John 11:16 - Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." NASU
The disciples totally didn't understand what Jesus was referencing. As can be seen in John 11:12-13 - The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. Jesus in John 10 eludes those Jews who were wishing to stone Him because they thought He was guilty of blasphemy. Now He wants to go back into this same area and the disciples are concerned He will be stoned to death this time. When the disciples see that can not persuade Jesus to change His mind, Thomas says, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." WOW! That is what I call courage. Are we willing to die for Jesus today? Thomas was ready to die with and for Jesus.
Why doesn't anyone comment on this statement: "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." made by Thomas? I for one want to highlight what Thomas said to the other disciples when Jesus was going to return to Bethany and resurrect Lazarus. "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." As I see the world more and more critical of Christianity there just might be a time in the near future when we need to be prepared to die for Jesus. Think About These: A person's faith is not judged by what he says about it, but by what he does about it. All men need a faith that will not shrink when washed in the waters of affliction and adversity. ***************************************************************** I am organizing a trip to the Holy Land in January/February 2023. If you are interested in possibly going on this trip reply to this Pump Up and I will add your name to the list. As I receive more details I will send them to you. I am very happy to inform you that Dr. Mark Ziese is going to be our Bible Lecturer for this trip. You can read more about him and the trips he has already led on his website. www.MarkZiese.com I hope you will be able to join us on this adventure of a lifetime. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Matt. 25:20-21 - "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' 21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave…" NASU
Mt 25:15 -"To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability…"
Let's investigate a statement people have said to me.
Then you are the perfect person to teach others how to endure and overcome this type of suffering. You certainly don't want to miss this great opportunity to teach others. Isn't that what we are supposed to be doing in life? We are to be learning the hard and difficult lessons and then sharing what we've learned with others. Eph 4:28 - "…rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." NASU In Ephesians Paul is talking about why we work so that we can share with the one who has a need. This same principal is valid with what we experience in life.
We see people attend Alcoholic Anonymous meetings so that they can share some of their life stories to help the people who are in attendance. A person who has overcome cancer is better qualified to speak to someone who is presently in the battle on what they did to stay strong and keep moving forward. We have all experienced some difficulties in life and that qualifies us to share with others what worked for us and didn't work for us during those difficult times.
What have you survived, overcome, struggled with, or experienced that you need to start sharing to help others? You certainly didn't think that you were going to go through this learning experience and then not share your knowledge with anyone, did you? Think About These: The best advice you'll get is from someone who made the same mistake himself. Education is what you get from reading the small print in a contract. Experience is what you get from not reading it. A wise man learns by the experiences of others. An ordinary man learns by his own experiences. A fool learns by nobody's experiences. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Ps. 23:3 - "He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake."
The father was quite shocked. So he asked his son, “Why would you want to do that?” He said his son looked at them with a straight face and said, “Because I am sick and tired of taking orders from you and mom. All I ever hear is it is time to get up, hurry and eat your breakfast, get to school, do your homework, do these chores, you have to be home by midnight and it is time to go to bed. I am tired of taking orders from you all.” His dad asked, “So you joined the Marine Corps so you would not have to take orders?” I don’t know about you but just writing this story has me laughing, my side hurts and tears are running down my face. I crack up every time I remember that story.
I believe that some of our life “paths” that we choose can be more difficult than other paths. Now I could be wrong here but I think choosing the Marine Corps may have been a little harder than living at this young man’s parent’s house when it came to receiving orders. I am not saying the young man made the wrong choice by choosing the Marines because some of my greatest learning experiences have come from enduring difficult struggles. If he stayed in the Marines I am sure they changed him for the better. However, I would imagine those first weeks of basic training were difficult especially since he didn’t like his mom telling him it was time to awake. Some times in life we try to take the easy path or the path with the least resistance and that might be okay but I can testify that the real lessons of life are learned when we are exerting all our strength to keep our heads above water. One important thing to remember is this that because you choose a path of righteousness doesn’t mean safe sailing. If you look back to the early disciples and apostles many of them died because of their decision to travel on the path of righteousness. James was beheaded, Peter crucified upside down, Paul locked away in prison the last years of his life and the Apostle John was exiled to an island.
Choose a path where you will be able to use your God given talents. I counseled a man one time that became a dentist to make his father happy. He said after his fifth year of being a dentist that he was calling it quits. He said, “I can’t do this any longer.” He felt as though he had wasted over tens years of his life doing something to make someone else happy. When you choose a path choose one you love and you will enjoy your journey.
Look at people who have gone down the wrong paths and learn from their mistakes. There is nothing in the rulebook that says you can’t learn from another person’s mistakes. So Do Yourself a Favor and Learn From Others. Learn from those who have done things correct and learn from those who have made mistakes. Which paths have you chosen if you look back now may have been a little harder than necessary? Yeah, I know we all have a few of those paths that we are not proud that we have walked, but the key is we don’t keep walking on them. Think About This: A person can save himself from many hard falls by refraining from jumping to conclusions. Everyone is capable of making mistakes, but fools practice them. ************************************************************************** I am organizing a trip to the Holy Land in January/February 2023. If you are interested in possibly going on this trip reply to this Pump Up and I will add your name to the list. As I receive more details I will send them to you. I am very happy to inform you that Dr. Mark Ziese is going to be our Bible Lecturer for this trip. You can read more about him and the trips he has already led on his website. www.MarkZiese.com I hope you will be able to join us on this adventure of a lifetime. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Gen. 41:50-51- Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." NASU
In prison, he reveals the meaning of dreams to a butler and a baker. When the baker has a dream Joseph will interpret it. He will die exactly the way Joseph interpreted his dream. Joseph will interpret a dream for the butler and when it happens exactly the way Joseph said the butler doesn’t help Joseph like he said he would immediately. He will use this knowledge later to help Joseph to be freed from prison and to make himself look good in the eyes of the Pharaoh.
When no one is able to interpret the dream the butler remembers Joseph can interpret dreams. He is brought in and he reveals the dreams and their interpretation. The meaning of his dream is Egypt is about to experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. God has given Joseph the ability to reveal and interpret the dream of the Pharaoh, and because of this the Pharaoh places him second in command over all Egypt at this time.
Joseph says, "God has made him forget…" So what about you, can you say I have had my share of troubles? Have people lied about you? Have you been physically abused? Have you been cheated by family members? Have people been jealous of you or your accomplishments? If you are able to answer "yes" to any of these questions then let me ask you one more question.
If you are having trouble forgetting your past hurts ask God to help you. He helped Joseph and He will help you. We can see when Joseph had his first child this was changing him. Children have a way of changing us all. You may be too old to have children, but there are other ways you can have a Manasseh moment. You have to find the one that works for you and let those past hurts go. Think About These: It is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember. We are like beast when we kill, men when we judge others and God when we forgive. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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