Galatians 6:7 - "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." NASU
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• One Of God's Unbreakable Laws           

The first thing we must do is remember God has made us free-will human beings and we are permitted to make mistakes. If we want to do something stupid God will permit it but we are the ones that will have to pay for our choices. 
 
The apostle Paul informs us it is very clear whatever a man sows this he will reap. So the decision is ours. What crop do we want to harvest?  

We all know you can't plant corn seeds and expect radishes to grow. Everyone knows that it is simply a no brainer.

• Be Careful What You Sow 

You would be surprised in life how many people believe they can sow their wild oats and not receive a wild oats harvest.
 
I was one of those morons.
 
I tell people I have made a lot of bad decisions or, in other words, I have sowed a lot of wild oats and mostly while under the influence of alcohol. Before I was converted to Christ I thought laws were for everyone except me. MORON!
 
I remember people would say, "Gary, why do you believe we have laws?" My answer was always the same "We have laws so they can be broken."
 
I was a MORON! 

• Sow Destruction And You'll Reap Destruction

How many people have you known to sow destructive tendencies in their lives and when they reaped disaster they were shocked by the outcome?

One person that comes to my mind is Robert Downey, Jr. From the years 1996 - 2004 he thought he could abuse alcohol and drugs and everything would be okay.

He not only was fired from the Ally McBeal show, but he was also arrested numerous times, ordered to rehabs by the courts, and incarcerated in a California state prison.

Finally, he woke up and decided to start sowing a different type of seed and his career and personal life have skyrocketed to new heights. 

How many people do we know not as famous as Robert Downey, Jr. have followed the same lifestyle only to end up wrecking their lives as well? 

• God's Word Is Unbreakable

God's Word tells us that what we sow is what we will reap. Period!

Here is what you want to do before you plant. Ask yourself, "What will be the outcome of this action?" If you are not sure ask for someone else's opinion.
 
Listen to what is written in Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

What you sow will it produce shame and embarrassment? Or will it bring blessings and honor? If you were to die right after your planting produced a crop, how would you be remembered?

How is it that you would like to be remembered?
 
Then always remember to plant the type of seeds that will bring blessings and honor.
 
Think About This:
 
It isn't by a man's wealth, but by his character, that makes him rich or poor.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word

John 1:18 - No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. NASB 
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• No One Has Seen God 

Yes, we can all say this. The one thing we know for sure is "no one has ever seen God in all of His Glory" and lived to tell about it.
 
Moses was told this by God in Exodus 33:20-23: God said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.  "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."
 
This was the closest any man has come to visibly seeing God. 

• There Was One 

When we begin to read the Gospel of John we learn there was One, who was with God, and was God and His Name was The Word or The Logos. Then according to John 1:14 the Word became flesh and we know Him as Jesus.
 
Jesus, as He will be known on earth was known in Heaven as The Logos, came for a few reasons and one of those reasons was to explain to people what God was really like. There were a lot of misconceptions and Jesus was here to reveal God's grace and truth. 

• Do You Want To Know God? 

If you answer "yes" to the above question then I have the answer for you. I can point you in the correct direction on how to know God.
 
It is by knowing Jesus Christ.
 
The more you know Jesus the more you will know God the Father. Look what Jesus says about His relationship with the Father: John 10:30 - "I and the Father are one."
 
And look what He says a few verses later John 10:36-38 - "…do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  " If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;  but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."
 
Jesus is speaking very clearly. He is One with the Father, the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. So, if you want to know the Father then I highly recommend reading everything you can about the Son, Jesus Christ. 

• I Have Seen God

What? Your premise from the beginning was no one can see God. How can you now change and say you have seen God?
 
Here is how I have seen God.
 
I have seen men and women confess Jesus to be their Lord and Savior and be baptized into Christ and I have witnessed God change their lives.
 
I have seen God at work in people's lives.
 
I have seen drunks never take another drink. I have seen drug addicts stop using drugs. I have seen God at work in people's lives to the point where some didn't even want to attend a worship service but came reluctantly.
 
