31

Jump Start # 272

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 272

Ephesians 6:21-22 “But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.”

  His name is Tychicus (pronounced: Tick –e –cuss). He was one the companions, fellow workers and vital links in the life of the apostle Paul. His name appears several times in the N.T. Tychicus plays the role of a phone call or email and text message today. The book of Ephesians was written from a prison in Rome. Paul had been arrested for preaching the gospel. The Ephesian church worried. Was Paul still alive? Was he being tortured? What was going on? Tychicus was sent to these brethren for two reasons. First, he was carrying this letter, the book of Ephesians. Secondly, he was bringing news about Paul. Twice in these verses Paul states that Tychicus will tell you “how I am doing.” This will set their hearts at ease and bring comfort to them.

  The role that Tychicus filled reveals two important aspects of life. First, is the concept of communication. Being informed and in touch with what is going on allows a person to make the right choices. When we don’t know what is going on, fear and frustration can fill our lives. It’s obvious from our verses that the Ephesians were concerned about Paul. They didn’t know. Tychicus was the line of communication. Sometimes the lines of communication in a family are not clear. The “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus” books have been a hit for a long time because they address a pressing problem in many marriages—poor communication. Parents struggle with communicating with their teens. They often are in a different world, speaking a different language. Communication in business, church and in government is essential for progress. There are many things that can clog up the lines of communication, especially stubbornness and selfishness. But of all areas we are talking about, communication with God is most important. God has spoken clearly to us through Jesus Christ. Jesus told us all things. God is very specific and clear about what He expects from us. I don’t have a problem with God communicating with us. The problem is our communicating with God. We call that prayer. You get a group of Christians together, and you ask, ‘What is one area of your spiritual life that needs improving?’ Almost immediately the answer will be “our prayer life.” We just have a hard time with this. Praying often, choosing prayer first, praying honestly, praying intensely, praying about others, praying big prayers. We can get stuck praying the same things. We can settle for shallow prayers. In our prayers, we forget that we are talking to a real God.

   Communication. God knows, but God wants you to pray to Him. Prayer reminds us that we are not alone, there is God. Prayer teaches us that it is “God’s will” not our will that gets accomplished. Jesus showed us this in the garden before His arrest when He asked for another way, but qualified that with, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” Prayer humbles us. Prayer is a great way to help another person. God wants to hear from you.

 The other thought we see here is the concept of concern. The Ephesians were concerned about Paul and Paul was concerned that they were concerned about him. Caring brethren. Caring enough to do something. Caring enough to find out. Caring enough to send word. Those are all the concepts illustrated here. One of the key ingredients to the life of a church is that the members care about each other. The difference in the crowd at the movie theater and the crowd at the church house is that those at the church house feel connected to one another. They sense that spiritually we are family. At the movie theater it’s a bunch of strangers who happen to be doing the same thing at the same time. Nothing else.

  Some churches act more like the movie theater concept. People don’t know each other and worse, they don’t care to know each other. When I go to a movie I like an empty seat between me and the next guy. Sit still, turn off your crazy cell phone, watch the movie and don’t bother me is all I expect from the guy next to me. Then we get up and go our separate ways. That’s movie theater syndrome. Church attendance is so different. Folks hug. I see them sitting down after services engaged in intense conversations. You hear laughter. Thirty minutes after services have ended, people are still hanging around talking. It’s amazing! It is that sense of care, concern and connection for otherss. That is what makes a church a family. That is a bond that pulls one through difficult times. Love one another is the key.

  Tychicus filled that role. He was the bridge between Paul and the Ephesians. Talk to God and connect with brethren! Two good formulas to have throughout your life. When either are missing, something just isn’t right! You need to find a Tychicus to help!

Roger

28

Jump Start # 271

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 271

Luke 19:45-46 “And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were selling, saying to them, ‘It is written, ‘And my house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robber’s den.’”

  Our verses today find Jesus in Jerusalem, in the temple. This was shortly before His arrest and trial. Jesus cast out the money changers. This was the second time Jesus did this. Every male Jew was required to go to the temple for the feast days. During that time, sacrifices would be offered by the priests. As the Jews scattered away from Jerusalem, two necessities developed. First, for those who lived far away and had to travel great distances, it was not practical to bring lambs for the sacrifices. Local shepherds would sell lambs to the priests who would sell them to those who arrived without sacrifices. Secondly, only Jewish coins were accepted in the Temple offerings. Those from other places had Roman coins. Money changers, or more accurately, “Exchangers” would set up in the Temple area where people could change their Roman coins for the proper Jewish coins.

  Now, all of this seems like a rather nice and good solution to helping those from other places. It is in theory. But what happened, the local Jews, and particularly, the priests, took advantage of the situation by inflating the prices and making huge profits off the people. The occasion to worship God became a time to rob their fellow Jews and put them in a situation in which they had no other option but to pay the high prices.

  The spirit of sacrifice and worship was ruined by the greed of the local Jews. In tossing them out, Jesus referred to two O.T. passages. Isaiah 56:7 refers to “My house of prayer,” and Jeremiah 7:11 refers to the house becoming a “den of robbers.”

   We find Jesus going to God’s word. He did that often. When Satan tempted Him, Jesus went to the word. When questioned about divorce, Jesus went to the word. When asked about the resurrection He appealed to the word. Here in this passage He says, “It is written…” Jesus was a man who knew the word of God, lived according to the word of God, and relied upon the word of God. This is a good lesson for us. There is an old saying that states, “The Bible that is falling apart belongs to the person whose life is not falling apart.” I wonder if we have become satisfied with vague and general concepts about the Bible and are not bothered by our inability to state, “It is written.” Often, folks substitute, “Here’s what I think,” or, “Here’s how I see it,” instead of “It is written.” Becoming a “It is written” people means we spend time knowing, reading, and learning the Bible. Our lives become saturated with God’s word and our speech reveals those things. Jesus was a man of the book. It got Him out of trouble with Satan, it answered questions that He was asked, and it showed Him what should be. Now, it’s not too hard to see the opposite in those statements. Not being a person of the book will find us getting into trouble, not knowing the right answers and not being able to recognize what is right and what is wrong. Error has a great advantage upon people who do not know the Bible and are content with a superficial and often artificial foundation of Biblical learning. Listen to people talking about the Bible, read a few blog pages and what you find is a repeating of shallow and false statements heard over and over again. Jesus said, ‘It is written.’

  We also notice here, that the Jews turned God’s house, from a house of prayer to a robber’s den. A robber’s den, was like a cave. It is where desperados would go after robbing a place. It was their hideout. In such a place you’d find the worst. Tall tales of wickedness, bragging about theft and wrong doing and enjoyment in sinful activity. A robber’s den is not a place for decent people. It was dangerous, dirty, and debased. This is the image that Jesus is drawing here. The temple was God’s. It was His idea. It was built according to His plans. It housed His spirit. It was a place of prayer. It was a place to connect to the Holy God of Israel. It was a place where God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness intersected. Spending a day in the Temple should have had a positive effect upon a person. It should lift their spirits and moved their hearts to walking in righteousness. It should have…but for some locals, it became a place to make a profit. God had been replaced with greed. Instead of longing for Heaven, they were longing for wealth. They were using God to further their sinful ways. God was a commodity and they thought nothing of making money because of Him. This was shameful, disgusting and wrong. Jesus would not have it. He drove them out. Notice, He didn’t get in a fist fight. He didn’t injure anyone. He didn’t become violent. That’s not Jesus. He was always under control.

  But all of this makes a person think, doesn’t it? Have our church services become so much about us that we simply use God as an opportunity to visit with friends, make business contacts, or find dates. Spending time with God ought to do something to us as well. Connecting, reminding, seeing,  understanding God’s holiness ought to make us walk in righteousness. Our sins and His righteous ways intersect. Asking for mercy and help in our walk with Him ought to fill our hearts as we sing unto the Holy God.

  I don’t see folks in church services making profit, like in our passage today, but still, I wonder if Jesus would toss out a few of us for not paying attention, for being bored and for just not being thrilled to be in the presence of God. I’m glad He doesn’t. I believe there would have been a few times that I would have been tossed out.

