Just As I Am!

June 28, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Realizing that you probably think I am stuck on de Mello’s books, I am, nevertheless, going to offer another quote from “The Song of the Bird” (p. 67-68): “I was a neurotic for years. I was anxious and depressed and selfish. Everyone kept telling me to change. I resented them, and I agreed with them, and I wanted to change, but simply couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried. What hurt the most was that, like the others, my best friend kept insisting that I change. So I felt powerless and trapped. Then, one day, he said to me, ‘Don’t change. I love you just as you are.’ Those words were music to my ears: ‘Don’t change. Don’t change. Don’t change. . . I love you as you are.’ I relaxed. I came alive. And suddenly I changed! Now, I know that I couldn’t really change until I found someone who would love me whether I changed or not.”
If I am not mistaken (and in this instance, I am not!), this is the way God loves us! Thankfully, we do not have to change in order to gain His love; He loves us because He is love and that is what love does.
Anyone who takes ownership of this incredible truth, anyone who believes that God is not requiring him/her to change in order to gain His love, does, indeed, change, so much so, as to come alive and really live.
Stop trying to be someone you are not. Stop trying to change to accommodate someone’s desires, to earn their love and acceptance. Accept the fact that those who really love you, love you as you are—whether you change or not.
God does and you can count on it!
That is good news—really good news!

The Fox & the Tiger

June 26, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
This quote is also from de Mello’s book, “The Song of the Bird” (p. 79): “A man walking through the forest saw a fox that had lost its legs and wondered how it lived. Then he saw a tiger come in with game in its mouth. The tiger had its fill and left the rest of the meat for the fox. The next day God fed the fox by means of the same tiger. The man began to wonder at God’s greatness and said to himself, ‘I too shall just rest in a corner with full trust in the Lord and He will provide me with all I need.’ He did this for many days but nothing happened, and he was almost at death’s door when he heard a voice say, ‘O you who are in the path of error, open your eyes to the truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox.’”
Recognizing that this is merely my not-so-humble opinion, I am offering it, nonetheless: From what I can see, we are living in a society that has been (for the most part) well-trained to imitate the disabled fox, not the tiger, and, I might add, it has been and continues to be a path of error.
Yes, I do know what Jesus said about “looking at the birds of the sky,” and about “not being anxious about our provisions,” and about “observing the lilies of the field,” but I also know what He said about our “seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness” and how this is a prerequisite to these “things” being added to us.
It is very difficult for me to imagine how anyone could have, as his priority, the seeking of God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, while imitating this disabled fox.
Which are you imitating, the tiger or the fox?

A Handful of Wheat

June 20, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
This quote is also from de Mello’s book, “The Song of the Bird” (p. 47): A handful of wheat, five thousand years old, was found in the tomb of one of the kings of ancient Egypt. Someone planted the grains and, to the amazement of all, the grains came to life.”
This is his comment: “I used to think the words of Scripture were dead and dry. I know now that they are full of energy and life. But it was my heart that was stony and dead, so how could anything grow there?”
This is my thought: there have been many times in the life of every believer, when the Scriptures seemed to be void of life, but inevitably He would plant them into our hearts and, lo and behold, they would come to life within us and for us.
Things really are not what they seem! Regardless of how they might appear on any given day, or in any given circumstance, His words are always full of energy and life—His life!
You think about that-

An Illusion

June 18, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
This is another quote from de Mello’s book, “Awareness” (p. 51): “Anytime you have a negative feeling toward anyone, you’re living in an illusion. There’s something seriously wrong with you. You’re not seeing reality. Something inside of you has to change. But what do we generally do when we have a negative feeling? ‘He is to blame, she is to blame. She’s got to change.’ No! The world’s all right. The one who has to change is you.”
de Mello went on to point out that he was not suggesting that we should do nothing when an obvious wrong has been committed; instead, he was suggesting that we should act, but with objectivity, which negative emotions prevent.
Again, whether or not you agree with de Mello is not my concern, but I do trust that you will take a moment to evaluate how your own negative emotions cloud your objectivity, and in the end, cause negative reactions, rather than positive responses.
I do think it is time for us to stop blaming others for the things that produce negative feelings, and I, certainly, think it is time for us to realize that the only person we can change is, well, I think you know. If you do not, look into the mirror.
Of this I am convinced: neither God nor man is too concerned about my or your happiness, so it would behoove each of us to get over ourselves. God is not concerned about our happiness because He has a much higher dream for us; namely, that we find ultimate fulfillment in His Son. Man is not concerned about our happiness because he is too busy trying to adjust his own circumstances, so he will be happy.
May we get past the illusion-

