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John 8:3-11 - The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might
have grounds for accusing Him…But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."… Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more." NASU
No, I used the correct pronoun. Do you have your ears on and your eyes open? He didn't condemn "her" that is correct, BUT He didn't condemn them. The Scribes and the Pharisees weren't condemned by Jesus either. They should have been condemned by Jesus just as much as she should have been condemned, but that wasn't the scribes and Pharisee's plan. They didn't care about this lady one iota. What they wanted was Jesus. They want His head on the proverbial platter like John the Baptist's head. This was nothing but a fake case, a trap if you will that they brought to Jesus. They knew the law. If they were really interested in justice, they would have brought both parties involved, but they weren't interested in justice. They were interested in destroying Jesus. The One who made them look bad because He was Righteous. What they wanted was to catch Him in one of their traps. The only problem was they didn't realize who they were trying to trap. This was not some ordinarily person. This was Jesus Christ, The Word, Emmanuel, God in the flesh. These guys were in way over their heads and didn't even know it.
They were just as guilty as she was and maybe more so. They were trying to destroy an innocent man's life through fraudulent means. They thought they were so smart. They thought they had Jesus trapped in a corner with their "…what then do You say?" Can you see the look on their faces? They are so proud of themselves. They have brought this woman to Jesus and then slammed the Word of God in His face ("Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women;). They believe they have Jesus between a rock and a hard place. The text says they persisted in asking Him what He would do. They didn't ask once they "persisted" in asking Him what should be done to this woman? All the while they knew it was a trap so they could have some evidence to really accuse Him. So when He answers them. They are shocked, dumbfounded and stuck in their tracks. I can hear them now saying over and over again "What did He say?". They don't know how to answer Him. They slowly start walking away one by one from the oldest one on down until no one was remaining except Jesus and the woman.
When in reality if we were like Jesus we wouldn't want anyone condemned. We would want people to be saved from an eternity in Hell. This past year I witnessed a lot of people wanting former President Donald Trump condemned. I understand the worldly people wanting him condemned but what really bewildered me was listening to the rhetoric from Christians wanting him to be condemned. The people that brought him to trial weren't interested in justice any more than the Scribes and Pharisees were. They had an agenda but it didn't work. 75 million Americans saw through the hypocrisy and voted for Donald Trump. As a Christian I hope you will not get caught up in condemning people. We are to be like Jesus. We are to tell people "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more." When you think about it shouldn't we be condemned because we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God? I know this for sure. Gary A. Serago should be condemned because he has sinned and has fallen short of God's glory on more than one occasion. So if you have never sinned then go ahead and condemn everyone, throw all the stones you want, BUT if you want to be like Jesus who truly never did sin you won't be condemning anyone. Think About These: No one should judge another person by what that person's enemies say about him. We usually judge things, not as they are, but as we are. Be sure to judge yourself before you judge others. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Luke 12:13, 15- Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." …Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." NASU
Instead Jesus warns them and us all about evil that is associated with greed. Jesus didn't come to settle financial matters between two brothers. Jesus came to lead men to God not lead men to wealth. Do you believe Jesus was successful in leading men to God? When we look at all the evil in this world we might have a tendency to believe Jesus wasn't successful in this endeavor as more people are on their way to hell than heaven. We must remember Jesus never said He was going to lead more people to God than satan was going to lead people to hell. In fact, He said just the opposite in Matt. 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Jesus specifically informs us that the way to life is narrow and "FEW" find it. If you are reading this Pump Up and you are on the narrow way you should scream "Hallelujah!" A smile should come on your face because you have found something that many people have missed. You are one of the FEW that has found the way to life.
Here is how it is stated in the book of Luke 19:10 - "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." This was Jesus' purpose and now that we are disciples of Jesus it has to be our purpose as well. We now have the privilege to inform others about what God and Jesus have accomplished for everyone who desires to be with God for all eternity. I like how Jesus wants us to put our life in correct perspective when He says, "for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Jesus is saying what we all know. Life is more than possessions. You're not going to take your possessions with you. We just watched people in NC lose everything because of the flooding that totally devastated many homes. The ones that survived all seemed to say the same thing. "We lost everything but our lives so we are fine." What will a person give in exchange for his or her life? The answer is every worldly possession. You can have it all. Just let me live to be with my family for another day. I have lived the life of a Christian man in hopes that my life would be an example to my children. I know we are all going to die and I would love for my children and grandchildren to follow me as I have followed Christ to Heaven.
We go to Heaven because we have been forgiven of our sins by God. It can't be made any clearer than in the book of Acts 2:38 - Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins ; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When people ask me about baptizing them I always read to them this passage of scripture. It informs them that their repenting and be baptized does something for them. It brings them the forgiveness of their sins and the Holy Spirit now resides with in them. This is what Jesus was talking about in the book of John 3:5 when he said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. It is my prayer if you are reading this you will allow Jesus to lead you to a relationship with God the Father. Allow Him to accomplish His purpose of coming to earth by leading you to your Heavenly Father. I know He succeeded when He lead me to the straight and narrow pathway. I know I made the best decision of my life when I believed in Their plan to save mankind and entered through the small gate and on to the narrow way that leads to eternal life where our Heavenly Father resides. Think About This: God cares for people through people. I hope you will allow Him to use you today to care for those who are not on the narrow way. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word I Timothy 6:8-9 - "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." NASU
He said the man with the 12 children because he doesn't want anymore. While on the other hand the man with a million dollars would love to have another million dollars. So let me ask a question. Are we more like the man with 12 children or the man with one million dollars? Are we content or do we always want more? We all know this can be a vicious cycle when we always want more. So what can we do to get out of this trap?
