Tag / Tampa

by In Light Of The Cross

Mark 3; Is it a Sin to be Angry?

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched [it] out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.  Mark 3:1-5

This passage says that Jesus looked on them with anger. Why do people say it is a sin to be angry? I have found nowhere in the Bible where it says such a thing. Anger has its place. Ephesians 4: tells us we can be angry and not sin. We can even get angry at God sometimes and He does not hold it against us. In 1 Kings 19 Elijah gets so frustrated with God that he wants to die. God just thought Elijah was in a bad mood and needed rest, so he had him sleep under a juniper tree and then sent an angel to feed him when he woke up. In Jonah 4 Jonah gets mad at God but it didn’t bother God. I’m glad that we serve a God who understands when we get angry.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 27; The God-forsaken God

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Here is a sermon I have preached at least 50 times maybe a hundred. I plan on preaching this over and over until I die. I wanted to share it here for this Easter weekend.  It explores the depths of Christ sacrifice for us on the cross. If you would like you can also watch and share it on video. On the list of videos it is the one called “The God-forsaken God”. I have broken it into sections here for those who are busy and don’t have too much time to read.  

   

 

The Supreme Sacrifice

    

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring” Psalms 22:1 

 

 

 

  What was it that made Jesus’ death the ultimate sacrifice? Many times we think of the physical torture Jesus endured while on the cross, but many have suffered physically just as much. As a matter of fact, if you asked a cancer victim if they would like another year of chemo or six hours on a cross, they will choose the cross over chemo! What made Jesus’ death the ultimate sacrifice goes a lot deeper than they physical pain. He died a death no one has ever died yet. He tasted the second death.      John Huss sang hymns of praise while he was burning at the stake. If Huss could sing as he died for his faith, why wasn’t Jesus singing songs as He died too? Why was He instead crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Because Jesus died a totally different death than Huss or anyone else has ever died. Huss died knowing he was accepted of the Father, but Jesus had to be forsaken by the Father in order for us to be accepted.       “Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’ ” {Desire of Ages, p 25}  

 

      Crucified, not Stoned  

   “Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And [Pilate] saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify [him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”   John 19:5-7     

The law the Jews were talking about is found in the verse below, but notice the law states that one who blasphemes (which Jesus did not do but was accused of doing), should be stoned, not crucified.   

  “And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, [and] all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name [of the LORD], shall be put to death.”  Leviticus 24:16

 

 Notice in the verse below, the Jews were not ignorant of this law. “I and [my] Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.”  John 10:30-31   

   “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged [is] accursed of God;)” Deuteronomy 21:22-23      If a man committed a crime worthy of death he could still ask forgiveness and have the hope of the resurrection, but if he was hung on a tree that meant he was accursed of God and it was good-bye to life forever. This is what Jesus experienced for you, so you could experience the acceptance of the Father. “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:6-7   

 

      Accursed of God  

    And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.  And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.   Joshua 10:25,26   

  By hanging these five kings on five trees, Joshua was saying that they had their opportunity to accept Israel’s God and rejected Him so it was good-bye to life forever. This is the death Jesus tasted for us. He did not taste the death of the righteous as he did not save us from the death of the righteous. He saved us from the death of the wicked, therefore He tasted the death of the wicked. Jesus faced the death of the wicked which meant facing total oblivion Obadiah 1:16.      

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  Matthew 27:46      Jesus had always called God His Father. But on the cross, while He was tasting the death of the wicked, He could not call God His Father. He cried out “My God” and not “My Father.” He was not crying out why have You forsaken me till Sunday morning. You don’t forsake someone when you leave them for the weekend, you forsake them when you leave them forever!      

 

 “Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” {Desire of Ages, p 753}

 

 

   

What God did to His Son

 

   

 

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  Isaiah 53:4

 

 

 Isaiah 53:4 tells us He was smitten not by us or Satan, but by God! This verse is about what God did while Christ was on the cross. Jesus loved you so much He was willing to do way more than endure terrific pain for six hours! He was willing to say goodbye to life forever if that’s what it took to save you! The thought of living eternally in heaven without you was Hell to Jesus!       Sure, Jesus could have come down from the cross and saved Himself. He could have thrown down that crown of thorns and taken back His royal crown. He could have ascended back to His throne and the angels would have welcomed Him with open arms. He could have gone back to those mansions He talked about in John 14. But listen to what He says about those mansions, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.”  John 14:2-3.

