15

Jump Start # 477

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 477

Proverbs 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

  The book of Proverbs is full of contrasts and comparisons. Often the picture is painted of what not to do and what to do. Our verse today is one of those many contrasts—looking at the wise and the fool, a major theme in Proverbs.

  The wise walks with other wise people. This passage is driving at influences in our lives. It has been said that you and I will be the same in five years except for the books we read and the people we associate with. The fool, hangs with other fools. There is an old expression that states, “birds of a feather flock together.” That’s the idea here.

  The wise is not necessary just smart people—smart people can be fools. The wise, as used in Proverbs, are those that fear God and respect God. We might use the word righteous, or disciples, or Christians. But this is more than just a group of Christians getting together for a meal, the passage implies some learning, mentoring and growth taking place. By walking with the wise a person gets wiser. He learns. He listens. He looks inward. He makes course corrections. He is shaped, molded and made stronger in the Lord.

  This passage is describing a person who surrounds himself with quality people that he admires and looks up to. They are successful in life. They have strong marriages. They are leaders in their own way. They take seriously the work of God. They realize that they are part of God’s plans and purpose.

  Only good can come from such associations. Ideas flow, encouragement pours forth like oxygen, it’s positive good and right. Do you have that in your life? Do you have those who challenge you to greater heights with the Lord? Do you have those whose presence just lifts you up and makes you want to do right? Those influences in your life lead you to a better life and they make you become a better you.

  I was in one such meeting last night. It was with elders of the church where I preach. Once a month we meet in one of our homes. After a nice meal, the men all get together and talk. We don’t talk about typical church matters—this is a meeting to lift each of us higher. We talk visions, plans, goals—some easy to see, some more radical and complex. We use the time to keep all of us on the same page and to keep all of us motivated. These are my wise men. By walking with them they make me wise. They make me think good and noble thoughts. They push me to push them. It’s a wonderful relationship—different ages, different backgrounds but one common goal and love and that is Jesus. It was rich, challenging, insightful, and extremely encouraging. I love being plugged in to those guys. They make me be a better me.

  I think the Scriptures can do the same for us. Not so much reading to figure out tough passages or reading to find answers to our friends questions, but especially looking at Jesus in the Gospels. Looking at His kindness, His compassion, His love for all people. Jesus with the Jewish teacher at night, or Jesus with the woman in trouble in the temple, or Jesus with the parents of a young girl who had just died…walking with Jesus tends to chip away at our hardness and roughness. We look in and we remember times when we were bothered by other people and we ignored others because we didn’t like them…the one who walks with the wise will be wise. We start grasping grace and forgiveness. We start releasing ourselves and put an end to selfishness. Walking with Jesus does that.

  We’ve not said much about the fool. What do you say? He’s a fool. He’s missing out. His life is surrounded with those who encourage him to continue being dumb in life and fail with God. He’ll have a good time, until he meets God. But his relationships will be crooked and broken. Selfishness and self indulgence will dominate the fool’s life. He’ll laugh at the wrong things, make light of the right things and be so arrogant that he’ll never get it, mostly because he keeps feeding his foolish heart with more foolishness.

  The wise—going a different direction. Seeking different things. Surrounding himself with quality spiritual people.

  Family isn’t necessarily wise simply because they are our family. Some family members may fall into the fool category. It’s a mater of finding those wise people who have the right heart, spirit, attitude, and desire that God wants them to have. Spend time with them. Go to lunch with them. Ask them questions. Find out what they are reading. Find out who they consider wise.

  This passage is about making ourselves better. One way is to associate with wise people. Are you content with just the way you are or are you working on making a better you? It starts with the type of people you associate with. This is true in school, work, church and in our families. Seek out those who are walking with the Lord. Spend time with them.

  Thanks to my circle of wise men: Bill, Larry, Lee, Jim, Brent and Dave. You are a team of wise men!

Roger

14

Jump Start # 476

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 476

Revelation 2:21 “I gave her time to repent but she does not want to repent of her immorality.” 

  Our verse today is from the message that was written to the church at Thyatira. The book of Revelation is addressed to seven churches. Those churches were interesting. Some seem to have it together and others seemed to forget why they existed.

  Thyatira had the problem of tolerating wrong. The context says that she was tolerating Jezebel. We know it wasn’t the original Jezebel for she was long dead—thrown out a window. The O.T. Jezebel was married to King Ahab and she ran the nation, writing letters in his place, giving orders and having no problem with executing people, especially the prophets of God. She surrounded her self with the prophets of Baal and was there when Elijah had that mighty contest on Mt. Carmel about who is the true God. The prophets of Baal prayed and prayed to their god and nothing happened. Elijah prayed and God sent fire down and devoured the altar and the sacrifice. Israel turned and slaughtered the prophets of Baal that day. Jezebel was so mad that she put out a death threat to Elijah. That is when he went and hid in a cave.

