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Gen. 2:16-17 - The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." NASU
Now what is so hard about those do's and don'ts? Wrestling coaches are like God in that they tell their wrestlers what to do, and what not to do. All coaches will emphasize do's and don'ts -"Do get proper sleep and nutrition, Do attend all of your classes, Don't let your weight get out of control, and Don't miss practices." Coaches also are at mat-side giving instructions when their wrestlers are in the battle. Your coach wants the best for you exactly like God wanted the best for Adam and Eve.
So why did he try it? I believe in the heat of the battle you will resort back to old habits when you become impatient or desperate. Even if you know this move will not work you will try it. I was watching a match once where one wrestler was known for his ability to ride his opponent. What would the other wrestler do when it was his choice? Would he take bottom or neutral? He took neutral. He was better in the neutral position and that was his strength. He went with his strength. He stayed away from the other wrestler's strength. Now wasn't the time to be macho, now was the time to win a championship. There was no doubt in my mind the wrestler listened to his coach and won the match.
There are some wrestlers today who are going over in their minds, what if. What if I would have done this or what if I would have listened to my coach? You can't change the outcome of your match now so let me say this, "Use this as a learning experience, listen to your coach the next time, and now it is time to move on in your life. Set another goal and start working to accomplish it."
It all comes down to trust. Do you trust your coach? When the pressure on the mat is turned up do you trust your coach? If you don't trust him then why did you ever accept the coach's invitation to come and wrestle for him? You are both going to be frustrated. Adam and Eve simply didn't trust God. They listened to and believed a lie and lost their match. When the pressure of your life is turned up are you going to trust God, your coach? If not, why did you become a Christian?
Have you been coached on how to defeat this problem in your life? Implement what you have been taught. Think on These: Confidence is the feeling you have before you fully understand the situation. A good coach inspires men to have confidence in him; a great coach inspires men to have confidence in themselves. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. NIV
Philippians 4:8 - Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (from THE MESSAGE)
You may have thoughts like: "I am so stupid, Everybody hates me, I am such a jerk and I would be better off dead." Paul says, think on or meditate on the things which are true. None of the things stated above are TRUE. You're not stupid. You may have done something incorrectly but that one decision doesn't define you. Everyone hates you once again is not true. If you are reading this Pump Up I don't hate you. My Lord doesn't hate you. You certainly would not be better off dead. When I could feel myself starting to be depressed I always would go to the hospitals and visit someone. Just me being there seeing people who were sick always got me to stop thinking negatively. You might not be able to go to hospitals today with Covid but there are still ways to help other people and in helping others you help yourself.
I am not going to give you my list of what things I believe are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. You can do this on your own and your list will mean more to you than my list. However, I will share with you what I believe is PRAISEWORTHY. That is God's unique plan to bring sinful people to heaven with Him for all eternity. What have we ever done to deserve even one second in heaven? The answer would be nothing. So why is it we get an opportunity to go there? We get an opportunity to go there because God in His infinite mercy and loving-kindness developed a plan whereby sinful man could be forgiven through the acceptance of the atoning blood sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. I love the words of the old hymn To God Be The Glory: To God be the glory! Great things He hath done! So loved He the world that He gave us His Son; Who yielded His life an atonement for sin, And opened the life gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son: and give Him the glory! Great things He hath done! If you would like to listen to the entire song I have included a link for you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CeBoSQsBR0 How can anyone overcome being depressed? All one has to do is follow the advice of the Apostle Paul and think about the things that will release you. Think on the things which are TRUE, NOBLE, RIGHT, PURE, LOVELY, ADMIRABLE, and PRAISEWORTHY Think About These: Think right, act right; it is what you think and do that make you what you are. The right train of thought can take you to a better station in life. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Lk 19:29-34 - He sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. "If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say, 'The Lord has need of it.'" So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, "The Lord has need of it." NASU
What about us? Are we anything like this donkey? Has the Lord tied us to something that we really don't like? The reason He has tied us is because He needs us to be right where we are. (Please know that I am not referring to any type of abusive situation. If you are being abused get out of there. The donkey wasn't being beaten. He was tied most likely to a post.) We are going to be able to help someone if we stay where we are. We are going to impact some one's life in a very special way, but if we are not tied we will wander away. In other words, we won't be where the Lord needs us to be, so He has tied us to something. Maybe you are tied to a job, or a health problem, or a financial burden you don't like. You think God doesn't know that? You pray, "God use me." And the entire time He is preparing to use you your mind is on getting out of there. You keep trying to get untied from God's plan.
