09

Jump Start # 601

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 601

John 6:26 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

The sixth chapter of John is a turning point in the ministry of Jesus and in the hearts of the multitudes. Jesus was popular. Everywhere He went massive crowds showed up. They brought their sick and crippled family members. Earlier in this chapter Jesus fed the multitudes. Five thousand men ate. Estimating women and children it is easy to believe that 10-15,000 were fed by Jesus. Aside from the events at the crucifixion and resurrection, the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle found in all four gospels. Here are a few reasons why:

  • More people were participants in that miracle than any other. With most miracles, Jesus healed a person and the crowd witnessed. With this miracle, they all ate what Jesus created. They were all involved directly.
  • This was most likely the longest lasting miracle. A common expression found with healings is the word “immediately.” Mark’s gospel uses that word often. Immediately the blind received their sight. Immediately the lame walk. Immediately the dead were raised. That word isn’t used here. The crowd didn’t have their hungry bellies filled immediately. Jesus made the bread and fish, which were a poor man’s snack, and the apostles would take it to groups of 50 or 100. They would return and take more. Twelve men feeding 10,000 people would take a while.

The context in which our verse is found begins with the statement, “The next day…” The next day they went looking for Jesus. When they couldn’t find him, they got in boats and journeyed to Capernaum. There they found Him. The events that took place the day before hasn’t led to their faith in Jesus. They were looking for another free meal. They looked to Jesus as the source of something free, easy and delightful. Jesus saw that. He refused to feed them anymore. Their hearts were not right. The Lord used the occasion to talk about commitment and discipleship, something they didn’t understand and many today do not either. The chapter tells us later on that many went home. They left Jesus. Disappointed in Jesus. Probably complaining about Jesus. Still happens today. If Jesus doesn’t do what I think He should, we complain about the Holy One of Israel. Can you imagine?

The theme in John 6 is similar to the theme in the book of Job. Job is not about suffering, it is about commitment to God. Will a person follow God because He is God or because of all the blessings God gives him? Take away the blessings, take away financial security, family, health, leave him broken and hurting with nothing left and then will He still cling to God? That was the debate then. That is the discussion in John 6. And that is the thought for us.

Why does a person go to church services? Because they have to? Because all their friends are there? Because they like how it makes them feel? Or, perhaps, because of God? Why make righteous decisions? Because we want to go to Heaven? What if there was no Heaven? Would that change things? Would we follow God because He is God and is worthy of all that we have or because of the blessings He gives us?

It’s easy to thumb the multitudes in John 6 as being shallow, self seeking and not committed to Jesus. It’s hard to hold the mirror up and realize we could be just like that at times. Nearly every day my phone rings with someone wanting the church to pay their rent or utility bill or give them some food. If the answer is not favorable, most, again MOST, hang up. They do not even say “goodbye.” Give me what I want or I have no need for you.

Jesus wants us to follow Him because He is God. He wants our commitment based upon faith not blessings. He is not going to buy your allegiance, nor sweeten the deal, like a car dealer, to such a point that we can’t resist signing up for Jesus. He wants you to look at all the things before you in the Scriptures—the fulfillment of prophecy, His words, His character, His wisdom, His miracles, His promises and then to decide to follow Jesus because He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

We sing a song, “I have decided to follow Jesus…” Why? Because He’s been good to you? Because He’s given you everything you want? Or, perhaps because He is what He said.

His words are right. His promises are true. His way is pure. His desire for you is noble and righteous. His way will help your marriage. His way will destroy the guilt of your past. His way will pull you out of the ditch of despair, addiction, and habitual sin. His way makes the best relationships. His way involves forgiveness, grace, hope, and thinking of others first. His way brings peace. His way is being a servant to others. His way is helping others.

I have decided to follow Jesus? Really? During the storms upon the sea? When the free food stops? When others point their fingers and ridicule? When it’s popular and when it’s not? I have decided to follow Jesus…

There are those who actually saw Jesus and heard His voice and ate the food that He made miraculously yet they turned their backs and went home. Back to a world of darkness and despair. Back to killing lambs and hoping for a Messiah. Back to the prison of sin and brokenness. They stepped into the sunshine of hope and freedom, but returned to the prison of darkness. Happened then. It happens now.

