22

Jump Start # 1107

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1107

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.”

  I’ve been reading Deuteronomy. It really seems odd to have all the different illicit sexual situations discussed and contemplated. For instance, in chapter 22 alone we find:

 

  • A married man discovers that his wife was not a virgin at marriage (vs. 13-19)
  • A man is found lying with a married woman (vs. 22)
  • An engaged girl lies with another man (vs. 23-24)
  • A man rapes an engaged girl (vs. 25-27)
  • A man lies with a girl who is not engaged (vs. 28-29)
  • A man is not to lie with his father’s wife (vs. 30)

 

This is just one section of Deuteronomy. There are more like this. You’d think the laws within the 10 Commandments would be enough. The “Thou shalt not commit adultery” covers most of these. Yet, God knew it wasn’t enough. God dealt with every possible circumstance. There wasn’t a moral loophole that someone could find to escape the law of God.

 

All of this is interesting and helpful to us. It reveals:

 

1. Some things need to be spelled out very plainly so that there are no misunderstandings. God didn’t give the nation credit for making their own applications. God didn’t cover these delicate lessons in a generic manner with the intention that everyone would figure it out. There was no figuring here. God spelled it out. He thought about every possible way someone could disobey Him in this area.

 

This reminds us as parents, preachers and teachers that sometimes we too need to spell things out very plainly. Generic lessons can be so broad that no one makes application. We ought to learn from God about how to teach others. Giving others the benefit of the doubt may be the wrong approach. There is no missing what Deuteronomy is saying.

 

2. God understood His people. They were prone to do wrong. They would not think about the law. Their minds were running like animals. God didn’t assume that they would naturally get it.

 

In any congregation you will find some who are growing in faith and really trying to walk with God. Then you will find some who do not seem to get with the program. They bounce in and out of faith. They are on top of the mountain with God and in the valley of sin with Satan. There are those who constantly need to be encouraged, helped and watched. They don’t seem to get it. Unless it is plainly stated, they don’t see the danger of crossing the line of right and wrong. The principles of righteousness and moral purity are not understood. So issues like modesty must be clearly taught. They don’t seem to make application on their own.

 

3. This passage shows the consequences of sin. There are three things listed here. First, the man who thought he was just having a little fun, a little passion, a little romance, a little sex on the side, all of that came with a huge costs. He had to pay 50 shekels of silver. That wasn’t something that most carried in their pocket. That was a huge amount. He would be in serious trouble and have to work very hard to come up with that fine. His little romp in the sack was going to take a long time to pay off. But there’s more. He had to marry this girl. He may have never thought of that. He may never have wanted to marry her. Just a little pleasure on the side. Now this has turned his life into a nightmare. He has to marry her. There’s more. He cannot divorce her. God allowed certain reasons for divorce. Those reasons don’t fit here. His little pleasure became a life long commitment to her. He had her for life. There was no getting out of it.

 

Sin has consequences. We fail to see them. We see the fun. We don’t see the nightmare that follows. The man who has an affair, doesn’t see the divorce that follows. He doesn’t see having to sell his house, split his assets, and not seeing his kids on a daily basis. That wasn’t in his thinking. His name is shamed and he lives with a nightmare. The same is said for the person who is caught shoplifting. A little adventure becomes a nightmare of the police being called, having to go to court and having a record. The teenager who wants a little sex doesn’t see a child being born as a consequence. The girl drops out of school. The boy must work his tail off to provide support. The little fun is long forgotten by the long and hard road ahead of them. Every sin has consequences. Every sin has a nightmare attached to it. Every sin can ruin a life. Sin leads to addictions. Sin leads to loss of jobs. Sin leads to being shamed by God’s people. Sin wrecks our plans and hopes. Sin has consequences. If we could only see that.

 

What a disaster for the man who ignored God’s laws. God knew what He was talking about. What a disaster today for those who ignore God’s law.

 

The taste of sin quickly turns bitter when the consequences become known.

 

What an interesting passage.

