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Gen. 39:10 - She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. NLT
In our text above Joseph, who was a slave in Egypt, found himself facing the pressures that come from the sexual nature. He was a handsome young man and his boss' wife wanted to have a sexual relationship with him, but Joseph would not be seduced. If you ever find yourself facing the pressure that comes form sexual temptations you better have a plan to help you get away.
If there is a pressure that is being applied to you see if you can use the Joseph method and avoid the area where it is coming. This won't always work because some times the pressure is coming from where you work, go to school or even live. When people asked me how I was able to leave the partying life and become a Christian so easily I always tell them that I CHANGED MY ENVIRONMENT. I quit going to the bars and associating with the people who used drugs and alcohol. I started associating with other Christians. If it is possible a change of friends, and places you go will greatly help you overcome some types of pressure.
Pressure comes when someone calls upon you to do a task for which you are not prepared. If you have to take an important test and haven't studied, you feel pressure grind as you trudge off to class. However, if you have cracked your books, you are disappointed when you learn the professor has cancelled the exam. The key to staying pressure free is being prepared for the situation that you are about to face. Joseph had prepared himself mentally and spiritually so that when the situation did arise he departed. In Joseph's case the best thing he could do was RUN AWAY from the pressure. He did exactly what the Apostle Paul would say many years later. 1 Corin. 6:18 - Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. NASU
Identify what you believe are the top three things that are putting pressure on you today and then make a plan that helps you to be prepared to conquer them.
1 Corin. 10:13 - No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. NIV If you will take the word "temptation" and translate it "pressure" because we know temptations bring their own type of pressure. You will be able to see that God permits pressure to come into our lives to make us stronger. When the pressure becomes too great He will provide a way for you to escape. Be prepared and overcome the pressures in life that you will face and when you do you will be glad that you stayed the course.
I don’t know about you but that really sounds cool to me. If Jesus is preparing a place for me then I want to go and see what it looks like. He is also preparing a place for you and I hope you want to go and see it also. Think About These: You can either worry about the future or prepare for it. No man ever reached excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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1 Sam. 17:37-39 - And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." NASU
Saul was a very tall man (I Sam.9:2). There was no way his armor was going to fit on David. David respectfully informs King Saul he cannot wear them for he has not had time to test or train in them and off they come. Many times in life people will want us to be someone we are not. It is at times like this we need to be like David and be who we are.
1 Sam. 17:40 - He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. He went as a shepherd who had FAITH in the God of Israel and he was going to be victorious. This is what David says to Goliath: 1 Sam. 17:45-46 - Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,.… David informs Goliath the God of Israel is not only going to deliver him into his hands He is going to deliver the entire Philistine Army into his hands. David was comfortable being a shepherd. David was comfortable sharing his faith in the God of Israel. David knew God was the One who was directing his steps in this life.
Are we as certain that God is directing our steps as David was? Are we as bold as David to share our faith in the God of all creation? We really must learn to be ourselves in this world. Think About This: You can't be the best when you're trying to be like the rest. Be Yourself. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 14:26-31 - When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." 28 Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
29 And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him,…" NASU
It is totally crazy. Everyone, all of your family and friends are advising you to stay in your seat and don't rock the boat. But you know there is adventure that awaits you if you can just overcome the fear, the negative comments, all of your critics and take a walk on the water with your faith. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and wanted to join Him. So he asked the Lord if he could join Him in walking on the water. Jesus said, "Come."
I had a great job. I belonged to the union Boilermakers. I had a family and I was growing closer to God, but when I got out of my safe little boat is when I really began to experience life and some of its exciting challenges. I started to study for the ministry and only the Lord knew what was going to happen to me for getting out of my comfortable little boat.
You likewise may begin to sink in your new adventure but keep reading and you will see that the Lord stretched out His hand and took hold of Peter. Peter didn't drown in his new adventure. One thing for sure he would always have that story to tell anyone who would listen. I can see Peter telling his grandchildren about Jesus walking on the water and how he wanted to join Him and so he did. Can you see the children's eyes lighting up as Peter told them the story? Can you see them saying, "Grandpa tell us the story again about how you walked on the water with Jesus."
