Short And Sweet Always The Best Way

Weekly Message

Tom Seymour

February 2, 2014

Proverbs 10: 19a - When words are many, transgression is not lacking. (New Revised Standard Version)

Short And Sweet Is Always The Best Way

I once participated in a daily reading of the Proverbs so that in the end, I would have read the entire book. For some reason up to that point, I had only skimmed over Proverbs. But my daily readings changed all that. The lessons learned (and still being learned) have helped me in life, which was the purpose of the book of Proverbs…to help us live our lives to the fullest.

As a professional writer, I have found that achieving any degree of success requires adhering to certain principals. The first sentence of Proverbs 19 says it all. Many words do not necessarily win awards, sell books or induce magazine or newspaper editors to accept a writer’s work. But well-placed words do just that. So how does a writer differentiate between the meaningful and the trivial or nonsensical? I have found that at least for me, the answer lies in writing about what I know the best.

I have 11 published books out on nature topics and hope that the Lord allows me to write even more. Why are all my books on these subjects? Because that’s what I know best. And knowing a topic allows me to write short, concise sentences. A good rule for writers is to say the most with the least words. Adding more words just muddies the waters.

This same principal applies in our lives and in our walk with God. If we talk only to be heard and write only to be read, we accomplish nothing and do nothing to advance the Kingdom of Heaven. But if we choose our words carefully and likewise our actions, we put ourselves in a place where God’s Holy Spirit can work through us.

How many souls have been brought to Jesus by one who talks incessantly? Most people only want to get away from such a one. But the person who talks little but exhibits Christian principals in his or her life, is one whom others seek out.

So let your life follow those writer’s guidelines, the same guidelines outlined in Proverbs 19a. The fewer words the better. Choose wisely and rewards will surely follow.

God's Word

Weekly Message

Tom Seymour

January 26, 2014

Song Of Solomon: 12b Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

The Word Of God

          The word “book” or “books” occurs frequently throughout the bible. These references pertain to a number of different books, but not the one we know as the Holy Bible. That book, actually a collection of numerous books, or scriptures, was not yet codified and established in ancient times.

          The writers of the books of the bible never considered that their efforts would be forever contained, as a part of a whole, in one collection, a collection that would shake the foundations of the world and persist until the end of time.

          But the bible as we know it has the stamp of official authority in that it contains only the oldest and truest prose, taken from the original manuscripts and translated from the original tongues. And, of course, there were several original tongues in the bible, prominent among them being the Greek. In order to faithfully translate the ancient manuscripts to English, or any other language, scholars necessarily had to be conversant in the ancient languages.

          For so many years, the bible was written in Latin, which meant that only church officials could read it, because laymen were mostly illiterate. And so the priests were keepers of the Word of God. In time, the bible was copied to the language of the land, English, making God’s word available to everyone. This occurred amid much strife and turmoil.

          Today, we have countless versions of the bible, translations of the same original manuscripts. Which one a person uses depends upon which one resonates with him or her. What’s more, the translations just keep coming. As biblical scholars and researchers learn more, or feel that they have learned more (there is a difference and we’ll discuss that in another message), existing editions are revised and offered anew. It’s hard to keep up with the plethora of new translations of holy scripture.

          So do these new editions of the bible in fact supplant older versions? And is one so much better than another as far as faithfully imparting the Word of God? After all, every bible is translated from the same basic sources.

          The answer to this is probably, but not necessarily. The King James version, for instance, was for many years, “the” bible. But, as the committee that put together the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the bible says, “…the King James (KJ) version has serious defects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the discovery of many biblical manuscripts more ancient than those upon which the King James version was based made it apparent that these defects were so many as to call for revision.”

          Sorry to drop another question, but this last bit begs the question of the KJ’s validity. Is the KJ version wrong? No, it is not. The revisers changed some small things, but nothing in the way of fundamental doctrine was affected. The original truths of the original manuscripts, reflected in the various bibles offered throughout the ages, remains unchanged.

          So any authorized bible tells the absolute and honest truth of the ancient scriptures and reflects God’s word and actions. The only variable in this equation, then, is the reader. People, me included, are reluctant to embrace change. We stick doggedly to our old ways. Furthermore, some, no, many, Christian denominations parse scripture and extract, often out of context, that which suits their needs. This results in a list of “don’ts,” mostly things that the bible does not necessarily condemn. Dancing comes immediately to mind. Some churches condemn it, others dance in the spirit.

          As an example of picking something out of the bible and wrongly following it, I recently spoke with a friend concerning the 10 commandments that the Lord gave to Moses. My friend mentioned that he has determined to keep the commandments, including Commandment 4, which in his KJ version, reads: “Though shall not make to the any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Commandment 5 continues: “Though shall not bow down thyself to them…”

          “I went through my house and took down all my pictures,” he said. I told him that pictures or artwork was not what the fourth commandment was directed toward. He disagreed.

