07

Jump Start # 321

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 321

Psalms 11:3 “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 

  Throughout the Bible, God’s people often seem to be the underdogs. They stand before oppressive governments and they are the victims of unbelievable forces and powers. It is God’s people who are thrown into fiery furnaces, lion’s dens, prisons and stoned. In the book of Revelation, the martyred saints are crying out to God for vengeance.

  Our passage today has been felt by every generation of God’s people. “What can the righteous do?” This is written in the context of being chased by the wicked. Verse two, describes the wicked pulling the arrow back on the bow “to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart.” It is at the worst of times that we need God the most. When things are beyond our control, when we are nearly overcome and defeated.

  Characteristically of many Psalms, this question is answered in the remaining verses. We notice:

  • The Lord is in His holy temple (4)
  • His eyes behold (4)
  • The Lord tests the righteous (5)
  • The Lord hates those who love violence (5)
  • The Lord loves the righteous (7)
  • The Lord will bring trouble upon the wicked (6)
  • The upright will see God’s face (7)

  When things are not going well, especially, when we are doing right and we seem to be the target of ridicule, abuse and a bunch of junk for wicked hearts, it is easy to feel that God has left us on our own. This passage reminds us otherwise. God is still on the throne. God has a plan. No one will change the plans of God.

  To the question our verse asks, “What can the righteous do?” 

  First, let’s remember what the righteous should not do. The righteous should not try to get even, get back or retaliate. Becoming wicked to deal with the wicked is never the right thing to do. It can make us feel better, because we gave them what they deserve, but in so doing, we are no longer righteous ourselves. There is never a right time to do wrong. It matters little if we are talking about arrows being drawn at us, or words being gossiped about us, or people just being mean to you, giving them a “dose of their own medicine” is NOT the thing to do.

  What the righteous can do is pray to God. Your soul is being tormented and you are being hurt. Pray to God. Ask for help, for relief, for wisdom in knowing what to do.

  What the righteous can do is continue to be righteous. Romans tells us to never pay back evil for evil. Jesus says to pray for those who hurt you. Draw help from God’s word such as the book of Psalms where we read of oppressed people. Continue to worship. Seek help from God’s people.

  If the wicked is in your family, draw some lines in the sand. You may have to distance yourself from some if they continue to be disrespectful, abusive and hostile to you. It may put you at odds with some in the family, but you have to consider the emotional, mental and spiritual well being of your immediate household. If you have to get up and leave a family get together because of the language or the spiritual abuse, so be it! Some people don’t get how mean and rude they are until they have pushed someone too far. There has been a lot of news lately about bullies at school. I expect that problem will always be there. Worse, are the spiritual bullies in the family. They seem to be know-it-all’s when in reality they are know-nothing-at-all. They are loud. They have an audience. They poking fun at the “Christian” is their favorite sport. They enjoy watching you squirm and be bothered by their rude, crude and offensive spirits. You must ask yourself, is this worth it? You may have to have a serious talk. If certain people do not change or hush up, then we won’t be there. Sorry, but I’m not putting myself in that situation again. Many will defend them. “Oh, they’re just teasing.” “Oh, they don’t mean anything by that.” It still hurts. It should never have been said. 

  What can the righteous do? Flee from situations that aren’t right. Don’t participate in things that are wrong. For some reason, when we are around family, we put our guards down. Gossip, trash talking, and bitter spirits can fill the meal time. We’d never do this in other occasions, but when it is family, we forget. What can the righteous do? Continue to be righteous and cling to God.

  God sees. God is aware. God knows what you are going through. And God is counting on you. It may be through you that someone in the family comes to Christ. It may be the way you conduct yourself impresses and opens the eyes of others. It’s not easy, it never has been. Just remember what the Lord went through a long time ago, on that Calvary cross for you. Nothing we face was like that.

  You are not alone. You are not without tools to help. You are not without God.

Roger

06

Jump Start # 320

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 320 

Ecclesiastes 7:1 “A good name is better than a good ointment, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.” 

  There are passages in the Bible that our heads tell us are right but our hearts have a hard time believing it. Our passage today is an example of that, ‘the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.’ Using modern lingo, we have a hard time ‘wrapping our brains around that one!’ More than that, we rarely conduct ourselves in the manner that this verse suggests.

  Solomon, throughout this chapter is contrasting things that are better. The word ‘better’ is used seven times in the first 10 verses. And for the most part, what he says is better, we’d argue with. For instance, Solomon says that ‘sorrow is better than laughter’ (v. 3). That’s hard to believe. He says, ‘it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting’ (v. 2). Really?

  It is interesting how we deal with births and deaths. There is so much joy before the birth. There are baby showers, a lot of preparation, and a ton of excitement. When that baby is born, pictures are taken, phone calls are made and smiles are the order of the day.