Some expect Jesus to fix their kids. When He doesn’t, they walk away from Jesus. Fix my husband’s attitude—when He doesn’t, they turn away. Heal mama’s cancer. When it doesn’t happen, away from Jesus they go. Find me a job…get me out of trouble…do this, do that—in the N.T. we read, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance…give us more food. When Jesus wouldn’t do those things, people were through with Jesus. He didn’t do what they wanted.

I wonder if they ever turned that thought around…Jesus, being through with us because we don’t do what He wanted?

I have decided to follow Jesus…really? Even if the free food stops? Jesus hopes so. Jesus wants that. He wants you to decide to follow Him, not because of the blessings, but because He is worthy.  I have decided…

Roger

 

 

08

Jump Start # 600

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 600

Psalms 86:12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.

Today marks another milestone for our Jump Starts—# 600. Six hundred is a bunch—no matter what you are counting. Our Jump Start community continues to grow and grow. What started as an experiment to get folks back to the Bible has swelled to something much larger than I ever expected. I never thought I’d still be writing these every morning after a month, let alone a year later.

A few thanks and then on to our verse. Thanks to those who read these. I hear from so many and often I don’t know where they live but some how something that they read helped them. The folks at home where I preach have read nearly every one of these. They continue to pass these on to friends and the circle of readers continues to grow. Thank you. These writings were never intended to explain nor answer the deep questions of our faith. Instead, they were to be simple encouragements, like a daily vitamin, that adds some basic nourishment for our souls.

Our verse today reminds us that God is good to us. God has not removed Himself from us. He has sent His word into our world and is working around us and through us, if we allow that. God’s name is wonderful. It stands for what is right and good. It stands for something beyond us. It is holy.

To glorify God’s name is to glorify God himself. He is deserving of that.

We glorify God’s name through worship. We must remind ourselves that church services are not about us. When someone says, “I don’t get anything out of it,” maybe they ought to be asking, “Am I putting anything into it?” Worship is about honoring God. It is recognizing His “worth.” When we sing, we ought to sing out. God is good. When we pray, we ought to bow the head and open the heart. God is good. God’s word needs to be studied, taught and followed. It’s a powerful word. It’s an amazing story. It’s for us. God is good.

We glorify God’s name by respecting His name. Have you ever noticed how many times folks say the name “God” ? It comes up in nearly every sentence. When they hear something unbelievable, they’ll say God’s name. When something exciting happen, out comes God’s name. When something shocking happens, God’s name. This is so common that there is an abbreviation that many use in texting—OMG. The problem with most of this is that they are not thinking about God, honoring God, nor praising God. They simply don’t know what to say, so they say, God. I love hearing people saying God’s name, if they mean it. When they say it because they have a shallow vocabulary or are using it in a blasphemous way, shame on them. God is bigger, better and holier than that. He deserves better. We glorify God’s name by including God in our conversation. Instead of saying, “It’s a nice day,” try, “Hasn’t God given us a wonderful day.” When asked, “how are you doing?” respond, “God has been good to me.” These ways glorify God. They include God and remind you that God is in your life.

We glorify God by standing for Him, defending Him, and sharing His message. God is big. He can take the hits that the world throws Him, but it’s good for us to decide which side we are going to be on. God’s message is a gospel—good news. It’s a message of hope, faith and promise. It belongs to the world. It is intended for the world. Tell others of Jesus. Tell others of the God of the Bible. Doing this glorifies God.

In some ways, that is what our Jump Starts have tried to accomplish. These have been a medium to connect, reflect, and remind us of God and how good He is to us.

One of the best ways we glorify God is by living for Him every day. Making the godly choice, not the easy one. Doing the things that builds faith and helps you stay on course for Heaven glorifies God. When God is removed from our conscience man resorts to being an animal, living on impulses that have no regard for others. Nearly every community has these sad reminders. When I was growing up it was the infield of the Indy 500. It was a gathering of people for the sole purpose of seeing how immoral and debased they could become. It had nothing to do with racing. Those involved called it “partying.” It was a drunken opportunity to see how stupid people could become. Rock concerts are often just like that. Remove God. Turn off the conscience. This is what happens. It doesn’t bring out the best of a person. It doesn’t help mankind. It is a journey of waste, stupidity, and shame. Glorifying God is done each day by making wise choices. Living righteously. A person can go to a concert and not take their clothes off or leave drunk or high. Living righteously— everywhere. At home. At work. On vacation. Making choices that glorify God.

