Ps 23:1-4 - The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.   NASU 

• One Of The Most Recognized Of All Psalms 

This will be one of the most difficult Pump Ups for me to write. I have studied this Psalm, memorized this Psalm, read books about this Psalm, read this Psalm at many funerals, and yes I even preached sermons numerous times using this Psalm.
 
So why is it so difficult to write about it? I have to condense all I know about it and think what can I say that will really be a blessing to my reading audience. 

• Shepherd 

The Hebrew word for LORD is "Yahweh" and it means Self Existing One. The One who exists because He wants to is our LORD and because of that we don't have to want for anything. He is our shepherd.
 
What did the good shepherds do?
 
They took care of their flocks. How did they take care of their sheep?
 
He would lead them to where there was plenty of grass. The sheep not only had green pastures to feed on they had the green grass to lie down and sleep on at night.
 
Is Jesus your "Good Shepherd"?
 
If you say yes, then you need to claim the promises that are so eloquently stated in Psalm 23. You will be blessed with food and water. Your soul will be restored. There is not a one of us that has not had life beat upon us unmercifully.
 
When life is beating upon you please remember the good shepherd will "restore" your soul.  The Hebrew word for "restore" is to turn back. He is going to take your soul back to the time when you were happy and joy filled your heart.
 
If you can remember back to when jubilance and laughter filled your life your shepherd can take you back there but you have to trust Him. 

• Another Day Older 

Everyone who is reading this Pump Up is a day older than you were yesterday. Last month, I turned another year older and in fact, I entered into a new decade. I have celebrated more birthdays in the past then I will in the future.  
 
So even though I am now walking in the valley of the shadow of death I am not afraid. I don't fear death. It is not my friend. According to the apostle Paul death is our enemy and it will be defeated. Death will not only be defeated I know who is going to defeat it.
 
Jesus is the One who holds the keys of death and Hades. Rev 1:17-18 - Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
 
Guess what Jesus is going to do with the keys to death?

Yes, He is going to unlock death and let us out of there if we are His sheep. Why would He do that? It isn't rocket science. It is because His sheep have confessed Him to be their LORD and Savior and they have been baptized into Christ. 

• Protection 

This is why I don't worry. I am being protected in this life by the Good Shepherd. He has a rod and a staff and both of these instruments were used by the shepherd to protect his sheep.
 
Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He protects His sheep please allow the words of this Psalm to give you strength today.  Jesus' rod and staff are there to comfort us according to Psalm 23: Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
 
Are you comforted today?
 
If you say no then you need to place your faith and trust in the Good Shepherd who will not disappoint you.
 
Think About This:
 
Faith helps us walk fearlessly, run confidently, and live victoriously.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

Prov. 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. NLT 
​

• Some Scriptures About The Heart 

Mt 5:8 - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Everyday we should be working on keeping our hearts pure because the end result of keeping your heart pure is you will be able to SEE GOD.

I would like you to close your eyes and picture what you think God might look like. Then realize your view of Him falls way short. He is much greater than what we can even think, believe or comprehend.
 
God is so far beyond descriptive words it isn't even funny and all we have to do to see Him is keep our hearts PURE. 

• Where Is Your Heart 

Mt 6:21 - "…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
 
So let me ask you where is your heart? What and where do you spend your most time and money? When you answer those two questions you will have a pretty good idea where your heart is.  

• What Is In Your Heart 

Mt 12:34-35 - You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
 
So what does your speech sound like?

Jesus said you can tell what is in a person's heart by the way they speak.

What does your speech convict you of today?

I can tell you before I became a Christian my mouth was used to pour out profanities. If it were a cuss word I have most likely said it and some times I even learned profanity in foreign languages.
 
If you use profanity I can tell you this: you haven't been guarding your heart. You have left your heart unguarded and the evil one has sent one of his spirits to sow the seeds of evil and because you were not guarding your heart the entrance in was most likely fairly simple.

You should be alert that the evil one is trying to take over your heart. 

• Has This Happened To Your Heart? 

Mt 13:15 - FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
 
This is an Old Testament quote (Isa.29:13) and the way we know that is it is written in all capital letters. There is a warning for us to pay attention to and that is if you don't guard your heart it can become DULL of hearing.

In other words, you will not listen to the words of eternal life. You won't listen to God's Word and this all happened because you were too busy to guard your heart from the evil one.
 
Please read this passage of scripture Mt 13:18-19 - Hear then the parable of the sower. "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart …"
 
It is my prayer for all my readers today that you guard your hearts. Please don't let it become DULL of hearing God's Word and by all means don't let the evil one snatch away what has been sown in your heart.
 
Give the Word of God a chance to grow in your heart. The best way to do that is continue to read God's Word and fellowship with God's people.
 
Think About This:
 
If God is kept outside, something must be wrong inside.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

​How To Accomplish A Project For Which You Feel Unqualified 

Exo. 3:10-11 – “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

God was informing Moses that he had been chosen to be the Project Manager of leading the children of Israel out of the Egyptian Bondage.

• Moses Never Uses His Age As An Excuse

      One thing I find amusing is Moses uses all kinds of excuses but he never once mentions his age. Moses is 80 years old when he starts this project and he never once says to God, You have got to be kidding me LORD. I am 80 years old. It is time for me to kick back and take it easy. I spent 40 years in Egypt studying and developing my talents. I moved to Midian and worked these last 40 years tending to sheep and my family.
 
So how do you accomplish a project for which you feel totally unqualified? 

