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Daniel 3:16-18 - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire;
and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." NASU
In our text today, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow down and worship Nebuchadnezzar's made up gods nor would they bow to the golden image. So they are going to be cast into the fiery furnace because of their disobedience to man but obedience to God. In life you may be following God's commands and then be punished because of it. This is what was happening to S, M, A. Their faith didn't waiver. They knew God could deliver them but if He didn't no big deal. He was still God and they were still faithful obedient servants of God. If they died physically they would graduate into the next life.
God may not always remove us from our trials but you can be sure He is right there with us the entire way. Daniel 3:23-25 - But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" God knows all about our lives because He loves us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We have this as a promise from Him. Just because we might suffer for doing good doesn't mean God has abandoned us. Friends you can take God's promises to the bank. Think About These: God Calls for us to stand, though not always to understand. God doesn't call us to be successful. He calls us to be faithful. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Gen. 50:20 - “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
In the above text Joseph is saying these words to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. What can be worse than having your own flesh and blood do something evil to you? Joseph’s brothers had sold him to the Ishmaelites (Gen.37:27) who in turn would sell him to the Egyptians to be their slave. Then the brothers would return to Jacob, their father, and purposefully deceive him by lying to him. Yes, it is true some people will do some very mean, wicked and cruel things not only to their siblings but to people they work with or people who are considered their friends. How are we to handle such situations?
First, there is the Permissible Will of God, second there is the Preceptive Will of God and lastly, the Purposeful Will of God.
In the story of Joseph recorded for us in Genesis, God permitted the brothers to sell him into slavery. When someone does evil to someone else it fits into God's permissible will. What the brothers did was not what God wanted or desired to have happen, but it is what He permitted. You will notice that God not only permitted it but He used it to elevate Joseph to second in command of all Egypt. God can turn an evil deed into something beneficial.
1 Corin. 11:26 - For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. I want to proclaim the Lord's death and so should you. When we proclaim His death it tells the world how much God loves us.
There was nothing that was going to happen that would have hindered Jesus from going to the cross. It was God's Purposeful Will that Jesus dies on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. 1 John 2:2 - and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Then prepare yourself for a "deer in the headlights" look, which will give you an opportunity to teach them this lesson. Think About These: When things get rough, remember: It is the rubbing that brings out the shine. The best way out of a difficulty is through it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 1:18-19- Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." NASU
Genesis 17:15-17 - Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. "I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" Genesis 18:10-12 - He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" Who does something like that? If you ask me someone with a wild sense of humor and that would be God. I have come to the conclusion that sometimes we may find ourselves in a very precarious predicament and that is exactly where God wants us to be. God has a sense of humor and now that we are in this situation. What are we going to do?
Sarah says, God was the One who made her laugh and everyone who heard that she was now pregnant would laugh with her. Being pregnant at 90 years of age I am sure we probably would laugh just not when we were close to the 90 year old woman who was pregnant. Job 8:20-21 - Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, nor will He support the evildoers. "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. Job says, "It is God who will fill your mouth with laughter."
When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad. The reason for us to laugh is God had done great things for Israel and He has done great things for us. If you are a Christian God has redeemed you, forgiven you of your sins, and filled you with His Holy Spirit. We have a lot more to laugh about than we realize. One thing I have learned as I have aged and that is not to take life so seriously. I wish I would have laughed more at myself and situations of life in which I found myself and you can quote me on that. When Was The Last Time You Had A Good Laugh? Think About These: Fortune smiles upon the man who can laugh at himself. Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Esther 4:14 - Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" NKJV
Before Esther becomes the queen, King Ahasuerus had one of the wildest parties you could ever imagine. Esther 1:5 - the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king's palace. His party lasted for 7 days. Then he gets this bright idea while intoxicated to show off his wife's beauty. He orders her to get dressed up and parade herself in front of all his drunken buddies and she won't have any part of his foolishness. There in is his bad idea. Parade your wife in front of all your drunken buddies. What could possibly go wrong with that plan? Esther 1:10-12 - when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded …to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command.
He asks his wise men what he should do about her disobedience. Their advice is to get rid of her. You will replace her with a younger more beautiful model aka a beauty pageant winner and Vashti will never be allowed to see the king again. Esther 1:19-20 - "…let a royal decree go out from him (the king), …that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So there you have the king's new plan. He is basically giving her a divorce, she isn't going to be the queen any longer, she will never be able to see him again and the king is to find a new beauty queen to replace her. AND the kings wise man had one other item of business that needed taken care of by the king and so in this decree he makes one more stipulation: Esther 1:20 - "When the king's decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small." There you have it "all wives will honor their husbands". I ask you again, "What could possible go wrong with this plan."
I will give you the Reader's Digest version. Esther wins the competition and she becomes the new queen. Now Esther hasn't told anyone in the competition that she is Jewish.
He will even pay the king a tribute to allow him to kill them. The king goes along with Haman's plan. Mordecai goes to Queen Esther and tells her - "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Mordecai believes God has placed Esther in this position to save the Jewish people from this crazy plan of Haman's. Queen Esther saves the day but you will have to read the book to see how she does it.
So I challenge you to ask God what it is He wants you to accomplish for Him at this time in your life. It is true God wants to help you be productive while you are here. We are always looking to fulfill God's purpose while we are alive. We have probably all read some inspirational quotes so let me give you a few to think about as this Pump Up comes to a close. Think About These: God is not finished with me yet. As long as I keep waking up it is evidence that God is not through with me. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 1 Kings 17:2-6 - Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. NIV
I am not sure what you know about "ravens" and sharing their food but that just doesn't happen unless you are one of their babies. God orders the "ravens" to feed Elijah and they obey Him. Isn't it amazing how animals will listen to God but humans won't.
Daniel has an encounter with some lions. The king comes early in the morning to find out if Daniel's God had protected him and he says in 6:22 - "My God sent His angel and shut the lions ' mouths and they have not harmed me,…" Jesus tells Peter to go fishing and the first fish he catches will have a shekel in its mouth. He is to take that shekel and pay the tax (He is actually exempt from paying this tax but so that He doesn't offend them He will pay it). Peter does what he is told and the first fish he catches has the shekel in its mouth. Peter goes and pays the tax. Mt 17:27 - "However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. God used a donkey, some lions and a fish to work a miracle.
A friend of mine told me about the time he helped a lady at the gas station pump her gas. She was elderly, confused, frustrated and tears were rolling down her cheek when he went up and helped her. He said she must have thanked me 100 times for helping her. You might be thinking, oh Serago, that was not a miracle and I would say, it was to that lady. Let's be like the ravens in Elijah's day and allow God to use us to bring a miracle into someone's life. Think About These: The most difficult thing to open is a closed mind. Minds are like parachutes they only function when they're open. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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