|
1 Peter 2:20 - For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. NASU
If you do a word study on the Greek word "favor" it is "charin" and our English word "Grace" is derived from this word. Peter is saying if you want to find "grace or favor" with the Lord then you should prepare yourself for suffering.
Well, that is a good thing right? Oh it is definitely a good thing, but before we start jumping up and down for joy do you remember what is going to happen to Mary? She is engaged to be married. The Lord is going to impregnate Mary and this is going to cause a lot of embarrass-ment and shame for Mary and her family. It becomes such an issue Joseph is not going to marry her: Matt 1:19 - Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. As the ole cliché goes Joseph was trying to sweep this mess under a rug. As we can see finding favor with God doesn't mean our life is going to go smoothly. In fact, it can mean just the opposite.
Genesis 6:8 says it this way: "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD". Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD and God gave him the job of building the ark. How many people made fun of Noah and his family? They were building a boat because it was going to rain and flood the earth. The only problem it had never rained on the earth at this point of time in history. The people had no idea what Noah was saying. Can you imagine all the people that came out to watch Noah and his family build an ark to protect them from the rain that was coming to destroy the earth? They would have ridiculed Noah and his family mercilessly all because he found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Look at all the prophets that suffered. Why did they suffer? They suffered because they were doing the LORD'S will. Did anyone suffer more than Job? I don't think so. Did Job find favor with the LORD? Yes he did. The LORD reprimands Job's three friends, commands that they offer a sacrifice for themselves and Job. Once Job prays for his three friends his fortune is returned to him according to Job 42:10 - The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold.
Think About This: God had one Son without sin, but never one without suffering. Stay Pumped. Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
0 Comments
Col 4:7-11 - Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts;…
9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here. 10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas's cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. Col 4:12 - Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers,… Col 4:14 - Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings… NASU
Tychicus was described as a beloved brother, faithful servant and fellow bond-servant. When you dig into the words a little we find "beloved" comes from "agapao" and this is the love that God has for His Son Jesus: John 3:35 - "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand." Tychicus was loved by Paul and the Colossian Christians with the same type of love God had for Jesus. As Christians, we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ with this same type of love. This basically means we are to help them in any way that we can. It was also said the he was a faithful servant. We find this can also be translated "faithful minister". The Greek word for minister is "diakonos" and this is where our English word "deacon" comes from and it means "to be a waiter or one who runs errands". You get the picture that Tychicus was interested in one thing and that was helping or serving in anyway possible. He ministered to the needs of his brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul is writing this letter while in Rome under house arrest. Tychicus is going to deliver this letter to them from Paul. Tychicus would be able to encourage them by letting them know about Paul's situation and life condition. I have listed below some of the other names mentioned in Colossians. Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother: he was the run away slave we read about in the book of Philemon. He is here called "faithful" and "beloved brother". In some way Onesimus lived his faith and the apostle lets us know he is seen as "faithful" to the Word of God and because of how he lived he was "loved" with the same type of love God had for Jesus. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner: was a traveling companion of Paul. In Acts 19 the angry mob drag him out of the theater with Gaius. In Acts 20 we see him traveling with Paul to Macedonia. In Acts 27 we see him board the ship with Paul that is headed to Rome where Paul will stand trial before Caesar. This ship will encounter a catastrophic storm and be destroyed. This will leave Paul and his traveling companions, Aristarchus being one of them, stranded on an island. When Paul arrives in Rome Aristarchus will be with him. One can see it was dangerous being an associate of the apostle Paul's. Jesus who is called Justus; fellow worker: he would have helped Paul in spreading the gospel. Epaphras, a bondslave of Jesus Christ: he saw himself as one who was owned by Jesus Christ and he lived according to this belief. He saw himself alive to serve Jesus. Luke, the beloved physician: it would be my opinion that Luke used his medical skill's to help many people as he traveled with Paul. In Philemon Luke is also called a fellow-worker, but most importantly in 2 Timothy Paul says everyone has departed to other areas of the world with the exception of Luke who is still with him while he is being held as a prisoner (house arrest) in Rome.
Would we be called a faithful servant, fellow worker, bond servant of Jesus Christ, fellow prisoner, beloved physician, nurse, accountant, mechanic, or whatever your occupation is or was? There is a saying in the sporting arena and it goes like this: It doesn't matter how you start. It matters how you finish. Let me encourage you to finish strong. If you started strong and have slacked off put that behind you and finish strong. Think About These: The man who really wants to do something finds a way; the other man finds an excuse. If you have an excuse, don't use it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word I Kings 18:43-45 - He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go back” seven times. It came about at the seventh time, that he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s
hand is coming up from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ ” In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. NASU
Having people not believe in your dreams is a commonplace experience. In our text above Elijah had a vision or a dream where the Word of the Lord came to him. In this vision God had told him that it was going to rain: 1 Kings 18:1- Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth." NASU Now, no one else knew it was going to rain. Everyone had been programmed to believe it wasn't going to rain because it hadn't rained in over three years. In verse 41, Elijah could hear and see a storm coming. While Elijah was on Mt. Carmel he knows a storm is coming but only he is able to see and hear it. He says to his servant (vs.43) “go…look towards the sea.” The servant does as Elijah said, but when he returns he informs him he saw nothing. They go through this ritual six times and each time his answer is the same, “There is nothing.” Imagine going through this same routine six times and coming back with the same answer, “There is nothing.” Elijah’s servant was not able to see what Elijah saw. God said (vs.1) that He was sending rain and Elijah believed him and he could see the rain coming. He didn’t see it physically but he saw it spiritually.
