Hello everybody.. I feel like I have been a way for a minute, nevertheless I am here now and let`s get to it. My heart is full so please bear with me. I will be discussing the concept of COMING BACK..
As a young child I was a latchkey child and watched ALOT of television one of my favorite tv shows was Welcome Back Kotter.. anyone familiar with this program knew it focused on a teacher and four students that everyone else had given up on. And how they trekked through life situations. The teacher would coach them in academics but moreso spurred them on to become more than what others expected and greater than what they ever dreamt of for themselves. Their very own principal didn`t have faith in them... and basically anticipated the day that they would all just quit , become statistics, end up in prison or maybe even dead.
Many of us have been told we would never amount to anything, we were just like our father or would never make any contributions to the world. On the other hand many were encouraged, had family support and even believed in themselves.. But such is life... a situation or series of events causes one to falter, allow the dream to die or just give up concerning the fulfillment of the task.
Today we will see how Jesus can take everything you go through in your life and use it for your good and His glory... People say , hey I have a great idea will you BACK me on this ?, Others say we go BACK like rocking chairs... But my favorite statement comes from LL Cool J who said .. Don`t call it a COME BACK I been here for years!!!!
Life can cause people to do one or two things lay down and die or fight for the right to prosper.
In John 4:1-30. Speaks of a women who had an encounter at a well with The Living water. The scripture tells us how Christ deliberatley made his way to Sychar which is in Samaria. Being fully God and fully man he was thirsty. He sat down right in time for a divine intervention.. Jesus spoke to the woman and said... "Give Me a drink". Is it me or don`t you just love it when God says stuff to you that will literally alter your very life ?. Many times we think HE asks us for things as if He had need of anything... But the same thing He is asking for from you... is the selfsame thing He is wanting to give you.
The lady gets a little huffy with the Lord, basically saying who do you think you are that I would even give you the time of day.. let alone a drink of water. So He responds if you knew who you were talking to you would be giving me what I asked for, so I can give you what your heart has been asking for. She looks at it as most of us would have and said... You don`t even had anything to draw it with , i. e what do you have that the others didn`t? and besides that....this well is DEEP. Translation I am so jacked up that you will need more than a cup to dig up the stuff that plagues me..
She was crass but she wasn`t crazy! she thought to herself... you approached me differently than most men .. you did not look at what was on the outside but wanted to tap into was was draining me from on the inside. So I may just stick around and listen to what you are saying....
She goes on to ask Where do I get this water from? but before He could respond she started doing a resume check and comparing Him to all that she knew and that which was human and common . Most of us know the story how they conversed and then He SPRINGS the truth on her and tells her to go and call her husband...
He goes on to tell her about herself , but in love and in truth.. He did not bring up the gory details of how unclean she was... because His main concern was her total deliverance from thinking man could quench her thirst for love , life and liberty. He released her from the false reality of thinking that using her body as a means to please others would do anything but suck her dry.
Isn`t it just like us to cry out to God... He sends the answer, And as humans we try and change the subject to deflect from the core issues... only to find that even putting the word on it does not negate the fact that we are humans with emotions and are still susceptible to the validation of others which ultimatley leads to violation from others.
After her encounter.. she left the waterpot ( her tool of familiarity) went on her merry way and said to the MEN... maybe some in whom she had placed her trust .... Come See a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ ?... They went out of the city and came to Him.... Mission accomplished. Broken woman is made whole, goes back and tells others who did it and how it happened. Do not dismiss the fact that God will use the very people who hurt you to be instrumental in your deliverance.
Being transparent before God is not an easy thing to do.. if it were we would be further along in our lives. Yes He knows all and sees all. But sometimes we bury things thinking that He won`t notice that they are there . Most of us want to be healed , but fewer will even attest to the truth that we are wounded... He cannot heal you without you having to feel ANY pain... That`s what recovery is the act of COMING BACK from something that tried to take you out.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Abuse of an Excuse
Hello Everyone, today is a day that we have never seen and will never see again. We have been given the opportunity to make the best of it so let`s do just that. Today we will be discussing the topic of excuse making. Many of us are familiar with making excuses , some of us are making one up right now to get out of something they do not desire to do later on today.
