April 16, 2016

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus came to kill the power of pride in the human nature. He struck at the heart of pride by releasing all claims on power, prestige or possessions. He surrendered to the sovereignty of God and became an obedient servant to both God and man.

Neither Jesus nor you are able to overcome pride without defeating the three "p's" - power, prestige and possessions. At the very beginning of His earthly ministry He was confronted by the devil with these three temptations.

In a recent post I shared how Jesus withstood the temptation to misuse His power by turning stones into bread so He could satisfy His hunger.

Because Jesus passed the temptation to abuse or misuse His power guess what? God gave Him more power!

In the verses highlighted in red above, Jesus was challenged by the temptation of prestige. Since every one of us has a strong desire to be well thought of and respected and admired the offer of instant prestige is quite powerful! And that's what Satan offered to Jesus.

All Jesus would have to do is to take a swan dive from the pinnacle of a prominent building and be caught by the angels the instant before He hits the ground. What a spectacular publicity stunt that would have been! Jesus' fame would have spread world-wide before sunset! Why die on a cross when you can dive into immediate celebrity status?

That was the enticing proposition posed to Jesus' pride as He prepared to launch His preaching ministry.

What young person beginning his career does not aspire to becoming prestigious? Who would not find it

a powerful pull on their pride to be promised instant prestige? Jesus probably did, too! At least the human part of Him!

But Jesus met the powerful proposal with the power of Scriptural perspective - ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

When Satan offered Jesus the temptation He met it with the truth! When Satan targeted His flesh Jesus countered with faith. When Satan tried to manipulate His feelings Jesus countered with facts and the fact was that Jesus had surrendered the prestige of Heaven and exaltation by angels so what could Satan offer Him?

Once again, Jesus killed pride before it could kill Him. He shut it out before it could shut Him in. He killed the temptation to power and He killed the temptation to prestige. And He did it to show it can be done. He did it to help you overcome the temptations of pride.

May I remind you that if you long for power and are drawn to the need for prestige, devote yourself fully to Jesus Who can offer you more power and prestige than you will ever need.

Actually Unsinkable

It was 104 years ago that the unexpected happened.

In the frigid waters of the North Atlantic the "unsinkable" luxury line "Titantic" hit an iceberg and gashed a huge hole in its hull. At 2:20 am on April 15, 1912, it slipped below the surface of the ocean with 1517 souls still aboard.

So unexpected was it that when the news hit the newspapers it was met with stunned disbelief. 

It seems most had bought into the hype of the "unsinkable" Titanic.

Should they have had such loft expectations of a ship on its maiden voyage? Wouldn't their hopes have been more realistic had the crew and the captain have had the experience of several previous voyages?

History shows the fallacy of expecting something based on speculations and calculations and projections rather than experience. And it certainly calls into question the decision to allow fewer lifeboats than usual. Was that because of the assumption if the ship was not likely to sink they would surely not be needed?

A century of speculation and second-guessing has only added to the folly of their grand but unfounded expectations.

In the great "faith chapter" of the Bible, Hebrews 11, the phrase "by faith" appears some 18 times by my count. That's another way of saying "they had expectations" of God.

For most of them their expectations were rooted in their experiences with God. They had personally experienced what He could do for them and could easily imagine Him being able to do more.

The chapter records that their expectations were rewarded, some in this life but all in the life to come. God had "something better" planned for them.

God always delivers more than we expect from Him!

Two thousand years of "by faith" experiences have proven God REALLY IS unsinkable and you can expect Him to keep your life and your hopes afloat!

Your life won't always be smooth sailing but the One Who steers the ship also controls the sea!

The Worth of a Human Soul

A member of FredWes, Dale Taylor, has a ministry of writing strong Scripture-based letters to the editors in several of our area newspapers. I wanted to share his latest one with you because presents the Gospel in such a clear, concise and convicting manner. This can serve as a guide for you when you want to share the Gospel with a friend or family member!

If someone were to offer you one million dollars for one of your eyes would you take the money?What if someone offered twenty million dollars for both of your eyes would you then take the money, even if the offer was fifty million dollars?  Some may sell one eye for a million but there is a good chance no one would sell both eyes.  The reason is clear our eyes are precious to us.  If our eyes are that precious to us what must be the worth of a human soul. 