  Getting serious about what we are doing is what we find in these verses.

Roger

27

Jump Start # 270

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 270

1 Kings 21:25 “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.”

  Jezebel—I’ve been thinking about writing a Jump Start about her for a long time. If there was ever a “wicked witch of the West” it’s Jezebel. Corrupt, dishonest, bad to the bone, and no respect for God. Years ago I preached a series of lessons entitled, “Bad Boys of the Bible.” I had several ask me to do a companion series, “Bad girls of the Bible.” I never did. I think the reason is, after a study of Jezebel, I’d be so discouraged and disgusted, I’d quit the series. She’s that bad.

  Jezebel was married to Ahab the king of Israel. She was not from Israel. She was the daughter of the king of Sidon. She worshipped the false god Baal. Because of her influence, Ahab built idols throughout Israel.

  It was Jezebel who destroyed the prophets of God. It was Jezebel who ordered the death of Elijah. It was Jezebel who plotted and planned the murder of Naboth, so her husband could take his land. Jezebel wrote letters and signed her husband’s name to them. In many ways, Jezebel ran the country. Ahab seems to be weak and Jezebel, power hungry, corrupt and bent on evil. What a sorry arrangement.

  God dealt with her very harshly. She came to an end befitting her wicked and terrible life. She was thrown out of a window and splattered down below. Street dogs carried her body off. All that was found was her skull, feet and palms of her hand. Yech.

  Now, lessons to be learned.

First, all it takes is one person to turn the spirit and atmosphere of place around. We see this in many applications. This happens at work. It happens in the family. It happens on a sports team. It happens in a congregation. The effect can be positive or negative. For instance, a new person is hired at work. Immediately, they are loud, gossipy, complaining and doing very little work. Before long, the whole place has fallen under that influence. Tensions grow. People don’t like each other. That can happen in a family when someone marries into the family. That happens in a congregation. Now, the opposite can happen as well. Someone new comes in, and they roll up their sleeves and get busy doing good things, they have a great attitude and before long everyone seems to be stepping up and doing more. It is that influence of one person.

  Jezebel had that impact, especially on her husband. Marriage can do that. We can help each other get stronger spiritually or we can weaken our mates by our choices and influences. Jezebel incited Ahab to do evil.

  Without realizing this, you have the power to go along with a Jezebel or to throw her out the window, not literally. You do this by your influence. All of us have within us the make up to be both followers and leaders. Some follow more than lead and others lead more than follow. But we do both. When a Jezebel comes upon the scene, whether at work, school, home or church, we can either go along and do nothing, which allows a Jezebel to continue her wicked ways, or we can influence for the good. Ahab should have known better. He should have never married her to start with. But after that, he should have known the 10 commandments—no excuse. That alone would have stopped any worship of Baal. What was Ahab thinking? He probably wasn’t. Wanted to make his wife happy, so he weakens his soul. Never compromise what you believe to anyone. You never help your mate by skipping church services or engaging in things you would never do. That only shows them that you are not serious about your faith. Ahab should have thrown Jezebel out the window—not literally, but by standing up and saying NO to Baal, NO to idols and NO to your wicked ways. Gossip dies if no one listens to it. Wicked talk ends when people say, “let’s not go there,” and then walk away. Complaining is thrown out the window when some responds, “We’ve been blessed so much by God.” Jezebel was the way she was, first because her parents allowed it and then her husband put up with it. But there is one who wouldn’t, and that was God. No where in the Bible do you find the apostles complaining about other members. If there was a problem, they dealt with it in a Biblical fashion. But sitting around and have a gripe session is something they never did. It’s amazing to see a few Christians getting together after services and immediately they roast the teachers, the song leaders and start acting just like ole’ Jezebel. Stop it. Throw it out the window. Don’t let one person, take the good spirit down. They do this because those around them allow it. Throw it out the window! Give it to the dogs!