 

 

 Did you catch that? “That where I am there ye may be also.”  We always focus on the mansions in that verse, but what Jesus is focusing on is the being with you part.       See, while Jesus had mansions, golden streets, a throne and angels who would bow and worship and serve Him perfectly heaven just isn’t heaven to Jesus without you. So the thought of leaving the Cross and ascending back to His throne without saving you, just didn’t appeal to Jesus. Jesus loves you more than He loves life itself. His feelings for you are beyond love- you are His passion. Do you love Jesus more than you love life itself? Is He your passion?  

   

Tasting Death for Every man

 

 

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”  Hebrews 2:9

 

 

 Some may say, “How could Jesus have died the second death while prophesying of His resurrection?” Good question. Remember though, feeling and knowing are two different things.  Many people know flying is safer than driving, but you put them on a plane and they sure don’t feel safer! Jesus may have known He would be resurrected but He sure did not feel it! Also the Bible tells us He tasted the second death in the verse above.        Jesus obviously has not tasted the first death for every man, we taste that death ourselves. The first death Jesus does not even call death, He calls it sleep. Jesus did not taste sleep for every man, He tasted death, the second death. Jesus never lost faith in His Father. But His faith was not in His own salvation but in your salvation!       

 

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?  Romans 8:32

 

 

 

God gave all when He gave His son! Jesus was willing to say goodbye to life forever to save you! He gave all of His life! Will give Him all of your heart?

 

   If you would like to talk to me about giving your heart to Jesus, you may contact me at racerthree@gmail.com 

For more Easter devotionals click here.  Click here for “Was the Atonement for an Angry God or an Angry Race?”

 

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 26; Thoughts on Gethsemane

tampa-bay-016I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

Luke 22:43 says, “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” In His darkest hour his friends let Him down and one even betrayed Him, but Jesus was strengthened by an angel. I believe that we can have every advantage that Jesus had. If our friends let us down God will send us an angel or help us Himself if He needs to. As a matter of fact, check this out from The Great Controversy page 560.  “He [God] would sooner send every angel out of Heaven to protect his people, than leave one soul that trusts in him to be overcome by Satan.”  Imagine it. The Father sent an angel to aid the Son of God but will empty all of heaven of every single angel and send them to our aid in time of need. Why depend on the weak arm of man?

 

When Jesus’ friends let Him down and fell asleep when He needed them the most, instead of holding a grudge He excused their weakness when He said, “the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”  Matthew 26:41. In His darkest hour He looked to heaven and not to man. He was not disappointed in man because He did not expect anything from man. Since He did not expect too much He was not hurt too much by them and even referred to Judas in Matthew 26:50 as His Friend! By calling Judas His friend it shows us Jesus did not demand much at all from His friends while He gave all of Himself.

 

Mark 14:33 says Jesus became “sore amazed.”  You become amazed when you realize something you did not before. This shows us the true humanity of Jesus and that He was amazed as He experienced something He had never known before-the wrath of God-abandonment. In Gethsemane Jesus was facing more than a six hour pain endurance marathon on the cross. He was facing abandonment. The Desire of Ages brings this home for us on page 753, “Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.”   

 

This Gospel, not the six hour pain endurance marathon gospel, but the gospel of Jesus being willing to say goodbye to life forever to save us shall be preached in all the world before He returns. In Revelation 14 the first angel has the everlasting gospel, not the six hour pain endurance marathon gospel, but the everlasting gospel to give to the whole world! As Seventh-day Adventists lets not let anything distract us from taking this gospel to the world!

