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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Galatians 6:7 - "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."  NASU 

• This Is A Very Simple Law 

Everyone knows there are some simple laws in life and what I am about to share with you is one of them. You reap what you sow. You can't plant corn and expect radishes to grow. Everyone knows this law, it is simply a no brainer.
 
You reap what you sow. 

• What Crop Do You Want To Harvest?

The first thing we must do is decide what crop we want to harvest. As the Apostle Paul writes, "...whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."

You would be surprised in life how many people believe they can sow discord and expect to reap happiness.

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

• Reap What He Sowed

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, he was 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 has sky rocketed to new heights. 

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

• We Will Reap What We Sow 

God's Word tells us that what we sow is what we will reap. We can not break God's laws and expect good to come from that action.

Here is what you do before you plant. Ask yourself, "What will be the final result this action will produce or in other words what crop will be produced?"

Will it produce shame and embarrassment? Or will it bring blessings and honor? What exactly do you want your legacy to say about you?
 
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 types of seeds which will produce the crop you desire.
 
Think On These:
 
Always take plenty of time to make a snap decision.
 
Wise people sometimes change their minds, fools never do.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
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​Revel. 21:3-5 - And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."  And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."  NASU 

• When You Think You Can't Go Another Day 

Many times in life we find ourselves under some very stressful situations. We have come to the point in life where we believe we "can't go on another day."
 
If you ever arrive at this point in your life please read the scriptures above over a couple of times. Let the words "God is among men, and He will dwell among them…" resonate within your mind.
 
God is going to dwell among us. The ONE who created all things is going to be right there with us. Nothing will ever be able to harm us again. We will be safe in the presence of our almighty God.

• God Makes Us Some Assuring Promises 

Look at the promises God makes to us. We are going to be HIS people, God is going to be among us, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, death, mourning, crying, and pain will all be non-existent.
 
Have you ever wished for a new start, a do-over or as amateurs say in golf a "mulligan." Then how great is the promise from God when He says, "Behold, I am making all things new."  
 
If you have some regrets in life because of some of your actions or non-actions then the good news for you is "a brand new start." God promises to make "ALL THINGS" new. 

• Rough Days Will Come 

We are all pretty much guaranteed we will experience some rough days, but what we need to concentrate on is not the struggles but the "promises from God."
 
Do you know God has never lied nor can He? Paul says in Titus 1:2 - "…in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago…"
 
God will fulfill His promises to us.
 
Therefore, when life gets a little rough and you have started your "stinking thinking" that you can't go another day replace your thoughts with the promises made to you by God.
 
There is a day coming when God will be with us and nothing will ever be able to cause us pain or stress again.
 
Think On These:
 
When you get to the end of your rope be thankful - God is there.
 
God will never allow anything to come to you that you and He can't handle.
 
Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word