  Second lesson: Ahab sold himself to do evil. For all that Jezebel was, Ahab sold out. You can’t blame her 100%. Had he not been for sale, this wouldn’t have happened. We call this having conviction. Stand for what you believe and dig your heels in. Paul told the Corinthians to be “steadfast, immovable…” Immovable…unable to be moved. I shall not be moved. Shove my faith and it’s not moving! It’s been said that everyone has a price. I don’t believe that. Jesus didn’t. The early Christians didn’t. Some things are simply not for sale, at any price, to any person. Weak hearts give in. Those lacking convictions will go with the flow, which is generally, downstream. Ahab was evil because he was bought by an evil person. He sold himself.

  This gives us much to think about in our marriages. Are we so set on pleasing our mates and making them happy that we sell out our souls and our convictions? Are we more concerned about pleasing them than we are pleasing God? What did Ahab get for selling out? A disastrous marriage, a weak faith, a wayward nation and a terrible death. Some deal.

  Jezebel…I don’t like her. The thought of her is like sour milk in my mouth. Are you going to let the Jezebel’s dominate your life and ruin your faith or are you going to say ‘enough’ and throw that junk out the window? You can’t stop a Jezebel, but you also can open a window and keep her wicked ways from inciting you to become like her.

Roger

26

Jump Start # 269

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 269

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

  As a person reads the Gospels, especially the book of John, he will notice many declarative statements that Jesus makes concerning Himself. Statements such as: I am the door…I am the bread of life…I am the way…I am the Life…and here, I am the light of the world.

  We notice that these statements are positive in nature and they give. Bread gives nourishment, light gives light, a door opens to allow entrance. These statements also help define the work and mission of Jesus Christ. He came and gave. What He gave changed the world. Before Jesus, the very opposite of these words was the condition and the state of life. Instead of light, the world was in darkness. Instead of having a door, the world was trapped and closed in with no way out. Instead of bread, the world was lacking. Instead of life, the world was dominated by death.

  Today, we focus upon the expression, “I am the light.” Have you noticed that Jesus is. He doesn’t say, “I once was,” or, “I will soon be,” but rather, “I AM.” This is ME. Light. The world in which Jesus introduced this concept to did not have electricity, instant light at a flip of a switch. We have a lot of light around us. Have you noticed? Our cell phones, our TV screens, our computers, inside the refrigerator, on the microwave, the oven, our watches. We have little lights, night lights, LCD lights, strobe lights, and stick lights. Living in the city, even late at night, there are lights in the distance. Many of us never experience much darkness. Some people don’t like darkness. It’s creepy for them.

  Lights make things visible, they “enlighten” us. When searching for something, we often get a flashlight. Doctors, dentists, and mechanics have special lights to help them in their work. Jesus is the light of the world. Light attracts. It grabs our attention. Pilots look for the lights on the runway late at night.

  Now, how is Jesus light? First, and probably the easiest way to answer this, is by living a life that is appealing. Jesus was perfectly perfect. He never sinned. He never made the wrong choice. He never lost it. He never had to apologize. He never ever did wrong. Perfect. No one else was like that. That is appealing. There have been times, more than once, when I have thought the wrong thing, said the wrong thing and done the wrong thing. It’s easy to say, “Well, I’m human. We all do things like that,” except Jesus. He is the best example. A few years ago the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) wrist bands were popular. The idea was a great one. What would Jesus do? A better thought, What am I going to do? I know what Jesus is going to do, because he’s perfect and without sin. What am I going to do is what is scary.

  Jesus is the light of the world in more ways than just example. We use the word “light” to describe understanding. When someone is trying to teach a principle to someone, they might say, “let me shed some light on this,” meaning, let me explain this. The word, “enlighten” means seeing things, understanding things. In this way Jesus is the light of the world. Through Jesus and because of Jesus, we become enlightened. We see just how dark sin is. We see how hopeless we are without Christ. We become enlightened and begin to see things the way God does. The world looks different from God’s perspective. Holiness, righteousness and faithfulness look different and better under the light of Jesus Christ. Heaven looks different from God’s perspective.

  Sometimes a person will say, “I don’t see what’s wrong with…” and the reason is, they don’t see. They need some light, God’s light. Others say, “I don’t see the need to go to church all the time.” They need to look at it as God does.  We sing a song that says, “Open our eyes Lord, that we may see Jesus…” Jesus is the light, but we must open our eyes to see the light.

  What a different, wonderful, and special world this becomes when we see it with some light. What is important is people. What is needed is Jesus. The light shows that.

  I am thankful that Jesus is light and that He provided light and that He invites us into the light. God could have easily said, “Find Me.” But He didn’t.

  Light. Look about your world today, and see all the “light” around you, but then think, of THE LIGHT, Jesus Christ. What a difference He has made in this world, and in your life. And when things don’t make sense, you know what to do…turn some LIGHT on it. You’ll see things God’s way when you do.

Roger

26

Jump Start # 269

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 269

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

  As a person reads the Gospels, especially the book of John, he will notice many declarative statements that Jesus makes concerning Himself. Statements such as: I am the door…I am the bread of life…I am the way…I am the Life…and here, I am the light of the world.

  We notice that these statements are positive in nature and they give. Bread gives nourishment, light gives light, a door opens to allow entrance. These statements also help define the work and mission of Jesus Christ. He came and gave. What He gave changed the world. Before Jesus, the very opposite of these words was the condition and the state of life. Instead of light, the world was in darkness. Instead of having a door, the world was trapped and closed in with no way out. Instead of bread, the world was lacking. Instead of life, the world was dominated by death.

  Today, we focus upon the expression, “I am the light.” Have you noticed that Jesus is. He doesn’t say, “I once was,” or, “I will soon be,” but rather, “I AM.” This is ME. Light. The world in which Jesus introduced this concept to did not have electricity, instant light at a flip of a switch. We have a lot of light around us. Have you noticed? Our cell phones, our TV screens, our computers, inside the refrigerator, on the microwave, the oven, our watches. We have little lights, night lights, LCD lights, strobe lights, and stick lights. Living in the city, even late at night, there are lights in the distance. Many of us never experience much darkness. Some people don’t like darkness. It’s creepy for them.

  Lights make things visible, they “enlighten” us. When searching for something, we often get a flashlight. Doctors, dentists, and mechanics have special lights to help them in their work. Jesus is the light of the world. Light attracts. It grabs our attention. Pilots look for the lights on the runway late at night.

  Now, how is Jesus light? First, and probably the easiest way to answer this, is by living a life that is appealing. Jesus was perfectly perfect. He never sinned. He never made the wrong choice. He never lost it. He never had to apologize. He never ever did wrong. Perfect. No one else was like that. That is appealing. There have been times, more than once, when I have thought the wrong thing, said the wrong thing and done the wrong thing. It’s easy to say, “Well, I’m human. We all do things like that,” except Jesus. He is the best example. A few years ago the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) wrist bands were popular. The idea was a great one. What would Jesus do? A better thought, What am I going to do? I know what Jesus is going to do, because he’s perfect and without sin. What am I going to do is what is scary.

  Jesus is the light of the world in more ways than just example. We use the word “light” to describe understanding. When someone is trying to teach a principle to someone, they might say, “let me shed some light on this,” meaning, let me explain this. The word, “enlighten” means seeing things, understanding things. In this way Jesus is the light of the world. Through Jesus and because of Jesus, we become enlightened. We see just how dark sin is. We see how hopeless we are without Christ. We become enlightened and begin to see things the way God does. The world looks different from God’s perspective. Holiness, righteousness and faithfulness look different and better under the light of Jesus Christ. Heaven looks different from God’s perspective.

  Sometimes a person will say, “I don’t see what’s wrong with…” and the reason is, they don’t see. They need some light, God’s light. Others say, “I don’t see the need to go to church all the time.” They need to look at it as God does.  We sing a song that says, “Open our eyes Lord, that we may see Jesus…” Jesus is the light, but we must open our eyes to see the light.

  What a different, wonderful, and special world this becomes when we see it with some light. What is important is people. What is needed is Jesus. The light shows that.

  I am thankful that Jesus is light and that He provided light and that He invites us into the light. God could have easily said, “Find Me.” But He didn’t.

  Light. Look about your world today, and see all the “light” around you, but then think, of THE LIGHT, Jesus Christ. What a difference He has made in this world, and in your life. And when things don’t make sense, you know what to do…turn some LIGHT on it. You’ll see things God’s way when you do.

Roger