My Pastor shared a quote with me that has literally changed my life concerning this subject...
Excuses are tools of the incompetent, they build monuments of nothingness and those that use them seldom accomplish anything.
We will be looking at one of my favorite accounts in the Bible... John 5 : 1-9. For some are familiar with this story while others may not be ; either way we will look at it together.
We see here that the time had come for a particular Jewish Feast to take place, which some say was Passover, but others are not sure. Jesus being born of Jewish descent went up to Jerusalem to attend this feast. Located there was a pool named Bethesda which translates... The house of pity or of mercy.... This Pool had five porches or what we would consider large open spaces that could house an enormous amount of people.
This place was believed to be where one could go and be healed of all manner of sickness and infirmities.. Some were lame , others were blind and there also appeared there those who were paralyzed.. which dictates to us how when one is blind ; their walk or lack thereof can cause them to become immobile. Evidently people were being healed or there would not have been such a gathering there.
So an angel would go down at a certain time and stir up the water, whomever got there first was healed.. which must have been a sight to see; a mob of people vying for the same thing HEALING, not knowing if this would be their day ... maybe a little like the stores on Black Friday ???.
One man who had been an invalid for 38 years and even longer than God incarnate had been on the face of the earth. Although he was an invalid to man, but not invald to the Messiah. Without condemnation , accusation or even frustration.. Jesus asked the man ONE question ... Do you want to be made well ? Not how come your here, how did you get here, or why haven`t you been healed before now? Even though he had never met the man .. He being God knew his condition.
Sometimes we beat around the bush with ourselves as well as with others. Christ gets to the root of the matter.. the longing in the mans heart to be healed. Christ also waits for our recognition and confession that we are in a state that we cannot get ourselves out of and steps in... most of us came to God under some type of distress.
So here we go.. the question is posed the ball is in the man`s court and his response is as follows..I have no one to put me in the pool and when I am in route someone jumps in front of me... This is sad because it shows us how we sometimes become so dependent on other people we give up the responsibility of helping in our own healing process ... Those other people were there for deliverance and helping someone else was not the first thing on their " to do" list. Now I don`t know about you but being from Brooklyn aka Crooklyn when we wanted something very rarely did we allow anyone or anything to get in our way. We would go to desperate measures to recieve that which we felt was to be ours.
Without further ado Jesus said Rise, take up your bed and WALK.. he was told to do 3 things... get up from where you have been for far too long. take hold of that which you have been using to hold you down and get up and start to follow the course of life that I predestined for you before the foundations of the world. wow I felt that !!!
Many of us make excuses about why we are not furthering our education, advancing in our careers , exercising and eating healthier... the list is endless. but the question still remains DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WELL ? I f we are honest we all want to be healed but we don`t always want to admit that we are sick !, we dont wan`t to be broken but are too prideful to say we are broken. we don`t want to be frustrated but we are because of what so and so had said to us.
If we are going to be those captives that Christ died to set free we will have to stop making excuses, people work all week and Sunday morning ... you are just too tired to come to the Temple ?... Oh I was gonna come to your party but what had happened was .... Oh yeah I was planning on loaning you that money , but my boss forgot to turn in my timecard... And the list keeps goin and going and going..
I only write about what has been spoken to me , so I am making a conscious effort to stop playing the blame game . I will no longer blame Adam , Eve , the serpent , the rain , the boogie or the alcohol.... I don`t drink but yall understand the reference..
Christ does not ever tell us to do something He has not first done himself or has given us the power to accomplish. When we enter a hospital the first place you start is at... ADMITTING, You went there because you ... BELIEVED they could cure you. And then you write down what`s troubling you... Confession.
What I am saying is God already knows but He wants us to be participatory in our deliverance, may our obedience be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to reach God`s heart in a single bound...
