Belong

EACH DAY
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EACH DAY

Each Day

Unorthodox Christianity can cover a lot of ground. When I first started Unorthodox Christianity I followed a typical Church driven idea to tell people what you need to know to follow the scriptures and analyze them and maybe even debate now and then. The more I moved forward with it the more questions I asked myself. What I have written below is a more common writing of today vs then.

The more people I talked with, the more people fell into the category of disenfranchised. The more I heard about their first visit, or return visit, to a church environment was followed by comments similar to “I did not feel welcome”. “I did not feel that I belonged there”. “It felt that I wasn’t ‘their’ type”.

Analyzing scripture left something out for them to grasp and get familiar with. I wondered just what was missing.

The most common desire among most seemed to be a relationship. Not necessarily with the people in that church setting, but the building of a relationship with GOD, and JESUS. A relationship that they could grasp. One day a week for a couple of hours simply was not creating the environment of a relationship that some people would truly find trust in a short term setting.

Most every day I wake up with a relationship. It may be with family, or my dogs and wagging tails that welcome me every day. Not just 2 hours a week. Just about everyday I cross paths with the neighbors. I say hello to, wave at, smile with, talk about the weather. A constant feeding of relationship that builds familiarity. It also builds conversation and a measure of trust.

I feel welcome. I feel like I belong. I feel comfortable. And when life happens, I find the neighbors who help shovel some snow, or help with a problem, or asks me to sit down and they ask how things are going.

When I was very young I did Sunday School and such. I went because my family took me. We finished church and went off to lunch. I forgot all about GOD or JESUS and I remember how good the lunch was. I had the stories about GOD and JESUS in the BIBLE that came with the SUNDAY SCHOOL. I started thinking about GOD. I started to read the books at home. I stared at the night sky and thought about the huge creations before me. I was curious who GOD was. I decided to just ask GOD about why all people weren’t good. And the relationship started. I was never afraid of GOD. A friend asked me what I thought about JESUS. I mentioned that my dad, a sales manger, once said that the secret to sales success is getting right to the man (or female) in charge. I felt that I could just as easily talk to the man at the top. It started small and finally we had built a relationship. We covered a lot of ground over all these years. If you wish  to build a relationship with GOD, go for it. I could keep going on and on about the years we have already built. But it started with my questions and it developed before me. How did it work? It wasn’t magic. You will discover that GOD has ways to communicate with you that you may never understand how, but you will understand by taking it to GOD. You will discover it. GOD will find many ways to talk with you. Many times you will be surprised by it. As far as I am concerned that is the purpose of the relationship with GOD. It is not a weekly event. it happens EACH DAY.

The message below is something I do every day to the people who are most important to me. Sometimes it becomes part of the blog. This idea of relationship can not be built with rules, it is built with trust that comes from familiarity. GOD will establish the relationship with you. You my get mad at GOD. You may thank GOD for something that gets pointed out to you.

This blog today is called EACH DAY. Enjoy it.

GOOD MORNING ALL

Just trying to relax and enjoy a day off. One would think that the older you get and the less “Work” you have to do, the easier life becomes. So far the easier part has yet to appear very often. When I was a young man the idea of a vacation was the goal of life. Today life is the goal of life. Fortunately each day is an achievement. Thank you all for your help, prayers, and encouragement. You have made it all worthwhile. OUR CARES AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.

Have a wonderful day.

ME, Mack and Jake

We hear a lot about when we get to Heaven and how our relationship with GOD is going to be something special. You are in Heaven each day right now. Heaven is not a new beginning. Birth was the new beginning. The relationship with GOD started years before your birthday. GOD appreciates you and encourages you. Not years from now but EACH DAY. As my Aunt Vera(my daughters namesake) said over and over again for years and years, “Isn’t that Wonderful”.

Enjoy EACH DAY. It starts that way, every day.

GOD BLESS.

OUR CARES AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.

AUTHETICATING JESUS
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AUTHETICATING JESUS

Authenticating Jesus
From: 1-20-2005

Why is there such a need to authenticate Jesus for us to love?

I watch the TV shows on the religious channels. I listen to the pastoral speeches and sermons, especially at Christmas. We open our Bibles and stress all the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled, the Old Testament this and that, ‘And in the book of….. it says….’

And it is nice to be able to find reference to Jesus in scripture, but is it necessary to authenticate Jesus for us to love?

Sometimes I believe we expend more energy in trying to authenticate the messenger than we expend in living the message.

Would the message loose its value if it was given by an itinerant Rabbi, or a Buddha or a Shaman? Is it less important if given by a steeplejack or a cab driver?

