Jump Start # 4153

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

I’ve spent the past few days in Ohio’s Amish country. There is something fascinating about the Amish. I have studied them historically, doctrinally and more than once have had the opportunity to preach while some were in the audience.

Indiana has several Amish communities. Pennsylvania has a large Amish community. And, Ohio has major pockets of Amish. And, each Amish community seems to have its own flavor and culture. While driving around Berlin, Ohio I was surprised to see so many Amish on electric bikes. It was a sight seeing Amish grandmas flying down crowded streets on those electric bicycles. There was still plenty of buggies and horses, but the most popular mode of transportation was those electric bikes. They were everywhere.

The puzzling thing to me was how would those Amish recharge those electric bikes? They are battery operated and must be charged almost daily. And, Amish do not use electricity in their homes. No lights that plug in. No dishwashers, fridges, freezers, coffee makers and all the things that the rest of us have. Many convert those appliances to propane and they skirt around the “electric” issue that way. Someone told me that they likely had gas powered generators in the barn that charged the bikes. If these Ohio Amish could have electric bikes, could they not have an electric car?

In the Amish way, each community is governed by a bishop. That bishop sets the rules for his community. A neighboring bishop may have different rules and what often happens is that when an Amish family doesn’t like the rules of their bishop, they move into another community where a bishop may be more favorable to their liking.

All of this leads to a valuable lesson about consistency. From where I see things, electric bikes seem inconsistent to the Amish ways. If you can have an electric bike why can’t you have an air conditioner? Why not any other electric appliance?

Consistency is hard. And, it is one of the stumbling blocks of error. And, even among us, we must learn to walk like we talk and talk like we walk. It’s a matter of consistency. Being holy is great. If we are that way on Sunday in the church building and Monday at work it’s dog eat dog, then our message becomes cloudy and watered down and inconsistent. The same is true when it comes to selling things. Hiding or even lying about the condition of things just to make a few more dollars, not only reveals inconsistency, it also shows our true colors.

Here are some thoughts:

First, consistency is hard. It just is. Being the same at the ballgame, the concert, the movie, and in the church building is something many forget about. Our language. Our attitudes. Our kindness. Our words of the Lord. They need to be the same. Many restaurant servers hate the Sunday after church crowd. They stay long, they are loud and they leave lousy tips. Not good light shining when we do that.

Second, consistency often hurts. The rules apply to all. There can be no double standards. The preacher’s kids, the elder’s grandchildren do not get a pass because of who they are related to. Congregations struggle and suffer when they must practice discipline but don’t want to because it involves a family that has done so much. And, people notice if the church is being consistent or not. Our loyalty must be with the Lord. When we start playing favorites and looking the other way for certain people, then our fellowship turns into a “good ole’ boy club” and those that are in are in and those who are not are not. It’s hard being consistent.

Third, God shows that with His grace and justice that He is consistent. If anyone should have been given a pass, it would have been Moses. But, he wasn’t. He broke God’s rules and he was not allowed to lead Israel into the land of promise. He saw the land, but the consequences of his disobedience meant he would not be among those who came into that land. We have seen far too many times that those who have money or political status seem to get their hands slapped when they are in trouble and others who did far less were tossed into jail. That inconsistency has led to a bitter and sour taste in many citizens mouths. God is not that way. Paul realized this when he told the Corinthians, “but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Cor 9:27). Wasn’t he a shoe in because he was an apostle? Wasn’t he guaranteed Heaven? No. Just like you and just like me, Paul had to walk by faith, make wise choices and serve the Lord. No one is such a favorite that they don’t have to do what God says. God is consistent.

Amish on electric bikes. Hard for me to figure…but being consistent, day in and day out, is even harder.

Roger

Jump Start # 4151

1 Corinthians 1:30 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption”

I’m out on the road preaching. Tonight at the end of my lesson I plan to once again tell the story of Jimi. James Barber, the man who was executed by the state of Alabama a few years ago for committing murder. Jimi, on his own, read the Bible and asked the warden to be immersed for the forgiveness of his sins. I became involved with the Jimi and corresponded with him up to the day of his death. His letters illustrated a changed heart. He never fought his execution. He knew that he deserved to die for what he had done. But he also realized that no one could take away the promise of Heaven from him. Without a handful of tracts, weeks of intense Bible study with a preacher, sitting through months of sermons, Jimi became a New Testament Christian by simply reading his Bible and doing what it says.

Jimi never got to be a part of a congregation. He never got to worship with other believers. His faith was simple and even child-like, but oh so pure. There were mountains of things Jimi never learned about the Bible. But he grasped the true heart of the Gospel message and that is we are sinners and Jesus died to give us life.

In nearly fifty years of preaching I have a lot of stories. Get two or three of us preachers together and the night is filled with our adventures, mishaps and stories. However, nothing has had a greater impact on me than the story of Jimi. And, what makes the Jimi story so compelling is not the tragic murder, the prison, the execution, but that the Bible still works. Just read it. Just do what it says. The power is not in how well a preacher presents the story of Jesus. The power is in the words of the Bible. It still works.

And, here are some reminders for us:

First, we cannot improve upon what God has done. We just need to stop and quit trying to do that. Don’t reshape, reinvent or redesign the message, the church, the mission or the plan of God. It worked then and it will work today. Whatever God does is perfect. And, when we start raising the hood and getting our fingers into the inner workings of God’s plan, we mess it up. We do that every time. There is no better way to evangelize than God’s way. There is no better way to grow and develop a church than God’s way. There is no better way to connect and fellowship than God’s way.

Much of this comes down to faith and being content with what God has done. Some are not there. Some are not satisfied. They have to put their fingers in everything and before long, they have left the plan of God. It no longer even looks like the Bible way. Faith teaches us to be content. If God made you a male, you are a male. Be content. If God made you female, you are female. Be content. Stop trying to change and redo what God has done. This goes for gender, the wording of the Bible, the mission of the church, the finances of the church, and our walk with the Lord.

Second, our failure to become what God wants us to be does not mean the message fails. Because Laodicea was lukewarm does not mean that the message needed to be tweaked and refitted for them. The problem was the Laodiceans, not the message. Failures in our marriages does not mean God’s way does not work. Failures in our commitment does not mean that God doesn’t know what He is doing or that His ways are out of date and out of touch today. Our failures are not a result of God’s plan. Our failures are because of us.

Third, there is something sweet about that innocent and pure faith that people like Jimi had. I doubt Jimi understood the role of angels. I expect he didn’t get the connections between the prophets and Jesus. Revelation was likely over his head. But, he loved the Lord. He repented of his sinful ways. He wanted to be saved. And, I wonder if sometimes we make things too complicated. This is not a call to dumb down the message. And, the deeper our knowledge the greater our faith will be, but trusting in the Lord, like a little child, has such a wonderful appeal to it.

I look forward to telling the Jimi story tonight. I hope I don’t cry, but if I do, I do. I hope the Lord puts us together on the same log for about a hundred years. After I tell the Lord “Thank you,” I want to tell Jimi what an impact he made on my heart.

Saved by Christ—nothing can be sweeter than that.

Roger