  When there is a death, it’s just the opposite. A phone call in the middle of the night tells of someone dear who has passed away. What was important, no longer is. People cancel plans and travel to the funeral. There are a lot of tears, long faces, hugs and sadness prevails. A service is offered. Scriptures and prayers are used to find comfort and hope. There is a trip to the cemetery and that long walk back to the car. Something has been left at the cemetery. Emptiness fills hearts. Life changes. Many feel depressed.

  Babies or funerals? Give us the babies. Babies represent the future. Babies are fun. Funerals are not.

  How can the day of death be better than the day of birth? I believe there are some implied thoughts here. Solomon is appealing to those who are spiritual. This is written for those who will read with the idea of connecting better with God. He mentions the concept of taking things to heart, which involves reflection, inspection, and discernment. Not all will do that. Not all care. The spiritual will. The spiritual does.

  Looking at it that way, this begins to make sense. At the beginning, birth, the future is unsure. Which path will they choose? What kind of person will they become? There are many fears, dangers and concerns. At the end, death, they have completed that journey. As Paul said, the faith had been kept, the course finished, the fight fought. The right path had been chosen. The life lived in such a way that it is an illustration for others. God has been honored, remembered and glorified in that life. The end is better. They have finished and completed what God wanted. What awaits is Heaven.

  Most of us have learned some hard lessons in our life. Many of us would do things differently and better than what we did the first time. But having said that, we can’t, but if we could, most of us would not want to go back and be fourteen years old again. Not me. If I could have my mind, my heart that I have now and go back, that’s one thing, but to just be that goofy teenager I once was, again, no thanks! We’ve grown. We’ve learned. We’ve changed. We’ve become disciples of Jesus. What we thought was important, isn’t even on the radar today. What we thought we needed to be somebody, wasn’t even close to what we are now. Because of Jesus, we like who we’ve become. The time we lived before Jesus, just forgot all that. Now you are beginning to grasp what Solomon may have in mind. The end is better than the beginning (v. 8). The day of death is better than the day of birth (2). The finished project is better than the idea on a piece of paper. The day of graduation is better than the first day of school. Solomon is looking at completion, finishing what we are about, becoming who we should be.

  As we age in Christ, we ought to be getting better. The fruits of the Spirit ought to be more visible in our character. We ought to be walking more by faith and less by sight. Wisdom, reflection and grace ought to be our trademarks. Prayer should be natural and easy. We are getting better and better. We are becoming more and more like Jesus. Just as a sculptor tinkers and tinkers with a stature until finally he is pleased and reveals it to the world, so God, as the potter, is tinkering and tinkering with us. Our hearts allow that. We work with God on this. But better and better is what it should be.

  The day of death will be better than the day of birth. Now some of us need to get on the ball. We are getting older, but not better. Like an old dog, we’re just laying around not doing much these days. How come? The best is not behind us, it is ahead of us.

  This is the way God wants us to look at things.

Roger

05

Jump Start # 319

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 319

Acts 5:3-4 “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

  Acts 5 is the first black page for the early church. Up to this point everything is awesome. The church is growing, the gospel is being preached and things are hitting on all cylinders. Then we come to chapter 5 and it seems that every stops. There are several interesting things we find here:

  • The first Christians to die were killed by God
  • The Holy Spirit is God
  • God hates lying

  To get the background, as chapter four ends, many of the wealthy Christians were selling property and giving the money to the apostles to help the needy Christians. They were not compelled to do this, love drove them. They were one in faith and in body. One of the people who did this was Barnabas.

  As chapter five opens, Ananias and his wife, Sapphira are caught up in this generous spirit as well. They have a piece of property. They chose to sell it. They brought some of the proceeds and gave it to the apostles. Everything seems good. Another generous couple. We soon find out that they deceived the apostles and the church and tried to deceive God. They pretended to have given 100% of the sell of the property to the apostles. They didn’t. They kept some of the money. Again, that’s not wrong. What is wrong is their telling the apostles that they sold it and gave all of it to them. Peter knew. He questioned the husband. He was struck dead immediately. Peter then quizzed his wife. She was unaware of what happened to her husband. She stuck with the same story as her husband. She too, was killed immediately.

  This couple was trying to act better than what they were. Their walk and their talk didn’t match. They wanted the honor and credit which was the wrong motive to begin with. Greed and selfishness made their gift bitter and unpleasant.

  Sometimes we just get stuck on ourselves. We want to be the center of attention. We seek glory and honor. We want our names on plaques. We want our names on signs. We want others to see what we have done. We tend to think that the church couldn’t get along without us. God showed this couple otherwise. There is no room for glory seeking, dishonesty and pride in his kingdom. The church is about Jesus and that’s it. It’s not about us—ever. We preachers have the most problem with this. So often it seems that our worship builds up to the sermon and after the sermon it’s a gradual let down. Folks leave praising the preacher. We do well to get beyond all of this, and make God the focal point as it ought to be.

