09

Jump Start # 70

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 70 

Luke 17:5 “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” 

  The plea of the apostles here, I believe, is felt by many who love and walk with the Lord. Faith is the oxygen of our soul. Faith is the foundation of our relationship with the Lord. Without faith, a person cannot be saved. Faith can be shipwrecked as Paul told Timothy.

  The setting of this passage is interesting. Jesus was teaching about forgiveness. He said, ‘If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.’ It is here that the apostles asked for more faith.

  Could it be that they understood that forgiving someone is very difficult? Forgiveness is to release a debt that someone owes. The debt is forgiven. They owe nothing. To forgive is to offer grace. Forgiveness is not earned, it is a gift. Forgiveness comes with a cost. Often the “forgiver” has been hurt or wounded in some way. It may be financially, emotionally, physically, sexually, mentally, or even spiritually. Forgiveness is not given after the person has made everything right, such as, they have returned what was taken, or they have repaid all debts. In such cases, there is nothing to forgive. They paid the debt. Nothing else is owed. The Biblical concept of forgiveness involves releasing a person of his obligation while he still owes. He hasn’t paid it back. He hasn’t restored things. All he has done is begged for mercy or said that he is sorry. Justice demands taking him to court. Justice demands you pay back every penny. Justice demands that I will have nothing to do with you ever again. Forgiveness releases the justice. There is no need for justice because forgiveness has been offered.

  Forgiving is hard! Major hard. It is one of the hardest things you will ever do. Human nature wants us to hold a person under our thumb until they scream for mercy. A little vengeance. A little pain. A little getting back and getting even. Those thoughts race through our minds. I know. I’ve been there. I’ve been mad at a hospital for the treatment of one of my children. I’ve been mad at a teenage driver who smashed his car into one of my kid’s car and put them in ICU for four days. Call the lawyer. Write a threatening letter. Throw eggs at their house. Many unpleasant thoughts like that race through the mind and heart. I’m thankful today that I didn’t do any of those things. Forgiveness. It’s tough. Add to this the words of Paul, “…forgiving each other, JUST AS God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph 4:32). How many times have you been forgiven by God? A hundred times? A thousand? More than that? Often for the same things. Often when we have made a real mess of things. Forgive.

  Forgiveness is one of the characteristics that is truly Christ like. Many can be benevolent, kind, helpful, without being godly. But to forgive, you must have a heart like Jesus.

  It is interesting that Jesus didn’t grant the apostles request. He didn’t increase their faith. In the following verse Jesus tells them if they had the faith of a mustard seed they could move a mulberry tree, but He never said, ’Yes, I’ll give you more faith.’ Jesus can’t do that. Faith is up to us. He gives us the reasons to believe. He shows, He demonstrates, He proves that He is who He said He was. But believing, trusting and accepting is up to us. If God gave us faith, then God would be responsible for those who don’t believe. That’s not how it works. Faith is up to us. Jesus holds out His hand. He asks us to trust Him and take His hand. The decision is ours. We need to increase faith. We do that by knowing God’s word (Rom 10:17). We do that by spending time with God.

  The greater the faith, the stronger we become. Your habits, who you hang out with, what you think about, all have an impact upon our faith. We can do things that weaken our faith or increase our faith.

  Increase our faith. How is your faith? How are you at forgiving? The two fit together. The larger the faith, the easier it is to forgive.

 Roger

08

Jump Start # 69

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 69

Lk 12:4-5 “But I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” 

   Luke begins this chapter with: “under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to his disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’” That scene is just hard to imagine. If we were describing a college football game or a concert we could identify with such a massive crowd. But they came to hear and see Jesus. Amazing! Thousands…stepping on one another. I wish I could have witnessed that.

  Jesus used this opportunity to warn the disciples about the Pharisees. The influence, or leaven of the Pharisees was poisoned waters. The disciples had to know the truth. It is in this setting that Jesus uses the words from our verse today.

  Our passage is a contrast. It involves two people, one is identified, the other is rather generic. The passage also is a contrast to what the two people can do. Finally, there is a contrast in how the disciples should react to these two people. The two people: one can only kill the body (that is the generic person). Many people could do that. The Lord may have in mind persecutors. But evil and corrupt men do this all the time. They murder and they take. The other person is more specific (the One who can kill and cast into Hell). This is God. God has that power and that authority. Jesus is not speaking of Satan. Satan does not have the authority to cast into Hell. That comes about after the judgment. It is the right of God to do those things.