My Pastor shared a quote with me that has literally changed my life concerning this subject...
Excuses are tools of the incompetent, they build monuments of nothingness and those that use them seldom accomplish anything.
We will be looking at one of my favorite accounts in the Bible... John 5 : 1-9. For some are familiar with this story while others may not be ; either way we will look at it together.
We see here that the time had come for a particular Jewish Feast to take place, which some say was Passover, but others are not sure. Jesus being born of Jewish descent went up to Jerusalem to attend this feast. Located there was a pool named Bethesda which translates... The house of pity or of mercy.... This Pool had five porches or what we would consider large open spaces that could house an enormous amount of people.
This place was believed to be where one could go and be healed of all manner of sickness and infirmities.. Some were lame , others were blind and there also appeared there those who were paralyzed.. which dictates to us how when one is blind ; their walk or lack thereof can cause them to become immobile. Evidently people were being healed or there would not have been such a gathering there.
So an angel would go down at a certain time and stir up the water, whomever got there first was healed.. which must have been a sight to see; a mob of people vying for the same thing HEALING, not knowing if this would be their day ... maybe a little like the stores on Black Friday ???.
One man who had been an invalid for 38 years and even longer than God incarnate had been on the face of the earth. Although he was an invalid to man, but not invald to the Messiah. Without condemnation , accusation or even frustration.. Jesus asked the man ONE question ... Do you want to be made well ? Not how come your here, how did you get here, or why haven`t you been healed before now? Even though he had never met the man .. He being God knew his condition.
Sometimes we beat around the bush with ourselves as well as with others. Christ gets to the root of the matter.. the longing in the mans heart to be healed. Christ also waits for our recognition and confession that we are in a state that we cannot get ourselves out of and steps in... most of us came to God under some type of distress.
So here we go.. the question is posed the ball is in the man`s court and his response is as follows..I have no one to put me in the pool and when I am in route someone jumps in front of me... This is sad because it shows us how we sometimes become so dependent on other people we give up the responsibility of helping in our own healing process ... Those other people were there for deliverance and helping someone else was not the first thing on their " to do" list. Now I don`t know about you but being from Brooklyn aka Crooklyn when we wanted something very rarely did we allow anyone or anything to get in our way. We would go to desperate measures to recieve that which we felt was to be ours.
Without further ado Jesus said Rise, take up your bed and WALK.. he was told to do 3 things... get up from where you have been for far too long. take hold of that which you have been using to hold you down and get up and start to follow the course of life that I predestined for you before the foundations of the world. wow I felt that !!!
Many of us make excuses about why we are not furthering our education, advancing in our careers , exercising and eating healthier... the list is endless. but the question still remains DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WELL ? I f we are honest we all want to be healed but we don`t always want to admit that we are sick !, we dont wan`t to be broken but are too prideful to say we are broken. we don`t want to be frustrated but we are because of what so and so had said to us.
If we are going to be those captives that Christ died to set free we will have to stop making excuses, people work all week and Sunday morning ... you are just too tired to come to the Temple ?... Oh I was gonna come to your party but what had happened was .... Oh yeah I was planning on loaning you that money , but my boss forgot to turn in my timecard... And the list keeps goin and going and going..
I only write about what has been spoken to me , so I am making a conscious effort to stop playing the blame game . I will no longer blame Adam , Eve , the serpent , the rain , the boogie or the alcohol.... I don`t drink but yall understand the reference..
Christ does not ever tell us to do something He has not first done himself or has given us the power to accomplish. When we enter a hospital the first place you start is at... ADMITTING, You went there because you ... BELIEVED they could cure you. And then you write down what`s troubling you... Confession.
What I am saying is God already knows but He wants us to be participatory in our deliverance, may our obedience be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to reach God`s heart in a single bound...
Monday, September 6, 2010
A Message in a Bottle
Good Morning, I pray today will find you right in the middle of the will ; of the Wheel in the middle of the wheel.