God is good. He is good to each of us. Someday this journey will end. Someday we will be in His presence. Those who have chosen to glorify Him and walk with Him will find Heaven. The best is yet to come. God has been good to us. Glorify His name!

Roger

 

04

Jump Start # 598

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 598

Luke 24:32 “And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

This week we have been looking at the reforms led by Nehemiah. He restored the walls around the city of Jerusalem. He then turned his attention to restoring the true faith in the hearts of Israel. To do that, they had to get back to following God. A corrupted view of things, no matter how passionate a person is, will remain crooked. Israel had to get back to the Law.

Those thoughts ought to be of interest and concern for us. Many churches today, many individuals today, need a boost in their faith. They literally need a Jump Start. Sadly, the option some turn to is external, temporary, and emotional. In doing this they equate feelings with faith. If a person “feels” good, then they have faith. The two are not the same. Faith is substance. It is based upon the word of God. Feelings come and go. Food, moods, weather and people all affect our feelings. Our feelings can change quickly. We can be calm and then in a moment we can be all stirred up, upset and excited about things. Feelings can be misleading. You can feel something is right but be wrong, this is why GPS’s were invented. We thought we knew where we were, but we were lost. Feelings can do that. They can do that with directions, they can do that with salvation.

Faith is different. It’s something you can put your hands on. There is evidence and proofs to our faith.

Our verse today shows Jesus explaining to the two men on the road who He is. Jesus had been resurrected. The men were walking away from Jerusalem. They were heading home. They had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah. He was crucified. Their dreams were crushed. They didn’t know about the resurrection. Worse, they didn’t know that they were walking and talking with Jesus.

Jesus used Scripture to explain who He was. Interesting. He could have easily preformed a miracle. That would have been impressive. These two men would still have questions about the role the Messiah played and the kingdom. Jesus, using Scripture taught them. He explained who He was and what the role of the Messiah was. They got it. They understood. They connected O.T. prophecy to Jesus. They saw and grasped that Jesus was the Messiah. They had faith.

Their wonderful response was, “our hearts were burning within us while He was explaining the Scriptures to us.” They had eager hearts to learn. Their minds were opened. They were hungry and thirsty for righteous ways.

The steps back to God must begin with the Word of God—the Bible. Reform, restoration, repentance begins with a call back to Scriptures. Leaving the Bible out will only produce a shallow, empty reform that will not last. Worse, it will not please God.

  • Broken marriages must go back to the Bible to begin the steps of repair.
  • Strained relationships must learn about grace and forgiveness from the Bible if any hope remains of making things better.
  • Those who have left God can return as they go back and learn what God requires.

Give me the Bible is more than a song we sing in worship, it’s the way it is. Give me the Bible. Give it to me when I need to come home to God. Give it to me when I’ve sinned. Give it to me when I am discouraged. Give it to me when I am alone. Give it to me when my feelings change and I no longer know how I feel. Give it to me when I must walk through those long, dark valleys of life.

Nehemiah understood that the way back to God begins with teaching the Law. We understand the way back begins with the Bible. We do not need less Bible—it’s more that we need. The more we spend with God’s word, the greater our faith will be.

Burning hearts…listening ears…the teaching Jesus… Scripture… faith… reform… connection… hope…God.

Roger

 

 

03

Jump Start # 597

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 597

Nehemiah 13:30 “Thus I purified them from everything foreign and appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each in his task.”

We continue our look this week at the reform led by Nehemiah to get the people back to God. This job is hard and one that is needed in every generation. Satan is always trying to pull the people of God away from what is right. The call back to God must continually sound forth from God’s people

In the process of restoring the hearts back to God, Nehemiah had to do some literal house cleaning. He threw out the items belonging to Tobiah that were in God’s house. Tobiah was the enemy. Later in this chapter, Nehemiah drives out Joiada. He was the son of the high priest and the son-in-law of Sanballat, another enemy of Israel. He sided with the enemy, so he had to go.

Our verse today, reminds us of the extent that Nehemiah wanted the people back to God. He purified them from everything foreign. Often, after flood waters have been in a basement, home owners will cleanse and purify all that they can to keep mold from starting. Medical instruments are cleansed after use. Forks and spoons are washed after we eat with them. Nehemiah was interested in purifying their souls. As long as foreign influences hung around, Israel would never be completely free from contamination. What Nehemiah did is a good thought for us today. There are many foreign influences in our lives. I’m not talking about international things, but false things. Foreign to the true faith of Jesus Christ. Foreign to the ways of the Bible. These influences can cause a person to walk toward them, embrace them and accept them. Foreign means that they do not belong to Israel.