The Bible tells us in Mark 8:36-37 “For  what will  it profit a man if he  gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” 

If you drove by a house and saw it on fire and a child was at one of the windows trying to get out, would you stop and try to rescue that child?  Of course you would.  If a bridge was out wouldn’t you warn people of the danger?  Yes.  This is a message of love warning people the bridge is out.  There is a fire waiting to consume you, and there is something far greater than your eyes.  That something greater is your eternal soul.  With every religion in the world men and women are trying to be good enough by working their way to heaven.  That is except Christianity.  The God of the Bible demands perfection and no one comes close because we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God.  In the Christian faith, God came down to earth in love to save mankind from sin.  Jesus Christ came to earth to suffer and die on a cross for the sins of the whole world.  Jesus became sin for us and we became the righteousness of Christ.  John 3:36 states, “He who believes in the Son of God has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life,but the wrath of God abide son him.”  God wishes that none should perish but all would come to repentance.  While we were yet sinners Christ dies for us.  Pure unconditional love suffered and died on a cross so all who believe in Him will have eternal life.  He asks us to believe in Him with the faith of a little child.Romans 10:9-10, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved .For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” A prayer from your heart could be something like this, “Jesus I confess I am a sinner and I ask forgiveness.Come into my life and be my Lord and Savior.  I surrender all my heart to You and ask to be filled with Your Holy Spirit of love and power.  Thank You Jesus for saving me.” 

Eyes are precious but receiving Jesus Christ as your savior for the payment of your sins and the salvation of your soul is the greatest gift in all of life.  To save yourself from the burning fires of hell is a free gift of grace by faith in Jesus Christ.  This was written in the love of Jesus so whoever believes and puts their trust in the Son of God will escape the broken bridge that leads down to destruction.  

“Enter by the narrow gate, (Jesus is the gate) for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14.

The Bible says that angels rejoice in heaven over one sinner coming home.  May there be rejoicing in heaven.   

The Original Loaf of Wonder Bread

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ”Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." Matthew 4:1-11

Pride entered the world largely because of a lust for three things (if even to varying degrees); 

power

prestige

possessions

Any one of those alone can tempt you toward pride. The combination of one or two more is deadly.

Lucifer couldn't resist their attraction. Neither could Adam or Eve.

You must kill your pride before it kills you! 

If you are going to kill it you must learn how to resist the powerful lure of those temptations.

The temptation to pride is very strong in all of its forms. But we have a Savior Who is stronger than the temptation to power or prestige or possessions! We know that because we have the Biblical record to prove it!

At the beginning of His earthly ministry Jesus withdrew to a remote wilderness location to fast, pray and prepare for temptation.

Forty days later, when the Tempter showed up, notice what he used to tempt the Savior.

The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

What is this temptation?

Is it not the temptation of power?

Jesus had power. A lot of power! He could have spoke the word and the stone would have become the original loaf of "wonder bread"!

But, the lure of the Tempter was the misuse of His power for selfish purposes.

Jesus WAS hungry and He WAS able but He chose NOT to be self-serving with His power. 

To overcome the power of this temptation Jesus leaned on the power of the Scripture, "Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

You too will be tempted with power. You will be offered power or to misuse your power in exchange for what the devil may offer.

Today, will you follow Jesus' example and resist the temptation to abuse power or to be tempted by power by depending on Scripture?

April 12, 2016

"Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat." Matthew 8:24

Have you ever been so frightened that you physically shook?

I have and it is an awful feeling. It takes a powerful fear to bring that sort of reaction.

From what I see in this story, the disciples might have been shaking with fear.

Interestingly, the Greek word for "fierce" used here is "seismos". You might recognize it in conjunction with "seismology", the study of earthquakes or "seismograph", an intrument for measuring the intensity of earthquakes. So, this was a storm that literally shook the waters! And it got them shaking as well.

Another insightful fact about this word is that it is only used two other times by Matthew in his Gospel.

Once is in Matthew 27:51-54 in reference to Jesus' death on Calvary, "At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

The other use occurs in Matthew 28:2 - "Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it."

So, God knows how to shake things up! He shook the waters and He shook the earth! People noticed and people changed!

Has God ever shaken your world? Is He shaking it now? What is your response? Is it fear? Maybe He is trying to shake the fear out of you!

The message of the storm is, "Fear not when Jesus is in your boat"! He is stronger than the storm.

The message of Calvary is, "Fear not, Jesus has conquered your sin"! His holiness is stronger than your sin!

The message of the Resurrection is, "Fear not, Jesus has conquered death!" His life is more powerful than death!

