24

Jump Start # 653

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 653

2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

Our verse today gives some insight into the work of the apostle Paul. He feared the Lord. He was manifested to God. He persuaded men. Let’s look at that last expression.

 

Being persuaded by someone can have a sour taste in our mouth. It sounds as if someone talked a person into doing something that they didn’t want to do. The image of a pushy salesman comes to mind. I ran into one recently at a store. He must have contracted with the store to sell satellite TV. I have cable. I’m happy with my cable. This salesman trashed my cable, told me I was wasting my money and basically was an idiot for not signing up for his satellite TV. I came to the store not to talk about TV’s, but to look for something else. I made up my mind very quickly that I was not engaging in this conversation and found the earliest way out and away from that guy as I could. He was trying to convince me to buy something that I didn’t want to buy. He was turning on the heat, but I wasn’t going for it.

That image is not what Paul did. Sadly, this is how some preachers and churches come across. They scare people. They make it that many do not even want to talk to anyone associated with a church lest they get a “sales pitch.” This is not Biblical preaching. Anyone who has been talked into something that they didn’t like usually has “buyers remorse.” After they get back home and think about what they just signed up for, they have a change of heart. They wished they hadn’t bought what they just did. They feel suckered, tricked and taken advantaged of. Many want out of the deal.

Paul wasn’t traveling the world “tricking” people into being Christians. He wasn’t a salesman that twisted people’s arms. Those tactics never work with Christianity. The result would be a disaster. There would be people who are Christians in name only and not in heart. They don’t want to be Christians and therefore they will be weak at the best and at the worst, they would have nothing to do with the Christian system. This is not the results Paul was after. He was not working on commission nor was he simply trying to fill church buildings (church buildings did not even exit in his day).

Persuading men is a change of heart and mind but it doesn’t come about by tricking people nor talking them into something they do not want. Paul preached Christ. He did that every where. He taught the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He taught the coming judgment. He persuaded people with facts. He connected the dots from the O.T. to Jesus. He taught consequences of a life without Jesus. He persuaded. He did so using the Bible. People changed not because they were pressured, but because God’s word is living and active. They saw the truth. They saw what could be. They saw what would happened if they didn’t. They came to know God and love Jesus. They came to see God’s will.

The result of Paul’s preaching was powerful Christians who stayed with it even when the strong hand of the Jews and Romans tried to strike them down. They stayed with it because it was right. They knew what God wanted. It was a faith based upon the word of God and not the smooth talk of a cleaver salesman.

We need preachers who are preaching and not selling. We need preachers who love the Lord and what to share that with others. We need preachers who point to Jesus and keep themselves out of the picture.

Persuaded—it’s not a bad word when you understand it. Persuaded by the Gospel. Persuaded by facts. Persuaded by God. That kind of faith will stay with it. That kind of faith takes hold of a person and keeps them going. Paul would be the first to tell us not to get excited about the messenger. It’s the message that matters. We may have a favorite preacher, but we can get a bit goofy about that stuff and lose sight of the real things, Jesus Christ.

Convinced—that’s what it means to be persuaded. Convinced. Are you? It will make a difference in your life and it will show. Convince others that Jesus is the answer. How do you do that? It’s not by telling your story, but rather, telling His story. He is the answer. He is the way. He is the life. He, is Jesus.

Roger

 

23

Jump Start # 652

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 652

Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The words of Romans 12 are good reminders today. When evil raises it’s head, the natural response is to strike it down and to strike it down very hard. Another mass killing has taken place in our country. This is getting to be something that is too common. These killings do not come from a foreign nation striking us, but deranged citizens who shoot innocent people. These are senseless and beyond reason. Whatever the motive, there is no reason that justifies killing innocent people. Stories come about acts of bravery and those who risked their own lives to save others.

Romans 12 identifies three important principles regarding the Christian’s response toward evil.

  • Never pay back evil to evil to anyone. Stooping to evil to crush evil is not God’s way. Hurting others is not the answer. Our attitude and our anger must be kept in check, even in the midst of evil.
  • Leave room for the vengeance of God. God will deal with evil. He does this in two ways. First, these thoughts flow into the next chapter where Paul addresses the rights of a government. The government is there called the minister of God. The government serves as God’s servant to make laws and enforce those laws. One level of justice comes from the law. The other level will come from God Himself at the judgment. Crime does not pay and no one will get away with murder. God is still on the throne. No one escapes the hand of God.
  • Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. It is easy when the ugliness of evil has come upon us to become mean and evil ourselves. Paul did not want brethren to be destroyed by evil. Don’t let evil win. Evil is not defeated by good people becoming bad but rather by good people continuing to do good. Kind acts, good deeds must continue. This is how evil is overcome.

Will there be a time when there are no more outbursts of evil? Will we ever get to the point where sin, crime and violence are not making the headlines? No, not in this world. These crimes are examples of a broken and busted world. They show what happens when God is not an anchor in a soul. When there is no respect for life, no value for life, these wrong things will happen. Will taking away guns be the answer? Some will try that. That doesn’t stop an evil heart. Evil finds another avenue to be evil. Will more laws help? Usually not. What’s the answer? Christ. Teaching people about Jesus and turning lives to Christ is the hope.

Evil will not win. We know that. Revelation shows the defeat of Satan. He and his kind are doomed to Hell. The righteous will reign with Christ. The righteous are not defeated because evil strikes them. Jesus said the gates of hades will not prevail over His kingdom. Death itself does not stop God’s kingdom.

We need more prayers for safety. We need more Bibles opened to the Gospels. We need more homes that are teaching right from wrong. We need not to turn to evil to stop evil.

Say a prayer for the families in Colorado. Say a prayer for your family. Walk with the Lord.

Roger

 

20

Jump Start # 651

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 651

Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

This week we have taken a look at several Old Testament passages that are rich with thought and meaning. Our verse today is taken from a series of problems found in Judah that the prophet Jeremiah was trying to awaken the people to see and repent. They refused. They dug their heels in and became stubborn spiritually. Some people are like that. They’d rather be wrong with God than change. They’d rather take their chances and continue their current direction than obey the Lord.

In our verse, Jeremiah pleads for the old ways. We often hear older people talking about the good old days. When grandpa starts reminiscing about the old days the grandkids run and hide. They don’t want to hear all those stories of how things were so much better than they are today. Grandpa even forgets how hard things were. Age and time has a way of making the past look better than it really was. Most wouldn’t want to go back to the days of the outhouse, no air conditioning, black and white TV with about 4 choices of stations, no computers, cell phones, ipods, ipads. Many folks with serious ailments and health issues would not be alive if they had those things in the good ole’ days. Medical advancements have allowed people to survive and overcome extreme health issues. We can do more, go further and faster than ever before. Just last Sunday, someone in India listened to a sermon from our pulpit LIVE. Now, that’s amazing in my book.

Jeremiah is not talking about the good ole’ days like grandpa does. He is not nostalgic and missing his childhood. Jeremiah has the spiritual ways in mind. The Judah of Jeremiah’s day was not the spiritual nation as years before. More than that, Jeremiah has in mind the standard, or God’s law. Seek the ancient paths, is not so much about what we did in the past, but what was in the past. God’s way, God’s law, God’s truth. These people left that. They move on. As some put it today, “they simply outgrew the Bible.” That’s a dumb idea. No one outgrows the Bible. That’s some cute expression that a clever writer came up with to justify making changes in worship and spiritual behavior. God’s word is not a pair of pants that a person outgrows, like boys do to their jeans. What the writer didn’t have the nerve to really say was that he no longer believed in the Bible. He no longer excepted the Bible as THE way. He now had his own god and his god isn’t into obedience and rules and laws and all those stuffy things. His god is into having a good time. Happiness is the theme. You see, a person doesn’t out grow the Bible, they simply quit believing it.

The pleas of Jeremiah are for the ancient path. That well worn path, similar to what David wrote when he said, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…He guides me in the paths of righteousness…” The ancient paths were well worn and true. They lead to places. Long before the days of highways and interstates, paths were the roadways people traveled. In the pastures, paths is where shepherds lead their flocks. The ancient paths represents God’s word. Tried, true, trustworthy and dependable—that was God’s word. Those ancient paths led to God. They led to what was right and good and noble. Jeremiah was trying to get the nation away from idols and back to God. The avenue that would get them there were the ancient paths.

 

We need to hear those words today. What we need is to get back to God’s ancient paths—the Bible way. We don’t need new things, it’s the ancient things. Back to the ancient paths of Bible preaching. Teach the word. Make it plain and simple. It worked then and it will work today. The Bible way is the sure way. It’s a path first marked out by our Savior. It’s the way that He traveled.

New and different ways of presenting worship are not always the best. In fact, some can be just plain wrong. New ideas…new methods…new, new, new—it seems we tire of the ancient paths. This is not a call for dry, stale and boring—not at all. Toast needs some jelly on it, but do not stray from the ancient paths of God. God’s way is the only way.