Nehemiah then appointed duties for the priests and Levites. I find that statement a bit odd. The Law of God had given priests plenty to do. They weren’t doing them. So Nehemiah assigned them. He led them into getting busy and back to the work of God.

There is a thought there for us. God has assigned duties today for His people. Deacons have deacon stuff to do. Shepherds have shepherding duties. Preachers have preaching duties. The work is there. There is enough to keep everyone busy. The work of God is not for the lazy. Hire a lazy preacher and you’ll have problems. A man who wants to do the work of God needs to gabout that and work hard. He needs to do his best because he is doing it for God.

It is interesting how many times the N.T. tells us to “do” things. At the end of the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus said, “Go and DO thou likewise.” Paul told the Galatians, “Let us DO good as we have opportunity.” Titus was told to teach folks to be eager for good deeds. Doing things. Doing things for others. Having duties. Christianity isn’t a thinking religion, it’s a living and doing religion. Too many are long on talk and short on doing. They love to ponder, consider, debate and argue about theories, ideas and what-nots, but when it comes to doing, they’re simply not there.

In Matthew 25, when Jesus was showing the judgment picture, he said those that gave drink, food, clothed and visited would be welcomed into the kingdom. Those that didn’t, wouldn’t. We can get the idea that the judgment will be like a test in school. Get the right answers and you’ll get to go to Heaven. So preachers are quick to say study. They should. That’s how our faith is built. But study, not just to rattle off facts, but study to become. Study to change your character. Study to learn Jesus and then walk that way. Study, and then DO. It’s the doing part that is important.

Folks would rather see you doing things than hear you talk. Long before they ask you questions about what you believe, they will want to see that you care. We show we care by doing. By being there. By helping out. By sharing things.

Nehemiah assigned the priests duties. That would get them back to doing what they should have been doing all along and that would help them stay out of trouble. I was preaching in a meeting a while back. We were at the church building every night. I saw the same little boy each night. Near the end of the week I asked him if he was behaving. He said that he’s going to church so much, that he didn’t have time to be bad. I like that. We all can learn from that.

When it comes to your faith, what’s it doing for you? Is your faith making a difference? When you walk down those difficult paths, such as the ones that lead to the funeral home, is your faith helping you get through those times? Are you still seeing Jesus? And, we must ask, is your faith leading you to do things? Are you doing anything for anyone else? It’s kind of hard to look at the compassionate and generous Jesus and not have some of that rub off on us.

Do you need someone to assign you a few tasks? That can be done. In fact, that’s already done. They are sprinkled throughout the N.T.—places like Romans 12, Hebrews 13 will get you started. Doing things for others will make you tired. Sometimes it costs. Sometimes you don’t even get a thank you back. That’s ok. Look at Jesus. You DO things because God wants you to.

I expect if you took about five minutes and really thought about this, you’d come up with a bunch of things that you could DO. Why not make a list and get at it. Doing good has a way of making a person feel good.

Roger

 

02

Jump Start # 596

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 596

Nehemiah 13:23-25 “In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people. So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, ‘You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.”

We continue our look at the end of Nehemiah and the spiritual reforms that Nehemiah tried to lead the people in. He had rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem. Now, he is attempting to rebuild a faith and a dedicated service to God. The first was much easier than the latter.

There are several things that Nehemiah saw. He saw the ruins of the city. He saw that Tobiah, the enemy had moved into the temple. Now, from our verse today, Nehemiah saw that the Jews had married foreign women. This was wrong. The law was specific about this. The following verse brings up Solomon as an example of what happens. Solomon married many foreign women. They caused “even him to sin.” Solomon was smart. If it messed him up, it would certainly mess everyone else up.

