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Ps 71:5 - "For You are my hope; O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth." NASU
The best way to gain confidence in your abilities is put them into practice. In other words, execute your abilities in the areas you need to increase your confidence. The more you practice or execute your abilities the more your confidence will grow. If you ever have the opportunity to watch a high school or college wrestling team you will see them doing something known as "drilling". When the wrestlers are "drilling" they are doing the same move over and over again to the point that it becomes automatic.
When I became a believer I was a few months away from turning 24 years old and I must admit I didn't immediately have 100% confidence in God in all things. It took me quite a few years to be able to say I have 100% confidence in God in all things.
How will your confidence in God increase? It has been my experience your confidence in God will grow as you walk with Him through your trials of life. Life has a way of putting some enormous pressures on us. Some of these pressures may be financial, health or family and they are so extreme we believe they are going to kill us. It is when we are experiencing these difficult times that our confidence in God has an avenue for growth. Don't detest the trials of life that you experience. Instead, see them as a great opportunity for you to increase your confidence in what God is able to do. To be the best you can be you need confidence in yourself and in God. Think About These: The strength that comes from confidence can be quickly lost in conceit. A good leader inspires men to have confidence in him; a great leader inspires men to have confidence in themselves. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Matt.10:1-4 - Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these…and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. NASU
Judas was a popular name in the first century. Judas means "he shall be praised." I guess it is fair to say he didn't live up to his name. His last name isn't "Iscariot" as many people seem to think. Iscariot means "man of Kerioth." Therefore, Judas Iscariot was actually Judas the man of Kerioth.
As any athlete can tell you having the right coach is very important. As any coach can tell you having an athlete who will not only listen but they will also apply what is being taught is vitally important. Judas was associating with the right teacher and students so where did he go wrong? He was given the same power and authority over unclean spirits as the other disciples. He was able to heal every kind of disease and sickness the text says. Imagine all the good he could have done. He could have totally eliminated every leper camp he approached because he was given the power to heal every sickness and disease. How many people do you know that have many God given talents, have associated with the right people and yet, they have wasted these talents?
WOW! Why wasn't the perfume sold and the money given to the poor? Those words sound spiritual. How noble of Judas to think of all the poor people in the world. This proves that what a person says doesn't always reveal the contents of their heart. A person's actions will tell you more about them than their words. I am pretty sure we are in contact with people on a daily basis who say one thing and do another.
He could have given the money to Matthew to watch over it since he was accustomed to collecting money, but He didn't. The only way you and I are going to get spiritually stronger is when we face our temptations and conquer them. If you are facing temptations today don't pray that the LORD remove them. Pray that He will strengthen you to overcome them, to defeat and destroy them once and for all. Judas started out traveling on the right road, but some where along the way he took a wrong turn. It doesn't matter how you start it is how you finish. Think About This: A hypocrite never intends to be what he pretends to be. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Gen. 22:5-8 - Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." NASU
In Abe's mind he and Isaac were coming back after he sacrificed him. This is clearly written down in the book of Hebrews - Heb 11:17-19 - By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. Abe believed God was able to raise people from the dead. What has your faith believed about God that sounds impossible?
Isaac was a type of Christ in that he carried his own wood to his sacrifice. What are we carrying today that we shouldn't be?
Jesus makes it very clear He is referencing His crucifixion when He states -"When you lift up the Son of Man…" This is a direct reference to His crucifixion. We are able to see that Jesus is telling us He is going to be crucified but He will not be alone when this happens. For Isaac it was the same his father was with him the whole time. Jesus was like Isaac He was on His way to being sacrificed yet He was not alone. Jesus' Father was with Him just as Abe was with Isaac. Another passage that very clearly informs us when Jesus is led to be crucified He will not be going it alone. In fact, it will be just the opposite His Father is with Him. John 16:32- "Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone ; and yet I am not alone , because the Father is with Me. When we go through the trials of life I want you to know we are not going through it alone.
