Apostle Paul

Is That With an “E” or an “I?”

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

vowels-of-leadershipThe question of the title is a focus on the difference between complement and compliment.  Even though the difference between the spellings of the two words is nothing more than a single vowel, there is a significant difference in their meaning:

  • A complement completes, enhances, or perfects.
  • A compliment is the expression of praise, admiration, or in some cases it is used in regard to a free gift.

Both words offer an appropriate expression of your relationship with Jesus:

  • Because salvation is a free gift to you from God, Jesus is a compliment: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).”
  • Salvation is also the complement through which He completes, enhances, and perfects you: “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority (Colossians 2:9-10).”

As you start your week, I encourage you do so with a spirit of thanksgiving for the manner in which God has complimented you and continues to complement you.

More of the All and the Always

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

bicycle-thievesI can remember my dear old dad telling me:  “Son, if there is any job worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”  I didn’t get the job done yesterday, so I’m going to finish it today.

In my post to this blog yesterday, you might remember that I focused on 2 Corinthians 9:8:

God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ~NKJV

Because my post was starting to get a bit lengthy, I found a stopping place and concluded it with the thought that I would finish it today.

I want to finish by going back to where we started.  Notice again, the first three words of our verse:  “God is able.”  These three words are the key to understanding the verses below:

  • Daniel is proof that God is able to deliver you (Daniel 3:17).
  • Jude wrote to say that God is able to keep you from falling (Jude 24).
  • Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus and said God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (3:20).
  • Timothy heard Paul say that God is able to keep what we’ve committed to Him (2 Timothy 2:12).

Yes, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).”  You are not limited and restrained by your resources:  You are sustained and re-sourced daily because your God is able!

More Than a Paul-Principle

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

The_Giving_Hands_by_therealzackDo you ever feel like you just can’t get it done?  You are too tired, too lost, too depressed, too sick, or whatever to get it done?  Whenever I get in one of these down-in-the-dumps moods, I know God’s resources are unlimited, and I ask Him to re-source or re-supply me.

One of the great verses that reveals the resources of God is 2 Corinthians 9:8, and you can read it in three different versions below:

  • God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ~NKJV
  • God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. ~The Message
  • God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]. ~Amplified Bible

Notice the “all” and the “always” in the NKJV:

  • “All grace” will abound toward you
  • God will “always” have “all” sufficiency in “all” things

I encourage you to embrace this principle and claim it as a promise just like Paul did.   Paul knew he could do “all” things in and through the strength of Jesus (Philippians 4:13).

God has an “abundance” of resources for every good work, and they are not reserved for just people named Paul.  They are available to all of His children for we are “heirs of God and coheirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).”

More Than Enough

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Grace-rAre there times when the words of a song pop into your mind, and you can’t shake them?  Off and on throughout the day you find yourself singing the words  or humming the tune.

I had that experience yesterday with the song Grace Greater Than Our Sin.  The chorus of this song speaks of the wonder of God’s grace:

“Grace, grace, God’s Grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin”

It’s through His grace that God saves you and equips you for the Christian life.  God made this clear to Paul when He said:  “My grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9).” In essence, God was saying that His grace is “more than enough” to meet your needs.

Paul wrote at length about the subject of grace, and these verses speak of the different aspects of grace:

  • You are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).
  • The grace of God is abundant, and it abounds (Romans 5:17, 20).
  • Ephesians 1:7 speaks of the “riches of His grace.”
  • When you are in need of grace, Hebrews 4:16 instructs you to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

If you have wandered away from God, His grace is more than enough to get you back on the right track.  If you have stumbled in a weak moment, God’s unique grace will strengthen you.  As the Psalmist said:

Whoever lives under the shelter of the Most High will remain in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.  You will cover me with your feathers, and under your wings I will find refuge. Your truth is my shield and armor. ~Psalm 94

Life: Infested or Invested

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

reflection-in-mirrorMy morning routine includes the couple of minutes I spend looking into the mirror.  This is not an exercise in vanity.  It’s just the best way to examine my wrinkled mug; apply the shaving cream; and wield the razor to shave my beard.

As I was checking the stubble on my face, I thought of Paul’s statement to the church at Corinth: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).”

When you think about it, there are several times each day that you take the time to check the quality of some item:

  • Bananas are checked to see if they are too ripe or too green.
  • Apples are examined to see if they are bruised.
  • When you buy something you check to make sure you have been given the correct amount of change.

How much time do you spend in spiritual self-examination?  The Psalmist said:  “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies (Psalm 119:59).”  When he didn’t like what he saw, the author of the Psalm ironed out the wrinkles in his life by turning to God’s Word.

The methodology of the Psalms was the same message espoused by James (1:21-25):

Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;  for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

You have the freedom to look into the “perfect law of liberty” and to use it as a mirror to examine your life.  When you do this, what do you see?

  • Do you see a reflection of righteousness?
  • Is there an image of personal purity?
  • Do you recognize the features of faithfulness in the face you see?

