Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Message To Readers


Weekly Message
Tom Seymour
October 8, 2014

Looking For Input From Viewers


Dear readers,

Since beginning this blog, I have kept track of how many people view it. And the results have caused me some dismay. Interestingly, on September 12, the day after the anniversary of the attack upon our nation by Islamic extremists, the viewing rate jumped precipitously. But after that, it fell to dismal levels.

I don’t know what to make of it and am trying to determine if you, the readers, if you are out there, wish for me to continue putting my sermons up on this blog. Also, I have been praying to God for his input, a sign, if you will, as to what He would have me do.

I worry that I am being presumptuous thinking that the Lord wants to use me to spread his word. And I wonder if anyone out there has benefitted in the least from my preaching.

To that end, let me first apologize for stopping my entries with no notice. I have been disheartened by the lack of readership. Is the Lord telling me to stop? I just don’t know.

And yet, if there is just one person out there who would like for me to continue, I will do so with relish. One reader, that’s all. More would be good, but if I can have input in only one person’s spiritual life, that’s good enough for me.

So please, readers, if you are out there, let me know. Either leave a comment on this blog or email me at: tomgseymour@gmail.com. You may even call me at (207) 338-9746. I want to hear from you.

Thank you, and may God richly bless you.

In Christ,

Tom




Weekly Message
Tom Seymour
October 8, 2014

Looking For Input From Viewers


Dear readers,

Since beginning this blog, I have kept track of how many people view it. And the results have caused me some dismay. Interestingly, on September 12, the day after the anniversary of the attack upon our nation by Islamic extremists, the viewing rate jumped precipitously. But after that, it fell to dismal levels.

I don’t know what to make of it and am trying to determine if you, the readers, if you are out there, wish for me to continue putting my sermons up on this blog. Also, I have been praying to God for his input, a sign, if you will, as to what He would have me do.

I worry that I am being presumptuous thinking that the Lord wants to use me to spread his word. And I wonder if anyone out there has benefitted in the least from my preaching.

To that end, let me first apologize for stopping my entries with no notice. I have been disheartened by the lack of readership. Is the Lord telling me to stop? I just don’t know.

And yet, if there is just one person out there who would like for me to continue, I will do so with relish. One reader, that’s all. More would be good, but if I can have input in only one person’s spiritual life, that’s good enough for me.

So please, readers, if you are out there, let me know. Either leave a comment on this blog or email me at: tomgseymour@gmail.com. You may even call me at (207) 338-9746. I want to hear from you.

Thank you, and may God richly bless you.

In Christ,

Tom



Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Truth Of Scripture

Weekly Message
Tom Seymour                                                                             
July 20, 2014

The Truth Of Scripture

An old pop song, The Games People Play, said much about our culture. The same things the song’s lyrics addressed hold true today, particularly when applied to our relationship with God.

Last week I performed the wedding ceremony for a friend and his new bride. The event took most of the day, what with getting ready, the actual ceremony and then the reception. During my free time, two people, one whom I knew and one I didn't, approached me and for some reason, felt compelled to explain to me why they didn't attend church.

Of course churchgoing isn't a prerequisite for living a spirit-filled life, but it certainly helps. But I sensed that the real reason for people explaining to me why they didn't attend church was a cover-up for far more serious and important subjects.

It goes like this. People don’t feel comfortable in church because the church is A. too strict, B. full of hypocrites, C. judgmental and on and on. Yes, I agree that it’s not always easy to find a church where you are totally comfortable. In fact, that’s probably impossible.  I myself am currently not attending a church or preaching at one…although I have set my desire to find a preaching situation before the Lord. My desire is to pastor a small, rural church. That may not be what God wants for me, however. I shall wait upon Him, as always.

But let’s get back to this habit people have of explaining why they don’t attend church. I see it as a way of attempting to justify their not walking in the light of God and not wholly accepting Jesus into their life. People believe, but not enough to come to the point of believing that the Bible is the revealed word of God. To far too many, scriptures are available Ala-Carte. Pick-and-choose is the way of today.

But God never told us we could pick and choose what to believe or what not to believe. For Him, it’s all or nothing, from Genesis to the Revelation of St. John. Much of this putting God at arm’s length stems from our refusal to see sin as what it is – sin, pure and simple. Sin is why Jesus came to earth, suffered and died. He did it to atone for the sins of everyone who would believe on him, for people living then and for those yet unborn, now and forever.

The people at the wedding who shared with me their stories of why they no longer attend church are on the fence. I’m convinced that they know they need to have a closer walk with God and are looking for a way. My response to them was in no way judgmental, but neither did I sugar-coat the need for obeying God. I hope that those people remember our conversations and that by their telling me of their situations, a door would open for the Lord to work in their lives. Faith is a gift from God and without it, we are unable to believe and thus have eternal life.

So it’s not the people such as those who proffer excuses for not attending church who are in the greatest danger. At least they are aware of what they need to do and by God’s grace, will come to the place of peace and contentment in the Lord. It’s the rest of the people who are really in trouble, the people who out-of-hand dismiss the things of God.

My chiropractor, who is also my good friend, recently gave me his feelings about religion and churchgoing. This man is a Jew, but not a pious Jew. In fact he made it clear that while he was Jewish by birth, he in no way believed in any of the things his religion holds as truths. In fact, he told me that he cannot believe that an intelligent being (God) one day decided to create earth and the life on and in it. I told him I understood his position, but that I did believe everything, just as stated in the Bible.

To my chiropractor, my belief is foolishness. But he knows that I am not foolish and perhaps one day will ponder this paradox, a man whom he knows is intelligent and learned, really takes to heart that which he views as nonsense. But to those who are perishing, spiritually, that is, the things of God are as great foolishness.

