SCARED

We tend to do things differently when we’re scared. We react instead of thinking through a problem to its possible outcomes. We often climb into a self-protective shell thinking that we can protect ourselves better than…God!

Listen to the following conversation about Jesus from the Gospel of John.

⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do since this man does many signs? ⁴⁸If we let Him continue in this way, everybody will believe in Him! Then the Romans will come and remove both our place and our nation.” John 11:47-48 (HCSB)

They were afraid of losing their place. That word can be looked at in two basic ways: their place in society as the ruling class or the temple where they worshiped. Either way, they took it upon themselves to come up with the solution rather than inquiring of God.

They were afraid of losing their nation. Those talking were the chief priests and ruling class of the Jewish nation. Had they forgotten that God didn’t allow the nation to be wiped out by the Egyptians or the Philistines? Were they saying then that the Romans were more powerful than God was?

Let’s face it...they were just being selfish. Their fear was causing them to act irrationally, totally leaving God out of the picture.

What does God say about fear?

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

In First John 4:16-18 we read, “God is love…perfect love casts out fear…he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

Do you allow your fears to get in the way of your relationship with God? Confess that to Him and seek Him in all things that you do. He will never let you down. Don’t ever be afraid of “losing your place,” whether it’s a position in the church or your job. God may have something different in mind for you…ask Him!

The chief priests and the ruling class were so overwhelmed by their personal fears that they completely missed knowing God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, the Messiah that they had been studying about and waiting for all that time.

Don’t miss out on what God has in store for you because of fear…

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD

FREED

Do you ever feel as though you’re stuck in a rut, as if nothing you do is getting you anywhere? Sometimes it seems as though we are stuck in time, in a past that we can’t escape. THERE IS A SOLUTION!

Read the following passage and see if you can find it!

³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Romans 6:3-10 (NIV)

Accepting the sacrifice of Jesus’ own life for your sin is your “ticket” to the future. You are free from the penalty of death and free to live for God, the author and finisher of your salvation. No longer are you stuck in the past and tied to your old ways. You have been freed by the blood of Jesus Christ from ALL guilt and free to live a fantastic life with Jesus at your side.

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PURPOSE

So many people seem to be lacking purpose these days. Perhaps our purpose has become lost in the immediacy of the “now,” living for the moment and how much “fun” can be had in that moment. We often lose the “big picture” of why we are here on this earth.

If you sometimes feel that way, I’m here to tell you what that purpose is…

¹ Praise the LORD!

Yes, give praise, O servants of the LORD.

Praise the name of the LORD!

² Blessed be the name of the LORD

now and forever.

³ Everywhere—from east to west—

praise the name of the LORD.

Psalms 113:1-3 (NLT)

We were created by Him…

Praise the LORD, everything he has created,

everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the LORD.

Psalms 103:22 (NLT)

We were created to bring Him honor…

Bring all who claim me as their God,

for I have made them for my glory.

It was I who created them.’”

Isaiah 43:7 (NLT)

Let this attitude of gratitude become your theme song…

I will praise the LORD at all times.

I will constantly speak his praises.

Psalms 34:1 (NLT)

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SIDES

Politics can be very tiresome, especially in an election year. However, some issues we cannot afford to dismiss. One of those is how we as a people, as a nation, treat the nation of Israel.

God, in His promise to Abraham makes the following statement…

I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3 (NIV)

As you continue to follow the story of God’s people, you find instances where God makes good on His promise. Look at the following passage from First Samuel…

This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” 1 Samuel 15:2-3 (NIV)

Saul followed the Lord’s instructions (at least most of them!) and destroyed the Amalekites.

As Christians, we need to pray for the nation of Israel and for our country’s stand on dealing with them. God will not forsake His promise to Abraham. Just as He did not forsake His promise to bless all people on earth through the Jews.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

His Son, Jesus Christ, was born a Jew. Salvation has come to all people who will accept Jesus as their Savior.

God also tells us in Revelation 7:4-8 that 12,000 from each tribe will be saved. God will keep His promise to Abraham. Pray for the people of Israel. We don’t have a choice as to which side we are on if we want to be obedient to God.

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ILLUSTRATION

Many things are difficult to understand. The speed of light, how the planets stay in orbit around the sun, the incredible way our bodies heal themselves when cut are just a few of them.

Jesus said some things that were difficult to understand, but that doesn’t make them any less valuable to us today. One of the things He said was,

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54 (NIV)

He had told His listeners earlier in the chapter that He was the bread that came down from heaven, the bread of life (vs. 35) and in John 4:14 He said,

but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Obviously, a literal interpretation cannot be applied. We don’t’ have water shooting out of us and to think of actually eating someone’s flesh, is rather repulsive. So what did Jesus mean?

John had declared to His readers in the opening of chapter one that Jesus was God.

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1, 14 (NIV)

To understand that God (The Word: logos in the Greek) sent Jesus to be the Savior of all who would accept Him, we must accept that He came in the “flesh” as a human. (see also Philippians 2:6-8)

“Eating” the flesh of Jesus is equivalent to saying “God came down to earth in the form of man.”

“Drinking” the blood of Jesus is accepting the fact that He was pierced on the cross for our transgressions, that He shed His blood for our sins (Hebrews 9:22), died, was buried and three days later, was raised to life.

The “water” He gives us is the Holy Spirit, our “spring” of eternal life. It is God in us.

Jesus wasn’t trying to confuse anybody by speaking this way. On the contrary, He was using terminology and illustrations that they (along with you and I) could understand if they would just open their hearts to Him.

Have you opened your heart to Him today? If not, today is the day of salvation. Accept Jesus’ sacrifice for you and turn away from sin and toward Him today. If you have, then share these words with someone who does not know Jesus as their Savior.

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD