09

Jump Start # 1183

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1183

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God.”

 

Cease striving—other translations word this, “Be still.” A footnote in the New American Standard version says, “Let go, relax.” Interesting words. Be still. Relax.

 

Have you noticed that we are a hurried society? Everyone is always on the go. We drive fast. We talk fast. We eat fast. We rush through a day doing so much that we are worn out by the end of it. We live with technology that makes things easier on us, but we haven’t slowed down. There was a time when cooking and washing took the whole day. Not anymore. We can travel farther and easier than ever before. We can communicate faster and easier than ever before. But here we are, too busy, too much to do.

 

This fast pace affects us, both on the inside, the outside and the upside. It’s hard to build meaningful relationships without devoting time to it. Our hurried pace leaves our friendships shallow and superficial. There isn’t time for deep discussions. The result leaves many people feeling lonely. They are not alone, only lonely. Lonely in a crowd. Lonely in a church. Lonely in a family. We need people to talk to. We need a “fellowship” with our church family. It’s hard to confess our sins to one another when we barely know one another. We know we ought to stop by the hospital and visit one of our members, but we just can’t today. Maybe tomorrow. What happens is that we hear announced at church that they were released and are home now. We were going to go, but…

 

This fast pace leaves us empty when it comes to God. All relationships, including one with God, take commitment, time and effort. Busy people just can’t do that. They are too busy. So, something receives the short end. Much too often, it may be God. Our songs often remind us of this problem. “Take time to be holy…” Love to but I don’t have any extra time this week. “Sweet hour of prayer,” actually becomes a few squeezed sentences here and there. “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” No, didn’t have time. Woke up, mind racing, so much that has to be done that it’s leap out of bed and hit the floor running. For some of us, the only time we open our Bible is during church. Just don’t have the time. Would like to…want to…but can’t find the time.

 

These words haunt many of us. We know that they are true. Be still and know that I am God. This hit me the other day. I was in a hurry, of course. Was driving down the road and looked into the mirror and noticed my hair was a mess. I got to the office and went into the bathroom and realized my hair wasn’t combed. I’d shaved, showered but was in such a hurry, I forgot to comb my hair. It dried looking like I just got out of bed. Then I realized, “Are you in such a hurry that you can’t comb your hair?” I simply forgot.

 

We recognize the problem, what’s the solution? The kids need to be picked up from school to go to practice, the dentist, there is shopping to be done, the yard needs mowing, the dog has to go to the vet, the car needs an oil change, winter’s coming and the house needs some things done, it won’t be long and it’s time to think about Christmas shopping, things are stacking up at work—how do we get off this roller coaster? Is there any hope before retirement? We just sigh and make it through another day, the best we can.

 

Here are a few suggestions. This is a starting point. Maybe these thoughts will get you thinking about more ways and better ways to connect to the things that are important.

 

  • Before we start the list, take a deep breath and be thankful. You wouldn’t be so busy if you didn’t have the kids, the job, the house. You feel pulled in many directions, but what a blessing each of these are. God has given you talent, people, and blessings in your life. Through these, with these, is how you make your connections.

 

  • Be efficient with your time. We are good at wasting time. Maybe less TV, less facebooking, less running errands back and forth will help. Put thoughts into what you are doing and where you are going. Instead of coming home and going back out, stop on the way home.

 

– Use time beneficially. While mowing the yard, doing laundry, waiting for kids, sitting in doctor’s offices, sitting in traffic—pray. Make those prayer moments. These “down times” can help you connect with the Lord.

– Keep a Bible with you—either print version or electric. Down times can be reading times. Have a plan of what you want to read each month. Tackle books you haven’t read in a long time. Chase some thoughts that you have questions about. Airport waiting can be a great time to grow spiritually.

 

– while driving, please do this carefully, call people. This is a time that you can strengthen your fellowship. Call the new family…call someone who has been sick…call a friend. Use the time to build and strengthen relationships.

 

  • Do things with others in the church. Go out to eat with another family. This will build bonds. Travel together. Shop together. Go to a meeting together. Take walks together. Time together builds those relationships.

 

  • Find an solution to the things that eat up your time. Being disorganized kills time. Put things in it’s place. How many mornings start with a search party looking for car keys, shoes, back packs, wallets, cell phones? Time is ticking. We get hurried. Now, we can’t find things, we get stressed. The day can be ruined even before it begins. I am an organized freak. I think there are words and letters for all that, but my day ends with everything where it is supposed to be. The day begins by knowing right where everything is. Being organized—in your house, office– car– garage– heart, will make things run smoothly.

 

Did you notice the moon last night? What a beautiful picture God sent. Noticing things, people, events—are part of connecting with others. We remember the anniversaries of births, marriages, deaths—sharing those with others builds lives together.

 

Relax…be still…cease striving and know that I am God. Simple words. They do not just happen because we read them. We must take ownership and control of our schedules. We must put in place the most important things. Life flies by. Now is the time to be building the bridges with others and especially with our Lord.

 

Work at it. These things will make a difference in your life.

 

Roger

 

08

Jump Start # 1182

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1182

Acts 7:56 “and he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

  Our verse today comes from the lips of Stephen. His preaching stirred the crowds. They hated what they heard. They rushed him, pushed him out of town and then picked up stones to execute him. They didn’t wait to get permission from the Romans. They produced phony evidence and dishonest accusations. Their intent was to stop his message. Jesus was dead, yet the movement was growing. They had imprisoned the apostles on several occasions, but they kept getting out and the number of followers increased. This wasn’t the way the Jewish leaders expected. Generally, killing the leader would quiet down the followers and they would fade away. Not with Jesus. The message was being told everywhere. The number of followers was exploding every day. So now they had Stephen.

 

Stephen is first introduced to us in Acts 6. There was a problem of neglect and the apostles told the congregation to choose seven dependable men to take care of it. Stephen’s name heads the list. He preaches later in Acts 6. This is what gets him in trouble with the Jewish leaders. He is brought before the council, along with made up charges and fake evidence. The seventh chapter of Acts is his reply. It is one of the best overviews of O.T. history and the promises of God. The chapter ends with Stephen’s death.

 

Our verse comes from Stephen right before the rocks start flying toward him. He saw the Heavens opened and he saw Jesus standing. That is a special statement. Several times the N.T. emphases Jesus ascending to Heaven. It says in Ephesians, Colossians and other places that Jesus sat at the right hand of God. Jesus sat. Jesus is right there with God. The image is that they are sitting on the throne. Jesus’ promise to the Laodiceans was that if they overcame He would allow them to sit with Him on the throne, “as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

 

The image of the monarch, the king sitting and the subjects coming before the king is illustrated in the O.T. and in many European histories. Kings sit and the citizens bow before the king. However, for Stephen, it was different. Jesus was standing. He was standing up.

 

We stand when the National Anthem is played. We stand to applaud a performance. We stand in honor. Here Jesus was standing. Stephen was about to be put to death. He would be the first Christian to die as a martyr. He was following a long line of those who had been executed for their faith. John the Baptist was beheaded for his faith. Beheadings are still in the news today. Now it was Stephen’s turn. He was the first since Jesus’ death. Jesus was watching. He was standing. He knew.

 

It is interesting that Jesus didn’t stop it. Stephen never prayed for it to be stopped. He prayed for his executors. He asked the Lord to receive his spirit. He never asked for this to stop. A few pages later the apostle James is executed by Herod’s sword. Legend has it that nearly all the apostles were executed. There would be many that were imprisoned and many that would be executed in the second and third centuries. Stephen was the first. Jesus didn’t look away. Jesus wasn’t so busy that He didn’t know. He stood. He watched. The world will hate us. Jesus told us that. Death is not the end, it never is. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to us. In a very short time, Jesus would be receiving Stephen. He saw the face of Jesus when he died.

 

We tell stories about suffering all the time, but still, when it happens to us, we don’t get it. We think somehow that God ought to prevent these things. We think that it isn’t fair and right. We can get upset at God. The three young men in Daniel went into the fiery furnace. God saved them, but they were still put in there. Daniel had his lion’s den. Yes, God saved him, but he was still in there. Jeremiah was in a pit. Paul was stoned multiple times. The faith of our fathers is a story about suffering saints. Why did they go through with those things? Because Jesus did. Because it was right. Because to save their skin, they had to deny their faith and they wouldn’t pay that price. Because they loved God.

 

Do we see Jesus standing when we die? I don’t know. I have heard family members talk about a dying family member seeing angels. Possibly? Since they died, we don’t know. No one comes back to tell what they saw. We remember Lazarus was carried by the angels at his death. I expect that still happens for the righteous.

 

We are not alone in our death. That’s the comforting thought. Stephen was surrounded by an angry mob. He had no one to defend him, rescue him or to offer comfort in his last moments. However, he had Jesus. Jesus was standing. Jesus was visible to Stephen. He died very similar to Jesus. Not begging for his life. Not cursing his executioners. But with a prayer on his lips and hope in his heart. That’s how he passed from this world to the next.

 

The very fact that he saw Jesus standing teaches us that our Lord is aware of what is happening to us. We may feel very alone, but He sees. He sees the difficulties we go through. He sees the frustrations we have with others. He sees the good that we try to do. He sees. I took some golf lessons several years ago. It was a group lesson. The golf pro would show us what to do. Then we would try to repeat what he had shown us. It was great, except he would walk behind each of us and watch each of us. I was doing great until he came and stood behind me. It always made me so nervous knowing he was watching me. He was good and I wasn’t. I don’t get that impression from our passage in Acts. I don’t see that Stephen was nervous to have Jesus watching him. I see it as comfort, assurance, peace and hope. That is how we ought to feel. Yes, Jesus is so good and we are not. However, he’s our friend. He’s there to help us.

 

Jesus standing…what a great thought.

 

Roger

 

05

Jump Start # 1181

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1181

Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed”

 

From sin to salvation is the theme of this section of Romans. Paul shows us the true nature of sin. A person often fools themselves into believing that they are doing what they want to do, but the truth is, they are simply obeying the master, which is Satan. He pulls the strings and we become his puppet. Not only that, Paul tells us that sin is a form of slavery. It enslaves us and is addictive. Finally, sin takes us some where. It ends with death—spiritual death.

 

Everyone has their own story of sin. It’s a personal horror story. Often it’s filled with lies and heartache and long periods of time without thought of God and living without hope. Had we died during that period, it would not have been very pretty for us in eternity. Away from God there is no hope.

 

Our verse expresses the joy and the thanksgiving because that sinful life was changed. The credit belongs to God. It is God who allows the second chance. It is God who forgives. It is God who revealed the way and the teaching that allowed each of us to break free from slavery and run to God. Without God we couldn’t have done it. The courage, the hope and the drive are found in a God who never quit loving us.

 

It seems these days that we put a lot of credit and hope in counselors and recovery programs, maybe more credit than we should. I doubt that there were such things as AA or the “Twelve step” programs in the first century. How then did they break the grips of alcohol? I don’t think there were “exit programs” to help break out of homosexuality. Yet, the Corinthians were able to stop it. There is certainly much good that is being done in many of these programs, but I wonder if we put more hope in them than we do the changing power of the Gospels?

 

There are four things I see in our passage that is the key to breaking free from sin.

 

1. Obedience. Paul said, “You became obedient…” They listened, they believed and they obeyed. Not just the easy stuff. Not just the big stuff. They became obedient to God. They trusted God. They knew God was right. They were sure.

 

2. From the heart. They obeyed, not superficially, not occasionally, but from the heart. That’s the source of our faith. That’s the foundation of being genuine or playing the game. From the heart. They realized what they were doing was wrong and what God offered was right. They were convinced. They knew. When one believes and obeys from the heart, behavioral issues fall into place. When one believes from the heart, attitudes shape up.

 

3. To that form of teaching. Other translations use the word doctrine. Some don’t like that word in the N.T. They want to believe that there are no rules in the N.T. Some have called it a ‘love letter,’ not a law. The book of James refers to the N.T. as the perfect LAW of liberty. They didn’t turn to God and do their own thing. They didn’t manufacture their own concept of what they ought to do. They didn’t settle into the emotional playground of just love. The Beatles sang, “All you need is love.” There are a lot of preachers today that preach that. It doesn’t matter what you do, just love. Really? Would that have opened the door to escape the ugly nature of sin? They obeyed from the heart to that form of teaching. That form of teaching, was God’s word. That’s what Paul was preaching. He was preaching righteous living. He taught that we should lay aside the old man and put on the new man. He taught us to walk in Christ. He taught that there was one faith, one Lord, one body, one baptism. He taught that the believers ought to be of one mind and one voice. He taught that if some taught differently they should be disciplined. He taught the way to God. He taught forgiveness that was based upon the cross. He taught baptism. That’s how these people broke free. They obeyed that teaching. It was God’s truth.

