Psalm 23:3 - He restores my soul;… NASU
These four words are tucked in between some of the more famous words of this psalm like "The Lord is my Shepherd and Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil." I mean those words have been quoted quite often. T-shirts and posters have been made with those words on them, but if you want four words that make you a promise then the words "He restores my soul" are your go to words. He restores my soul. Just think about those four words. What do they mean? They mean you are having a bad day, week or month. Your soul has been crushed by something. You are singing the blues and your "soul" needs to be restored. Ps 31:7, 9 - Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul,… 9 - Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also. The Psalmist is writing and in this Psalm he mentions that his soul is being afflicted, having troubles, is in distress and his soul is wasted away because of grief. Yes, we could probably say the Psalmist's soul needs "restoring".
What about us? Has our soul been afflicted, in trouble, or under enormous amounts of stress? Have we quoted this verse to ourselves? Did we even think to say when we were suffering the Lord is going to "restore my soul". The reason why He is going to restore our souls is because that is who He is. A very Popular song today is entitled "Way Maker" it was written by a Nigerian singer-songwriter named Sinach. She said, she was going through a very difficult time in her life and the words of Isaiah came to her: Isa 43:15-16 - "I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters,… Here are some lyrics of this song: You are Way maker, miracle worker; promise keeper, Light in the darkness, My God, that is who You are. God says He is able to make a way for us and that He is a "promise keeper". We can depend on God's promises because He never lies. He is omnipotent and able to work miracles.
He is a "miracle worker, promise keeper" and it is to your advantage to never give up on God because He is going to restore your soul. You might not be able to see a way out of your dilemma, but God can. He is the "Way Maker". We need to trust in Him to make a way for us to once again have our soul restored. David trusted in God and He made a way for David's soul to be restored. Do yourself a favor and place your trust in God and His word and your soul will be restored when it has gone through a life crushing experience. Think About These: What is faith but to see what you don't believe. Faith helps us face the music, even when we don't like the tune. All men need a faith that will not shrink when washed in the waters of affliction and adversity. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Matt. 12:11-12 - And He said to them, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 "How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." NASU
The most important thing for us to remember is to "do good." Jesus asks them a question, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?" What Jesus is really saying is this: "You know if one of your sheep falls into a pit you are going to help it get out of there. You will not allow it to become a meal for wolves or coyotes and you will even do this on the Sabbath."
It was on days like that when I felt like I was drowning in work that I would ask my secretary, "Is there anyone in the hospital or did any visitors attend this past Sunday?" I knew instinctively I had to go and visit someone in the hospital or someone who was looking for a congregation to join. If I were able to visit and help them it would also be helping me. You don't know how many times I walked out of a hospital with a rejuvenated spirit. Why was I feeling better? I had allowed God to use me to "do good" for someone else. As I walked out of the hospital I remember thinking "There isn't a patient in here that wouldn't want to trade places with me." I could hear a man or woman dying of cancer tell me they would exchange places with me. You may not like your situation in life right now, but I can tell you I know people who would trade places with you in a New York second.
Maybe you can volunteer at a hospital, animal rescue center or if you have an elderly neighbor you can help them. If you want to be happy then try this one thing "do good" to others. Jesus even promoted doing good on the Sabbath day. There is a lesson for us: it doesn't matter which day of the week you want to do good. Doing good isn't restricted to any day of the week if you want to "do good" on Sunday or the Sabbath feel free to do it. Think About These: People seldom get dizzy spells from doing good turns. People who do good today never have to apologize for their actions tomorrow. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 - Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,… NASU
The apostle Paul has been talking to the Corinthians about allowing sin to come into their congregation. One man was being sexually immoral and Paul lets them know to allow this man's behavior to stay within the congregation would be disastrous. He illustrates this by using leaven as an example. During Passover everything that had leaven in it had to be removed from the Israelites house in order for them to celebrate the Passover as prescribed by God. Their houses had to be free from leaven. Leaven is a symbolic name used Biblically for sin. If you let sin remain in your life the end result will be disastrous.
Matt 16:6-8, 11-12 - And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7 They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, "He said that because we did not bring any bread." 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?... 11 "How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. One must always be ware of the false teachings that permeate our society.
