Grace is Not Supreme

Thanks to the good folks at Christianity Today, I was privileged to read your article, That Grace is not Supreme.  Very interesting.

To qualify my thoughts to follow, I am 85 years of age - and "movin' on", a Christian for many years, but more importantly, introduced to Grace as a topic several years ago. Up until then, I thought of it only as another of the often used terms we hear from our pulpits and seldom seen on the streets where I live.

Then, I met - as I like to say, God, heart to heart, mano mano, man to man., some forty years ago, but until then, most of our "conversations" had o do with His answering my petitions for help..

Then, I was introduced to Grace, answering my most urgent question, "So, I have been "saved" - now what?  Sin had still preoccupied my thought processes and even though, I tried to focus on living up to "Christian" standards, I knew I was failing, daily.

Maybe it was because, there were few gifts I received as a child.  I either promptly ignored them, but I held onto a few for many years.

So, I wondered about this Grace, this gift from God and I wondered if it could help me with the sessions of doubt and yes fear, I had often experienced.

I decided to put it to use.  Rather than another "fall from Grace" I decided to use it as the power by which I could eradicate my tendency to sin.  It seemed to work.  In fact, the more I used it, the more I felt confident that I no longer needed the temptations that had led me to sin.  And over the years since applying my theory, the happier I am with whose I am, and occasions for temptation are few and far apart.

Alas, I have often shared these thoughts with Pastors, learned practitioners of the faith and the best response I have ever received was an occasional, "Bless you, my friend."

When asked if such thoughts are "scriptural" I quickly point to the verse I heard from on high, shortly after my conversion, Acts 1:8 "And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be My witnesses - wherever, whenever, you move about."  The later is my interpretation of the places mentioned in the text.

It answers the ancient question, Saved yes, but saved for what?"

Sadly, in and around Cookeville, TN, where I live, it is typically answered, "..saved from Hell" but since I never read where Jesus put it that way, I am content to use my version - "saved for good works," in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Would love to hear your response - even by phone, 931-528-7238.

Oh yes, you will find this on my blog - ReflectionsOnALifeWellSpent.blogspot.com

Sherwood MacRae

The Christian Life - the truth

A fellow asked me the other day, "Where did you get your title for a blog?" and the first thing I did was to wonder why he was asking me this question.  You have to know, I have provoked a few people with talk about my view of Christianity and I had to wonder, "Am I being set up for something more than just an innocent question?"  Believing him to be sincere, my only response had to be, I write because I have been really privileged to live a long life, have been abundantly blessed by God and I want others to know about it.  And while I am it, I need to quote the scripture that changed my life.  You will find it in the gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10: "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy.  I come that they might have life and have it - abundantly."

With that said, you need to know I will be turning to it more and more as we go along.

I was all set to remind you of an incident that happened a few years ago when I was interrupted by word of a new book, actually, a book that was new to me.  Its title made me think of the title I use for this blog, "A Life Well Lived".  It;s author, Leonard Sweet, is a Pastor who has written others and can be found on the Internet by using his name, followed by .com.

And when I hear about a book, before rushing out to purchase it, I go to www.amazon.com, type in the title of the book and click on the title when it comes up.  That leads me to the book reviews and I read what others have to say.  Here is part of one review, entered by a UMC Pastor:

"Sweet points out that somewhere along the way, humanity forgot how to play – or at least relegated it to the life of a child. Life became about pursuing a 5-year plan rather than an eternal Promise; following rules and regulations rather than chasing relationships; avoiding learning from mistakes to striving to never make a mistake at all. We have been so focused on successfully knowing/following God’s ‘plan’ for our lives (and in our churches) that we have forgotten how to enjoy God in every aspect of life."

Therein lies the reason I have for the title of my blog.  I have made lots of mistakes and through them all, I have found God to be the more perfect answer to all, each and every one of them.  He has taught me to be faithful - full of faith, as that is His nature.

Now, back to what I started out to write.  Yesterday, Katie interviewed a woman you may not know.  You certainly have heard of her husband as he was the demented soul who entered an Amish school house in Pennsylvania and eventually, murdered five of the children before turning the gun on himself.  According to the testimony of his wife, there was nothing wrong on that morning.  He hugged and kissed his wife and their three children and left for work.

But there was something wrong.  Deep in his psyche he apparently harbored the loss of their first child who was dead as an infant.  She thought that they had worked through that dreadful experience and were pleased by the three healthy, wholesome children that followed.  Obviously, he had not.

