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1 Kings 17:2-6 - Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. NIV
I am not sure what you know about "ravens" and sharing their food but that just doesn't happen unless you are one of their babies. God orders the "ravens" to feed Elijah and they obey Him. Isn't it amazing how animals will listen to God but humans won't.
Daniel has an encounter with some lions. The king comes early in the morning to find out if Daniel's God had protected him and he says in 6:22 - "My God sent His angel and shut the lions ' mouths and they have not harmed me,…" Jesus tells Peter to go fishing and the first fish he catches will have a shekel in its mouth. He is to take that shekel and pay the tax (He is actually exempt from paying this tax but so that He doesn't offend them He will pay it). Peter does what he is told and the first fish he catches has the shekel in its mouth. Peter goes and pays the tax. Mt 17:27 - "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. God used a donkey, some lions and a fish to work a miracle.
A friend of mine told me about the time he helped a lady at the gas station pump her gas. She was elderly, confused, frustrated and tears were rolling down her cheek when he went up and helped her. He said she must have thanked me 100 times for helping her. You might be thinking, oh Serago, that was not a miracle and I would say, it was to that lady. Let's be like the ravens in Elijah's day and allow God to use us to bring a miracle into someone's life. Think About These: The most difficult thing to open is a closed mind. Minds are like parachutes they only function when they're open. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Isa 6:8-9 - Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" NASU
Isa 1:2-4: Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, "Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. 3 "An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand." 4 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. Look at all the indictments God lists against the Israelites. They have revolted, act corruptly, abandoned the LORD, despised the Holy One of Israel and have turned away from Him. God names two animals the ox and donkey that has more allegiance to their owner than the Israelites have for God. The ox He says, "knows its owner" and the donkey "knows its master's manger." Isaiah hears God ask, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" and Isaiah answers God with those faithful words "Here am I. Send me!"
First, Noah was told to go from the ark, take his family with him and bring out the animals. Gen. 8:15-18 - Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 "Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." 18 So Noah went out,…" Noah's family consisted of 8 people. He was told to Go out of the ark and be fruitful and multiply. As of the writing of this Pump Up the world's population is 8.2 billion people. I would say Noah obeyed God. Second, Jacob was told to Go down to Egypt. Gen. 46:2-4 - God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am." 3 He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. 4 "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes." Jacob went down to Egypt (75 descendants in all Acts 7:14) and when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt their population it is estimated between 2-3 million people. Exodus 12:37 says there was 600,000 foot soldiers not counting women, children and the elderly. Jacob went and God increased their number. Third, God told Moses to Go to Pharaoh and tell him to let God's people "Go". We know Moses did what he was told after some gentle persuasion by God. Fourth, the apostles in the New Testament were told to "Go" and preach by one of God's angels: Acts 5:19-20 - But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, 20 "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." Fifth, Philip was told by an angel and the Holy Spirit to "Go". Acts 8:26 - But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." Acts 8:29 - Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." In both cases Philip did what he was told to do and the Ethiopian eunuch was obedient to the gospel message preached by Philip which led him to be baptized. There are plenty of other people in the Bible where God told them to "Go". Ananias was told to "Go" to the street called Straight and meet one Saul of Tarsus. The Spirit told Peter to "Go" downstairs, meet the men that came looking for him and go with them to Cornelius' house.
God has a plan to help people who have sinned to avoid an eternity in Hell. We are a part of His plan. He wants us to "Go" and make disciples of all nations. God wants all nations to hear about His plan. Matt. 28:19-20 - "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." So what is our decision? Do we have the attitude of Isaiah? Are we ready to say, "Here am I Lord. Send me!" Think About This: Delayed obedience is the brother of disobedience. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 22:21-22 - "But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. 22 "For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" NASU
The closer and longer the friendship the deeper the pain will be. If you have been betrayed please read this entire Pump Up. I am hoping to share with you some information to assist you in healing from this wound.
You will wrestle with the thought: "Do I ever want to put myself in the position to be hurt like this again?" Once your trust has been broken, you will try to protect yourself from it ever happening again. What feelings will you experience? It is common to have emotions of anger, disappointment, doubt, grief, shame and fear of it happening again. For you to trust a deserving person will now take much longer because you have "trust" issues. You don't want to deny having trust issues. Admit it! Yes, I have trust issues because I was betrayed. Your mistake was you never thought it could happen to you. Now you know that it can.
You had the "pure" mind. If you have asked yourself why couldn't I see it there is your answer? You were operating from "pure" motives not evil ones like the person who did the betraying. You were doing the right thing. Doing the right thing in this world doesn't always equate with not having any problems. People taking advantage of people has been happening for thousands of years.
In my mind though, King David's betrayal of his servant Uriah (2 Sam. 11) is right there at the top of the list. Uriah is one of David's most loyal army officers. He is one of David's mighty men. In today's military Uriah would have been a Navy Seal, a Green Beret or a member of Delta Force. While Uriah is out fighting David's battles David is at home having a sexual relationship with his wife. When his wife informs David she is pregnant David calls Uriah home. He gets Uriah drunk and then dismisses him. David thinks Uriah will go home and have sex with his wife and David's sin will be hidden, but Uriah being a loyal soldier would not have sex with his wife while his brothers were engaged in the war. When David's plan fails twice he sends Uriah back to the battle with a note for Joab to see to it Uriah is killed in battle. What David did to Uriah, one of his faithful soldiers, is what I call a betrayal in the first degree.
First, when you operate from having pure motives betrayal is just something that will happen. Second, being betrayed generally won't kill you unless your name is Uriah and King David is the betrayer. It is often said, "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." Third, God's Spirit is able to help you navigate through any rough water you may find yourself while here on earth. Think About These: The betrayer will be betrayed (2 Sam.12:10-12) or what goes around comes around. When people speak evil of you, live so that no one will believe them. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 16:15 - And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detest-able in the sight of God. NASU
People have done many good deeds for others only to be judged by a few as to what their real motive was behind the action. You don't have to worry about what others think of why you do what you do. God is your Judge and trust me He will not judge you incorrectly. He never makes mistakes. His judgment is always 100% correct every time. He knows your heart. He knows your motive for doing good deeds for others. It doesn't matter what anyone says about you and why you blessed someone's life. Don't worry about people speaking maliciously about you. They are not your judge.
Jesse has all 7 of his sons pass by Samuel and God doesn't choose any of them. Samuel asks Jesse, "Is this all of your sons?" and Jesse basically says, well I have one more, he is the youngest and he is tending sheep. (Being a shepherd is the worst job in the world according to Israelites and this is the one God chooses to be the next King of Israel.) Before Jesse parades all of his sons by Samuel, notice what God says to Samuel: 1 Sam. 16:7- But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." It is a common mistake that we look at someone's physical stature, their looks or their wealth and we determine from these if the person is the proper candidate for the position. This is not the way God determines if this is the correct person. Some people may put the measuring tape around their arms or chest to see if they qualify, but God measures the person's heart as only He can do. Only the Lord can tell if the person will quit when times get tough. David then teaches his son Solomon the same lesson God taught him through Samuel when He states: 1 Chron. 28:9- As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts….
So have you wanted to quit on the Lord lately? If yes, welcome to the club. Now get back up and get in the fight. The Lord needs you to help others on the road that leads to Eternal Life. Think About This: Our aim should be service not success. Service is nothing but love in work clothes. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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