 

This gospel will heal lives and mend hearts and change lives for eternity. It already has. Joseph saw this gospel when he told his brothers that he forgave them even though they betrayed him and caused him to suffer because it led to their salvation and the salvation of others! The gospel healed Joseph’s relationship with his brothers when the self sacrificing gospel was manifested in Joseph. Moses saw the goodness and mercy of this gospel and reflected it when he offered to have his name blotted out of the book of life to save others. This gospel was manifested in a thirteen year old Amish girl who during a violent siege of her school asked to be shot first hoping to buy time for the rescue of the others.  Her request was granted. In Revelation 15 this gospel is manifested in a large group who sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. They share the experience of Moses and Jesus in coveting the salvation of others more than they covet their own salvation.

 

Jesus was more than natural when He gave His life for those who let Him down and betrayed Him. He was supernatural. This gospel, not the six hour pain endurance marathon gospel, but this gospel is supernatural. Is it in you? Next time a friend lets you down or even betrays you do more than what comes natural. Do the supernatural. Let Jesus manifest Himself in you just as He was manifested in Joseph, Moses, Marion Fisher the Amish girl, and a whole host of people in Revelation 15.  If you do the supernatural all heaven will be on your side, and if need be every angel will be by your side, and you will heal hearts, mend lives, and change people for all eternity.

 

Your Christian Servant,

William

 

You can find more of my studies and stories at In Light Of The Cross.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 25; Why Its Hard to be Lost and Easy to be Saved

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Why It’s Hard To Be Lost

 

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41

 

Have you ever worried about your salvation? Does it sometimes seam hard to get to heaven? I have good news for you! Jesus is planning on you being saved and going to heaven with Him! In the verse above Jesus says hell is prepared for the devil and his angels and that does not include you! While hell is being prepared for the devil and his angels look what Jesus has prepared for you, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” Matthew 25:34

 

That is good news that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven and not in hell! He is planning and expecting us to be in heaven with Him! Still some Bible verses at first glance make salvation seam hard to obtain. For example Matthew 7:14 says, “strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” 

 

Don’t get discouraged! Here is some good news from the Mount of Blessing  pages 139 & 140: “Yet do not therefore conclude that the upward path is the hard and the downward road the easy way. All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God’s love has made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves.….. If we take Christ for our guide, He will lead us safely. The veriest sinner need not miss his way. Not one trembling seeker need fail of walking in pure and holy light. Though the path is so narrow, so holy that sin cannot be tolerated therein, yet access has been secured for all, and not one doubting, trembling soul need say, “God cares nought for me.”….. with Christ as our guide we shall not fail of reaching the desired haven at last. Christ Himself has trodden the rough way before us and has smoothed the path for our feet.”

 

So is it hard to be saved or is it hard to be lost? The God who wants us saved is much stronger than the devil who wants us lost! Go ahead and plan on being saved in heaven with Jesus, He is expecting you to be there!

 

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.” John 14:1-3 

 

Here is some more really good news! ”   He [God] would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan.”  {Great Contoversy 560}

 

You may find more studies and devotionals at In Light of The Cross.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 24; Secret Rapture

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Did Jesus Refer to a Secret Rapture?

 

But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two [women shall be] grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.  Matthew 24:37-41

 

  

While the Bible never speaks or even alludes to a secret rapture, some have tried to twist Matthew 24:37-41 around to where it sounds like a secret rapture. Two are in the field, one is taken the other is left. They try to make it sound like the one being taken is secretly taken away. However the passage very clearly says, that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man, when the flood came and took them all away. Who was taken away at the flood? The wicked were taken away and destroyed while the righteous inherited the earth. Likewise when Christ returns the wicked will be taken away and destroyed while the righteous inherit the New Earth.  It clearly is not the righteous who are taken away, but the wicked.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 20-23; My Thoughts

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa bay area.

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death  and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Matthew 20:17-20

Here Jesus clearly tells His disciples that even though He will be put to death, He will rise the third day. This was to comfort them when He died, so that they would not despair. However, when that terrible night came, and He was crucified, His disciples gave up in despair, instead of remembering the promise. Does this happen to us as well? Jesus has warned us that bad things will happen to us as well but that He will always be with us to see us through and make us come out victorious. Let’s not be like the disciples and forget Jesus’  promises just because things get a little dark.

