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SCRIPTURE:
“The
Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him
for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this
generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will
be given to it." Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed
to the other side." (Mark 8:11-13, NIV)
OBSERVATION:
I asked myself what were the actions of Jesus in
response to the questioning of the Pharisees, who asked Jesus for a sign
from heaven, when Jesus just came to the region of Dalmanutha?
1.
Jesus sighed deeply!
2. Jesus said, "Why does this generation
ask for a miraculous sign?"
3. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no
sign will be given to it!"
4. Jesus left them.
5. Jesus got back into the boat.
6. Jesus crossed to the other side.
INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself why did Jesus ask the
Pharisees, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign?"
Jesus knew by the actions of the Pharisees that they did not
believe in Him and just wanted to test Him for the sake of trapping Him.
Jesus wanted them and the generation He revealed Himself to realize that
HE IS THE MIRACULOUS SIGN! What can be more MIRACULOUS than a VIRGIN
BIRTH and Jesus, being God-Incarnate visiting humanity to deliver
humanity. The Pharisees and their followers did not want to see the
MIRACULOUS SIGN right in front of them. JESUS IS THE MIRACULOUS SIGN but
all they wanted to do was TEST & TRAP.
IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. If I ask the Lord
questions just to test the Lord to show others that I am trapping the
Lord by my questions, He will not answer and I will be disappointed.
Jesus did not come to earth to be tested and trapped by humanity as the
Pharisees tried to do time after time. Jesus had a bigger picture and
mission in mind and it was not to ARGUE with the Pharisees succumbing to
their testing. I should ask the Lord Jesus questions with genuineness to
find answers and not to trap. First of all what human being can think
they can trap the Lord anyway. A human being cannot even understand the
mind of God without the Lord & Savior revealing Himself to them.
"Oh, the
depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind
of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever
given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and
through him and to him are all things.To him be the glory forever!
Amen." (Romans 11:33-36, NIV)
I need
to be joyful and satisfied knowing the King of the Universe has decided
to reveal Himself to me and that alone is THE MIRACULOUS SIGN. Jesus has
revealed Himself to me through His Word and through His Spirit working
in me and through me. His Spirit will reveal what He has already spoken
and the things to come. To believe I need not have an external sign
because JESUS IS THE MIRACULOUS SIGN. Jesus became the SIGN for
humanities redemption including mine. Oh Thank you Jesus! I should
remember that instead of FALLING INTO THE TESTING TRAP.
HOW GOSPEL GIVES ME A TESTIMONY
REGARDING T.E.S.T.E.D: "Testing Everyday Savior To Entrap
Disappoints!"
From experience, I can tell
you that when others have TESTED TO TRAP ME, it was the worst feeling
causing me to be infuriated. Sadly, at times I have used the DEFENSE
MECHANISMS of denial, displacement, intellectualization, projection,
rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression,
sublimation, and suppression at different times with certain people to
show that infuriation because I DON'T LIKE BEING TESTED FOR THE SAKE OF
TRAPPING.
Unfortunately, I also have
been guilty of trying to TRAP those who try to TRAP me by PLAYING
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE. Even if I didn't believe in something, I have acted
like I believed in it and asked questions that way to gauge the
reactions of those whose purpose I saw was TO TRAP ME.
I am not perfect and have
issues too and these times of study in God's Word reveal them to me when
I look at the GOSPEL. The Gospel has never been about GETTING EVEN but GIVING
EMANCIPATION. I needed Jesus to teach me this lesson this morning
because in my flesh and humanity, I succumb to the ways of the world of
DEFENSE MECHANISM when those DEFENSE MECHANISMS are not biblical.
For me the Gospel is not just
about Jesus dying for my sins and coming back to life to save me but the
Gospel is about giving me a biblical worldview in the way I do things,
see things, and say things. It should affect every facet of my life. So,
every verse I read in the WORD OF GOD can give implications to my life
if that's what God wants at that time.
Getting even by TRAPPING
OTHERS BECAUSE I KNOW THEY ARE TESTING ME TO TRAP ME, is not BIBLICAL
but I have been guilty of that. One time someone offered me a drink in a
wine glass wanting me to believe it is wine/alcohol to gauge my reaction but I saw
through that and tried turning the table around and used REVERSE
PSYCHOLOGY because I knew that was APPLE JUICE.
I need Jesus' help to look
beyond people's desire to TRAP ME and LOVE THEM AS THEY ARE.
Psychology or reverse
psychology does not have all answers to life and at times will take you
to the route of unbiblical stances if PSYCHOLOGY is not studied or used
through the LENS OF BIBLICAL SCRIPTURE. That applies to any field of
study.
The Gospel takes me back to
Jesus and Jesus becomes the central focus who will use HIS MANUAL to
teach, correct, exhort, and equip me and not any other field of study if
it contradicts Scripture.
"All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)
Praise the Lord for His Word
and His Spirit revealing His Word to us!
