Month: June 2015

Aspiring Wannabes

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

m_1351889779In a recent article by Charles Krauthammer, he examined the presidential contenders and their chances of winning the nomination.  According to Krauthammer:

  • The solid, but no sizzle Jeb Bush has a 25% chance of winning.
  • Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker also has a 25% of winning.
  • Because Marco Rubio has a proven track record in foreign affairs he has a 35% chance of winning.
  • The rest of the 15% is spread among the remaining wannabes.

Regardless of Krauthammer’s prognostication of the presidential odds, it’s a sure bet these contenders will never make mole hills out of the mountains of problems they face unless they get down on their knees in prayer.

When it comes to the subject of prayer and power, 2C714 is much more explosive than C4:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear their prayer from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their country.”  ~2 Chronicles 7:14 (2C714)

Think about the words of Solomon and then compare them to the climate in which you live:  “Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is a disgrace in any society (Proverbs 14:34).”

Isn’t it time that we as a nation turn away from sin and turn our voices up in prayer to God?

Strips and Stripes

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Don't park here, go there! Fresh lines on car park area

When you’re driving down the road, have you ever thought about the strips of information  in the stripes that line the pavement ahead of you?  The stripes provide visual boundaries that indicate where you should drive.

The value of stripes are seen in other areas of life as well:

  • The stripes of a zebra allow him to blend in with the scenery.
  • The stripes of traffic signs give a warning.
  • Stripes determine when a baseball is foul, a football is in the end zone, and where the free throw line is in a game of basketball.
  • Thanks to stripes, I can distinguish between a black cat and a polecat because of the white stripe that paints the back of a skunk.
  • When I was in the military, stripes were a statement of authority and they defined the chain of command.

When Peter wrote to a group of persecuted Christians, he thought of stripes in a different context:  “Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree . . . and by His stripes you were healed (I Peter 2:24).”

It’s through the sacrificial death of Jesus that you’re forgiven.  Because of His stripes, God wipes away your sin:  “If a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLV).”

The stripes of the One has resulted in the healing and salvation of the many.  Are you one among the many?

Are You Among the 21%?

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

21percent_in_red_and_3d_NLI doubt there are many of us that number ourselves among the elite 1% of the world’s wealthiest people.  You may, however, find yourself among those who will be changed by the 21%.

What is the significance of 21%?  If you add it to your situation, it can make a big difference:

  • If you are concerned with your IQ, you probably already know that 50% of IQ scores fall between 90 and 110. If you add 21% to a score of 100 you become a person with very superior intelligence.  If you subtract 21% from 100, you will find yourself among the ranks of those who are classified as having a “borderline deficiency in intelligence.”
  • The average life expectancy is 71. If you add 21%, you would live to be 86.  If you subtracted 21%, you would only live to be 56.
  • If you are 71 inches tall you might be able to play basketball by adding 21% to your height. At 86 inches tall, you would be taller than LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers  If you subtract 21% from 71, you would be about 4 ½ foot tall, but still taller than Eddie Gaedel.  At 3 foot 7 inches, Gaedel was the shortest player to ever play in an MLB game; and, he did it in 1951 when he played for the St. Louis Browns.
  • If you weigh 171 pounds, 21% would be the difference between tipping the scales at 207 pounds and weighing only 135 pounds.

If you are a person who likes to travel on an airplane, 21% means you may have to buy new luggage. The International Air Transport Association has set some new guidelines for carry-on bags.  The IATA is recommending that bags should be 21.5 inches tall by 13.5 inches wide and 7.5 inches deep which is 21% smaller than current standards.

What would happen if you made a 21% change in your life?  How would your life be different if you followed these old guidelines?

Let us drop every extra weight, every sin that clings to us and slackens our pace, and let us run with endurance the long race set before us, and stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Raw Emotion

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Reading-facial-expressions_articleDo you remember the last time you did it?  Something happened and you let your guard down and the true you showed:  Your emotions were on display for everyone to see.

Immediately following His Passover entry into Jerusalem the emotions of Jesus were easily seen :  “When Jesus came closer and saw the city, He began to cry, and He said, If you had only known today what would bring you peace! But you cannot see it (Luke 19).”