I read a book some years ago and the Dr. was saying that you should start now to cut back on your salt intake because if you have a heart attack the Dr. will tell you that you must NOT use salt. Once humans hear that we must NOT do something we want to do it all the more. So the key for us being content is to tell ourselves that we are happy right now with everything that we have and that we don’t need anything else. We will want to repeat this over and over again to ourselves.
What do they all say? If we don't have their product well then there is something wrong with us. We aren't all we could be without the item they are trying to sell us. They are trying to sell us their product. It is their product that is going to make us happy or content or so they say. That is not true. Things are not going to make us happy or content. Happiness and contentment come when we are satisfied with what we already have acquired. What we need is to train ourselves in advance with what is known as "positive self-talk." It is what the athletes use before their events. We must listen to what we are saying to ourselves. If we believe the commercials or advertisements that we have to have their product before we can be happy or content then we are going to sacrifice our peace and contentment because we don't have their product. If we buy the product we will only have temporary contentment until the next article appears telling us that we really need this item in our life. We must learn how to tell ourselves NO to things.
In Philippians 4:11 Paul says it this way, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be a content in whatever circumstances I am.” How did Paul learn to be content? By telling himself he had all that he needed and if he needed more God would supply it. In Heb.13:5 God’s word says it this way, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” So there we have it! We can be content BECAUSE God watches over us and He will NEVER desert or forsake us. If we really need something, ask God for it; and if God believes we need it, He will provide it. How cool is that? Think About This: Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it. - William Feather Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Exo. 17:12 - But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. NASU
In Exodus 13-14 God is delivering the Israelites out of Egypt by using Moses to stretch out his hands and part the Red Sea. Once they are safely on the other side Moses will once again stretch his hands out and the Red Sea will return to its normal position and wipe out all the Egyptians who tried to catch the Israelites to destroy them. The Israelites are no sooner on the other side and they begin to complain that they have no water to drink, and then they grumble and groan that they have no food. They get in Moses' face and accuse him of bringing them out into the wilderness to die. God provides them water from a rock, manna and quail are also given to them for their survival.
However, when he drops his hands to his side the Amalekites begin to be the victors. Here is where the plot takes a change. Aaron, Moses' brother, and Hur have Moses sit on a rock and they support Moses' arms to stay up and in so doing the Israelites are victorious over the Amalekites. Everyone needs someone to give us the support we need when we are battling with life's challenges. Here in Exo.17 Moses has Aaron and Hur. Earlier in this chapter when the Israelites were complaining against Moses God steps in and validates Moses. In life when we are battling life's challenges we need an Aaron or Hur to provide us with the support we need to stay in the battle. As Christians we need to have someone like this in our lives and we need to be the Aaron or Hur in someone else's life.
"The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 "You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone." Did you see what just happened there? Jethro told Moses straight up what he needed to hear. It most likely wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was exactly what he needed to hear. We all need this type of person in our lives. The ones who love us enough to tell us straight up what we need to hear. Knowing full well that there will be times when what we need to hear will not be what we want to hear. Again, as Christians we need to have this type of person near us and we need to be near others who need this type of a friend. Think About These: Advice is least heeded when most needed. What good is good advice if you don't take it? It takes a great person to give sound advice tactfully, but a greater person to accept it graciously. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Jesus and Paul Did This Lk 22:15 - And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;… NASB
Philippians 1:23 - But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;… NASB 1 Thes. 2:17 - But we, brethren, having been bereft of you for a short while — in person, not in spirit — were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. NASB Jas 1:14-15 - But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. NASB
In the verses above the same Greek word "epithumia" is used. In the passage about Jesus and the passages about Paul it is translated as "desire, earnestly desired, or greatly desired". When it is used in James it is translated "lust". But the Greek word is the same one "epithumia". Many times we take the word "lust" and always connect it to some-thing that is bad, but you can see from the scripture references above that both Jesus and the apostle Paul lusted or desired greatly, but not in an evil way. Change the word "lust" to "great desire" and no one has a problem with that definition.
He thought about it and He thought about it "earnestly," the text says. He was going to announce being betrayed by Judas (vs.22), and denied by Peter (vs.34). Wouldn't it be great if we thought earnestly about partaking of the Lord's Supper on the Lord's Day the week before? At times, I am guilty of not thinking much about it until Sunday. Shame on me!
In fact, I could probably say I have been where Paul was when he penned this scripture. I have had strong desires (lusts) to go to Heaven and I have had the same strong desires (lusts) to stay here on earth. The second way he "lusted" was about seeing his Christian brothers and sisters in Thessaloniki. I was baptized at the Lake Mount Church of Christ in Rogers, Ohio in 1975 and when I visit that part of Ohio it is always nice to go and see some brothers that helped me grow in my faith. One dear brother is Bob Taucher. The love he has for the Lord is contagious and I am glad I was able to begin my life in Christ around him. When I think about going back to Ohio I have great desire (lust) to see him and fellowship with him.
Don't lust in a bad way, lust in a good way. Hopefully, you will be lusting about taking the Lord's Supper, going to Heaven to be with Jesus, or going to see some family, friends or brothers and sisters in Christ. Think About These: Christianity is a way of walking as well as a way of talking. What can't be done by advice can often be done by example. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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