Sheriff

Peace On Earth

/ insightbyseymour / 2 Comments

Christmas Bells 11516When Jesus came to this world, it was not to address the peccadillo needs of a few, but to fill the chasm of sin that separated man from God.  He did not come to just please the whims and fancies of the human race, but He came to pacify of the righteous demands of a holy God.

His coming was full of promise; yet, the people to whom He came rejected Him.  John said:

He came into the world—the world he had created—and the world failed to recognize him. He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him. Yet wherever men did accept him he gave them the power to become sons of God. These were the men who truly believed in him, and their birth depended not on the course of nature nor on any impulse or plan of man, but on God (JB Phillips)

Whenever I read the verses above, I am intrigued by four words:  “the power to become.”  When people accept Jesus, not an idea nor a philosophy, but the person of Christ, they receive “the power to become” a child of God.  This spiritual transformation is the real hope of the Christmas story.

At this time each year I see people go to great expense to decorate their house–to transform it from the ordinary ho hum to an extraordinary display of flashing lights; yet they still miss the meaning of Christmas.  While they are willing to pay homage to a diorama of Christmas, they fail to worship the Christ of Christmas.

Longfellow wrote the words to the song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  In the third stanza of the song, he stated the condition of mankind without Christ:

 And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

As you celebrate Christmas this year, remember peace on earth is only possible because a piece of Heaven was born in a manger.

Today is Christmas

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

This is the time of year when the mystery of the Old Testament prophets is understood in the fulfillment of that pinnacle of prophecies—the incarnation of Christ.  The birth of Jesus is the axiom of Christianity.

Wonderful-Counselor

Today is Christmas day, and it is the day when the dignity of Deity was clothed in human flesh and was born in an insignificant manger.  Today we celebrate the birth of the Magnificent Messiah and the Savior of the world, and we can truly sing, Joy To The World.

Merry Christmas!

The Goats of Christmas

/ insightbyseymour / 1 Comment

Lamb of God, Bread of LifeI’ve always had a strong affection for books.  Even when I was a child, I would ride my bicycle the dozen or so blocks to the library several times a week.  It is this affinity for books that lured me into Barnes and Noble yesterday.

As I elbowed my way through the throng of seasonal shoppers, I wondered:

  • How many of these people revere the holiday but never adhere to the Savior?
  • How many serenade the season, but never offer an accolade to the Almighty?
  • Has the citadel of Christmas moved from the manger to the mall?

Celebrating Christmas without Jesus is like going to the goat’s house for wool—you might have the semblance, but you’ll never have the warmth.

An Invitation: Come Emmanuel

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

imagesOne characteristic of the Christmas season that I really enjoy is the music, and one of the classics is O Come O Come Emmanuel.  Whenever I sing the chorus of this song, it has the sound of a long-awaited hope that is realized and claimed:  Rejoice! rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

As I think of this song, I think of three other sections of Scripture that contains the word “come.”

  • Isaiah 1:18:  Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
  • Matthew 11:28-30:  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
  • Revelation 22:17:  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Isaiah’s use of the word speaks of repentance of sin and regeneration (salvation); Jesus uses it in the sense of a relationship; and, in the Revelation it speaks of our final redemption.

The story of Christmas is the gift of Jesus.  He came to earth, so you could come to God.  Listen to the words of O Come O Come Emmanuel, and focus on the hope, the invitation  and the sound of victory in the word come.

incarnation-header-600x200-2

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

trustGodWhen people are confronted with the existence of evil, some will question the existence of God. When this happens, I encourage people to consider the nature of evil.  Evil and Good are value judgments, and as such, they must be measured against a morally perfect standard.  If some act deviates from this standard, it is deemed to be evil.

Early in his life, C.S. Lewis rejected the idea of God.  After a thorough investigation, he made an interesting statement:   “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call something crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.”  Lewis also made the point that a portrait is a good or a bad likeness depending on how it compares with the “perfect” original.

Any time you feel intense physical or emotional pain, you may find yourself asking the question:  “Why?”  Randy Alcorn offers an excellent discussion of suffering and the sovereignty of God in his book If Good Is Good:  Why Do We Hurt?  

God is both loving and sovereign . . . Knowing this should give us great confidence that even when we don’t see any redemptive meaning in our suffering, God can see it—and one day we will too. We can trust that God has a purpose for whatever he permits. We are limited to time; God is not. From the perspective of a timeless God, the distant future—when justice is fully granted, and evil and suffering are gone—is as real as the present. What he knows he will ultimately accomplish through suffering, for his glory and our good, is not merely a possibility but a reality he can already see, in all its fullness ~Randy Alcorn

Immorality, pain, suffering, evil, and ethical failures are, according to some people reasons to question the presence of a loving God.  I strongly disagree with this assessment, and  I believe they help to prove the existence of God.  I have written about this in the past, and encourage you to read my post: Why God?

My words are neither nonsensical nor vacuous, they are the thoughts of one who has walked the path of suffering and loss on more than one occasion, and I still believe in the goodness of God.

 

How Do You Measure Life?

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

hwymyl_400x400Today is the day after Thanksgiving, and one of the discussions you will have today will be what you did yesterday—Thanksgiving as an event will be on your talk-turkey-agenda.

  • What did you do for Thanksgiving yesterday?
  • Where did you go for Thanksgiving?
  • How many people came to your house for Thanksgiving?
  • I ate way too much.
  • I had to sample a piece of every pie.

As you rehearse and digest the events of yesterday, notice the tenor of the discussion:  Is it geared more towards the quality of the day or the quantity of the food?  Was there any “thanks” in your Thanksgiving Day?

