Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:02:56 -0400WeeblyWed, 30 Sep 2026 15:43:27 GMThttps://www.seragospumpups.com/pump-ups/understanding-gods-value-systemLuke 15:1-3 - Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” And so He told them this parable, saying,…

•    Pharisees and Scribes Isolationists

As we read the New Testament it is very easy to deduce the Sadducees, Pharisees and Scribes were isolationists. They thought they were better than all the other people of the world.

They have a conniption when they see Jesus, who is supposed to be a prophet, associating with tax collectors and sinners of all types. 

Jesus turned many of the Pharisees and Scribes totally off from listening to anything He had to say. Jesus associated with sinners and the Israelites did not associate with them. Jesus’ teachings attracted the tax collectors and sinners.

His lessons changed the sinners but the religious Israelites not so much. 

There is an old saying, “Don’t confuse me with the facts my mind is made up.” A lot of people have their mind made up about Jesus and they have never read the Bible.

•    Jesus’ Teachings (aka) Parables

His teachings were repugnant to the religious people of His day but these same teaching attracted the sinners, tax collectors and society’s outcasts.

What about us? Who do we associate with more? Do we ever have an attitude of “I am better than you”? 

In this 15th chapter of Luke, Jesus teaches us some valuable lessons about how GOD cares for all people. He uses three parables and I am sure you have heard of at least one of them.

First, the shepherd who has a hundred sheep loses one. So, what does he do? He leaves the 99 and goes looking for the one. 

The sheep is lost because of one bad choice. It just carelessly takes off or as the text says, “it strayed away”. While the flock is following the shepherd this sheep got distracted with his eating and just follows the grass instead of the shepherd. (At least this is my take on the “straying away” from the flock.)

When the shepherd stops and counts the sheep, he notices one is missing.

In this story the Shepherd is God, and the sheep represents the lost people of the world. God goes and finds the lost sheep and puts it on His shoulders and carries it home, rejoicing.

Second, a coin gets lost in the house and the woman cleans the house until she finds the lost coin.

Third, is the lost son. This is the parable of the Prodigal Son. He chose to leave the father’s house. He wastes all his inheritance. Then he realizes that this wasn’t the best decision he could have made. 

He decides he is going back home, ask his father for forgiveness, confess his stupidity (aka – sinfulness), and ask to be hired as a servant.

God is represented by the boy’s father. He is excited beyond words. He tells his servants to kill the fatted calf because this his son who was dead is now alive. The father is rejoicing like there is no tomorrow.

If you are a Christian and you have ever had a son or daughter walk away from the faith and then return. You know of the joy that is taking place in this text.

•    What’s Next

The next thing we must do is realize that the three parables or teachings of Jesus have this in common. When the sheep, the coin and the son were found the Shepherd, the woman and the father all Rejoiced.

If you have wondered carelessly away from the Lord, please know the Father is looking for you. He is waiting for you to come home so that He can have a party and a time of rejoicing with you.

Think About These: 

God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

Ezekiel 33:11 - Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! 

We can make God rejoice by bringing a lost sheep back into the fold.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word]]>Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:41:06 GMThttps://www.seragospumpups.com/pump-ups/remember-this-when-adversity-comes-your-way​2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.  NASU 

• Adversity Has A Purpose 

The first purpose of adversity in Paul's life was to keep him from exalting himself.
 
2 Corinthians 12:7- There was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! 
 
The apostle Paul said that his thorn in the flesh or adversity was given to him so he would not exalt himself. No one knows exactly what his thorn in the flesh was but we do know this, it was given to him to serve a purpose.
 
It was given to him so that he would not exalt himself. The Greek word for "exalt" means "to raise oneself over". The purpose of his adversity was to keep him humble or from exalting himself over others.
 
Paul thought he would be better off without this adversity, but God saw it differently. Many times in our own lives we believe we are better off without adversity, but God permits us to have it anyways. 

• Paul's Previous Prayer 

Paul challenged God on this issue of giving him a thorn in the flesh. He implores God three times to remove this adversity from his life, but God refuses to see it Paul's way.
 
2 Corinthians 12:8 - Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. NASU
 
It is not wrong to pray that your adversity be removed from your life, but don't lose your faith if God continues to allow the adversity to stay in your life. 

