16

Jump Start # 3721

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3721

 

Acts 8:2 “And some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.”

 

Stephen was dead. His cut and bloodied body was carried by brave brothers who buried him with tears from broken hearts. Just a few pages later, James, one of the apostles is executed by Herod (12:2). This new and young kingdom, was losing gallant leaders. Who would take their places? Who would fill their shoes?

 

I thought about that the other day. In the past couple of years, many influential disciples have been taken home to be with the Lord. Some were preachers. Some were shepherds. Some were just amazing encouragers whose hearts bubbled over with love and hospitality. The kingdom seems a little emptier without them being around. And, one must ask, who will take their places? Who will fill their shoes?

 

Here are some thoughts for us:

 

First, it is wonderful to have experienced the great positive impact that so many have made for the kingdom. We have learned so much from some of these preachers. Our lives have been enriched by the goodness and kindness of so many disciples. It is a blessing to have been blessed by them. We miss when they are no longer around, but are so thankful that there is an imprint upon our hearts from such good things that they have done.

 

Second, some cannot be replaced. There was no replacement for the apostle James. God didn’t have a perpetual apostleship that would continue on forever. When the apostles died, no one filled that role. And, in many other ways, no one can do exactly what someone else has done. Another preacher can stand behind the pulpit. Other shepherds can be appointed to serve. But no one will do things exactly the way others have. The same is true of us. No one can do what we do in the exact same manner. We all have unique abilities and are given special opportunities. The work of encouraging can continue on, but it may not look the same as others have done it. Treasure what you have now. Learn from those who do things well. And, in your own special way you and others will carry the work on. It may look different. It may be better.

 

Third, with the death of Stephen and James, the kingdom wasn’t paralyzed. In fact, the kingdom continued to grow and expand. The work of God is much larger than any one of us. The kingdom grew because others continued to be busy teaching, encouraging and spreading the word of Christ. James didn’t get to go into all the world as other apostles did. It wasn’t necessary for James to see those things. He started and when his divine appointment with death came, he was ready to go.

 

Laying a foundation of growth and building a legacy plan will help a congregation with vision. Putting in place the key steps of future leadership will help a congregation moving onward with the Lord. For some places, the death of a shepherd or a preacher, begins the slow death march of the congregation. No one takes over. No one steps us. The void is never filled. As God told Ezekiel, “I searched for a man to stand in the gap.” No one was found. And, for congregations, that gap created by the passing of some influential members, is the starting of the end for that group.

 

Stephen died. But, there would be an Apollos, a Timothy, a Titus, a Barnabas, a Silas, a Paul, that would do their part in teaching God’s word. There wasn’t a gap when Stephen died. The same chapter that announces the death of Stephen, tells us about Philip doing great work in Samaria. It tells of an Ethiopian official who was told about Jesus. He was baptized. He returned home to Ethiopia, with a new message, a new promise and a new relationship with the Lord.

 

Stephen was dead, but the work carried on. And, so it is for us. Learn from those around you who are doing such amazing kingdom work. Get your hands busy doing things for the kingdom. And, when opportunities arise for you to excel, be ready with a “Here am I, send me” spirit.

 

Generations…legacy…doing our part in the kingdom.

 

Roger

 

13

Jump Start # 3720

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3720

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment.”

 

It was a sunny Saturday morning. Tons of things to do, but I was sitting in a funeral home. I knew the person who had passed away. Decades ago, when I was a very young preacher, this man encouraged me and helped me. I’ve run into him now and then but didn’t know of his passing until I caught something about it on Facebook.

 

As the preacher was detailing things about life, he read from Moses’ Psalms 90 and stated that the life expectancy currently is 77 years. I’m hearing that and I’m 67. That stuck with me. I might have ten years left, maybe fewer, maybe more. Ten years—a decade, it really isn’t that long.

 

On the way home from the funeral, the “ten years left” thought filled my mind. What if I only have ten years left? What needs to be done? What do I want to do? Many would start making a bucket list of places that they want to visit. Some might think, if I’m ever going to have a sportscar, this is it. Some might become sad. None of those things crossed my mind.

 

I’ve been so blessed. It’s been a great journey, filled with amazing people and wonderful opportunities. I have traveled to so many great places. I’ve been able to preach all over this country. I have found a special bond with this little blog that I write every day. I have taught nearly every book of the Bible. The Lord has opened doors so I could help people make better choices in their lives. I’ve been able to teach shepherds how to be better leaders in the kingdom. All of us could do more. All of us carry a few regrets. But all in all, what an amazing journey and an amazing blessing this has been.