Is ‘Love One Another’ a more powerful charge coming from GOD’S son, or GOD’S servant, or simply one of GOD’S children? Is ‘Love One Another’ an empty request coming from a Muslim or a Jew, or an agnostic or an atheist? Is it a message to be idly dismissed as an empty dream not worthy of attention when issued by ‘just’ one of GOD’S children?

To the other extent, now that we have authenticated Jesus as the messenger, when will we implement the message? When the time is right for us? When Jesus calls us on the phone? The week before He ‘returns’? Now that we have accepted the mantle of Christian will we demand an end to aggression, whether in defense of, or in spite of?

Authenticating the messenger is of no value until we choose to implement the message. Our lives will not change until we live the message. Our only chance for heaven on earth will pass us by if we wait to meet Jesus in heaven. Jesus is in the humblest of messengers, the one we just walked by because he wore a turban, or hadn’t shaved this week, or smelled, or wore a ‘biker’ shirt. The one who doesn’t attend church each week because no church would accept his or her lifestyle. We walk by Jesus daily. Until we stop and get to know Him, we will never find, nor have a hope of seeing, heaven on earth.

It is not necessary to ignore the messenger, it is humbling to realize how committed Jesus was to the cause. It is necessary to implement the message, not to whom we would wish, but to whom Jesus would wish. Everyone.

SHARE THE MOMENT
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SHARE THE MOMENT

A beautiful sunny day in Iowa. Cool enough to be fall and bright enough to be warm.
The opportunities of any day happen when you least expect them. Take advantage of all the gifts that come your way, not just for today, but every day.
When you can not see people as the gifts and treasures that they are, you are missing most of life’s blessings. Too often, I believe, that GOD borrows one of us to touch bases with someone we least expect. It may be that child that smiles and waves at us. It may be someone who can use our help without asking for it. It may be a thank you. My dogs may say hello ask for a small treat. There is no reason to believe that GOD never stops by to see how things are going. Too many think that GOD prefers to be untouchable. This is not the picture of Jesus on the Cross. We have a tendency to believe that Heaven is one place and Earth is another. The desire for GOD is ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

There are a lot of places on EARTH to visit. There are a lot of nice and caring people to meet. GOD can borrow anyone GOD wishes for as long as GOD requires. If you can feel the wind, you can feel GOD on the visit. Do not think GOD could care less. GOD cares for all of us. GOOD, Bad, or indifferent. I have often said that GOD watches out for the ignorant and uninformed. Why? Because I am often the ignorant and the uninformed. GOD is an active and caring energy. GOD could hide in Heaven, except for it being HEAVEN ON EARTH.

Share the moment. You may never recognize that the moment you share is designed to make HEAVEN on EARTH what it is that GOD has created. A work in progress that you are a part of.

OUR CARES AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALL.

ME, Mack and Jake

GOOD SATURDAY- 9-19-21
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GOOD SATURDAY- 9-19-21

GOOD SATURDAY ALL

A welcome day of rest, not counting laundry, walking dogs, grocery shopping, vacuum, maybe ice cream….you get the picture. At the least I can move at my own pace and even spread the work to Sunday if I wish. Re-tired does not mean moving from bed to couch. OUR CARES and PRAYERS are with you this day. Enjoy the summer while it is still here. Have fun.

So often the every day can be overwhelming. Our expectations are high and our wants are higher. Being grateful for the everyday is a gift from GOD and enjoying life is the purpose of being. Too often the business of the world threatens our enjoyment of the day. Life is meant for living and respect is meant for GOD. They follow the same path and can take you to the same place.

Have a wonderful day.

ME, Mack and Jake

SHARE A SMILE
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SHARE A SMILE

SHARE A SMILE

Some days just seem like dark days when it comes to people. Some days it seems that people are on a completely different life path than I am. Here is an exercise for you to try.

 Sharing a hello, a smile, helping with a door opens the world of information from the people around you. The people you feel will ignore you, say thank you. The people who you help can not be kind enough. The sheer number of nice people that you will discover behind faces you may never guess will respond, become hellos every day. Enjoy what you find out in the world with a simple smile or nod of the head. Test me on this one, you will be amazed and it will put a positive smile in a column you may never think of. Have a wonderful day and enjoy it. Just like the day will bring HEAT INDEX, so to can your day bring SMILE INDEX. OUR CARES AND PRAYERS are with you.

GOD BLESS

ME, Mack and Jake

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
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WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

What Works For You? 

I have been writing for many years now. The notes that have become Unorthodox Christianity. They go quite a ways back. Why did I even begin with the writing. It seems I need to remind myself to write more articles. Why?

