Jesus. All about life.

Who is behind Jesus. All about life.

The ‘Jesus. All about Life’ (JAAL) campaign seeks to display the value of communicating via the media, in particular through film and television. In doing this it will bring an awareness of who Jesus is and what he said to every home across NSW and to mobilise churches to engage with their local community through cultural, community and arts events. Click for more information.

seen the super car?

The Jesus Racing ministry of the the Jesus. All about life campaign has now been running for 18 months. In that time, Andrew Fisher has developed the concept to where he is now in demand almost every weekend and through the week to speak at schools, churches and conferences about racing a V8 Ute and being a Christian.

Click here to visit Jesus Racing.

more about Jesus

The following is taken from the ‘Jesus. All about life’ response book, written by Peter Downey and Bill Salier and published as a resource for the campaign by Bible Society.

Jesus – All about life.

Many people today spend a great deal of time searching for something, looking for an answer. They look in horoscopes for assurance. They read magazines for advice. They read self-improvement books. They do courses and look within in the pursuit of self actualisation, growth and fulfilment.

Some people sense a gap in their lives and try to fill it with sex, possessions, success, achievement or sport.

Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) says that real change doesn’t come about from ‘quick fix personality ethic techniques. It comes from striking at the root – the fabric of our thought, the fundamental, essential paradigms, which give definition to our character and create the lens through which we see the world.’

Interestingly, Covey, the multi-million selling author and guru of the contemporary self-help movement, doesn’t stop there. He recognises the limitations of the self-improvement philosophy in saying, ‘I believe that there are parts to human nature that cannot be reached by either legislation or education, but require the power of God to deal with. I believe that as human beings, we cannot perfect ourselves. To the degree to which we align ourselves with correct principles, divine endowments will be released within our nature enabling us to fulfil the measure of our creation.’

Perhaps this accounts for Jesus’ appeal. People recognise that they need the power of God, the power of Jesus, to fulfil the measure of their creation and give them meaning and a framework for their lives. Jesus spoke about the material world and he also reminds people that at their very core they are spiritual beings.

Many people have a picture in their head of Jesus standing in a marketplace or on a hilltop with his arms spread wide, delivering a sermon or saying something nice and gentle like, ‘Turn the other cheek’ or ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you’ or something grandiose like, ‘What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses himself?’ or ‘Blessed are the peacemakers…’ But Jesus’ words are real and powerful. He urged people to get ready for God’s kingdom and told them what it would be like.

Jesus taught how life was to be lived. He challenged established ways of thinking and shook people up to look at life differently. He spoke words that gave people direction, purpose and fulfilment. He cut straight to the heart of the matter. He revealed the emptiness of trying to find satisfaction in worldly things – possessions, friends, money and career. He revealed the futility of striving to work towards self perfection. He exposed the shallowness and hypocrisy of some religious zealots who had wrung all the love and dignity out of their faith and relationship with God and turned it into a legalistic chore.

His words and his example were all about life.

Jesus, the carpenter’s son, was not a trained theologian, yet he astounded everyone with his knowledge and wisdom. Everywhere he went, people gathered to hear the amazing thoughts, innovative ideas and life-changing teaching that came out of his mouth. The scenes surrounding Jesus were reminiscent of what we see today when a victorious sporting team or international pop sensation comes to town. Jesus obviously had something special.

People turned to Jesus for guidance about how to live, and they have been doing that for two thousand years. Some of his messages were quite blunt and challenging. He didn’t beat about the bush when he spoke about matters of everyday living: marriage, love, divorce, giving, making promises, judging others or revenge.

He spoke out against hypocrisy and religious pretension. He spoke out against evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride and foolishness. He told people to reconcile broken friendships, to support the needy, to pray simply, to be faithful in marriage, to be people of their word, to love their enemies, to be humble. He told people not to worship money, or to judge others, or to be hung up on food and clothes, not to be proud and boastful and arrogant, and not to be sexually immoral. He boldly spoke out against injustice. He encouraged people to be compassionate.

Jesus framed all of his ideas in terms of service to God and others. He said that the most important thing in life is to love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love others as much as you love yourself. He put his words into action by mixing with the downtrodden and outcast in that society. He touched lepers, spoke to prostitutes, dined with despised tax collectors, and mixed with the sick, the blind, and the deaf.

Jesus was a gutsy speaker who pulled no punches. He was particularly critical of the unloving and rigid hypocrisy of some of the religious leaders. He referred to them as the blind leading the blind. At other times he called them heartless, show-offs, hypocrites, and fools. In that era, such criticism of leaders was scandalous and shocking.

Much of his teaching was radical and controversial, often going against the grain of cultural and religious wisdom. In that society, when many people were hung up about rules and rituals relating to food, he said that it was not what people eat that makes them unclean, but what is in their heart and what comes out of their mouth. In an era of violence and racial tension within an occupied nation, Jesus told his followers to love their enemies.

These thoughts were radical… extreme… unheard of. They proclaimed the arrival of a new kingdom,
with Jesus as the king.

In short, Jesus was a square peg in a society of round holes. He did not compromise his message for the sake of making people feel comfortable. He openly spoke about something that has almost become a dirty word in our society: sin. He said that the muck in our lives stops us from being in relationship with God, and that we need to have that sorted out. We need to turn away from the misleading and bad things of the world and get back on track with God. There are many unpleasant and dark things in the world, from the biggies like war, crime and murder, through to everyday nasties like gossip, pornography and broken relationships.

We have all seen the haunted faces of refugees, victims of landmines, of AIDS, the Asian tsunami and famine. There is greed, selfishness, and ‘false prophets’ who promise a fast buck for no effort. The poor are exploited and the rich use their privilege to further their own ends. Integrity on a personal and a national level is under threat.

None of us is perfect and we all have junk in our lives. Jesus wants people not just to go with the flow. He encourages us to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable so that our lives will radiate characteristics of God’s spirit in being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self controlled. We are to be people who are compassionate and loving, who stand up for justice and reject hypocrisy.

What he says to us today is, put other people first. Love God. Do what is right. Be an honest person. Don’t cheat on your tax. Be truthful in your business dealings. Have a good look at yourself before you go mouthing off at someone else. Don’t get caught up in gossip or get drunk at the office Christmas party and put yourself in a compromising position. Be content. Don’t be argumentative or swear at drivers just because they cut you off in traffic. Be sincere. Be grateful. Stop thinking only about yourself. Support worthwhile charities, and don’t make a big deal out of it. If you see someone who’s down, ask if you can help out. Be thankful for your family and your job. Be faithful to your partner. Don’t pollute your head with rubbish. Use your tongue to build up, not to destroy. Know that God is in control. Thank God. Turn your back on things that are not right.

Jesus’ followers live in the real world with all its pressures, demands and stresses. Jesus offers a framework to help people navigate life and be effective, balanced, dynamic, capable human beings. For two thousand years, Jesus has been teaching people all about life.