 

4. They were committed to that teaching. They hung in with it. They didn’t out grow it. They didn’t abandon it. They didn’t feel like it was no longer a part of their lives. They were committed. When a person is committed to a marriage, they stay together. They do things together. It’s a together thing. When one is committed to their favorite team, they will be loyal even in the tough years when they are in last place. When a believer is committed to the word of God, he will study it, know it, follow it, and teach it. When questions arise, it’s to this teaching that he turns. When he is unsure, he will search what he knows.

 

This is how the early disciples broke free from the enslaving nature of sin. It was through the word of God. What that tells us is that we need to be teaching and preaching that word. That word works. It worked for them. It will work for us. Maybe if we spent more time with the word, got ourselves committed, and really obeyed it, we would not need all the extra helps that can be crutches that carry us along. It worked for them.

 

There is an exit door from sin. It’s marked God. You go through that door when you finally get tired of sin. When you realize it’s a dead end street. When you see the trail of damage it has left. When you realize that you have crushed God’s heart. You are ready to leave. To open that door, you must open God’s word. Read it. Believe it. Trust it. Obey it. Be committed to it. You’ll find yourself becoming more and more like Christ. Your heart changes. Your outlook changes. What is important to you changes. Worship becomes a must for you. God’s word becomes a daily friend. You learn that word. You live that word. You become saturated with the Word. Soon, the bonds of slavery fall off. You find yourself not doing that sin any longer. You enjoy the freedom, the peace and the love that is found in Christ.

 

Freedom—what a great word. Not free to do anything. Not free to do what I want. That was slavery in sin. That was death. Freedom is commitment, obedience, trust and love in God. That’s where it’s at. That’s the path to Heaven.

 

It’s a journey. It’s not easy nor quick. Your former master, Satan, will chase you down. He wants you back. But you keep obeying God. You keep committing yourself to His ways. The more you do this the more distance you put between you and Satan.

 

You can do it. The Romans did.

 

Roger

 

04

Jump Start # 1180

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1180

Daniel 3:7 “Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”

  Did you read the verse? All the peoples…nations…and men of every language fell down and worshipped—all of them that is except for three. We know those three. We know them by their Babylonian names. Most of us grew up hearing the vivid story of faith and courage of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. This is the stuff for youth lectures and sermons for young people. It makes incredible devotions. But more than all of that, it’s history, it’s true and it’s a demonstration of faith over fear and conviction when faced with death. This is not just for teenagers. It’s for all of us. We can know this story so well that we fail to connect. It can be almost too familiar for us. I saw the movie Shane the other day. My favorite western of all time. I grew up watching that movie. I’ve seen it zillions of times. My brothers and I can quote the movie, line by line. Yet the other day I saw something for the first time. In one of the scenes there is a chicken on the roof. That chicken has been there every time. I just never saw it until now. We need to be looking at the Bible with fresh eyes. We need to see things that we’ve skipped over. We need to pay attention to the details. This story—the fiery furnace is a great place to do that.

 

Away from home, against their will, these young men from Judah were being indoctrinated and changed into Babylonians. Their names were changed to Babylonian names. They were given Babylonian food. Now, the final straw was to introduce them to Babylonian religion. Change their faith. This happens for many of our young people when they are away at college. So sad to see that happening.

 

The king made a massive image. It stood tall. One couldn’t miss it. Everyone was gathered for the ceremony. Tons of people were there. The instruments blew. You’d notice. It must have been loud. Everyone bowed down. Even foreigners. Even those with different languages. No exceptions—but our three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. They stood. They were noticed. They were reported. They were in trouble. The king gave them a second chance. What a nice guy! They didn’t need a second chance. They knew. Their minds were made up. Here, there, anywhere, they were not about to bow to anyone but Jehovah. The king threatened. They dug their heels in. They weren’t budging. They didn’t know if God would rescue them or not. But even if not, they weren’t selling out. No way. Not now, not ever. The worst thing the king could do was kill them. Death isn’t the end. Death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. They understood. The truly believed.