  Fear God is what Jesus is saying. Some places in our Bible, fearing God means respect, such as Solomon’s conclusion in Ecc 12:13. Other times it means what it says, “fear.” In Hebrews we are told, “For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29). Earlier in Hebrews it says, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:31). Long ago preachers preached, “Hell, fire and brimstone” type of sermons. Today, God is seen more like a Mr. Roger’s kind of person, rather sweet, nice, and a bit out of touch. Hell is real. Hell never ends. Casting into Hell is serious. It ought to scare us. It ought to make us drop to our knees and apologize to God. It ought to shake us up to obedience.  This is a big deal.

  It’s hard not to fear those who can kill the body. That alone is serious. That is scary. But life doesn’t end at death. They can do no more is what Jesus said. They are limited to the pain that they can cause. But God is different. We need to pay closer attention to God than man.

  Jesus began this section with the words, “My friends.” He used that expression often. He was a friend. He treated all like friends. He helped like a friend would help. He was there as a friend would be. What a friend we have in Jesus is a great song and a comfort to know. Our friend has warned us. He tells us these things because He cares. He is our friend. We need to know. God is God, don’t ever forget that. He is not like us. He is above us in every way. When talking to God, we need to be reverent and respectful. We need to watch out for blaming God, questioning God or casually saying His name, such as, ‘O my…’.  God is God. We need to worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped. We need to do things His way, and not our way. It is not about us, but about God. Why? Because He is God.  Don’t let His love toward you, nor your love toward Him change His position. He is God. Remembering that will help you in many ways.

 Roger

07

Jump Start # 68

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 68

Matthew 9:5 “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’”

  Our verse for today is a statement of our Lord. It is presented in the form of a question, actually a multiple choice question. “Which is easier…” We use similar language all the time. “What’s your favorite?,” or, “Which is the best?” are common questions in our everyday conversations. In this chapter, a paralytic is brought to Jesus. He knows why they brought him. They want Jesus to heal him. Seeing their faith, instead of healing the mangled legs, Jesus heals the mangled heart. He says, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” What a wonderful statement. Forgiveness. Freedom. Innocence. Saying things like this would get Jesus in trouble. When the crippled man was lowered through the roof, Jesus forgave sins. When the cured leper turned to thank Jesus, he received something the other nine didn’t, forgiveness. When the thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember Him, he was granted forgiveness.

  Forgiveness is something that belongs to God. Until God forgives, nothing else matters. Friends and family may say, “It’s ok, all is forgotten,” yet what we owe God lingers until we have made things right with God. The Jews understood that granting forgiveness was a prerogative of God. Man can’t do that. So, when Jesus forgave, He was doing what only God could do. He could do that because He was God. Most folks back then didn’t get that. Jesus didn’t “seem” like God. And for Him to forgive, well, that was off the charts wrong. They thought not only should He not do this, but He’s in trouble for doing this.

  Jesus knew what they were thinking. So He asks this question, “Which is easier: to say your sins are forgiven or take up your bed and walk?” Now Jesus had much more in mind than simply “saying” these things. To say it, meant to do it. God said let there be light and there was light. Jesus said, Lazarus come forth, and he did. So, to say is to do. Now which is easier?

  First, both are impossible for humans. If we could merely heal people by saying the word, doctors and hospitals would be out of business. It takes the power of God to do a miracle and no one today can do those things. To forgive sins necessitates a price being paid. Jesus is the “propitiation” or satisfaction for sins (1 Jn 2:2) because He was the sinless sacrifice. We aren’t. We can’t “say” sins forgiven. It is beyond us.

  Secondly, seeing a lame man healed is easier than seeing a sinful man forgiven. The evidence of crippled legs being useful is obvious. How does a forgiven person look? Forgiveness deals with the heart. It is spiritual. It involves the relationship with God.

  What is the answer to Jesus’ question? Is one easier than the other? Yes. Other people healed. The apostles healed the sick and lame. But only Jesus could forgive sins. No one else could. And for Jesus to do that, He had to come, live among us, be tempted as we are, never sin, and then be nailed to the cross. His resurrection affirmed that we are forgiven. What a price He had to pay. What a cost to accomplish this. As Jesus extended forgiveness to this lame man He knew what was coming. For this to be fulfilled Jesus had a date with Calvary.

  I wonder if folks would be more interested in “fixed” legs or “fixed” souls? One lasts only so long, the other can last forever! Thank you, Lord.

