Ken Shelton

    Are you a  Ragamuffin ? 

   The term “ragamuffin” is one I borrowed from the late, great Christian singer/songwriter Rich Mullins . Rich borrowed the name for his band the Ragamuffin band. We both borrowed the term Ragamuffin from the late Christian author Brennan Manning .Many if not most of you don’t know but Brennan  is the author of the best selling book on the subject of Gods grace called “The Ragamuffin Gospel”. The Ragamuffin Gospel was written for Ragamuffin Christians. The foreword of the book makes this pretty clear.

 *  It is for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out. 

 *  It is for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase one hand to the other. 

 *  It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together and are too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace. 

 *  It is for inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker.   

 *  It is for poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents. 

*   It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay. 

*   It is for the bent and the bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God. 

*   It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags. 

   The Ragamuffin Gospel is a book I wrote for myself and anyone who has grown weary and discouraged along the Way. —Brennan Manning 

   If you fall under one or more of the above mentioned descriptions…then you too are a Ragamuffin. I think that they all described me. You may be a believer who has somewhere lost their way. You may be a seeker who has yet to find their way. Either way you are still a ragamuffin and Jesus is waiting for you to come home. Coming to Jesus is one of those things so easy that it seems hard ... kinda like love ! Jesus doesn't want us to beg but rather  to believe that we need cleaning up and that He's the one who wants to and can do it.  He already knows all about you even about the arrogance and pride which maybe has kept you from coming to Him. He knows how hard it is to be a human and how hard it is to  believe in the supernatural things that you can't see. All He wants you to do is come to Him with a child like faith. It's really all you've got. Tell Him that it's all so hard to understand and that you need Him to help you and to "watch your back"  Take the first step with a sincere faith and He'll do the rest. I don't pretend to be some religious superman with all of the answers. I really don't even like religion .But I really, really, really Like Jesus a whole lot...and I want to see Him one day and thank Him face to face for all that He's done for me .He in no way ever forced me to choose Him, nor will He you. I'll never know this side of home why he didn't make it all easier to accept and understand...why He allowed bad things to happen to good people and why sometimes things happen that seem so unfair. He's only as real as you allow Him to be. Hope you decide to take a chance and step out in faith. Maybe we'll meet on the other side !        Ken