2 Tim. 2:4 - No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. NASU 

• Stay Focused On The Task Before You 

You would think once you established your goals it would be easy to work towards accomplishing them. The truth is you will be faced with all types of distractions.
 
As we can see the Apostle Paul uses a military soldier as an example. When he says, "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life."
 
In other words, the soldier will not become distracted. He will not lose his focus. His focus is on being a good soldier and pleasing the person who enlisted him.
 
Therefore, daily distractions will not disqualify this soldier. 

• Possible Distractions 

There are numerous possible distractions in which we can encounter in this life.
 
Some soldiers have been known to go AWOL (absent without leave) because of love. They left home to join the military and in so doing the one they were in love with was left behind. While serving they believed they had to see this special person and left their post. This never ends well.
 
Illnesses likewise can cause a person to become distracted from the task in front of them.
 
Some job offers will come your way and at first appear to be the answer to all your problems.
 
We probably have all heard of battle fatigue. This happens when a person has been in the fight way too long without getting some rest and relaxation. Everyone needs time to recharge their batteries.  

• The Key To Succeeding 

The best way to succeed is not to lose your focus.  When distractions come don't go with them. I believe Nehemiah had the best answer when his detractors were trying to side track him.
 
Neh. 6:1-4 - Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono." But they were planning to harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" 
 
Nehemiah gives the perfect answer in my opinion: "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?"
 
Basically, he is saying I am not going to be distracted by you guys. I am doing a great work and I am not going to finish my work by entering into a meeting with all of you.
 
Don't let anything or one distract you from your goal and you will find out success comes to those who refuse to quit.
 
Think About These:
 
We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt.
 
Some fellows dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.
 
You can't make a place for yourself under the sun if you keep sitting in the shade of the family tree.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word

Acts 3:18 - "But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all   the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
 
Acts 17:2-3 - And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."
 
Acts 26:22-23 - "So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying   both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer… 

• Suffering's Definition

 The definition for "suffering" is to undergo pain or distress. Many of the Israelites were taught erroneously that if you suffered it was because God was punishing you for some sin you had committed.
 
This can be seen very clearly in John 9:1-2 - "As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
 
All you have to do to discover that teaching is false is read the first few chapters of the book of Job. If that doesn't convince you then reread the scriptures I used to start this Pump Up from the book of Acts.
 
They all mention Jesus Christ would suffer, had to suffer and was to suffer and we know He was sinless. Therefore, suffering doesn't always come about because of some sin we have committed. 

• What I Am Not Saying. 

I am not saying a person can sin and they will not suffer. What I am saying is that all suffering doesn't come about because of sin. The perfect example of this is Jesus. Here is what Luke said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day." 
 
As a minister people have come to me for counseling and on numerous occasions they would say to me, I just can't figure out what sin I have committed that God is allowing me to suffer this way.
 
I would ask them, "What makes you think you are suffering because of some sin you have committed?" They would generally give me some type of answer that equated to this "suffering is the result of some sin you have committed". 

• Suffering Comes From Satan 

Luke 13:16 - "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
 
You can start to read from Luke 13:10 and you will discover Jesus healed this lady in the synagogue and the official was upset Jesus healed her on the Sabbath. You will notice Jesus says this woman had been suffering because Satan bound her for the last 18 years.
 
Why does Satan want humans to suffer? He knows God is the one people are going to blame not him.
 
When I look at all the suffering in the world I see the works of the evil one more than I see the Hand of God. The apostle Paul said it this way: 1 Corin.14:33 - "…for God is not a God of confusion but of peace,…"
 
Suffering brings a lot of confusion with it. I say if you are a Christian the majority of your suffering has come upon you from the evil one. He wants you to blame God. The devil is the culprit and he knows it.
 
Don't be fooled by the evil one.
 
Think About This:
 
We learn some things from prosperity, but we learn many things from adversity.
 
Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

​Minister of God's Word
​

​Luke 11:27-28 - While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed." 28 But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."  NASU 

• This Is What I Heard From Others 

I didn't grow up going to church and certainly never read a Bible. I remember hearing others say the reason they didn't believe in the Bible was because it is full of contradictions.
 
Well, there you have it. I believed the Bible was filled with contradictions because another person said it was and I had never read it for myself. Wow! That sounds really stupid now that I have stated it that way.
 
If I might make a suggestion to you if you are ever in a conversation with someone and they say the Bible is full of contradictions, politely say to them, "Name me one." If you have your Bible with you, hand it to them and say, "Show me where."
 
Chances are they are repeating what they heard someone else say. 

• There Are Not Any Contradictions In The Bible 

When I first became a disciple of Christ this was one of the first things I said to God in one of my prayers. I said it something like this, "God, I have heard the Bible contradicts itself. I am going to read it from cover to cover and if I find one I am out of here."
 
It has been 47 years since I started reading the Bible and I still have not found any contradictions. 

• The Day I Thought I Found A Contradiction 

I remember when I thought I found a contradiction in the Bible.
 
I was reading the book of James in the King James Version. James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  KJV
 
I remember saying to myself, "Wait a minute that is a contradiction." I remembered reading in Genesis where God had tempted Abraham. It says in Gen. 22:1- And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.  KJV
 
Well, I thought I had actually found a contradiction in the Bible.
 
Can you see how much reading I had done to find that one?
 
I had read from Genesis all the way through the Old Testament (39 books) and in the New Testament from Matthew to James (another 20 books), and I finally found one, or so I thought.
 
I remember going to Dave Berresford, a preacher, where I was worshipping God at that time and showing him my find. As I recall he let the air out of my sails with a lot of Christian grace.
 
He showed me in the Hebrew the word "nacah" can actually be better translated "to test".
 
God wasn't tempting Abraham to do evil. God was actually giving him a test to become stronger in his faith.
 
God still gives us "tests" to strengthen us in our faith. 

• Conclusion 

1 Thes. 2:13 - For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.  
 
Let God's Word continue to perform its work in you. You will be glad you did.
 
Think About These:
 
Poverty is no disgrace, but ignorance is.
 
It is not necessary for some people to put out the light to be in the dark.
 
The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

​Minister of God's Word