There are parallels in this Daniel story and what we do each day.

1. Every child of God faces the harsh challenges of the world. The heat from the fiery furnace is felt when you walk down the hallway of high school. It’s felt when you enter the conference room at work. Demands to be dishonest. The looks. The pressure. The whispers. The threat to report you. The threat to terminate you. The threat to ruin you. The fires of the furnace have not died down. They never will die down as long as light and darkness travel the same road. For some, the greatest challenges comes from their own family. The expression “home for the holidays,” is not a warm, fuzzy feeling. Instead, it’s guilt, finger pointing, accusations and fiery furnaces.

2. Every child of God faces the temptation to compromise what they believe in order to survive. Give in just a little. The three from Daniel may have reasoned that they were not in Jerusalem. They couldn’t help it. But they didn’t. They may have reasoned God will understand. But they didn’t. They may have thought, we don’t have a choice. But they did have a choice. They may have thought just one time won’t hurt anything. But they didn’t. They may have reasoned everyone else is doing it, I guess we should too. But they didn’t. There is always a temptation to compromise beliefs. A little error with a little truth. Saving our selves is a huge struggle. No one wants to lose their job, credibility, reputation, marriage, or family. Paul told the new Christians in Corinth that their unbelieving mates may leave them. If saving the marriage meant tossing the faith, then let the marriage go. That’s hard. Not everyone can do this. Some will bow in order to keep things going. Some will bow to keep a job. Some will bow to keep friends. Some will bow so others will like them. Not the three from Daniel. When ordered to bow, they stood. Surviving was not an option if it meant bowing to another god.

 

3. Every child of God faces the possibility that God may not deliver them. The three from Daniel knew God saved Noah. They knew God provided a sacrifice for Abraham. They knew of the victories of Joshua. They knew that God was with Joseph while he remained imprisoned. But they didn’t know for sure about their situation. No angel promised them safety. No vision came that said you will be fine. They didn’t know. However, they still would not buckle to the pressure of the Babylonian king. Even if they died, they would not bow. They knew what was right. They knew what they believed. Bow was wrong. There was no way it could be right. The Ten Commandments—”no other gods before me,” was all they needed. Live or die, they were not turning their backs on God. Never.

 

The lesson of these three is more than a cool kids story for VBS or Bible classes. This is our story. This is as much about us as it is them. How do we face opposition? How do we face challenges? Do we fear job loss more than God? Do we concern ourselves more about how we look than our character and our faith? Everyday we face far less serious challenges and everyday some will cower to the pressure. The young college student who listens to the dumb taunts of a godless professor who fears flunking over standing for God. The worker who will blindly do whatever the boss says, even if it is wrong, illegal, unethical or simply rude and unkind. This is not how Christians treat others. Yet, bullied and pressured, he will bow believing that he has to.

 

Every day there is the call to bow. Every day millions do. Blindly. Ignorantly. Thoughtlessly. Many who claim to be lovers of God. Many who will walk into a church building on Sunday. They do not see the connection between Thursday and Sunday. They do not understand that faith isn’t a Sunday thing, it’s an every day, every where thing. If faith doesn’t work at work, it probably won’t work at home. Every day.

 

Isn’t it time for you and I to stop bowing. Isn’t it time for us to dig our heels in and say NO. Isn’t time that we stand with God. Come what may—our allegiance is with God. It’s not with a company, a town, a college, or even a nation. We are citizens of Heaven. We belong to Heaven. It’s to Heaven that we go. So stand. Stand up against the deafening cry for abortion, same-sex marriage, legalizing drugs that are just the beginning signs of a godless society that we are falling into.

 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus—is more than a song. It is it. It is what we must do and be. Stand or bow? Face a furnace or be safe? Follow God or cave in to the pressures of others?

 

We have our own fiery furnace. It’s not easy for us. It scares us. We fear what might happen. How will we get by if we lose our job? What will happen if I draw the line and say “No?” The family might exclude me. They might. Times might get tough. They might. We may have to move. You may. This isn’t right. No, it’s not. It’s not fair. No, it’s not.

 

Bow or stand…the three from Daniel knew. There is no way that they would bow. How about you? What about today? Will you stand for what is right or will you bow with everyone else?

