Jump Start # 2077

Romans 12:11 “not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

A grand quote that Robert Kennedy stated, and later was used by his brother at his funeral, said, “Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.” Within this Kennedy quote lies the concept of vision. Throughout history, it was the men and women of vision who forged ahead in unknown lands, made new inventions, and were not stopped by the obstacles before them. We stand upon the shoulders of those who have found ways to conquer diseases, make things safer and make life easier and more efficient. They truly dreamed of things that never were.

One of the great challenges today is developing leaders in the church who have spiritual vision. Many are content to just go with the flow and to continue to do things as they have always been. But what worked in an earlier generation does not always work today. Still water can become stagnate in a short time, and stale churches can die even faster.

Our verse today, found in that section of many admonitions to the Romans, reminds all of us to “not lag behind in diligence.” Don’t be left behind. Don’t drag your feet. Don’t be slow about it. Keeping up with everyone else is not as important as keeping up with the Lord. Be diligent. Get to it. Get serious about things. That’s the thoughts here.

I wonder if the lagging part can be connected to a lack of vision. Going no where in particular. Just taking your time. Not seeing the need of the hour nor the shortness of life that is before us. Could vision change that? Could vision help?

Jesus told the disciples to lift up their eyes and see the fields. They were ready for harvest. They lacked the vision to see those things.

How do we inspire others to have vision? How do we inspire leaders to have vision? Inherent with the concept of leading, is knowing where you are going. The green pastures and the quiet waters of Psalms 23 weren’t found by accident. The shepherd knew where they were. He knew where he was going. Even the dark valleys of the shadow of death was part of the plan. It was a necessary part of the journey to get where he wanted them to be. Vision. Seeing beyond today. Seeing what is needed.

Here are some basic visionary questions:

In five years, in ten years, what will this congregation look like? Who will likely still be here and who will not?

In five years, in ten years, who will be leading this congregation? Who will be preaching here in five years, in ten years?

In five years, ten years, will this congregation outgrow the current building? What then? In five years, ten years, will the facility be in great need of repairs?

In five years, ten years, what will the demographics of the congregation look like? Will the church be mostly senior citizens? What will the finances look like in five years, ten years?

Asking questions, like these, opens the door for visionary thinking. It’s just a start. Ideas shared and borrowed and learned also opens the door for visionary thinking. Asking the question, “Why?” and “Is there a better way?” makes one look not only to how things were done in the past, but whether or not they still work in the future.

What Robert Kennedy’s statement shows is that some are visionary by nature, and some are not. Some are content with the way things are and some are not. Some have ideas and some do not. Some see what could be and others do not see that. Is it wrong if a person isn’t visionary? I don’t think so. I think that’s simply how God wired us. Some are problem solvers and others are not. Some are thinkers and others are doers. So lead and others follow. Is one better than the other? No. Is one necessarily wrong? No.

But there can be conflict when dreamers and people of vision sit in a meeting with those who are content with the way things are. The visionary folks want to try something new. The other crowd doesn’t see the need for that. Change or keep things the way they are. That’s a tough call. Change, just to say you’ve changed, isn’t any good. Change ought to make things better. It ought to help things out. Change must be Biblical or there is no need for any further discussion. If it’s not Biblical, it’s tossed out. However, some things are just a matter of taste, and not necessarily right or wrong. Some things are just a fresher way of doing what has been done.

Here are some thoughts about ideas.

First, think them out and think them through before you float them to everyone. Shooting from the hip may work in the Old West, but it’s not a good way to introduce ideas. Consider reactions. Look at it from several standpoints. Consider the costs. Look at it from the different age groups within the congregation. Think. Think. Think. Then, when you are done thinking about it, start praying. Pray about it.

Second, present your idea to the shepherds of the church. Let them hear you, question you and give them time to think it out. Remember, you’ve been sitting on this for a long time, so give them some time. Remember they are thinking of the whole group. They may see things that you forgot about. They may know things that you don’t know.

Third, don’t pressure, threaten or put the shepherds in a corner with your idea. Don’t claim that you’ll leave if you don’t get your idea. Don’t stir things up by talking to a whole bunch of people before you’ve talked to them first. Don’t put them in a tough situation. You’ll come out looking bad and not only may your idea fall flat, but so might you because of the way you presented this.

Fourth, don’t pitch a fit if they decide otherwise. They are responsible for the wellbeing of the congregation. What you suggest may just not work. They know the people. Don’t be like the teen who runs off and slams doors. I heard of a guy who got so mad in a meeting at church, that he broke the door slamming it so hard. Not good. Not like Jesus. Trust your shepherds. They are good men of wisdom, experience and love for the congregation.

