Serago's Pump Ups
  • Home
  • Pump Ups
  • About
  • Ask Gary a Bible Question
  • JOIN
  • Home
  • Pump Ups
  • About
  • Ask Gary a Bible Question
  • JOIN

Here Is How Accomplishments Can Be Disastrous

7/29/2020

0 Comments

 
​Judges 7:2 - The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’ 
  • What God Wants
God informs Gideon that if he went into battle against the Midianites with 22,000 men that the Israelite's victory would be dangerous. Their victory would fill them with pride. They would start to believe they were victorious because of their strength. God wanted Israel as He wants us to trust in Him.

Are we walking each day in faith so that no matter what enemy we encounter we can defeat it with God?
 
What prideful enemy are you facing today?

We have an enemy who is constantly trying to get us to believe that what we have accomplished we have done on our own. God wants us to trust Him and believe He is helping us daily. 
  • What The Devil Wants
In 1 John 2:16, we are told that the three ways we will be tempted are through the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life. You will be able to place sin under one of these three categories. The devil has been very successful in getting God's children to sin.
 
Sin has conquered all people except Jesus Christ.  
 
Adam and Eve's sin in the garden, David's sin when he numbered Israel or Samson's sin of using his strength incorrectly, all three of these sins come under the Pride of Life.

I am sure if we will look at the sin that has conquered us we will find that it falls under either the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, or the Pride of Life. 

Are you going to be able to defeat these temptations by yourself?
 
The answer is "NO". We are going to need to trust the Lord to help us overcome the temptations the devil will use. Remember the devil is not omniscient (all-knowing).
 
Only God is omniscient.

So how does the devil always seem to know what temptations to confront us with that succeed?
 
The devil is very observant. He knows that to defeat his opponent he has to know their behavior. He has studied the behavior of God's creation and he has discovered how to get us to sin.
He has beaten everyone but ONE, Jesus Christ.

We, humans, are not too hard to defeat. Simply use one of the three ways mentioned above and he succeeds every time.

When tempting our Lord and Savior look at his plan.
 
He said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God turn these stones into bread." He tried to get Jesus to doubt Himself and because Jesus had been fasting he slips in a Lust of the Flesh temptation. Turn the bread into stones if You are the Son of God. You have to be hungry. Your flesh has to be craving something to eat.

When that doesn't work he tries the Lust of the Eyes when he tells Him I will give you all these kingdoms if You will worship me.
 
Lastly, he tries the Pride of Life temptation when he says, Go ahead and jump from the pinnacle of the temple angels will save You. God will send His Angelic Air Force to swoop in and make sure Your landing is a safe one.
  • What Do You Want?
It really comes down to this: What is it we want? Hopefully, we will all want to trust in God and not allow are accomplishments to lead us into sin.

Think on These:

Pride hides a man's faults to himself, and magnifies them to everyone else.

When success turns a man's head, it leaves him looking in the wrong direction.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
0 Comments

When You Have Faith You Don't Need This.

7/22/2020

0 Comments

 
When You Have Faith You Don't Need This.

Mk 16:2-4 - Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. NASU 
​
  • All The Answers 
When you have faith you don't need all the answers. All you need is a desire to accomplish what it is you want to do.
 
These three women, Mary, Mary, and Salome, did not know how they were going to move the extremely large stone, but they didn't let that stop them from walking to the tomb.
 
I have been in way too many meetings where the people were frozen with fear to do anything because according to them they didn't have all the answers. They couldn't possibly be expected to make a rational decision without first investigating this issue.
 
Mary, Mary, and Salome had no idea how they were going to move the extremely large stone but that was not going to stop them from going to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus.
  •  Surprise, Surprise! 
They were amazed when they arrive at the tomb and notice the stone had already been rolled away from the entrance. As you read on you will notice an angel is the one who rolled the stone away from the entrance for them.
 
Let me say it this way, "They had faith and God rewarded their faith by sending an angel to remove the stone." 
  • What About Your Faith? 
Do you need all the answers before you will move?
 
Or are you like these three ladies?  

They had a partial plan. They waited until the Sabbath was over and then they bought the spices they would need to anoint Jesus' body.

