Click on picture for a recorded version of “Comin’ Back to Town.”
This week we are going to get to know Mark Spoelstra. Mark is listed in Wikipedia as “an American singer-songwriter and folk and blues guitarist.” From his early days in Greenwich Village, New York, he periodically brushed with fame, but stayed mostly on the edges, endearing himself to those loyal folk music fans who were fortunate enough to find his music.
Jesus, He’s my friend.
He took me by the hand;
Led me far from this land.
– Arthur Reynolds from the song, “Jesus is Just Alright”
I got a friend in Jesus.
– Norman Greenbaum from the song, “Spirit in the Sky”
When we call Jesus our friend, we’re not being overly chummy. We are not being inappropriate about God. We are not understating or overstating the case. We are doing what He asked. “I no longer call you servants,” he said in John 15:15, “because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Jesus said it first. He called us His friends.
There is a bar in my town that in pre-COVID days was a celebrated biker hangout every Sunday afternoon. There was always a live band playing and rows of gleaming Harleys on either side of the street, with people inspecting them as if they were in a showroom.
One of the things I love about Jesus is that He makes you search for Him even when He’s standing right in front of you.
(Warning: This Catch is going to be difficult for those who are mostly left-brained. My wife always jokes about having only one left brain cell. Well, for those with only one right brain cell, I suggest you get that cell out and start getting it to do some pushups to get it in shape before you read any further.)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Luke 4:18
Why is this a revolutionary agenda? Because it announces that God is on the side of the little people — people with issues — people on the hurting side of life, those left holding the short end of the stick. Since when are we championing the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed? Since Jesus came.
Love your enemies
Pray for those who persecute you
If someone forces you to go one mile, go two
If someone takes your shirt, give him your coat, too
If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also
Give to those who ask
Don’t turn away from those who want to borrow
Return good for evil
Do not judge others
Forgive those who sin against you
Get rid of the log in your own eye so you can help with the speck in another’s
Treat people the way you want to be treated
Don’t make any vows you can’t keep
Don’t worry about tomorrow
Show mercy if you want your heavenly Father to be merciful to you
You may be thinking, “What kind of teaching is this?” This, my friend, is Jesus’ way. This is true Christianity. If you must measure yourself, measure yourself by these things.
“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Matthew 8:20
We are stardust; we are golden, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden – Joni Mitchell
I’m only visiting this planet. — Larry Norman
The kingdom of God is made up of refugees.
When you start thinking about refugees in the Bible, it’s hard to find anyone who was not, at least at one time, a refugee.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3)
Here are the words to remember when it comes to solving problems: “What do you have?” We have a tendency to focus on: “What do you need?” and then go out and try to find it.
What if I were to tell you, “You already have what you need,” how would that make you feel? Empowered?
What is 21? It’s a card game. A 2008 movie with Kevin Spacey. A clothing store. A winning score in ping pong. But for everyone at one time in their life — and for our son Chandler, that time is today — it is a right of passage — an unseen doorway into a new life and the responsibility that comes with it. Chandler is 21.
Jesus was a Capricorn
He ate organic food
He believed in love and peace
And never wore no shoes
Long hair, beard and sandals
And a funky bunch of friends
Reckon we’d just nail him up
If he came down again
‘Cause everybody’s gotta have somebody to look down on
Prove they can be better than at any time they choose
Someone doin’ somethin’ dirty decent folks can frown on
If you can’t find nobody else, then help yourself to me
Eggheads fussin’ rednecks cussin’
Hippies for their hair
Others laugh at straights who laugh at
Freaks who laugh at squares
Some folks hate the Whites
Who hate the Blacks who hate the Klan
Most of us hate anything that
We don’t understand
– Kris Kristofferson
Counterculture: A subculture whose values and norms of behavior deviate from those of mainstream society.
Jesus was countercultural. And because He lives today through the lives of those who follow Him, you could therefore say that Jesus is countercultural. His message was, is, and always will be counter to the prevailing mainstream society. This is largely because what He represents and asks of us goes counter to human nature. This is not true just for certain people; it’s true for all of us with maybe one exception. The poorest of the poor may get it right away, after all they are the ones Jesus says are blessed.
John Fischer The Catch 