Happy Jesus day everybody.
 
i know [and understand] why a lot of you are not big fans of Christianity, but i encourage you to let go of all the negativity you feel towards it and the concept of God you might have [if it’s a doesn’t exist or vengeful wrathful angry God or uninterested puppetmaster or only loves white people or something else] and spend a little bit of time simply looking at Jesus… His words… His life… His death… the stories of His resurrection…
 
i stumble over christianity and what we’ve made it often, but Jesus gets me every time…
 
Always loving, always picking out the marginalised and standing alongside them, touching them, focusing on them, healing them, bringing them into the centre…
 
Being frustrated and angry at those who think they have it all together, challenging the rich, calling the religious leaders to be living out what they say they believe, speaking against the concept of Empire, publicly rebuking those who have in mind the things of the world and not of God, and standing against the spiritual forces of evil, brokenness and death.
 
To believe and follow Jesus in 2016 is hard a lot of the time – it is a swimming against the stream kind of thing, it is an unpopular choice. But every morning when i wake up, it is the thing that gets me out of bed – to know that i am called to a greater purpose than just me and my, to be called to serve and look out for those considered the least of these, to pursue Justice and Mercy, to hopefully be producing in my life fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control [eek].
 
With the majority of world leaders we have around us today though, it does feel a little bit easier to be bowing down to a different King.
 
i don’t know that i am always very good at it, and i imagine there will be hundreds if not thousands of people on the social medias nodding your heads vigorously at that statement, but i am unashamedly a follower of Jesus. And this day, as much as any other is about Him.
 
Please, consider Him at least, this day.
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Mark 10]
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [Mark 11]
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. [John 10]
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  [Mark 8]
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [Matthew 5]
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22]

Oh yeah, and this little statement as He was being killed, spoken to His executioners, and the crowds who stood by and watched:

32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. [Luke 23]

i may not understand it all and i may wrestle with a bunch of it… but this stuff above… the life and the words and the attitude and the passion and consistency of this Man… it is going to take a whole lot for me to walk away from this as a good way to live.

Consider Jesus. And have a great celebration with family and friends. For those of you who do believe, don’t forget to slow it down a little and breathe out a thank you…