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Gen. 5: 3-5 - When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. 4 Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. NASU
Adam's son Seth is listed next, then Enosh, then Kenan, then Mahalalel and as we read we will find it ends with Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Charlie was the father of Marlene, Elaine and Faye and he lived 98 years and died, If we were writing his obituary like the Bible did that is pretty much all it would say. BUT, this is not the Bible this is Serago's Pump Ups and being the owner I get to write whatever I want.
Charlie believed in education and graduated in 1943 from David Anderson HS. He would next serve in the US Navy during WWII. Protecting America was important to him. Once back home from the war Charlie would go to work for Ohio Edison for the next 39 years of his life.
A book could be written about all of the life lessons Charlie taught all the boys on that team. One of the greatest lessons he taught all of us was everybody has a bad day. We were playing a team that had a really good pitcher, but on this day he didn't have his best stuff. We were really hitting his pitches and scoring runs this day. The bad thing for the pitcher was his dad was the assistant coach. This dad screamed at and belittled his son in front of everyone. Charlie guaranteed us we never would be treated like that and we never were. He also emphasized the point that we all have bad days you accept them and move on to the next one. You don't let one bad day define you. I could list a lot lessons like treat everyone with respect even your opponents. When you come to the ballpark you give it your best, be ready to play, but just giving it your best doesn't guarantee you will always get on base or win the game. It is okay to steal in baseball (the bases) but not in life. Charlie was the type of coach every kid should have in life. The one moment I remember most about Charlie was when he came up to me, kneeled down while I was in the batting circle and he very calmly looked me in the eyes and said, "We need you on base." Wow! What a motivational speech that was. I was needed. I did get on base and got a smack on the butt from my coach and these words "you know what to do next". Yeah, I knew it was time to steal second base. Charlie was the constant encourager.
Thanks Charlie. You were a lot of things to a lot of people but to me you will always be my best coach EVER. Think About This: When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart not his head. Charlie had a huge heart. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Ps 37:12-15
The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. 13 The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct. 15 Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken. NASU
If you still watch nightly news and are depressed by all the evil that is reported each night then I have good news for you. The good news comes from Psalm 37 where we are informed the Lord laughs at the wicked. He is going to frustrate their plans. "Their sword will enter their own heart," the Psalmist says.
He knows what He is going to do. He sees the day is coming when He will interfere with their plans. Then "righteousness" will conquer "evil".
Matt. 25:31-34, 41 - But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, ' Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; … " NASU
You will notice immediately upon death the "rich man" as he is called is in torment, while Lazarus is not. He also wants someone to go back and warn his five brothers not to come to this place (Hades). Luke 16:23-25, 27-30 - "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' …"And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house — for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' NASU If the evil you see depresses you then take your eyes off of what is going on around you and look to what is going to happen. First, the righteous will be with our Lord where there will be no evil. Secondly, the evil person will be judged, found guilty and punished. They will not be able to buy this Judge like can happen here on earth. They (the rich and poor) will pay for their sins. Think About This: Justice will WIN in the end. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 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 Mk 5:21-24 - When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. 22 One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet 23 and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live." 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. NASU
I can remember going into meetings and saying, "Hold all my calls I don't want any interruptions."
Jairus is not the only interruption that Jesus will encounter this day. While on the way to Jairus' house Jesus is faced with another interruption. This time it is a woman who is in need of Jesus' healing powers for herself. She thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." She moves in and secretly touches Jesus' clothes and when she does she is immediately healed of her 12 year long illness. This is where the story gets interesting. Jesus stops, turns around and says, "Who touched My garments?" This is not going according to her plan. She wanted to touch Him be healed and slip off into the crowd. Jesus wasn't supposed to stop and turn around and question the crowd of people.
Would you get involved and speak out like this? "Alright, if you touched Him I want you to tell Him, NOW, the longer we stand here the sicker my daughter becomes." Jairus waits patiently while Jesus engages with this lady and commends her for her faith.
The lady was sick for 12 years with her illness yet she never gave up on her faith. Would we continue to pray about something if our prayer had not been answered in 12 years? Would we remain faithful to God if we hadn't received the answer to our prayer sooner than that?
Do you know that anything that doesn't help you accomplish your goals is an interruption in your life? When interruptions entered into Jesus' life He used them to Glorify God. We need to realize interruptions may come into our life and stay for years so that we can glorify God with them. Jairus is going to receive more than he asked for that day. He asked for a healing and what he is about to receive is his 12 year old daughter resurrected from the dead. Many times with God you will receive more than you ask, but you must persevere through to the end. If your life is being altered because of interruptions, be like Jairus and the woman who suffered for 12 years, put your faith in Jesus and wait for Him to answer your prayers. Think About This: Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Proverbs 15:23 - A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word! NASB
Some Days Are Harder Than Others Just when you thought you couldn't go another step, when the weight of the world was crushing you, it happened. You received a call or maybe even a visit and as that person spoke to you your strength rejuvenated within you. What a blessing some people are able to bring into your life immediately. The Message says it this way: Congenial conversation—what a pleasure! The right word at the right time—beautiful! (Proverbs 15:23 MSG) My Early Christian Life When I first became a Christian there was a man named, Jay Pancake, who attended the same congregation that I did. He was about 20 or so years older than me. We became great friends. If I had a stressed out look on my face he could always tell it. He would always say to me, "You need to come out to the house and drink some of Patsy's ice tea with me." I'd say, "When?" And he say, "Today, of course." We both knew what that meant. Whatever was causing me to struggle was going to disappear. Jay had that wisdom that only comes through life experiences and aging. Has life taught you some valuable lessons? Then share them with others. Helping others over the obstacle they are facing is just one way we can be like Jesus. Are You Having One Of Those Days? Solomon says, "How delightful is a timely word!" Hopefully, this Pump Up will give you a lift today or maybe you have a Jay Pancake in your life. Give him or her a call or better yet, if they live close to you stop in and visit with them. They will know by the look on your face why you are there and they won't mind at all. Be On The Lookout One of the worse traps we can fall into in this life is thinking only about ourselves. As you travel around today be on the lookout for someone who could use a timely word. Be a Jay Pancake to someone today. Follow the advice of Solomon either from the Message: Congenial conversation—what a pleasure! The right word at the right time—beautiful! Or from the NASB - A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word! I guarantee you that there is someone in the world today who you will come in contact with that could use a timely word from you. Think About These: A friend is someone who believes in you. Even when you have ceased to believe in yourself. No matter how good or bad your life is, wake up each morning and be thankful that you still have one. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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