 

Here are some things I have learned through the years:

 

  • Friendships are not hurt by miles of separation
  • People change. Some for the better. Some for the worse. Allow people to change and see them as they are now.
  • Don’t be defined by stuff. It’s only stuff. The type of car you drive, the neighborhood you live in, doesn’t make one better than others.
  • There is sunshine in each day if you look for it. Some days it is harder than others to see, but it’s there.
  • You make your own reputation. You do that by the way you treat others. Some are like hugging a porcupine—you’ll get hurt if you get to close to them. Others are like a fuzzy blanket on a cold winter night. It’s just the right thing.
  • It is a blessing to hear good preaching. There are so many gifted preachers today.
  • Life can be filled with regrets or it can be viewed as a blessing. It’s your choice. But the choice you make will color your outlook.
  • Keeping an eye on where your money is going, can eliminate a lot of worry and stress. Don’t spend more than you have—that’s just good common sense.
  • If you have a good family, be thankful. Know your family story. If you don’t have a good family, do what you can to be the first to create something that is a blessing.
  • People will only get under your skin and bother you if you allow them to. You don’t have to solve every problem nor figure every person out. That’s not your job.
  • When one focuses upon trying to make each day the best that he can, the weeks, months and yes, even years, fly by. Don’t try to live a lifetime today. Just make today the best that you can.
  • The closer you walk with the Lord, the more blessings you see and the more your heart is at peace.
  • Some people will not like you no matter what you do. Be yourself and don’t try to win the world. Just make sure that you are walking with the Lord.
  • The end here will come. It will come whether we are ready or not. The best thing is to live your with the Lord, doing your best all the time.

 

There is a divine appointment awaiting all of us. Busy yourself in the kingdom and walking so close to the Lord that you could touch Him, and you’ll be just fine.

 

Roger

 

12

Jump Start # 3719

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3719

 

Mark 14:8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial.

 

It was an all too familiar story, repeated so many times before. A family that has been part of a congregation for more than a dozen years, meets with the preacher after services one Sunday morning. They tell the sad and pitiful story of how they don’t feel connected and that they were not getting much out of services. They have decided to leave. They were letting the preacher know. This was it and they wouldn’t be back. And, with puppy dog faces, they say that they hate doing this but it was best for the family. They said that they would miss everyone, but it was something that had to be done.

 

The preacher sat and listened. He’d heard this song before. And, as hugs were exchanged and best wishes to everyone, they told the preacher, “We’re going to miss you.” The preacher caught himself, for he nearly said, “I’m going to miss you.” But he knew better. This family had been part of the church for a long time, but they were so inconsistent in coming. The man never did anything publicly. He never led a prayer. He never commented in a class. He never taught a class. But, doing things before others isn’t for everyone. This family didn’t do anything behind the scenes. When VBS rolled around, they’d bring their kids, some, but they never helped out in putting things together or taking things down. They never had another family from the church in their home. They were never seen at a funeral home encouraging a family from the church. They never sent a card to anyone. They never came to special classes or Gospel meetings that the church offered.  They barely got their big toe in the water.

 

And, now they were leaving. They didn’t feel that they fit in. They off to another church, looking for what they couldn’t find at the current place. And, the preacher knew all too well, that in just a few short years, if that long, the family would leave the new place. It would be the same story all over again. And, if nothing changed, they would eventually just drop out all together. They would be critical of how unfriendly congregations were. Their faith, even after years of being Christians, remained very shallow and elementary.

 

How many names we could all put to that story. It is the frustration of preachers and elders kingdom wide. Not involved. Not engaged. Not interested enough to come. Always on the outside looking in. Forever seeking what the church offers for them. Consumer mentality and never realizing that they ought to bring something to the congregation.

 

When our time here is done, it will mean very little to the Lord that we worked decades balancing books, overseeing a business, helping the sick get better, maintaining a beautiful yard, paying off our homes and a multitude of things we call ‘life.’ What the Lord wants to know is what did you do for His kingdom? How did you encourage His people? How did you show others Jesus? How did you help others walk closer to the Lord?

 

Our verse today is the Lord’s defense for the woman who used very expensive perfume to anoint Him. She was criticized and rebuked by the disciples. What a waste of money, they said. As she was pouring perfume on the Lord, they were pouring guilt upon her. This could have been sold and the money given to the poor. The disciples made her feel like a heel. Jesus wouldn’t have it. He defended her, praised her and honored her. He included this story in His story.

 

She has done what she could, is how the Lord saw it. She didn’t do everything. No one can. She didn’t write any books of the Bible. She didn’t heal anyone. No one was raised from the dead because of her. She wasn’t chosen as an apostle. She didn’t die as a sacrifice for our sins. Doubt she ever preached. The list is long at what she never did. But, she did what she could. She honored the Lord by pouring a luxurious gift upon Him. It might have been the most expensive gift the Lord was ever given.