• Adversity's Other Purpose 

The other purpose of adversity is to have a better understanding of God's grace.
 
When we are going through difficult times and we think that we can't go another step that is when we need to quote verse 9 to ourselves - And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."  
 
Paul is having a change of mind. Instead of wanting his adversity to depart, he now sees it as a way to let the power of Christ dwell in him. He will be content with this weakness that he has prayed three times to be removed.
 
2 Corinthians 12:9-10  -...I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses… 

• Conclusion 

We need to know that God is aware of what is going on in our life and that His Grace is sufficient to get us through any adverse times we may encounter.

The devil will lie to you. He will tell you that your Heavenly Father doesn't care or He wouldn't be allowing you to experience this pain.

Nothing could be further from the truth. He allowed Paul to suffer for a reason. If you are suffering God is allowing it for a reason.

Remember God's grace is sufficient for us.
 
Think About These:
 
Adversity is the only diet that will reduce a fat head.
 
He who swells in prosperity will most likely shrink in adversity.
 
All men need a faith that will not shrink when washed in the waters of adversity.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word]]>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.seragospumpups.com/pump-ups/how-to-deal-with-your-regretsPhilippians 3:13-15 - Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us,... have this mind;...   NKJV 
​

• Paul's Advice Is Timeless 

When you have done something in your past that you now regret my advice is follow Paul's comments to the Christians at Philippi: "Forget those things which are behind" you.

We all know once something is done it cannot be undone. A friend of mine had a saying during times of regret and it was "You can't unscramble a scrambled egg."
 
Now there is a piece of wisdom for you. "You can't unscramble a scrambled egg." 

• Even God Had A Regret 

God had regretted making Saul King according to 1 Samuel 15:11 - "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands."  NASU
 
It would behoove us to learn from this passage. If God had regret, and He did, how do you expect to go through life without any regrets?
 
Quit trying to do the impossible. Now is the time you need to remember the famous line from the movie Donnie Brasco, which is "Forget about it."
 
So there you have it. How do you deal with "regret"? You "forget about it." 

• Look Down The Road Of Life 

You need to see down the road of life. There are more things for you to accomplish. God made a new plan once He realized Saul was not fit to be King. He replaced him with David.
 
Make new plans and move forward. It is better than getting stuck looking back at that which you regret and can't change. 

• Be Honest With Yourself 

If you will make an honest assessment of your life you have had more than one regret in your life.

I know I have. Here is what I learned.

Life doesn't always go as we plan. So when it doesn't ask God to help you set a new goal and give you the strength to set out on accomplishing it.
 
Never let a regret stop you from pursuing other adventures. Every successful person knows how to deal with regrets and that is put them behind you and move on to the next task or assignment.
 
Think About These:
 
Between tomorrow's dream and yesterday's regret is today's opportunity.
 
You can't have rosy thoughts about the future when your mind is full of blues about the past.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word]]>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.seragospumpups.com/pump-ups/is-it-ever-possible-we-have-been-guilty-of-this​Matt.23:13 - “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.” NASU 

• One Of The Biggest Criticisms 

This is one of the biggest criticisms against Christianity. I cannot tell you how many times I have been told that there are nothing but hypocrites in church. When I was asking someone, “If they would like to come and worship the Lord with me.”
 
My next statement would seem to take them off guard. I would agree with them. “You are correct.” I would say. I would follow that up with I bet there are hypocrites where you work but that doesn’t stop you from going to work now, does it?
 
This world is filled with hypocrites, and we are not going to get away from them. So the best advice I can give you is just don’t be one and maybe by living a good example you can influence them to stop being a hypocrite. 

• Hypocrites In The First Century Church 

I am sure this will not surprise any of you but there were hypocrites in the Lord’s church right from the get-go. In fact, one of the hypocrites was Peter and Paul called him out on it. I have included the passage of scripture where Paul confronts Peter on being a hypocrite.
 
Gal 2:11-13 - Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.  

And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.   NKJV
 
I guess it doesn’t really shock us to know there were hypocrites in the Lord’s church in the first century and have been ever since.
 
In Acts 6, we can also read about how hypocrisy had already established a foothold in the Lord’s church. The problem there were the Grecian Jewish ladies who were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food by the Hebraic Jews and this problem was brought to the attention of the apostles and they came up with a plan to eliminate this hypocrisy. 

