Jump Start # 75

Luke 22:39 “And He came out and proceeded, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.” 

  This passage finds Jesus heading to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray his most fervent prayer. Judas had left and was returning with soldiers to arrest Jesus. The end is very near now for our Lord. This would be the last time He would be with His disciples before His death. Many rapid events will take place—a series of quick trials, standing before Pilate, then Herod, then Pilate again. The soldiers would violently abuse Him. He would be ridiculed and then nailed to the cross. All of this, to pay for our sins. Jesus proceeds to the Mount of Olives to pray. He will ask the Father to let the cup pass. He is willing to go through all of this if that is the desire of the Father. His heart is heavy. He will walk alone through this. Upon the cross, His Father will distance Himself from Jesus. What He is about to do is the greatest event in all of history. The impact is enormous. It changes eternity for thousands and thousands of souls. It is hard to imagine the thoughts racing through the mind and heart of Jesus.

  Luke tells us that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, “as was His custom.” That is an interesting expression. It means “habit.” Jesus had the habit of going to the Mount of Olives. It’s hard to think of Jesus having “habits.” We generally think of negative things when it comes to habits, such as, eating with your elbows on the table, cracking your knuckles, or biting your nails. But here, Jesus had good habits. It was his custom to go and pray on the Mount of Olives.

  Earlier, Luke brings up the “customs” of Jesus. In the fourth chapter, we find, “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the

synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read” (4:16). Here, Jesus’ “custom” was to go to the synagogue to worship. Jesus was known by His spiritual habits. He was known to pray. He was known to worship. When Judas returned with the soldiers, he knew where to find Jesus. The Gospel of John records, “Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with the disciples” (18:2). Judas knew right where to find Him. Why? He had the habit of meeting there and praying there.

  All of this brings us to this thought: How do people know you? What are your “customs” or habits? Are they the bad stuff? Known to be mean? Known to drive too fast? Known to smoke? Known to “blow your top” in anger? How about the good stuff, the spiritual stuff? Known to be at church services? Known to be someone you could count on? Known to be a ready answer to a Bible question? Known to help out when the call of duty arises?

  Habits aren’t life long sentences. We often make them that way because we just aren’t motivated to change much. But they don’t have to be. So if I don’t like the way I am, I can change. Not regular in my worship attendance, I can change that. Not one who goes to Bible classes much, I can change that. Not one to pray before I eat, I can change that. Not one to send cards to others or call and see how others are doing, I can change that.

  Getting going is hard to do, isn’t it? It’s hard to start exercising. For those that have been doing it for years, it’s a piece of cake. For others, it’s hard. It’s hard to save money. It’s hard to do many things. But you can. Many of you have been reading these Jump Starts every day since we started. Today is number 75. It’s become your “custom” hasn’t it?  You see, you can do things, you just didn’t know it!

  As was His custom…I like that!

 Roger

Jump Start # 74

Luke 12:13 “Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”

  Here is a man with a problem. He has one of the worst kinds of problems, money. And it’s not just a money problem, but it’s complicated by the fact that he has money problems with his family. Some things never change! He comes to Jesus and wants Jesus to fix his problem.

  There are several obvious and even troubling things we find in this man’s request. First, he says, “Teacher, tell my brother…” Excuse me? We do not tell Jesus what to do. We do not order Jesus, command Jesus, authorize Jesus, or even expect Jesus to do anything we want. It’s the other way around. Jesus tells us. Jesus commands us. Jesus expects us. And the reason is, He is God. He has proven that, demonstrated that and man needs to realize that. His first mistake was in thinking He could tell Jesus what to do. That makes us rethink some of our prayers and even our attitudes from time to time. Job repented of the way he talked about God.

  A second problem here, Jesus was not in the position to divide family inheritances. Yes, He is God, but this man, as well as most of the multitudes, did not grasp that yet. Jesus was not the legal voice of the land. If there was a dispute, he needed to take it to the courts. There are proper channels to solve disputes. This man, like so many others, want a quick and easy solution without having to put much effort into it. Have Jesus do all the work. Have Jesus take care of things. Sometimes we forget after the “amen,” our effort is not done. Just pray that God will make my kids turn out right. Just pray that the church will grow. Just pray that the lonely will not be lonely. Amen!

  After the amen, we need to raise those kids, spread the word and visit the lonely. Just going to Jesus doesn’t end our responsibilities.