 

She did what she could. Now, some thoughts for us:

 

First, what have you done for the kingdom? Other than attending and possibly giving some money, how have you helped the people of God? Could you answer that? Would you answer that? What souls have you lifted up? What hearts have you strengthened? What shepherds have you defended and supported? Maybe you can’t preach. How have you helped those who do preach? Maybe you can’t teach. How do you help those who do teach?

 

Could the Lord say of you, “You have done what you could?”

 

Second, the anointing of Jesus was something for the moment. By the time Jesus went to the cross and all the trouble He experienced from sweaty brows in the garden, to bloody scalp from the crown of thorns, to a back shredded by scourging, to carrying a heavy cross and then having nails pounded into him, I doubt there was any fragrance of that perfume lingering on Him. One could say, it didn’t make any lasting impact. It was a waste. Jesus didn’t see it that way. For the moment, it was good. And, what you do may not change things down the road, but in the moment, you put a smile on someone’s face. For the moment, you encourage someone who is trying. For a moment, you welcome a visitor.

 

Could the Lord say of you, “You have done what you could?”

 

Third, our fellowship is simply that, “fellows in a ship.” We all have a role. You receive, but you also give. You take, but you also bring. You share. And, the richer that fellowship becomes, the greater impact you will have with God’s people.

 

Our dear Shane Scott passed through that door of death last week. The tributes that have flowed in all testify to his charming spirit, his joyous character and his amazing insights in God’s word. I preached with him in a lectureship years ago. He was amazing. He has been to our congregation and brought such rich words that helped. And, everywhere he went, he did what he could. He lifted spirits. He included and he invited everyone into his heart. He will be missed. What made Shane special was that he brought his talents to the kingdom.

 

She did what she could…Shane did what he could. How about you?

 

Roger

 

11

Jump Start # 3718

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3718

Psalms 32:3 “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.”

 

I love how honest, open and even raw the Psalms are. They often reveal things that we feel, but we’d never admit them. The Psalms do.

 

Our verse today was written by King David. He was not in a good place. This was not one of the best days of his life. He felt like he was dying. I’ve seen cancer patients wasting away. Energy, strength and life all drained from them. They haven’t eaten in days and there is nothing to them any more. Families gather and just stare as all life seeps away from the dying patient. This was David. Yet, he did not have cancer. His problem was self inflicted. It was sin. And, for a long time, David tried to keep quiet about the sin. Bathsheba knew about some of the sin. It involved her. David’s commander knew about some of the sin, it involved him. The longer David kept quiet, the more life was being drained from him. The fun of sin had quickly turned to shame, fear and guilt. And, more than anything else, David knew that God knew. Yet, David remained quiet.

 

This is a great lesson for us. Sin doesn’t go away on it’s own. A person can move, yet the sin in the heart remains. We can busy ourselves with superficial things, yet the sin remains. We know. God knows. And, as long as one keeps quiet about it, the joy and peace in our hearts leave us.

 

Psalms 32 fits with Psalms 51 and David’s sins concerning Bathsheba and the coverup that followed. Psalms 51 is David’s confession. Open. Honest. Humble. Broken. Penitent. Psalms 32 describes the before and after picture of David as he was dealing with his sins. You’ve seen pictures of people before they were on drugs and then after they were on drugs. Hardly looks like the same person.

 

Our verse describes the internal guilt that was eating away at David. He was like an old man. In other verses he feels as if God’s heavy hand is crushing him. He states that his vitality was gone. But as he confesses his sin, sunlight flows once more in his heart. Joy returns as he again walks in righteousness.

 

At the beginning of this chapter, three different words are used: transgression, sin and iniquity. In one way, they seem the same. They describe the heart that abandons the Lord. However, these words do have different specific directions.

 

  • Transgression involves rebellion, going away from what is right. This is descriptive of the relationship with God. One has turned against God.

 

  • Sin means to miss the mark. It identifies our relationship with God’s law, we missed it.

 

  • Iniquity carries the idea of deception, cover up and it reveals our relationship to ourselves. We have lied and deceived ourselves.

 

Notice three quick lessons from all of this:

 

First, things do not get better on their own. We know this in life. It is true spiritually. If you look up one day and see water spots on your ceiling, you don’t think, ’It’ll go away in time.’ In time, your upstairs may fall to your downstairs. Your engine light comes on your car. You can put a piece a tape over it and ignore it, but it will still be there until your car breaks down one day.

 

A sour spirit doesn’t just get better on it’s own. An unforgiving heart doesn’t get better on it’s own. And, for David, months after the sin, things were not getting any better. A person may even forget about the wrongs that he did, but that doesn’t mean God has forgotten them.