You can read all about those years - and those hours, in a book she has written and is now on sale in our bookstores.  The title:  "One Light Still Shines, My Life Beyond the Shadows of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting".

I could tell you more about her testimony, but to me, the part i will never forget came about shortly after the shooting.  She had moved in with her family and was looking out of the window one morning when she noticed Amish elders walking toward the house.  Her father went to greet them and learned that they were there to express their condolences to the widow and offer their help to her as time moved on.  You will have to read the book to understand all that transpired in that meeting.

Tears came to my eyes as I recalled the many times while driving through this area and would come upon one of the Amish horse drawn buggies and wondered how they could live in the world that is so independent of the "machinery" we require for our existence.  I have gone to their roadside markets to buy fresh produce and noticed how efficient they were in carrying out each transaction.  More often than not, there were no smiles, no words of greeting, just commercial exchanges.

I have visited their homes - on display, and often wondered, could I live in this world that they appear to be so content to eke out an existence?  I have read of the youngsters who have left it to find whatever it was they were seeking in the "outside" world and often, the "shunning" that followed such occasions.  I remember visiting a factory in Pennsylvania when an associate made a foolish comment to the receptionist and within a half hour, the whole plant shut down, waiting for an apology.  The receptionist was the daughter of the plant foreman.

And I will never forget the hearts of the kin folk of those who were murdered came to express their sympathy to the family and the wife of the murderer.

You have heard this before, you will hear it again, the wisdom of my grandfather who taught me these words long before I would ever understand the thoughts, "God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform, He plants His footsteps in the sands and rides upon the storm."

I have this to ask of others, those who seem to enjoy debating their knowledge of the Bible versus the knowledge of others, how often have you walked up to the houses where those others live and inquire if there was any way you could serve their needs?

Listen, listen to who is speaking - and why!

Good morning!  Busy morning for me as I just realized I am about to run out of some of my "meds" and there are two doctor's offices involved.  I don't know about you, but I still have not become accustomed to recordings and you have to leave a message, hoping they will respond properly.  So, I have started this morning on high hopes!!!

And I promised myself I would introduce you to someone who has me excited about the word of God and how it really ought to be interpreted by those of us who have placed our trust in our Lord.  She is a real lady who has been through the kinds of struggles in her personal life that makes too many of us give up hoping.  That is not her testimony, but it is mine.  I still weep when I know what has happened or is happening in the lives who give up, give in, too soon.

OK, here goes... her name is Beth Moore and she can be "heard" through her blog and that address is: http://blog.lproof.org.   She has a web site at "livingproof.com.

I have never met her in person, but she has appeared on James Robinon's program - over TBN and others, I assume.  I have known of James for many years and - at first, I was really angry about the way he was preaching.  Now, however, he seems to have repented and with his beautiful wife, they are living witnesses of the power of God to change lives for all who will listen,

Speaking of the power of God, I witnessed it again last evening - at church.  In my "heart of hearts" I weep over the direction of the messages I hear coming from many churches.  Not my church, the church worldwide.  Yes, I know of the "good works" being delivered to those in need in many faraway places and even here in our cities and towns across America.  But it appears to me that we are being torn apart by voices that demand we will all bow down to their interpretation of the Bible.  I don't understand it. Over the last forty years, I have read my own Bible cover to cover many times, so often that I dare not believe otherwise.  But there are those that will take their interpretation of what they have read and use it against others they do not even know and want the rest of us to believe they understand what Jesus meant when He said, "By this all will know you are My disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:35)  Note the italics.  All will know, if you love one another.  In another verse, He talks about laying down our lives as evidence of our love for Him. 

And please note, all - in Jesus' times, still means all today and forever.  Then there is that little word, if.  A friend of mine, many years ago insisted that it is the word - if, that we find implanted in another word that ought to mean everything to us, the word life.  Think about that for a moment.

I still can not understand why brothers and sisters who claim to love God and agree to love one another are so intent on believing that others are going to Hell, just because everyone does not agree with their interpretation of the words and meaning of words written thousands of years ago.

Then the Pastor referred us to the verses starting with Luke 15:25.  It concerns the return of the prodigal son and the Father's immediate acceptance of his return, in spite of the life he had been living.

Everything seemed to working out well until the scriptures reveal another side of the story.  Verse 29 records the words of the other son... "Look, for so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours, and yet you have never given me a kid that I might be merry with my friends. but when this (other) son of yours, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him."