I would like to pour out what was placed in my heart som time ago... I will be talking about the Tears we cry, why we cry, what crying shows us about ourselves , others and most importantly what God says about our tears...
Psalm 56: 8 states...You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book ?. What the writer is saying Lord You know everything there is to know about me including the stuff that is hidden from my own knowledge, AND STILL LOVE ME , you look upon, care about and are moved by my tears, so much so that you have captured them and keep a remembrance of them for Your own good pleasure.
Most of us know that a tear is a drop of salty fluid which flows from ones eyes ... it can be caused by irritation from an eyelash, an allergic reaction , something foreign making its way in or simply due to weeping... Now I am not an optometrist or Jesus, but I do know that tears are necessary or why else would God have allowed them to be a part of us being fearfully and wonderfully made ?
People cry for many reasons ranging from the birth of a child, to the death of a friend or loved one Sometimes you don`t even have to know a person to weep for them. Some of us cry over a good movie, the first day of school, graduation ceremonies, wounded animals, break ups, weddings, birthday parties, family gatherings etc... ok I should say we WOMEN cry at all these events. Others cry over injustice, neglect, from laughing so hard, or people speaking well of them. One surefire way to get me to start running like a faucet is for me to see people worship Jesus !...
Men can and some actually do cry about the birth of a baby ,but truth be told.. cutting an onion would probably yield more tears. Fact being that most men were told it was not "cool" to cry... if he fell he was told to get up and act like a man even though he was only 5 years old, if he wanted to hug his dad some were rejected and called "gay". They grew as young men ... reached out to young women, but didn`t get far because they were limited in the area of dealing with and expressing their emotions through the shedding of tears; so you guessed it... disastrous unions would soon follow... Which to this very day has manifested itself into abusive relationships, low self esteem, same sex partnerships, womanizing and even divorce..
Others have made songs like.. I`M NOT GON CRY, ALL CRIED OUT, TRACKS OF MY TEARS, I DON`T WANNA CRY. Thanks so much... Mary J. Blige, Lisa Lisa & the Cult Jam, Smokey Robinson and Mariah Carey . They even had a group called Tears for Fears.... What am I saying ?.. glad you asked; as babies we couldn`t verbally express what we are feeling so crying was our only means of communication and we even had different cries that pertained to the need... some were hunger cries, others were.. I need a diaper aka wardrobe change, I am sleepy, I want to be held... and you know the list goes on and on.
Some of our parents unkowingly damaged us by not allowing us to cry.. I witnessed a mom telling her 3 year old.. quit crying and acting like a baby. I was like she is only 4,380 days old SHE IS A BABY !. We tell them things like ... your tears don`t move me , not realizing many of us can`t express ourselves today because of the ridicule or reprimand we recieved. On the flipside, some of us are so traumatized we cry about any and everything uncontrollably. HELP LORD .
We all heard the story of the Boy who cried wolf, or the phrase "Crocodile tears" . Evidentally the boy wanted some attention and conjured up a way to recieve it ... Sometimes we do use our tears for manipulation purposes , but I will leave that alone for right now. During my younger years I knew of a lady who had to use what they called " Artificial Tears" because for some reason she couldn`t produce enough on her own so the solution assisted her in that area.
Now back to the scripture the text tells us clearly that He is concerned about everything that concerns us.. I believe PEOPLE get tired of us crying , but God alone understands the depths as well the paramount of where our weeping derives. He even used a man named Jeremiah who was referred to as the "weeping prophet" to mourn and lament and prophetically speak to the peole of God.. Jer. 9: 17-19 even speaks of " professional ' mourners.
New testament writings allow us to witness how Jesus cried over people and situations
Jesus wept... John 11: 35... Over Lazarus
Blessed are those who mourn... Matthew 5:4.. Not so much because of life issues, but moreso
due to fellowship with Christ and how we are sorrowful of our sins as well as the state of the world.
Jerusalem.. How I wanted to gather your children together as hens gather her chicks, but you were not willing !... Matthew 23:37.. Is this just not like us we reject God , are not willing to repent, get disappointed and find ourselves in a flood of tears.
