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Here Is The Best Way To Change Your Life

9/24/2025

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Ezek. 46:9 - "But when the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, he who enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate.
And he who enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. No one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered but shall go straight out."   
NASU 
​
  • Worshiping God 
The best way to change your life is by worshiping God. You will notice the worshippers were to exit a different gate from the one they entered. I like what Dr. James E. Smith said about this symbolism in his commentary The Major Prophets. 
 
"Each should leave worship a different person than he came in."
 
This is the best way I know to change your life for the good. When you go to worship make sure when you exit the building you are leaving as a different person from the one who entered. 
  • What Should You Do When You Worship? 
First, I believe we should Praise the Lord when we worship. We should Praise Him for who He is. He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
 
Look at how the early church worshipped God in Acts 4:24 - "And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM,…"
 
Every place we walk and everything we can see is because of God.
 
If you go and sit in a grassy field it is because of God. If you go and throw rocks in a creek, or put your feet in the ocean it is because of God being the awesome Creator He is.
 
When I look into the sky at night and see the millions of twinkling stars they are there to look at because of God.
 
When Leah had her fourth son she named him Judah, when you translate the name Judah it means "to praise." Gen. 29:35 - And she conceived again and bore a son and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she named him Judah.
 
When you correctly Praise the Good LORD for who He is and what He has done it will change you. Ps 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
 
Secondly, I believe we should Remember the LORD and for what He has done for us when we worship.
 
This is what Moses and the children of Israel did after being freed from their Egyptian bondage. They remembered what the LORD had done for them by defeating Pharaoh and his army.
 
Ex 15:1-6 -
Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said,
 
"I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
 The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
"The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
 
 This is my God, and I will praise Him;
 My father's God, and I will extol Him.
"The LORD is a warrior;
 The LORD is His name.
 
"Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
 And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
"The deeps cover them;
 They went down into the depths like a stone.
 
"Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power,
 Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
 
What great things has the LORD done for you that you need to remember as you worship Him today? The one great thing God has done for us is that He has freed us from the bondage of sin.
 
Think About These:
 
Too many people try to get something from worship without putting anything into it.
 
Worship should be a place where you meet God and impossible to forget Him.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

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You Should Absolutely Remember This When You Pray.

9/17/2025

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Charlie Kirk Tribute at the end of this Pump Up

​Luke 1:13 & 18 - 
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, & your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, & you will give him the name John." … Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."  NASU 
  • How God Answers Our Prayers 
One good thing for us to remember is how God answers our prayers.
 
He answers prayers with a Yes, No, or Wait a while.
 
He doesn't always answer our prayers immediately. Some times He has us wait for years for the answer, as was the case with Zacharias and Elizabeth.
 
I am quite sure when they were much younger than they are in the above passage of scripture, they had prayed to God and asked for their lives to be blessed with a child. We can see now that God said, "Okay, but you will have to wait."
 
The hard part is we don't audibly hear God say, "Okay, but you will have to wait." We interpret the waiting time as God having said, "No."
 
We are not told how long they waited. We are told Zach is an old man and Beth is well advanced in years. Usually people pray for children right after they get married when they are young.
 
We know Zacharias isn't 50 years of age because once a priest turned 50 years old he had to retire according to

Numbers 8:23-25 -  Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall enter to perform service in the work of the tent of meeting. But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more. 
  • When We Pray 
It is to our benefit if we will remember that God always answers our prayers, but sometimes it’s after a long delay. In other words, the answer is "Yes" but not right now.
 
There is no doubt this can be frustrating if we allow it to be. The best thing we can do is remember that an all loving Heavenly Father is providing for us. I would like for you to read what Jesus said:
 
Matt 7:7-11 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  "Or what man is there among you who, when his son

asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
  
 
We must remember God answers prayers according to His time table, which is always correct.
 
Think About These:
 
God has never called us to Calm a Storm, but He has called us to be Calm in a Storm.
 
God has never asked us to Walk on Water, but He has asked us to Walk with the One who did Walk on Water.

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word

Charlie Kirk Tribute


This Pump Up was written before the assassination of Charlie Kirk and I was out of town on vacation with my wife and unable to write a new Pump Up addressing this horrific event. It is a shame to see what has been happening in the USA. I grew up during a time where we had free speech and didn't have to worry about getting killed because we believed something different from someone else. 

In my day our big differences were which car was the best. Some believed it was a Chevy, some believed it was a Ford, some believed it was a Pontiac or an Oldsmobile and some believed it was the Mopars, but we didn't kill anyone who believed different than we did. 

