mercy

Three That Leave Me Full of Wonder

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

3_of_hearts_by_farvei-d3kgg80There are three short verses in the fifth chapter of Thessalonians that leave me full of wonder: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Every time I read these verses, I wonder how it is possible to fully embrace their principles:

  • I rejoice, but I must confess I do not “always” rejoice.
  • I pray, but I do “cease.”
  • I give “thanks,” but I have to be honest: There’s quite a few times I do not give thanks for “everything.”

When I read these verses yesterday, I gave a little more attention to “in everything give thanks.”  It occurred to me that I have never given thanks to:

  • Ben Franklin for the eyeglasses that sit atop my nose and help me to see.
  • Thomas Edison for the light bulbs that brighten my house and my office.
  • Henry Ford for his ingenuity in manufacturing the automobile.
  • Sir Alexander Fleming and his life-saving discovery of penicillin.

Let me challenge you to join me in do something different today.  Every time you have a negative thought, replace immediately by giving thanks for something in your life.  Any inconvenience you experience today is to be used as a reminder to give thanks for something that makes your life easier.

By the end of the day, we might be giving thanks for more things, if not everything.

The Esau Syndrome

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

happy-treeWhile visiting with a neighbor, I was asked:  “Do you know anything about trees?” Before I could reply in the negative, he pointed to a tree that was losing its bark.  I suggested that he call an arborist or someone skilled in dendrochronology.

An arborist is someone who is trained to plant and cultivate trees, and dendrochronology studies tree rings to determine the dates and chronological order of past events.  By studying the rings of a tree, a person can identify the years that were dry spells and distinguish them from the wet seasons.

It’s not the rings of a person’s life that reveals his wet and dry seasons, but it’s the scars and the wrinkles.  Naomi is a woman who experienced both the wet and dry seasons.

As a young woman, she left Bethlehem with her husband and two sons.  Even though Moab was off-limits to Jews, she and her family settled there.  While living in the forbidden land of Moab, Naomi lost her husband, both sons, her wealth, and her beauty.

The dry years in Moab left their marks on Naomi.  By the time she returned to her homeland, her youthful skin had become wrinkled and she had been scarred by spiritual neglect.  When her old friends and neighbors saw her they asked:  “Is this Naomi?”

She replied:  “Don’t call me Naomi.  Call me Mara: for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty.”

Because her life experiences had changed her, Naomi didn’t believe she was worthy of a name that means “pleasant, winsome, or agreeable.”   She believed the name Mara or “bitter” was more appropriate.

Naomi and her husband had made the same mistake that Esau made many years earlier.  Due to a lack of spiritual insight, he had traded his birthright to satisfy his short-term appetite:

“Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.”

What do the rings of your life say about you?  When you look into the mirror of God’s Word, what do you see?  Do you see the weeds of discontent or do you see the fruit of love, joy, and cheerfulness?

Who Are You?

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Baker, Brewer, and Butcher and Weaver, Woodman and Wright, are more than last names, they are the names of a craft, skill, or trade.  In times past, parents had some choice in the selection of their child’s first name; however, the last name was closely associated with the occupation in which they were employed.  If you worked in the meat market and your name was James, you were probably called “James the Butcher.”

Today, there is little connection between last names and occupations.   At least here in the USA, your name might be Butcher, but you could make your living as a Baker or  Candlestick-Maker.

When we think of identifying someone, we are more likely to think of the characteristic or physical feature that best defines the person.

If you were to be identified by a spiritual feature, what would distinguish you from the rest of society?  In Acts 11:26, a person’s relationship with Christ set him apart from the rest of the community.

The city of Antioch was the first place to call the avid followers of Christ, “Christians.”  Instead of focusing on what divided them, these Christians chose to identify with the love that united them.  No longer would they be called Jew or Gentile, but from this point forward they identified themselves as Christians.

1 Peter 2:9-10 speaks of our identity in Christ:

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

When you think of who you are in your relationship with Jesus, I suggest you think in these terms:

  • You are completely accepted because you have been “chosen.”
  • You are incredibly valuable because you are “His own possession.”
  • You have a wonderful ministry because you are to “proclaim the excellencies of Him.”
  • You are totally forgiven because you have “received mercy.”

There is no mistaken identity here, and I know who you are:  You are a child of the King.

What’s Following You?

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

On Tuesday of this week, I walked the hallway of three different hospitals. My first stop took me to the room of a man who is ravaged by cancer.  I saluted him earlier this year when he was the Parade Marshall of the Celebration of Freedom Parade.  Will’s heroic deeds during World War II helped to pay for the freedoms I enjoy today.

My second stop took me to the room of a man I’ve know all of my life. I’ll always be grateful for his friendship and his help.  Johnny was one of the first people to come to my house when I was a 12 year old boy and my dad had just been killed in an oil field accident.

My third stop was the most difficult because it took me to the room of a blonde-haired and blue-eyed little girl.  At the age of 2 1/2 years she is fighting an inoperable case of cancer, a neuroblastoma.