• Trust The One Who Asked You To Spearhead The Project

      In verse 10 God says to Moses, “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh,…” God has faith in Moses and because of this He asks him to be the leader of this project.
 
Remember if someone has asked you to be the leader of a project it is because they have faith in you. (If you are working somewhere and you are asked because your supervisor wants to see you fail, then seriously you really need to be looking for another job.)
 
God asks Moses to lead because He believes he is capable of accomplishing this task. Plus, He knows that He is going to be there to help him complete this project.
 
Moses’ real problem is he lacks faith in God at this time.

He tries to hide his trust issues of God behind the veil of  “Who am I?” A lot of people have this same problem. We don’t trust God will help us finish the job at hand, but this is difficult to admit. So we place the blame on ourselves by saying we are the smallest, the weakest, or some other bodily handicap or character flaw.
 
If you want to accomplish something great then remember who asked you and trust their judgment of you. If you have an idea to accomplish something great and no one has asked you, then ask yourself where the idea came from?

• Remember Your Education

      Moses was educated in Egypt. He had the best education possible. He knew how to approach the Pharaoh. He knew how to behave in the presence of royalty. He knew how to speak their language.
 
If you are being asked to accomplish a huge task do you know those in authority? Do you know how to approach them and when? Can you speak their language?
 
How has life educated you for this opportunity?

Remember most of your education didn’t come from the classroom unless you are or were a teacher. Your education has continued to come from what you have learned in everyday life. 

Remember the lessons you learned in life and apply them as you accomplish the project that you have been asked to do. Always remember you can trust God to support you.
 
Moses learned he could trust God the One who asked him to accomplish the project of leading the children out of Egypt.
 
Think About This:

A college education never hurt anyone who was willing to keep on learning after he/she got it.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

 

Exo. 3:11 - But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

God has informed Moses that He has chosen him to lead the children of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage. Moses is stretched out of his comfort zone with this plan of God’s.

• When Does Being Stretched Out Of Your Comfort Zone Begin?

Your stretching will begin when you doubt your abilities to accomplish the task that is before you.

Moses doubts that he was the one who could be used to help free the Israelites. He says to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”  Moses doesn’t realize it yet, but he is the one who God has chosen and there isn't any way God will change His plan.

We probably all have been chosen by God to accomplish a task and we thought like Moses, “Who am I?” If God chooses you, God will help you to complete the task and that my friends is the truth.

• How Does One Stop The Stretching?

If you’re being stretched out of your comfort zone try these.

          1. Stop Doubting Yourself.

The way to accomplish this is by feeding your mind positive thoughts.

You need to realize that you have been chosen by someone to complete this task. God, your boss, your close friend, your spouse, or one of your children may have chosen you. The exciting thing is you have been chosen.

You want to see this as an opportunity to achieve a project that you haven’t done before.
 
         2. Start Preparing Yourself.

What can you do to prepare yourself to fulfill this project?

Are there any books you can read or is there a website you can visit? Do you know someone who has done this type of work before that you can contact for some assistance?

• My Construction Days

I was working construction with the Boilermakers back in the 1970’s. I was asked by a foreman,” Can you weld?" I replied, "No." I never liked giving him that answer. I needed to find someone who would be willing to teach me to weld. I was working with a crew and in this crew was a welder by the name of Jack McAvoy.

One evening while we were working I asked Jack if he would teach me how to weld? I grabbed a welder’s hood and within a couple of hours he had me welding. I continued to practice every day and on the next job site I took the welder’s test and passed.

I was now a certified welder, thanks to Jack McAvoy.

Find someone you can associate with who can teach you what it is you’re trying to learn.

Obtaining knowledge will help you in times when you’re being stretched to accomplish a feat for which you don’t feel qualified.

Think About These:

You must first be a believer if you would be an achiever.

Today’s preparation determines tomorrow’s achievement.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word

Prov. 13:20 - He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm. NASU 

• Old Cliché 

There is a saying that goes like this: "You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends". I would like to add to this saying: "You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends, so choose wisely my friend".
 
When Barry Davis was coaching college wrestling, he told me about quite a few different wrestlers he knew and coached who associated with the wrong people, and ruined their careers.
 
One wrestler connected with the wrong girlfriend and instead of returning the next year and becoming a National Champ, he didn't even finish as an All American.
 
Solomon said it many years ago and this is still great advice today. Choose your friends wisely. If you become friends with a fool it will cost you dearly. 

• The Apostle Paul 

Over a thousand years after Solomon the Apostle Paul would say it this way in 1 Corinthians. 15:33 - Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." NASU
 
All in all both men are simply saying something like this: "Show me your friends and I will show you your future." 

• Solomon Says 

His advice is pretty simple and straight forward. You want to associate with people who are wise. Wise people understand that life is not all about them. It is about helping others and being the best that you can be while on this earth.
 
We all have one thing in common and that is we are going to die.
 
So what are you going to do with your life before death comes knocking on your door?
 
The one thing you don't want to do is waste your time associating with the wrong people.
 
Serago's paraphrase of what Solomon says reads like this: "You associate with fools and it will bring guaranteed suffering into your life."
 
THE MESSAGE says it this way, "Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces." 
​

• Conclusion 

It is never too late to change your course. If you haven't been associating with wise people then start now. If you have been associating with fools then stop now.
 
Read God's Word because it will tell you the type of people to have as friends.
 
Think About These:
 
A wise man learns by the experiences of others. An ordinary man learns by his own experiences. A fool learns by nobody's experiences.
 
Knowledge is knowing a fact. Wisdom is knowing what to do with that fact.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    
Minister of God’s Word