  Thirdly, and maybe the most important, Jesus didn’t come to earth to solve all of our disputes, issues and problems. He came to save our souls. He was on a mission. His mission was spiritual. If Jesus had solved this man’s problem, before long, people would have lined up with land disputes, tax issues, neighbors whose dogs bit someone and on and on the list would go. The mission of Christ would have been sidetracked and derailed. He would not do that.

  Modern times are no different. Some expect religion, the church, or even God to just fix all their problems. Troubled kids? Take them to the church, folks think. When the kids don’t change, blame the church. Leave. Find another church, and loudly proclaim, the church didn’t do anything. Were they supposed to? Same goes for broken marriages, or out of control debt, or addictions. We’ve gotten within us this thought that the purpose of religion, the church, is to make my life easier and happier. Wrong. It is to help me get to Heaven. It is not a social club, free baby sitter, or an end all to the mess I have made. There is an old expression that says, ‘you made the bed, now sleep in it.’ We don’t like that. We want to do as we please until life gets messy, and then run to Jesus with demands on how He or his church ought to make things better for us.

  What should have happened in our passage is this man falls to his knees and says, ‘Lord, please save my soul.’ That would have stopped Jesus. That is what Jesus is looking for. What are you expecting from Jesus? How about the church? Are you thinking that Jesus ought to fix all of your problems? Better spend a few more moments in the Gospels and check your thinking. Jesus wants to save your soul. That’s far more important to Him than inheritances.

 Roger

Jump Start # 73

Lk 11:1 “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

  What follows this request is what is commonly called ‘the Lord’s Prayer,’ or I think more accurately, ‘the model prayer.’ Jesus set this prayer as an example. There is a statement in that prayer that He would not have prayed Himself, ‘forgive us of our sins,’ Jesus never sinned.

  The request itself is most interesting. The disciples had seen Jesus praying. He did that often. Sometimes escaping the crowds, getting alone and often praying for hours. His prayer in the garden before His arrest illustrates the intensity of which He prayed, as His sweat became blood. John 17 records one of the longest prayers of Jesus, praying for unity among His followers. I think the request of this disciple was very honest and natural. It came from the heart of Jewish men who grew up saying prayers. Yet Jesus prayed differently. He prayed often. They wanted to learn to pray like that. So do I. Among most Christians, our prayer life is one area that most of us feel could use some help. We tend to pray shallow prayers. We tend to say the same thing. We tend to ask more often than thank and praise. We need some help, I know I do.

  It is interesting that these disciples had seen Jesus preach, but they didn’t want to know how to do that. They saw miracles and they didn’t seem to want to know how to do those. But prayer was personal and something they were already doing, they wanted to do it like Jesus.

  Jesus’ answer is simple. In Matthew’s gospel, the Lord says to go into the closet and shut the door and pray. Alone. Honest.

  The model prayer in Luke is 37 words. It begins with God. It acknowledges His holiness, His kingdom, and that we are dependent upon Him, even for our everyday food. It seeks the mercy of God and asks for help in temptation. Short, to the point, relationship based, true and honest is this prayer. One aspect of this prayer has been fulfilled, the kingdom has come. Prayer is not a “to do list.” Prayer is not a  “wish list” sent to Heaven. It’s talking with God. It’s communicating. It begins by realizing the position of God. Respect, devotion, and dignity must come when addressing God. He is not ‘the big guy in the sky,’ He is God. He is the Almighty, the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

  Prayer is faith based. It is more than believing what I pray about will come true, it is believing in God. It comes first with a relationship with God. We understand how awkward a situation is when an estranged child comes and asks for money. That’s hard to do. It’s hard to give when the relationship stinks. Is it any different with God? Prayer is one aspect of our relationship with Him. We walk with God. We read and follow His word. We become His people, and we talk (pray) to Him. The deeper your faith, the more you will pray. I find through the years, I pray less about myself and more about others. I also find that I pray less for physical things and more for spiritual things. Spiritual health is much more important than physical health.

  There is a line from the movie, ET, which says, “ET call home.” We need to do the same. We need to “call home.” We need to pray more, deeper and spiritual. How’s your prayer life? Think about it today. Send some short prayers to Heaven as you go about your day. It’ll make a difference, both to you and to God.

 Roger