• The Scary Truth  

Hypocrisy is so dangerous look at what Jesus says about it.
 
“You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.”
 
Hypocrisy can deceive us horribly. We think we are going in and we are not. We think we are apart of the kingdom of heaven, and we are not. We are not going to enter but our actions are causing others not to enter also.
 
Therefore, the statement is correct when a person is invited to attend a worship service and they answer, “the church is filled with hypocrites”.

Then it becomes a fulfilled prophecy of Jesus’ when He said the hypocrite will not enter nor will the one who was invited enter.  

• The Truth Is  

There may be some hypocrites in the Lord’s church in the 21st century but I can tell you this. Jesus is NOT a hypocrite. He is not One of them. He is the only One that matters when you come to a worship service.
 
We must learn how to block out all the distractions because the devil definitely  wants you to see the ones who preach about Jesus but don’t live for Him.
 
Where are our eyes to be? Are they to be on the hypocrites or are they to be on Jesus?
 
If we are honest, why do we even see the hypocrite? I believe we see the hypocrite because our eyes are not examining our life but our eyes are examining the hypocrite’s life. When we do this it makes us feel a little better because we can say, “Well, I am not as bad as that person.”
 
You are comparing yourself to the wrong person. Don’t compare yourself to a hypocrite. Compare yourself to Jesus and let me know how you fare there?
 
Yeah, we all fail miserably when we compare ourselves to Jesus.
 
Think About These:
 
A sickly saint is likely to be a healthy hypocrite.
 
The most important person to be honest with is yourself. 

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word]]>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:23:14 GMThttps://www.seragospumpups.com/pump-ups/what-is-your-heart-sayingLuke 6:45 - The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.  NIV

• It Doesn't Take Long

You don't have to be around people very long until you know what is stored in their hearts. I hate seeing the hypocrisy of people who wear Christian T-Shirts, or crosses around their necks using profanity and the Lord's name in vain.

Guess what crosses around your neck and Christian paraphernalia can not hide? What is in your heart and comes out of your mouth. It is as Luke said, "For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." 

• I'm Not Your Judge

I find it sad when people find out I was a preacher and they try to change their language around me. They apologize after letting profanity fall from their lips.

My answer is always the same when they say, "Oh I'm sorry I forgot you were a preacher and I say you don't have to apologize to me I am not your judge."

I have learned when people say, "god damn". They are not talking about my God. They are talking about and cursing their god. 

Do you remember when God led the children of Israel out of Egypt? God called Moses up on Mount Sinai and while he was up their what did the Israelites talk Aaron into doing?

Exodus 32:8 - "They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"  NKJV

They borrowed some pagan ways from the Egyptians when it came to forming and worshipping the gods. It has been said that over the course of time the Egyptians have worshipped over a 100 different gods. 

Somewhere around 3000 BC (which would have been 1554 yrs before Moses and the Exodus) the Egyptians started to worship the bull Apis. One can see why the Israelites may have chosen to have Aaron build them a golden calf. 

How does God feel about the Israelites worshipping an idol or false god?

Moses pens it down this way in the book of Exo. 32:10 - Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them.

• We All Have A Judge

Exo. 20:7 - "Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name."  NLT

I am not sure God could make it any clearer for us if we misuse the name of the LORD we will be judged. We will be held accountable. 

• What About The New Testament?

What does the New Testament have to say about one's speech? 

Matt.12:36-37 - "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

If any passage of scripture should have us make sure that no profanity, gossip, or slander proceeds from our mouth it should be what Matthew just informed us. If what Matt said convicts you there is a simple answer "Confess and Repent". 

Tell God you are sorry and would like His forgiveness. Then show Him you meant it by repenting which means you change your mind and that will bring about a change in your behavior.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  NKJV

Does your speech edify anyone or does it impart grace to the hearer? If you honestly answer "no" then why not change what comes out of your mouth?

Matt. 15:11 - "You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do."  NLT

• In Conclusion

Ps. 141:3 - Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. (NKJV)

This should be a prayer we say on a regular basis.

Prov. 21:23 -Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. (NKJV)

In carpentry they have a saying, "Measure twice, cut once." In life we could probably benefit from a similar saying, "Think twice, speak once."

Think About This:

It is too bad more people are not thoughtless rather than speechless.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word]]>