Reminds me of pages from the American history books I have read over the years.  We are privileged to live in a land dedicated to the One who we want to call our Creator, but the history books reveal the fact that we have not always been God fearing people.  First it was the Indians who inhabited their lands that we confiscated and how did we treat them?  Then along came the emigrants, many of whom were rejected out of hand and how did we treat them?  Then, we divided our own selves and fought a war that still rages in the minds of some.  We continued to insist those who were "freed" in that war must live as second-class citizens until we changed our laws.  And of course, there was the way we treated our mothers, our wives and our daughters in the workplace until we began to come to our senses and do what was right for all of us.

Now, we are faced with an even greater challenge and as has happened throughout our history, we will either change or we will be forced to change by others and - in my opinion, by the One who spoke so eloquently, so many years ago, "By this, all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

It was on May 12, 1975 that I asked God what He meant by the word, repent.  (Matthew 4:17) and to my amazement, my mind was suddenly filled with reminders of those years when I was angry because I did not have a Father like my friends, nor the nice clothes that others wore, and there was more, much more.  With those thoughts overwhelming my mind, I began to realize that I had reasons to repent, many reasons and I did.  From that moment on, my life has been blessed over and over and over again and yes, there have been hard times - in my mind.  But my heart clung - and still clings, to the realization that there is a God and in spite of my foolishness at times, He still loves me and blesses me.

It's like that old song from many, many years ago, "Every body ought to know, every body ought to know, every body ought to know, who Jesus is.   He's the lily of my valley, He's my bright and shiny star, He's the fairest of ten thousand, every body ought to know."

February 19, 2014

The last post left you at a bus station in Tulsa, OK, hanging up from a phone call where I learned that the man I had come to see, hoping that he could help me get past the experiences of my life in California, was not available and would not be available for at least two more weeks.

What was I to do?  I knew no one in Tulsa to help and I was nearly broke.  It was then I remembered that we had passed a "labor pool" as the bus was headed for the station.  I decided I would try working on the "wrong" side of the desk.  I knew it was late, most of the available jobs were filled.  I would have to wait and so I took a seat after filling out their brief application card,  It was 9:30 AM, I would wait until almost 2PM before the dispatcher asked me if I could count.  It turned out that he needed someone to help with an inventory at a nearby company.  Thank you, Lord.

The job was rather simple but there were hundreds of items to be counted.  I went to work.  At 5PM the "boss" asked if I would like to work overtime.  Sure!   And so I worked until 8PM and was told they wanted me back tomorrow.  The boss asked me where I lived and I had to confess I would be looking for a place.  He told me of a downtown motel that was cheap; he seemed to understand my dilemma and handed by a $20 bill to pay for my rent.

That was Monday and as it turned out, I worked all week - 40 hours, and when I got paid by the labor office, I tried to repay the $20 the boss had loaned me and he smiled and said, "Forget it, that was the best investment we have ever made" and then he handled me a company check for $50, claiming that I had earned it.

I walked up the street feeling good about myself and as I passed a cocktail lounge, I thought I would stop and have a beer.  "After all," I thought to myself, "a laborer is entitled to relax after working all week."  Funny, as I tried to open the door, it appeared to be locked.  I tried again, and tried again.  I had heard voices within and was puzzled but just as I started to walk away, two couples walked up and opened the door I thought had been locked.  I started for follow then and then I remembered my question about my need to repent.  Maybe, the door just seemed to be locked to me for a reason.

I walked on to the YMCA and paid a week's rent and when I got to my room, I opened my Bible again to see if  I could find an explanation, but there was none.  The next morning, Saturday, after eating my breakfast at a nearby diner, I decided to ride a bus out to the ORU campus.  It was as beautiful as I had thought it would be.  Just sitting on a park bench, I felt better thanI had felt for months.  I noticed there was a book store nearby and decided to see if Oral might have written something related to my recent experience or, the experiences in my past.  I did not find one, but glancing at a jewelry display I saw an item I liked and picked it up and noticed the card to which it had been attached.  It was a Bible verse, Acts 1:8, ..."you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses.."   I had already picked out a church I would attend the next day, so I bought the item and put the card in my pocket as a reminder to ask someone what that verse might possibly mean to me.

Would you believe, the text the Pastor had chosen for his sermon was the one I had noticed the day before.  I sat in my pew hanging on his every word.  I knew that I knew I had found a church home as it would be for the next two years.  But I was about to have my world turned upside down.