God will provide for us what it is we need when we feel like we are being sacrificed in this life. The thing we have to do is allow our faith to be influenced like the faith of Abraham. We must never forget that God will provide. Think About These: Promises are only as dependable as the person who makes them. God has never broken one of His promises. I would say that makes Him very dependable. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Josh. 2:11 - "When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained..." In the text above, Rahab is confessing to the two spies sent into Jericho by Joshua exactly how they felt upon hearing the news that the Israelites were coming. She informs them that their hearts melted and no courage remained in any of them.
Maybe you walked into a doctor’s office and while sitting there the doctor informed you that you had a disease or a loved one you had accompanied into his/her office had a disease and upon hearing the news your heart melted within you. Maybe you received a visit from a police officer and informed you, a loved one died in an accident and your heart melted within and all your courage departed. Or maybe it was the time one of your children was lost at the amusement park and for over an hour you know your heart stopped.
We were talking after the ceremony and he asked if he could come and talk to me. I agreed and he came in the next week and shared with me what was going on in his life. David told me that his doctor informed him he had a very aggressive type of cancer and that he didn’t have long to live. Then he went on with his story. He came home and told his wife what the doctor said. Within days he came home and found a note from his wife that she was leaving him. He said he checked their bedroom closet and all her clothes were gone. He said, “My heart sank.” In Rahab’s day they said, “Hearts melted.” The meaning is the same and that is: what you are about to experience is going to be extremely painful. WOW! What a punch in the gut and a knee to the face. You talk about your heart melting and all courage departing from within you.
The same thing Rahab did and that is he put his faith in the God of Heaven and Earth. Here is what Rahab said, “…for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” She confessed that the Israelites' God was the true God. David confessed Jesus to be his Lord and Savior and I baptized him into Christ. When you get knocked off your feet, and you are laying flat on your back, you are in the perfect position to look up and see where your help will come. Your help will come from the One who created the "heavens and earth." David’s wife never came back and he lost his battle with cancer but I never met a more courageous man. I truly met one of God’s Special Warriors.
What we have to do is follow in the footsteps of Rahab and David and that is put your faith in God. Here is what the Hebrew writer says about Rahab, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” By Faith in Jesus Christ you and I will not perish with those who are non-believers.
The trouble with some people is that during trying times, they stop trying. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Judges 16:28-30 - Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." 29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. NASU
You have to want to do it more than anything else in the world. I have never met Rob or talked with him but I am sure that he wanted to play in the NFL again. He wanted this more than anything else. Therefore, he endured all the physical and mental pain that came with his rehabilitation of his torn ACL and MCL. Rob did play again in the NFL. He won the Super Bowl Championship with New England and Tampa Bay teams.
Then you need to know this: "Everyone loves a comeback story." This is what they make movies about because people love to watch stories that inspire. Comeback stories inspire others to try and overcome whatever obstacle they are facing.
He had squandered the best years of his life by being rebellious. He had a bad temper, was vengeful, and had a mean streak in him. He loved to show off and display his great feats of strength. He had a little problem with pride. Samson's association with Delilah will bring him an extreme amount of pain and I am sure a lot of second guessing. Has your association with someone brought you an extreme amount of pain? Samson lost his youth, his hair, his strength, his eyes, his job, his pride and God's Spirit will depart from him. That sounds like a lot to lose in one life time but Samson managed to accomplish this. We can learn a lesson from this situation like Samson and move forward.
Maybe you can relate to Samson. You have squandered your youth, your health, your finances, your reputation and your relationship with God. Then there is only one thing for you to do. Make A Comeback! Samson prays to God and asks Him to remember him and give him the strength that he needs to make a comeback. This is great advice for all of us. We need to pray to God and ask Him to strengthen us to make the "Comeback" that we need to make right now. God answered Samson's prayer. God will answer yours. Think About These: Pride hides a man's faults to himself, and magnifies them to everyone else. It's not the body's posture, but the heart's attitude, that counts when we pray. A little pride is a small thing to lose when compared with losing honor. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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