 

Roger

 

21

Jump Start # 1106

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1106

James 1:20 “for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

  I’ve been doing some thinking about anger. Odd topic to think about. I’m working on a sermon about anger. One of the things I’ve discovered is that we don’t THINK about anger, we just get angry. There are different degrees of anger, and we can feel those in ourselves. What some may call “being upset” others may label as a mild form of anger. High prices, especially of gas, upset us. Buying things and then finding out it doesn’t work, upsets us. Kids calling from school because they forgot a paper or book, this is after we reminded them, upsets us. Having appointments cancelled upsets us. Upsets are typically short lived and we get over them. Most of us can not remember what upset us five years ago. We don’t keep “upsets” stored in our memory file.

 

But that’s not the extent of anger. It intensifies. What others do can really make us angry. The feeling that you were taken advantage of, ripped off, made fun of, teased beyond the limits, or even hurt, can make us explode with words we would never normally say and even violent actions. Anger is like a volcano inside of us. It can erupt and spew all kinds of nastiness upon those around. I’ve seen people storm out of stores angry. I’ve seen fingers pointed in the face of others. In sports, the level of competition is so high that competitors often blow up. In baseball, a batter charges the pitcher’s mound. In hockey, the gloves fly off as the fists start swinging. In motorsports, drivers will throw their helmets at a car they think is responsible for knocking them out of the race.

 

Our verse today follows the godly principle of being quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger. Then he adds, anger does not accomplish anything pleasing to God. It does not make us more Christ-like. It doesn’t put noble thoughts into our minds. It doesn’t make our faith grow stronger. No, anger does just the opposite. We lose ground with anger. What often follows is a series of apologies because we said things that we should not have. That’s what anger does.

 

Much too often, we get the preceding verse mixed up. Instead of being quick to hear, we are slow to hear. Instead of slow to speak, we are quick to speak, even interrupting the other guy and making our mind up before we hear everything. Then, of course, we are not slow to anger, but with a short fuse, we explode quickly and easily.

 

I’ve noticed that an angry person speaks loud and rapid. He loves to get close to your face, nose to nose. An angry situation is volatile. It can quickly turn ugly. There are many things that make us angry. Co-workers, family members, church members, politicians, decisions that we feel were not fair nor thought out, injustice, cheating and on and on we could go, listing all the things that make us angry.

 

Now, the bigger thought is what do we do with all this anger? It certainly isn’t helping us spiritually. That’s what the verse is telling us. Anger is crippling us. It hurts our family. It’s a terrible image for children to witness. It leads to trouble at church. It causes some folks to quit a job and look for work elsewhere. Anger doesn’t help us.

 

We remember our Savior’s words: turn the other cheek…do unto others…seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…those words are the foundation principles to the Christian character. Those words remind us to move our thoughts and feelings off of self. Peter tells us that Jesus left an example as He suffered. He uttered no threats in return. He was not like those around Him. He chose to be the way He was.

 

That’s what bothers me the most about anger. The moment of anger clouds our thinking and we forget to chose the right way. We let anger take over. It runs our emotions, thoughts and feelings. It ruins us. We’ve lost control because of anger.

 

It might help to back out of a situation and gain control of yourself. In some settings, it is possible to get back to issue at hand at another time. Having a verbal battle at 1:30 in the morning with a teenager probably won’t go well. Get sleep. Calm down. Think out your words. Pray hard. Then, the next day, have a discussion. This isn’t always possible. But when it is, this is the best way. Give time to listen. Give time to speak. Let anger subside. The more tired we are, the worse we feel and the more easily anger takes over. Sometimes we hear a few key words and that’s all that we need to hear before our blood starts to boil. Listen first. Listen well.

 

Have you ever noticed how many people are angry? You see them everywhere. The angry person isn’t happy. They aren’t smiling. They are worked up and about to explode.

 

God expects more from His people. Being in control in an out of control world is hard. Staying calm when others are blowing up all around you is hard. Hard is not a reason for not doing what God wants. Hard it is, but impossible it is not. It’s hard to have a conversation with an angry person. They don’t want to listen. They are not following James’ words of being quick to hear and slow to speak. It takes two to argue. If someone insists of shouting, being angry, walk away. If and when they can talk about things calmly, then do it. I’ve had to leave Bible studies because the person I was talking to wouldn’t listen and was exploding.

