#14. Jesus, Dalai Lama, & YOU

What do you know about the Dalai Lama? According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Dalai Lama is an enlightened spiritual being who chooses to come to the earth again and again to serve humanity. So, after he dies, it is believed that he will return to the earth in a new baby's body.

If a monk has a dream or vision that he has been reborn, the senior Buddhist monks will begin searching for the youngster. The monks then present such a boy with possessions (including toys) of the previous Dalai Lama to determine whether the boy is familiar with them.

It is believed to be proof that the child is the reincarnation if he chooses the items that belonged to the previous Lama. In 1937, at the age of two, the present 14th Dalai Lama was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.

Is Jesus also an advance spiritual being, who chose to come to the earth to serve humanity?

"(Jesus) has come from heaven” - John 3:31
“(Jesus) was taken up to heaven” - Mark 16:19

These two Bible verses point to the beginning and ending of the life of Jesus. It implies that he pre-existed before his birth and that he continued to exist after his death.

In the western world, most people do believe the soul lives on after death, but that the soul is not created until conception (or at birth). But if one person – Jesus – lived in the spirit world before birth and returned to the spirit world after death, then WHY would this not be true of us all?

OK, Jesus was called the Son of God. But is not every soul a child of God? Does not each have a spark of divinity? If we can live for eternity after death, what prevents us from pre-existing our birth? Is it possible we all have come from the spiritual realm ... and shall return ... again and again and again? Would you recognize your toys?

#13. Jesus Had Quite a Sense of Humor!

Dare I ask? "Was Jesus a standup comic?" The Gospels paint a portrait of Jesus as over-flowing with humor and wit, full of irony and satire, and over the edge with mocking exaggerations. Can you just picture in your mind’s eye the cartoon caricatures Jesus created, such as the “blind leading the blind and both falling into the ditch”! Or how about “straining out a gnat, but swallowing a camel”? Or better still, consider “having a log in your eye while trying to remove a splinter from another’s eye”. Do you see his humor?

Jesus told Peter that one should forgive a friend -- not seven times -- but 70 times 7 (ie, 490 times). To his followers, he posed the following question: “With all your worrying, which of you can add 18 inches to your height?” To the religious leaders, Jesus stated, “You are so careful to polish the outside of the bowl, but the inside is foul with extortion and greed.” And that is just the beginning. There is much, much more in your Bible.

Lots of religious humor has been created about Jesus. Do you suppose he would be offended by it? I think not. Here is my own picture of Jesus returning to the earth, saying to his fellow-Christians:

 

 “I said WHAT???”

Here is one of my favorite jokes:

A Jewish Rabbi congratulated a newly ordained Catholic Priest. The former said to the Priest, "By the way, can you work your way up the ladder?" The priest stated that indeed some priests do become Bishops. “How about Bishops – can they advance?” continued the Rabbi. The priest was taken back, but added that a few can advance to become Archbishops. The Rabbi was relentless: “And beyond that?” The poor priest was shaking, but uttered that the Pope would be the highest honor. The Rabbi asked, “Is that all?” The Priest blurted out defensively, “What in the world do you expect -- that the Pope could someday become God?
The Rabbi concluded, “Well, sure! One of our guys made it!”

Now it's your turn . . .

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#12. Son of the Great Leaf

The Divine Child of the Great Leaf spoke these words of Wisdom and Truth to all the leaves of the Treedom:

"The time is fulfilled, for the autumn season is now upon us. And though I must leave you, I shall prepare a place for you, that where I am, there you may be also. Fear not, little leaves -- let not your hearts be troubled. For in due season, in the springtime of the new year, I shall return to the Treedom with new life. And what I do, you shall do likewise ... and we shall resurrect with new life in the Treedom of the Great Leaf."
If you are a student of the Gospels in the New Testament, this above rendition may sound familiar. A few verses below should refresh your memory. What think ye? Any hope for the leaves of the Treedom?

* Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the
kingdom of God unless he is born again." -- John 3:3

* “Let not your heart be troubled … I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” -- John 14:1-3
* "I tell you the truth, all the things that I do, you shall do also..." -- John 14:12

* "Then Jesus told them, '... after I am risen again' " -- Matthew 26:32

* "Jesus saith unto her, 'Thy brother shall rise again.' " -- John 11:23

* "And Jesus answering said unto them... 'for they are ... the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.' " -- Luke 20:36

Question: Are you a leaf that believes in teachings about reincarnation and/or the resurrection? Or are you a leaf that shall fall the ground and die once for all eternity?

#11. Re-interpreting John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that He His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The quote in blue is the most cherished verse in the New Testament: John 3:16. Jesus is addressing the question of why God sent Him to the earth. Christians interpret this statement to mean that God sent Jesus to sacrifice His life upon the cross in order for mankind to be saved from their sins and be welcomed into heaven when they die. But is that what Jesus is speaking of? Is it? I wonder!

There is absolutely nothing in the entire chapter about crucifixion, about sacrifice, about ransom, about death. Notice the word gave (in red). This word suggests to the Christian mind the idea of 'giving Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified'. But if the word 'sent' was used -- rather than the word 'gave' -- a completely different connotation would appear. Read John 3:16 again that way see what you think.

