I've often wondered if Jesus ever "Clowned around" with His disciples when they were away from the crowds. We know He could get angry (Trashing the Temple) And we know He was a Man of many sorrows. But there's no record of Him in the bible that says He laughed or joked around. In the Psalms it Say's God laughs at the wicked and knows their days are numbered, so we know for a fact God will laugh at us.  Jesus had the joy of the Lord,  I mean come on,  He was God and when the joy of the Lord comes on you,  You can get silly. Joyfully silly. The joy of the Lord is our strength. That speaks volumes. (Devil don't like silly joy)  Christians can take themselves way too seriously today. Especially on social media. The side they portray is "Holy and righteous" and you never see much of their human side of their person. I understand we have an image of Christianity we want the world to see,  but the world never See's the human side of us and I don't think that helps further the Gospel it might even hinder it. I do think Jesus may have lightly teased His followers most close to Him. we should lighten it up a little bit.  Be true to thine own self and be a blessing.  

Praise ye the Lord. In the early 1980's I had the option of being released to the street, or entering a halfway house that worked with men coming out of jail. There was one catch. This place was 100% christian centered. No big deal for me,  I was already saved. What was a big deal to me as I found out later was the house attended church every Sunday. And this wasn't your run of the mill Church. I could already hear the music when we all stepped out of the van that Sunday morning. Whoever was in there was praising Jesus LOUD. When we all walked in it was like a culture shock. I was brought up catholic and we didn't have church mothers in the front row shouting & praising Jesus and it wasn't just them, the whole church was rocking to the music with their hands raised in the air praising God. I wanted to just turn and run out of there. These people have lost their mind. I was sure I had joined some kind of Jesus cult and I wasn't having it. My brother got mixed up with a cult in California and I wasn't about to do the same.  But as soon as we filled up the pew, my fellow house residents suddenly got sanctified and now they had their hands in the air praising Jesus too. WHAT?   You'd think they were life long members of the church the way they were faking it in front of everybody looking around to make sure someone was watching them "Praising God". I'm thinking everyone in this place is nuts. This halfway house is nuts. Those squawking church mothers with the big hats in the front are nuts. Even my friend Tomcat standing right next to me went crazy with his arms waving back and forth in air like he's some wanna be Deacon.  I just froze. It seemed like time stopped. I was backed into a corner I couldn't get out of. There was a battle going on inside me and neither side was winning.  I haven't been perfect in serving God, but I'm not a hyporcite. Not even 10 minuets ago some of the guys were talking about sex, drugs, and rock and roll in the van ride over here and now their Spirit filled tongue talkin, bible thumpin demon stoppers.  But I was looking at it from different perspective than they were, although I didn't realize it at the time. Their not praising and clapping because of what they've done for God or because their even saved. Their praising and clapping for what God has done for them. Regardless of the reason why I did I started clapping too.  and you know what?  something started to changed inside me. Something all the crazy creepy therapy in the world couldn't have done because therapy just works on the mind.  The Holy Spirit works on everything,  mind, body soul and Spirit. I can't explain it but it was healing me in new ways and I began to look forward to Sundays with all those church Mama's asking me..son, you been good?  Yes ma'am and I'm going to do better. Most people would say it's just an emotional thing but it's not. Read the old testament and you'll see that God's people have always worshiped in this way. People that can't or wont worship like this are dealing with a lot of pride issues and God resist the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Pride and being humble are issues we'll deal with our whole life. Even Paul had trouble with pride and God had to give him some thorns. Don't ever be so proud that you wont raise your arms in the air and praise Jesus for what done for you and how Good God is because He's done things for you and me that we're not even aware of.