Fifth, if your idea involves time and people, volunteer yourself. Be part of the project. Get involved.

When traveling, bring back ideas from other places. Share them with the shepherds. This shows to them that you are thinking and connected to the work.

Ideas—vision– team work. Help one another. Not lagging…fervent…serving—key words from our verse and key thoughts for our hearts.

Roger

Jump Start # 659

Romans 12:11 “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

The Summer Olympics are on. Do you watch any of the games and do you get caught up in cheering for Team U.S.A.? I do. I love the Olympics. They are amazing. The world’s best going against one another. The skill level is unbelievable. Many of the athletes were in the last Olympics and a few competed in the one before that. Full time athletes. They train year round. When I hear that I ask, “don’t they have jobs?” I found out that they are funded and training and competing basically are their jobs.

When Olympians win there is a smile on their faces that is so genuine. When they fail, especially when they faltered, the tears are hard to watch. Olympians represent their country. They are sent not to compete but to win. They are all expected to win.

Today, shocking news from the Olympic badminton court. Two sets of teams are being investigated for not trying. Apparently one team from China did not want to face another team from China, so they hit the birdie into the net so often that an official warned them. A team from Korea did the same thing. Not trying at the Olympics?  Not giving your best? That’s not the Olympic spirit.

Our verse today takes us to the spiritual level of this—”Not lagging behind in diligence.” Lagging behind is the idea of falling off the pace. The group of runners are pulling away and one person is getting farther and farther behind. Lagging and diligence do not go together. Diligence is the idea of taking things seriously. Seeing to something, and getting about it. Lagging is just the opposite. It’s putting things off. It’s not giving 100%.

Our verse leads us to ask, “How hard are you trying?” We know that salvation is not based upon performance. God will not judge us as Olympian judges do. God’s grace and mercy is what saves us. Yet with that comes the spirit of trying. It is God’s apostle who wrote, “Not lagging behind in diligence…” God wants us to put forth our best effort. Give it all you have. Give 100%.

There may be reasons a person lags behind.

• Possibly it’s harder than what a person first thought. Christianity involves our all. It’s more than making it to the church building on Sunday morning—it defines and describes us. Attitudes, choices, language, clothing, are all affected by Christ. Thinking of others, putting others first is part of being a Christian. Some lag because it’s almost overwhelming to them. They go through life like a freshman on his first day of high school. His arms are full of books, he has his class schedule in hand, he’s trying to work the combination on the locker and overall he feels lost, overwhelmed and nearly defeated. The key is putting your mind to it. Think first. Pray. Get your order in order and then fill your heart with the word of God. The more you do that, the more your choices will reflect the spiritual. You can do it because God said so.
• Others lag because they have never made their faith a priority. Sure it’s important and they certainly want to go to Heaven but it’s not something that they think about every day. It’s there and they know they need to do something about it, but right now there are other things. This is lagging at its best! What else could be more important? The solution is simply put Christ first and seek the things above.

• Others lag because they compare themselves with others and feel hopelessly defeated. They tell themselves that they could never know the Bible like others. They could never do this and never do that. They feel outclassed and in way over their heads so they compete but not with heart and spirit. They lag. They defeat themselves. The solution is to not compare yourself with others. Do the best that you can do. Do what you have talents for. This is not a competition against others. This is all about glorifying God.
• Still others lag because they have not prepared themselves. They started out fine, but soon ran out of steam. Christianity isn’t something for a day, or even a week, but for a lifetime. Goals and plans are part of this race. Knowledge is important. Connection with others is important. Like a meteor that flashes across the sky and then is gone, so are some Christians. Their passion fades. Their commitment dies out. They settled into a lukewarm pace and are set on idle. They lag behind.

A person hurts themselves when they lag. They also hurt the church. A lagging church is made up of lagging members. We see this in some places. Putting off the things that ought to be done. Not trying very hard. Settled down. Comfortable. Not wanting to do much more. Those things just want to make me scream. GET UP! GET AT IT! There are things to do—even today. There are people who need you—even today. There are things to pray about—even today. There are things to be studied—even today. There are things to be taught—even today. Satan is knocking on your door—be diligent in resisting him. There are others who are dropping out because they are lagging behind—pick them up and help them. There is much to do. The race is not the time for sight seeing. The race is not the time to wave to the crowds. The race is not the time to admire your uniform. It’s time to get at it.