Now, let's take a look at the verse that precedes it:   John 3:15

 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

This quote is a reference to chapter 21 of Numbers in the Old Testament. The serpent is not put on a pole to be crucified or killed, but 'gazed' upon. God had instructed Moses to create a bronze serpent and place it up high so that anyone bitten by one of the many snakes in the wilderness would focus on the image and not die from the venom!

"So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked (gazed) at the bronze serpent, he lived." (Numbers 21:8)

The Greek word for 'lifted up' is hupsoo and means "to lift up on high, to exalt". In John 12:32, Jesus uses the same word, stating these words: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." These verses have nothing to do with sacrifice or crucifixion. They are about healing and salvation.

Oh, yes! God so loved all of His children that he sent Jesus to our planet -- not to be sacrificed to appease an angry god -- but that He might be honored and exalted -- that He might be lifted up as the ideal, the model, the example, the mentor for us all. 

Oh yeah, I forgot to include: "The Savior!"

#10. Garbage Dumb Experience

GOD:

"Look Son, I want you to tell all of your followers about the hell-thing."

Jesus:

"OK gang, listen up, I have some good news and some bad news from my Father. If you remain in touch with God, your life on earth will be a heavenly experience. However, if you remain stuck in your arrogance and stay disconnected from God, you are going to end up in the depths of dispair. You shall be in mental anguish and emotional torment all the days of your life. You will think you're going crazy! You will not be able to think clearly. You will be full of fear and turmoil. And you will feel that God is a million miles away and that He does not care about you at all. Most of you will have this hellish experience every time you screw up. So stay in touch with God and experience the good life."

Jesus:

"How did I do, Dad?"

GOD:

"My Son, you are such a dinwit! You know very well that those heathen are going to die and literally be thrown into the Gehena Garbage Pile -- and that they will be there day in and day out forever. They need to know that the land fill is a real place outside of Jerusalem where the fire burns relentlessly to get rid of the terrible stench. You should also have informed them that they will weep a lot, that they will wail a lot, and that they will gnash their teeth a lot -- so they need to remember their dentures. And, oh yeah, you forgot to tell them how excruciatingly hot the fire will be. Really, Son, why do you have to use all those parables anyway? Why didn't you just speak to them the literal truth?"

#9. The Very First Language

"There was a time when everyone on the earth spoke the very same language."   (Genesis 11:1)

Today, in East Africa, most people speak the common language of Swahili, but they also have their various mother tongues or tribal languages, which is very special and personal to their family. Most Americans would say their mother tongue is plain ol’ English. What was God’s mother tongue? I wonder… 

When He created the heavens and the earth, the Bible declares that God spoke, saying, “Let there be light!” But in what language did he speak these words? English? Kichagga? Turkish? Mandarin? Aramaic? Hebrew? Kigogo? Russian? Korean? Thai? Jin? Ziang? Hausa? Burmese? Ukranian? Tagalog? Portuguese? German? Japanese? Bengali? Punjabi? Javanese? Wu? Spanish? Persian? Kiha? French? Vietnamese? Hindi? Chinese? Latin? Romanian? Kurdish? Zulu? Czech? Ah, you get the point!

Long, long ago, with what lingo did God speak to Adam and Eve in the Garden? Moreover, how could they have understood God's words.  Hmmmm... And did the serpent speak the same tongue? It’s a fair question! Inquiring minds want to know!

When a person prays to God, does He respond in their language? Many will say that He most certainly does – just ask any Christian, or Jew, or Moslem, or Hindu, or Native American. Ah, you get the point!

So then, do you suppose that God spoke in the King James English when King James prayed to God? Never mind! What I'm really asking is this: When a person prays, does God respond to them in their own language ... or in His?

Elihu Speaks to Job:

"You say, (God) does not respond to people's complaints. But God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it."  (Job 33:14)

Three simple phrases capture my attention:

"God is Spirit." (John 4:24)

"God has given us his Spirit."(1 John 4:13)

"God is love." (1 John 4:16)

So, what was the original language of Spirit? LOVE! What is the language of God today? LOVE! In what language must people pray? LOVE! What is the one language for people to communicate with each other? LOVE!

Ah, you get the point!

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#8. The First Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy theories have most likely been a part of the human experience from the very beginning of time. In fact, I found this conspiracy theory in the third chapter of Genesis of the Holy Bible.

In the Garden of Eden, God saw Eve and Adam hiding behind some trees and surmised that they had done the dirty deed. So when God questioned the man, Adam squealed on Eve, saying it was "that woman you gave me" that was behind the crime. Then God summonsed Eve to the station, but she blamed the crime on the Serpent. 

After much thought, God came up with this conspiracy theory that the three of them were in on it together from the get-go. God was the first to concoct the theory that the Serpent conspired with Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the Forbidden Tree.

“That Serpent probably told Eve that I had lied to her, selling her on the idea that it would make her as smart as Me. I can see it now. The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, so she climbed on Adam’s shoulders and picked some of the fruit and they had themselves a picnic.”

Although God had no solid evidence, he kicked all three of them out of His garden.

Notice that this first conspiracy theory was accepted by the author of Genesis as being true, and consequently, the passage was inserted into the Bible. Amazing!

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