21

Jump Start # 4183

Posted on October 21, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4183

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There are many parallels between being a shepherd in God’s church and being a dad. The roles and the goals are very similar. And, one of the great challenges is getting everyone to get along with each other. Connecting, fitting in, being accepted, jelled together without anyone being left out, ignored or wanting them to go some where else is hard. It’s hard in the family. Just remember those long road trips sitting with your sister or brother in the back seat of the car. In the congregation, it can even be harder. We come from so many different backgrounds. We are not all cut from the same cloth. Some are first generation Christians. Others have a long family heritage of being Christians for decades and decades.

Our passage identifies three major social differences in the early church culture. These were huge. The three groups would typically have nothing to do with each other. Jews and Greeks, or we might say, Gentiles. Can you imagine on a Sunday morning, a Jewish Christian handing the Lord’s Supper to a Gentile Christian? Or, how about a master handing the supper to a slave that he owned? Or, a man handing the supper to a woman? Really? In that world, that would have been enough for some to go home and never come back again.

The point the apostle is trying to make is that we do not have Jewish Christians or Gentile Christians. We are one in Christ. It’s not slave and freeman, we are one in Christ. It’s not male and female. We are one in Christ. But in that becoming one, there were major wrinkles that had to be ironed out. They had to be counter culture and accept one another as equal in the Lord.

And, today, God’s shepherds still have a major task in trying to get everyone to connect. Young Christians and elderly Christians. Christians of different races. Christians of different backgrounds. How easy it is to splinter into our own unique groups. But, that defeats what Paul is saying. That is not being one, but two.

So, in our world today, how do we blend everyone together in Christ?

First, be fair and equal in who is allowed to take part in the worship services. Don’t have it all young people nor just the older Christians. Mix it up. Don’t lead just new songs, be balanced in what you do. Don’t invite just old preachers nor just only young preachers as guest speakers.

Second, through hospitality bring Jew and Gentile together. Invite slave and freeman. Leaders must take the lead in this. Black and white. Male and female. Young and old. New and experienced. All are included. All are welcomed.

Make sure that favoritism does not exist. James addresses this with the rich and poor in the church. The rules apply the same to all.

Third, excelling in love will conquer many problems that could arise. Helping each other and being there for each other can make things go very smoothly. Preaching and teaching on this is essential. Some just love to push the buttons of others to irritate them. Just like that road trip in the back seat of the car. “He touched me,” only leads to conflicts and dad pulling the car over. We can work on that by our attitudes and how we love one another.

There comes a time when leaders may have to have a “come to Jesus” meeting with some who are bent on causing trouble, not accepting others and being a real pain in the congregation. Picking scabs keeps wounds from healing and we can do that emotionally and mentally if that is our mindset. My dad used to take his belt, double it over and pop it. That would scare us to the core. We knew what was coming if we didn’t straighten up immediately. We knew our sassy attitudes had to end right then before things got out of hand. There comes a time when some of us need the same straight talk from God’s shepherds.

You can imagine the Jewish Christians trash talking those stinky Gentiles in the church. “I wish they’d go somewhere else.” Paul wouldn’t have it. One of the repeated themes running throughout the NT is to love one another.

Sometimes it is hard, but we must work hard at this. Leaders must work hard at this.

One in Christ.

Roger

20

Jump Start # 4182

Posted on October 20, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4182

1 Peter 4:4 “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you.”

  Surprises – they happen all the time. A surprise birthday party in which all the guests are hiding and as you walk into the room, everyone shouts, “SURPRISE.” An unexpected and surprise bonus at the end of the year. But, here in our passage, the surprise surrounds a changed moral behavior. Once, these people were all doing the same thing. Now, one has become a Christian and no longer participates in those sinful and wicked activities. The shock and the surprise come from those who are still engaging in those things. They are surprised that you stopped. And, that leads them to “malign” you.

The Common English Bible words it this way: “Now your former friends wonder why you have stopped running around with them, and they curse you for it.”

Here are some lessons:

First, the world doesn’t understand the transformed life that comes from following Christ. Many want to just add Sunday morning church without changing a thing. Talking filthy. Drinking like there is no tomorrow. Dressing immodestly. Selfish and prideful. They go to church and still do those things. Why can’t you? Rather than learning from you and wanting to be like you, they use the opportunity to curse you. Their sinful lifestyle is more important to them than friendship with you.

Changed behavior is something that many never fully get.

Second, in too many sections today, young Christians are surprising their parents, elders, preachers and the faithful by claiming to be a disciple of Jesus while continuing to participate in things that are wrong. It’s not the world that is shocked, but the faithful of God. The context of our passage tells us that the time has passed for such wrong behavior. Don’t look for loopholes in the Scriptures. Don’t run to Jesus turning water to wine. Don’t hide behind the word “grace,” to justify wrongs. There is no way a wrong can be made right. Rather than shocking their friends, and letting their light shine, some are shocking the faithful of God.