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:29-34

After reading this, I paused and asked what the message was here for me. I then prayed that God would give me spiritual eye sight. I may be spiritually blind and not even know it. At least these two men in the story knew they were blind. Jesus tells me in Revelation 3:17, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  If Jesus says that I am blind then I must be blind! But I can ask Him for eyesight and I know He will have compassion and give it to me.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:34-40

Several years ago, I was reading Mervyn Maxwell’s book “God Cares” on Revelation. I read about the 144,000 being sealed with the character of God. At this same time, I had a friend who was in a major spiritual crisis, and dealing with issues from their childhood that they had no control over. In my tiny little mind I was trying to comprehend how my friend would have a chance to have their character sealed before the second coming, after all they have been through. I guess I was like the people Jesus was talking to in Matthew 22:29 when He said, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” The scriptures make it clear that God has the power to seal the weakest of humans with His character. Not realizing this, I picked up the phone and called Myervyn Maxwell. Even though I was total stranger, he gladly received my call. I told him my friend’s situation and how I wondered how they would ever have a chance if God is sealing His people right now. I loved his response and have never forgotten it. He told me that Jesus requires us to love Him with all of our mind, and whatever state my friend’s mind is in, all God asks, is that he love Him with all that is left of his mind after all he has been through. That sounds reasonable. Our God is very reasonable.

Matthew 23 is filled with warnings against hypocrites. Often we think of our adversary as the hypocrite and ourselves as being sincere. However, just this morning I ran across a quote of Facebook by C.S. Lewis: “‎”Humans are very seldom either totally sincere or totally hypocritical. Their moods change, their motives are mixed, and they are often themselves quite mistaken as to what their motives are.” I think we all need to remember this when dealing with others.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 19; Single People Are Kind of Like Real People

 
 
 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

 

 

The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”   Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19:10-12 

 

  I don’t usually make a big deal either way about being single. I don’t think of myself as a “single person”, I just think of myself as a “person”.  While I have heard other single people complain about married people treating them differently, I can only count on one hand the number of married people who have treated me differently because of my single status.  98% of the people I come in contact with treat me no differently than if I was married.    I don’t believe in discriminating between marital or single statuses any more than race or anything else. I simply think of myself as a person regardless of single staus or race or religion and I simply think of other people as people regardless of their statuses.

 

 

 Okay, I agree that celibacy is not the norm. I also totally agree that being single does not make you more holy. (Of course being married does not make you more holy either.) Yes, the Scriptures tell us that Peter was married. However the scriptures also tell us Paul was not married at the time of his ministry and even more so Jesus was never married. So- are Paul and Jesus unnatural misfits?  While Jesus and the scriptures never forbade marriage, Jesus and Paul both have given us enough counsel to see that celibacy has many spiritual advantages. (Matthew 19:12, 1 Corinthians 7)Satan always takes things God says to extremes. For example Satan suggested to Eve that God told her she could not eat of “any” of the trees when in reality He only told her not to eat from one. While the Bible clearly suggests that it is good for some people not to marry, the Bible never forbade marriage and even warns us in 1 Timothy 4 that the antichrist would be the one who forbids marriage. Clearly extremism is to be avoided. No one has to get married and no one has to remain single. I will gladly admit that being married can and should lead one to be a better Christian, and also admit that being single is a very convenient way to be selfish. There is no one as free as a single adult. You answer to neither spouse nor parent. You just do whatever you want whenever you want. (Now in my case add to this that even my job is really not a job but rather my passion. So I have no one in my world telling me what to do other than my boss who just tells me to do what I want to do anyway! I can not begin to describe what a wonderful feeling that is!). While marriage calls for self sacrifice there are many wonderful single Christians who crucify self every day while there are many married people who never think of their spouse or children. While many people say that you have to be married to understand what it takes to make a marriage work, I somewhat disagree. I do know exactly what it takes to make a marriage work and maybe that is why I have chosen to remain single to this point in my life. On the other hand you have married people who are married only because they did not know what it took, or they found their wedding vows to be too inconvenient. I know of many single people who have sacrificed to care for the needs of neglected children who are not their own, even though they never made a vow to. There are many single aunts and uncles, “big brothers” and “big sisters” out there who will never get a Father’s Day or Mother’s Day card though they are quite deserving of one.There are those who believe an elder must be married to give counsel to families. While I have never been a husband or father, I have been a son, brother, uncle, nephew and grandson. So I have been in a family and I do know how families work. Also please don’t slaughter Paul’s counsel to Timothy to mean that you have to be married to be an elder. As 98% of Bible scholars clearly understand, Paul simply meant no more than one wife. Not that you must have one wife. Is ones ability to be a spiritual leader dependant upon being married or being anointed by the Lord? I had someone tell me once that I could not be an elder because Paul says that an elder must rule well his own home. Well I do rule my own home well, by not marrying anyone who would corrupt my home. I heard someone say once that I could not be an elder because I can’t counsel with married people because I don’t know what it is like to be married. So if married elders are the only ones who can help married people then wouldn’t single elders be the only ones who could help single people? But single people don’t need or deserve elders who understand them? Only married people deserve elders who can relate to them? See what happens when we slaughter Paul’s teachings? The logic just gets more and more absurd. 
 