So what are you to do when you can see what no one else can see? You keep on displaying your faith in what you believe. At least that is what Elijah did and on the seventh time, his servant came back with a different answer, a "don’t get your hopes up too high" answer. He says, “Behold, a cloud as small as a man’s hand…” The servant doesn’t have much faith in this little cloud. In fact, he says it is a “small” cloud. It is only the size of a man’s hand. Now if you think about that for a moment, physically speaking, that size of a cloud isn’t going to do much. That is what makes this story all the more fascinating.
You might have a vision or a dream and you have shared it with your family or friends and they all think you are “crazy” or worse yet: they even call you a “dreamer”. All I can say is keep believing or having faith in your dreams. This is how to keep your dreams alive. Elijah did and in the end, he was right and they were wrong. You may be the small cloud and God is going to do great things with you. Don't stop believing you are partnering with God. Think About These: Small minds are the first to criticize large ideas. If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Joshua 1:6-7 - "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go." NASU
• Being Courageous Is A Choice Joshua had been given a command by God to be courageous. Then he was told to be very courageous. In other words, being courageous is a choice that we can choose to make. A person who is courageous is one who tells himself he is going to be courageous at that moment. We all possess a courageous or brave spirit. Some of us fail at being courageous when we chose not to be. It isn't because we can't. It is because we chose not to be when the challenge arose. When a courageous person is faced with new circumstances or even dangerous situations, he believes he must confront them and does. All one has to do is remember the courageous NYPD and FDNY officers running into the burning twin towers on September 11, 2001 (911) to see courage in action. They chose to enter those towers. It was a choice. They chose to be courageous. There can be no running from the challenge as this would not be a person who is courageous but would be more in line with a person who is cowardly. • Courageous People Believe In Someone Or Something The courageous person will see himself as one who has to stand up for what he believes to be true. Moses had recently died and up to this point Joshua had been Moses' assistant. God spoke directly with Moses and Moses made the decisions based on what God had told him. This is all going to change. God is now going to speak directly to Joshua. Joshua will be the new leader. Joshua will be making decisions based on God's commands. Josh's is going to lead the Israelites into battle and all he has to do is believe God's promises. In Josh 1:5 God promises him - "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." NASU Now it is on Joshua's shoulders to believe what God had told him. God tells us the same thing in Hebrews 13:5 that He will not forsake us. Do you want to be courageous? Then believe that when your faith is being given a test because that is what courageous warriors of God do. • Today's Challenges What challenges are happening in your life where you need to command yourself to be courageous? When one takes a stand to be courageous it is a mental decision. The more you know God's Word the easier it will be for you to be courageous. I heard a preacher one time say, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." People who know God's Word will not fall for anything or at least they shouldn't. Go ahead make your decision to be strong and courageous today. Stand up to the challenges that are before you today and everyday and when you do you will be courageous. Think About These: Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it. Remember, you are your own doctor when it comes to curing cold feet. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 24:8- And they remembered His words,… NASU
The disciples had high hopes for Jesus. They thought He was their liberator from the Roman authorities. Little did they know He was their liberator, but the only difference was Jesus was going to free them spiritually and not physically or politically. Jesus had been crucified three days earlier. The disciples watched Him die right before their very eyes. These women have come to the tomb where Jesus had been placed. They are there with spices to anoint the dead body of Jesus. There is one big problem: Jesus is NOT there. HE HAS RISEN! There are two angels at the tomb who appear like men and they say, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? Yes ladies, why do you seek the living One among the dead? Good Question!
Seriously, look what the angels say to them in Luke 24:6-7 - "Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." "Remember ladies how He spoke to you…" No, they don't remember. They FORGOT what Jesus taught them. Listen to me, if you want to forget something, which we all will do, forget anything you want but don't ever forget that Jesus died for you, was buried and resurrected on the 3rd day. DON"T EVER FORGET THAT! The best thing we can do for ourselves is to REMEMBER what Jesus has taught us. Hands down this is the best thing you can do for yourself. Let's do a quick survey: How many of you believe you have forgotten something? If you are in the minority and think I haven't forgotten anything here is a question for you. What was the first sermon you ever heard? What was its title and sermon text? Okay, we can now agree we have forgotten some things. It is okay to forget some things, no big deal, but forgetting that Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins now that is a big deal. Remember every day of your life that Jesus is the Christ, the One and Only unique Son of God and that death could not hold Him. He resurrected and we will also. Everyone is going to resurrect but your final destination will be determined by what you have done here. Jesus said it this way in John 5:28-29 - for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. The choice is yours. Do you want to be resurrected to life or to judgment? I can't tell you what to do but it would be to your benefit to choose being resurrected to life. Just sayin! Maybe you should give it a thought?
Luke 24:8-10 - And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Don't forget the Words of Jesus and remember to share His words with others. Think About This: We can't do everything we want to do, but we can do everything God wants us to do. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
Archives
June 2026
AuthorGary A Serago. Categories
All
|
RSS Feed