  The very utterance of the name ‘Jezebel’ meant someone who opposed God, stood for error and was wicked to the core. The church at Thyatira was tolerating their version of “Jezebel.” God wanted her to repent but our passage says that she did not want to repent.

  This brings up two thoughts for us.

  First, why would a church tolerate someone like a Jezebel. I see her as being loud, bossy, pushy and very demanding—passage doesn’t say that, but my mind does. Maybe everyone was scared of her and felt intimidated by her. Possibly she was related to the leadership and no one wanted to deal with that. So the church tolerated. The church did nothing. She continued in her wicked ways—abusing, hurting and showing the world a brand of Christianity that doesn’t come from the Bible. Such people are toxic. They run people off. They are hard to deal with. A battle looms everything she appears. Jezebel—that very name brings shivers to the people of God.

  Secondly, God gave her time to repent. That’s just the way God is. Even to the Jezebel’s of the world, our God is kind, generous, merciful and forgiving. He wants all to be saved, even the Jezebels. Most of us would rather send a nuke down her smoke stack, God wants to save her. He wants Jezebel to repent. He gave her time. God is patient, with all of us. Time to let the dust settle. Time to allow things to soak in. Time to reflect and recall. Time for guilt to do it’s work. Some may be too swift to action, not allowing a person time to repent. Maybe some would turn if others were patient with them. Instead they would cut off and be done with them. Not God. Others, drag things along, TOO long. Patience becomes tolerance. Patience becomes non-action. Could be where Thyatira was.

  How much time do you allow? That’s a judgment call. How patient should you be? There is no formula for this stuff, but there are two principles—first, how would you want to be treated? Golden rule—remember? Treat others as you would want them to treat you. The other principle is the other side, not to tolerate. There comes a time, when action is demanded.

  Churches need to see this. Some do nothing with wayward members. They have gone to tolerating. Others are so swift, their actions seem unloving and they seem to be glad to be rid of their Jezebels. God’s not like that.

  Families need this too. A lot of drama in families today—in-laws, out-laws, and everyone’s opinion, feelings and so forth. It can be real messy at times. Thinking about this passage helps.

  It helps to think how I want God to treat me when I act like a Jezebel. We do that sometimes. We get on our high horse about something and we can get a bit bossy about how things ought to be and we never realize that we are walking where Jezebel walked. We don’t see the carnage and the hurts that we cause. God doesn’t pull us by the ears and throw us out, no sir, he doesn’t do that. He guides. He teaches. He warns. He waits. He’s patient. He works on our heart to get us back. And do you know what, it works. Most of us climb off of that high horse, get a real sense of Jesus in us and start acting like a disciple instead of a Jezebel. That’s how God is with us.

  It’s hard for us to do that with others, but we must. Even in that, God is patient with us.

Roger

11

Jump Start # 475

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 475

2 Corinthians 7:13 “For this reason we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.”

  Refreshments—that word brings the thoughts of Coke-Cola, popcorn and food. I like refreshments. Here Paul speaks of a different kind—a refreshing of the spirit. Earlier, Paul was on the receiving end of these spiritual refreshments. Titus came and brought news about the Corinthians. Paul had written some hard things—things of corrections. He didn’t know how his letters would be received. Would they be mad? Would they go the other way? The waiting was long and hard for Paul. No cell phones. No emails. No facebook. New crawled. News came via messengers. They had to travel back and forth. The mind can think the worst while one is waiting. Titus came. The news was better than expected. The Corinthians were doing what Christ wanted them to. It was amazing.

  Often the messenger was the first line of reaction. It wasn’t easy to carry letters such as Paul’s back and forth to churches. If folks didn’t like what was said, they could rip into the messenger. This didn’t happen. The spirit of Titus had been refreshed.

  Good friends have a way of doing that—especially when you haven’t seen each other in a while. There is so much to catch up on, pictures to be shared and so forth. But in all the excitement, there is just a good atmosphere, a refreshing time. Families can be that way too, especially when the kids are grown and live away. The holidays come and everyone gathers, fun, laughter and good times are shared.