They then travel to the tomb with the spices and were going to anoint His body except there was one problem. He wasn't there. He had resurrected.
 
They met an angel but didn't even know it. I wonder how many times we humans have met angels and didn't recognize them (Hebrews 13:2 - Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.)?
 
So what about your faith?
 
Do you have a desire, a passion, and a partial plan and as far as you are concerned that is enough. Have you launched out on your journey?

When you meet obstacles do you believe God will help you move them out of your way?
 
If so, that my friends is faith.
 
You don't have all the answers but you trust in God. You believe you will succeed and so you launch out from shore.
 
May you enjoy your journey and may every obstacle you encounter only strengthen your faith.
 
Think On These:
 
Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see.
 
Faith with works is a Force. Faith without works is a farce.
 
In all relationships of life, faith is worthless unless it leads to action.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
0 Comments

Do This And You Will Experience A Better Life

7/15/2020

0 Comments

 
Ps 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God;…   NIV 
​
  • Not Always Easy 
Have you ever noticed how some scriptures are very plainly penned down for us? This is not one of those hard sayings of Jesus or one from the book of Ezekiel or Revelation. Yet, as plain and easy to understand it is not always easy to accomplish.
 
This plain passage of scripture is from the Psalms. It says, "Be still…" The Hebrew word here means "to relax, be sedate, or to be calm" and while we are doing this take comfort in "knowing" God is in control.   
 
We have an entire Bible written with story after story of God being in control of human affairs. Then why is it we many times lose sight of God's power? 
  • We Are Lied To 
Yes, brothers and sisters we are lied to by the evil one. We have been told, "God doesn't care or God is not going to help us." Lies! All Lies!
 
Paul says it this way in 2 Corin. 11:3, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray…"  NASU
 
The devil tries very hard to deceive us as he did Adam and Eve. Don't let your minds be led astray but let your minds dwell on Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God…" 
  • If We Will Practice This Verse 
I believe with all my heart if we will practice "being still, relaxing, or being calm and trusting in God" our life experience will be superb. We all want to experience happiness and contentment in life and God gives us the formula to have exactly what we desire.
 
The question is "Can we let God be in control?"
 
I have to admit this is not always easy for me. I have a very hard time sitting and waiting.
 
In fact, it is many times almost impossible for me.
 
I like to make things happen, but God's word is telling me I need to chill. I need to be still. I need to relax and get out of God's way. He is in control. He has thousands and thousands of years of prior experience in operating this world without me.
 
If we will trust Him, He will manage the affairs of this world just fine without us. 
  • My Daughter Was Sick 
When Erin was 2 years old she had a 104-degree fever and we were not able to get it to come down even a little. A nurse who attended our church came over and took her temperature and told us we need to get her to the hospital now.
 
You know I was not able to get my daughter's temperature to break. It was out of my hands. I had no control over this situation. So I did what I knew was best for her and me.
 
I prayed. I admitted to God this was something I was not able to control, but I knew He was not helpless like I was. The fever broke within a few hours and I learned a valuable lesson that day.
 
There are a lot of areas in life where we are going to be helpless, but there is no area of life where God is helpless.
 
Do you want to experience a better life?
 
Be still and know that God is in Control.
 
Think On These:
 
God is more interested in inner grace than outer space.
 
When we let God guide He will provide.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
0 Comments

Here Is Why Jesus Never Sinned In My Opinion

7/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Heb 1:8-9 - But of the Son He says,
 
"YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
"YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."  NASU 
​
  • He Loved Righteousness 
Jesus loved righteousness. He loved doing what pleased His Heavenly Father more than pleasing Himself. He even says this very thing in the book of Luke:
 
Luke 22:41-42 - And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."
 
The definition of "righteousness" is:
Holy and upright living, in accordance with God's standard. The word righteousness comes from a root word that means "straightness." It refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept. God's character is the definition and source of all righteousness (Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; Rom. 9:14).
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
 
Jesus lived according to God's standards and He never sinned because He loved doing the right thing every time.

