Author: Daryl Pint

Saved by Grace, living by faith

Stumbling Block

Seeking wisdom is not bad.  Wisdom allows good decisions if it is followed. However seeking it apart from God is. Wisdom of this world has a limit or duration.  That limit is from the the point of understanding until deeper wisdom is added, yet at the end of this death happens and it is gone.  This wisdom may benefit others but it too has a duration.  Scripture tells us that true wisdom begins with a fear and respect for God.  Beginning with this wisdom, all other wisdom that follows has much deeper application and benefit for eternity.  Do we wish for wisdom? “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added”

Matthew 12:38 – Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it

1 Corinthians 1:21
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world.? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men

Jeremiah 8:9
The wise men shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what wisdom is in them.

Jesus Withdrew

Jesus had just healed a man from a crippled hand and the pharisees plotted to destroy Him.  The response was not what we would expect is it?  Yet I have to wonder how many times I have seen something in my life and rejected it as NOT being done by and for the purpose of God.  I certainly do not want Jesus to withdraw from my life.  Trusting Him in our life requires that we believe in His promise – “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”  Find hope in trusting Him alone to use you for His purpose.
Matthew 12:17
Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
and in his name the Gentiles will hope

Isaiah 11:10
In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people

Romans 15:12
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope

Come to Me

How many times do we wait to come to Him?  I know I first try everything in my own power, strength, and (what appears to be wise) only to, much later, find I did not have the power, strength or wisdom. Why is it not the first thing we do?  Only good can happen from going to Him first.  Stay in His presence and seek His power, strength, and wisdom.  His rest gives us peace.

Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light

Exodus 33;14
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest

John 7:37
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

Psalms 116:6
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling

Jeremiah 6:17
Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it. ’
I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet! ’
But they said, ‘We will not pay attention. ’
Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it

Revealed

We don’t always know God’s plan do we?  We know He wants us to come to Him.  We know He wants us to believe in His son.  We know He wants us to repent from our sins.  We know He wants us to desire Him more than anything this world has to offer. He has revealed these to our heart.   What we do not know is the plans of blessings, trials, joy, pain, love, rejection…  These are times when faith must overcome our own thoughts and understanding.  Some things are hidden from us and we must trust that God has a plan … This should be enough for us to know…. It is in His hands and in this we find purpose no matter what the circumstance is.

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children

Matthew 16:17
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar- Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven

John 12:27
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.
Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven:“I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself

1 Corinthians 1:26
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God

Blessings and Repentance

Jesus denounced cities for their lack of repentance. In these cities, the blind were made to see, others cured, He walked on water, and 5,000 were fed from the lunch of a small boy.  I wonder how much more accountable we are than these.    Why do you suppose God gives us blessings in our lives?  He loves us. For sure it is easy to be thankful for being given something. Does He expect, through these acts of love, a change in us?  Does He expect our desire and purpose to remain on self?  Indeed not.  We are to grow in a singular purpose – Honor and glorify Him, Repenting from serving self and choosing to serve Him.

Matthew 11:20
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent

Mark 8:22
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him

Luke 9:10
On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing

John 1:44
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these

Luke 10:16
“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me

Matthew 11:23   Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day

The Blind, Deaf, and Mute

Can you imagine what it would be like to be blind and then be able to see?  or deaf and able to hear? or mute and able to speak?  The joy and thankfulness you would have could not be explained in words.  Imagine if you were the friend or brother or parents of one of these and you saw the miracle happen.  The thankfulness you would have and how you would not be able to stop talking about it.  You might even tell others with great belief they too could have healing.  How thankful would you be if you were saved from eternity in hell, or if you were given peace, joy, love, hope…..Wouldn’t you want to tell others about gospel????

 

Matthew 11:4
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me

Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted

Are you Looking?

I’m always interested in the statements from scripture that ask the question “Are you the one”, “Are you the coming Messiah”, or state the fact “I know the Messiah is coming”.  People were living their lives looking for and anticipating the Messiah coming.  They had a desire to have Him come and this had to have affected how they lived their lives. We, on the other hand, know He as come and that He is coming again.  I have to wonder if there is more expected of us because we know.  We have more access to His word and we neglect it. We have more knowledge of what His expectations for our lives and we do not obey.  Choose to live for Him and daily live to honor and glorify Him.

Matthew 11:2
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another

Hebrews 10:37
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls

John 11:27
She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world

Giving from the Heart

Giving comes from the heart.  If we give out of compassion or thankfulness our heart is pure.  God gives us opportunity to love others through giving and serving.  Being blessed by God allows us to share that blessing.  If we are not willing to give from what we have already been given then our heart is not in line with God’s intended purpose for our life.  Choose a life of giving.

Matthew 10:42
And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward

Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,
but he who is generous to the needy honors him

Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for his deed

Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises

Acknowledge God

One would think believing and trusting in God should have an impact on our lives (actions, thoughts, and what we say).  If we claim faith in what our Father has promised, and if we have the most elementary understanding of His love, mercy and grace, shouldn’t our hope and strength, this side of eternity, be proclaimed.  How are those without hope and peace in their lives ever going to know the hope that is within us if we do not share it.  Make a difference today and share the hope that is freely given.

Matthew 10:32
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Romans 10:9
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Hebrews 10:34
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him

Revelation 3:5
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels