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Matt. 16:21-22 - From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." NASU
I remember looking up into the black sky and crying out "Fine, I will never cry again the rest of my life." I was basically challenging God. He did this and made me cry, and I was saying whatever You do to me from here on out will not make me cry. Please remember this is almost 6 years before I will become a Christian. I can tell you now 54 years later I wish I would not have told God I was never going to do something. Every time some thing happens that makes me cry I hear this voice in my head say, I thought you were never going to cry again. As you can see that hasn't worked out very well for me.
Well, I am sure Peter meant well, but the truth of the matter was this is exactly what was going to happen to Jesus. Peter said, Never, but it did happen.
They would NEVER eat some thing and then they did and now like it. They would NEVER go to that college and they did, or work at that place and they did. Probably the one we all have said is that we would NEVER be like our parents. Yeah, we all know how that one ends.
God is probably the only One who can say NEVER and mean it. In fact, He has said exactly that in Heb.13:5-6 …for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," 6 so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" This is one of the greatest promises we have from God. He will NEVER desert us and on that statement you can depend. Think About These: You're Never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. The person who Never made a mistake Never tried anything new. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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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 2 Sam. 11:1 - In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
When was the last time you got in trouble because you weren’t where you were supposed to be? When I was a youth it seemed like I was always getting into trouble because I was always some where I shouldn’t have been. David is going to bring some serious harm to his family because he was not where he should have been.
David is going to have a sexual relationship with Bathsheba, and she is married to Uriah, who happens to be one of David’s mighty men. This man is a warrior. He is a hero. He has a beautiful wife, and the king is going to sink to a new low. David will get Bathsheba pregnant. David will try to hide his sin by bringing Uriah home from the war. He hopes Uriah will go home that night and have sex with his wife. Uriah will not go home and have sex with his wife because his brothers are on the battlefield and his moral compass will not allow him to do this. David will hear Uriah never went home. David will keep him in Jerusalem one more day and David gets Uriah drunk, hoping that when he is drunk his moral compass will not guide him correctly, and he will go home and have a sexual relationship with his wife, and in so doing David’s sin will be hidden. Uriah drunk has a better moral compass than David at this time. Once again he will not have a sexual relationship with his wife. David’s next plan is to write Uriah’s death sentence. He gives it to him and tells him to deliver it to Joab. Joab obeys David and has the opposing army kill Uriah.
Bathsheba’s son to David will die. Amnon is David’s son and Tamar is David’s daughter but they have different mothers. Amnon will rape Tamar. David’s son Absalom will kill Amnon because he raped his sister, Tamar. Absalom will lead a coup against his father, David, and try to become king. Absalom will have sex on the roof top with all of David’s concubines during this coup. Joab will kill David’s son Absalom. Later, when David is close to death his son, Adonijah, will likewise lead a coup and try to take over being king. How could all of this been prevented? David should have been where he was supposed to be. If you ask yourself the question, “Should I go there?” Hopefully, you think about what happened to David because of one bad decision, which led to another, which spiraled downward and out of control. Think About These: You are only one bad decision away from a totally different life. Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word I would like to invite everyone to Severn Christian Church 8132 New Cut Rd, Severn, MD 21144 . I will be preaching there May 21-23, 2021. It would be great to see you. For more info you can call (410) 969-0384. Jonah 1:17 - "…And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights." NASU
The reason Jonah was swallowed by a great fish was his disobedience to God. Jonah 1:1-3 - The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. God wanted Jonah to go to Tarshish and preach and Jonah wanted no part of that assignment. He didn't want to do what God wanted him to do. Plain and Simple! Are you in your present situation because you haven't done what God has asked you to do? You must answer this question truthfully. Are you in your present situation because you have disobeyed God?
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said, "I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. 3 "For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. 4 "So I said, 'I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.' PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! When Jonah was in distress he called out to the LORD, and the LORD answered him. Be open and honest with the Lord. Tell Him you have messed up and would like another chance to correct this situation. God is a loving and forgiving God. All great parents love their children and sometimes we have to correct them. God is correcting Jonah's actions of disobedience. Exactly the way parents correct their children's acts of disobedience. Now I don't believe in child abuse, but I can tell you I had my butt beat numerous times by both of my parents when I was younger. I may not have enjoyed it at the time, but as I sit here and write this Pump Up I know I was spanked because my parents loved me. Jonah was in the belly of a great fish because God loved him and God loved the people of Nineveh. God wanted the people of Nineveh to have the opportunity to repent of their sinfulness and this is exactly what they did once Jonah went there and preached to them.
If you are doing what God wants and you still find yourself swallowed up by life then there is only one possible conclusion. You are being attacked by the evil one for living a life according to God's Word. You endure this attack and God will give you the victory. Think About This: A good example has twice the value of good advice. God's main problem with the laborers in His vineyard is absenteeism. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Go To www.SeragosPumpUps.com John 1:45-46 - Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" NASU
"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" is the question Nathanael asks. Only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is going open a pathway for anyone who desires to go to heaven and not hell. So, yes, I believe there is someone who will come from Nazareth to remove the negativity of this little town.
It will be very soon and Nathanael will realize he should not have made that statement about Nazareth because not only can something good come out of Nazareth someone good did come out of Nazareth. I have listed some scriptures for us below. I hope you will find them beneficial as they bless you and challenge you to think before you speak. Prov. 10:19 - When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise. Prov. 17:27-28 - He who restrains his words has knowledge, And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. Prov. 29:20 - Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Man did he change his mind after Jesus spoke to him for less than a minute. As I read this story it reminds me of me. It wasn't until I started listening to the Words of Jesus that I was able to get my act together. Do yourself a favor be swift to hear and slow to speak and if you are going to speak invite people to come and meet Jesus. Think About These: The written word can be erased, not so with the spoken word. Kind words do not wear out the tongue - so speak them freely. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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