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Mt. 16:21-22 - From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." NASU
Jesus then calls Peter His "adversary" which is the translation of the word "satan" and tells Pete to get behind Him. An adversary is one who opposes you or your plan and that is exactly what Peter was doing. Jesus even tells why Pete is opposing Him "…for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
Weaver had a rule that no one could steal a base unless given the steal sign. This upset Jackson because he felt he knew the pitchers and catchers well enough to judge who he could and could not steal off of. So one game he decided to steal without a sign. He got a good jump off the pitcher and easily beat the throw to second base. As he shook the dirt off his uniform, Jackson smiled with delight, feeling he had vindicated his judgment to his manager. Later Weaver took Jackson aside and explained why he hadn’t given the steal sign. First, the next batter was Lee May, his best power hitter other than Jackson. When Jackson stole second, first base was left open, so the other team walked May intentionally, taking the bat out of his hands. Second, the following batter hadn’t been strong against that pitcher, so Weaver felt he had to send up a pinch hitter to try to drive in the men on base. That left Weaver without bench strength later in the game when he needed it. The problem was Jackson only saw his relationship to the pitcher and catcher. Weaver was watching the whole game. We, too, see only so far, but God sees the bigger picture. When he sends us a signal, it’s wise to obey, no matter what we may think WE know. Copied - https://bible.org/illustration/baltimore-orioles-manager
I have to admit I have more in common with Peter than Jesus. Maybe, just maybe, you likewise have followed in the footsteps of Peter and thought God's plans for you were all wrong. Well, go ahead and get a good laugh out of it, shake your head in bewilderment of how you could be that stupid to ever think God would be wrong in what He has planned for you. Then tell God you are now willing to follow His plan for you.
What God says in Jeremiah has a much better sound and promise to it. Jere. 29:11 - For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. When God is your coach His plans for you will be exciting and great. Think About These: It is better to appreciate something you have than to have something you can't appreciate. Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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God Wants Us To Do This One Thing.
Luke 5:1-5 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; …And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing… Serago are you trying to tell me God wants me to go fishing. No, not exactly, but I am sure some would not argue with God if that were His command. When reading the Bible background information is very important.
When His lesson is over He wants to bless Peter for the use of his boat and more importantly He wants to teach Peter a life lesson on TRUSTING GOD. Jesus says, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." There are lots of things wrong with that statement from a fisherman's point of view. Peter is a fisherman by trade. Jesus is not. Pete had been fishing when you are supposed to and that is at night. The top of the water is cooler at night and the fish will come up to feed. It is now day and the sun has been heating the top of the water so the fish swim to deeper water where it is cooler. Throwing their nets out now when the water has warmed is not going to help them catch any fish. Pete informs Jesus, we fished all night, when we were supposed to, and we caught nothing. Now you want us to throw out our nets when we are not supposed to. Pete probably wants to ask Jesus if He had ever fished in His life, but he didn't. Pete is at the crossroads of Dilemma and Frustration. Have you ever been there? He had pulled in his nets, if they needed fixing he has fixed them and now they are drying, and put away. It is time to go home. It is time to get some sleep because he will be back here later today with his crew and they once again will be going out all night trying to catch some fish.
When you and I have done something for the 10,000th time God just might want us to do it a different way. WHAT! Are you kidding me? This will never work in a million years. Yeah, that is probably what Peter was thinking. Can you just hear Peter talking to himself? He was probably saying, "This will never work. Everyone knows you fish at night, except this guy. If I had only worked faster I could have been off the boat and at home in bed sleeping, but no I had to go back and double-check those nets. I am such an idiot." Jesus wants Peter to trust him and as we can see Peter did NOT automatically trust God's Son. To help Peter grow in his faith God worked a miracle in front of him. Pete did something different. He fished during the day with his nets and Jesus filled his nets with fish. If we will trust God a little He will pour out a blessing from heaven that will be enormous.
In what area of our lives does God want us to fully trust Him? We might want to start where Peter finished and that is by bowing down to pray and telling the Lord that we are sinful because we have not fully trusted Him. What one thing does God want us to do? Trust Him! Think About These: Never be afraid to trust your unknown future to a known God. God still speaks to those who take the time to listen. Stay Pumped, FYI: I have been teaching on Wednesday nights at Fairway Christian Church. The lessons have been about lesser known Apostles, Overcoming Suffering, and Matthew 24 about the destruction of Jerusalem, and Jesus' 2nd Coming. I am attaching a link for anyone interested in watching the lessons I have taught the last few months. https://vimeopro.com/user45356398/wednesday-night-bible-studies Also, these lessons are "Live Streamed" on Wednesday evenings at 6 pm (EST). I would love for you to join us. Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Go To www.SeragosPumpUps.com Gen. 16:11-12 - The angel of the LORD said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 12 "He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him;…" NASU
God told Abe and Sarai, they were going to have a son. There is the promise from God. Sarai and Abram were both old when they were given this promise from God. It is going to take 25 years for this promise to be fulfilled. He didn't say when the promise would be fulfilled. He simply said they would have a son. They must have thought He meant immediately and when it didn't happen immediately Sarai decided to help God fulfill His promise by replacing His plan with one of her own. So she tells Abram to have a sexual relationship with her handmaiden, Hagar, and then she will raise the child as her own. This may have been accepted culturally but it surely wasn't going to work when it was in direct opposition to God's plan. I can't imagine anything going wrong with her plan, can you?
