God Is Always With Us

Weekly Message

April 27, 2014

Tom Seymour

God is always with us

Have you ever felt alone, as if God was not around or perhaps had forsaken you? If you have, you are not unique. Most everyone at some point in their life has these doubts.

Perhaps you even felt as if you were sinning just because you had these thoughts. That, too, is something that happens to many. But we can’t help such thoughts coming to us. We can, though, help ourselves by discounting them out of hand. So it’s no sin to have unrighteous thoughts, but it is a sin to allow them to dictate our actions.

But the real truth of the matter is that no matter what the devil may put in our heads to try and confound us and harm our relationship with God, it is all a lie. God is with us at all times. Remember the story of the footprints on the beach? The one where two sets of footprints turned into only one set? The person viewed this as God forsaking him. But God answered and said, “That was where I carried you.”

Without this knowledge of God’s love and constant presence in our lives, I truly don’t know how any of us could survive. I know I couldn’t. Living alone now for the last 22 years, I have times when I feel sorry for myself. I miss my loved ones, all gone. I miss friends who have preceded me. And I know it’s natural to feel this way. I also know, however, that I am not alone and am never alone. At the most desolate and lonely times, I feel God’s presence the most. He is there and always will be. He is here with me and He is there with you.

We must cultivate our relationship with God, though, since He will not push himself upon us. Upon retiring and arising, I acknowledge God. I constantly pray, not only for myself but for others. And I thank God. We thank people for the smallest of kind gestures. Why should we not thank God for the grandest kindness of all, the gift of His son Jesus, who took our sins upon himself on the cross.

I know people often struggle with the triune nature of God. I once had a pastor friend tell me that he knew God, but had never encountered Jesus. This was a learned man, with a doctorate degree. And he admitted to not really feeling or experiencing Jesus, as such, in his life.

But in fact he had. Jesus and God and God’s Holy Spirit are one. And they are three. By having God in his life, my friend also had Jesus in his life.

The mystery of the Holy Trinity is not something lightly approached and few of us ever wholly understand it. It is something heavenly, above and beyond our realm and more than we can comprehend. But we can believe. And when we believe that Jesus, God and God’s Holy Spirit are one, we are doing all that we can.

When I pray I pray to God. I pray in the name of Jesus. And I know Jesus hears me. And sometimes He sends His Holy Spirit to minister to me. Do I try and lessen the beauty of this mystery by making distinctions? No. Absolutely not.

God is our creator and He loves us. You, me, everyone on earth. It’s hard for me to get my hands around this, since I can think of mean, cruel people who I cannot imagine loving. But God loves them too.

So take heart and find solace in the fact that God is there and He is aware of you. He loves you and wants the best for you. Enter into His glory. Accept the gift of Christ’s blood, shed on the cross. And open your spiritual eyes and see evidence of God’s work in your life. Ask God to be with you and He will be with you. God wants to hear from you. He waits and has waited. So call upon him. He won’t fail you. 

He Is Risen - Rejoice

Easter Sunday, 2014 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” – John 11:25-26 This message is the cornerstone of our faith. It is the true for all eternity. Jesus Christ died, willingly, for our sins. Christ, both God and man, endured all that flesh is heir to and persevered to the end, faultless and without blemish. It is his sacrifice, and his resurrection from the dead that we hold on to. No mere man could have accomplished this, only Jesus, God-in-man. And he did it for us, for me and you, those believers who have passed and those yet unborn. So embrace Christ. Thank him for his sacrifice. And spread the Gospel message as you are able, to those who are lost. May the blessings of this Easter rest upon you and yours. In Christ, Tom Seymour

Plants Attest To God's Glory

The wild plants that we see every day can teach us a lot about the diversity of God’s creation. Even those who live in inner Cities can witness this testament to glory by examining wild plants growing in vacant lots and even cracks in sidewalks.

For untold centuries, organized religion has used plants as teaching tools. This was especially important at a time when most laymen were illiterate. While a farmer, miller or baker couldn’t read, he could quickly recite fact, lore and legend concerning the wild plants that grew all about.

It might surprise a modern-day herbalist to know how the popular herb St. John’s wort got its name. Supposedly, this often scraggly plant bloomed on the birthday of St. John the Baptist.

Then we have shamrocks. These three-leaved clover-like plants were a perfect teaching aid for St. Patrick to use to illustrate the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.

But besides their use in teaching God’s word, plants themselves show us a lot about life. Often, a quick glance at a plant reveals nothing out of the ordinary, but when viewed closely, or perhaps under magnification, plants display properties that amaze us. Hidden traits come to life. This is apparent, for instance, when holding a leaf of St. John’s wort up to a magnifying glass. At once, we see that the little black dots on the back of the leaf are not just spots, but something like craters. These are oil pockets. And unless we look closely, we don’t see them.

Even some houseplants and garden plants tell about God. Prayer plants, for example, fold their leaves in the evening as sunlight wanes. And passionflower was so-named because it teaches various aspects of our Lord’s passion on the cross.

The power of life that God imparted to each living thing, including plants, is clearly demonstrated in the little shoots of chives that grow even under a coating of snow. When the time comes for chives to grow, they do so despite snow, ice and freeing cold. This is made possible by a process that turns the bottom layer of snow to a sheet of ice, something like a pane of glass. This thin layer of ice protects the plants below. And then diffused light from the springtime sun penetrates the snow, gets magnified by the “glass” and warms the ground so that the nascent chives can grow.

So really, the beauty of creation is even more spectacular than we might realize. Just take a closer look and prepare to be amazed.

It’s the same with the word of God. If you haven’t read the bible, I suggest you read the Gospel of John. But don’t speed-read it. Go about it slowly and deliberately, just as when viewing a plant with a magnifying glass. You’ll be amazed at what scripture reveals as Gods speaks to you through his word.

This dewdrop in the center of a lupine rosette magnifies and reflects its surroundings