Reading The Bible With Gloves On

Paul. John the Baptist. King David. Jesus.
Murderer.
Crazed street corner preacher.
Adulterer and Murderer.
Homeless man with a tribe of rowdy men.

So many times we read scripture like a blind man with gloves.
We are already blind to so much inside of scripture yet we put on gloves and it’s impossible to read the brail.
When we take the gloves off and start to feel the passages roll under our fingertips, start looking at the intricacies of the character and personality of those in scripture things begin to blow you mind…

If Osama Bin Laden had repented and turned to Jesus it would look a lot like the Apostle Paul’s life.

John the Baptist probably was more like my friend Danny than any preacher I’ve met in a church building.

Jesus’ life was basically a traveling hippie commune of homeless people preaching love and getting into trouble.

I don’t have a point to this ramble other than wondering what my life would look like if I was a bit more wild and brash as opposed to strategic and safe.
I think it would look a lot more like the life of Jesus than it currently does.

I think all of our lives would.

So today, let’s make one decision that looks a bit more like Jesus than safe religion.
Like calling the person you hate the most and dropping a love bomb on them.
Maybe calling your pastor and telling them you are going to quit your banker job to go work for the local church.
Maybe walking into a whorehouse and turning the place upside-down while you rescue those in bondage.

I don’t know what your decision will be today.
I don’t know what mine will be yet.
But I do know one thing…
If even 5 of us do that today, we are closer to revival than we were 5 minutes ago.

Let’s go crazy for a bit…
How can we take our gloves off?
Los

Dan Sullivan

Jesus was continually accused of being a drunk and a sinner.

When the apostle Paul spoke against local religions, they threw rocks at him and tried to murder him.

I think that says a lot. It makes me want to repent from being bland.
http://sharperthanatwoedgedsword.wordpress.com Nick Ortega

Very challenging, Los! Many will say, “I can only pray foe that kind of boldness,”, but it won’t come if ALL we do is pray – we have to MAKE that decision. Thank you for pointing at Christ and demanding we follow Him, not ourselves.
http://liveyourpassions.org misty dawn

not only will i do it today, but i’ll try each day. good word. i think i’ll pass it along to my daughter and her friends as well . . .
Charlotte

Love this brother Carlos. thanks for the inspiration …there’s nuthin’ quite like droppin’ crazy “love bombs” on people!
Steve

Great post! I love the pic you used… I’m always amused by pictures of sort-haired, non-offensive, Smiling Caucasian Jesus. Someone who I’m afraid most churches in the US wish he was.
Chad

I’m not sure if this was discussed on the thread, and I’m sure I’ll get shot down, accused of Jesus juking, being a hard nose, quenching the Spirit, or whatever… but… Danny was Jamaican, and he was singing praises to Jah.

The overwhelming chances point to Danny being a Rasta who worships Haile Selassie I (former Emperor of Ethiopia) as Jesus incarnate. Jamaican Christians rarely use the term “Jah” as it is so woven into the Rastafarian religion.

Rasta’s do NOT worship the God of second chances you wrote your song to.
Amanda

It blows my mind to see how many people call themselves Christians and will judge others as much as the Pharisees were judging people of Jesus’ time. You have to wonder if they would have paid any attention to Jesus if they were around back then. Think about it… if some guy were doing that today, we’d probably all think he was nuts. My mom said she heard a religious pop song one time saying things like “Would Jesus be allowed in my church?” and it really made her think…
Fermin-Dad

Daily, I take off my glove and share Christ. Roberto, Maria heard the Word this week-end. Roberto, walking on the sidewalk in from of our office, as I was leaving for an appointment. He appeared “troubled”. As I drove out the parking lot, I stopped and asked if I could help. He said, “I have been walking for 2 miles. Just lost my job, no money and need to get home. ” I invited him into my car. He look at me and said, “Why”? I said, God sent me!

We drove for 4 miles, and his life story flowed out of his lips. Sad, tired, lonely, divorced, kids out of control and now, no job. We began a spiritual conversation and at the end of the trip, spent time praying with and for him. Emotions flowed as he kept asking “why did you stop?. I repeated, my Heavenly Father told me to!. Busy afternoon, appointments to keep, yet I stopped to give a lift and witness of the love of Christ. Word planted, God will bring the harvest .

Maria, at Denny’s looked overworked, and exhausted. Softly whispered to her, María, Dios the ama. (God loves you). Three refils of my coffee, repeated the same statement. I observed she came back when I did not need coffee. A smile was on her face. She said, I am a believer, took my hand, and kissed it!. Gracias, she said, I needed the reminder. Good week end. Mission on target.
Angie

I don’t know. My instant reaction to your post is that bold and brash doesn’t equal better. Yes, Jesus flipped over tables, but Peter cut off a guy’s ear thinking he was being bold for Jesus. That being said, I think there is something to not considering ourselves more than others. Specifically, I mean choosing personal comfort and safety at the expense of others. If we are so focused on loving God and others well, we won’t flinch at risk. We would consider it an honor to be at risk.
yankeegospelgirl

No, Jesus didn’t have a traveling hippie commune. That’s just silly. He was a rabbi with disciples. He was an intellectual. He was sharp-witted, controlled and introverted. He had a dry sense of humor. He wasn’t a goofy hippie tree-hugger, and if you look in Matthew, the banner motto of his ministry, right from the start, was “REPENT.” Not “I love you, you love me, we’re all one big family.” Not “I’m okay, you’re okay, everyone’s okay, let’s luv on each other okay?”

Read the gospels.
Ashley

Look up who jaja is before comparing this man to John the Baptist. He may still be more like John the Baptist than a lot of pastors you know, but you may want to double check the god he is worshiping. This song is still pretty cool, and Danny is still awesome, but jaja is not Jesus or God.

Carlos Whittaker

Reading The Bible With Gloves On

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