I thank the Lord Jesus for
using my mommy, Pastor Hugo, Edwin & Marie, etc in my life to help me
work through these issues and other issues. I was so glad that Edwin
spent an hour late last night to work through some of my issues.
When I don't TRUST than I
automatically think people are trying to TRAP you. With certain people,
I feel that way but I PRAY FOR THE LORD'S HELP AND HE IS HELPING ME AND
I KNOW IT WILL BE A PROCESS. Thank you Jesus! I thank the Lord for
those He is using to help me.
I should have the attitude of
'SO WHAT?', if they want to TRAP ME because Jesus did not place me where
I am so that I can argue, get back at people, and trap people but wants
me to realize that JESUS IS HERE FOR ME TO GIVE ME EMANCIPATION from the
things of this world and focus on the things from above so He can use me
for His honor and glory.
My mommy reminded me once to
keep focusing on Colossians 3 so TRUSTING instead of TRAPPING can become
my focus so I have reminded myself of that right now too:
"Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then
you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death,
therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality,
impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." (Colossians
3:1-5, NIV)
Jesus did not like the
Pharisees testing Him because their motive was to trap Jesus and neither
will Jesus like me testing others to trap them even if they do that to
me.
Many times I have come to see
that I have been a Pharisee too and Jesus is not happy with that.
I may not test Jesus with questions but I have tested certain people with
questions not because I have been genuinely interested in them but
because I wanted to trap them to see things my way or get back at them.
I have realized how wrong this can be. Jesus being human and divine at
the same time sighed deeply when He heard the Pharisees. I don't know
what my questions can do to others and if it is not genuine, I should
not ask those questions.
Instead, I should focus on
Christ alone to help me make Colossians 3:1-5 a reality in my life
daily. I cannot on my own but THANKS BE TO GOD because of what CHRIST
HAS ALREADY DONE, when I FOCUS ON CHRIST, HE WILL GIVE ME THE STRENGTH
AND ABILITY TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT.
Because of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, I can have JUSTIFICATION BY GRACE and SANCTIFICATION BY GRACE
when I believe that Jesus died for my sins, shed His precious blood on
the cross to redeem me, and came back to life to offer that Salvation of
Redemption. Now, when God sees me, He sees the righteousness of Christ
covering over me or the Holiness of Christ covering me. I can rest
assured that Jesus will take care of me for SANCTIFICATION IS A PROCESS.
To be continued....
I ask you now dear friend, who have you tested in
life to trap them?
Dear friend, the Pharisees tested Jesus to trap Him and not to
help Him. If our tests for others are to help them grow and mature, it
is one thing but if our tests are to trap people then that is totally
wrong and we become no different than the Pharisees who wanted to trap
Jesus. Our testing will not trap Jesus and may not even trap others but
it could sure hurt the relationship and bring up barriers.
Let us not test others for our
selfish gain but out of genuine concern for them if any testing needs to
be done. There are areas that testing is important to conduct but it is
for the purpose of helping someone to see where they need to grow and
not to trap them.
When God tested Adam and Eve
in the Garden of Eden, it was to help them grow but when Satan tested
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, it was to trap them. A test can
either make us strong in the Lord and help us grow through our
weaknesses as we yield to the Lord or trap us when our focus is taken of
the Lord.
Adam and Eve failed miserably
because they took their focus of the Lord and fell into the trap of
Satan. We are no different apart from the Lord. All of us no matter how
the world sees us in a positive light, our sin had marred our
relationship with Jesus. We have trapped ourselves and there is no way
out without the intervention of Jesus Christ.
Jesus loves you and me so much
no matter how wicked we have been, how good we think we are, etc. Now
because of His love for us and to deliver us from the trap of sin, while
we were yet sinners Christ came to die for us and redeem us. That is
exciting to know. Jesus shed His precious cleansing blood for you and
me.
Jesus wants to deliver us from
the bondage we have been in and only He can. Jesus will make Himself
available to us when we genuinely seek Him with our heart. We can only
seek after Christ because God INITIATED THE PROCESS. When Christ went
to the cross, Christ made a way for humanity to come to Him but He will
not force people to come to Him. Jesus did not force the Pharisees to
believe in Him and neither will He do that for you. He will MAKE A WAY
though.
You and I can accept the GIFT
OF GRACE and live in Him with His help. It starts with Jesus and not
ourselves. I thank the Lord for the lesson He taught me this morning
about TESTED vs. TRAPPED. It is because of HIS UNFAILING LOVE TOWARDS US
THAT HE GIVES US EMANCIPATION.
When we test other Christians
to trap them, we are actually testing our Savior to trap Him and that's
not right of me or you if you do that. I am reminded of a Bible verse
regarding when we do to others, we are actually doing it to Christ.
"The King
will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least
of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:40, NIV)
May we remember testing
everyday Savior to entrap disappoints!
"Testing Everyday Savior To
Entrap Disappoints!"(T.E.S.T.E.D)/"Who have you T.E.S.T.E.D in life to
trap them?"
