More of the All and the Always

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

I 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

April 16, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Do 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

April 15, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Are 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

The TGIF Zone

April 10, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

There are some weeks that by the time Friday rolls around, I need to get a little boost to finish the week. I want to share a little booster that’s tucked away in the Old Testament. It’s like drinking a rejuvenating cup of spiritual adrenaline:

“For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6).”

When you listen to its uplifting theme, this TGIF Booster might make you crow like a rooster. Look at this dynamic definition of your righteous relationship with God:

You belong to God.
You are special because He has chosen you.
You are one of His prized possessions.

Isn’t this enough to make you click your heels together; shake off your mental malaise; and praise God?

Let me affirm what’s already been said: “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (100:3).” This verse clarifies and verifies who you are: You are His; you are made by Him; and, He cares for you like a shepherd does his sheep.

When God purchased you it’s not because He was looking for a bargain and you had been discontinued and discounted. No, you’re valuable, and He paid a premium to purchase you: “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price, so glorify God in your body (I Corinthians 6:20).”

Not only can you TGIF, but you can also TGFF. You can Thank God For the Friday that He paid the price for your redemption through the death of Jesus.

Don’t moan about the day: own the day. You’ve entered the TGIF zone.

Life: Infested or Invested

April 9, 2015April 9, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

My 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.”

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

April 8, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

There 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.

Friday: A Day of Signifiance

April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

If you could travel back in time to history’s most important Friday and relive that day in 33 AD, what would you hear as you walked the streets of Jerusalem? The city had swelled in size because it was Passover, but the conversation was not the annual rites at the Temple. No, that significant sacrifice was overshadowed by the crucifixion of Jesus. As people contemplated the events, they exclaimed: Finished! Epic life ended! Last chapter of a miraculous life has closed with a tragedy!

The Messiah you have been following has been nothing more than a grandiose dreamer with Messianic aspirations, and your dream has ended in a nightmare. In stunned silence and in a state of shock, you wonder: What now? How could all of this happen? How could so many people have believed a lie?

A cloud of despair hangs heavily on your doubting heart as you try to make sense of the disaster that has disrupted your life. Friday has been an arduous day, but at least there has been a lot of activity. When you woke up Saturday morning, you hoped that yesterday was just a bad dream; however, when you looked into the sunken eyes of your fellow disciples, reality buckles your knees: Your Hope has been crucified; Jesus is dead; and, Saturday drags on and seems like it’ll never end.

From that Friday of 33 AD, to the Friday of today, there is a perceptional gap that is every bit as deep as it is wide in years. All the disciples of 33 AD had was a form of spiritual PTSD and the stench of death, but you have the benefit of history.

You know the story doesn’t end with that dramatic death on the cross. You know there is an encore to what the disciples thought was the final Act, and it was announced to those few devoted women who went to the tomb: He is not here; He has risen!

The fact of the resurrection turned men of cowardly hearts into courageous soldiers of the cross, and in a few short years the infant church shook Rome. This is the mobilizing power of the resurrection and the proof of what can happen when a group of people are infused with hope . . . people just like you.

I encourage you to share the hope and live the message as you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Sunday.

The Pace of Life’s Race

April 2, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

This 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.

God-Colors

March 19, 2015March 20, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

Did you accept the challenge I proposed yesterday? If you read this blog on Thursday, you know that I encouraged you to be the peace in your piece of the world.

If you embraced my challenge, you were living the words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

The Message elaborates on this command of Jesus:

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).”

If you made my goal your goal, and you did your best to be the peace in your piece of the world, you were cherishing a basic principle of Jesus. You were, “bringing out the God-colors” in your piece of the world, and people had the chance to see your light shining. They could see your “good works” in:

Your warm smile they enjoyed awhile because it reflected the love of God.
Your courteous disposition that was void of suspicion and full of sincerity.
Your word that cheered them while others jeered them. You were the “you-can-do-it” voice they needed to hear.
Your hand that helped them stand: You reached down, to help them stand up.

If you missed my challenge on Thursday, you can accept it today. Be a “light-bearer” for Jesus, so you can share the dazzling light of God-colors.

I would like to hear your comments: What do you think of when you think of “God-colors?”

The High Cost of Faith

March 17, 2015March 18, 2015 / insightbyseymour / Leave a comment

The 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.

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