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Nehemiah 4:6 - So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. NASU
I don't know of anything more irritating than starting a project and one or two people want to complain about it. Seriously! I see people in one of two groups when there is a project. Are you going to be "on the way" or "in the way"? If you are "on the way" you are there to help, encourage and see the goal accomplished. If you are "in the way" then you are there to discourage, hinder the progress and see the goal isn't accomplished. My advice for you is to separate yourself from the group and let them be successful.
Originally, our goal was to pack 50K meals and to accomplish this we needed $12,500. The NL congregation gave $15K so we increased our goal to 60K meals. When the final count came in we had collected $18,247 to give to IDES. When we were finished packing all the food IDES shipped down our total was 62,208 meals packed. How were 150 plus people able to accomplish this feat? They all had "a mind to work". There wasn't anyone complaining. It was like watching ants go after a chocolate cupcake. Everyone knew their job and they were executing it to perfection. Since Nehemiah isn't here to say it I will, "those people had a mind to work" and work they did. We finished 45 minutes ahead of schedule because these people were relentless. I was blessed to be a part of this awesome display of Christians being the hands and feet of Jesus in this modern world.
Think About These: Enthusiasm is the propelling force necessary for climbing the ladder of success. To succeed you must be easy to start and hard to stop. For success, try aspiration, inspiration, and perspiration. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Acts 15:37-39 - Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. NASU
2 Tim. 4:11 - "…Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service."
It is Saul and Barnabas who are going to get into such a heated argument that they will separate from one another. Their friendship is going to be severed. Why? Barnabas didn't give up on people. He gave them second chances. Are you known for giving people second chances? Or are you like I use to be and that was one and done. I remember meeting with a man on my team telling him he needed to fire a guy. I have never forgotten his answer. He said, "Gary, let me work with him. Let me "Fire Him Up" rather than fire him." He did work with him and he did "Fire Him Up" and I learned a valuable lesson. He was more interested in people and I was more interested in the finished product. I can't even remember the project today but I remember that person. All I'm saying is invest your time in people and you will not go wrong. Even if you don't turn all of them around at least you know you tried.
Being able to admit when you are wrong is a sure sign of maturity. So who comes to your mind right now as you read this that you need to contact them and "admit that you were wrong." If the apostle Paul made mistakes then I am sure you will agree with me that we all can make mistakes. Now if can you admit that you were wrong like Paul then follow his example and do what it takes to make peace. I believe that a true sign of maturity is admitting when you are wrong. Think About These: Carve your name on hearts - not on marble. A single rose for the living is better than a costly wreath at the grave. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt 23:37-39 - "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'" NASU
Isn't it amazing how these men were sent by God to help the Israelites and they didn't like the prophet's messages so they killed them. WOW! I have been in the Lord's ministry for 40 years now and I haven't known any of God's servants who have been killed, but I have known a few who were fired.
We are living almost 2,000 years after Jesus' death and yet the message about Him continues to be spread throughout the world. The Bible is ban in countries like China and N. Korea yet the gospel is still preached there because you can't stop God's message from doing what it is supposed to do. Change people's lives for the better. You may be a Christian and reading this Pump Up today. I would like to encourage you to continue to share the gospel message with those around you. People may hate you, not invite you to their Christmas parties and say all types of evil things about you, but remember they killed the prophets for speaking what God wanted to be spoken. Jesus would die for our sins and be resurrected and because of this we can have our sins forgiven and share the message with those around us. Never forget this: people died for the message we get to share with others.
Religious people today are trying to silence the gospel by firing preachers for preaching God's Word. Yet, this isn't anything knew look what the apostle Paul said in the book of Acts 20:29-30 - "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them…."
What it means to be a Christian is it means to stay alert, be on guard and read God's Word so you will know when you are being lied to by the religious leaders. Remember it was the "religious leaders" who killed the prophets. Stay Alert and Stay Alive. Think About These: The person who expects to go to heaven must take the time to study the route that will get them there. The most popular religion today is CON-FUSION-ISM. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Prov. 24:17-18 - "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him."
When You Just Want To Scream "Yeah" If you are a leader or successful in any area of life you made enemies along the way. Some times in life you didn't do anything. There are some people in life that will be your enemy and have flimsy excuses for a reason why they are against you. One of the hardest things in life we will ever accomplish is not rejoicing when our enemy falls. When we want to scream "Yeah" the LORD says, don't do it. You Have A Visual Of That Person When you read the scripture above a visual of that person came to your mind. When they fell you may have not known about this scripture and you did rejoice. When they fell you may have said to yourself, "Good, they got what they deserved." You were glad they were receiving some type of punishment. How Are We Supposed To Respond? We are not to be glad or happy. We are not to be jumping up and down with joy. You may be thinking, "Serago, you have got to be kidding me. You don't know what was said about me or did to me". You would be correct, but God knows and that is why he/she has fallen. God is dealing out the correct judgment, at the correct time, and He doesn't need us gloating about it. Well, I guess you're right this is very hard. So How Am I To Behave In This Situation? You are to realize that God is in control and that He is watching over you. He will judge those who mistreat us. He is the judge and we aren't. Let Him do what He is supposed to do. Also, it might help to remember what happened to Joseph in the book of Genesis. His brothers sold him into slavery and then lied to their father about what had happened to him. I am always amazed at Joseph's faith when he makes this statement to them in Gen. 50:20 - "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." NASU Your enemies may be just like Joseph's brothers. What they have said about you and done to you may have been done with evil intent, but that doesn't mean that God can't use it for good. He did in Joseph's situation and may be doing the same in yours. Give God time to work like Joseph did. Joseph had to wait for 13 years while God was working His plan. What Took God So Long Before He Acted? It is my opinion He was giving the brothers time to repent which they never did and God could be giving your enemies time to repent and avoid being punished which they may never do. When the ones don't repent within God's time schedule judgment will be passed down upon them. God's judgment will always be just and always on time. The penalty will always fit the crime. Think About These: We always want judgment to come upon our enemies immediately, and we want our judgment to be delayed as long as possible. You can judge a man by his enemies as well as by his friends. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 11:27-28 - While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed." 28 But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." NASU
Well, there you have it. I believed the Bible was filled with contradictions because another person said it was and I had never read it for myself. Wow! That sounds really stupid now that I have stated it that way. If I might make a suggestion to you if you are ever in a conversation with someone and they say the Bible is full of contradictions, politely say to them, "Name me one." If you have your Bible with you, hand it to them and say, "Show me where." Chances are they are repeating what they heard someone else say.
It has been 47 years since I started reading the Bible and I still have not found any contradictions.
I was reading the book of James in the King James Version. James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: KJV I remember saying to myself, "Wait a minute that is a contradiction." I remembered reading in Genesis where God had tempted Abraham. It says in Gen. 22:1- And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. KJV Well, I thought I had actually found a contradiction in the Bible. Can you see how much reading I had done to find that one? I had read from Genesis all the way through the Old Testament (39 books) and in the New Testament from Matthew to James (another 20 books), and I finally found one, or so I thought. I remember going to Dave Berresford, a preacher, where I was worshipping God at that time and showing him my find. As I recall he let the air out of my sails with a lot of Christian grace. He showed me in the Hebrew the word "nacah" can actually be better translated "to test". God wasn't tempting Abraham to do evil. God was actually giving him a test to become stronger in his faith. God still gives us "tests" to strengthen us in our faith.
Let God's Word continue to perform its work in you. You will be glad you did. Think About These: Poverty is no disgrace, but ignorance is. It is not necessary for some people to put out the light to be in the dark. The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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