 Roger

04

Jump Start # 67

Posted on April 4, 2010 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

  Jump Start # 67

Matthew 5:1-2 “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,”

  The greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, begins with our verses today.  Matthew covers this sermon in the next three chapters. The sermon opens with those innocent eight beatitudes, “blessed are”. Topics range in this sermon from attitudes, religious practices, the proper response to opposition, the golden rule and ends with the famous wise man and foolish man parables. Multiple themes and serious subjects are the heart of this sermon. The relationship with God, fellow man and self and the underling foundation to this sermon. Jesus doesn’t spend much time explaining nor proving things, He just states them as  “this is the way it is” in the Kingdom. This is life for the citizen of the kingdom. The disciples of Christ will act differently than the world. Many of the themes introduced in this sermon will surface again in the teachings of Jesus.

  But what immediately grabs my attention is how it begins. Jesus went up on the mountain and SAT DOWN. Jesus did this often. In Mt 13:2-3, “And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. And He spoke many things to them in parables…” In John 8:2 we find, “Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.” The sitting teacher. Jesus sitting and teaching. That is the opposite of the way we do things. In school, the students sit at their desks and the teacher stands and teaches. In politics, the President stands behind the podium. In our church services, the preacher stands behind the pulpit as the congregation sits in the pews.

  There may have been some reasons for this. Today, we stand so people can see us and hear us. Jesus may have been on terrain that made a natural “amphitheater” concept, with the audience above the teacher. This is better for sound and it allows the crowd to see the person teaching.

  But somehow I think there was a deeper reason. When a person stands and the audience sits, there is a sense of authority. His presence commands. He is in charge. Although Jesus had such power and authority, He didn’t demand attention. The sitting Jesus was humble. This act invited a sense of warmth and caring. The sitting Jesus “wasn’t in your face” as we use that expression today. His authority wasn’t in his posture but rather in His words. A person is more comfortable with someone sitting than they are someone who is standing. The emphasis is not upon the person who is standing, shouting and pointing fingers, but the one who is sitting and teaching. Too often we remember the speaker and not what was said. Jesus wanted the audience to grasp what He said.

  You will find little details throughout the gospels like this one, the sitting Jesus, that are too natural to be planned and too obvious for us to avoid looking at. Speaking to the dead, touching the lepers, inviting Himself to the home of a tax collector are all the things that made Jesus the real deal. He invites you to listen, to obey, to become.

  Notice today those that use their position by standing and those that influence even though they “sit.”

 Roger

03

Jump Start # 66

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 66

John 8:2-3 “Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court”

  These verses set up a most intense exchange between Jesus and some of the Pharisees. Their controversies and disagreements have moved past theories and arguments to reality. A woman is brought before Jesus. Caught. Guilty. She is embarrassed, scared and being used as a tool to trap Jesus. Some are calling for her life to end and it seems that very few care about what happens to her. Using her to get to Jesus is the plan. What Jesus does is remarkable. What Jesus offers is grace. Jesus shifts the guilt to the Pharisees whose hands were dirty from this wicked plan.

  Often, the opening of this section is rushed through to get to the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees. But I want us to notice these opening verses. There are several wonderful thoughts found here.

  The scene begins early in the morning. What a contrast that unfolds, Jesus teaching in the temple and this woman committing sin. Have you ever noticed how the beginning of the day has a reflection upon how the day turns out? Some start out tired and cranky, running behind and the day just goes down hill from there. They snap at people. They feel miserable on the inside. They are no fun to be around. I know, I’ve started days like that. Others start the day running. So much to do. Their schedule is full and they have a ton to accomplish that day. Just watching them makes you feel tired. I see folks like that at the airport. Fingers typing rapidly on a laptop, papers spread out on the seat beside them, talking on a Bluetooth and having the appearance that they are running the entire world. Still others start the day rather lost. They have things to do if they feel like it, but they are not sure they want to do it. Skipping school or work doesn’t seem to bother them. They seem to not be sure of who they are, what they are doing, or where they are going.

  It is amazing how some start the day. But notice, Jesus started the day in the temple, teaching. He started the day with God. He started with the word of God. That has a way of getting our order in order and helping our perspective get back in focus. Problems don’t seem so big when we bring God into the picture, and what we think is so important some how just isn’t that important when we look at it from God’s point of view. Starting the day in the temple is a great concept. We hope these little “Jump Starts” help accomplish some of that for you. Read the verse. Let it simmer in your mind. Read the comments. Do a little spiritual inventory and soul searching. Forget about the other guy, how are you doing with things? It’s easy to find folks doing wrong. Some, like the Pharisees, spend a lifetime telling you why others are wrong. But looking within, spending time with God, making sure you are connecting spiritually, now that really makes a difference.

  It’s a matter of how you start the day!

 Roger