 

Second, God urged David through the prophet Nathan. “Thou art the man,” sure rings true to David’s heart. When the one sheep was lost, it was the shepherd who left the ninety-nine and went looking for the lost. When the coin was lost in the house, Luke 15 tells us, the floors were swept and a lamp was lit until it was found. God will come looking for you. It may be in a sermon that you are hearing on Sunday. It may be through this blog. It may be the voice of grandma or a dear friend. God can use every tool available to get you to stop playing hide and seek with Him.

 

Third, once David confessed, joy and hope were restored. He likely wished that he had not waited so long. Maybe he was afraid. Maybe he thought even God will forget. But, the longer he remained silent, the more lifeless his soul became. God is calling upon us to be honest with our sins and transparent with Him.

 

David felt like an old man. Sin will do that to your soul. One doesn’t have to live that way.

 

Roger

 

10

Jump Start # 3717

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3717

Matthew 25:14-15 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.”

 

Our passage today, the beginning to the talent parable, which is about responsibility and the coming of the Lord, also reminds us that our abilities are not the same. The way this is worded, it seems that all three slaves were gathered around the master. The ‘talent,’ was a coin. The master would look at each slave and understand what each was capable of doing. One got five coins. Another, two. And, the third slave got one coin.

 

The master didn’t practice equality among the slaves. He did not divide the coins up equally, giving them all a fair chance. Instead, he gave the first man the most. It was decided by his ability. He could handle five. The second man was given two. Why not five? The master didn’t think he could handle that. He was given two based upon his skill level. The one talent man was given one. He might have pouted, complained and believed that the master liked the others more than him, but that’s not the case. Each were given what their ability would allow. The master knew them and the master knew what they could do.

 

Consider which apostles wrote the books of the N.T. Wasn’t Andrew capable? Paul wrote more books, but by word count, Luke, a Gentile and not an apostle, wrote more of the N.T. than anyone else. Why was Andrew not included in the inner circle? He was Peter’s brother. James and John, another brother pair are in the inner circle. Was Andrew not as good as they were? Andrew missed the transfiguration. Andrew didn’t see Jarius’ daughter raised. Why were the brothers, James and John allowed, and Andrew couldn’t tag along with his brother Peter?

 

Here is something I see with this generation. It’s special. Days gone by, there were many brotherhood papers, but not a lot of books written.  A few sermons were complied in books. Debates were transcribed and a few commentaries were written. There wasn’t much outside the papers. Today, so many of our brethren are publishing books. Amazing insights. Great studies. From devotionals, to commentaries, to very deep dives into various topics. This generation is filling shelves with amazing tools to help us know God’s word.

 

Now, out here is a one talent disciple. He hasn’t written any books. He isn’t invited to crisscross the country to speak. Few know his name. This disciple quietly does what he can. He teaches. He encourages. He stays busy helping the people in his area know Jesus. When he considers what others are doing, he feels like he is not doing enough. He can feel like he hasn’t done much when he sees what others are doing.

 

Here are some lessons for us:

 

First, the one, two and five talent men were not in a contest or a race against each other. The Lord doesn’t compare. We do. The Lord knew what each was capable of doing. Standing next to a five talent man can make one feel intimidated and inferior. The Lord never saw it that way. The Lord never expected everyone to do what the five talent man did. Comparisons lead to jealousy and envy, which eventually leads to bitterness and thinking evil of someone.

 

Second, all three men in the talent parable were capable of pleasing the Lord and glorifying Him. Two of them did just that. So, you have never written a book. So, you have never broadcast a podcast. So, you have never written a blog. So. But, look at what you have done. You have taught little hearts. You have influenced co-workers. You have led the people of God. You have opened your home for others. You have encouraged preachers. All of those things are valuable and important. Most do not get much attention. And, if it is attention that we are after, then we need to sit down a moment and rethink what we are doing. It’s not about us. It’s about helping others walk closer with the Lord.

 

Third, what upset the Lord in the talent parable was that the one talent man did nothing. He had ability, that’s why he was given a talent. But he didn’t use that ability. He dug a hole in the ground and buried the talent. He didn’t lose it. He didn’t spend it. But, neither did he do anything worthwhile with it. The master expected more.

 

You may not be a James or John. You may be an Andrew. It was Andrew who found the kid with the snack that Jesus used to feed the multitude. It was Andrew who introduced his brother Peter to the Lord. Find what you are capable of doing, and then get busy. A cup of cold water given to a little one, Jesus tells us, is something that Heaven notices. No one else may. Others may be digging wells. Others may be driving water trucks. Others may be buying bottles of water by the case. You gave one cup to one disciple. Not much, you say. Not like what others are doing. Yet, Heaven saw and Heaven noticed.

 

We all have been given abilities and opportunities by the Lord. Do what you can. Do all that you can. Bring your best to the Lord.

 

Roger