Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 11:28’

THE ULTIMATE HUMANIST

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 16, 2021| 12 Comments »

If you read the statment in this atheist meme and declared “Yes, that’s me,” well, let me join you and say it even louder: “YES, THAT’S ME.”

Repeat Frank’s Cottage visitors know that I’m not a fan of religion. Perhaps it works for some folks, but I join much of the world in seeing religion as little more than:

  1. Following rules, many of them petty and pointless.
  2. Putting on appearances, so everyone will think you “have it all together”.
  3. Using the first two points to self-righteously judge people who don’t follow all the rules and don’t have it all together.

In the end, religion puts rules, appearances and judgmentalism ahead of people. It often descends into cold-hearted tribalism – ranking people based on whether they’re in or out of our “religion”.

Sounds awful, doesn’t it?

Let me offer an alternative that puts human beings ahead of dogma and traditions. Prepare yourself, because that alternative is controversial. That alternative is life-giving. That alternative, in my opinion, defines humanism for all time.

That alternative is Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the divine Son of God.

During His physical time on earth, Jesus often ran afoul of rule-obsessed, stone-hearted religious leaders.

They were aghast at seeing Him hang out with what many in ancient Israel regarded as the bottom-feeders of their society. Today, those people might be:

  • supporters of widely disliked politicians or political parties
  • those who have unchanging ideas about right and wrong
  • convicts and those who have spent time in prison
  • alcoholics or drug addicts

In one of His four original-source biographies, Jesus says this about fans of religion:

“They don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show.“

Jesus leaves dogma and traditions at the side of the road. In fact, He goes so far as to ask:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He challenges us with the truth about what’s required to qualify for Heaven when this life is finished: “You must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”

None of us can meet that standard, so Jesus took on his shoulders ALL the wrong things we’ve done and ALL the right things we’ve failed to do. He took them to the cross, where He was put to death on trumped-up charges. Then He showed His mastery over death by coming back to life three days later.

Now, anyone who declares Jesus as Lord and Saviour takes on His perfection. That’s how God sees Jesus followers and they spend eternity with their Creator.

Sound like a good deal? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

Read Full Post »

OUR MORAL & SPIRITUAL VACCINE

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 12, 2020| 15 Comments »

While the word “vaccine” has always had a positive connotation for most people, during the COVID-19 pandemic many people saw it as a life-saver, a restorer of normal life and a saviour for the business community.

Sadly, the products that were manufactured and distributed then didn’t address humanity’s other serious problems. But there is a vaccine that does. So keep your mind open while I do my very imperfect best to explain it.

This vaccine isn’t a product. It’s a man. And He came to this planet on a rescue mission for anyone willing to listen to Him.

  • He saw how people like me so often struggle with greed, fear and regret.
  • He recognized that we seem unable to decide which of this world’s many competing voices should get our attention and resources.
  • Finally, He grasped how desperately we want love and acceptance–and will sometimes do horrible things to ourselves and others to get even a temporary version of them.

Knowing humanity’s spiritual and moral systems don’t address our real needs, He offers us something entirely different: Himself.

If you’ve read this far, then I’m going to risk losing you by revealing who He is: Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the Son of God.

With startling confidence and self-awareness, Jesus said this to anyone willing to listen: “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you carry. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble. And you will be able to get some rest.”

How does He do that? He taught that pursuing fame, riches and power won’t result in a satisfying life. But a life soaked in gratitude and love will.

In his book The End of Religion, Canadian writer Bruxy Cavey unpacks that by noting “the more of a fundamentalist someone becomes about the teachings of Jesus, the more loving, forgiving and gracious that person should become.“

Jesus taught so much more, and ancient, original-source biographies describe how He backed up His authority by healing sick people and even bringing someone back to life.

Finally, Jesus proved His love for us by allowing Himself to be put to death to pay for every wrong thing His followers have done, and every right thing we’ve failed to do. That’s necessary because Jesus made it clear that “you must be perfect, just as your father in Heaven is perfect.”

The result of His Son’s sacrifice is when God looks at Jesus followers, He sees us as perfect like His Son, and welcomes us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

If you’re wondering how to get your hands on this vaccine, it’s simple: become a serious, dedicated Jesus follower. When you do that, He comes into your life NOW and starts to make you more of the person God created you to be.

Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

Read Full Post »

THE UNNICENESS OF RELIGION

Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2018| 3 Comments »

The late, great Andy Rooney (a beloved commentator on TV’s 60 Minutes for more than 30 years) said many profound and witty things during his 92 years on this planet. The quote in this meme, helpfully supplied by an Atheist internet community, is definitely among his most compelling thoughts.

First off, as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son), I’m 100 percent with Andy. We have centuries of history, much of it downright horrifying, to absolutely prove his point. More often than not, religious people are simply awful.

Here’s a brief list of what religion does:

  • It makes people judgmental
  • It creates a dangerous ‘us versus them’ mentality
  • It causes people to think that since they’re right, then everyone else is wrong and that leads to intolerance and persecution
  • It sparks vicious tribalism and if you want examples of how bad that is, think of the endless bombings in the Middle East or the 1990s genocidal ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and in Rwanda.

So who else opposes religion? How about Jesus? Some of His harshest words are saved for arrogant, judgemental, rule-obsessed religious leaders.

Furthermore, a case can be credibly advanced that part of Jesus’ mission was to get rid of religion altogether. In his book The End of Religion, pastor Bruxy Cavey says “I’m not suggesting that Jesus opposes all forms of organization, but that he opposes dependence on any one organization for our connection with God.”

In fact, Bruxy quotes Jesus (Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest.) to make the point that “Jesus is not pointing toward a different and better religion, but instead he invites us to himself as an alternative to the weary way of religion.”

Now this is an invitation that should be attractive to anyone interested in spirituality (and I assume that’s YOU, since you’re reading this blog). Skip religion and connect with Jesus!

So what happens when you do this? Consider Jesus to be God’s gift to every person on this planet, regardless of what they’ve done or not done, regardless of their social status, gender, or age.

Anyone who accepts that gift invites Jesus into their heart and mind to begin a life-long process of making them the kind of people that God wants them to be. And when this life is over, all the wrong things they’ve done and the right things they’ve failed to do will be irrelevant. All God will see is His Son’s perfection.

Call me crazy, but this sounds like a GREAT deal. Are you interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

Read Full Post »