Scripture

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in Him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart.

~John 2:23-25, NLT

Quote

Never trust anything but the grace of God in yourself or in others.

~Oswald Chambers

This is one of those passages that the Calvinist love to take out of context. They use it as a proof text that our trust or faith in Jesus does not mean we are saved but they are missing the point. People were impressed with the miracles Jesus was performing and many were believing on Him as a prophet, miracle worker and as one sent from God. They are not believing on Him as a Savior, not at this time. This passage is not saying that these people wanted to be saved and go to heaven, but Jesus said “No, you are not a part of the elect and I will not commit Myself to you.” What the scripture is saying clearly is that Jesus knew human nature and He knew that the faith being expressed was very shallow. These people had an admiring faith but they were not ready to commit to discipleship or to die for Jesus. In other words, Jesus was not deceived by their enthusiasm. He did not walk away thinking, “Wow, these folks really love Me and I can count on them.” He knew they were impressed by His power but they did not know His person.

There is a lesson to be learned from this passage: never put your trust in humans or never elevate you trust in humans above your faith in God. Jesus was not bitter toward men but He knew human nature and that men are prone to fail. He knew that Peter would fail. He saw pride in Peter that not even Peter or the other eleven saw. He was not shocked by Peter’s failure. In reality, He expected Peter to fail. If you put your faith and confidence in man, you will be disappointed sooner or later and then you will get down on those who disappointed you. Put your faith in Christ and realize that all humans are prone to fail. Lower your expectations of others–don’t expect them to be perfect. You and I are not perfect so why should we expect others to be perfect. This is the problem with preacher worship. When you expect your pastor to be perfect it is simply a matter of time until he disappoints you. Put your faith in Jesus and pray for your pastor.

Too much criticism is not good. When you break a horse, you break his will but not his spirit. Too much criticism will break your spirit and you will become a spiritual plug. Some criticism is good: it means your folks are not into preacher worship. When a group meets together to worship and adore Jesus, we call this group a CHURCH; when a group meets together to worship their spiritual leader, we call that a CULT. Personally, I would not want to be a member of any church where the pastor is praised continually, and no one ever speaks a word of criticism about him. I am not comfortable is Cultist congregations. Your faith needs to be in Jesus; not one of His servants.

I was on a mission trip some years ago and a certain person kept talking about his pastor and his church. I took all I could take and then I corrected him. I said, “This is not about your pastor and your church; this is about Jesus and getting the gospel to the world. Your pastor and your church are a tiny part of His kingdom work, but it is not the focus. Beware of folks who promote their pastor and church. Be encouraged by those who promote Jesus.

Extra

We got a little rain yesterday, PTL. I wouldn’t say it was a Mudder or a Gully-washer but it was a rain and the garden was too wet to plow. For the first time in my memory, which isn’t that good, we have squash before Bible School.

I do hope you read the IMPRIMIS and the article about the DISNEY CORPORATION. I bought a can of diesel fuel last night and it was $20 for four gallon. I met a man there at the pumps and he and I got to talking. I think the idiots running the country are trying to force us to buy electric cars. The fools did not take into consideration, that raising fuel prices to promote their clean energy would drive everything up including groceries. The trucking industry is big in America and they are paying over $5 per gallon. There is no gas shortage; just like there is no food shortage. These morons in DC are creating the shortages so that we will look to them for salvation. We know better–the dem wits are the problem and they have no solutions for anything.

Shut-downs were stupid and were employed as a way for government to control us. Shutting down did not save lives; it cost us lives and it tanked the economy. I heard a young lady say last week–NO MORE SHUT-DOWNS and I think she speaks for the vast majority. I am praying that voters send this group of idiots a stern message this November. No more lies, no more shut-down, no more fraudulent elections. Make America GREAT or move to the country that you think is greater. If you think America is racist, move to somewhere else but shut up with the whining: we are sick of hearing it. BOYCOT Disney and Dollar Tree.

Pray for my friend Belinda who is having surgery today.

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.