Third, following the Lord comes with blessings, responsibilities and consequences. Jesus said a man’s enemies may be his own household. Don’t build bridges of compromise that dims your light and weakens the Gospel message. The world never moves towards the cross. If anyone has to move, it will be you giving up your convictions. It is better to be alone and with the Lord than to hang on to friends who try to pull you away from the hope and promises that you have in Christ.

In the Lord’s sermon on the mount, a picture of the judgment brought surprise to some. They thought they had it made. They had prophesied, cast out demons, yet the Lord declared that He never knew them. How shocking this was to them.

Spiritual surprises…

Roger

19

Jump Start # 4181

Posted on October 19, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4181

Psalms 42:3 “My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’

One of the beauties of the book of Psalms is the cold reality in which the words are written. Not every day is a good day. Troubles and turmoil take the heart of the Psalmist to God. Such is the case of Psalm 42.

Here we find:

  • Tears day and night (3)
  • Despair (5, 6, 11)
  • Disturbed (5, 11)
  • Mourning (9)

Twice the writer quotes the taunts of the enemy, “Where is your God? (3, 10). These are more than ancient words, but are the feelings of many today. Actor Billy Crystal in a recent interview stated that he no longer trusts God. He came to this after two major tragedies in his life. The home he lived in for nearly fifty years was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fires and then his best friend, Rob Reiner was murdered. Both tragedies happened last year. Devasted and empty of hope, his conclusion was that he no longer trusted God.

Those long and scary journeys through the valleys of death can shake us to the core. When hope seems out of reach and we feel that we are in a corner, and the answers to our prayers continue to be “No,” we wonder, “Is it me?” Did I do something wrong? Is God angry with me?

For some, that is the end of their faith. When things don’t turn out well for us or as we expected or even wanted, then they are finished with God. Like a spoiled child, we pout, we cry and become loud and angry if God doesn’t give us what we want.

However, that is not the direction of this Psalm. It begins with panting for God and ends with hope in God. There is no throwing in the towel in this Psalm. There is no giving up on God. Stretched like a rubber band, we can feel that we are about to snap and break, but we don’t. We don’t because we know God.

Here are some reminders for us:

First, the trials and testing of our faith can do more good for us than a month of sunshine and happiness. How we can take for granted all those days that we have felt good. How we forget all those thousand upon thousands of blessings that we have received from Heaven. It’s almost as if we expect them every day. But, when the storms come rolling in, and things are not normal, it is then that prayer becomes real and faith becomes more than words we’ve uttered now and then. Our Lord suffered. The prophets suffered. The apostles suffered. God’s people from the days of Egypt to Antipas in the book of Revelation have endured, suffered and been tried. Dark prisons, fiery furnaces, lion’s dens, crushing armies, staring death in the face, the people of God have believed. They trusted God. They endured. They longed for a heavenly home.

Oh, we hear sermons on things like this all the time. But, it is until trials and troubles get our address that we really pay attention to the things of God. Much good can come from these storms.

Second, how we weather these storms in life can be one of the greatest evangelistic tools available to us. People notice. They watch. They hear what we say. The enemies of our Psalmist asked, “Where is your God?” The reply would be, “Right where He has always been, upon the throne of Heaven.” The existence of God is not based upon the pleasantries of my life. Where was God when Peter was in prison? Where was God when the Egyptians were about to close in on trapped Israel? Where was God when Stephen was killed? Where was God when Paul spent a night in the ocean? Where was God when Billy Crystal’s house burned to the ground? Where was God when the report is positive for cancer? Where was God when all hope seems to be gone? He is still where He has always been. This world is not Heaven. We want no tears, sorrow or death here. That won’t be. There is a place where those won’t be found and that is Heaven.

Keep praying during your storms. Keep your faith going during the storms. When others ask, “Where is your God?”, you smile and reply “I know right where He is.” Your faith during the storms can be the reason others begin to believe.

Third, turning on God will only close the door to hope and eternity with Him. Giving up on God leaves you alone and without help. So, continue to worship, even when it is hard. Continue to dive deeply into His word, you need it. And, continue to believe.

Lord, I believe…that’s the answer.

Roger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

Jump Start # 4180

Posted on October 16, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4180

Job 38:11 “And I said, ‘thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop’?”

  Here at the end of Job, Jehovah asks the suffering and questioning Job a series of questions about creation. Where you there? Was it by your voice that these things happened? Not only do these questions humble, baffle and quiet Job, they are layered with little principles that help us in our walk with the Lord.