  I think church services can do the same, and on a level that often family and friends can’t. It seems that going to work every day, heading off to school, and just living in the world we do can wear us down spiritually. Bad news prevails. It seems that no one cares. Everyday can seem like a battle, and in many ways it is. The solider gets tired. Sunday comes, we gather with fellow believers. We sing, we pray, we are reminded, we connect. Our souls get rest. Our spirits get lifted. We long to be with our Savior. Church services are refreshing. Sometimes we get our toes stepped on, that happens. Sometimes, serious things have to be dealt with. But all in all, it’s a filling station for our hearts. I think this is why I love Sundays. It’s the best day of the week. I wish every day was a Sunday!

  One guy recently told me, “Sunday is your day to work. How can you feel that way?” Some think it’s the only day the preacher works—but we won’t go there. It’s the presence of Jesus, it’s the faces of brethren, it’s the goodness that is done, it’s the hope that is shared, it’s the joy of one another, it’s the fellowship we have, it’s the beneficial refreshing that takes place. That’s how I see it. It’s not classes, and sermons, and bulletins—No, it’s all of us connected and connecting with Christ.

  You know how it is when you are really tired, bone tired, as they say. After a good nights sleep, you feel awesome. Give me the world, because he I come. You are refreshed. You are charged and ready to go. This is what we do for each other. God’s word for this is, “encouragement.” That word means to “build up,” or “strengthen.” It’s the inner strength, the inner courage that we get from one another. We need that. By ourselves, we doubt. We get fearful. We question and wonder.

  Titus, the refresher. He refreshed Paul and he refreshed the Corinthians. What a great role he played. How about you? You may not be like a Paul, most of us never will be. You may not be a leader, not all can be. But you can be that refresher of spirits. The one that calls one on the phone and encourages them. Maybe they have been sick. Maybe they have been having troubles. Few know. You call. You let them know that you care. The words are few, but heart felt. You think nothing of it. On the other end is a person who thinks, “wow, he cared enough to call.” He is refreshed. Maybe it’s a plate of cookies for a neighbor. Maybe it’s a card in the mail to someone. Maybe it’s a book for a young preacher. Maybe it’s asking someone out to eat after services.

  Often, it’s not the sermon that opens the eyes of people, but the refreshing manner that others have. People look for that. Corporations are big and cold. Some churches have the same feeling. Finding people who are real, and guanine and caring—that’s refreshing! That’s Titus! That’s you!

  Some times if the Coke has been left out all night, it’s a bit flat. It doesn’t do what it should. You have to take care of it to keep it “refreshing.” So, it is with us. Some days we are flat. Some days we are the ones who need “refreshing.” But once we get refreshed, it’s back to it. There’s a lot of people needing help these days—and we sure can do what we can. That alone is refreshing!

  Thanks to all who keep me going. We need each other. And some day we will all be together in Heaven—where we’ll get to spend some time talking to Titus. Won’t that be great!

Roger

10

Jump Start # 474

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 474 

James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” 

  Prayer works! That’s the point James is driving at. Throughout the book of James the subject of prayer is addressed. Often it’s negative. He tells them earlier that they do not receive because they pray with the wrong motives. Other times he tells them that prayer fails because they don’t believe. But here, James takes on the positive aspect of prayer.

  The King James Version uses the expression “fervent” prayer. I like that. It’s the same word for hot or fever. He is describing passionate praying. Not just mumbling some words, not repeating the same lifeless expressions, but praying that is intense, focused and heart felt. James is not addresses public prayers—although they ought to be fervent as well. He is talking about private prayers. It is interesting that the prayer follows the confessing of sins to one another. This is the natural process of things spiritually. When one has acknowledge wrong, he ought to seek forgiveness, first from God and then from others. Prayer is that avenue. James says to “pray for one another.”

  Pray for forgiveness. Pray for a restored relationship. Pray that the relationships can be repaired that have been ripped apart by sin. Pray for patience and kindness.

  Following our verse, James tells of the prayers of Elijah. His prayers to God affected the nation as God withheld rain and then later, after another prayer, it poured rain on the earth. Elijah is the footnote, the proof that prayer works.

  Prayer is one of those special spiritual tools that we always have with us. We can’t always have our Bibles with us. We can’t always have each other with us. But we can always pray. There are times, such as in meetings, or sitting on a table awaiting the surgeon, or stuck in traffic when we can pray. Pray is the roadway by which we can thank God for His care, mercies and blessings. Prayer can be the means to open doors that seem to be closed. Prayer can be the process in which we volunteer for God to use us in His service. Isaiah said, “Here am I, send me.” Prayer is the means in which we can say the same to God.

  Praying for one another, that’s a big thing to do. The larger the congregation, the more you have to pray for. The more friends you have, the more people you have to pray for. Family members, church members, co-workers, friends, neighbors—those going through tough times, those who are sick, those who are not Christians, those who are doubting—the list is long.

