What Jesus Actually Taught

The small size and the simplicity of this book are equaled only by the large task thrust upon the reader and the complexity of implementing the proper mindset required to understand the messages of Jesus and His Apostles. The mindset required is one of being true to one's self, and not lying to one's self.The message of the good news, brought forth by Jesus, is a simple message. However, through misguided or misleading teachings and misinterpretations, the message of the good news is...
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The small size and the simplicity of this book are equaled only by the large task thrust upon the reader and the complexity of implementing the proper mindset required to understand the messages of Jesus and His Apostles. The mindset required is one of being true to one's self, and not lying to one's self.The message of the good news, brought forth by Jesus, is a simple message. However, through misguided or misleading teachings and misinterpretations, the message of the good news is often lost in the name of "personal application". Personal Application is the practice of attempting to apply the words of Jesus to our individual and personal lives without regard to Jesus' actual audiences, situations, circumstances or intents. Does this mean the words of Jesus do not apply to my personal life? God forbid! This means our current methods of attempting to create personal application have caused many to miss the true intention of The Lord, which is: Personal and collective transformation in the hearers of the words of Jesus.Spiritual EavesdroppingIt is with much difficulty that many come to realize the Bible is not God talking to "you". In the similitude of fortune telling, soothsaying, and horoscopes, the Bible has become, for many, mere snippets of words from which one chooses their favorite passage of text and "applies it" to one's life. This is not what God, Jesus or the writers of the Bible intended! What they intended is simple and practical. The words of the Bible and the words of Jesus in particular allow us to "listen-in-on" personal conversations, small group conversations, declarations and teachings given to the multitudes by Jesus. We are "the fly on the wall" in conversations that did not directly involve us, but the content of which is very important to us. Though Jesus was not "talking to you" directly, you "glean" invaluable, life-changing and world-altering insights from eavesdropping on his conversations and interactions. Elementary School From our first introduction to reading, we are taught about context, settings and the author's intentions. Reading Comprehension is measured and displayed in our ability to accurately identify the "who, what, where, how, why and when" of any word, sentence, paragraph or chapter of a text. The greatest tool for self-application is an elementary understanding of the author's intent. What did the speaker or writer mean and how does that apply to me?So now we ask, and answer the question: "What was Jesus saying and to whom was he saying it?