          However, the NRSV version makes this clearer: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow town to them or worship them…”

          It’s easy to see how my friend misconstrued this commandment. He took “graven” for “engraved” and applied it to any representation of anything. That’s not what the commandments address, however. They specifically, at least in the NRSV version, say not to make an image of something and than worship it, as opposed to worshiping only the one, true God, the Lord. My friend missed Commandment 5, the commandment that resolves questions in Commandment 4, even in the KJ version.

          Different denominations do this all the time and it only harms their witness as Christians. The bible-preacher who isolates verses against drinking conveniently forgets other verses that tell us drinking is okay as long as it is not done in excess. In fact, Paul tells us not to allow people to deceive us regarding food and drink, since such prohibitions are only to make themselves feel righteous. The Lord does not look at people according to whether or not they eat seafood or pork barbecues or whether or not they drink beer and wine. Jesus drank wine and appears to have very much enjoyed it.

          So here is the gist of the matter, as I see it according to the light that God has given me. Look at scripture, no matter what version of the bible it is contained in, according to what it really says and not how that version says it.

          Of the making of books there is no end. But of the reading and understanding of scripture, there is only one way, and that is the correct and true way, uninfluenced by personal feelings, dogma or politics.

         

Intercession

Weekly Message

Tom Seymour

January 17, 2014

Intercession

Hebrews 7: 25

Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

[Before offering this week’s message, let me apologize for the lack of a message last week. The recent ice storm had knocked out my internet access and I had no way to post a message. Things have finally returned to normal.]

Were it not for Christ interceding for us with the Father, we could never be acceptable to the Lord. But as Paul points out in Hebrews 7: 25, Christ does intercede for us. And not only sometimes, but as the scripture says, “always.”

My goal in this message is not only to point out how Christ petitions the Lord on our behalf, but also to suggest that as we are to be imitators of Christ, we therefore must intercede for others.

Scripture tells us that the prayers of the righteous (that is, on the behalf of others) can cover a multitude of sins. To fully understand this is to grasp something almost incomprehensible. We, as followers of Christ, have the power to pray to God to restore someone who has sinned.

John, in his first letter, says (1 John 5:16a) “If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask and God will give life to such a one…”  This sounds less like a suggestion and more like a commandment, doesn’t it?

How then, knowing what we have just read, can we possibly not pray for others? Faith without works is dead, but not all works are corporeal. Some are spiritual. So while doing our best to help others materially has much value, the most powerful and important thing we can do is to intercede on someone’s behalf before God in heaven. The two, the physical and spiritual parts of intercession are not to be taken separately, but as a whole. And in the everlasting light of eternity, our prayers and intercessions have more profound and long-lasting results.

Sometimes it’s hard to pray for others, especially if those others hardly seem deserving of our time. But always remember how Christ, while the members of the Roman crucifixion team were nailing him to the cross, prayed to his Father to forgive them their sins for they knew not what they were doing. If Christ, in the midst of his deepest passion, can pray and intercede for those who are torturing and killing him, how can we not pray for those who have wronged us?

Our intercession does not always need to be on behalf of someone’s specific sin. We are all sinners and thankfully, we have Christ to go on our behalf. So what about our friends who we see falling away from God? What about those we love who are sick, and perhaps dying, either spiritually or physically or both? We are bound to intercede for them too. Perhaps God’s will won’t be exactly what we would have it be, but nonetheless, we need to pray, to intercede with the Lord on behalf of our friends and loved ones.

Always remember, God hears our prayers. The prayers of God’s people are the most powerful forces in the universe.

Thanking God

Weekly Message

Tom Seymour

January 2, 2014

Giving Thanks To God

Luke 17:18

My last Sunday’s message didn’t make it because my house was without power for four days. By the time power returned, it was too late to post a message. And so I began thinking about a topic for this week’s message and the answer came in a totally unexpected form.

One of owners of the convenience store where I regularly trade dropped a letter into my bag, telling me it was a message from them to me. I got home, put away my groceries and then read the message. Here is a paragraph from the message:

“Often in today’s busy world we seem to have less and less opportunity to perform the simple, decent and very important task of letting you know that we appreciate your business. Although it isn’t the same as being face-to-face with each other, we wanted to sincerely thank you.”

The message was signed by the two owners and their family.

This message, with some simple changes, could very well serve as a message from us to God.

“But that’s silly, sending a message to God. God knows everything anyway,” some might say. And certainly, God does know everything. But he still likes for us to thank him. Consider the words Jesus’ spoke after healing 10 lepers. After Jesus healed them and they went away, only one of the men, a Samaritan (a foreigner in the land), turned back to thank Jesus. The Samaritan prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet, thanking Jesus and praising God. Jesus said, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”

Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Perhaps God hasn’t cleansed us from leprosy, but surely he has done countless wonderful things for us during the course of our lifetime. And when He acts in our life, do we always thank Him?