 

Most of us can look back and realize that the moments we were angry were not our best moments. We are embarrassed to remember those times. The line between discipline and abuse is often crossed when a person is angry. It’s harder to see that line when your eyes are bulging with anger.

 

You cannot choose what will happen to you today, but you do choose how you will respond to it. Anger is not a good choice. You feel it coming. It comes quickly. Deal with it quickly. Pray about it. Find positive answers. Don’t let it simmer and dwell in you. Anger is a short bridge to hatred, hostility and sin.

 

Let you mind dwell upon pleasant things. Listening to angry music puts you in the mood to be angry. Watching angry movies does the same. Hanging around angry people only puts you in the position to learn their evil ways. Proverbs warns about associating with an angry person. So don’t. Even if it’s your brother or cousin. You don’t need that stuff in your life. You don’t need to take over his problems.

 

Anger doesn’t achieve the righteousness of God. Get that. Stay away from it as much as you can.

 

Roger

 

20

Jump Start # 1105

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1105

Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting who families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

 

One of the hymns we sing begins with the line, “Troublesome times are here…” Paul’s words to Titus remind us that in the early years of the church was not all wonderful and peace. Things were not a paradise as we may idolize ancient history. There were many huge obstacles. There was an aggressive assault by the Jewish leaders to undermine and even destroy the church. These attacks were sometimes verbal, other times physical. Later, the heavy hand of Rome came upon the church. Those were not the time for fair-weather Christians, those who rode the fence, nor those who stood on the side lines of their faith. Weak Christians didn’t make it. The pressures were too much. Many quit. Many considered survival more important than faith.

 

In our verse today, Paul, warns Titus, a young preacher, about such verbal assaults. There are a series of expressions Paul uses here.

 

First, in describing these Jewish attackers, Paul says they are:

  • Rebellious men: they are not obedient. They are not following Christ. They are rebels. Lawless. Contrary to the way of Christ.

 

  • Empty talkers: nothing to what they are saying. Useless arguments. Shallow thinking.

 

  • Deceivers: verbal con men. Liars. Twisting words and ideas. Confusing people.

 

Second, Paul reveals the impact these rebellious men are having:

  • Upsetting whole families. People are buying into their lies and deceit. People are getting confused. Faith is being shattered.

 

  • Teaching things they should not teach: they are not pursuing truth. They are teaching doubt, speculations, opinions, rumors, doubt. Faith is built upon the word of God. Doubt is built upon confusion.

 

  • They are doing these things for sordid gain: profit is their goal. They are committed to evil to make money. The destruction that they leave behind bothers them little because of the fame and fortune that it brings them.

 

These were serious matters. Paul’s words to Titus was that these false men must be stopped. He says, “their mouths must be silenced.”  This wouldn’t be easy nor pleasant. This work would fall upon the elders who were given the responsibility to watch and feed God’s people. Any one disrupting that would have to be dealt with.

 

How would they silence their mouths? In a Godly fashion. They would not stoop to counter violence. They would not use force, but with two main things.

 

First, error is not given a platform. God is not in the tolerance business. If it is not truth from God’s word, then it must be not be heard. Such thoughts would cause the political correctness crowd to run in horror today. You mean, not everyone’s opinion counts. That’s right. You mean, not everyone can be heard. That’s right. You mean, some do not get to state what they think is right. That’s right. The reason is, God has already stated what is right. There is nothing to vote upon, decide, amend or declare.  God has spoken. When someone wants to present radical ideas, upset what the Bible teaches, no, they do not get a platform. They do not get to be heard. No their voice is silenced.

 

Sometimes, often times, this trouble comes from preachers. They get filled up with fanciful ideas in a college class or they read some hot shot new book and without thinking things out they are off advancing new ways, new ideas, and a new look at the old, old Gospel. Some call it a “new perspective.” They have found some secret and new way to look at the Scriptures that no one else has known for centuries. This new look changes everything. Books are published. Lectures are given. A new excitement takes place. These bright new scholars have finally found what no one has ever known. Without these new discoveries in ancient language and in archaeology and in the culture of ancient times, Bible verses would be hopelessly misused, and misunderstood.