He knew righteousness was a part of God's character and He mirrored God while here on earth perfectly. This is how the Hebrew writer states it about Jesus: "…And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature,…" (Heb 1:3).
 
When we love "righteousness" or doing what is "holy and right" every time, in every situation, we will sin less.

When we imitate Jesus we will be imitating the Father. When we imitate them we will sin less. 
  • He Hated Lawlessness 
Jesus came to earth and obeyed God's law perfectly. He was not a lawless person but rather a lawful person. He never sinned therefore He never broke one of God's laws.
 
He had such a hatred for lawlessness this hatred led Him to be obedient to God's laws and not just some of them but ALL of them.
 
Because of His hatred for lawlessness, this led Him to be sinless, and therefore, He was able to offer Himself as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind.
 
I hate that Jesus had to die for me but I am very thankful He did because this means by me accepting Him as my Lord and Savior I will not have to spend eternity in Hell separated from the God of all creation.
 
Thank you Jesus for loving "righteousness" and hating "lawlessness".
 
I am thankful now and will be thankful for all eternity.
 
I hope you my Pump Up readers have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you have any questions please respond to this email with them I will do my best to help you receive an answer to your question.
 
Think About These:
 
The road to heaven is never overcrowded.
 
There is a way to stay out of hell, but no way to get out of hell. 

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
0 Comments

How To Overcome Suffering With A Smile

7/1/2020

0 Comments

 
John 12:27 - "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. NASB 
​
  • Less Than A Week To Live 
Jesus informs us that His soul is suffering or troubled. He has less than a week to live and He knows it. What would be going through your mind if you knew you had less than a week to live?
 
Would your soul be troubled?
 
One thing I have noticed about some humans, myself included, is we many times wonder why is this (whatever this is) happening to me. Am I suffering because of some sin I committed?
 
Ask yourself these questions the next time you're suffering or your soul is troubled.
 
"Why is Jesus suffering? What sin has He committed?"
 
The answer is He has committed no sin. Therefore, all suffering is not because of sin. We must never forget this truth.   
  • Your Suffering Has A Purpose 
The one valuable nugget of truth Jesus shares with us is His trouble had a purpose. This is what He says, "… But for this purpose I came to this hour."
 
Years ago I baptized a man into Christ named David. He was informed he had cancer and not long to live. He did not want people feeling sorry for him, he told me. I said, "Okay, I have a plan when you're in the hospital I will send people to see you. I will tell them to visit you and minister to you, but what you need to do is minister to them. Share your faith and tell them how Jesus is helping you through this trial."
 
Every person I sent to visit David came back to me and said, "I didn't minister to him. He ministered to me."
 
As I was at his bedside 45 minutes before he went to be with the Lord, this is what he asked me. "Do you think the Lord has anyone else he wants me to minister to?"
 
I spoke for God that day without really being told what to say, when I told him, "There is no one else God wants you to minister to. He wants you to come home now." In 45 minutes David breathed his last breath.
 
David allowed his troubled soul to have a purpose just like Jesus. 
  • What About You? 
Is your soul troubled today?
 
Then put a smile on your face and say, "I am going to make sure that my suffering fulfills a purpose." God hasn't abandoned me. He is allowing me to face this time of trouble to serve a purpose and serve a purpose with it I will.
 
Think About This: 
 
Faith helps us face the music, even when we don't like the tune.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
0 Comments

    Archives

    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Author

    Gary A Serago.

    Categories

    All
    Angels
    Bad Decisions
    Christian Lifestyle
    Christmas
    Confession
    Death
    Encouragement
    End Times
    Endurance
    Evangelism
    Facts About Jesus
    Faith
    Fear
    Finances
    Forgiveness
    Friendship
    Fulfillment Of Scripture
    God's Love
    God's Will
    Grace
    Heaven
    Hope
    Humility
    Integrity
    Job Stress
    Leadership
    Mercy
    Positive Attitude
    Praise
    Prayer
    Restoring Your Passion
    Stubbornness
    Success
    Suffering
    Temptations
    Thankfulness
    Trust
    Truthfulness
    Wisdom
    Worship

    RSS Feed

Ask Gary a Bible Question
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.