If you've ever been to the funeral of a close loved one who's passed on, you know the kind of pain their going through. You'll see people you haven't seen in 15, 20 + years show up simply to show their support for you and your family.  There's no clicks over political or economic statuses during this time. Even the person people have avoided, who's struggle with Alcohol and drugs over the years is welcomed with unconditional love. How much money they make or whether their democrat or republican is pointless. You just don't care about those things. You realize what this life is truly all about. Jesus said it,  love one another as I have loved you.  but we don't live that like we should. That peaceful love that permeates the air for one another at funerals is God's Divine love. During this grieving process we can let down our guard, take off our mask and openly show our love and support for one another. That's all God is asking us to do. He'll help us do it if that's what we want.  We don't "Need" a whole lot of what this world tells us we need to have and keep God's peace, love, and joy. Jesus wouldn't have commanded us to love one another as He has love you if this wasn't possible. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. No doubt we'll fail again and again. Especially in the day and age we're living in. But His His Grace is sufficient. Funerals have a way of jolting us back to reality and reminding us of what's really important. The good news is we don't have to wait until someone dies to get grounded into this Agape Love. God supplies this for us on a daily basis. Start your day with prayer and meditation in the morning with a conscious effort to simply live by the golden rule for that day, and God will supply all your need according to His riches. I don't think perfect surrender to His perfect love is the goal. He's looking at our hearts. Do we want to grow and are we trying?  Remember the man that said to Jesus, Lord I believe, Help my unbelief?  Jesus healed that man. All we have to do, to continue in His love is------> Lord I'm trying, Help my un-trying, and He'll come through. you'll see your life enriched in more ways than one.

It's ironic I chose fresh truth to name my blog. Sometimes truth is peaceful and welcoming, And sometimes it can hit you like a truck. Whatever the case, the truth is reality. And if you take away either one of them you're either stuck or off course with people, places, and things in life. You end up running around in circles. Maybe the best way to find the right path when you realize your stuck is to ask yourself, does the love of God fit into this? Can I picture Jesus in this picture? If it's yes, then it's a truth you can follow. If it's no you best move along.    

I believe that all suffering and sacrifice is of value to me. When I am in pain I'm being tested. Can I trust God no matter how low I feel?  Can I say "Thy will be done" no matter how much I feel defeated?  If I can, my faith is real and practical. It works in bad times as well as good times. The Divine will is working in a way that is beyond my finite mind to understand, but I can trust in it.  >Alcoholics Anonymous 24hours a day meditation book<

Have you ever heard the saying,  God works in mysterious ways?  Or you can't put God in a box?  But most (Christians) do just that. We say things like,  I'm baptist, or I'm catholic etc. When we do that we're saying,  we have all the answers for you. We've already covered the bases you're circling. Christianity becomes a legalistic Christianity. we have a law (Belief) we follow. Follow us and it's all good.  And if you don't follow us we put you in jail (Kick them out) When you're excommunicated from the Catholic church, you can never come back. That's cruel and unbiblical.  You can't grow that way. You're stuck. God no longer works in mysterious ways for you, because His mysterious ways are out side the box.  I was watching (Not going to name them)  a church on cable TV one Sunday morning and at the end of the service, they called people up-front who wanted to receive Christ.  And when the prayer was finished he said,  you'll know when you received Christ and eternal life because you'll begin to speak in tongs.  WHAT! The thief on the cross didn't speak in tongs and Jesus said to him today you'll See Me in Paradise.  In fact the thief was never baptised, confirmed, or any other legalistic burden we put on peoples backs today in the name of God.  Jesus said the same things to the pharisees when He was here.  They had the people boxed in.  The law was made for man. Man wasn't made for the law. There are hundreds of Christian denominations active now.  The body of Christ wasn't mean to be divided. A house divided can not stand.  I almost get a lump in my throat when I think about what happened to the Holy Spirit that spread like wild fire in this country during the late 1970's and early eighties. You'd see grown men walk into a church service and begin to weep because the Spirit was so much present with them.  Even some catholic priest got touched by it, which means God, as good as He is to us can over- look the legalistic stuff.  It's the condition of our hearts toward Him, and our fellow man.  How could it not be that?  Today religion beats the golden rule in many, many of our churches.  And we can't put all the blame on the ministers. They can't control you. We're yoked up with Jesus Christ, not a pastor or a priest.  But, here's the good news. God isn't limited to the 4 walls of a church or a particular religion. He's showing up in some surprising places. IV felt the Holy Spirit in some AA meetings within the last 3 years. Their hearts are in harmony, and there pointed in one direction. Sobriety, and following God's will for their lives. >Step 11<  God is good.

Even If your doing solitary confinement somewhere, If you've got Jesus you can make it. God never lets us go through something we can't handle. I think that's why God urged Paul to write the book of Philippians (Gospel of joy) in prison. If he can have that kind of joy in prison then we can too even though we're going through difficult trials and tribulations here. The joy of the Lord is our strength.