 
 
  Okay now I am going to talk about an obvious issue here- sex. Single people long for intimacy just like everyone else. However not all sex is intimacy and not all intimacy has to be sex. As a matter of fact I read a book once about sexual purity that stated that many people will have sex to avoid intimacy! Intimacy takes place in the mind and heart, not the sex organs. Getting naked together does not make you intimate until you have shared your heart and mind.  I know married people who are still very lonely and some even celibate. In the 5th volume of the Testimonies Ellen White writes of a man who had sexual issues that not even marriage could cure. Marriage is not the sole solution for intimacy.  Neither is marriage necessarily the solution for sexual desires.  What I long for is a woman that I can sit and talk with for hours while it only seems like a few moments. A few years ago, I lost a friend to breast cancer, who had a double mastectomy. When I started visiting her in the hospital, we quickly became friends and could talk and laugh together easily. I really enjoyed her company and while I don’t know what was going on in her mind, the day she died, she told me that she really wished we could have known each other longer here on earth. I’m not sure, but it seemed she was implying that she may have liked me for more than just a friend. If she had lived, the fact that she didn’t have a perfect body would not have gotten in the way of our relationship. She and I could talk together forever, and I loved every moment with her. Please understand that marriage does not guarantee intimacy and being celibate does not prevent it.  The Bible condones marriage or celibacy. Married people can be beautiful Christians, and their marriages can be a living example of what a true self sacrificing Christian ought to be. On the other hand single people can be very devoted to their families, church families and most of all to Jesus.

 

 

 

 

  

I really appreciated a recent men’s ministry convention I attended. For years our church’s preaching and teaching has centered around married people and the message to single people has been, “Listen to this message – it will help you when you get married.” But this time, while they talked about married men and their ministry to their family, instead of telling us single guys that we could apply these teachings later when we get married, they taught us how to apply them now to our church family and our friends who are all around us. They emphasized that even though we are single, we make a significant impact on the lives around us today. They treated us like we were real people!

 

  

What a contrast to the Valentine’s banquet I attended in another state around ten years ago. Several of us singles sat at a table while the emcee spent the evening recognizing married couples and their accomplishments. That is all well and fine, after all it was a Valentine’s banquet, what do you expect? The problem came at the end when the emcee tried to “console” us single people by telling us even though we were single, we were still “kind of like real people.”

Thank you to the 98% who treat me like a real person even though I have chosen to remain single up to this point in my life. Thank you for letting me live my life as a “person” instead of a “single person.” To all I pray these thoughts will be enlightening and a blesssing in your christian walk and fellowship. 