To close, I will cite 1 Peter 1: 20-21. This is the answer I gave to my chiropractor friend who maintains that scripture is made up and not of divine origin. It says: First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came of human will, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  To that, all God’s people say, “Amen.”






Sunday, June 22, 2014

God Exists

June 22, 2014
Weekly Message

Sometimes we get spiritually-valuable messages from the oddest places. This one came to me as an internet message and instead of sitting and writing a regular homilly on this beautiful, first full day of summer, I have chosen to instead, offer the following. Be blessed by it. 

Tom

DOES GOD EXIST?     
    
This is one of the best explanations on the
nature of God that I have ever seen... 




A man went to a barbershop to have his hair
cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began
to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.

 
When they eventually touched on the subject of Godthe  barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'    
 
'Why do you say that?' asked the customer.
'Well, you just have to go out in the street to
realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people; would there be abandoned children?
   
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would
allow all of these things.' 
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
 
The barber finished his job and the customer
left the shop.  


Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.
The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber: 
'You know what? Barbers do not exist.'    
 
'How can you say that?' asked the surprised
barber. 'I am here, and I am a barber. And I
just worked on you!'

 
'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't
exist, because if they did, there would be no
people with dirty long hair and untrimmed
beards, like that man outside.'

'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens
when people do not come to me.' 
'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.    
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in
the world.'

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Saying Goodbye

Weekly Message
June 15, 2014

Saying Goodbye

My long-time friend Leo died recently and tomorrow, I preach at his service. My thoughts are fragmented and disconnected. Leo was not a churchgoer and he was, at times, irreverent. But he was not an unbeliever, either, and he lived a life of service to others.

So what do I preach? I Have decided to preach God’s love. I know that while God might have wished for Leo to give praise and worship, I’m also convinced that the Lord was pleased with Leo’s goodness and selfless attitude.

Leo looked out for others. He saw needs when others averted their eyes. And Leo did his best to fulfill those needs. Leo lived by the “Golden Rule,” that is, he treated others as he wanted others to treat him.

Leo loved little dogs. To him, these were innocent, sweet creatures. When a dog yipped and barked, Leo would yip and bark with them, to the point that both he and the dog were communicating in love.

James said in James 1, 27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. This Leo did.

So now my thoughts have coalesced. In writing this message, I have found what I need to say for my friend’s service. That’s how God works. 


May the Lord of peace and love comfort all who mourn; may they receive grace from on high and find that Jesus, who sends his peace, brings a light burden and an easy yoke. 

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Morning In The Garden


Weekly Message
Tom Seymour
June 8, 2014

Morning In The Garden

This morning broke still, calm and warm. After doing some daily chores, I sat outside under the shade of a flowering crabapple tree, next to a stand of dame’s rocket, a fragrant, phlox-like plant. Both were in full bloom.

As the sun grew stronger and cast its rays on the apple blossoms, honeybees and other bees began foraging for pollen. The bees were not present until the sunlight hit the blossoms.

Hummingbirds buzzed around a nearby nectar feeder and moths and butterflies flitted about, all part of this special morning in nature.

I know God made the world, created it by divine fiat. And I often wonder what the Garden of Eden was like. We today can’t possibly imagine the stunning beauty that was on the earth prior to the original sin. But spending some early-morning time in a garden, watching the natural world come to life, can give us a partial idea of the original glory.

As the apostle Paul said, “Now we see as through a glass, darkly, but then we will see fully.” He was remarking on how we really have no conception of the full glory of heaven. But in time, we will know it in truth.


But for now, if you can take some early-morning time and spend it quietly in a garden, you just might see a tiny glimmer of the wonders to come. 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Our Lives Are Like A Day In June

Weekly Message
Tom Seymour
June 1, 2014

Every Day is Special


Poet James Russell Lowell once asked, “What is so rare as a day in June?” I read this as a child and every June, Lowell’s classic verse comes back to me. Let’s dig into it a little bit and see what makes a day in June so special.

Today, June 1, brings us to a special place on the calendar of natural events. It’s still spring and not yet summer. June heralds a season of change. By observing closely, we can see this change occurring on a daily basis. The grass on our lawns grows so rapidly now that we say, “I can’t believe it. I just mowed it two days ago and it needs mowing again.”

Likewise, songbirds show changes too. Birds that were very much in evidence a month earlier are now conspicuously absent because they are nesting, waiting for their eggs to hatch.

Even the weeds in our garden demonstrate the fast-paced nature of the sixth month of the year. So Lowell had a point and his point was that if we don’t absorb this wonderful month of June, if we don’t immerse ourselves in it and enjoy every beautiful, life-filled, even sensual moment of it, June will slip away before we know it.

Our lives are like the month of June. Sure some things are tough, difficult, even bad. But not everything is bad. Most of all, we need to focus on today, what we might do to contribute to the better good, the common weal, how we might enjoy and appreciate every precious moment on this earth.

Know this. Every year is different for us, every month is different in our lives, every day is special and every minute is another minute that we never had before and will never have again.

God gives us this life and he wants for us to enjoy it. But it’s our choice whether to smile or frown. We can also choose to look deeper into the workings of each day and to benefit from our time here. Our lives are indeed like a day in June.

To paraphrase Lowell, let me ask this. What’s so rare as a day in our lives? The answer is nothing. Each day in our lives is special and nothing can compare. So thank God for each morning, whether the sun shines or rain falls. It’s our special sun-filled day and it’s our rainy day. Taste. Examine. Exhault. And enjoy.