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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
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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 John 1: 40-42 - One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Peter is mentioned over 160 times in the N.T. and it is all because his brother Andrew (mentioned 13 times) led him to Christ. Andrew is mentioned fewer times but plays a vital role in God's Kingdom by introducing Peter to Jesus.
All we have to do is be like Andrew and introduce a Peter like person to Jesus. Peter was the one who said, "Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God." And Jesus would give Peter the keys to the kingdom (Matt.16:16-19). It was Peter who got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus. It was Peter who would cut off Malchus' ear in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was Peter who would preach the first gospel sermon and over 3,000 people would be baptized into Christ. We could say a whole lot more about Peter, but I want to remind us of this one thing: it was ANDREW, one guy, who brought Peter to meet Jesus. It was Andrew who became friends with one little lad, who had a lunch, and when this one lunch was given to Jesus it fed over 5,000 men, women, and children.
Yes, one can make a difference. In what area of life are you going to make a difference? Andrew was just one person but look at the huge impact he was able to make. YOU ARE ONE. What huge impact are you going to make? You may have thought "What can I do, I am only one person?" Well, now you know. One person can make a huge impact if he or she has a mind to do so. Now go and accomplish something great in your life. Go and make a huge impact. You know you can do it. Think on These: It is when we forget ourselves that we do things that are most likely to be remembered. Every accomplishment, great or small, starts with the right decision, "I'll Try". Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Philippians 2:14 - Do everything without complaining or arguing. NIV
His players moaned and groaned about this schedule, but Shula would not change his mind nor reduce the number of workouts like the players wanted him to do. His players said that this was unheard of and no other NFL team had four workouts per day. Another player said, "All we do is dress, practice, undress, and dress, practice and undress. We are not sure if we are football players or strippers." That year the team won 10 games and when the players were asked what made the difference in their team's successful turn around they all attributed their success to the four workouts per day. The exact thing they were complaining about is what in a few months they attributed to the team's success." In two more years, the Dolphins would become the only team to remain undefeated all year long. They finished with a 17-0 record. This record has still not be duplicated.
Exodus 16:7-8 - And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?" Also Moses said, "…; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD." NKJV In God's Word, we are told to do everything without complaining. Do we think that God may just know what we complain about is exactly what we need to be successful? Is it possible the things we ask God to free us from when He begins the freedom process we complain about the way He is doing it? We need to trust God more every day and view what He is doing in our life as that which we really need. Many people have prayed to God for help and when He started to help them they complained about the way He was helping them. A good thing for us to be mindful of is God is God and we are not. Think About This: To hear complaints is tiresome to the miserable and the happy. Samuel Johnson Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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