Years ago when I was ministering in MD we were in need of a youth minister. I met with a man named Jon Schank who was working at NSA. Jon had been in the Navy for 9 yrs. All he would have to do is serve another 11 yrs and he could receive a pension. He had never been trained at a Bible College or Seminary and I was asking him to leave one ship where he had knowledge and familiarity and come and sail on some waters that were totally uncharted by him and me. We both would be learning as we sailed together. Jon is still sailing with the Lord today because he dared to step out of the boat. Think About These: Where we go and what we do advertise what we are. Every accomplishment, great or small, starts with the right decision, "I'll try." Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Acts 1:6 -7 - So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;… NASU · We Really Do Not Need To Know The "Future". I am pretty certain that we all have wanted to know the future at some point in time during our lives. When I was born no one could tell what gender a child was going to be when born. You had to wait and see. I know there were a lot of old wives' tales that went around how we could know the sex of our child before birth but they were just that. Today they can tell us if a child is going to be a boy or a girl with some degree of accuracy. Yes, I know it isn't 100% and some times they are incorrect. We almost receive some type of satisfaction when they are wrong. It is like in your face, see you and all your modern technology are not so smart after all. · Why Has This Happened? In life a lot of events have happened to us and we would liked to have known about them in advance. Why did my mom or dad have to die when I was so young? Why didn't I get that job, or promotion? Why did my child have to die? Why did my parents divorce? Why didn't I win that game? Why did we have to move? Why did my neighbor win the lottery and not me? The list can go on forever. I likewise have got caught in the trap of asking the question "Why this had to happen to me?" The problem with asking the "Why" question is you may never know the truth? You might also believe something about why it has happened and be totally incorrect. · The Better Question To Ask Until one day I found a better question to ask. It is the question "What?". Instead of asking "Why?" try asking yourself the question "What?". What can I learn from this event? What can I now do to make this a positive situation? When you ask the "What" question I believe a lot more positives will come from this type of questioning. When you arrive at positive answers to the "What' questions and start to act upon them your life changes for the better. People have experienced tragedies in their lives only to turn them into positives because they asked themselves the "What" question. What have I learned from this situation? What can I do to insure it doesn't happen again? What can I share with others to help them if something like this happens to them. · Jesus Told The Disciples As you continue to read the above text in verse eight Jesus informs the apostles to prepare themselves to focus on what they are going to do next and that is be His witnesses. Jesus doesn't want them to be concerned about the future of what God is going to do, but rather be prepared for what they are going to do. Jesus had basically told the disciples not to worry about the future because God has that under control. What He wants them to do is focus on their next mission. I would say that Jesus' command is applicable for us today. We are not to be concerned about the future. We are to be concerned about how we are going to handle the future when it arrives. So my Pump Up for us today is this: Don't worry about the future, God is in control. What we need to do is prepare ourselves for our next mission. Think About These: Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow; it only saps today of its strength. True patience means waiting without worrying. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Prov. 13:20 - He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm. NASU
Former University of Wisconsin's Head Wrestling Coach Barry Davis told me about quite a few different wrestlers that he knew and coached that associated with the wrong people. One wrestler connected with the wrong girl friend and instead of returning the next year and becoming a National Champ, he didn't even finish as an All American. Solomon said it many years ago and this is still great advice today. Choose your friends wisely. If you become friends with a fool it will cost you dearly.
All in all both men are simply saying something like this: "Show me your friends and I will show you your future."
We all have this in common and that is we are going to die. So what are you going to do with your life before death comes knocking on your door? The one thing you don't want to do is waste your time associating with the wrong people. Serago's paraphrase of what Solomon says reads like this: "You associate with fools and it will bring guaranteed suffering into your life." THE MESSAGE says it this way, "Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces."
Read God's Word because it will tell you the type of people to have as friends. Think About These: A wise man learns by the experiences of others. An ordinary man learns by his own experiences. A fool learns by nobody's experiences. Knowledge is knowing a fact. Wisdom is knowing what to do with that fact. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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