What about us? Are we seen by others as unimportant? IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW OTHERS SEE YOU. It really only matters how God sees you. Others may think you are not important, not smart, not pretty, not handsome, not rich enough, but none of that matters. What matters is what God thinks of you. How many of you know what God thinks about you? I highly recommend reading the New Testament and you will discover what God thinks about you and read real slow when you get to John 3.
The disciples said, "The Lord has need of it." And that was the end of their conversation. You know we are all like that donkey. The Lord has need of us. You may be like the donkey tied to something and waiting to be used by the King. It doesn't matter what situation of life you find yourself in just believe that God is going to use you like He did the donkey. The Lord Has Need Of You. I hope you are waiting patiently for Him to use you. Think About These: Life is full of golden opportunities for doing what we don't want to do. Patience is the ability to count down before blasting off. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Joshua 14:10-11 - So now, look, the LORD has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the LORD spoke these words to Moses, during which Israel traveled through the wilderness. Now look, I am today eighty-five years old. Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then. NET
Joshua and Caleb believed in the power of God. They testified to the entire nation of Israel of God's power and ability to deliver them. This is what they said:
Caleb is about to be stoned because he believed or had faith in God. Our challenge for today is to have the faith of Caleb and not be afraid anything. We need to trust God.
He says this about his age: Now look, I am today eighty-five years old. Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then. Now you have to admire a man like that one who is not going to use his age as an excuse. There is a man with a positive attitude. You just have to love his spirit. I know I do. Now that I live in a retirement center I have started to play pickleball. One day I came home and told my wife my partner and I played two men who were both in their 80's and they beat us, and it wasn't pretty. If Caleb were alive today I could see him playing, exercising, and beating two guys 60 years old in Pickleball. Men and women of faith find a way to allow God to accomplish something with them. They never find excuses. They find a way to win or succeed. God has something He wants to accomplish with you today. Will you rise to the occasion or give Him an excuse? As we get ready to start a new year, 2021, let us pray that God will use us this year to accomplish anything He desires. I challenge you to make a new year's resolution and that is we are going to be more like CALEB and less like the other 10 spies of which I bet you can't name one of them without looking up their names. Negative people are forgotten it is the positive ones we remember. Think About These: Excuses fool no one except the ones who make them. There aren't enough crutches in the world for all the lame excuses. The man who wants to do something finds a way; the other man finds an excuse. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Revelation 1:12-15 - “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.…I saw one like a son of man, …His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; …and His voice was like the sound of many waters.”
The emperors wanted to be worshipped as if they were gods. The faithful followers of Judaism and Christianity would not worship them and consequently, this led to their executions. The apostle John who had been exiled to the isle of Patmos because of his faith hears a voice behind him and he turns to see who is speaking to him. He "saw one like the son of man." In other words, he is seeing Jesus Christ. His head and hair were white is another way of saying Jesus is the pure one. Jesus is the one who never sinned. White is the color used for "purity".
I am not sure how many of you have ever been near a waterfall or an area that is being flooded. I have been near both of them and I can tell you from experience the noise is unbelievably loud. You have to yell at the person who is standing next to you for them to hear you. So what did "His voice was like the sound of many waters.” mean when John wrote it? God is telling John to allow the "Word of God" to drown out all worldly noises. If you will allow the Word of God to drown out all of this world's noises you will not worry. There was a lot of political noise in John's day and God is saying don't listen to the political noise. God is telling John to write to all Christians and inform them not to listen to the political nonsense coming from the Roman Empire. God wants Christians to listen to Him. His Voice is to be heard over all other noises. I would like to say there is a lot of political noise in our world today. God's Word is timeless. He wants us today to not listen to all the political noise. We are to listen to His Voice. The importance of listening to God's Voice over all of the political nonsense in our world is we will not be upset by the nonsense. We will not worry. We must never forget our citizenship is in Heaven (Phil.3:20). One lesson the book of Revelation teaches is human history is not separated from God's awareness or involvement. God is still in control of this world. Not only is He in control He is walking in the midst of His Church. He is the Good Shepherd and He is in the middle of His flock. So take it easy. Don't Worry Be Happy that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Don't listen to all the nonsense this world is throwing at you. Listen to this: Matt 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Think On These: God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread but He expects us to do the baking. We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. God still speaks to those who take time to listen. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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