1 Thes. 5:18 - "…in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." NASU
Tomorrow is the day that has been set aside for us to give thanks for all the blessings we have been given from God. I am sure we do not wait until this one day of the year to give thanks.
For years I have had people say to me that they want the Will of God to be done in their lives. I would say to them be "thankful and you will be doing the Will of God." They always got this strange look on their face and would say, "Yeah, I am thankful, but you know, I really want to do the Will of God." I would always tell them, "According to the Apostle Paul, if you are "thankful" in everything you will be doing the Will of God."
Instead of me answering that question since I have never had one of my children die I quote a man who was familiar with the death of a child. In fact, he lost 10 children in one disastrous day. Job's wife even wanted him to curse God for what had just happened to their family. Job 2:9-10 - Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" 10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. NASU Job had just lost his 10 children, all his animals, his herds or in other words, his wealth. But Job's ATTITUDE guides his BEHAVIOR. He didn't sin by saying things that he would later regret. Job wasn't "thankful" for the death of his children or the loss of his wealth, but his attitude was he would accept good from God, and now that adversity had come into his life he would accept it as well. Many times in life we have to accept things that we don't like.
We must wait upon the Lord and in time once the pain has decreased some we will start to allow God to give us the answers to the trials we face. Job's attitude guided his behavior. The scripture says, "In all of this Job did not sin with his lips." In other words he didn't curse God and ask to die.
If you do a little inspection of your life you will find you have more to give thanks for then you might realize. Develop an attitude of thankfulness and you will never regret it. Think On This: It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart. Many times we don't get all that we want, but we should be thankful that we don't get what we deserve. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend.
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Gen. 50:20 - “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
In the above text Joseph is saying these words to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. What can be worse than having your own flesh and blood do something evil to you? Joseph’s brothers had sold him to the Ishmaelites (Gen.37:27) who in turn would sell him to the Egyptians to be their slave. Then the brothers would return to Jacob, their father, and purposefully deceive him by lying to him. Yes, it is true some people will do some very mean, wicked and cruel things not only to their siblings but to people they work with or people who are considered their friends. How are we to handle such situations?
First, there is the Permissible Will of God, second there is the Preceptive Will of God and lastly, the Purposeful Will of God.
In the story of Joseph recorded for us in Genesis, God permitted the brothers to sell him into slavery. When someone does evil to someone else it fits into God's permissible will. What the brothers did was not what God wanted or desired to have happen, but it is what He permitted.
1 Corin. 11:26 - For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. I want to proclaim the Lord's death and so should you. When we proclaim His death it tells the world how much God loves us.
There was nothing that was going to happen that would have hindered Jesus from going to the cross. It was God's Purposeful Will that Jesus dies on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. 1 John 2:2 - and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Then prepare yourself for a "deer in the headlights" look, which will give you an opportunity to teach them this lesson. Think on These: When things get rough, remember: It is the rubbing that brings out the shine. The best way out of a difficulty is through it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Luke 1:18-19- Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."
Genesis 17:15-17 - Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. "I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" NASU Genesis 18:10-12 - He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" NASU Who does something like that? If you ask me someone with a wild sense of humor and that would be God. I have come to the conclusion that sometimes we may find ourselves in a very precarious predicament and that is exactly where God wants to be. God has a sense of humor and now that we are in this situation. What are we going to do?
Sarah says, God was the One who made her laugh and everyone who heard that she was now pregnant would laugh with her. Being pregnant at 90 years of age I am sure we probably would laugh just not when we were close to the 90 year old woman who was pregnant. Job 8:20-21 - Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, nor will He support the evildoers. "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. NASU Job says, "It is God who will fill your mouth with laughter."
When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad. NASU The reason for us to laugh is God has done great things for us. If you are a Christian God has redeemed you, forgiven you of your sins, and filled you with His Holy Spirit. We have a lot more to laugh about than we realize. One thing I have learned as I have aged and that is not to take life so seriously. I wish I would have laughed at myself and situations of life in which I found myself and you can quote me on that. When Was The Last Time You Had A Good Laugh? Think On These: Fortune smiles upon the man who can laugh at himself. Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Judges 6:12-13 - The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." 13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian." NASU
Gideon was not valiant at this time. He was exactly the opposite. He was hiding from the Midianites as he was threshing the wheat. The Lord tells him to tear down his father's idols. Gideon was afraid to tear down his father's idols so he tears them down at night in order to not be seen. Gideon is told that the LORD is with him. Gideon says, "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?"
Why is it when we are trying to live for the LORD we find ourselves being conquered by something? What is your Midianite? What keeps barging into your life and kicking down your strongholds?
There is the answer to why the Midianites had been conquering the Israelites. God was going to conquer them with Gideon and 300 soldiers, which He did and gave the Israelites 40 years of peace. Why are we constantly being conquered by temptations? God wants to use us in a mighty way to conquer them. Something that has defeated us in the past is going to be conquered by us when we allow God's Spirit to help us.
Look at what Gideon says to God "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house." Gideon is trying to tell God His plan is all wrong. Gideon believes God has abandoned the Israelites. When you start to believe God has abandoned you, forget about it. God doesn't abandon His children. He hasn't abandoned you. He is preparing you for a special trial and when you conquer it you will know that God was there helping you the entire time.
Whatever test God is allowing you to face remember this: If God brings you to it, God will get you through it.
In other words, God wants us to relax and trust Him no matter what situation challenges us. God is never wrong. God has faith in us that we can win by allowing His Spirit to help us. God wants to use us in a "mighty way" exactly like He did Gideon. Think On This: There are thousands of ways of pleasing God, but none without trusting Him. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Job 3:11 - " Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? NASU
He lost all of his children (7 sons and 3 daughters) in one day along with all of his livestock and many of his servants. (Job 1:3 - His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys,…). In one disaster it is explained this way: Job 1:16 - "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them,…" NASU The devil made his attack on Job appear as though it was coming from God. If you want to talk about people who have lost all of their wealth, then Job's name once again would be able to enter into the discussion. There were no insurance policies to help him recover any of his losses. There wasn't going to be a filing of bankruptcy papers to help ease some of his financial pain. After all of the above sufferings came his way next his own health was taken from him.
Maybe some of you who are reading my Pump Ups have been going through your own share of sufferings. You might have cried out these same words, "I wish I were dead or I wish I had never been born." Please trust me when I say, "God knows what you are going through and He is able to help you recover from your sufferings." Let me encourage you to remain faithful to God as Job did. When you read the last chapter of Job this is what you will find. Job 42:10 - "The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold." 12-13 - "The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had seven sons and three daughters." NASU Think On These: When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He will put His arms underneath you to help you carry it. The Lord calls for us to stand, though not always to understand. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. |
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