Sadly, those that lag, will soon be left behind. They will be caught in a real pickle—do they stay in Christ at their slow snail pace, barely hanging on, or do they drop out and join the world? Too much Christ to quit and too much world to make a difference. The life of one who lags is miserable. They miss the great marriage they could have. They miss the difference they could make in the lives of others. They are on the outside looking through the window. They need to come in and join the others. They need to be diligent.

The  Olympics ought to remind us that medals are not given to those who lag behind.

It’s time to let your light shine and get busy. Keep up with others. Set the pace for the rest of us. Be a front runner, not one who lags.

Roger

Jump Start # 538 

Romans 12:11 “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

  Our passage today is part of a string of admonitions that Paul gives the Romans. Verse 10-13, is one long verse in our English Bibles. The string contains 10 specific characteristics of the Christian walk. Some of these describe what we owe to others. Some of them are attitudes that we should have within us. Combined, these ten statements, define a busy Christian who is active, helpful, and making a difference in the lives of others. We would all do well to develop these within us.

  The verse for today, identifies two attitudes directed toward our serving the Lord. These two statements are opposites. If one is lagging behind, then he is not fervent. If one is fervent, then he is not lagging behind. The answer to lagging is becoming passionate or fervent.

  Lagging behind—what an interesting expression. We might think of a group of runners. The leaders stay together in a pack, but one guy has fallen behind. He is lagging. He can’t keep up. Before long, he will realize that he cannot win.

  We might think of a family taking a walk through the neighborhood. One of the kids is out front, leading the group. One stops to pick up rocks, climb a dirt pile, while the rest are walking on. He is lagging behind. Or, the smallest child can’t keep up, and has slowed down, complaining that he is tired of walking and it hot, and is thirsty and wants to go home. Dad stops, and picks the child up and puts him on his shoulders. No lagging behind now.

  Lagging behind soon becomes left behind if we are not careful. Paul has a specific in mind here, “Not lagging behind in diligence…” Diligence—focused, determined, full speed ahead. It is with diligence that we study the word of God. We should assemble to worship with a determined (diligence) heart and mind. Lagging behind in diligence means other things get in the way of God’s work. We’ll do it, we tell ourselves, when we get around to it. We just have a hard time getting around to it. A day of not reading the Bible, turns into three. A day without praying becomes a week without praying. Things come up. The kids are sick. Errands have to be run. The schedule is full.  There is so much to be done. Everyone is pulling for some of your time. You’re tired, stressed and frazzled. Something has to give. Something has to be pushed to the back burner. The easy thing is your diligence. Things will change, you say, once we get through this busy season. Once things settle down at work. Once we are through the holidays. Lagging behind. Letting the spiritual slip. It’s so easy to do. We all fight this. We all need to work at this.

  The other expression, “fervent in spirit” is how we ought to be. Instead of lagging, fervent is the answer. The word fervent reminds us of the “fervent prayer of a righteous man” that James talks about. We see the word, “fever” – which means hot. Passionate, serious, on fire,  committed, that’s the concept of fervent in spirit. 

  I don’t know anyone who wants to lag behind. I don’t see that as anyone’s goal or a must on their bucket list. It happens. We fall into that and the passion dwindles. We remember Ephesus that lost their first love—not fervent in the spirit.

  We see it—now what can we do?

  Throughout the day, most of us are given opportunities to work on these things, we just don’t think that way. Think about how much down time, how many times you are waiting for things, other people—and what do we do? Text. Check email. Play angry birds. Cat nap. Could spend some of those down times or waiting times praying or reading a few passages or making a list of things I want to do to help the lives of others. Is it wrong to text? No. Check email a no-no? Certainly not. What about angry birds? Great game. But don’t allow those things to cause you to lag behind.

  Use stop light time for prayer. Think about someone that you want to pray about. When you get to the stop light, pray. Then think about someone else. Stop light—pray. Drive, thinking about someone else. A light—pray. After a while, you’ll enjoy hitting red lights—prayer time. Not lagging behind.

  While waiting to pick kids up, read a few verses. While waiting for the doctor, read a few verses. Keep your Bible near, or have it on your phone. Not lagging behind. Everyday there are moments like these. Airports are a great place—there is a lot of waiting there. Even in the church building, waiting for services to begin…not lagging behind in service.

  I used to run some in high school. I don’t anymore. I’ve not kept up with the latest shoes and stretches and so forth. Yet there is one thing that never changes. The guy who lags behind, doesn’t win. The trophies go to the dedicated, the passionate, the fervent.