Nehemiah is a man of action. He doesn’t wait for someone else to do something. The next generation couldn’t even speak the language of the native Hebrews. They were losing a generation. The language first, the faith and religion follows. Similar to the book of Judges, right before their eyes, a generation was slipping away from God. The cause? Marrying outside the nation. Nehemiah was furious.  He hit some of them. He pulled their hair and cursed them. I expect that got their attention. I don’t recommend that today. Certainly the police would be called and someone would go to jail. Earlier, Nehemiah made the leaders sign an oath to walk with God. Here, he makes the people swear or promise to end the mixed marriages between the nations. In making them promise, Nehemiah was keeping them with God. In turn, the next generation might have a hope of pleasing God.

Many are upset about the massive debt that our country is handing to the next generation. That ought to concern us. A greater concern is the spiritual well being of our children. Peter said, “If any man speaks, let him speak the oracles of God.” Can our kids speak accurately about God and His word? That is something that won’t just happen by itself. Action must be taken and the proper steps followed if we want our kids to speak the way God does. That will call for us to spend some time engaging in spiritual activity with our kids. That will necessitate our kids being different than other kids. The end result will be a generation that we can hand the church over to, fill leadership roles and teach from our pulpits. If they can’t speak the language of God, the Bible, then disaster will happen. Things will change, and not for the better. Out will go the old and in will come the new and the different. The old time religion will be replaced with what’s happening now theology. Now, I’m not one for old, stale, dry and dull faith or services. Not at all. But neither am I for throwing out what the Bible teaches and shows by example.

Why is it that the next generation could not speak the language of the Jews? Their parents did not teach them. They were taught the language of Ashdod. They knew other things. They simply didn’t know the things of God. Have you ever seen on TV game shows when a question about the Bible comes up, how completely ignorant folks are? It’s shameful. They’ll know the answer to Russian poets who lived two hundred years ago, but they know nothing of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Not only do most not know anything, what’s worse, they don’t care to know. They’d rather watch TV and find out who kissed who in Hollywood this week.

Nehemiah smacked his people because of their poor choices. They married wrong. They raised their kids wrong. They were thinking wrong. There is no way the walls of their faith could be rebuilt with all those wrong choices. Makes a person wonder doesn’t? Are we more interested that our kids marry money, or someone who is good looking, or someone who makes them laugh more than someone who will help them get to Heaven? Nehemiah understood. I hope we do as well.

Choices—learning to make the right ones…learning to make spiritual ones—that is what is behind all of this. One generation fumbled. The next generation was worse. If things didn’t change, the generation following, would be even more worse.

Marriages can strengthen our faith and our commitment to Christ or they can pull us away. Solomon knew. The end of his life was spent building idols to please his wives. Shame on him. He should have tossed them out. Give them a choice—God or hit the road! He didn’t do that. He pleased them. I wonder how many have quit attending services to please a mate that had zero interest in the Lord. I wonder how many felt pressured at first, but then learned to like it, and then became committed to being not committed to the Lord.

You know where you see this the most? Funerals. I’ve seen it a lot lately. Mom or dad dies. They were faithful to the Lord. Attended all the time. Taught classes. Helped where they could. For some reason, their kids did not know the language of the Lord. They grew up and became committed to being non committed. So here they all are at the funeral. Mom or dad is in the casket. The preacher is called to read the Bible and say some comforting words. The kids are there but the words don’t comfort. They don’t understand the concepts. They believe that everyone is going to Heaven because we’re pretty good people. As soon as the funeral is over, off they go to their non committed ways and life. Never again to darken the church building. Never again to hear the Bible preached. Never again to give a thought to the eternal. Sad. It makes me want to pull hair—mostly my own!

It starts with each of our families. Teach. Show. Love. Share. Explain. Let them see commitment. Let them see sacrifices in your life. Let them see you serve others. Let them see Jesus. The worst thing that can happen is to raise a bunch of faithless kids who grow to be selfish and indifferent to God and His ways.

Let me add, some parents have done just what I said above. They did everything right. They did it to the best of their abilities. Their kids grew to make poor choices. Parents fault? No. Heap guilt upon them? No. Pull their hair? No. People have the right to make dumb choices and they do it every day. Satan tempts, and people listen. Some go off to the far country and never come back. Some like eating with pigs. Some want nothing to do with the way their were raised and especially the faith and religion of their parents. They don’t replace faith, they simply drop it. They live without it.

The sense I get from our passage is not that the parents tried, they didn’t. They didn’t follow the law in marrying. They didn’t follow the law in raising up their children. They didn’t, so their kids don’t. That’s what made Nehemiah furious.

We can do better. Let’s get about it.

Roger