 

Roger

 

03

Jump Start # 1179

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1179

Acts 9:1-2 “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

  We are seeing more and more threats to those who love Jesus and to those who believe in democracy, especially by radical Islam. It’s hard for many of us to understand. Why and how can they hate us so much when we’ve done nothing to them. Their aggressive nature is offensive not defensive. It’s not in response to what we have done, but it is a strike against what we believe.

 

Our passage today, from the early days of the church, shows the aggressive Saul running down Christians for the sake of what he thought was right. He hated them. He wanted them eliminated. The verse says, “still breathing threats and murder.” He was not only purging Jerusalem of Christians, he now set his sights on Damascus. He received letters giving him permission to raid known places of meetings for the Christians—the synagogues. These letters gave Saul permission to arrest and bring them back to Jerusalem where they would face severe punishment. His letters allowed him to arrest women as well as men.

 

Women—they were not apostles. Women– they were not the preachers. Yet Saul understood the threat that the women posed. Without a pulpit, women could influence. Without a leadership role, women could share the story of Jesus. Removing the men wouldn’t stamp out Christianity. Saul realized that. The women had to go as well. This speaks well of the great influence that they had and how he viewed the potential that they held.

 

Under the Old Testament law, blasphemy was punishable by death. This is where Saul was standing. He felt that he was doing God a favor and was obeying the Old Testament law. These Christians were claiming that Jesus was the Messiah. They quoted Jesus as saying that He was the Son of God. More than that, they claimed that this Jesus, who everyone knew was crucified, had arisen from the grave and was now seated in Heaven, along side of the Father. This was most offensive to the Jews. There is no way Jesus was the Messiah. Saul took it personally. What offended God, offended him. Within the Jewish law, what he was doing was right.

 

He seems more aggressive than others. He seems to have more hatred that others. He seems to have made this a personal battle. He wanted Christianity wiped out. He wanted the name of Jesus to be forgotten.

 

There are two immediate lessons for us:

 

First, Saul didn’t understand Christianity. Once he did, he changed. But early, in his persecuting days, he did not understand. He didn’t see the connections to prophecy. He didn’t see the evidence. His hatred was misguided, even though he thought he was right. Some things never change. Much of the hatred and attacks upon Christians, not just from Islam, but from radical theology, extreme homosexual movement, atheistic evolution—most of it comes from those who do not understand Christianity. They don’t know what it is supposed to do. They do not know what it is based upon. They do not know the evidence supporting it. For many, it’s fear. They have heard things. They have seen things from a distance. They may have experienced a few bad apples and they feel that all are like those. The early Christians did not fight back, but neither did they keep silent. They preached. When imprisoned, they found ways to continue to speak. So must we today. Don’t throw mud. Don’t attack character. Don’t generalize. Defend what you believe. Know the facts. Present evidence. Give proof.

 

Second, after Saul changed, the Christians had to accept him. It was hard for some of them. They needed the leadership of Barnabas to help them with that. But they allowed Saul to change. Don’t pour concrete on anyone’s views. People change. People no longer accept what they once accepted. People now see things differently. Saul’s change was based upon the evidence of Christ. If someone changes because it’s easier or it allows him a moral loophole and it’s not Biblically based nor Biblically driven, then he’s not really honest with what he is doing. There are those who will have nothing to do with Christ today, that may in a few years. Allow them to change. Love them. Accept them. Help them.

 

Will more and more attacks upon our faith take place? Probably. It won’t be the first time. Soon after the Bible was written, many rose up to stomp Christianity into the soil. Church funds were seized. Buildings were leveled. Preachers were arrested. Elders were told to sacrifice to the gods or die in prison. Jobs were lost. Food was restricted from those who would not acknowledge the emperor as god. I read about this recently in a book covering the third and fourth centuries. There was a statement, a very sad statement. It said, “Most church members compromised their faith.” Most compromised. Most sold out. Most saved life. Most turned on Jesus. Most…but not all.

 

Tough times will drive the weak away. Resistance will make those uncertain, less certain. It is those whose faith is founded upon the rock that will not waver. Even when chased. Even when letters are signed granting permission to arrest and take away. Even then…the faithful of God stand with Christ.

 

Will you be counted? Will you be true? The price may be a heavy one some day…but the reward will be out of this world!

 

We are one day closer to Heaven.

 

Roger