Charlie Kirk's death is awful and I pray for his family and I pray that free speech in America will come back to what it once was. Anyone who believes killing Charlie was a good thing needs to repent.

He who is without sin can cast the first stone is one of the lessons Jesus taught and we all know what that means no one will be in the rock throwing business because we are all sinners. 
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How To Have A Better Life

9/10/2025

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​John 1:19-23 - This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"

And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"  He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' … 
NASU 
  • Know Who You Are 
A company was looking to hire a new accountant. The previous one had been released because he misappropriated some funds.

In the interview process James was asked, "Will you be honest if we hire you?" James answered, "I will be honest regardless of whether you hire me or not."
 
John the Baptist knew who he was and if you want to live a richer life I highly recommend this pathway for a better life. Know who you are.
 
He wasn't the Christ nor was he trying to be the Christ. He was completely satisfied with being the "Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness."
 
Don't try to be anyone else. Just be yourself and the best way to be yourself is by knowing who you are.
 
Know who you are. 

 
  • You May Have To Forget What Others Say 
We can be fed a lot of incorrect information at a very early age.

Sometimes parents try to motivate with incorrect methods. We have probably all heard children called names such as "stupid, clumsy, lazy, idiot" or a plethora of other names. Parents think this will motivate their child.
 
Maybe you heard: "You will never amount to anything, or You don't have a lick of sense do you? or Why can't you be like …?"
 
It has been said, "It is easier to build up a child, than repair an adult. Choose your words wisely."
 
I read about Steven Spielberg's life and I found one part rather amusing. He applied and was denied entrance twice into the prestigious film school at USC.

He later applies and is accepted at Cal State University in Long Beach. He graduates from CSU and goes on to direct some of the movie industries' biggest blockbusters.
 
What I found really amusing is in 1994 USC gave him an honorary doctorate degree. The same school that said in essence: "You are not good enough to attend here." Would bestow upon him an honorary doctorate degree. Go Figure!
  • Know Who You Are And Aren't 
John the Baptist knew who he was and who he wasn't. Be Yourself. Be who God intended you to be. John was the "Voice Crying out in the Wilderness." He was who God intended him to be.
 
He was given a goal to accomplish and this is what motivated him.
 
What is your goal? The greatest blessing you can give yourself is a goal. So, what is your goal?
 
Let me ask you this one question, "Who Are You?" You must answer this question. You need to tell yourself in very positive affirmations who you are.
 
It is imperative that you have a positive mental attitude about yourself.
 
Now go and do great things for yourself and others.
 
Think About These:
 
 It is your Attitude not your Aptitude that determines your Altitude.
 
Some people entertain ideas; others put them to work. 

Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
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Remember This When You Think About God.

9/3/2025

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​Luke 1:18-19- Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain?    For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."  NASU 
  • God Has A Sense Of Humor 
Zacharias and Elizabeth are not the first old couple to receive the blessing of a child. If you remember Abraham and Sarah had a child when he was 100 and she was 90 years old. They both thought it was very funny.
 
Genesis 17:15-17 - Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. "I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings

of peoples will come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

 
Genesis 18:10-12 - He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.
 
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.  Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"  
 
Who does something like that? If you ask me someone with a wild sense of humor and that would be God.
 
I have come to the conclusion that sometimes we may find ourselves in a very precarious predicament and that is exactly where God wants us to be. God has a sense of humor and now that we are in this situation.  What are we going to do? 
  • God Wants Us To Laugh 
Genesis 21:6-7 - Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." 
 
Sarah says, God was the One who made her laugh and everyone who heard that she was now pregnant would laugh with her.

Being pregnant at 90 years of age I am sure we probably would laugh just not when we were close to the 90 year old woman who was pregnant.
 
Job 8:20-21 - Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, nor will He support the evildoers. "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. 
 
Job says, "It is God who will fill your mouth with laughter." 
  • Here Is The Reason For Us To Laugh 
Ps 126:1-3 -
When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
 
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.     
 
The reason for us to laugh is God had done great things for Israel and He has done great things for us.
 
If you are a Christian God has redeemed you, forgiven you of your sins, and filled you with His Holy Spirit.
 
We have a lot more to laugh about than we realize.
 
One thing I have learned as I have aged and that is not to take life so seriously. I wish I would have laughed more at myself and situations of life in which I found myself and you can quote me on that.
 
When Was The Last Time You Had A Good Laugh?
 
Think About These:
 
Fortune smiles upon the man who can laugh at himself.
                                                                                               
Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life.



Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
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