In a moment, Jesus went from the joys of the palm branches to the tragic reality of what the future held.  In this incident, it’s easy to see His love in:

  • His walk of grace as He came near to the city
  • His eyes of love in the way He beheld the people
  • His heart of compassion as He wept due to the spiritual blindness of the people

Is it a comfort to you to know that the love, grace, and compassion of God is yours to claim?  It’s available to you because of who Jesus is and what He did.  Notice how this is explained in The Message:

Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has entered the inmost Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to our faith. For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible—he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.      ~Hebrews 4:14-16

Footwear Fit for Your Feet (With Thanks to Dorothy and Cinderella)

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Ruby-Red-Slippers1Dorothy had her ruby red slippers, and Cinderella had a famous pair made of glass, but Imelda Marcos had both of them beat.  Her massive closet had over 3,000 pairs of shoes.

You probably have several pairs of shoes that you wear based on the weather you will face or the work you will do.  While you may have many shoes, are you aware of the shu that God has for you? The shu is every bit as important as the shoe:

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

You see the shu in three words from the verse above:

  • Strengthen
  • Help
  • Uphold

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he spoke to them about the importance of correct footwear when he said you should have the “Gospel of peace firmly on your feet.” Your footwear may not be famous, but it can be faithful.  Give God a chance to strength you, to help you, and to uphold you.

To make sure you are fashionable in God’s eyes, I’ll share a couple of verses with you that reveal the appropriate dress code:

Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Above all be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you. Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ’s men and women (Ephesians 6)

Sesame Street: LINK 46 and Learning

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

MuppetsOfSesameStreet2Before the proliferation of TV channels on cable TV, many American households played with rabbit ears to focus the image on their television sets.  In 1969, an educational program geared towards children was launched, and the characters of Sesame Street became friends to many children.

Because some children lived in areas where the broadcast signal could not be reached, a research project was also born.  In a study by Melissa Kearney (University of Maryland) and Phillip Levine (Wellesley College) it was discovered that children who watched the show are less likely to get behind at school and more likely to attend class at their appropriate age level.

Kearney and Levine believe Sesame Street has been proven to be more than just a key link in the field of academics.  They also assert it as a beneficial aid to family support, medical and dental health, and the development of emotional skills.

The key point of the study was the difference between children who could receive the signal as those who could not.  Receiving the signal was proven to be helpful.

The same is true for you, if you receive  LINK 46 which is based on Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Notice the acrostic below:

  • Listen: Read the Psalm and focus your mind on God:  Relax, and recognize His presence.
  • Inquire: Be curious about the verbs:  Am I to obey a principle; claim a promise; or am I to share a truth?
  • Note: Keep a notebook and pen handy, so you can write down the thoughts or names that come to your mind.
  • Know: Think about God’s goodness, grace and mercy, and then be honest with Him in regard to your aches, pains, and desires.

Paul said: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).” LINK 46 allows you to hear God as He speaks to you and as you speak to Him.

What part of today will you take to “be still” so you can LINK-up with God and get to know Him?

The Sinister and the Saint

/ insightbyseymour / 1 Comment

eyeI’m not sure if I should label it progression or regression, but I have gone from wearing no glasses, to bi-focals, and for several years now I have moved into the tri-focal stage.

Each step in this vision process involved a trip to the eye doctor and a prescription for new glasses.  The last time I got a new prescription for eyeglasses, I noticed the abbreviations OS and OD. The OS is for the left eye, and it is a Latin abbreviation that means “oculus sinister.”   The right eye is OD and is the Latin “oculus dextrus.”

The fact that I have a sinister left eye, made me curious, and I looked at the etymology of oculus sinister and dextrus:

  • The Latin meaning of sinister speaks of that which is “contrary, false; unfavorable; to the left.”
  • Dextrus has the meaning of being “right or ready.”

In these two words, we see the struggle that each of us face.  It is the conflict between evil and good or flesh and spirit.  In Romans 8:5, Paul said:  “For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.”

Since your “outlook” is determined by the flesh or the spirit, you may want to take an “in-look” at what the Bible says about desire:

  • James 1:14-15: Everyone is tempted by his own desires as they lure him away and trap him.  Then desire becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin. When sin grows up, it gives birth to death.
  • Proverbs 27:20: Hell and Destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
  • 2 Peter 2:14: Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, they entice unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices.

