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Genesis 1:26-27 - Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. NASU
Mankind was made in God's image and by that I believe it means we have become a "spirit being". We are a "created spirit" being. This is the big difference between mankind and God. Mankind is "created spirit" and God is "uncreated spirit". In other words, He has always been in existence.
How does he do this? The way he does it is by getting us to believe his lies. He lied to Eve in the garden and he hasn't stopped lying. He is the father of lies (John 8:44). Gen. 3:1-6 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "…God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'" 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." His plan is to lie to you and me about God. In the garden of Eden God said they would die if they ate of the forbidden fruit and they did die, spiritually, after they ate of the forbidden fruit. To die means to separate and that is exactly what happened, their fellowship with God had gone through a separation. They would later die physically. The devil said they would be like God that was a lie. They were already like God. He created Adam and Eve in Their image.
The devil had to be laughing with her answer. I am not a biologist either but a woman is an adult female. Not a male who thinks he is a female or one who has gone through an operational procedure to become one.
Spend time in God's Word learning about the great I AM and you will not regret it. Think About These: I have trust issues because people have lying issues. Tell a lie once and all your truths become questionable. Even the smallest lie can break the biggest trust. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Lk 14:2-4 - And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" 4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. NASU
Jesus knew the truth about what God wanted Him to accomplish and He did it. You have to know what you are doing is the correct thing even while being criticized or persecuted. When you know in your heart you are doing the right thing it is easier to continue on with the task.
We can see that man's traditions were violating the Word of God. One thing we need to remember and that is "It is never wrong to do the right thing." There are some people who are very outspoken and they will try to stop you from doing the right thing. You must move forward deliberately even in the face of opposition.
He was driving to our worship service and he saw an elderly woman standing by her disabled vehicle. He stopped to help her and became involved in the situation and by the time he had helped her fix her vehicle the worship service was finished. I told Larry that he had done exactly what Jesus had wanted him to do. The next Sunday as I was greeting people after the service an elderly lady came up to me and said a man from this congregation had stopped to help her last week and she tried to pay him. She said the only payment he would accept is for her to attend one of our worship services. She said so please tell him I said thanks and that I did attend.
I wonder how many times that elderly lady told the story of how her car broke down and a nice young Christian man stopped to help her?
In life you can find two types of people - there are the "Givers" and the "Takers". Larry was a giver all the time. What makes Larry's story even more remarkable was the amount of suffering he endured on a daily basis. If I told you of his struggles you would be saying, "Where does he get his strength?". When others would have quit, become cynical or walked away from their faith not Larry. He endured hardships like a true spiritual warrior. So who are we helping today? We won't help anyone if we aren't looking for people to help. It has to become a part of our mindset. Find someone today that you can help, I am sure you will be glad that you did. After all that is why Jesus came to earth to do good and help people who had gotten themselves into a terrible fix. Think About These: You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Mark 14:6-8 - But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. "For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. "She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. NASU
I can actually say I am participating in a prophecy of Jesus as I make mention of this lady who anointed Jesus. If you will tell people about this lady then you likewise can participate in fulfilling a prophecy of Jesus. We know there are numerous reasons people were anointed in this day and age. It was done to refresh a person's body after traveling all day. The sun would have beaten down upon one's body and the oil would have brought relief. We know that people's body were to be anointed with oil when sick and to be prayed for during this time of anointing (James 5:14). But Jesus' body was being anointed because He was on His way to die and be buried, "…she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial." Jesus knew His time was at hand and drawing nearer and nearer.
She had done what she could. She had this very costly oil and she poured it over Jesus' head. He said she was preparing Him for burial. This was a prophetic act whether she knew what she was doing or not Jesus knew what it meant. He was going to die. What about us today? If Jesus were to appear before us today, what would he say? Would He say, "We are doing what we could."?
Can we show some acts of kindness or display compassion to those in need? Can we share the gospel message with someone who doesn't know Jesus? Can we tell our waiter or waitress where we eat that we are going to pray for our meal and ask them if they have a need we can pray about for them? Wouldn't it be nice to know if Jesus were here He would say about us that "He/She has done what he/she could."? Think About These: Faith with works is a force. Faith without works is a farce. Faith without works is like an automobile without gasoline. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 11:16 - Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." NASU
The disciples totally didn't understand what Jesus was referencing. As can be seen in John 11:12-13 - The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. Jesus in John 10 eludes those Jews who were wishing to stone Him because they thought He was guilty of blasphemy. Now He wants to go back into this same area and the disciples are concerned He will be stoned to death this time. When the disciples see that can not persuade Jesus to change His mind, Thomas says, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." WOW! That is what I call courage. Are we willing to die for Jesus today? Thomas was ready to die with and for Jesus.
Why doesn't anyone comment on this statement: "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." made by Thomas? I for one want to highlight what Thomas said to the other disciples when Jesus was going to return to Bethany and resurrect Lazarus. "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." As I see the world more and more critical of Christianity there just might be a time in the near future when we need to be prepared to die for Jesus. Think About These: A person's faith is not judged by what he says about it, but by what he does about it. All men need a faith that will not shrink when washed in the waters of affliction and adversity. ***************************************************************** I am organizing a trip to the Holy Land in January/February 2023. If you are interested in possibly going on this trip reply to this Pump Up and I will add your name to the list. As I receive more details I will send them to you. I am very happy to inform you that Dr. Mark Ziese is going to be our Bible Lecturer for this trip. You can read more about him and the trips he has already led on his website. www.MarkZiese.com I hope you will be able to join us on this adventure of a lifetime. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 25:20-21 - "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' 21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave…" NASU
Mt 25:15 -"To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability…"
Let's investigate a statement people have said to me.
Then you are the perfect person to teach others how to endure and overcome this type of suffering. You certainly don't want to miss this great opportunity to teach others. Isn't that what we are supposed to be doing in life? We are to be learning the hard and difficult lessons and then sharing what we've learned with others. Eph 4:28 - "…rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." NASU In Ephesians Paul is talking about why we work so that we can share with the one who has a need. This same principal is valid with what we experience in life.
We see people attend Alcoholic Anonymous meetings so that they can share some of their life stories to help the people who are in attendance. A person who has overcome cancer is better qualified to speak to someone who is presently in the battle on what they did to stay strong and keep moving forward. We have all experienced some difficulties in life and that qualifies us to share with others what worked for us and didn't work for us during those difficult times.
What have you survived, overcome, struggled with, or experienced that you need to start sharing to help others? You certainly didn't think that you were going to go through this learning experience and then not share your knowledge with anyone, did you? Think About These: The best advice you'll get is from someone who made the same mistake himself. Education is what you get from reading the small print in a contract. Experience is what you get from not reading it. A wise man learns by the experiences of others. An ordinary man learns by his own experiences. A fool learns by nobody's experiences. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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