Month: July 2017

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Perfect ???

PERFECT?

As a REALTOR® I sell homes. Primarily, I sell brand new homes. When I am talking to customers I try and stress the fact that even brand new homes are built by humans who are not ‘perfect’ and subject to some occasional problems. In a similar conversation with a vendor, he made the comment “Only GOD is perfect.”

I quickly responded by saying, “I disagree….God made me, and I am not perfect.”

Not being perfect should relieve a lot of stress that seems to be put on us to be ‘perfect’ by others. A perfect attendance record. A perfect writing, or memory, or performance. A perfect shape, haircut, makeup, wardrobe. Why do I need to be ‘perfect’ when the one who made me obviously is subject to difficulties in manufacture.

Certainly there are facets of life that we can not control and these facets of life cause lots of stress. The checkout bill at the grocery store is stressful. The envelope that cries out, “I am your bill for ______” causes stress. The doctors office, the dentist? Life is stress. Often times it is compounded by a feeling that one is alone in the stress of life. And one of the largest stresses I have found is “PERFECT”.

It is important to me that I take GOD out of the “Perfect” realm. That the universe of creation is much larger than anyone can conceive, especially those responsible for much of our religious interpretations. So too our concept of GOD must go beyond what we can understand. Jesus tried to emphasize that GOD is a separate entity from our Earthly kingdom. GOD thought highly enough of this planet and it’s ‘people’ that GOD is constantly helping and encouraging us to become better stewards in the universe. It is our designed lack of perfection that creates achievement. More things have been discovered through our lack of perfection than our firmness of knowledge (e.g. the Earth is flat).

Perfection is a cruel host and causes many psychological and physical issues in and of itself. GOD may be “perfect” in GOD’s own way, but God’s Own Way is not to be confused by mankind’s concept of what ‘perfect’ is.

I am not perfect. GOD made me that way on purpose. Not being perfect causes me to ask why, and why not. Had I been born perfect, where would I have ever gone to achieve? What would I have done in my life?

It is helpful to know that we are all in the same boat. It is also the measure of GOD to know that GOD has assigned a helmsman to the boat that we are in, who sometimes falls asleep on the job, but always gets up in time.

I can handle that. GOD BLESS.

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The Real Jesus

From 4-10-2007 (brought up to date)

The whole scene of Jesus has been so distorted in our minds eye by grand movies with huge sets and fancy settings. Where we see Jesus Christ Superstar, a handsome movie star in a clean white robe, the people saw an itinerant street preacher who was ‘despised’ and rejected of men, not comely to look at. Thin and ‘average’.
Without the miracles, Jesus would have lived, preached, and died without much notice. No new calendar, no Christians, probably no Koran, no crusades, and a completely different history.
We have created a legend that has become pretty and acceptable. We can not understand why anyone would not jump on the Jesus bandwagon. The walking was down crowded alleyways in Middle Eastern Earth, dusty, dirty, and smelly with no deodorant, no shaving cream, and no breath mints. There probably wasn’t a closet full of clothes to take a clean robe from daily. The beds were blankets on the ground or in hard bunks. It is said that the man himself was born in a stable. Standing in the presence of Pontius Pilate was a man who probably did not look much different than a thief or, at best, the most common of commoners. When Jesus spoke he was a carpenter’s son and not a priest.

His message was beyond radical, it was crazy. LOVE ONE ANOTHER was not going to save anyone from the Romans, or the tax collectors, or the Priest who sat in the seat of honor. ‘Kiss my ring’ was not invented by the Pope or some French King, it was a traditional realm of power, a perk of status.
Jesus would have been seen as a commoner in the temple, expressing ideas that were so far out in left field, and then slowly but surely, over 3 years it got worse. Now a bit of a politician, a teacher proclaiming a kingdom of GOD radically different than that espoused by the priests, a position also in opposition to the Sadducees, the politicians of Jewish society. Worse yet, he was gaining a following. Think of John the Baptist in the wilderness, wearing animal skins and eating locusts and wild honey. They thought Jesus was the Baptist. This is not the image of a handsome Hollywood actor who just walked onto the set and then retreated to his trailer. Everyday, 24/7, healing the sick, preaching a message of LOVE in a world of hate and prejudice. Every rumor of healing threatened the seats of power. Every healing brought 100’s more to the neighborhood to be healed. Some out of desperation, some out of greed, some out of love for others. Think of the reactions among the priesthood upon hearing of a crowd of 5,000 men (plus women and children), not once but at least twice. The stories we read about are merely highlights out of a life of touching the sick, the unclean. To the traditional Jew, Jesus would have been the uncleanest of the unclean, the commonest of the common, and the least likely to be a Messiah.

Inside of this man, though, resided a very special spirit that was recognized almost immediately by others. Fishermen debated with him until he proved that what He said had an other worldly prophetic power.

“Cast your nets there,” Jesus said to a group of fishermen headed by a scurrilous old salt named Simon (to be called Peter).