  One other thought here: lagging behind implies someone or something is ahead of us. We’ve not kept up with them. We’ve lagged and they kept going. It’s not others that we are lagging behind, it’s not the church—we don’t compare our selves with others. We are lagging behind in what we are capable of doing. We are not hitting on all cylinders. We are not living up to our potential. It’s not that we are giving 100% and lagging behind is our best effort, it’s just the opposite. We are not giving it all. We are not busting it as we are capable of doing. We lag, when we could do more. We look for the easy and the comfortable, not for the best. Paul was telling the Romans to step it up to their capabilities.

  That’s a fair question to ask ourselves. Are we maxing out for Jesus? Are we giving it our all? Are we pushing as hard as we can? Most would say, “no.” We could do more. We could do better. We could be involved more, attend more, do more. Why don’t we? It’s a lag thing. We are lagging and not even aware of it.

  Something to consider…look for opportunities, they are there. Be ready for them and don’t lag behind.

  Roger

Jump Start # 363 

Romans 12:11 “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” 

  The book of Romans has two main sections. The first section, covering the majority of the book is heavy with theory, arguments and proofs about salvation in Jesus Christ. The first section leans heavily upon Old Testament concepts.

  The second section, the end of the book, is practical application. Having proven the Christian life in the first part, the apostle now shows the readers how to live the Christian life at the end of the book. It is from this section our verse today is found. It is in a series of rapid fire bullet points.

  Notice the words from our verse today: diligence, fervent, serving, not lagging behind. These words illustrate the manner and attitude we are to have. These words define the passion that a Christian ought to have. The word “fervent” is from the same root where the word fire or fever comes from. We use the expression when someone is sick, ‘they are burning up with fever.’ The ‘fever’ Paul is talking about is a choice the Christian makes. He chooses to be passionate in spirit. This is an emotion, but it runs deeper than that. Emotions come and go. People get excited at a ball game and then they get home and the excitement is gone. This feeling is not based upon externals but rather internals. It is because of what Jesus has done and the relationship the child of God now has with the Lord. This isn’t something that happens when we walk into a church building and then leaves by the time we get home. This is something that remains and stays. This person is glad to be a Christian. This fervency stays with him. He is passionate about Christ at home. He is passionate about the Lord at work. He loves the Lord and loves being in the Lord.

  This spirit and passionate keeps a person from appearing two faced. Some are that way. In the church building they talk a good story. But you’d never find them doing that at home. This is not the person Paul is describing. They serve, they are diligent, they are fervent.

  The expression, “not lagging behind” gives the impression of someone who can’t keep up with the others. I think of cross country runners and some who are new to the sport often lag behind in their first races. They can’t keep up with the pack of runners. Soon hope leaves. Some just stop running. I admire those who stay with it, even though they are light years behind.

  The apostles words are to: “Not lag behind.” Keep up. Keep going. In the parable of the sower, the seed that was sown among the weeds grew but was soon chocked out by the worries, the riches, and the pleasure of this world. The plant couldn’t keep up.

  How do we keep from lagging behind? Great question. How does anyone remain passionate about anything? Some are passionate about music. Some are passionate about rescuing pets. Some are passionate about politics. Others, sports. To keep passionate, you first must love it. Then you spend time thinking, learning and hanging around others who are passionate. Have you ever been in a setting where there are a group of people who are passionate about baseball. They know the standings, they know the players, they know who won last night. But one in that group is not a die hard baseball fan. He doesn’t read score boxes every day. He doesn’t have a baseball app on his phone. In that setting he feels lost, bored and unable to contribute. He has lagged behind the others.

  The same works with the Lord. This is where Paul wants us to be. He wants us to be interested in the Lord, to know the Lord and to understand the Lord. He wants our talk to be saturated with discussions about the Bible and teaching others and growing the kingdom. He wants us excited about the things of God. Now in such a setting there may be that one who hasn’t kept up. He’s out of touch and doesn’t know much. He feels like he’s missed out. He’s lagged behind. Don’t be that way! Keep up! Become passionate about the Lord. It is the most important thing. Jesus put it this way: “what does it profit if a man gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Passionate about Heaven…passionate about learning more…passionate about the Bible…passionate about the church…passionate about what God has done.

  The Bible covers life, all of life. I have found those who are passionate about science and the Bible. They are really into archaeology, discoveries and scientific evidences for a young earth. There are those who are passionate about home and family. They like learning about parenting and marriage. Others are into history and the Bible. Some like the study of how the English Bible came about. Some are passionate about the geography of the Bible. They are into maps and photographs of the Bible lands. Others have spent a lifetimes studying the books of the Bible. They understand the original languages and the thoughts behind many expressions. For me, my passion has been church history, especially early American church history. My passionate has taken me to old cemeteries, boarded up church buildings and dusty library achieve rooms. It’s hard to describe why some have a passion about things. Why is it some like to collect this or that. Why is it some are into one thing or another.