I had left instructions with the CA State people in the office that monitored the homes in which we had placed the children temporarily, that I would let them know when I would be returning.  I was about to be shocked beyond my comprehension.  My wife had been released from prison and regained custody of our children.  I hired a lawyer to investigate the reasons for that decision by the State and he had to tell me there was nothing we could do from Oklahoma.  I decided to wait until after I had accomplished the purpose of my journey.

As it turned, that would never happen.  I began to speak with elders in my new church home and it was their counsel that I stay in Tulsa, work if I could find a job, and wait to see what happened with our children.  It would be a long wait.

Meanwhile, it seemed, I had new power as every place I turned to for employment, I was hired and it went from good to opportunities beyond anything I had experienced in California.  Eventually, I would find an even better opportunity in Dallas, TX, and so I moved there.  Unfortunately, it would not turn out to be as good as it had sounded, but while there, I met a number of good friends, some of whom had other opportunities and so it went on and on.  Finally, I made a deal that paid me a lot of money and I had a plan.  I would sell my equity in a business I had helped to establish and send the receipts to the State of California to maintain my obligations for child support until there was no further responsibility.

By this time, I considered myself to be an authority on what the Bible had to say and I had been looking for the possibility of joining an established training company or similar organization.  I prayed and asked God, what He would have me to do.  A word of advice to those reading these words, don't ever ask God for such counsel unless you are prepared to do what He asks you to do or go where He asks you to go.

Clearly I heard Him say, :"Go, be with my people."

The only interpretation I could make was to consider my thoughts in years past.  As a Manager of a "labor" office in Los Angeles, I used to wonder why grown men, many well educated, would get in such a situation in life where they had to work for minimum wage, paid daily.  It has always troubled me that in a nation as prosperous as we have become could ignore the circumstances of such people and worse, those without sufficient educational preparation to find a better job for themselves.  I knew what I had to do, I knew where He wanted me to go.

With that I literally walked out of Dallas on a blazing hot July afternoon, wearing nothing more than a shirt, jeans and a pair of "penny" loafers, no hat, carrying nothing but my Bible.  I was heading North to be with His people.

I really had given no thought to money, what I might need, what a reasonable person would have taken with him or her.  I just had a confidence that God would provide and He did, for over two and half years and it would have continued, but then there was this lady who dared to declare, long before she knew anything about me, that she loved me and wanted to marry me.  But that is another story for yet another day.

Pardon the delay. My editor is a close friend and I really do not like imposing on the good nature of good friends. I trust you will understand. Better yet, I pray that you will respond. What do you think about "using" the talents of good friends?

Wow! What a day to start this. As you will learn, I love the art of politics and I will have comments on the state of politics as I write. To tell you the truth, both sides of the critical issues of our day are suspect. They were elected to office to serve the "We, the people".... as described in our Constitution and it ought to be apparent, "We" are the missing ingredient in most of the solutions they have to offer. So, tonight, as you listen to the President of the United States put forth his proposed agenda for the coming year, take time to realize this is his perspective. You may differ from his, but if you do, I pray that you will offer a reasoned response and not just the words offered to you by your favorite political "think" tank.

But politics is not the intent of my efforts. I have lived a long time, going on my 85th birthday in August, and I have learned a lot, forgotten even more, but this I believe with all of my heart. There is a God and none of us really know Him if our lives do not resemble His teachings and they should not be restricted to the dictates of any one particular religious ethic. In saying that, I do not wish to demean any particular religion. You ought to be free to make up your own mind. I have a strong belief in the ethic defined by our nation's Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. I have opinions and have come to realize that they are always subject to change as long as others do not try to force their opinions on me. I live to learn and even at my advancing age, I am eager to hear about new ideas, even old ideas with a new twist..

When you hear the responses to the President's speech tonight, take care that you do not merely echo their thoughts. They get paid to say what you will hear and - regardless of which party has fashioned the comments, you can believe that you need to carefully examine their content.

With that, I am out of here. Plan to spend the day examining the employment opportunities in our community, the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee, my adopted home. I love it. Yes, I was born in Michigan, graduated from Yale, but that was not the college in Connecticut. It was a great place to start, but I have also traveled a lot and stand amazed at this land we call the United States of America. I am proud of every acre and the people who occupy who occupy even a fraction of each acre. We do amazing things and our reason for being ought to focus on encouraging others to do even more. Think about this and I'll be back tomorrow. I trust I will see you then.

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