How about when we pray for something, even a small thing, do we thank God when he hears and answers our prayers? Or are we so happy with the good result that we forget to give thanks to the Lord?

God tells us to pray to him in every instance, even in the small things. And so we do. We pray for safety, for relief from adversity, for our cars to start on a cold morning, for Him to keep our water pipes safe and unfrozen during a sub-zero night. And when our prayers are answered, do we stop and give thanks?

It’s so, so easy to just accept answers to prayer and then move on, make our way down the road as the nine lepers did, without stopping to thank the one who made our happy situation possible. So today, when you ask God for some small blessing, be sure to take time and thank him. Don’t be like the nine ungrateful lepers. Instead, be like the one leper, the Samaritan, who turned back and worshiped God, thanking Him for his wonderful gift of healing.

Maybe something like the letter the store owners gave me, written on our hearts and sent gratefully to God, may be in order.

Christmas Message 2013

Weekly Message

Tom Seymour

December 22, 2013

Advent – Colors: Purple or blue

Matthew 5: 44 – “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

God is a gentleman. He does not force himself upon anyone, but instead gives a gentle knock on the door. We can choose to open that door or not. It’s up to us.

Likewise, we, as Christians, must not try and intimidate unbelievers. God sends his offer of love and reconciliation through faith in Jesus Christ to everyone. We are to be God’s representatives, so to speak, and be there for people when needed. We are to offer support and spiritual uplifting. And we need to have a workable knowledge of scripture so that we can speak God’s word rightly, from a position of conviction based upon knowledge.

But what happens when we face those who not only don’t want to hear God’s message, but spend their energy in trying to discredit the Lord. We see this more and more now, especially at Christmas time.

This age of political correctness has many Christians afraid to speak the truth or even mention God or Jesus for fear of offending someone.

So here’s the problem. We know that we are commissioned by Christ to spread the gospel. But what do we do, how do we act, toward those who disparage the gospel? Some of us take a strident attitude, going out of their way to emphasize the word “Christ” in Christmas when greeting others. What can that do but inflame tempers of those who reject Christ? Sure, such actions serve the purpose of identifying us as believers. Other believers may nod in affirmation, but we are not directing our energies at believers.

Indeed, Christian writers and even radio talk show hosts make it a point to loudly proclaim, “Merry Christmas. Here again, instead of drawing the unsaved to the Lord, it only pushes them further away.

On the other hand, we must not deny our faith, because Jesus said that if we deny him on earth, he will deny us before his father in heaven. What do we do, then?

Well, as always, we must let our actions and our lives be a light for the world. People need to see God working in us. We need to be as Christ-like as we possibly can.

Next, it’s a mistake to center our energy on retaliating against those who make anti-Christian political statements. Remember, they have as much right, under the laws of our nation, to proclaim their beliefs as we do to proclaim ours. It amounts to nothing more than head-butting when we become filled with righteous anger and confront these people. Bear in mind Jesus’ admonition to turn the other cheek.

We do have ways to counter these attacks and we have already discussed one, that of letting our Christianity show through our actions. The other, and a powerful one it is, is prayer. We need to pray for the people who remove nativity scenes from town centers, who push for legislation to ban crosses and who want to erect plaques commemorating the devil in public places.

We can’t change anyone’s mind with words, especially if those words are spoken in a holier-than-thou manner. We must remember that God deals with everyone and even if people don’t believe in God, God takes notice of them.

So put on a cheerful face this Christmas season. Don’t become embroiled in useless confrontation. Instead, spread the simple message of the gospel in a soft, gentle voice. And if someone doesn’t want to hear it, don’t persist.

And remember, here in America, nothing at all happens to those who proclaim their Christian beliefs. In other countries, people get thrown in prison or even executed, murdered, for their belief in Christ.

This Christmas, try and look at the good things that people do and leave the bad things for God to deal with. He is, after all, the final arbiter.

Merry Christmas to all and my best wishes for a happy, prosperous and spirit-filled New Year.

Third Sunday in Advent - color pink   

Unbelief

Life must be lonely for those who don't know Jesus Christ. What makes this worse, is that the brightest and best among us find it easier to discount and discredit God altogether. That accounts for today's homily. I call it "Mascons."

Mascons. That’s what scientists call areas of higher-than-normal gravity on the moon. Mascons are formed, they say, when an asteroid or other object strikes the moon’s surface in an area where the crust is thin, allowing shock waves to radiate to the core. The molten core, they say, then sends material to the surface, material so hot that it takes millions of years to cool.