It largely began with the conversation with a Sunday school teacher I have referenced before. In second grade Sunday School, in the midst of teaching about GOD creating the world and GOOD and EVIL, the teacher asked an open door, “Do you have any questions?”

“Yes”. I responded. “If GOD created everything, why didn’t GOD just make GOOD PEOPLE?”

That was the end of my religious question and answer period. I was embarking on a life where I asked questions and I looked for answers.

First question became IS GOD JUST A REALLY BIG GUY IN THE SKY? Then I touched on JESUS. Should I simply ask the questions to the BIG GUY AT THE TOP? Why Work around the middle man. My dad had worked with professional sales representatives. I guess I got it from him.

I looked up at the sky one evening when I was about 13-14 years old. I began asking GOD questions, with help from the middle man. I could not imagine a BIG GUY IN THE SKY. Too Big. Too many planets. Too many people, too many questions. Too fixed.

So here is God, a spirit that envelopes all created order, galaxies and universes we may never see. There are spiritual dimensions that we can’t even imagine and entities that even Hollywood can’t conjure up. Is GOD a celestial humanoid that only speaks one language and favors one race. A spirit (Whatever that is) that came before all physical creation, affects every single human on Earth to some extent. I have no problem believing in God (whatever a GOD is), but a God with limits on just what [HE] can or can not do?

Then you have the question of the power of Christianity, which is removed from the culture of the legend of Jesus a Messiah for what became a completely different culture that didn’t exist before Jesus? A Messiah that has yet to be accepted by the culture that refuses to accept Jesus as its own Messiah. The CHRIST of Christian is very much a separate entity from the culture Jesus came from and built around converts and Gentiles. In fact the Christian culture of early Christianity created power around an individual who preached LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

It is a wonder that a child in Bethlehem was chosen to carry the spirit and message of God to these people? When these people didn’t listen to Jesus, Jesus sent his insight for LOVE ONE ANOTHER through others who did believe in the life and story of Jesus into other cultures that didn’t speak Jesus’ language or have Jesus’ customs. Groups of other believers that translated Jesus story into their own and patterned their own beliefs along with Jesus. Could there be unconditional love in the midst of all religions without respect of culture, origin, skin tone? We have created racial preferences on EARTH which was created by a single entity to be made in “Our image”.

In the midst of it all GOD has already created that entity to be among us.

It comes in the framework of our pets, our animals, our disenfranchised friends that have a language of their own yet understand our emotions more than we understand our own. They understand our behavior and love us in spite of ourselves. They forgive us more quickly than we can respond. And there have been many millions and billions of followers that have moved forward into Jesus’ message of LOVE ONE ANOTHER, plain and simple.

GOD IS CAPABLE and HAS CREATED GOOD PEOPLE. The truth is that even the GOOD PEOPLE have been around since the beginning.

When we strip away the pious posturing and self beneficial exclusionary doctrines of certain elements of mankind that have made religious structures that make no sense in the in light of a loving GOD that created everyone to made in “HIS IMAGE”. A disciple of JESUS put it this way, GOD IS LOVE. GOD is a force of energy that too many people have refused to participate in. Look around you. Let us not forget an evil side of Succes AT Anothers Expense within the creation of the energy of LOVE that GOD has to compete with for individual attention.

And eventually UNORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY became a bit more than a question and answer period of a Second Grade United Methodist Sunday School student who asked a simple question. Why?

Because just CHRISTIANITY didn’t fit what I discovered. It didn’t fit the answers I heard of on TV. It didn’t match with JESUS.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER seemed much simpler than what I heard on Sunday mornings in church discussions. AND TOO MANY THREATS. If you do this, your off to hell. You will never go to heaven. Initially there was only HEAVEN in the first place. In the followers from different cultures who embraced the Jesus of LOVE ONE ANOTHER there was a different outlook. A LIFE IS OUTLOOK.

I discovered other things. They were shocking things. LIFE IS TEMPORARY.

Not only that, YOU CAN NOT CHANGE THAT. The opportunity you have been given ON EARTH comes with no time frame. GOOD, BAD, INDIFFERENT, a car accident, a war, a flood, a pandemic, a tornado, a world war. For many A diagnosis at birth, or in the middle of it. This life, with all of its challenges, is here and it is TEMPORARY in this format. We may follow the adherents from other cultures who believe in reincarnation, or do it over until you get it right. There are others who believe that you need to get it right and that is it. I, personally, have never imaged a day I do not get up to enjoy the journey over and over again.

UNORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY IS LIFE IS MEANT FOR LIVING, TAKE YOUR FAITH OFF OF THE SHELF.

LIVE IN THE DARK or LIVE IN THE LIGHT. YOU CHOOSE.