  Paul did this, often. He prays for congregations. He names people at the end of his letters that he prays for.

  There is something special about all of this. This is more than a duty we ought to do…more than a task that has to be done…it is simply special to take someone’s name and lift it up to the throne of Heaven. There is no greater help than from God. There is no greater love than God’s. When all seems impossible, don’t forget God.

  Have you ever prayed for strangers? It’s harder to do, simply because you don’t know much about them, sometimes even their names. For instance, you are sitting in a restaurant, and the busy waitress, who keeps your glass of tea filled and brings your food, say a pray for her. Or, how about the person at the check out counter at the store. They can seem bored and simply doing their job, how about a prayer for that person. How about the nurse who helps you get ready for your tests and scans…how about the guy who changes the oil in your car…how about the bus driver who takes your kids to school each day…how about the legendary football coach who was fired…or the senator you read about in the paper…or the guy who writes Jump Starts.

  Expand your prayers. As Jesus told the disciples, “lift up your eyes and look upon the fields…”

  Everybody needs prayers. We need God. Once you start thinking this way, everyone you see, you think about saying a prayer. You become as some call it a “Prayer warrior.” Now understand, prayer isn’t the end of my obligation nor responsibilities. Praying alone will not save souls. Praying alone will not raise my kids. Without praying, it’s an up hill battle for sure, but after I have said, “amen,” I need to get about doing what God wants me to do in those areas.

  Pray for one another. We need that. We need each other. Through prayer, we are connected, to God and to each other.

Roger

09

Jump Start # 473

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 473 

2 Chronicles 36:18-19 “All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the hose of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.

  Here in the final paragraphs of 2 Chronicles we read of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Verses before tell of massive killings of young, old and sick. Many had been taken captive and led away into Babylon. People such as Daniel were taken away, given Babylonian names and taught the Babylonian ways.

  This destruction was not by surprise, at least from Heaven’s perspective. God had warned Judah over and over. Their devotion to idols and indifference to God and His word led to this. God had told His people how long this captivity would last—70 years. Many would die before they saw the return and restoration of life in Jerusalem.

  I don’t know if God sheds tears or not, but how broken hearted He must have felt to witness these events. That wonderful temple that Solomon had built, that housed the ark of the covenant and that the high priest could only enter once a year, was now desecrated and defiled by Babylonian soldiers. They ripped, tore, and burnt the temple. They carried away the gold items that were used to worship God. How God must have felt.

  There is another time in Bible history that would have brought even greater tears to God and that was when Jesus was crucified upon the cross. The death was violent, slow and painful. The sky grew dark, the earth shook and the Savior cried out, “Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” This too, was prophesied, planned and came together according to God’s design. The death of Jesus was no surprise to Heaven. Christ died for us.

  You and I have dark days as well. I’ve known families who huddled together in the street on a cold night as they witnessed their house and all the contents burn to the ground. Those are dark days. I’ve witnessed the final breath of several people, one being my mother. Tears stream down the cheeks, there is a feeling of loss and helplessness. You want something to be done, but nothing can.

  Those dark days are hard to get through. They seem to stay with you for a long time, some never get over them. I’ve found that life moves on. The sun comes up, the birds still sing, but things are not the same. Not on the outside and not on the inside. Maybe they are not supposed to be.

  God allowed His beloved city to be destroyed to teach His people a lesson. God allowed His Son to die so we could live. And through our dark days we can learn, connect and reach out to a God who has remained on the throne of Heaven. We like to avoid those dark days in our life. We live for the sunny days, but they don’t always appear. Sometimes it’s the dark days that do us the most good. They make us be serious and silent and solemn. We need that. We can get so busy with life that we fail to live and fail to live as God wants. Dark days reminds us that we are not in control and we do not have everything figured out. Dark days seem to pull us closer to God more than sunny days.

  Here in the mid-west, our falls and winters can be gloomy, rainy and dark. Often days will go by without any sunshine. It affects the moods of people. Gloomy days tend to make gloomy people. We understand and we deal with those things. It’s just the weather! But dark days on the inside are the result of events that are tragic, life stopping and make us take inventory of what’s important.

  The same God that saw His temple burn watches you. The temple was important, but it was a building, only a building. You are a soul, created by God and you have God’s thumb print on your heart. He doesn’t delight to see you suffer, struggle or go through hardships. He wants the best for you. He realizes sometimes those things are necessary. Sometimes they are the very things that will awaken us up to Him. Sometimes they are the best teachers in our life. He does not abandon you during those dark days. He’s there. He loves you as He always has. Sometimes it’s harder to see that but it’s true.

  God is good…He is good to you!

Roger