Dependence

June 17, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
When we finally come to the place where we no longer see others as a means of satisfying our addictions, we are, then and only then, able to love. Prior to this, we see others through the lenses of fear—the paralyzing fear that they will fail to provide us with what we believe we desperately need—their love and acceptance and approval. When you no longer give others the power to make you happy (or miserable, for that matter), you are finally free to love.
Anthony de Mello, in his book, “Awareness” (p. 172-173), asked this question: “Can you imagine a life in which you refuse to enjoy or take pleasure in a single word of appreciation or to rest your head on anyone’s shoulder for support?” He went on to add this: “Think of a life in which you depend on no one emotionally, so that no one has the power to make you happy or miserable anymore. You refuse to need any particular person or to be special to anyone or to call anyone your own.”
Please take a few minutes and consider what de Mello has said, and whether or not you agree, I do hope it will remind you of just how much our unhealthy need for others, causes us to sap the life out of them, to sabotage relationships with them, and to leave us in a perpetual state of dependence.
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1; NASB).

Alexis & Allison

June 16, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
In my church bulletin for yesterday, I wrote an article (with a particular motive in mind), telling my congregants that later in the evening I would be officiating at the wedding of Alexis and Allison. I emphasized the fact, that although I have married many couples over the past 30 years, this was my first time for an “Alexis & Allison” couple. I took the time to be sure that everyone had read the article, and, then, I asked if there were any comments. The looks on their faces and the whispers from their mouths were a dead giveaway—they minds were in gear and they were (for the most part) all thinking the same thing.
Have you noticed how quick we are to jump to conclusions? Have you noticed how easily our minds can be manipulated? Have you noticed how quick we are to make judgments based upon our perceptions, rather than on facts? Have you noticed how often what seems to be true is not true at all? Have you ever stopped to think about the number of rumors, false rumors, that you have initiated, as the result of your jumping to conclusions be-fore getting the facts? Have you ever considered the number of lives you have trashed be-cause of your making judgments based upon your perception of truth, rather than on actual truth? Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that much of what you perceive to be truth is not truth at all?
Of this I am confident: Had I not taken the time to clarify their perceptions of truth, the news would have somehow leaked out that I had married a gay couple, and, to be sure, the rumors would have been flying (Just for the record, that would not have bothered me in the least; in fact, I would have probably enjoyed it, even though I am quite convinced that God has made His position on the subject of gay marriage quite clear—He is against it. Yes, I am aware that my perception of God’s opinion on this subject could be very erroneous).
For this article, however, the subject is not about gay marriage; instead, it is about our tendency to jump to conclusions before we have the facts; it is about our tendency to believe that our perceptions of truth are actually truth; it is about our tendency to trash others based upon our perceptions of who they are, rather than who they really are.
Just for the record (in case you haven’t already figured it out), Alexis is a full-blooded, able-bodied male, and Allison is a beautiful female. The wedding was beautiful and it presented me with an incredible opportunity to love others because He loves me.

Some Thoughts from a book . . .