Great news is that in Revelation 21: 4... We are given a promise that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow,nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away...
In closing I would encourage you to cry ... it releases stress , reduces headaches and outburts, makes for a grander , home, workplace and church service just to name a few. Most of all it allows us to be naked and unashamed with God. Instead of trying to compartmentalize, ignore or unsuccessfully hide from Him what He knew before the foundations of the world. God has given us permission to cry, but He has also given us provision to overcome that which keeps making us cry.
Love Yall to Life...
I would like to pour out what was placed in my heart som time ago... I will be talking about the Tears we cry, why we cry, what crying shows us about ourselves , others and most importantly what God says about our tears...
Psalm 56: 8 states...You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book ?. What the writer is saying Lord You know everything there is to know about me including the stuff that is hidden from my own knowledge, AND STILL LOVE ME , you look upon, care about and are moved by my tears, so much so that you have captured them and keep a remembrance of them for Your own good pleasure.
Most of us know that a tear is a drop of salty fluid which flows from ones eyes ... it can be caused by irritation from an eyelash, an allergic reaction , something foreign making its way in or simply due to weeping... Now I am not an optometrist or Jesus, but I do know that tears are necessary or why else would God have allowed them to be a part of us being fearfully and wonderfully made ?
People cry for many reasons ranging from the birth of a child, to the death of a friend or loved one Sometimes you don`t even have to know a person to weep for them. Some of us cry over a good movie, the first day of school, graduation ceremonies, wounded animals, break ups, weddings, birthday parties, family gatherings etc... ok I should say we WOMEN cry at all these events. Others cry over injustice, neglect, from laughing so hard, or people speaking well of them. One surefire way to get me to start running like a faucet is for me to see people worship Jesus !...
Men can and some actually do cry about the birth of a baby ,but truth be told.. cutting an onion would probably yield more tears. Fact being that most men were told it was not "cool" to cry... if he fell he was told to get up and act like a man even though he was only 5 years old, if he wanted to hug his dad some were rejected and called "gay". They grew as young men ... reached out to young women, but didn`t get far because they were limited in the area of dealing with and expressing their emotions through the shedding of tears; so you guessed it... disastrous unions would soon follow... Which to this very day has manifested itself into abusive relationships, low self esteem, same sex partnerships, womanizing and even divorce..
Others have made songs like.. I`M NOT GON CRY, ALL CRIED OUT, TRACKS OF MY TEARS, I DON`T WANNA CRY. Thanks so much... Mary J. Blige, Lisa Lisa & the Cult Jam, Smokey Robinson and Mariah Carey . They even had a group called Tears for Fears.... What am I saying ?.. glad you asked; as babies we couldn`t verbally express what we are feeling so crying was our only means of communication and we even had different cries that pertained to the need... some were hunger cries, others were.. I need a diaper aka wardrobe change, I am sleepy, I want to be held... and you know the list goes on and on.
Some of our parents unkowingly damaged us by not allowing us to cry.. I witnessed a mom telling her 3 year old.. quit crying and acting like a baby. I was like she is only 4,380 days old SHE IS A BABY !. We tell them things like ... your tears don`t move me , not realizing many of us can`t express ourselves today because of the ridicule or reprimand we recieved. On the flipside, some of us are so traumatized we cry about any and everything uncontrollably. HELP LORD .
We all heard the story of the Boy who cried wolf, or the phrase "Crocodile tears" . Evidentally the boy wanted some attention and conjured up a way to recieve it ... Sometimes we do use our tears for manipulation purposes , but I will leave that alone for right now. During my younger years I knew of a lady who had to use what they called " Artificial Tears" because for some reason she couldn`t produce enough on her own so the solution assisted her in that area.
Now back to the scripture the text tells us clearly that He is concerned about everything that concerns us.. I believe PEOPLE get tired of us crying , but God alone understands the depths as well the paramount of where our weeping derives. He even used a man named Jeremiah who was referred to as the "weeping prophet" to mourn and lament and prophetically speak to the peole of God.. Jer. 9: 17-19 even speaks of " professional ' mourners.