A good mirror to use is a prayer in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”spic n span

Let me suggest this prayer as a daily test:  Does this mirror reflect a life that’s infested by the ring-around-the-collar filth of the world or one that is invested in the spic and span principles of God’s Word?

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 Pace of Life’s Race

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

time1This has been one of those weeks where the minutes don’t drag on; they race by, and it there doesn’t seem to be enough time to get things done.  When I realize I’m rushing from one project to the next, I try to slow down by spending some time in the Psalms.

One of the Psalms that helps me manage the pace of life’s dizzying race is Psalm 103:

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

There are four things that I think about when I read this Psalm:

  • I need to get the right start by saying : “Bless the Lord, O my soul”
  • I need to take an inventory so I don’t “forget” my resources.”
  • I need to total my assets or “benefits.”
  • I need to see God at work: He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, and satisfies.
  • I need to gauge my power: I am “renewed like the eagle.”

I encourage you to read the Psalm again and use the list above as a guide.  I hope it helps you as much as it does me.

Who is Jesus?

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

easter01This is a momentous week in the life of the church.  Because it has been framed by two monumental events of history, it is the week traditionally referred to as “holy week.”

It’s a week that began with Palm Sunday, and it will end this Sunday with the celebration of Easter.  Palm Sunday is associated with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and Easter is the joyful recognition of His resurrection.

There’s a three word question that was asked by those who observed Jesus on Palm Sunday. As He rode a white donkey through the narrow and dusty streets of Jerusalem, they asked:  “Who is this?”

The Gospel of John presents a group of witnesses that offer a line of testimony that answers this question:

  • John testifies that Jesus turned water into wine at the marriage supper of Cana.
  • The nobleman gives a detailed account of how Jesus simply spoke and his dying son was healed.
  • The man who had been crippled for 38 years jumps in the air and clicks his heels together to show the miraculous manner in which Jesus healed him.
  • The little boy holds up an empty lunch pail and says: “It had just enough food for my dinner, but Jesus blessed it and there was enough to feed 5,000 people.”
  • The seasoned fishermen relive the moment when they thought their boat was going to sink and they were going to drown: “The Master appeared out of nowhere, walked on the waves, commanded the water to be still, and we were saved.”

After listening to all the testimony, a man rises and says:  “May I speak?  I think my evidence is conclusive.  You see, I was dead, but somehow I heard the clear and loud voice of Jesus:  ‘Lazarus come forth,’ and I shook off the chains of death.  I’m living proof of who Jesus is.”

Who is this?  Jesus is:

  • The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
  • The Bread of Life.
  • The Light of the world.
  • The Good Shepherd
  • The Way, the Truth, and the Life.
  • Resurrection and the life

Who is Jesus to you?

More Than Pepper and Salt

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

723buffaloI couldn’t resist the urge, so I took a peak.  Even though I may never float it again, I still wanted to check the river levels on the Buffalo National River and reminisce.

Every time I paddled this river, I marveled at her beauty:  The pristine water is framed by towering limestone bluffs that rise above the river below.

The first night out on the river was often the best because supper would be venison.  As soon as I arrived at the campsite, I would put the venison strips in a plastic bag to marinate.    By the time I had set up the tent, collected firewood, and started brewing the coffee, several hours had passed and the meat was thoroughly seasoned.

In the solitude of this magnificent wilderness, I found it easy to see the beauty of God’s creation.  I also found it easy to reflect of His Word.

One evening after I had finished off the venison, I was reading Ephesians 1:7:  “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.”

It occurred to me that being lavished with God’s grace is somewhat like marinating venison.  When you encounter the grace of God and you are covered-up by its life-changing power, you are transformed:

  • You are holy because He is holy—I Peter 1:16
  • You can forgive because you have been forgiven—Colossians 3:13
  • You can be merciful because you have experienced the mercy of God—Luke 6:36
  • You can live a life of love because you’ve been blessed by God’s—Ephesians 5:2

The riches of God’s grace is more than a sprinkle of pepper and a dash of salt.  When God lavishes you with His presence, you are redeemed, renewed, and refreshed, and you are a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The High Cost of Faith

/ insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

google-analytics-demographicsThe closer a person gets to retiring, the more focused he is on making good investments.  All investment decisions are important–including those associated with faith and missions.

The findings of Gil Anger, concerning the work of Christian missionaries, shed some light on this question (Statistic Brain Research Institute):

  • There are 419,000 people who are classified as foreign missionaries.
  • There are 26 countries that do not allow missionaries.
  • 629 Billion people have never been evangelized.
  • $250,000,000 is spent annually on Christian foreign missionary work.

The four points above are focused on demographics and dollars.   Is this an accurate reflection on the high cost of faith?  I don’t think so.  To understand the value of sharing the faith, you need to think of more than just the cost of an arm and a leg—you need to consider the sacrifice of a life.

When he wrote to the church at Corinth, Paul reminded them: “You have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”  The high cost of faith is seen in the immeasurable love of God for you.

When you begin to comprehend the full meaning of being “bought at a price,” I hope you will also grasp the fact that in return you are to “glorify God in your body.”    Paul may have had this in mind when he said:

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.