The variety of what you can choose is beyond my scope.

But I have always remembered one thing. “WHY DIDN’T GOD MAKE ALL PEOPLE GOOD ?”

BECAUSE THAT IS OUR JOB.

By the way we act, FORGIVE ME MY TRESPASSES (easy enough) AS I FORGIVE THOSE WHO HAVE TRESPASSED AGAINST ME (real tough).

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU

(Way Complicated in it’s depth).

To me, the purpose of living is to participate in the adventure of life.

How you do that is what you choose. You do the best you can while you are here. I have always wanted UNORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY to give you a place where you can MAKE JESUS AND GOD WORK FOR YOU. If you so wish, have a conversation with an entity most of us call GOD. Or a carpenters son named JESUS. Wisdom is not exclusive to just these two. You will meet the wisest people at the most opportune times in your life. It will not happen by coincidence. It will happen for you by asking and recognizing it. It may be your lifelong adventure or at your last breath. You will be forgiven for what you know not what you do. And you may enjoy every moment of the journey. GOD has made all people good, it is just a matter of time.

GOD BLESS and I pray you can make your best life work for you.

It is your gift from GOD and a carpenters SON named JESUS.

WHAT IS BEST
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WHAT IS BEST

WHAT IS BEST

It has been one of those days.

Warm and wet day today. Wet awhile and dry awhile and wet and so on. And so it is with living. It seems that the challenges of life sometimes do not seem to stop. That is life. The challenges of today seem to ask us “what is best?” GOD seems to be giving us a break today.

“I’ll handle it” , GOD graciously offers.

When life challenges us to decide, we often try and choose what is best for us, but is it the best for others? Do we know enough to make choices?

Life is and GOD proceeds with opportunities.

I listen to the chirp of the birds or the conversation of the squirrels. Life is about living the day. At it’s best left to GOD and then GOD fills in the blanks. Enjoy the day and do not challenge yourself to be the decider of all things. Accept life is and always move forward and catch up to the future that GOD has been preparing you for. GOD has been doing just fine so far. Example has been shown to us so many times, just move forward in faith. Have a wonderful day. In the past, thanks for the memories. In the future, enjoy it.

BE safe and our CARES AND PRAYERS will be with you all day.

ME, Mack and Jake

TIME FLIES – ASK
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TIME FLIES – ASK

Time Flies – ASK

Unorthodox Christianity

I have been quiet lately. Have you ever stumbled over writer’s cramps. Your mind is for it yet your heart is a question. When I began writing my website Unorthodox Christianity 20 years ago it wasn’t meant to be a blog. It formatted itself as a book of writings to be acknowledged as a book of writings. Over the years it developed into a blog format. It became writings, or poems, or songs. It became tidbits, those little pet phrases that people have come across as sayings of others, each in their own category. Sometimes too much is on my mind and I find myself a bit lost.

It is time for an update.

The Internet has expanded the scope of ideas and the approaches it has presented. I originally called it, and have returned to it, “For The Disenfranchised”.

So many choices and so much knowledge and discovery that more people are struggling what to believe now more than ever. There are many people who preach a vengeful GOD.

There are many who believe in forever HELL.

When asked once The Dali Llama was asked what celebration he had planned for his birthday. “Why would I celebrate the Birth of my sufferings day?”

So many see the nature of life and feel “What did I do to deserve this?”

Many who have searched for a religious home have felt unwanted, unwelcome or unappreciated. Many have turned away from their spiritual roots in favor of something that makes them feel “I belong”. I noticed a lot of things in the background of my friends growing up. They got into trouble and it was as though they would do anything to simply get their parents attention.

Many wanderers have not discovered The Bible, or any other Religious writings for the sake of new age activity, or because the many messages of life have gotten all tangled up depending on what channel you are watching. Looking for something else you land on a religious channel and listen for a few minutes or your friends are watching, or the last message was not positive, or was negative when blended with others. The questions jump at you on social media and you are now more confused than ever.

When I was young and going to Christian Sunday school as was our culture back then, in the second grade I asked a simple question of my teacher. “If GOD made everything, why didn’t GOD just make good people? I immediately felt a bit unwanted. As my life progressed and I read more of the family culture of the New Testament, I came across Matthew 7.

In Matthew, chapter 7 verse 7 of the New Testament

Jesus said: “Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to them. Is there one among you who would hand your child a stone when asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your “Father” in Heaven give good things to those who ask.

As you read the above passage do something new. Read it this way:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to them. Is there one among you who would hand your child a stone when asked for a fish? If you, then, who are separated from your message know how to give your children what is good, how much more will you be able to give good things to those who ask a similar question”. That which carries the stigma of “Religion” is full of common sense.