What’s wrong with this hypotheses? Well, these same scientists who use a molten core as their rationale for mascon formation, are the same people who tell us that the moon was formed by the accretion and eventual compacting of dust and debris spewed out into space after a large asteroid pummeled the earth.

So how does an aggregate of cold matter get a molten interior? Both of these theses can’t be right. One disallows the other. It is far easier to believe that God made the moon, along with everything else in heaven and earth. But in the mind of science, the idea of creation has no place.

Constantine’s Vision

Roman emperor Constantine was responsible for bringing the Roman world to Christianity. On the eve of a major battle, Constantine saw a flaming cross in the sky, along with the legend, in Latin, “In Hoc Signo Vinces,” which means, “In this sign, conquer.”

Constantine directed his troops to paint crosses on their shields. They won the battle, Rome became Christian and the cross and the legend, In Hoc Signo Vinces have become two lasting signs of the Christian faith.

Modern dreamers, scientists, now conclude that a comet hit the earth and that was what Constantine saw. Constantine then, they say, concluded that the comet was a divine messenger. Now consider this. How many comets come emblazoned with the words, “In Hoc Signo Vinces?”

Reconciling science with religion continues to be a difficult and often impossible task. But it needn't be so. True science requires verifiable and repeatable experiments, experiments that are carried out in the exact same way every time and yield the same results every time. But theories, such as those few I have offered here, are not science, they are only theories, ideas. 

As an amatuer astronomer, I love watching the heavens with my telescopes. I read scads of magazine articles on astronomy and also check out interesting data online. And yet I still have my faith. I read fantastic-sounding theories of physics and wonder how the human mind can even conceive of such things. Multi-dimensions, other universes and so on. 

But far-flung theories do not dominate science. True science is a God-given process and it has helped to elevate our standard of living and even our length of life, to previously-unheard of levels. 

So believe in God and in his son, Jesus Christ. And accept science for what it is, an ongoing process of searching. Some day, all will find the truth and that day will be when Christ returns to claim his kingdom on earth. 

Weekly Message

Tom Seymour

December 7, 2013

Advent Begins – Colors: Purple or  blue, pink on third Sunday

Mark 28: 18-20 – “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Did you know that of all the states in the union, Maine is the least religious, or as some might say, “the least churched?” Even worse, Waldo and Hancock Counties are home to the least religious people in Maine.

These statistics are nothing new, nothing that just happened. I recall this being the case well over 30 years ago and it probably was the same way before that. So what is the answer? What can anyone do? And should we even try and do anything? Well, if you believe that the great commission (Mark 28:19) applies to you as well to the 11 disciples, then the answer is yes, we should do something.

But where might we start? How would we go about it and to whom should we direct our efforts? Well, it might be good here to look back on my message posted on Tuesday, November 5, “Long As I Can See The Light.” That points out how believers should serve as a light to the world. If your faith, and accordingly your actions, is strong and Christ-based, then your light will shine and it will attract others.

Some people feel the need to go abroad as missionaries to foreign lands. That is laudable. But missionary work needn’t remain limited to far-off places. Rather, it can begin right here at home. It can begin in the church. That’s right, even righteous churchgoers may not have responded to Christ’s calling.

For instance, some people attend church and participate in church ritual. But they have not taken God’s word and internalized it. Many, too many, feel that the haven’t even sinned. But did you know that it’s a sin to hear the word of God as given in the bible and to scoff at it, or to “tweak” it for modern-day use. It’s a sin to think that just because something was considered wrong or sinful 2,000 years ago, the same doesn’t hold true today. God’s word does not change. The way we respond to it might change, but His word does not.

Esdras tells us that God surely made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places. He tells us that God will examine our works. And he says “woe to those who sin and want to hide their sins.”

So the first step in doing God’s work is to begin with yourself, your neighbor, the one who sits in the pew next to you, your family and even the pastor who peaches to you if that pastor does not preach the word of God as presented in the bible.

God created heaven and earth and formed his people from the dust of the earth. Then he imparted his spirit to that newly-formed creature and we became living beings. If your pastor does not preach that, then you should first try and reconcile that pastor to the word of God. And if that fails, then find a new pastor.

So you see, we can fulfill our commission without going far at all. It begins with ourselves, with self-examination of how we adhere to and promote the word of God. And it extends to those around us.

Perhaps the best way to convince people, including yourself if needed, is to share the words of Esdra 16: 76 – “You who keep my commandments and precepts, says the Lord God, must not let your sins weigh you down, or your iniquities prevail over you.”

We know that the one born on Christmas Day is the one who takes away sin. All we have to do is believe in him. It is only those who have not a love for Christ who are weighed down by their sins.

So as the old song says, “Take a load off Annie, and put the load right on me.” That’s Christ talking and it behooves all of us to take his advice.