June 11, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Last night I finished a book that might be of interest to some of you (it is not for everyone!)—“Awareness” by Anthony de Mello. One of the many things that intrigued me about the book is the way he makes the reader (in this case, yours truly) rethink things he believes. I know this turns some people off, but I actually enjoy it. Anyway, I thought I would share with you a few quotes from the book. I would love to read your comments.
1. “Your beliefs give you a lot of security, but faith is insecurity” (p.18).
2. “We see people and things not as they are, but as we are” (p.88).
3. “No one has the power to put pressure on you” (p89).
4. “You are responsible for the negative feeling, not the other person” (p.90).
5. “I have no right to make any demands on you” (p.90).
6. “The selfish thing is to demand that someone else live their life as YOU see fit” (p. 93).
7. “It is not selfish to life your life as you see fit” (p-.93).
8. “You can’t imitate Christ by imitating His external behavior” (p. 96).
9. “Nobody was mean to you. Somebody was mean to what he or she thought was you, but not to you” (p. 97).
10. “Nobody ever rejects you; they’re only rejecting what they think you are” (p. 97).
11. “The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept” (p. 102).
12. “. . . most people spend all their energies trying to rearrange their exterior world to suit their tastes” (p. 110).
13. “Not even the greatest guru in the world can take a single step for you” (p. 112).
14. “Life is something that happens to us while we are busy making other plans” (p.114).
15. “We always hate what we fear” (p. 117).
16. “We think we know, that is our tragedy; so we never discover” (p. 129).
17. “You always empower the demons you fight” (p. 147).
18. “You don’t chase darkness out of the room with a broom, you turn on a light” (p. 147)
19. “Loneliness is when you are missing people, aloneness is when you’re enjoying your-self” (p. 149).
20. “Dying is wonderful; it’s only horrible to people who have never understood life” (p.150).
21. “Wisdom occurs when you drop barriers you have erected through your concepts and conditioning” (p. 160).
22. “One cannot make a slave of a free person, for a free person is free even in prison” (p. 161).
23. “You were given a taste of the drug called approval, appreciation, attention” (p. 162).
24. “Learn to enjoy the solid food of life. Good food, good wine, good water. Taste them. Lose your mind and come to your senses” (p. 164).
25. “Unfortunately, people have gone crazy, and they’re getting more and more addicted because they do not know how to enjoy the lovely things of life” (p. 165).

Sight to the Blind!

Mac's Perspective on the Intricacies of God’s Amazing Grace

June 5, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
This is Jesus’ response to the two blind men, who were crying out to Him to have mercy on them: “Do you believe that I am able to do this” (Matthew 9:28)? This is their response: “Yes, Lord” (vs. 28). Sounds simple enough to me.
These two men were blind—physically blind! Obviously, they really wanted Jesus to give them sight. The incident went off without a single hitch. A beautiful story! An incredibly beautiful story! Dramatic and undeniable proof that Jesus is able to do the impossible. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why every blind person in Israel didn’t run to Him and ask for the same thing. In any case, I am confident that these two men served as very effective advertising agents.
Did you notice, however, that Jesus told them (very emphatically, I might add) not to let anyone know what had happened. These are His words: “See here, let no one know about this” (vs. 30)! Talking about being a “party pooper!” How in the wide-world did Jesus expect them to obey His directive? They were blind, but now they could see! How would they hide that? Did He expect them to continue walking around with a black and white cane, wearing shades and tapping the pavement? Did He really expect them to hide their excitement? Did He really expect them to remain calm the first time they saw the sunset? Did He really expect them to remain unaffected the first time they saw the rain? Whatever He expected, this is what happened: “But they went out, and spread the news about Him in all the land” (vs. 31).
This is the truth: When anyone, who is blind to the truth, experiences the freedom that comes from having been given sight, the kind of sight that allows him to see truth, there is no putting that light under a bushel!
Do you believe that He is able to open your eyes to truth? Good! Now, do you believe that He will? Hmmmm . . . that’s what I thought you would say. Go figure-

