In 1971 John Lennon wrote the song "Imagine" encouraging us to imagine a world at peace without borders, religion, nationality, or attachment to material possessions. This song 'Imagine' is a message for our world choosing anarchy over order, insults over compliments, greed over generosity, crass over clever, profane over profound, hatred over love, war over peace, and violence over peace. While I love this message I would be happy just to imagine a world without rush-hour traffic and road construction. John Lennon Imagine shares a 'nice' broad brush imagination of a 'world living as one', BUT I must add the Gospel message (not religion) is the ONLY answer/salvation for this tumultuous world. Imagine that. DROP THE MIC! Next, let's fast forward 30 years from John Lennon's 1971 song Imagine to 2001 when Bart Millard of the Christian Music band MercyMe released the song "I can only Imagine". This MercyMe song ponders some day Heaven and be standing before our Heavenly Father. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Cor 2:9 Now with this all in mind, let me share the side-by-side lyrics of 'Imagine' and 'I Can Only Imagine'. I will call this... 'The Dueling Imaginations'
For those of you who kept reading this blog until the end, I pray you enjoyed and were blessed by doing a little Imagining where peace on Earth and the promise of Heaven is found in Christ alone. Jeff (Imagining cartoons) Larson 3/20/2023 Your will.. my will?Our Father who is in Heaven, GREAT is your name... Your kingdom come, YOUR WILL be done ON EARTH as it is in Heaven. Many of you know this is the start of the Lord's Prayer (Mt 6:9-13) and we should NOT gloss over this prayer introduction to get to the GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY (me me me) BREAD part. Of course, our God hears, cares, and answers prayers for our needs & well-being BUT... today let's focus on God's will not my will. God's Will on Earth? So how is that working out?
With all the tension among believers, I am looking for an MMA pay-per-view event featuring Catholics v Protestants to determine once and for all.. who really is saved? It can't be both.. can it? I mean, one of the two must be on the fast track to HELL. Or will there be a Pro(testant)-Wrestling match with a high-flying Beth Moore coming off the top rope attempting to way-lay John MacCarther. But while I DO LIKE BUNNY TRAILS.. let us now return to the LORD'S PRAYER. God your will be done on Earth.. starting with .. Jeff. Throughout my life (I am 65 now) I have prayed "Lord show me your will for my life." many times. At times regarding big decisions and that is good always to seek the Lord and His will, but I have come to realize this prayer "what is your will for my life?" can become me-centric. Prayers focusing on the right job, house, finding Mrs. Right/Larson, or even a car purchase wanting God's can become my own little Prosperity Gospel prayer rather than 'thy will' pointing to God's kingdom (souls saved, and a society honoring Him). Looking back I wish I could have heard an audible voice from Heaven telling me if I was close. :) God could be heard from the Heavens with the words... "Warmer, warmer.. hmmm.. colder, colder.. now you are FREEZING. And so I guess living in Minnesota and being COLDER is about what I deserve. ANYWAYS... Truth is (insert light bulb moment for me here) The prayer "Lord what is your will for my life?" should be more specific... "Lord how can I serve you today, show me what I can do for your kingdom." "How can I be that part of the Lord's Prayer helping God's Will be Done? What would that look like if God's will was being done by those of us in the church? What if we were faithful in the moments that make up our days? What if we truly worshipped God in words and deeds with our eyes first on God and then on the needs of others? What would that look like? Even my little Back Pew Ministry. I am blessed to be used by God in a way that He uniquely wired me. but even in my world of cartoons, I can take my eyes off of humbly being used by God in this small way to pray for God to bless The Back Pew into becoming The FarSide, or Calvin & Hobbes of Christian cartoons, complete with a modest (OR.. substantial) income. "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" In recent years I have become more intentional in MY PURSUIT OF GOD. While I am and always will be a work in progress and have not resulted in an exorcism of my old self, it has become both a convicting and inspiring journey where today my prayer is .. "Lord what is your will for my life going forward? How can I serve you? Lord help me NOT to bury my talents in the sand, but instead do my part so GOD'S WILL is done on Earth as it is in Heaven. AMEN." I write this hoping it does not take any of you 65 years to figure out God's will for you to serve Him. But if it does, 65 is not too late. Love God, Serve God where your will is God's will. May God bless you all in this journey of discovering who you are intended to be in God's Plan and for HIS Kingdom on Earth. Amen Jeff (slow learner) Larson --> 3/17/2023 St Patrick SpeaksSaint Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated each year on March 17th, the death date of the most commonly recognized patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and is a celebration of the Irish heritage and culture. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals and wearing green attire and shamrocks... and drinking lots of GREEN BEER The Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption. <pause> like a man needs another excuse to drink beer... even green beer
But enough about DRINKING. I thank God today for St. Patrick and his mission to Ireland. May God bless the Irish and all those who pretend to be Irish each year in March. May it be a great day of celebration of heritage and culture, and may the consumption of all be done with reasonable moderation. Please enjoy my modest collection of St Patrick's Day cartoons. Jeff (Irish for a day) O'Larson 3/15/2023 Mindful (rr)Unfortunately, I can be a moody fella, and being moody my wife informs me is not one of my endearing qualities. I have low moments where my introspection GOES ROGUE leaving my self-worth a bit tattered. Just a couple weeks ago I was in one of those funks, but am happy to report I am 'prayerfully' doing much better. Then a fragment of scripture came to mind which led me to a Google search locating... Psalms 8:3-5. 3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 Who is man that You are mindful of him, 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Mindful of me? You see this is my struggle. I believe in God, as from the micro-level cellular miracles of our bodies to the infinite world of the Cosmos it all screams to me... THERE MUST BE A CREATOR. But for me, it is more work to realize this amazing creator cares about me. Who is Jeff that God is mindful of him? So at least for the day, the clouds have parted and I see God as my Heavenly Father, mindful of me. The great creator of all loves me, and I like that. Then to round out my little spiritual exodus the song "Mighty To Save" came to mind. Here are the lyrics. Everyone needs compassion... A love that's never failing... Let mercy fall on me Everyone needs forgiveness... The kindness of a Savior... The hope of nations Savior, he can move the mountains,... My God is mighty to save... He is mighty to save Forever author of salvation... He rose and conquered the grave... Jesus conquered the grave So take me as you find me... All my fears and failures... Fill my life again I give my life to follow... Everything I believe in... Now I surrender Savior, he can move the mountains,... My God is mighty to save... He is mighty to save Forever author of salvation... He rose and conquered the grave... Jesus conquered the grave Shine your light and let the whole world see .. We're singing for the glory of the risen king Jesus This song is about the full circle relationship with God as He intends. No matter if I am lost in introspection or feeling invincible I will need compassion, kindness, and love of the God of our Bibles. He is that loving Father, He is Jesus our Savior, and He is the Holy Spirit who brightens up any DARK and/or hopeless situation. Our God is mighty to Save. May God bless each of us where the realization of a Savior who both moves mountains, and is mindful of each and every one of us. Jeff (child of God) Larson 3/13/2023 Faithful in the DetailsI was 'praying anxiously' the other day. Of course, praying anxiously is an oxymoron bigger than a skinny Baptist preacher... But God reminded me I am called to be FAITHFUL IN the moments that make up my day not FAITHFUL FOR a moment in my day. I guess this is obvious to everyone else, BUT for me, it was an epiphany.. and my new calling. I should not longer worry about being recognized as the 'FarSide' of Christian cartoonists (lol, in my dreams).. but instead, focus on being Faithful in Word and Deed in what every day presents to me. Faithful when...
Faithful is not just when everyone is watching. We are called to be faithful to God in words, emotions, deeds, thoughts, and in our prayer life. Prayer is how we fight our battles. May the Lord find us all faithful in big and small ways including every nook and cranny that makes up our days. Jeff (work in progress) Larson |
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Back Pew - Draw Close to God
My Book- 116 pages of cartoons of 'Clean Humor & God's Truth' CRITICS ARE SAYING.
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3/25/2023
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