Touchpoints by Jim Hanson (Page 8)
Rev. “Bro. Jim” Jim Hanson serves as Spirit’s “Faith Mentor.” The dictionary defines a mentor as ‘an experienced and trusted advisor’. Jim is available for conversation throughout the day and evening for those who would like to reflect on their faith journey.</p>
Jim has worked with churches and individuals as far away as in Japan, as well as churches in the U.S. involved in Chinese, Hispanic, and other ministries. No matter where you are in your life of faith, just beginning or far along, Jim is available to spend time with you, hear your story, and reflect with you on the depth and mystery of your experience with the Divine.
Happy Birthday!
“You see, creation never stops. Life and death and birth are a continuous reality in our lives and the life of the world. Life is a gift, not a possession, and it’s given daily.”
God’s Homecoming
“The parable of the ‘lost sheep’ isn’t about a sheep that wanders off to find God so he can slap a sticker on his bumper that says, “I Found It!” No, it’s about a Christ that comes to us—not only when we are staying safely within the fold—but one that comes searching for us even as we wander off.”
God Is a Ball Hog
Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Behold the days are coming when I will make a new covenant…This is the covenant I will make: I will put my law in their minds… I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God… I will forgive their wickedness… I will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 God is a ball hog. When it comes to our salvation, God…
Recognizing Jesus, Recognizing Bartimaeus
“And now I recognize that I am the blind beggar, or the blind beggar is me, just in a different condition. And the command to love my neighbor AS myself isn’t theoretical anymore.”
Being Next to Jesus!?!
“But the radical nature of Jesus death and resurrection is that he turns all this on its head, upside down. For Jesus, his death and resurrection don’t bring us to a new point of security, where we can SIT with Jesus, but a new point of servant-hood where we JOURNEY with him back into the world.”
With God, All Things are Possible
“Deprivation is not the point of this passage. Neither is it the point of the kingdom. The point of the kingdom is in the caring and the sharing of all that we are and all that we have. The point is to live in the reality that all is a gift…and NOTHING is a possession. Or should I say, NOTHING is the only possession.”
God is a Divorcée
“You see, for Jesus, life isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about relationships. The greatest commandment isn’t, ‘Be right with all your heart soul and mind.’ No, it’s ‘Love with all your heart soul and mind.'”
Jesus Forbids Forbidding
“Jesus takes on the ultimate exclusions, murder and death. And transforms them into resurrection and life. You see, even exclusion gets taken up into the Mystery and is transformed into healing and wholeness. Jesus forbids forbidding by transforming it, not excluding it.”
Jesus is JUST KID-ing
“While your relationship with Jesus may be personal, it is not private and neither is your salvation, your healing, or your wholeness. Which, by the way is what the word ‘salvation’ means. It means ‘healing,’ ‘wholeness,’ ‘completeness.’ And none of that can you accomplish alone…in private…personally.”
Please Answer the Question. And Show Your Work.
“We have to let the actions of Jesus, the actions of the Christ, define the Christ. We can’t let our theologies and belief systems determine who God is. God is much bigger than that. It isn’t Law/Gospel. It’s Gospel/Law/Gospel.”
Which Disciple Are You?
Which kind of disciple am I? I am all of them. Sometimes I walk away from the Christ, and the flesh and blood the Christ inhabits. “Lord, when did I see you hungry, or thirsty, or in prison?” Sometimes I declare as well, “Lord, to whom shall we go? This is where I experience life at its deepest level.” And sometimes I betray it all.
Feast on Life
Maybe all of existence is part of “I Am.” And so when we eat, we eat “I Am.” And when we breathe, we breathe “I Am.” And when we open our eyes in the morning we see “I Am.” And when we touch, and listen and take in the whole world, we are taking in “I Am.”