 

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 17; Faith in God’s Love

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

In a few of my previous posts I have pointed out that sin is in effect, saying, we don’t believe God really loves us.  We sin, not when we lose faith in God’s power as much as when we lose faith in God’s love. This is clearly seen in Matthew 17. Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the mountain top to see the transfiguration. Meanwhile the other disciples are left behind. They felt left out because Jesus did not take them too. What they did not realize was, that Jesus had left them behind so that they cold minister to a boy harassed by an evil spirit. However, they were unable to deliver the boy of the evil spirit, and Jesus had to do it Himself when he got back. When asked why they could not do it, Jesus responded, “Because you have so little faith.” But their lack of faith was not in God’s power but in His love. They doubted God’s love for them when they were not privileged to go to the transfiguration. They did not realize that God did love them and left them behind so they could do something special for Him.

 

God has you right where you are today because He loves you and wants to do something special through you.

Other posts on this topic:

 

https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/victory-of-sin-what-is-sin-redemption-in-romans-lesson-7/

 

https://christianservant.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/matthew-4-faith-in-gods-love/

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 13; An Enemy Has Done This

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.           Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:24-30

 

What catches my eye as I read this story today, is the fact that not only had the man sowed seed in his field, but so had an enemy. God places people in our lives but the enemy places people in our lives too. Much prayer is needed to tell the difference. As a Bible Worker, I have learned over the years, that while God places people in my path who really need me, that Satan will also place people in my path just to waste my time, and keep me from the people who really want my help. This is where we need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. How can one tell the difference? In Matthew 5:6 Jesus has a blessing for those who are hungry. I have learned that I cannot make people hungry for the gospel. So I look for those who God is making hungry and I minister to them, while I continue to pray for and befriend those whom God has not been able to make hungry yet. Jesus did the  same thing. In John 5:17 Jesus says, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Jesus worked with people whom His Father was already working with. I have seen too often, those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, left to starve, while the church goes out trying to entertain people who are not even interested in spiritual things. We have an obligation to those who do not care about spiritual things, but not at the expense of those who already have a desire to be taught the Word of God.

 

We must remember too, that we cannot help everyone. Jesus is their Savior and not me. I have seen  many people get into unhealthy relationships, and they defend the relationship by saying they are trying to save the other person. I assure them that they are not a savior. Jesus will be that person’s Savior.  Unhealthy relationships do no good to either party. Here we must pray for wisdom and be willing to walk away from someone who is wasting our time and keeping us from helping someone who really needs and wants our help.

by In Light Of The Cross

Matthew 12; Did Jesus say He Would be in the Grave Three Nights?

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  
 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40

  

This text has perplexed many people since Jesus was not in the grave for three nights. Some try to move His crucifixion back to Thursday so they can fit him into the grave for three nights. Remember when William Miller thought the earth was the sanctuary mentioned in the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8:14? He thought at the end of the 2300 days Jesus would return and cleanse the earth with fire. He had the time right but the place wrong. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the earth is the sanctuary. Likewise in Matthew 12:40 many scholars have the time right but the place wrong. Now maybe we should not be so hard on William Miller for his mistake. Fact is, nowhere in the Bible does it refer to the grave as being the heart of the earth. After all Jesus was not even buried in the earth but placed in a small cave. This verse can also be translated “in the midst of the earth” or in the “middle of the earth.”

  

When Jesus prayed, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” He was not referring to “in earth” as the grave but the midst of the earth where all the people are. If you take the day for a year in Bible prophecy mentioned in Ezekiel 4:6, you have Jesus preaching the gospel for three years in the midst of the earth where all the people are.

  

The sign of Jonah is not so much about the time anyway. We miss what this verse is really saying when we get all wrapped up trying to explain what three days and three nights mean. The point is, the religious leaders were asking Jesus for a sign while the sinners had already accepted Him. In the story of Jonah the men who throw Jonah overboard prayed to God and believed. The wicked inhabitants of Nineveh believed. The only person who kept rejecting God in his life was the prophet Jonah! Everyone else believed. Jesus is simply saying it is the same now. Sinners believe and accept Him but the religious leaders wont. It is just like it was in the days of Jonah.

How sad that Satan has been able to distract so many people with the “three nights” when that simply has nothing to do with Jesus’ point in this verse. Lets all take heed, lest we like Jonah or the Pharisees have a heart of unbelief while those with less light than we have freely accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.