  Pride has a way of making our heads swell and that affects our vision. We start seeing things crooked. You shouldn’t have to tell anyone about what you do—just do it. God knows. Jesus said that a cup of cold water given for a disciple would not be forgotten by God. He knows. We start bragging, we start losing our perspective and focus.

  In a way ole’ Ananias and Sapphira got  what they were wanting. Had they quietly given their gift and been honest about it, their names would have been lost in the pages of history. They would have been lumped in with the others from chapter 4. This is how God would want it. Instead they sought attention. And they got it. They got eleven verses of God’s word devoted to them. Everyone who reads the Bible knows their story. The shame of what they did is etched into eternity, and above all they traded the glory of Heaven for a moment of honor.

  Bragging does that to a person. Having to stretch stories, embellish the fact, fudge the truth all to make us look bigger and better and more incredible that what we are, but while doing those things, it turns God’s stomach. The answer to all of this is to give God the glory. Give God the glory for what talents He has blessed us with, including the ability to preach. Give God the glory that we can do what we do. Give God the glory!

  It’s interesting to see Peter leading the cause for what is right. It was Peter and a few of the other apostles who fussed about which one of them were the greatest in the kingdom. The Lord rebuked them and showed them the spirit to have when He brought a child before them.  Peter knew. He had been there. Ananias never understood that lesson.

  I hope we’re doing better at this!

  Roger

04

Jump Start # 318

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 318

Luke 6:46 “And why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

  Jesus is defining discipleship in this passage. Immediately following our verse today is the parable of the wise man and the foolish man. The wise man heard the words of Jesus and did them. He obeyed. He applied. He changed. Jesus likens that man to one who build his house upon a foundation of rock. Storms came. The house stood. The parable includes others, those who have heard Jesus, but did not obey. They went on their own way, doing things as they thought they should be. They built their lives, or houses, not upon the solid foundation of Jesus. Storms came. They collapsed.

  Our verse today leads into that parable. Declaring Jesus the Lord does little if he is not the Lord of your heart and of your life. Why call Jesus the Lord, which means the ruler, the one in authority, the rightful king and yet disobey Him? The person who did this did not have his talk and walk matching up. He said one thing and did something else.

  The Pharisees were masters of this. Jesus shows us this in Matthew 23. They would be like a white tomb on the outside but inside were rotten and corrupt. They were like a cup that was clean on the outside, but the inside had never been washed. To others, they looked good, but really, and actually it was just a show.  What a person is on the inside is what comes out. Inside they were not obedient, godly or righteous. On the inside they were selfish, worldly and ungodly.

  Declaring Jesus as Lord can be done in many ways. Some do it by attending church services. They sing. They give. They carry a Bible. But racing their hearts and minds are worldly, corrupt and selfish ideas. That’s not right.

  Jesus is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. He reigns. He wants to reign in the most important place and that is your heart. To do that you must let Him in. You do that by believing Him and obeying Him. It is easier to say, Lord, Lord, than it is to crown Jesus the Lord of your heart. Obeying Jesus means His will comes before your will. It means His ways trump your ways. It means we no longer do what ever we want, we must do what Jesus wants. There will be times when self and the Lord are going opposite directions. Self doesn’t feel like it or want to, but making Jesus my Lord means I must do what Jesus wants. There may be times I don’t feel like going to church services, but I will, because Jesus is my Lord. There may be times that I don’t feel like being a servant, but I will because Jesus is my Lord. Being compassionate? Is this what Jesus wants? Then yes. Being dependable? Is that what Jesus wants? Then yes. Being faithful, accountable, useful, helpful, righteous? Does Jesus want those things? Then the answer is yes. Yes!

  A couple of pages later in Luke Jesus declares that if anyone wants to follow Him, they must first deny themselves. This is where it starts. Until that is done, Jesus will never be Lord. A person may like Jesus. A person may sing to Jesus. But Jesus can never share your heart with yourself. You have to move out. Paul understood this. He said, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.” What happened? Paul moved out. Jesus took possession of his heart. Paul obeyed Jesus. Paul did what Jesus wanted. Wasn’t easy. For Paul, it often meant being chased and persecuted. Making Jesus Lord isn’t always the easy path. But it is the right path. It is the path that leads to Heaven.

  Being a disciple of Jesus is more than putting a bumper sticker on your car or a fish symbol. It is more than carrying a Bible. It is making Jesus the Lord of your heart by doing what He wants you to do. It will change you forever. It will affect every relationship you have. It will be noticed by others. Most importantly, it is what pleases God.

  Roger