Philippians 4:11 - Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. NASU 
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• Be Content 

Seriously, all you have to do to be HAPPY is be content with what the good Lord has given you. Acquiring more stuff is really not going to make you happy, but being content with what you do have will.
 
Now I can testify there was a time in my life when I wasn't happy because I always wanted more. I could not be satisfied with what I had because I was looking at what others had and they had more than me.
 
I also believed all the commercials and magazine advertisements and needed what they were selling.
 
When traveling down this road beware because it is very destructive.
 
Look what the apostle Paul says:

For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Tim. 6:7-10) 

• Life's Observations 

Being a minister has allowed me to travel and meet a lot of different people.
 
Let me share with you a truth I have witnessed on numerous occasions and that is money will not bring you happiness.
 
I have met some very rich people and they weren't happy. On the other hand, I have met some of the poorest people in the world who were smiling and so very happy to just be alive.
 
Once I sent some money to a family who lived in Africa and they responded to me by informing me how they spent the money I sent to them. They bought a goat to provide milk for their family and they were so ecstatic that they now owned a goat.
 
Now for you my American readers how happy would you be to buy a goat? Yeah, just what I thought.
 
I also went to Mexico and have built numerous houses while a minister at Christ's Church of the Valley for families with 2, 3, and 4 children plus mom and dad. The size of the house was 11' x 22'. My garage is larger than their house. This house didn't have water or electric. It did have two windows and one door.
 
Yet, when we handed them their house keys and a Spanish Bible the mom's were always crying tears of joy. 

• Be Happy 

Really, I believe with all my heart if you want to be happy: be content with what you have.
 
This doesn't mean you can't work for and acquire more items. All I am saying is be content with what you own and your life will be awesome.
 
Think About This:
 
As we get older we always start to downsize. We sell or give away things we thought we had to have.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word

Matt 27:50 -51 - And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.  NASU 
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• My Opinion 

It was a common Jewish custom to tear one's clothing when expressing grief over the loss of a loved one. This can be seen very clear when Jacob is deceived into believing his son Joseph has been killed by a wild animal.
 
Gen. 37:33-34 - Then he examined it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.  NASU
 
David also tears his clothes when he receives news of the death or King Saul and his son Jonathan.
 
2 Sam. 1:11-12 - Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
 
My Opinion is: When God tore the veil in the temple He was tearing His garment to display His grief over the death of His Son.
 
For my readers that may not be familiar with the temple and veil let me explain: the temple was divided into two parts the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
 
What separated these two parts was the Veil. The only person allowed in the Holy of Holies was the High Priest and he would only go in there on the Day of Atonement.
 
Now the Veil has been torn and we have access to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son and not one day a year but everyday of the year we have access to Him. 

• Torn Veil 

As the Jewish people would tear their clothes to show their grief and sadness over the loss of their loved one so God tore the Veil to show His grief over the loss of life of His Son, Jesus.
 
It has also been said that the tearing of a garment at the time of death is a reminder that the body has been torn away from the spirit.
 
The spirit is now alive with God.
 
What better thought for us to dwell upon as we approach Resurrection Sunday.
 
Jesus is with the Heavenly Father and so can we be with them.
 
When we die we can go to Heaven as long as we have confessed Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, repented of our sins and been immersed into Christ through baptism.
 
It is my  prayer you will make sure you have taken care of this very important decision.
 
Think About These:
 
When we die we leave behind us all that we have and take with us all that we are.
 
The nearer the time comes for our departure from this life, the greater our regret for wasting so much of it.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word

Luke 22:70-71 - And they all said, "Are You the Son of God, then?" And He said to them, "Yes, I am." Then they said, "What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."  NASU 
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• Jesus' Situation 

He is asked specifically "Are You the Son of God?" and He says, "Yes, I am." 
  
WOW! 
  
Do you understand what just happened when Jesus said He was the Son of God? 
  
When asked directly if He were the Son of God, He says, "Yes." He knows full well this means He will die. The Israelites will interpret this as blasphemy. Jesus was making Himself equal with God when He states He is the Son of God. 
  
Anyone guilty of blasphemy was to be stoned to death, but the Romans didn't use stoning as a means of death. They used crucifixion and since they were under Roman rule Jesus was crucified instead of stoned, which fulfilled another prophecy (see Psalm 22:16). 
  
Levit. 24:15-16 - If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.  NASU 
  
The Israelite priests thought if you made yourself equal to God then this was "blasphemy" and when Jesus answers their question that He is the Son of God He is making Himself equal with God. 
  
 Therefore, in the Israelite priests' minds, He was worthy of death. 

• What Would We Do? 

Can you imagine if you were in a very hostile environment and the leader of the group is standing there with a machete or a gun and he asks you this question: "Are you a Christian?" 
  
You know if you say "yes" he is going to kill you. 
  
So, what do you do? 
  
We all have to answer this question for ourselves. 
  
Let me share this verse with you from the book of Revelation 14:13- And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." 
  
If you are a Christian and you die in the Lord it is a good thing. For the Lord says we are "Blessed". 
  
Revel. 20:6 - Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power,… 
  
Let me share with you my understanding of this verse: 
  
The sinner who becomes a believer in Jesus Christ makes a choice to die ( 1st death) to sin. Once this decision has been made they are baptized (immersed) which is the believer's 1st resurrection up out of the watery grave.   
  
Therefore, the 2nd death which would be the believer's physical death will not have any power over them. 
  
Here is how the apostle Paul explains it: 
  
Romans 6:2-5 -  How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,… 
  
If you tell the truth that you are a Christian you just might have to die for it. 
  
The truth will set you free. 
  
Think About This: 
  
It is better to die in Christ than to die outside of Christ. 

Stay Pumped, 
  
Gary A. Serago 
  
Minister of God's Word