“Been there, done that, ain’t there,” responds the tired fisherman.

“Just try it,” responds Jesus. Somehow the authority in his voice commanded a respect that one wouldn’t expect from this Simon. We are told Simon went back out, did as was asked, and couldn’t reel in the haul without breaking the nets.

In the end Simon and his brother follow this teacher and become “Fishers of Men”.

I tried to find a picture of this real Jesus on the web to put at the top of this post (looking under ‘Jesus Images’) and could not. If you have an idea, feel free to forward it to me.

So all that said, in today’s terms, was it all fake news? I believe because of what the followers did. They risked their lives to spread his simple message. They would never have thought of doing that had there not been substance to the stories. No magic publication of a million copies to change the world. Just the sayings of a carpenter’s son spread by word of mouth. I wonder how Twitter would handle “Love One Another” today.

Try it and see what happens.

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Fake News

Much of recent history discusses ‘Fake News’.
As Bill Clinton might say, “I guess that depends on what ‘Fake News’ means”. That in and of itself depends on what ‘Fake’ means and what ‘News’ means.
Fake: Not the truth? Imagined? Artificially fabricated? Speculative?
News: Information on a recent event. According to witnesses. Substantiated.

It is interesting just how much “Fake News” is about THE NEWS lately. I can not recall a time in my lengthy past where the “Fake News” was so much of “THE NEWS”. When I was young it was also referred to as “yellow journalism”. News that had been manufactured by the creation of events that became news by themselves. It is tough enough to watch the news in general, be it local or national. Now I have to figure out what “Real’ news is.

Yet I do know something about people.
If you do not want to get a speeding ticket, drive the speed limit. Often I see the privileged fly by me down a side street only to see the brake lights come on suddenly and then, oddly, I see a police car drive by from in front of me. I have to guess that they really knew the speed limit, they just ignored it because they were, how would I put it, special, or perhaps they felt that they were exempt. I had friends who were never so dressed up as the day they went to court. Why, all of a sudden, did they appear with short hair and a suit? Who were they trying to impress and why? Couldn’t they get by being the who they were every day? Is that like “Fake News”? Is like “Fake News” only viable when you get caught breaking a law? No one has ever gotten a speeding ticket for actually driving over the speed limit, have they? They must all be victims of a cruel society that picks on them because of their cultural status, color or race? Is it “Fake News” when the reality is too harsh to become “REAL NEWS”?

I have read a lot about “FAKE NEWS” lately. I have also discovered that “FAKE NEWS” has also been called “LIES” in the past. It knows no political preference, no cultural preference, no financial status preference and is not exempt from its own natural results. No wonder America Being Great Again is such a challenge to our politicians. They are totally unaware of what “Great” means. I would even settle for “GOOD” news.

Oh, BTW, there has been “GOOD NEWS” in the past. I believe it’s purveyor’s name was Jesus…something. They would have us believe that his news was “Fake News” also…..

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Break Down The Walls

Break Down The Walls

Click the left start arrow to begin the song.

Here, in this song written many years ago, is the essence of ‘History Repeats Itself’. It was 2002, right after 9-11. I was creating a special concert event to have just before the Winter Olympics were to be held in Salt Lake City. The tension due to the Middle Eastern origin of 911 was strong. My Christian friends who had migrated from Pakistan to have religious freedom were fearful of reprisal and the politics of the event were high. I was preparing music for a “bring our cultures together” kind of event to reach out beyond the event of 911 to those who were also victims due to the part of the world that they had migrated from. Not too much different than we are experiencing today. Today I no longer live in Salt Lake, I live in El Paso, Texas. No longer is it a theological wall we build, but a physical wall. The song is as appropriate today, if not more so, in light of today’s rhetoric.

This music classification is Christian. My primary website is called Unorthodox Christianity. Christian signifies a belief in the teachings of Jesus, believed by many to be the chosen “Christus” of GOD. One that a great many Americans profess to follow, and politicians cling to for votes and pound their chests over. The song calls into question their true conviction to what they profess to believe in and challenges them to put their beliefs into action.  They also can be convicted by it. One should not use the Christian bumper sticker if they are not willing to live by the teachings. One does not condemn the parent for the acts of a wayward child. We can not punish a culture for the acts of a few of their members, or their Leaders.

Take in the song and choose your side of the argument.

Lyrics and more can be found at: www.denniscwheelermusic.com

 

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Peter Pan or Methuselah

Peter Pan or Methuselah

So how does one discover ones-self when one looks out to the world with a spirit that thinks like a 23 year old now  inhabiting a 65 year old body. After 40 years of being focused on other things, how does one find the 23 year old inside when staring at a 65 year old in the mirror. How does one then reconcile and incorporate that body and that spirit into a whole being when how one feels simply is not what the world sees. It comes as a shock on that realization day. I put it this way.

One doesn’t expect to find Peter Pan in Methuselah. But then again, one didn’t expect to find Peter Pan again anyway. There is still time to dream the dreams.    dw

Have a great day….dennis