Whenever I have talked to someone that I ASK a question of, I have received an answer in the now conversation. The answers have been given from their perspective. My personal preferential question answerer has been GOD. I have yet to really put my finger on how what many call GOD performs that function as a spirit. Big world, all things created by something. If someone says “Big Bang” theory I ask “Where did the “Big Bang” come from, let alone a baby anything, or a flower, or a snowfall. Most major religions have a simple code of behavior, a Golden Rule, “commandments”, whatever…..Because a mother somewhere said to a child, “Don’t touch the oven it is hot”. And the child learns why.

The answer to curiosity begins by asking WHY. Just ASK. If I could tell you how it works I would have to learn more than my brain has the capacity to hold.

Unorthodox Christianity has to think outside the box. Buddhism, Hinduism, any one of 30,000 denominations of Christianity can answer. How to behave to enjoy your stay on earth in spite of nature, bad people, greed, Success AT ANothers Success or warm, caring, loving and prayerful people by the Billions.

Whether we say “Why should I celebrate the birth of my sufferings day” or “Thank you for the opportunity to smell the roses” Enjoying life must have some importance to something for LIFE IS HERE AMONG US. You do not have to be disenfranchised. There is a world to attend to. As a five year old grand-friend suggested: “Have a question? ASK the INTERNET.

Have a wonderful day and keep an open mind. LIFE IS ON EARTH, take it in while you are here.

RESOLUTIONS – BE ATTITUDES
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RESOLUTIONS – BE ATTITUDES

RESOLUTIONS and The BE ATTITUDES

Later this week will Celebrate the coming of new year. We will no doubt be grateful for the end of 2020 and the hope that comes with 2021. It will be the traditional day of making our new year’s resolutions. They will be lose weight, or maybe gain weight. They might be exercise and run a marathon. It may be get married or don’t get married. It may be change jobs. It may be relocate, it may be retire. Just about in some way or form most of us, someplace in our minds will contemplate  our RESOLUTIONS.

As I was reading the other day I came across an interesting thought suggested by a sermon offered up by Jesus when he climbed up a short “mountain’ to speak to a large group of people who were excited to hear him speak after being told from others about this unique itinerant preacher.

There were no sign-in sheets required, no tickets to be purchased, no offerings to be given. There were no restrictions. The joy of it all for me centered around what may your resolutions look like. Every year there was a new year. I would be surprised if even back then, with no New Years programs, or tv, or streaming NEW YEARS was a day of reflection. We had to learn it from someone. This sermon was going to be a new years type of discussion.

AFTER doing 2020, this SERMON FROM THE MOUNT may help you appreciate the wisdom of a simple carpenter/itinerant pastor spreading the GOOD NEWS to the people and how familiar it will feel to you in light of 2020.

Matthew 5: 1-11:

And seeing the multitudes, he (Jesus) went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him and he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.
 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see GOD.
 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of GOD.
 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the  Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in Heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets      which were before you.

There is much more in his discussion, but I was the most taken by this initial series. It is why I call this the BE… ATTITUDES. (It is referred to in the New Testament as Beattitudes).

I can not help but read these as having been written last week about what we all have been through in 2020. And much will spill over into 2021. All those entities above represent us in some way, shape, or form. All This is from a book written 2,000 years ago. This does not have to be left untouched on a shelf because it is a religious book, but it is a life book. All those mentioned are affected by the pandemic and the loss of loved ones or more. I see those affected by racism, I see those protesting peaceably, I see those trying to protest peaceably. I see those risking the loss of a hard earned business. I see all those calling for HELP!! Many do not feel that they can trust GOD. Many ask GOD “What did we do to deserve all of this?” Many have no trust in their government, anywhere in the world. Many are trying to be peaceful, and others celebrate their evilness.

GOD is love. Love is at its most powerful when it is shared by a great crowd of prayers to feed it. This book is a book of what is life. It is an attitude of how to live and how your attitude intersects with those around you. GOD IS LOVE. GOD SAYS PRAYERS FOR YOU. ORDINARY PEOPLE YOU DO NOT KNOW PRAY FOR YOU EVERYDAY. ORDINARY PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING THE SAME THINGS. ORDINARY PEOPLE FIT THE ABOVE PROFILES. GOD WANTED YOU TO KNOW IT. YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN AND YOU NEVER WILL BE.

I have attached a song I wrote many years ago to share GOD’S Opinion of you, for you to know.

Have a wonderful NEW YEAR and may your RESOLUTIONS reflect your ATTITUDES.

dw.

Click the link to the song below.

Iamworth onejesus