Paul says, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,…" We have a job to do and that is to clean out the old leaven. This again is a reference to the Israelites as they cleaned out their houses preparing for the Passover. No kind of leaven was allowed in their houses for 7 days prior to Passover. The first thing we need to do is identify the temptation that so easily gets us to sin. Once we have identified this temptation and sin we need to do what Paul says, "Clean out the old leaven…." Our house (life) needs to be kept clean and free from leaven. Well, at least I know one thing. We all have something to work on this week. We all have to do some "house cleaning". Think About These: When temptation calls you don't answer. Sin deceives, then defiles and then deadens. By yielding to temptation one may lose in a moment what it took a lifetime to build. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Acts 10:30-31 - Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. NIV
I wonder what went through Cornelius' mind after that conversation with an angel. I am fairly sure he was not giving to the poor to be noticed by God. Yet, that is exactly what happened to him. He gave to the poor and God noticed him. I believe that when we give to the poor we do not give thinking "Well, God is watching me so I will give a large sum to this poor person." When we give we do so to help this person. I am quite sure that if we think about it for a moment there was a time when someone helped us. Now it is our turn to return the favor.
In the Old Testament times when the Israelites lived in an agricultural society God told them not to harvest all of their crops. They were to leave the edges of their fields alone and the poor people could come and glean the edges of their fields for free. In other words, the poor people had to do something to help alleviate their poor condition. They were given an opportunity to better themselves by harvesting crop that was left in the field for them by the land owner. They could use this harvested crop to feed their families or sell the crop and bring money into their own pockets to support their family. This type of living is supported by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament when he writes in 2 Thes. 3:10 - For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. NASU
So how do I make this applicable to me today? I will tell you who I give money too. I give to the ones working in the restaurants. I know the ones working there are definitely not rich. A lot of them are working there as a second job. They are trying to make ends meet. By their being at the restaurant working I see them like I would see a person coming to the field to harvest the crop that has been left for them. Some of these servers are in school during the day and working there at night or vice-versa. God's plan is to help those who are indeed working to try and get ahead in this life and I see waiters and waitresses doing exactly that. When I leave them a very nice tip I see this as a way to give to the poor.
Acts 10:4 - The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. NIV Proverbs 14:21 - But happy is he who is gracious to the poor. NASU Prov. 22:9 - He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. NASU
Prov. 19:17 - One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed. NASU Think About These: Poverty is often the sidekick of laziness. A man is truly poor, not when he has nothing, but when he does nothing. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Joshua 1:6-7 - "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go." NASU
A person who is courageous is one who tells himself he is going to be courageous at that moment. We all possess a courageous or brave spirit. Some of us fail at being courageous when we choose not to be. It isn't because we can't. It is because we chose not to be when a challenge arises. When a courageous person is faced with new circumstances or even dangerous situations, he believes he must confront them and does. All one has to do is remember the courageous NYPD and FDNY officers running into the burning twin towers on September 11, 2001 (What has become known as 911) to see courage in action. They chose to enter those towers. It was their choice. They chose to be courageous. There can be no running from the challenge as this would not be a person who is courageous but would be more in line with a person who is cowardly.
Moses had recently died and up to this point Joshua had been Moses' assistant. God spoke directly with Moses and Moses made the decisions based on what God had told him. This is all going to change. God is now going to speak directly to Joshua. Joshua will be the new leader. Joshua will be making decisions based on God's commands. Joshua was going to lead the Israelites into battle and all he has to do is believe God's promises. In Joshua 1:5 God promises him - "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." NASU Now it is on Joshua's shoulders to believe what God told him. God tells us the same thing in Hebrews 13:5 - that He will not forsake us. Do you want to be courageous? Then believe God's promises when your faith is being given a test because that is what courageous warriors of God do.
When you take a stand to be courageous it is a mental decision. The more you know God's Word the easier it will be for you to be courageous. I heard a preacher say one time, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." People who know God's Word will not fall for anything or at least they shouldn't. Go ahead make your decision to be strong and courageous today. Stand up to the challenges that are before you today and every day and when you do you will be courageous. Think About These: The courage to speak must be matched by the wisdom to listen. Be bold in what you stand for, but careful in what you fall for. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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