Our verse today is about the oceans. Why is it that the oceans do not cover the entire planet? I’ve been to both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Why are those waters not covering the middle of our country? Our verse holds the answer. God has declared that they would go so far and no more. God established the boundaries. Jeremiah 5:22 states that God has “placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.” The seas can go so far and no further. God stops them.

When the oceans do not obey God, such as in a hurricane, the results are damage, destruction, and death. Then in time, the seas return to the boundaries that God has established for them.

The book of Job shows us that God allows Satan to go so far and no further. In the first chapter of Job, Satan is allowed to create havoc all around Job except he is not allowed to touch Job personally. So financially Job is wiped out. His children die. Yet, Job has his health. In the second chapter, God allows Satan to touch Job but he cannot take his life. Satan can go so far but no further. God’s health is ruined, yet his life remains.

When David disobediently numbered the people, God sent a pestilence upon Israel. Seventy thousand died. When the angel turned toward Jerusalem to destroy it, God said, “Relax your hand. It is enough.” Go so far and no further.

Go so far and not further is a Biblical principle that many do not understand. Paul told the Corinthians to “not to exceed what is written” (2 Cor 4:6). Both in Deuteronomy and Revelation the command to not add to nor take away from the written word is  clearly stated. Go so far and no further.

We ought to see some clear lessons for us here:

First, there are always those who want to stick their big toe in forbidden waters. You see a sign that reads, “Wet paint,” and what do we do? We have to touch it. And, then we are shocked when we have blue paint on our finger. The sign told us that the paint was wet. We just wouldn’t believe it. We had to test it. Go so far and no further.

There are those who want to push the envelope of what the Scriptures say. Phoebe is called a servant of the church in Romans 16. From that, moderns claim she was a deaconess. Others that she read the Roman letter to the church. Still others, that she likely preached to the Roman church. I’m surprised that someone doesn’t assume that she counted the money and locked the doors at the end of the day. Go so far and no further. Stay with God. Go when God says “go,” and stop when God says “stop.”

And, when progressive spirits ask, “What’s wrong with doing these things?” they are not asking the right question. We are not to assume anything and everything is ok until we find something wrong, we ought to be asking, “What’s right with this?” Why have you gone further when God said “Go no further?”

Second, if nature can respect and obey the Lord’s boundaries, why can God’s children not do the same? Why are we always chasing forbidden fruit? Why do we think we are missing out because we cannot eat of one tree when God has provided an entire orchard for us to feed upon? Go so far and no further.

Third, when we go too far, crossing the boundaries that God has established, like a hurricane, there will be damage, destruction and death. It’s not a pretty picture when rivers rise above their banks. My community experienced heavy rains and floods a few months ago. Homes were destroyed. Roads where collapsed. And, now that the river has returned to the boundaries where it is supposed to be, people continue to deal with the trouble it caused. And, generations after progressive spirits go past God’s boundaries, others are left to deal with the trouble and problems that were caused by these things.

Go this far and no further. The oceans get it. The rivers get it. When will we get it?

Thanks to my amazing Tennessee friend Mike for this incredible idea and sermon.

Roger

 

15

Jump Start # 4179

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4179

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.”

 

Throwback Thursday: an article written from the past

 

Watching the Scoreboard

 

In sports, the scoreboard tells who won and who lost. The scoreboard is an important feature of every game. There is a difference from playing for fun and playing for keeps. Fans will look up at the scoreboard several times during a game. When the scoreboard is running, two teams will be engaged in battle. They will play aggressively. Both are out to beat the other. One team is trying hard to score and the other team is trying just as hard to keep them from scoring. When the scoreboard is on, the game is about winning. The losing team may have played well. They may have even given it their all, but in the end, they lost the game. In some games, such as playoffs, when you lose, the season ends. When you win you keep playing. The scoreboard tells it all.

 

Paul defined love as, “Does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Cor 13:5). The NIV records this as: “it keeps no record of wrongs.”  Eugene Peterson has expressed this as: “doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.”

 

Simply, love doesn’t keep score. The nature of the game changes when the scoreboard is turned off. In marriage, saying things like, “she always…” is scorekeeping. Or, “He never….” is watching the scoreboard. Always and never are the words of someone that has kept track of things. The score has been remembered. Someone has not forgotten. Someone won and someone lost. Scorekeeping in marriage means one wins and one loses.  Paul says, “Love doesn’t keep score.”

 

We don’t need to be keeping score in our marriage and among each other. We need to fight for each other, instead of against each other. We need to defend each other. We need to realize that we are on the same side. Patience and forgiveness ought to be the rule we live by.

 

Love doesn’t keep score!

 

Roger

January, 2005