752319/
The Psychology of Jesus in a book. (Click cover…)
Hint: It’s all about distance…
The last post looks at Carl Jung’s four stages of development (as we journey from humans having spiritual experiences to spirits having human experiences. Leon Oudejans offers a great picture of the four stages with the epiphanies that accompany each transition.
Here are the top quotes by Carl Jung to help you on your journey from humans stuck in life hoping for a spiritual experience to spirits on an awakened human journey: Continue reading “Spirits on a Human Journey (Part 2)”
According to Carl Jung, we grow up as humans and on the journey, we have spiritual experience. The goal for life is to mature, to become spirits having a human experience.
Here are Jung’s 4 Archetypes or Stages of Development: Continue reading “Spirits on a Human Journey (Part 1)”
The Way is like the sower scattering seed everywhere.
Some falls upon the road eaten by the birds.
Some falls upon rocks and never takes root.
Some falls upon thorns and are choked out.
Some falls upon the good soil and brings forth a healthy crop.
The sower is not concerned for seed that is lost.
He does not worry about seed that is eaten by birds,
that takes no root upon rocks, or is choked out by thorns.
The sower understands life.
Life grows exponentially.
Life always wins over roads, rocks, and thorns.
So it is with The Way.
The Way is like a mustard seed tiny but large in life.
The Way is like kudzu, once it starts growing in your field,
you’ll never get it out.
The Way is like yeast, a small amount does much
transforming a lump of dough into a loaf,
and all who eat of it are filled.
If you see people as problems and not persons, perhaps you need a PARADIGM SHIFT.
COMING SOON: 
Absurdus: (Latin) ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, having no rational or orderly relationship to known rules of human life.
Christianity is taking a giant stride into the absurd. Remove from Christianity its ability to shock and it is altogether destroyed. It becomes a tiny superficial thing, capable neither of inflicting deep wounds nor of healing them. It’s when the absurd starts to sound reasonable that we should begin to worry. Soren Kierkegaard
COFFEE
Look for God.
Look for God like a man
with his head on fire looks for water.
Elizabeth Gilbert
Imagine God invites you out for a cup of coffee. You go to the coffee shop and sit down. It’s a nice coffee shop where they have servers and spell it Shoppe.
The waitress takes your order. You have yours with cream. God orders it black but with three sugars.
You sip on you coffee, then get up the courage to speak, “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” God replies.
“About the Bible…”
“Yes?”
“Is it Your Word, or not?”
“What do you mean?” God asks.
“Well, did you write it or did people?”
“Yes,” God replies.
You are unsure whether God said, “Yes.” or “Yes?” wanting you to say more, so you add, “You know, did you write the book or did people just guess at what you would write?”
“So, you think the Bible is a book?” God asks.
“Isn’t it?” you say.
“Is it?” God asks.
You sit silently.
“A lot of people think so,” God says. “Maybe it is a book, maybe it’s many books. Maybe I wrote it. Maybe people, lots of people, wrote it. Maybe it’s both. Maybe…” God goes on with a continuous list of maybes that you can’t follow. Then God asks, “What do you think?”
“What do I think?” you say. “I want to know what you think.”
“Do you think I think?” God asks.
“Don’t you?”
“Do I?”
“I think so,” you say.
God sips coffee and looks out the window. You look and see a bird. You watch as it falls to the ground, lifeless.
“Ahhh!” you sputter.
“You know how the saying goes,” God replies, “not a sparrow falls from the sky…”
You go back to your coffee. Not sure if you should look at God or not.
God takes another sip. “Mmmmm, that is good!” God declares returning the cup to the table. “So, you want to know what the Bible is?”
“Yes,” you say resting your cup, “but what I really want to know about is You.”
“Come, and I’ll show you.”
God rises and moves toward the door.
You follow, then realize that God is walking out without paying the tab. God is going to stiff the Shoppe. You pull out money and leave it on the table, enough for the coffees and the tip.
Hurrying after God, you keep thinking, ‘I can’t believe God was going to just walk out without paying for the coffee. Did God want me to pay? God invited me. What kind of universe is this where the creator can walk out of a restaurant without paying, or invite someone and then leave them with the tab?”
You hear God whisper, “You think about the stupidest things.”
Looking around, you don’t see God anywhere. Navigating the outside of the building, you spy God in the nearby park behind a tree, but when approaching it, God is gone.
You pause to ponder returning to your car or going back inside the restaurant to get a bagel, then you hear God whisper, “So, are you going to look for me, or not?”
(Look for Absurdus in March 2019)