America's 911 was caused by the descendants of Ishmael. The radical Muslims who have bombed England, France, Pakistan, USA and the list goes on and on as this prophecy is fulfilled day after day. His hand is against every man and every man's hand is against him.
When God makes a promise believe it and don't put a time limit on it. If you think that God should act within a certain time frame does that make it so? God made Abram and Sarai a promise and 25 years later He fulfilled his promise. Sarai and Abe waited 11 years and when they were not the parents of this promised child they took matters into their own hands. Then after another 14 years or a total of 25 years God fulfilled His promise. If I can give you any encouragement today let it be this: God Always Fulfills His Promises and below are some I hope will encourage you. Ps 9:8-9 - And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. 9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble;… Ps 34:15 - The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry. Ps 34:19 - Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. When God makes a promise simply wait for it. His timing is perfect and He never forgets. Think on These: When God allows a burden to be put upon you, He'll give you the strength to carry it. There is one thing for which you should be thankful - only you and God have all the facts about you. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Go To www.SeragosPumpUps.com I Kings 19:3-4 - And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."
· Not Trusting God Looks Hideous Elijah isn't having one of his better days in the scripture text above. Maybe you can relate with Elijah? He had just experienced a spiritual high. He had defeated the 450 false prophets of Baal. God had honored him by sending fire down from heaven and consuming the water drenched sacrifice after Baal didn't answer the false prophets. Jezebel then threatens to take Elijah's life and he flees. What is with that? I really don't understand Elijah's actions here. He had defeated the 450 false prophets of Baal by trusting in God and now he is going to flee. I would like to ask Elijah a few questions: "Why not trust God one more time? Why did you flee?" You didn’t run when facing 450 false prophets. Why run now? Elijah had shown his faith so many times by trusting in God. He was used by God to raise the dead. He knew he had a special relationship with God. So why did Elijah become such a wimp? He runs away and hides and now he wants to die. Do you remember a time when you failed to trust God? How did you feel afterwards? You will want to remember that awful feeling. Why? So that you don't have to feel it again. So that it motivates you to stay faithful and not become a wimp. · When Do Opportunities Not To Trust God Usually Come? What does your not trusting God look like? Have you experienced any spiritual highs? If I were you I would be careful because I have observed that right after a spiritual high comes a testing of your faith. This usually will result in a spiritual low if you aren't prepared to battle against this test. Not trusting God can come in many different ways and types of trials. The word "beware" is used 14 times in the New Testament. That is a pretty good indication that we should be on guard as we walk through this life. We have an enemy who seeks to devour us. · When Trusting God There Will Be Times When It Looks Like You're Losing. One must always remember no trial is able to defeat you and your God. You must keep the faith. When it is looking very dim for you that is the time to draw closer to God not run away from Him. You can never lose by keeping your faith in God. NEVER. Think on This: All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I haven't seen. Ralph Waldo Emerson Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Ps 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God;… NIV
This plain passage of scripture is from the Psalms. It says, "Be still…" The Hebrew word here means "to relax, be sedate, or to be calm" and while we are doing this take comfort in "knowing" God is in control. We have an entire Bible written with story after story of God being in control of human affairs. Then why is it we many times lose sight of God's power?
Paul says it this way in 2 Corin. 11:3, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray…" NASU The devil tries very hard to deceive us as he did Adam and Eve. Don't let your minds be led astray but let your minds dwell on Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God…"
The question is "Can we let God be in control?" I have to admit this is not always easy for me. I have a very hard time sitting and waiting. In fact, it is many times almost impossible for me. I like to make things happen, but God's word is telling me I need to chill. I need to be still. I need to relax and get out of God's way. He is in control. He has thousands and thousands of years of prior experience in operating this world without me. If we will trust Him, He will manage the affairs of this world just fine without us.
You know I was not able to get my daughter's temperature to break. It was out of my hands. I had no control over this situation. So I did what I knew was best for her and me. I prayed. I admitted to God this was something I was not able to control, but I knew He was not helpless like I was. The fever broke within a few hours and I learned a valuable lesson that day. There are a lot of areas in life where we are going to be helpless, but there is no area of life where God is helpless. Do you want to experience a better life? Be still and know that God is in Control. Think On These: God is more interested in inner grace than outer space. When we let God guide He will provide. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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