 

These very things are happening right now. What bothers me about this is the consequences that it leads to. This means that some family living in Europe in the 1300’s could not have known God’s truth. These scholarly discoveries were not known until recent times. Without them, God’s word was misunderstood. Is that the conclusion that is acceptable? Maybe, these new discoveries are deception and empty talk. Maybe it’s a bunch of nothing.

 

The other way those empty talkers would be silenced is by using the word of God. Nothing trumps truth. God’s word is what stopped Satan in his tracks. God’s word is what Jesus used to get around the trap of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Error is stopped by truth. These mouths would be stopped when Godly men stood up to these deceptive ideas with the truth of God’s word.

 

There is no need for anything else. Upset families can be rescued by the truth of God’s word. Look into what God said. Establish that solid foundation. Return to what is known. Stand upon the absolutes. God’s word is a rock. It will stand the test of time.

 

Some things should not be said. That’s what Paul is saying to Titus. These empty talkers were teaching things that they should not have been. Bible classes are a platform to teach God’s word. It is not a platform to air agendas, complain about things, float ideas that have never been thought out, suggest prejudicial ideas, or quote the last author someone read. Bible classes are to teach the Bible. They are to be faith building.

 

Our hope is built upon Jesus Christ. Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. Those are more than lines from classic hymns, they are what the New Testament teaches.

 

Strong leaders in God’s church will protect the sheep, even from each other, when one gets a wild hair and wants to test new ideas and new ways.

 

Our look is backward—to the old, old Gospel.

 

Roger

 

19

Jump Start # 1104

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1104

Revelation 14:7 “and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the Heaven and the Earth and sea and springs of water.”

  It is interesting how many times in Revelation sounds are identified as LOUD. Here, there is a loud voice. It’s a voice you can’t miss. It grabs our attention. It makes us stop what we are doing. A loud voice made a declaration about God. Three things are said:

 

1. Fear God. Often, the word fear means reverence or respect. Other times it means what it says, fear. The word here is a form of the word “phobia.” We know phobias. There is a long list of all kinds of phobias. For instance, amaxophobia is the fear of riding in a car. I think many people have ecclesiphobia. That is the fear of church. Homilophobia is the fear of sermons. Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to roof of your mouth. My favorite in the list of all these phobias is phobophobia—the fear of fear. There ought to be a “fear” of God because of who He is and His position. Lacking any fear, can make us too casual and even flippant toward Him. We can find ourselves arguing with God and even thinking that He is one of us. He’s not. Job learned. He learned that he was out of line for questioning God. God never owes us an explanation. When people in tears scream, “Why God?” they need to remember and recognize who they are talking to. God doesn’t work for us. He is not on our staff. He isn’t the genie that comes at our ever beckoning. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth and was doing just fine long before we came along. The fear of God carries over to the fear of disobeying His word and changing what He established.

 

2. Give Him Glory. Honor Him. This is done with attitude. This is done through words. This is done by righteous living. This is done through obedience. The attention goes to God. The New Testament reminds us to glorify God and in all we do to give Him glory. We are on His side, not He is on our side. There is a difference. Watch how you use the name of God. It’s not intended to be blurted out when you don’t know what else to say. It’s not a word to shout when angry, upset, or excited. His name is holy, as He is. Glorify Him by honoring His name.

 

3. Worship Him. Worship is not limited to the church building. We worship, at least we ought to, every day. Prayer, singing praises, being thankful are acts of worship. We do this throughout the day, every day. Worship God because He is deserving. Worship God because our souls need to do that. Worship God because we are from Him and are going to Him. Have you prayed today? Have you “thanked” God today? Even in the darkest storms, there are ways to be thankful. Have you invited God into your life today? He’s waiting.