  The greatest passion to have is to be into Jesus Christ. The passion to serve, love and follow Him all the days of your life.

  Don’t lag behind…get up and get at it.

Roger

Jump Start # 277

Romans 12:11 “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving  the Lord”

  Here at the end of Romans 12 the apostle Paul gives what we call today a series of “bullet points,” about our duty as Christians. One will find 13 of these short admonitions in this section. Our verse today, contains three of those bullet points.

  Paul’s point throughout this chapter is to illustrate and define that as Christians we have responsibilities to both God and the church. We forget that sometimes. We do that in our marriages. At the wedding we make all those promises to our new mate, but then after a few years, a few kids, we start thinking about only about self. We get bored, tired, and unhappy. We think, I didn’t sign up for all this. A cartoon illustrated this well when a lady was telling a marriage counselor, “I got married for an Ideal, it became an Ordeal, now I want a New Deal.” And in a marriage, we tend to see the mistakes of our mate and their failures and either over look ours or worse, use their failure to stop doing what we should.

  Paul’s words in our verse are not about marriage. It’s about our relationship with one another in a church, but often we treat it the same. Some look for a church that will give them what they want. I want a fun church. I want an exciting church. I want a church that does this and that. But in all of this, what are they planning on giving the church? That thought doesn’t enter our minds much these days. It’s like the old image of a guy hitch hiking. Today, we’d never stop and pick someone up for fear he’ll kill us, but years ago, many hitch hiked. They’d stand along the highway with their thumb sticking out, wanting a ride. They want you to go the direction they are wanting, you to drive, and you to use your car and gas, and when you have taken them as far as they want to go, they want out. That is the thinking some have with the church—they want to church to give, provide, be there, do this and that, without being counted upon or adding anything in return.

  Paul’s wonderful Roman section shows that God excepts us to be dependable, and responsible to one another. Our verse today hits at the motives or the spirit in which things are to be done. Notice the words Paul uses here:

• Not lagging behind…you get the image of a group traveling and there is always a straggler, someone not keeping up. Don’t do that, Paul says, Keep up. Stay with them.

• Fervent in spirit…we get the word “fever” from this word fervent. James uses it to talk about prayer, “the fervent prayer of a righteous man.” Paul is talking about our passion and our intensity. Hot. Burning. Passionate. Excited. Thrilled. The Psalmist said, “I was glad when they said ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” (122:1). You can tell when someone is glad to be at a place and when someone showed up because they had to. I’ve done both. I’ve attended my wife’s high school reunion—I wasn’t a happy camper. Didn’t know anyone, felt out of place and went because she wanted me to. Wasn’t one of the highlights of my life. Then I have been to my kid’s weddings—WOW. You couldn’t keep me away. If my car had broken down, I’d of walked there. Big difference in spirit and attitude. This is what Paul is talking about spiritually. Passionate preaching…passionate singing…passionate praying…why? Because we love the Lord.

• Serving the Lord…this is his third bullet point. We serve the Lord by serving one another. We are to do this, not lagging behind, like we hate it, but fervent in the spirit.

  All of this shows us two important thoughts. First, we have responsibility toward each other. In a church, we are connected to each other and what we do has an effect upon one another. What are we supposed to do? Read this section of Romans 12. Paul lists many things. It is summed up in “serving the Lord.” Jesus said in Mt 25, the way we treat one another, is how we treat Him. This tells us that church isn’t about me—it’s about God and my helping others. Now that’s different! You don’t hear people talking that way much these days. They leave because, “no one talks to me,” or, “no one invited me,” or, “no one will be a friend,” which I always find strange. Those that generally say that, are the first to leave as soon as services are over, never stick around, and rarely allow themselves to get connect to others. You miss when that happens. We need each other. We need prayers from one another. We need to get kicked in the pants once in a while. And we need hugs and encouragement. It’s tough out there and we need each other. Paul’s words remind us that I need to serve my church family.

  Secondly, Paul drives at the attitude or spirit of this. Be passionate, don’t lag behind. Those words show the excitement and the charge in our batteries.

  We sing, “Bless be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love…” I love Sundays. My favorite day of the week. I wish everyday was Sunday—and one of the best reasons is that I get to be around my church family. Amazing people. Incredible people. God’s people. Get that connection…you need it to get through life!

  Roger