God's earth-shaking message is, "Fear not! I have overcome the storm, the sin and the sentence of death!"

So, why should you be shaking? If there is a storm in your life right now, or if something has shaken your world, maybe it is God's "seimos" sent to shake the fear out of you and remind you that Jesus is in your boat! Fear not! Speak to Jesus and let Him speak His power to your fear!

The one who should be shaking is the devil!

The Good Shepherd

^“Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:7-15

Like the sheep in Psalm 23 you should be one satisfied sheep! 

I have spent the better part of this week reminding you of how good your Shepherd is! So, if there is still anxiety or discontent stirring in your soul it could be that you are not following Him as well as you should!

May I share a true story to further illustrate the blessings and benefits of following this Shepherd Who is a personal shepherd and a powerful shepherd and a promising shepherd? 

Here it is:

In 1972, a shepherd had brought his sheep into a walled-off, enclosed area for the night, and he had just gone to sleep when he heard a commotion. He quickly rushed over to where the sound was coming from and to his horror he discovered that a wolf was in the process of dragging off one of his sheep through a hole in the wall. He was mauling this sheep and blood was flying.

The shepherd quickly began hitting the wolf, and the wolf turned on him and began attacking him. He bit him over and over while the shepherd was striking him with his staff, and finally with one final blow of his staff, he killed the wolf as he himself collapsed into a bloody heap.

He managed to crawl over to the half-dead sheep, and began to bandage its wounds.

He gave it some water, and then took it in his own bloody arms, and shepherd and sheep went to sleep together. The next morning the shepherd was found dead, his body literally draped over the sheep to comfort it and keep it warm. The following day the headline in the Jerusalem paper said, 

“Sheep Alive, Covered in Shepherd’s Blood.”

That is the testimony of every sheep and lamb who is under the care of the Good Shepherd. 

Why would you not follow Him closely? 

Why would you not completely trust a Shepherd like that?

Any other shepherd is a hireling who comes to steal, abuse, or kill the sheep. There is no comparison between the Good Shepherd and any other. There is really no comparison between sheep under the care of the Good Shepherd and those who are not. You can tell the difference by looking! There is a noticeable difference!

As the storm clouds gather and the threats increase and the world becomes significantly more dangerous, you cannot afford to be led or cared for by anyone other than the Good Shepherd because no matter how perilous the times that lay ahead - IF THE LORD IS YOUR SHEPHERD, YOUR FUTURE IS YOUR FRIEND!

Hallelujah!

April 10, 2016

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:8

If you have ever struggled with pride (and if you haven't it is nothing to be proud of) you know how insidious and ingrained it is within the human nature.

Sin originated from pride. The pride that led to the introduction of sin was a desire to "be like the Most High". Lucifer's haughty spirit decieived him into believing he could actually lift himself above God.

So, if you were going to unravel the power of pride how would you go about it? You would make an anti-pride decision. That's exactly what Jesus did! HE WAS GOD, but he humbled Himself to become a man! In the incarnation God pulled a 180 degree move against the essence of pride!

In this short yet profound verse you can find an effective anti-pride strategy. If you want to defeat the pride problem in your life here is a plan of attack. Here is the attitude for overcoming pride and the activity for destroying pride within the space of a sentence. You could say it is a death sentence within a sentence!

The attitude for defeating pride is obedience. Pride rebels against authority and refuses to yield to the demands of a Sovereign God. The notion that you can sin without any consequences is a powerful deception that is fueled purely by pride.

Lucifer's desire to escape God's authority and avoid accountability were fueled by his pride. If he could become like the "Most High" he could call the shots and no one could call him on it!

It was that same lie Lucifer sold to Adam and Eve in the Garden through the subtleties of a serpent and planted that corrupt notion in the human spirit for all of time. You inherited it so did I.

Answer this, "What would you do if you were sure you could get away with it?"

See what I mean?

No one ever sinned by being obedient to the Word of God or the Spirit of God. They never will!

Obedience delivers you from pride every time it's tried!

So, what is the activity that overcomes pride? It is dying to self and to sin.

"Aren't those the same?" you ask.

Not necessarily!

Sin is the desire to be like like God and to live independently from Him. We have already traced that.

Self can be right in its desires but wrong in its judgment. This distinction is made in this well-known Proverb:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

So God became man to destroy the power of sin and the power of sin is pride! Jesus not only did it but He shows you how to do it! Employ the anti-pride strategy of obedience to God and death to self!

Give it a try unless you are too proud......