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Matt.27:46-47 - About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" NASU
This coming Sunday is Resurrection Sunday what the world commonly calls Easter. You will probably hear a few sermons about how God turned His back on Jesus and abandoned Him on the cross. I want you to know I don't believe that theory. So I am publishing this Pump Up to share with you my belief about what Jesus was really saying on the cross. Please accept my apology for the length of this Pump Up.
God speaks to Joshua as the leader of the Israelites. He tells Joshua, "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." Joshua 1:5 God told Jacob and Solomon He would be with them and that He would not forsake them.
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" Heb 13:5-6 Christians have the same promise made to them about God and the promise that He will NOT Ever Desert or Forsake us.
Here is my belief about what Jesus was saying on the cross. First, this is an Old Test. Quote, one must return to Psalm 22 where this quote originated and study the context of how it was used there. Once you do this I believe the answer becomes very clear. Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm. This means it applies to the Messiah or Jesus. Jesus is hanging on the cross when He speaks these words. The only scriptures they had at this time were the OT scriptures. The OT was not divided into chapters and verses. Therefore, Jesus couldn't say turn to Psalm 22 and you will find the answer as to what is happening to Me. The first entire Bible in which chapter and verse divisions were used was Robert Stephanus' edition of the Latin Vulgate (A.D. 1555). When Jesus quotes the first words: "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" He was telling His disciples to read the Psalm that begins with those words. When you read that Psalm the truth will be revealed: Ps 22:3-5 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed. Ps 22:23-24 You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard. NASU In verses 3-5 the Psalmist is saying, God is holy, and the Israelite fathers trusted in God and were delivered. In verses 23-24 he is saying God has not hidden His face from this person who is suffering. In fact, this person cries out for help and God heard His cry. This Psalm is considered a Messianic one which means it is about the Messiah and I would agree. Therefore, Jesus is NOT saying God has forsaken Him, but the exact opposite. God had heard His cry for help and helped Him.
You and I may go through times when we feel like God has forsaken us, but our feelings are wrong as they have been before. God doesn't forsake us. God keeps His word and helps His children. Jesus tells us very clearly He is not alone during His crucifixion. He informs His disciples they will be scattered or in other words they are going to run and leave Jesus all alone, but He says I am not alone. John 16:31-32 - Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me." My dear brothers and sisters in Christ if there is anything I am sure of it is this: God doesn't forsake His children. Think About This: The promises of God are certain, but they don't always mature in 90 days. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Ps 1:1-3 - How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. NASU
I remember before I was a Christian listening to a guy about how I could make some real easy money by selling drugs. That bad decision cost me a lot of grief and money. As I look back on my life what I have discovered is the best way to provide for yourself and your family is find a job you love to do and do it. Once you have found that job give it 100% everyday. Paul wrote to Timothy he quoted to him an Old Testament passage when he said, in 1 Tim. 5:18 -For the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." The Psalmist also tells us where we should stand and sit. In other words, he is telling us where to hang out and who to hang out with. Paul said it this way: "Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." (1 Corin. 15:33). As I have said before, "Show me your friends and I will show you your future." The Psalmist's best advice to us is don't stand or sit with the wrong people.
When we give ourselves to helping others is there really any blessing that compares to it. In the book of Acts Luke penned it this way: "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" How to guarantee to be blessed in this life is by helping others. Last September I organized a food pack for the people of Ukraine through IDES. My original goal was 50,000 meals. We asked people to make financial contributions. They gave so much money we were able increase our goal to 60,000 meals. Now I needed to recruit a 100 people to give 4 hours of their time. When I thanked everyone for coming to help accomplish this goal they let me know it was a blessing to them to be able to participate in this worthy cause. Find a worthy cause and invest yourself in it and you will be guaranteed a blessing. Think About These: Charity is twice blessed - it blesses the one who gives and the one who receives. This was in a church bulletin: The Lord loves a cheerful giver. He also accepts from a grouch. The best gift we can give some people is a chance. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 18:36 - Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." NASU
Never have I seen the attack on that which is morally right like I have seen today. If I focused on this evil my spirit would be depressed and uneasy constantly, BUT I don't focus on it. I focus on our scripture for the day, John 18:36. Jesus stated His Kingdom is not of this world and because of that I am thankful to know that I am a member of His Kingdom. His Kingdom will conquer this world and the evil one who is constantly stirring up chaos.
2 Kings 19:35 -Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. WOW! One angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night. In the book of Matthew Jesus says this -"Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?..." (Matt. 26:53). A legion most likely represents 6,000 in number. So Jesus is saying the Father could put at His disposal 72,000 angels immediately. One angel wiped out 185,000 so you can do the math what would 72,000 angels be able to accomplish? Oh yes, and don't forget this you can't kill an angel. Yes, when I look at the craziness going on in this world I stop and say. "Thank you Lord for calling me out of this world of darkness and into Your marvelous light aka - Kingdom." Peter said it this way: 1 Pet. 2:9-10 -But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. If you are like me and from time to time the craziness of this world appears to be overwhelming look to God's Word and you will find a "Peace and Hope" that surpasses all the chaos this world is displaying. Think About These: Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier. There is more hope for a confessed sinner than a conceited saint. 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 Galatians 6:7 - "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." NASU
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.
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!
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?
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 |
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