Jeremiah’s people didn’t get it. Our verse even states that. The verse ends with, “we will not walk in it.” Stubborn. Dumb. Death sentence. History tells us that the nation was taken in captivity for 70 years. Life changed. Many died in a foreign land. Many died in the capture of their nation. They resisted God and they lost.

It’s the ancient paths that will save us. It’s the ancient paths that will lead us home to God. Seek them…want them…follow them and then stay on them.

Roger

 

19

Jump Start # 650

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 650

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Our passage is taken from a series of several woes that God speaks upon Israel. The nation was a mess. Righteousness had been discarded and God had been replaced with idol worship. The idol brought to the nation a visible, tangible and manufactured god which was more to their liking. Jehovah was invisible. The idol stood before their eyes. The process of making this exchange, as it always does, included tossing out God’s word and substituting their own ways.

The woes found in our verse today are very revealing. They sound as if they were written just yesterday. Modern times are not so modern when we look at this verse. It shows that people had things twisted and backwards. They did not know what was right nor wrong. Things are no different today. To stand where God stands today is to be considered offensive and not accepting. The pleas to accept abortion, homosexuality and immorality as normal lifestyles is nothing more than calling evil good. There is no way around this. It has gotten so bad that liberal theology has made very loose interpretations of Scriptures and blasphemous claims about Christ. Why? Did good solid Bible study lead to these conclusions? Of course not. No way. It came from wanting to justify an immoral agenda that the Bible condemns. Rather than change the people, they want to change the messenge. In the process of all of this, they aggressively denounce anyone that does not accept their thinking.

Indeed some things never change. It was tough in Isaiah’s days and it’s tough in our days. Calling evil good does not make it good. Voting on legislation to make evil an acceptable law does not make it good. God is the one who defines what is good and what is evil. That cannot be changed.

The underling problem in Isaiah’s day, as it is today, is a lack of belief in the God of Heaven. Folks may be religious but they do not believe in the God of the Bible. If they did, they would understand that He has all authority and no one can change what He says. NO ONE. Churches that waste time voting on by laws, amending rules and having delegates and committees about the regulations and rules of the church simply don’t get it. None of that is necessary. None of that can be. God has ruled. God has stated. There is no changing, improving, or updating what God has said.

It seems that those who want to make evil good out number God’s people. They seem very vocal and pushy. They have little respect for anyone that objects. God’s people must stand their ground. They must stand with God. They must refuse to call evil good. Evil is not good. Evil is of the devil. Evil hurts, divides and enslaves man to all kinds of problems. Freedom is in Christ. It is in Christ that we have hope, future, and forgiveness. There comes a time when the people of God must be heard. This is not a call to be rude, mean, offensive nor violent. Never. Remaining silent can seem to be acceptaning, going along, or being a coward. The three Jewish boys in Daniel three refused to bow to the king and the nation. They faced serious consequences, but they would not go along.

Modern times have developed nice and pleasant terms for sin. Alternative lifestyle is like a menu item at a restaurant. It’s not. It’s calling evil good. God calls homosexuality unnatural, indecent, sinful yet forgivable. It is a behavioral problem that can be stopped and repented of. The Corinthians show that. They somehow did it without exit groups, intense counseling, or a ton of books on the subject. They had the Gospel and the desire to be right with God. It’s not the same as eye color or height. You can tell a tall guy to stop being so tall, but he can’t do anything about it. Homosexuality is not like that. Don’t buy the hype that a person can’t help it. The next natural argument is that a child molester can’t help it. Society already accepts that a drunk can’t help it. Can a thief help it? Can any sinner help it? Are we being pulled into the gospel of calling evil good? First, evil is tolerated. Next, it is accepted. Then it is called good. Finally, it replaces what is truly good. It’s happening right before our eyes. Do you see it?

Sin, any sin, can be stopped. It can be forgiven. A person can live a righteous life. God wants that.

The one part of our verse today that we have not mentioned is how it begins: Woe to those…God is warning those who are trying to make evil good that they are in trouble. Woes are not a good thing. When God says “Woe,” look out. God didn’t like it then and He doesn’t like it today. It is wrong to call evil good. What God has declared to be sinful is sinful.

There are layers of powerful lessons all connected here—the most important one is about God. There are some things that are just plain wrong because God said so. Doing them makes me wrong. I can be right, but I must stop doing what God calls wrong.

It’s simply, that simple.

