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John 20:29 - Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." NIV
Jesus appears eight days later to Thomas and the other disciples. Thomas sees Jesus and confesses that he believes that Jesus is his Lord and God. Jesus tells Thomas that he has seen Him and now believes in Him, but there is going to be a day coming when people will believe in Him because of what they have heard and not because they were able to see Jesus like Thomas.
supremely blest. Many times we see someone driving a very expensive car, wearing very expensive clothing or living in a mansion and we think they are fortunate or well off. Yet, Jesus said, the one who is blessed is the one who believes in Him and yet has never seen Him. We are the blessed ones my Pump Up subscribers. We may not have the expensive car, clothes or house but according to Jesus if we believe in Him we are the truly blessed ones. In the future, if you are going through a physical, medical or financial trial just tell yourself the trial you are going through is temporary. What is important is you believe in Jesus and therefore according to Jesus you are blessed. That will never change unless you stop believing in Him and why would you want to do that?
Paul mentions three reasons why we are considered blessed: our lawless deeds have been forgiven, our sins have been covered (by the blood of the Lamb aka Jesus) and our sin will not be taken into account. (The reason the above scripture is in all capitals this is a direct quote from the Old Testament.) I believe one of the greatest blessings we have received by believing in Jesus is found near the end of 1 John 5:20 - And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. We believe that Jesus has come. He has given us an understanding that we know He is true. He doesn't lie to us. When He said He goes to prepare a place for us He has done exactly that. We can believe that for He is true. Jesus is the true God and He is Eternal Life and by us being in Him we are possessors of Eternal Life. If you ever feel discouraged think about how by being in Jesus Christ you are going to be with Him in Heaven for all eternity. You may be enduring some type of suffering now but a day is coming when your suffering will be over and because of that you are BLESSED. A thought to ponder: For a Christian - life on this earth is the only hell we will ever know, but for the non-Christian life on this earth is the only heaven they will ever know. Think About These: When you realize your life is blessed your whole attitude will change. God has blessed us so that we can bless others. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Prov. 17:28 - Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent. NASU
I am sure we have all said something we wish we hadn't. If we could only get those words back into our mouth, but once they are out that is when the regrets begin.
Matt. 16:22-23 - Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Jesus won't let Peter's rebuke of Him go without being addressed. Jesus isn't saying Peter has the devil in him. The word "satan" means "adversary" and an adversary is one whose plans or goals are different from yours. (The word "satan" should have been translated instead of transliterated and this would have eliminated a lot of confusion over this verse.) Jesus had just informed His disciples He was going into Jerusalem where He would suffer, be killed, and raised on the third day. This was God's plan before the foundation of the world and now Peter is telling Jesus this will never happen. In other words, Peter's plan is different from God's plan. Well, we all know Jesus was correct and Peter was wrong once again.
If you are going to talk then use gentle answers or soft tones. He goes on to say, "a harsh word stirs up anger." In other words, the way you speak can either diffuse a situation or exacerbate it. So it all depends on you. Do you want to keep your foot out of your mouth? If yes, then learn how to give gentle answers or keep your mouth closed. I would like to share one more proverb with you today. Prov. 13:3 - The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Think About These: It's too bad more people are thoughtless than speechless. Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Job 2:9 - Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" NASU
She said, "Curse God and die!" You have got to be kidding me! I seriously don't believe you could give anyone worse advice. If you find yourself enduring some type of trials never say or do what Job's wife suggested. Cursing God or taking His name in vain is just not smart.
After Job suffers through these early trials the Bible tells us what he did. In Job 1:20 -"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped." NASU When we are going through life's trials do they lead us to worship? Or are we more inclined to follow the advice of Mrs. Job and curse God and give up on our faith? Job's trials led him to worship God. My suggestion to you if you're enduring trials right now is allow them to lead you to worship God.
And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. NASU Is it any wonder God said, "Job was a man of integrity." I remember hearing that scripture before I ever became a Christian. We came out naked and we were going to die that way. This saying of Job's is one of those classic scriptures that is quoted by a lot of people who may never have ever read the Bible.
He was a man of integrity. His belief system was wired this way: If I receive good things from God that is okay and if I receive bad things in this life that is okay also for God is still God.
Like Job was.
The best way to become a person of integrity is to allow God's Word to direct your steps. Think About These: People seldom improve when they have no model but themselves. Each person has the chance to improve himself, but some just don't believe in taking chances. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 9:33 - And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah" — not realizing what he was saying. NASU
I like how Luke says, "…not realizing what he was saying." Being a minister has allowed me to hear more people talk about what they don't know that it is almost comical. Let me share with you some examples: 1. "You know Gabriel the archangel." The Bible never says Gabriel was an archangel. The only archangel mentioned by name in the Bible is Michael. 2. "You can't take communion if you are unworthy." The Bible doesn't say that either. It says, "…don't take communion in an unworthy manner,…" 3. "We have all inherited the sin of Adam and Eve." We have not inherited the sin of anyone. Ezekiel 18:20 says - "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. NASU A lot of people are like Peter they speak up when they should be quiet. We have heard things that are not true and we have repeated them because we believed they were true. In so doing, we have only further spread an inaccuracy or a falsehood. Peter wanted to build three tabernacles because he believed that Moses, and Elijah were equal with Jesus. He was wrong and God let him know immediately after he had wanted to build the three tabernacles. God said, "This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!"
Prov.13:3 - He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. NIV Prov. 15:28 - The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. NIV Prov. 21:23 - He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles. NASU Prov. 29:11 - A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back. NKJV Eccl. 5:2 - Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. NASU You don't have to be the first one to speak. Do yourself a favor and think about the question or what you are about to say. Guarding your lips according to Solomon guards your life. Speaking rashly is only going to bring with it trouble. Do you want to be considered a wise man or woman? Then hold your tongue. However, if you want to look like a fool keep speaking without having all the facts. Think About These: It's too bad that more people are thoughtless than speechless. Wisdom knows when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech. 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 |
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