Then after they heard the gospel their hearts were changed when they learned what Jesus did for them.
 
I have seen God at work in people's lives.
 
I pray you will allow God to work in your life today so other people can see God at work in you.
 
Luke 6:45 - "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what isgood;…"
 
Be like Jesus and allow the good to come out of your heart and in so doing you will be like God.
 
Think About This:
 
A Christian is one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word

​Luke 24:1-5 - But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? NASU 

• Honey, I Can't Find My… 

I don't know how many times I've said to Barb, "Honey, I can't find my… have you seen it?"  I was looking in the wrong places for my coat, hat, keys, glasses or whatever. In our text today the women were looking in the wrong place for Jesus. 

• The Tomb Was Empty 

They can thank the good Lord Jesus was not where they were looking. He was no longer in the tomb or grave. He had been resurrected back to life.
 
Every week as I partake of the Lord's Supper I am able to give thanks for my sins being forgiven but in order for that to have happened Jesus had to be resurrected back to life.
 
He warned the disciples what was going to happen in Mark 8th, 9th, and 10th chapters. He told them He would be killed and rise again. Therefore, He had to be resurrected or He would have been a liar, a false prophet.
 
Yes, the women were looking for Jesus but He was not in the tomb. He was alive. 

• The Next Time 

When you can't find something the next time use that situation as an opportunity to look up to the heavens and say thanks to God for resurrecting Jesus from the tomb.
 
In fact, you don't have to wait until you can't find something, do it now. Stop! Look up! And say, "Thanks to God for the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." 

• Because of His Death and Resurrection 

The importance of our baptism or immersion into Christ hinges on this symbolism. Jesus died and was buried in a tomb. In order for us to be like Jesus symbolically, we are to die to sin and be buried in a watery grave (baptism/immersion) and be raised out of that watery grave, which is symbolic of our resurrection.
 
The apostle Paul said it this way: Romans 6:4-5 - Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,…
 
If you have not symbolically died to sin and been baptized in that watery grave please consider doing it today. If you need someone to assist you contact me I will be glad to help you.
 
Think About This:
 
People always get in trouble when they think they can handle their lives without God.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word

James 4:13-15 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."   NASU 

• The Truth I Am Referencing 

James makes an enlightening statement we know is factual and believe it wholeheartedly and the statement is "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow."
 
So what are we going to hear tomorrow? Are we going to hear some great news? Or are we going to hear some very bad news? Or maybe we won't hear anything good or bad it will just be one of those days.
 
Yet, for some, the news will be good and for others, it will be bad. As I sit in my office and type this Pump Up I know there are people who are going to hear their loved ones died today and there are others who will give birth to a precious child. 

• James Makes Another Truthful Statement 

"You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." Wow! How true is that statement? Last week 3 people I knew personally died.

One was my cousin and he was in his 80's, one was a close friend of the families and she was in her 90's and one was 21 years old who I knew from my time spent with the University of Wisconsin's wrestling team.
 
The one that makes me stop and reconsider my life was Eli, the 21- year-old. He was such a nice young man, very polite and a very hard worker.

He had his whole life in front of him one would think. Yet, the truth was his life was like a vapor appears for a little while and then vanishes away. His whole life was 21 years.
 
I highly recommend today that you look at the ones you love and ask yourself, "What is going to happen to them tomorrow, next week, next month or next year?"
 
The truth is you really don't know.
 
We don't know what is going to happen to us tomorrow.

Therefore, do yourself a favor and seize the moment today. Say some things you have been thinking about saying to the people around you, but you haven't done it.
 
REMEMBER: your life, my life, and everyone's life are like a vapor they appear for a little while and then they vanish away.
 
Some people's "little while" is a lot shorter than others.
 
Think On These:
 
The only thing worse than growing old is to be denied the privilege.
 
When we die we leave behind all we have and take with us all we are.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
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