 

Three commands coming from a loud voice. Fear God. Give God glory. Worship God. I sometimes wish that voice was a bit louder. Sometimes I forget. I get busy, too busy, and I forget these three things. Sometimes I get thinking about myself too much and can think I got the unfair side of the stick. I can look at others and think why is it that they have things nicer than I do? Too much of me gets in the way of Godly thinking. That loud voice helps. It reminds. Fear God. Don’t argue with Him. Give Him glory. Don’t dishonor Him. Worship Him. Get your mind off of self and on to Him.

 

Give these three things some attention today. It may make the day turn around better than you thought. It may make the day go faster. It may help you through some tough spots.

 

Fear Him…Glorify Him…Worship Him. Not hard stuff. Just a matter of doin…

 

 

Roger

 

16

Jump Start # 1103

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1103

 

Hebrews 6:4-5 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come”

 

Our verse today illustrates the perils of falling away from Christ. The Hebrew audience was at the crossroads. Things were becoming tough for them. Persecution was on the rise. Now things were serious. They had to decide whether they would continue on in their faith, or throw in the towel and return to being Jews. Life as a Jew was a lot safer and easier than it had become once they were Christians. Some had already decided. They had enough. They quit. Now others were thinking of the doing the same. This letter was written to convince them to remain with Christ. The superior way was Christ’s way. God’s way was with Christ. To quit was to give up their hope and their salvation.

 

The verses in our passage leads to that direct statement. The following verse states, “and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” There is no hope if one leaves Christ. There is salvation in no other name.  Throwing out Christ is throwing out all hope.

 

Now, my thoughts take us to the powerful blessings of being a Christian that our verses illustrate. Notice the expressions:

 

  • Enlightened
  • Tasted of the heavenly gift
  • Partakers of the Holy Spirit
  • Tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come

 

What great expressions! Twice the word “tasted” is used. I like that word. We like to taste good things. When we are introduced to something new, at first we are hesitant and slow to taste. We take a little bite, not sure if we will like it or not. But once we have tried it and we like it, we dive in.

 

What does God’s word “taste” like? Have you “eaten” the word of God? That idea builds upon the concept of reading and learning the truth. It’s more than a nibble here and there. It’s eating. It’s digesting. It’s becoming saturated with the word of God. Paul told some to let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. Let it take up residence in your heart. Eat it. Enjoy it. Profit from it.

 

Many who are opposed to the Christian system have never truly tasted it. Like a child that turns his nose up to something different, many do that to God’s word. They will let an ugly rant on the internet determine their mind for them. They will listen to the complaints of others. They will watch shows on TV that try to explain away the supernatural powers of God. Their minds are made up before they have even gotten to the table to try. We can be that way. A few years ago, a catsup company experimented with changing the color of catsup. We had a purple catsup. Didn’t work well for me. Catsup is supposed to be red. It comes from red tomatoes not purple grapes. It was just a color thing but it sure messed with my mind.

 

We can enter the Bible that way. Preconceived ideas about what the Bible ought to say. When we can’t find that, our stomachs turn and we no longer have a taste for it. The problem isn’t the Bible, it’s our thinking. We expect the Bible to be the way we want it to be, rather than the way God wanted it to be.

 

Tasting the word of God. What a pleasant thought. The Psalmist said that God’s word is sweeter than honey. There is a sweetness to it. Mercy, kindness, forgiveness, acceptance—those are sweet, especially when we are standing guilty. God’s word tastes right. Ever taste something, and it just didn’t taste right? The milk in your cereal tastes sour, the potatoes need a little salt, the meat is over cooked. Some things just don’t taste right. God’s word does. It’s perfect. It’s what we need.

 

I have found that a person can acquire a taste for things. You may have grown up not liking veggies. As an adult you changed. You liked that taste. The same goes with God’s word. You may have been told some things that later you discovered were not as true as you imagined. You looked for yourself and found a taste for the word of God.

 

My youngest went on a wild hog hunt last week. We have 200 pounds of wild hog in the freezer. My wife is uncertain if she even wants to touch it. I’m willing to give it a try. It takes that willing spirit to know if it’s good or not. The same is true with God’s word. We must give it a try.

 

 

Tasted the good word of God… there’s nothing else like it!

 

 

Roger