Yesterday, I conducted the funeral of a man, I worked with my last two summers of high school.  Ralph’s face was usually marked with an ear to ear grin, and I will remember the mischievous sparkle that colored his eyes.

The sadness that has filled the lives of each of these people and their families can only be tempered by the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.  A foreshadow of that hope is see in the verses of Psalm 23.

If you feel like you are living under a cloud of despair, and walking a path full of worries and problems, you might find some comfort in the words of this Psalm and the declaration of David: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (23:6).

I think it is important to note that David did not say that every waking moment of your life will be filled with good times and happy days.  He did say the goodness of God and His mercy are resources that are available when needed.

Unless you have given some consideration to the meaning of mercy and its close cousin, grace (goodness), you may think they are synonymous.  To help you distinguish one from the other, let me define them:

  • Grace is when God gives you something you do not deserve.  Salvation is a good example of this.  I do not know of anyone who really deserves it.
  • Mercy is when God does not give a you what you deserve.  When a righteous God judges sinful man, He can either punish him or extend His goodness and mercy.

I’ve heard people say:  I just want what I deserve and what I have coming to me.  Not me, I want the mercy of God.

David said the mercy of God is a given, and we see this in the word surely.  It isn’t a hope so or maybe so proposition: It’s a guarantee from God.  In the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the prophet said:  It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed; they are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness!

In the shepherd/sheep analogy of Psalm 23, we have the Good Shepherd who leads us, and guarding the back of the flock are His two sheep dogs.   One is named Goodness and the other is called Mercy.

Remember the promise of this Psalm:  Surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.  Think of Goodness and Mercy as your lap-dogs who are just a whistle away.

Grace For The Moment

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

mercy-and-graceWhat picture comes to your mind when you think of Psalm 23? Is it a shepherd tending his flock? Do you have a vivid image of luscious green pastures where sheep are feeding? Perhaps your mind is fixed on the image of a stream of crystal clear water—water that quenches your thirst and refreshes your tired and weary body.

Whenever I read this Psalm, I think of three words that form a phrase that appears twice: “He leads me.” Shepherds are to lead sheep and sheep are to follow the shepherd.

When you follow the lead of the Good Shepherd, you will experience His grace for each moment of your life. This is an important truth—God does not give grace for the future. Just as the Israelites could not collect manna for a future day, but only the present, you cannot collect and hoard grace for a future need.

God’s grace is sufficient for your every need and for every breath of your life. This truth is proclaimed in Hebrews 4:16: “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.”

Here are the key points of the verse above:
• As one of God’s children, you have a family right of access to the throne of grace.
• It is the throne of GRACE, not philosophy.
• You can approach the throne of grace with confidence.
• You can have the expectation of receiving the mercy and grace you need for the moment.
• The mercy is designed to help with your “failures.”
• The grace is focused on providing “help.”
• All of this is for the exact moment you need it—“in the hour” of your need.

The key to all of this is found in the three words of Psalm 23: “He leads me.” When David followed the Good Shepherd he was blessed. When he strayed from the path of the Shepherd, he failed. In each case the mercy and grace of the Shepherd was present in his hour of need, and both are present for you as well.

Born in the USA

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

MaskAlthough I can’t quote much of Shakespeare’s work, I do believe the following quote is a statement Hamlet made to Ophelia: “God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another.”

I can’t help but wonder if this is not case with Douglas McAuthur McCain. Even though this 33 year old American was born in the USA, and had been an aspiring rapper, he was suspected of fighting alongside of Islamic State militants when he died on Monday.

When some people undertake a search for meaning, they mistakenly embrace a rigid set of rules to guide them. History is full of examples of people who have made this mistake. The Pharisees corrupted the Mosaic Law and were chastised by Jesus, but there are examples from more recent history in the persons of Hitler, Mussolini, and in the Middle East movements of the past decade.

Douglas McAuthur McCain may have made the same error. The rigid rules he followed called for an extremist lifestyle and the shedding of blood. Instead of giving his life meaning, it just created a greater thirst for blood.

The rigid rules were McCain’s attempt at remaking the face God had given him, and they were a weak substitute for a sustaining relationship that is more than smoke and mirrors—it is the knowledge that we are created in the image of God.

The words of Alan Redpath are a good explanation of this relationship: “The man who gazes upon and contemplates day by day the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, and who has caught the glow of the reality that the Lord is not a theory but an indwelling power and force in his life, is as a mirror reflecting the glory of the Lord.”

With my increase in age, I have noticed a decrease in vision. This is why I must depend on trifocals to bring things into focus. As I write this, my frames are bent a little and the left lens is higher than the right lens; and, my vision is blurred because the depth perception is skewed.

A rigid set of rules without the sustaining relationship of grace mercy will also skew reality. They may reform you, but they will never transform you. The first is little more than the insanity of humanity, the latter is all about the image of God and Christianity.

