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

 

14

Jump Start # 4178

Posted on October 14, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4178

Acts 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  After the discussion in Jerusalem concerning circumcision, the apostles thought it would be good to send Paul and Barnabas with a letter to the churches in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia who had a strong Gentile basis. The letter identified Paul and Barnabas as “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The wonderful writer, F.B. Meyer, used the expression, “Men who have handed themselves over.” He used the idea of handing the keys over to someone else. You no longer have possession of them. They now take ownership. They possess full access to you. And, in essence, this is what Paul and Barnabas had done. In Acts 20 Paul said, “I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus.” Paul had handed the keys over to Jesus.

This is a concept that we ought to give some thought to. Have we handed the keys over to the Lord? Or, have we kept a couple of them, not wanting the Lord to have access to everything in our hearts and lives?

First, have we handed the keys of our possessions to the Lord? That’s a touchy topic for some. Don’t talk about my money, is how some want it. I work, so it’s mine. And, that spirit leads to being greedy, stingy, and not a generous help in the kingdom. Many a person may have converted their heart but not their wallet to the Lord. Paul handed himself to the Lord.

Second, have we handed all of our sins to the Lord? This is where we get into the deep secrets within our hearts. There are thoughts, lusts, attitudes, prejudices, hatreds that often linger for decades within us. The other sins, we readily hand to the Lord, but these for some reason we keep. We know we shouldn’t and we know that they keep us from being what we ought to be, but there they remain. Things no one knows about us. And, like the cycle of a merry-go-round, we continually struggle and fight these same temptations over and over. We convince ourselves that there is no getting better and we learn to live with these things. But, the real issue is that we have never given these keys over to the Lord. We have kept them. On our own, we cannot defeat these battles. Until we give them to the Lord, we will continue to struggle and be defeated. Paul handed himself to the Lord.

Third, have we handed the keys to our heart to the Lord? The first step in discipleship is to deny self. Many will follow Jesus, but they want to still be in charge. When they don’t feel like doing something, they won’t. Before taking up your cross and making sacrifices, comes denying self. All of this means, there will be times when I do not feel like doing things but I will. I will because the Lord has been given the keys to my heart. I may not feel like going to services because I’m tired, cranky or just don’t want to. I will go because the Lord has the keys of my heart. I have given them to him. There may be times when I am asked to teach, lead, help out, serve and I don’t want to. I will because I have given the Lord the keys to my heart. There may be times when I need to call someone up, invite someone to my home or just be a powerful encourager. Why doesn’t someone else do it, I think. Why is it always me, I complain. Then I remember that I have given the keys to my heart over to the Lord.

The Lord won’t take your keys. You have to hand them over.

Paul and Barnabas were two that had handed their keys over to the Lord. They had risked their lives for Jesus. They have given their all for the One who have His all.

Still got keys in your pockets? Maybe it’s time to turn them over to the Lord.

Roger

 

13

Jump Start # 4177

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4177

1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.”

  He was a Boone, a direct descendant of the famed Daniel Boone. His wife was the great-great grand niece of Thomas Jefferson, the president and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Two powerful bloodlines that helped shape our country. But after about a dozen years of marriage, Boone had enough and filed for divorce around 1912 in St. Louis where they lived. According to newspaper accounts, Boone claimed his wife repeatedly told him that her family tree was superior to his and considered Thomas Jefferson a more distinguished ancestor that the savage killing woodsman that Daniel Boone was. The Boones lived in log cabins in the wilderness. The Jeffersons lived in brick homes in the cities. She thought that the Boones looked like washerwomen compared with the Jeffersons. And, with that, the marriage ended.

Our verse today, written to help a troubled and jealous church certainly brings to light the deep trouble that jealousy causes. Arrogance. Bragging. Not being kind. Those are the things that accompany jealousy.

Jealousy finds so many ways to get into our hearts. For King Saul, it was a young shepherd boy who killed a giant that was getting more attention and praise than he was. His jealousy led to violence. For others, it’s looks. For others, it’s talent. For others, it’s what someone else has or their position in life. And, when we are jealous of others we usually don’t have good thoughts about them. We want what they have. And, yes, we preachers can become jealous of each other. “How many meetings are you holding this year,” one asks. That’s all it takes to make one feel inferior, less appreciative, and not as good as the other. Jealousy can arise within a family.  When someone brags too much about the daughter-in-law’s pies, mama begins to believe that no one likes her cooking.  Jealousy has entered the home. One cousin starts on the varsity team, the other didn’t make the team. The air can fill quickly with tension, bitterness and jealousy.

Here are some thoughts:

First, you cannot keep someone else from being jealous. This is an internal thing. You can sit on the sidelines of life and not use your talents for fear of making someone else jealous, but in so doing, you are not doing what you should. You must live your life. Now, what you say and how you put yourself out there can certainly create jealousy. Don’t talk about yourself. Don’t brag about what you have done. Let your work speak for itself.

Second, the way to master jealousy is to be humble. Be thankful for others and what they can do. In the kingdom, the foot and the hand and the eye all have different roles and functions. Be thankful that they are all on the same side of the kingdom and can help each other. When someone asks to learn what you do, be humble and show them. When you see others who are doing what you cannot, don’t sulk in self pity. God has given all of us unique talents and abilities. You can do what others can’t. Be humble.

Third, realize that jealousy is a dangerous sin that will eat you from the inside out. It will change how you see others. It will cause you to pull away and not like others. It will damage fellowship. And, jealousy isn’t stationary. It leads to greater problems such as gossip and hatred. Count your many blessings and name them. Look what the Lord has done for you. Look at the opportunities that the Lord has given you. When you start thinking the worse of someone, catch it and pray for forgiveness.

Boone and Jefferson marrying together. Rather than rejoicing where they came from and realizing that who they are and what they do is more important than their ancestors, they allowed jealousy to destroy their marriage. And, the green eyes of jealousy has destroyed many marriages through the years.

Love is not jealous. It’s just that simple.

Roger