|
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
0 Comments
Luke 5:36-38 - And He was also telling them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 "But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. NASB
Since it is a "New" year I thought I would write a Pump Up studying the word "new". In the verses above you will notice that three of the words "new" are in bold letters (vs.36) with an underline. The other three words "new" are simply in bold letters with no underline (vss.37-38). The reason for this is because two different Greek words are being used. The first new (bold and underlined) is "kainos" and the second new (bold no underline) is "neos". The meaning of "kainos" is something fresh or newly made. It is used to describe something that is new in quality, different in nature from the old or superior to the old. It can be used to describe something that hasn't been used before such as Jesus' "new tomb" (John 19:41). The meaning of "neos" is new in respect of time or that which has recently come into existence and sometimes these words can be used interchangeably.
It will not work. It would be obvious to everyone who would look at this garment that the materials don't match. Then Jesus takes this parable one step further when He says you can't pour "new - Gk.- neos" wine into old wineskins for the moment you pour the new (Gk. neos) wine in and it ferments the expansion will burst the wineskins. Again, Jesus' point is you can't put Christianity (new wine) into Judaism (old wineskins) to do so would to be a catastrophic loss of the wine.
Anyone want to take a guess which Greek word Paul uses here? If you said, "Kainos" you would be correct. If you are a Christian reading this Pump Up you must understand that you are a "new - Gk.- kainos" person. The old things or old ways you were living before giving your life to Christ have passed away. They are gone. So I ask you do you ever find yourself being more like the old you, the old garment or the new (Gk.- kainos) you? Have you ever been caught up in being judgmental, gossiping, slandering some one, jealous of another person's accomplishments or abilities and the list continues? In Paul's letter to the Galatians he writes these words for us in the fifth chapter: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. In this fifth chapter Paul tells us what the deeds of the flesh are in comparison to the fruit of the Spirit. I would recommend reading over them a time or two and make sure you are being all you can be in Christ. I hope you have a Happy New Year by being the best possible "new" creation in Christ. Think About These: Every Christian has the liberty to do that which is good, just and honest. The most difficult thing to open is a closed mind. God still speaks to those who take time to listen. 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
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 choose not to be. It isn't because we can't. It is because we chose not to be when a challenge arises. 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 (What has become known as 911) to see courage in action. They chose to enter those towers. It was their 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.
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. Joshua was going to lead the Israelites into battle and all he has to do is believe God's promises. In Joshua 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 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 God's promises when your faith is being given a test because that is what courageous warriors of God do.
When you take 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 say one time, "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 every day and when you do you will be courageous. Think About These: The courage to speak must be matched by the wisdom to listen. Be bold in what you stand for, but careful in what you fall for. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Jonah 1 :8 - "What have you done to bring this awful storm down upon us?" they demanded. "Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?" New Living Translation
This storm was happening because Jonah was rebelling against God's command. Does it make you wonder like it does me? Why would Jonah disobey? Why wouldn't he just go to Nineveh and preach like he was asked? Seriously, he is a prophet of God. He knows running away is not going to end well for him. Well, no one ever said, "Being a prophet makes you incredibly smart".
I would suggest asking yourself two questions: First, are you running from God or two are you disobeying Him in some other way. If you are not running or disobeying Him then the odds are you may be the victim of an attack from the evil one (to read more about this read Job 1). The devil has used torture and pain against Christian successfully for a lot of years so there is really no good reason for him to stop using these weapons.
Question 2: -"Who are you? The Lord knows I want to give you a funny answer here but I won't. The Correct Answer - "A man that doesn't want to listen to God." Question 3 - What is your line of work? I am a preacher/prophet or at least I am supposed to be. Question 4 - What country are you from? I am from Israel. Question 5 - What is your nationality?" I am Hebrew. Why are they asking Jonah all of these questions? I believe they are trying to figure out who his god is. One must remember there were a lot of local and national deities and I believe they want to know which god has caused this so that they could appease him or her. Jonah tells them in verse 10 that he is running away from his God. It says the sailors were "terrified" when they heard this and asked him "How could you do this?" Some translations ask "Why have you done this?" Why do we humans violate God's commands on a regular basis? May be we are more like Jonah that we care to admit. What are we going to do? Chapter two verse one says, "Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish." The best advice I can give you is to pray to the LORD and ask for His help. What have you done? It may be the only thing you have done is confessed Jesus to be your LORD and Savior and because of your faith the evil one is bringing the hammer down on you. Don't worry, be happy, everything is going to turn out ok for the believers. Notice what God is going to do for those who remain faithful and are permitted to enter in to God's place of rest (Heaven). Rev 21:4 - And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." NKJV Think About These: To succeed in life you must be easy to start and hard to stop. The person who does things that count doesn’t stop and count them. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Jonah 1:1-3 - The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. NASU
He knows the people of Gath-hepher and I would say he became comfortable with his lifestyle there. The problem for Jonah comes when God wants him to leave his comfortable surroundings and go to Nineveh. God's Word doesn't always coincide with our Comfort Zone.
So what road, lane, avenue or freeway is enticing you to start down and get further away from God? There is always an avenue that will take you in the wrong direction. I like to watch the FBI shows that are on TV and when they go to arrest someone and he takes off they always shout "we've got a runner". Well, Jonah is a "runner". He is trying to run away from God. Jonah went down to Joppa and then down into the hull of the ship. He would soon find out that it is impossible to run from God when there is something He wants you to accomplish for Him. What is it that God wants you to accomplish?
Jonah knows this storm has come because he is running from God. He even tells them how to make the storm stop. He says to them pick me up and throw me overboard. The men don't want to do that because they are afraid that their god would hold them accountable for this man's blood. They cared more for Jonah than Jonah did for them or the people in Nineveh.
Jonah was a runner and he is soon going to find out you can't out run God. Don't be a runner as in a person who runs away from God. Be the type of runner that runs toward God. You will most likely be amazed at what exciting adventure God has in store for you. Many times you will have to leave your comfort zone. Are you prepared to leave your comfort zone for an exciting adventure with God? Think About These: God is like oxygen. You can't see Him but you need Him to survive. When God puts something on your heart that means it is on His heart also. Faith isn't a feeling. It's a choice to trust God even when the road ahead seems uncertain. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
Archives
November 2024
AuthorGary A Serago. Categories
All
|
RSS Feed