New testament writings allow us to witness how Jesus cried over people and situations
Jesus wept... John 11: 35... Over Lazarus
Blessed are those who mourn... Matthew 5:4.. Not so much because of life issues, but moreso
due to fellowship with Christ and how we are sorrowful of our sins as well as the state of the world.
Jerusalem.. How I wanted to gather your children together as hens gather her chicks, but you were not willing !... Matthew 23:37.. Is this just not like us we reject God , are not willing to repent, get disappointed and find ourselves in a flood of tears.
Great news is that in Revelation 21: 4... We are given a promise that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow,nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away...
In closing I would encourage you to cry ... it releases stress , reduces headaches and outburts, makes for a grander , home, workplace and church service just to name a few. Most of all it allows us to be naked and unashamed with God. Instead of trying to compartmentalize, ignore or unsuccessfully hide from Him what He knew before the foundations of the world. God has given us permission to cry, but He has also given us provision to overcome that which keeps making us cry.
Love Yall to Life...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A More Oppurtune Time
Good Morning everyone... Today I would like to touch on the subject of Timing.
The book of Ecclesiastes maps out for us a season for everything under the Sun . I will not be coming from that particular verse but It will tie into where we are going today.
More : Greater in amount, or number; to a grander degree or extent
Oppurtune : Suitable ; said of time or to be well timed
Time : The period during which something happens.
So what I am saying is there will be well orchestrated times and degrees in which said things will occur in our lives....
Seasons are governed by time, clocks tell and keep time, watches are worn for time , but today probably more for fashion purposes. A sundial even measures time ... Today I would like to share how things occur in our lives and we think they are forever gone only to pop back up again; which brings me to the following scripture.. Matthew 4:1-11.
We see a couple of things here that transpire ... One The Holy Spirit lead Christ into these series of temptations.... which let us know that God orchestrated this scenario, knowing how Jesus would respond... Two He was physically hungry and everyone knows ... when you are devoid of food you can do everything from sell your birthright (Genesis 25:31), to steal (Proverbs 6:30 ), to literally compromise your body or who you are to get a morsel of bread... Three , Satan initiated the conversation, acknowledged who Jesus was ... Then was dirty in the fact that he chose to use the word "bread" knowing Christ had just finished fasting for 40 days and 40 nights.
Christ responds with what He has been marinating on during His time of consecration... He puts the word on Satan, tells him what is important and trusts God to deliver Him. Which reminds us that cliches do not move the enemy of your soul... But the Word of God will stand forever.
A second temptation occurs.. Satan tries to change the scenery or come at Christ from a different angle... if you will. He first catered to his stomach , now he tries to entice Jesus into using His power to perform a monumental feat. The pride of Life is being displayed here... (See 1 John 2:16). We desire to do things for God with resurrection power, but honestly are we really willing to die to achieve this ?..
Promotion from God will never come if one does not suffer.
Temptaion # 3 .. Satan offers Christ the kingdoms of the world; which was in his power to do because of the Fall of Man ... Adam relinquished his authority to the Devil... we witness here how my mom used to say" your eyes are bigger than your stomach"... we sometimes see things; become overwhelmed by what it will bring to us... and chase after it with little or no thought of the cost we will have to pay. We must be careful not to sell our soul in order to gain the whole world... (See Matthew 16:26). Our worship is to God and Him alone, He deserves it, commands it and will share His glory with none other.
Satan did not bombard Jesus all at once.. through each temptaion there was a lapse of time... he waits to catch us when we are vulnerable, depressed , hungry, not walking in purpose, dissatisfied with life, running from God or just being stubborn. He will leave you long enough to get you to think he is not intersested in your life... He also knows if you really start walking in purpose God will be glorified, people will be edified, and he will in turn become terrified. There is nothing more irritating to the Devil ; than a person who loves, obeys, believes and worships the God of glory.