Roger

 

18

Jump Start # 649

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

 

Jump Start # 649

2 Kings 20:1 “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’”

Our passage today comes from the section of Biblical history where we read about the various kings of Israel and Judah. A few were righteous, most were not. Hezekiah was one of the few good kings. His father was a disaster. Hezekiah removed many of the things that his father had established, especially the worship of idols. There are several lessons from our verses of Scripture today.

First, good people become very ill and die. You’d think that God would want to  protect Hezekiah and not allow him to become deathly ill. But they do get sick and they do die. This happens to preachers, elders and a host of God’s faithful today.

Second, Hezekiah’s response shows his character. The following verse tells us that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed. He didn’t have a meltdown. He didn’t first go and tell his family. He didn’t get angry with God. He didn’t throw the towel in on his faith. He turned to the wall and prayed to God. I expect we’d be much better off if more of us looked at our wall instead of our TVs or computer screens.

Third, his prayer didn’t beg for his life, nor try to make a deal with God. He asked God to remember how he had walked with Him. Remember. Not forgive. Not forget. Remember. Here is a faithful man facing the end of his journey and he asks God to remember.

Hezekiah wept after this. Before Isaiah left the palace God had him turn around and go back to the king. God had heard the prayer. Prayer to God  reaches God faster than any internet or cell phone ever can. God doesn’t need so many “bars” of service in order to be reached. Isaiah told the king that his prayer was heard. Hezekiah was given more years.

The one expression that truly stands out is, “set your house in order for you shall die.” Sobering words. Scary words. Words that ought to rattle a person to their core. A friend can say that, but what does he know. The doctor can even say this, but we can pray to God and God can do things that the doctor can’t. But when God says you are going to die, there is no one else above Him to appeal to. We know those words are true today. Unless the Lord returns, each of us will face what Hezekiah went through. We face death. Most of us won’t know when it will be. There will be no prophet warning us nor giving us time to get things ready. It will just happen. As the expression from a child’s game, “ready or not, here I come.” So it is with death.

What’s involved with setting your house in order? Have you thought about what you’d have to do to set your house in order? There may be a physical aspect to this. Getting rid of stuff, having insurance and a will would be part of it. For Hezekiah, it may be getting his son ready to take over the nation as the next king.

Mostly, this expression takes us to the spiritual level. Getting our house in order spiritually. Asking for forgiveness of those we have injured in life. Apologizing and mending fences that we have torn down in our life. Mostly, it brings us to God. Getting ready to meet God. For the disciple of Jesus, this is an exciting time. They have thought about this already. Back in the days when they had health and things were going well, the faithful gives thought to meeting God. Those thoughts help set the course for his day and his life. He has talked to God through out his life and now he is ready to see God. He has studied God’s word, lived by that word and walked that way. He is ready. He is eager. He knows God is good and His promises are faithful and true. He knows that he will be better off. What a great time this is for the faithful of God. Getting the house in order may include preparing those around you to continue in the same walk. Helping to fill the shoes that will be empty when you are gone.

For the man who has not given God much thought, he is now struck with sheer terror. The doctor tells him that the cancer has grown and there is little more that can be done. He knows  he will not make it. He has lived a life of work, pleasure and now. He hasn’t followed God much. The Bible has been mostly ignored throughout his life. Decisions were based upon money, self or family, never God. He has done what he felt was right. He tried to be decent, good and helpful, but he hasn’t been spiritual. Now his journey is nearly over. Now he has questions. Is there really a Heaven? What will happen when I die? What does it take to make it to Heaven? Many ideas, many theories, many wishes, but little to hold on to. Not being a man of God he doesn’t know where to turn. His friends are like him and they are little help at this time. He hasn’t connected with a church in a long time and he doesn’t know which one or what to do or say. Facing death for a man of the world is terrifying panic. How sad. It doesn’t have to be that way. He had opportunities. He has a Bible. He just never gave those things much thought.

Set your house in order—sobering thoughts, yet good thoughts because they can lead a person to the positive changes that he needs to be right with the Lord.

Every day we make a choice to invite, include and have God in our day or we can shut Him out. Imagine inviting God to the dinner table. Not to eat, but to join the conversations. Imagine having God sitting with you on the couch watching TV. Would have change what you watched. Imagine God walking into the meeting with you. Would that affect how your attitude would be and set the tone for how you conducted yourself. Inviting God into your day, that’s a powerful way to live. It brings the life and awareness to your spiritual side. It takes you to the Bible and drops you to your knees in prayer. You are spiritual. Don’t ignore it nor fight it.

Set your house in order…words to live by. Words to die by. Words that make a difference. We are one day closer to Heaven.

Roger