As John Piper has said: “Transformation is not switching from the to-do list of the flesh to the to-do list of the law. When Paul replaces the list—the works—of the flesh, he does not replace it with the works of the law, but the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-22). The Christian alternative to immoral behaviors is not a new list of moral behaviors. It is the triumphant power and transformation of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ—our Savior, our Lord, our Treasure. “

The ISM Prism

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

prismThe answer to the question is Psalm 23. More often than not, when I ask a family what Scripture they would like read at the funeral of their loved one, they reply: “Psalms 23.”

While this Psalm is very poetic, it is much more than that—it is also jam-packed full of promises! The six verses of this Psalm is vivid imagery that presents God in the language of a caring and loving shepherd, and it offers hope to God’s struggling sheep in their darkest hours.

The first three words speak of God’s eternal presence: “The Lord is.” The word “is” is present tense. The verse does not say the Lord “was,” or the Lord “has been,” or “might possible be.” It tells us that the desire of God is to be your personal Shepherd at this exact moment and in every future second, minute, hour, and day of your life.

God is present now and with Him is the essence of His attributes. He is present with His empowering grace, abundant mercy, and His loving-kindness. He is present in His awesome greatness, His truth, and in His almighty strength.

Because sheep have a tendency wander off and get lost, He is also present to light the path you walk and to shine as a lamp to your feet. He is the ever-ready, ever present, power-packed God.

Whatever your task might be for today and whatever the trial may be, remember these three words: The Lord is. To really embrace the truth of this, drop the “the” and replace it with “my.” Say it now: “My Lord is.”

When you get a chance, put a smile on your Shepherd’s face, and shout it out: “My Lord is!” This “ism” is a beautiful prism that opens new possibilities to enhance your relationship with your Shepherd.

The Sweet Spot in a Sour Situation

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

The ups and downs and the hard turns to the left and to the right are exhilarating when you are riding a roller coaster; however, they are physically and emotionally draining when you encounter life threatening situations.

If you were one of the people who had followed Moses out of Egypt, you would have experienced a sudden shift in your perspective that was a gut punch that left you sucking for air and asking Moses, “Where in Egypt have you taken us?”

The Israelites had just felt the joy of deliverance, but their joy quickly became terror when they realized they were trapped between the Red Sea and a very angry Egyptian army.

Moses grasped a truth that seemed to evade the comprehension of his followers. Their intellectual inability to believe the basic promises of God hampered their spiritual progression and left them hamstrung.

Listen to Moses as he says: “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace (Exodus 14).”

Moses didn’t ask: “Where are you God.” He knew God was present, and he knew that God had led His people to this exact place and at this exact time, so they could experience an extraordinary miracle.

As you read this, you may find yourself with a dismal spirit due to a dire situation. Don’t dismay because God knows where you are and what you are enduring. The Psalmist wrote: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand (Ps. 37).”

Whatever your situation may be, there is a lesson to be learned and a way that God can be glorified. Take a moment to read Psalm 136 and remember that the mercy of the Lord endures forever.

Strange Teachers–Wonderful Lessons

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Chalk boardThirty some years ago, I was in a conference in Chicago where the presenter made a statement that I have never forgotten: I look at every man as my teacher, and I try to discover the lesson he has for me.

I have learned many lessons in my life. Some of these lessons have been easily learned; however, I also have a graduate degree from the School of Hard Knocks.

As I look back on my life, I am aware that I have gleaned some gems through an unconscious assimilation of life principles. Kahil Gabran spoke of this when he said: I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.

I would add to Gabran’s quote by saying: I have learned love from the gift of God’s grace and mercy. The words of Paul in Ephesians 2, shed some light on this: It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin, but God in His immense in mercy and with an incredible love, embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ (The Message).

It didn’t take me long to learn that God’s love, His grace, and His mercy, are much different than the Elvis-impersonator love of the world. There may be the alluring image of dazzling sequins, the glistening black hair, the deep resonating voice, but in the end, well, you’re just “all shook up, a-uh-huh!”

When I stumble and fall flat on my face, God doesn’t toss me overboard; instead, He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me. This is quite a contrast from the world, isn’t it?

Are there some wonderful lessons that you have learned from strange teachers? If so, I’d like to hear from you.

The Frustration of Forgetfulness

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

How many of you guys have been in the tool shed or garage and laid a tool down and couldn’t find it again?  Ever gone to the grocery store and forgot the shopping list and you are clueless as you walk the aisle of the store?  During the commercial break have you gone to the kitchen for something but forgot what it was you were after?   How about this one:  Man I can remember that face but not her name.

I know I am not alone in my memory deficiencies.  I know some people who make notes in their cell phones.  I know others who have tied a string around their finger or used a band aid.

I have tried many different techniques to improve my memory, but there is a common weakness to each of these:  I have to remember something to make it work!

One thing that we should remember is that God never forgets.  The prophet Isaiah (49:16) recorded the words of God:  I have written your name on my hand. 

Fast forward to 33 A.D. and the hand of God is nailed to the cross.  Why?  Because the name of His children are also written on His heart.  That is is something worth remembering.