When he wrote to the church at Corinth, Paul made sure quality and quantity were center stage when he served his soliloquy on a life well-lived:

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds.  For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done.  If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward.  If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire. ~I Corinthians 3:9-10 (JB Phillips)

Corinth was a hedonistic city of commerce and many of the Christians were living the epicurean life.  Their lives were lived in the quest for fleshly quantity and not spiritual quality.

As Peter Marshal once said; “The measure of life is not its duration, but its donation.”  Do you focus more on the “who” you are living for or on the “what” you are pursuing?

Here’s a final thought for you to chew on:  “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor (Vince Lombardi).”

Take a Gratitude Break Before You Break

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

GratitudeSince today is Thanksgiving Day here in the USA, I’ll not be writing a typical post to this blog.  I do, however, want to encourage you to remember to express your gratitude to God, family, and friends, and to give thanks.

If you have time to read over this extended holiday weekend, I’m providing a couple of links that emphasize the benefits of gratitude:

Use the admonition of Paul to guide your thoughts today:  “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (I Thessalonians 5:18).”

The Five Virtues of Team Jesus

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

team-jesus-neon-limeTurn on your TV any Sunday afternoon during football season and you’ll see fervent and ardent fans who are afflicted with a severe case of monomania.  They have willingly abdicated their Monday through Friday reputation; morphed into Sunday fanatics; and clothed themselves in the colors of their favorite team.

Paul recognized the importance of team loyalty and spoke of being identified with Christ.  Just as a loyal fan shows his allegiance by wearing the team colors, you can do the same when you, “Clothe yourself with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12).”

To be fashionably attired, I suggest you clothe yourself in the virtues Paul mentioned:

  • Mercy is not giving the punishment or judgment that is deserved. Just as a heart is essential for life, mercy pumps the lifeblood into kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
  • A quote by Henry James emphasizes the importance of kindness: “Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer must have been thinking of kindness when he wrote:  “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”

  • In a time when people clothe themselves in rudeness and crudeness, humility is seen as a tattered rag that’s destined for the second-hand store. Humility is the idea of lowliness of mind in contrast to high-minded narcissism, and it’s seen in the life of the falsely accused who is more concerned with the truth than he is with his ego or reputation.
  •  A good definition of gentleness is found in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians: “We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.  So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.”
  • Patience is the ability to endure hardships, discomfort, and persecution without complaint. In Romans 5, Paul said:  “We also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces patient endurance, and this endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.  This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

You may want to check your closet to see if your clothes reflect your allegiance to Team Jesus.

The Raw Emotions of Ferguson, Missouri

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

8f8a6d31be9d696ed4260bd768b22ed5While watching the evening news last night, the main focus was Ferguson, Missouri and the impending news of the grand jury.  By now you know the panel declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson

When I think of the volatile and vehement expression of emotions that has become characteristic of this city, I’m distraught. My heart goes out to the Brown family in the loss of their son, but to the protesters, I say: A destructive mob mentality is not the answer, and perhaps you should ask: WWMLKD ?  –What Would Martin Luther King Do?

I think there were many times that Dr. King asked himself: WWJD? The answer to this problem isn’t more violence, it’s the application of biblical principles: “The kingdom of God is peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit . . . we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another (Romans 14:12).”

A spokesman for the Brown family has summarized their feelings for this situation in one word—Disgust!  The family is disgusted by the decision of the grand jury; the mob mentality of the protesters; and, the dehumanizing language of a “white” officer and a “black” victim.

One thing that does not promote peace and harmony is the mentality that is present in Ferguson—the rehearsing of resentment. The old cliché is that “hurting people hurt people,” and at the heart of resentment is the feeling: “You resent-me.”

Resentment is an emotion that is toxic, and it makes you the emotional slave of the person you resent. It will rob you of your sleep; occupy your dreams; ruin your digestion; and, it will steal your peace of mind.

It’s also intoxicating: The more you resent the greater your resentment becomes. There is a false sense of power that leads you to mistakenly believe you are hurting the person who has wronged you.

The book of Hebrews issues a warning: “Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many Hebrews 12:15).” Look at Ferguson, and you see the root of bitterness has given birth to the flower of resentment, and it’s in full blossom.

James said that, “if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast . . . for where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice (James 3:14-16).”  When you look at Ferguson you see the power of bitterness. It has extinguished the light of joy, and it has left the soul of the city in darkness.

If bitterness has a death grip on you, the words of William Arthur Ward may be helpful: “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”

Gratitude: Is It the Main Course or a Side Dish?

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

imagesOn Thursday of this week we will observe a day of Thanksgiving; however, the spiritual discipline of giving thanks was practiced long before the Pilgrims found their way into the pages of history.

As you mull the meaning of thankfulness,  give more than just a wink of contemplation to the contrast below:

  • Psalm 50:23: He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me.
  • Romans 1:21: Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
  • One focuses on solemn reflection leading to respect, while the other speaks of rejection and neglect

When you consider the knee-buckling-goodness of God, your response should be more than a blasé yawn—it should be shout-it-from-the-mountain-top-gratitude.

Henri Nouwen has said, “The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”

Gratitude and thanksgiving are like identical twins–they are so similar it can be difficult to distinguish between the two.  Gratitude is the manifestation of kindness perceived, and thanksgiving is the expression of kindness received.

Paul encourages us to abound in thanksgiving:  “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7).”80506764d4f9bef09a9cd171e8a6bf24

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul expresses his gratitude and unabashed appreciation:  “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now (Philippians 1:3–5).”

What stirs a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving in your heart?  Have you called the person or written them a letter to express your appreciation?  Why not do it now?