In closing I am sure we can all attest to that " thing" or it maybe that "girl" or that "guy" ... that hides for a minute and pops up out of the bushes like Jason in a Friday the 13th movie... Do not be alarmed, surprised or dismayed .... The Lord your God is with you even to the end of the age. Beloved do not put a period where God has placed a comma, if you fell .. get back up , dust yourself off, repent , get back to that which you know is right and trust God to complete what He started.
Father may we not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us as some strange thing were happening to us, may we partake in Christs suffering, that when His glory is revealed , we may be glad with exceeding joy. We love you because You first loved us...
The book of Ecclesiastes maps out for us a season for everything under the Sun . I will not be coming from that particular verse but It will tie into where we are going today.
More : Greater in amount, or number; to a grander degree or extent
Oppurtune : Suitable ; said of time or to be well timed
Time : The period during which something happens.
So what I am saying is there will be well orchestrated times and degrees in which said things will occur in our lives....
Seasons are governed by time, clocks tell and keep time, watches are worn for time , but today probably more for fashion purposes. A sundial even measures time ... Today I would like to share how things occur in our lives and we think they are forever gone only to pop back up again; which brings me to the following scripture.. Matthew 4:1-11.
We see a couple of things here that transpire ... One The Holy Spirit lead Christ into these series of temptations.... which let us know that God orchestrated this scenario, knowing how Jesus would respond... Two He was physically hungry and everyone knows ... when you are devoid of food you can do everything from sell your birthright (Genesis 25:31), to steal (Proverbs 6:30 ), to literally compromise your body or who you are to get a morsel of bread... Three , Satan initiated the conversation, acknowledged who Jesus was ... Then was dirty in the fact that he chose to use the word "bread" knowing Christ had just finished fasting for 40 days and 40 nights.
Christ responds with what He has been marinating on during His time of consecration... He puts the word on Satan, tells him what is important and trusts God to deliver Him. Which reminds us that cliches do not move the enemy of your soul... But the Word of God will stand forever.
A second temptation occurs.. Satan tries to change the scenery or come at Christ from a different angle... if you will. He first catered to his stomach , now he tries to entice Jesus into using His power to perform a monumental feat. The pride of Life is being displayed here... (See 1 John 2:16). We desire to do things for God with resurrection power, but honestly are we really willing to die to achieve this ?..
Promotion from God will never come if one does not suffer.
Temptaion # 3 .. Satan offers Christ the kingdoms of the world; which was in his power to do because of the Fall of Man ... Adam relinquished his authority to the Devil... we witness here how my mom used to say" your eyes are bigger than your stomach"... we sometimes see things; become overwhelmed by what it will bring to us... and chase after it with little or no thought of the cost we will have to pay. We must be careful not to sell our soul in order to gain the whole world... (See Matthew 16:26). Our worship is to God and Him alone, He deserves it, commands it and will share His glory with none other.
Satan did not bombard Jesus all at once.. through each temptaion there was a lapse of time... he waits to catch us when we are vulnerable, depressed , hungry, not walking in purpose, dissatisfied with life, running from God or just being stubborn. He will leave you long enough to get you to think he is not intersested in your life... He also knows if you really start walking in purpose God will be glorified, people will be edified, and he will in turn become terrified. There is nothing more irritating to the Devil ; than a person who loves, obeys, believes and worships the God of glory.
In closing I am sure we can all attest to that " thing" or it maybe that "girl" or that "guy" ... that hides for a minute and pops up out of the bushes like Jason in a Friday the 13th movie... Do not be alarmed, surprised or dismayed .... The Lord your God is with you even to the end of the age. Beloved do not put a period where God has placed a comma, if you fell .. get back up , dust yourself off, repent , get back to that which you know is right and trust God to complete what He started.
Father may we not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us as some strange thing were happening to us, may we partake in Christs suffering, that when His glory is revealed , we may be glad with exceeding joy. We love you because You first loved us...
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