Which one of your eyes guides you?  Do you see the world through the sinister side or the saintly side?   I encourage you to take a look at your life, and consider using the words of Psalm 119:36-38 as your prayer for today:

“Turn my heart toward Your Law, so I will not earn money in a wrong way.  Turn my eyes away from things that have no worth, and give me new life because of Your ways.  Keep Your promise to Your servant, the promise You made to those who fear and worship You.”

The IMF and an IOU

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

IMF-gold_profitsWhen you think of spare change, what do you think of?  Maybe you think of a dime, a nickel, a quarter or whatever amount is jingling around in your pocket.

If you’ve been following the financial news of late, you know that Greece doesn’t have any change that they can spare.  Their concern runs much deeper than a pocket full of coins.

The International Monetary Fund has told the Greeks they need to repay the $334 million they owe by the end of this week. Apparently the lenders are tired of Greece’s foot-dragging measures, and they have issued some take-it-or-leave terms to the deeply indebted nation. imf

This scenario reminds me of the huge debt that Jesus assumed and paid for with His life:

  • Romans 6:23: The payment for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting life found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  • I Corinthians 6:20: You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
  • I Corinthians 6:20: You weren’t set free from the worthless life handed down to you from your ancestors by a payment of silver or gold which can be destroyed. Rather, the payment that freed you was the precious blood of Christ.

Jesus gave everything He had on the cross, so you could have it all throughout eternity.  Like the Greece situation, it is a take-it-or-leave scenario.  In this case, however, when you take Jesus, your debt is paid in full.

5 Words and 1 Question

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

ableA show that was popular a couple of years ago was known for the five words that formed a single question.  The question was the title of the show:   Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

In the sermon this past Sunday, the message concluded with just three words that formed a single promise:  “God is able!”  You were asked to remember those three words and to think about them during this week.  The five verses below will  help you stay focused on this promise:

  • When it comes to the subject of grace, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you (2 Corinthians 9:8).”
  • Concerning the power that is necessary to live the Christian life, “God is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20).”
  • Paul told Timothy that he could trust God, because “He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12).”
  • When hard times come, you should know that “Since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested (Hebrews 2:18).”
  • A verse in Jude 24 summarizes these principles: “God is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

What are you doing to stay focused on these three words?  I suggest that every time you open or shut a door, remember to say:  “God is able.”  If you do this, God might open a door for you.

The Power of Green

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Video_Landing-Page_0007_20131227_093457Before last week, there is a good chance that your roof was not at the top of your list of major concerns.  If it was pelted by hail during the recent storm, your roof may have become a source of worry. Because of the massive damage in the short-lived storm, Butler County has been swarmed by colonies of contractors hoping to make a buck off of you.

Unless you are a roofer by trade, you may given little thought to the decking, shingles, and the other components that are used to build a roof.  A movement underway to change the constitution of roofs, may change that.

Facebook, the social media giant, installed a 9-acre green roof at its office in Menlo Park, California.  “Green roofs can reduce the retention of heat in urban areas, help to cool down buildings and thereby lower their energy use, and even pull some carbon dioxide from the air and feed it back into plant growth (The Washington Post).”

In the June edition of the Journal of Environmental Psychology, a report focuses on the psychological benefit of green roofs: 40-second Green Roof Views Sustain Attention: The Role of Micro-Breaks in Attention Restoration.

Kate Lee, the lead researcher of the study (University of Melbourne) has concluded that “Modern work drains attention throughout the day, so providing boosted ‘green micro-breaks’ may provide mental top-ups to offset declining attention.” If a person can look outside his office window and see a flowering meadow green roof instead of a bare concrete roof, he will experience cognitive benefits.

This new research, reminds me of a very old peace in the Bible.  This piece of peace is found in Psalm 23 where David spoke of God leading him to the “green pastures” and “still waters” to “restore his soul.”

To help you have a “green” moment, take just a second or two to read Psalm 23 from  The Message:

God, my shepherd!

    I don’t need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows,

    you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word,

    you let me catch my breath

    and send me in the right direction.

Whatever your concern might be today, remember God is able!