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for dying for my sin and coming back
to life to save me. Thank you for teaching me about how disappointed you
were with the Pharisees because they tested you not because they needed
help but to trap you. I thank you Lord that your Word says, "Test the
Lord to see that He is good!" Oh Lord you are good! The Pharisees
purpose was not to see that you are good but to trap you. Forgive me
Lord for I have been guilty of that too. I have been a Pharisee and
tested people to trap them because they wanted to trap me. I am sorry
Lord. Sometimes I still want to do that so badly but I thank you that
YOUR GOSPEL CHANGES AND TRANSFORMS ME AS I YIELD TO YOU. I need your
help Jesus. I pray right now for the one who is trapped in testings that
are meant to hurt instead of help. Please deliver that person and pity
them Oh Lord. Thanks so much Jesus. Help me to TRUST and love. Thanks
for placing people in our lives to help
us in life. You place the right people at the right time to help.
Thanks a lot Lord Jesus. Forgive my sins Oh Lord for I am sorry for my
sin and help me. Thanks for covering me in your BLOOD. I want to live for
you and serve you trusting you as my Emmanuel. I know seeking Truth
everyday delivers for you are the Truth. Thank you Jesus. Please hear our
prayers and answer us Oh Lord. Thank you so much Jesus! In Your Name I
Pray Jesus! Amen!
May
you experience the POWER OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION this day, and give Him
the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you
become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR,
JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.
You
don't have to be locked away anymore for Christ is here to free you and
give you peace to live out your actions.
How
do you look at GODISNOWHERE?
One
of my pastors, Pastor Hugo shared this example this past Sunday at the
RESURRECTION DAY SERVICE in the combined worship service of Pittsburgh
Chinese Church-Oakland & Oakland International Fellowship:
If
you look at it as GOD IS NO WHERE, you will still be lost in your sin
and be in bondage locked away in your sins and problems finding no
peace.
But
as my pastor spoke to the congregation and spoke to me, I am here to
tell you that GOD IS NOW HERE.
Yes,
friend God is alive and wants to bring a transformation in your life
through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for He paid the penalty on
the cross to rescue you and me and came back to life to save us and live
with us.
Yes,
friend that is exciting to know that we can experience HIS SAVING GRACE
& LIVING GRACE.
When
we mess up, we can go to Jesus with our shortcomings and He will forgive
us and restore us to Him and we will find peace in Him.
"Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore
Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God." (Colossians 5:17-21, NIV)
"For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:23, NIV)
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his
Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9, NIV)
Friend, we need Jesus because we have been separated from God due to our
sin. Because of our sin, Jesus had to pay the price to become our bridge
so we can reach God now not of our own good works but because of the
finished work of Christ, the Lord on the cross.
"For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not
by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
May
you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior becoming
His offspring so you can spend Eternity with Him. He is waiting for you.
Come as you are. Please do not reject the gift of God.
If
you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart and finding your new
identity in Christ Jesus.
Make this your prayer. Don’t let
the enemy deceive you into thinking you need all the answers before
coming to Christ. Let me just assure you though you may not have all the
answers right now before coming to Jesus, He will answer them slowly.
Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer will! Amen!
Make this your prayer. Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking
you need all the answers before coming to Christ. Let me just assure you
though you may not have all the answers right now before coming to
Jesus, He will answer them slowly. Yes, He will for I know our Redeemer
will! Amen!
Prayer:
Jesus, I thank you for being the Bread of Life. You are the Living Bread
of my life. Thank you for coming from Heaven and giving your life for
the life of the world. You sacrificed yourself for humanity. Thank you
Lord when we eat of you symbolically making you part of our life,
digesting what you teach us by following you, we can be living
Eternally, and the fruit that comes will reflect and resemble your life.
I want that Father God. I want that Lord Jesus! I want that Holy Spirit!
I know of a lot of people who partake of Holy Communion where the bread
represents your body broken for their sin and the juice represents your
blood shed for their sin. When we partake of Holy Communion, we are
reminded that we are remembering you. I want to remember you always Lord
Jesus. But for me to remember you always, I need to know you and
acknowledge everything you said you are. So right now I acknowledge that
you are my Lord and Personal Savior who died and rose again to give me
life from sin. So right now, I come to you and say how sorry I am for my
sin and living a life on my own. I repent of my sin and ask you to
forgive me of my sin with your cleansing blood which I accept. Wash me
and I will be clean from this infection of sin. Come Lord Jesus and
please become part of my life as you live in me and I will live for you.
I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your
home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve
you the rest of the days of my life. I do need your Spirit to reside in
me and work in me and through me so I surrender all that I am and will
be to you. Whatever your will is for me, please give me the strength and
willingness to bear it and rejoice in you. Thank you so much Jesus. I
thank you Jesus for becoming my Lord and Personal Savior. I thank you
Jesus you have heard my prayer and have answered me. I thank you that I
am your child Oh God. I thank you for becoming my only Way to Eternal
Life. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