The Nuts & Bolts of the Matter

June 4, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
This Sunday, my sermon topic is this: “The Nuts & Bolts of the Gospel.” I am afraid there will be more “nuts” than “bolts” but that will not hinder my pursuing the subject in the least. For some reason, I have the feeling that, when we all of us who teach the Scriptures get to Heaven, we will have to face the fact that we were all “nuts”! I am certain that none of us are as knowledgeable about the Scriptures, as we would like for others to think. Actually, our biggest hindrance to knowing God is our concept of God. Our perceptions of Him determine what we believe about Him, and the truth be known, our perceptions of Him are all probably way off the mark of truth.
I know of no other subject where it is advantageous for the teacher to know that he/she knows little, if anything, about the subject matter. A mathematics teacher must have an excellent working knowledge of mathematics; otherwise, he will fail as a teacher. In the same way, a language teacher must have a excellent working knowledge of the language he is teaching; otherwise, he will fail as a teacher. Interestingly, however, the opposite is true for the teacher of theology; the more he realizes just how little he knows, the more effective he is as a teacher. Don’t panic, as God’s ways never have been our ways, nor will they ever be, at least not this side of Heaven. You see, knowing God has little, if anything, to do with facts and figures, with principles and formulas, with permutations and combinations; instead, knowing God has to do with love, and, well, I think you know what I was about to say about that.
Anyway, nuts & bolts have a neat function; they hold things together! I will never forget the Christmas that Santa brought Amy her first swing set. When I opened the box to put the set together, and realized how many nuts & bolts were necessary for the proper function of the swing set, I nearly fainted. I counted them! There were exactly 4,219 bolts and exactly 4,218 nuts! It was that one missing bolt that kept me up all night, as without it, the set simply would not hold together. I think it was the king pin! (I really didn’t count them, but I didn’t have to, because it became obvious toward the end that a major nut was missing!) Anyway, I finally found it, neatly tucked away in one of the corners of the box.
Just for the record, there are several “nuts & bolts” that actually hold the gospel to-gether, without which the “good news” becomes “very bad news.” Sadly, they have been long-since lost, or so it seems, as is evidenced by the many perversions of the gospel that run rampant throughout the church.
Gosh, I wish all of you could be present this Sunday, as I really would like for you to get your “nuts & bolts” together! (-:

Blessings,
Mac

Enough faith?

June 2, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Yes, I took a month’s Sabbatical from writing my perspectives; sometimes, one needs to regroup, to clear his mind, to refocus, to rid himself of the cobwebs, to rethink his perspective. Since several of you have contacted me, wondering why you weren’t receiving my ramblings, I am back, at least for a while. Hopefully, this “season” of my ramblings will be meaningful to you.
Anyway, this is what Jesus said to the woman with the “issue of blood”: “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22). This is what the woman was thinking before Jesus said those words: “If I only touch His garment, I shall get well” (Mat-thew 9:21).
Have you noticed how often we place the emphasis on faith, rather than of Jesus? For some reason, the message has been, “If you have enough faith, you can get anything you want.” In other words, the more faith one has, the greater the possibility of his receiving want he wants from God. Ironically, however, Jesus said this in response to the disciples asking Him why they could not cast the demon out of the young boy (see Matthew 17:14-19): “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there, and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.’ But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21).
Notice that Jesus made it clear that faith is necessary. The “littleness of their faith” was apparently the problem, but His following comment indicates that their “littleness of faith” was no faith at all! If faith as a mustard would have been sufficient, then obviously, their “littleness of faith” was really no faith (the last time I checked, a mustard seed is SMALL!). In other words, Jesus was not diminishing the importance of faith; instead, He was making it very clear that apart from faith, we are in heaps of trouble. Keep in mind that the though a mustard seed is SMALL, it is powerful—very powerful—as is evidenced by its fruit.
From my perspective, if faith as a mustard seed is sufficient to move mountains, then quantity is not the issue; the issue is the object of one’s faith. For example, you might have faith the size of a mountain in Allah’s ability to heal the sick, but you can rest assured that the sick will remain sick. However, you can have faith the size of a mustard seed in Jesus’ ability to raise the dead, and, if He desires to raise the dead—up they will come!
In my opinion, this was the secret of the woman’s healing—her mind was centered on Jesus, not on how much faith she had or didn’t have. The truth is this: she was tired and weary from having done everything she knew to do, even spent all of her money on doctors, and all to no avail. In other words, her faith was definitely of the “mustard seed” variety. It was sufficient, however, because her focus was on Jesus, not on her faith, or the lack thereof.
This should be quite a relief for those of us who have been convinced that Jesus’ response to our requests is directly related to our having much faith. Actually, much faith is only the size of a mustard seed, and even that is His gift to us! Why, if He should give us faith the size of a golf ball, there is no telling the chaos we would produce.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Blessings,
Mac