Boone County Fair Revelation

Kopp Disclosure

(John 3:19-21)

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    Since spending a week with Eugene in Montana back in October 2011, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of my relationship with Jesus.

    I feel born anothen.

    I'm more excited about gospeling and undershepherding and so many other things even including participating in my franchise's stuff than, uh, ever before.

    I'm reading the Bible with a freshness, fervor, and faith that recalls days before I was polluted in college, seminary, graduate schools, and parochial meetings/briefings/CE with books about the Bible/Jesus/faith; recalling my best seminary field education supervisor who warned, "Don't separate yourself from God and His people by degrees."

    1 Corinthians 1.

    I'm being led more than leading worship.

    I can't get enough of...Him in a Psalm 42 kinda way.

    Anyway, that's why I've started that series on scratching the surface of every book of the Bible to restore me to Him and maybe whet the appetite of...for...

    So far, here's my greatest discovery; and you can laugh at me if you've already gotten this.

    It's so simple.

    People who really, really, really trust God - not just pose - are blessed and overcome the negatives of everything and everyone and especially the enemy in a Psalm 37:25-28 and Matthew 7:24ff. kinda way.

    Axiomatically, more Jesus = more wholeness, happiness, joy, and eternal security.

    While we'll never be pure and perfect in every way, never outgrowing our need for Jesus to save us or fill in the gaps between our depraved humanity and His incredibly and inclusively loving divinity, we can be "more better" and, therefore, experience more of His favor/graces right now before then.

    Yeah, I know "more better" horrifies the grammar police.

    Go back to 1 Corinthians 1.

    Go back to...Him.

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    All of the above - get it/Him? - has given tons and tons and tons of "more patience" to me for people who really, really, really want to move from a religion about Jesus to a relationship with Him.

    Conversely, I'm finding it harder and harder and harder to generate patience for people who say they love Jesus and then hate everybody else in a Christian kinda way.

    I've dropped the drama in my response to 'em; but my yes and no and commentary always subject to correction by Him/His as confirmed in the Bible about 'em have become strikingly and starkly salty.

    Case in point.

    I live in Boone County, Illinois which has a wonderful county fair every August.

    It's fun.

    It's invitational, inclusive, welcoming, and loving.

    In short, it's more like the Church intended by our Lord than so many churches pretending to...

    Well, several folks came to see me after the fair to express a whole range of emotions/evaluations about somebody who left our family of faith for a variety of reasons unrelated to anything ever said by Jesus about hanging together as witness to hanging with Him.  They were especially offended/outraged/miffed/saddened by how he would avoid them and just about run away from them by pretending to not see them and...

    You know...

    I was asked what I thought about him.

    I said the difference between authentic Christians and posers is authentics know they're hypocrites.

    Then it/He really hit me.

    People who say they love Jesus but remain irascible, irregular, and irreconcilable need "more Jesus" and "less of themselves" in their conduct and countenance to confirm their claim of loving Jesus.

    It's one of the really, really, really big lessons that I'm learning as I'm scratching the surface.

    Simply, every problem in our world, nation, churches, families, and whatevers could be ameliorated by "more Jesus" in all of 'em.

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    That's it/Him.

    Simply.

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Blessings and Love!