23

Jump Start # 1379

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1379

Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now, declares the Lord, ‘Return to Me, with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.”

 

Troublesome times are here, are the opening lines of one of the hymns we sing. Troublesome times, sums up the situation facing the nation that Joel was addressing. The second chapter of Joel begins with a warning sound, “Blow a trumpet in Zion.” The day of the Lord was coming. It was described as a day of darkness and gloom. “There has never been anything like it,” as a coming nation was being sent by God to punish His people.

 

For too long the people had ignored God, compromised with idolatry and lived with indifferent hearts. God’s patience and pleading had reached an end. Trouble was coming. It would be severe. Lessons would be learned.

 

Our verses today, remind us that God still held out hope that some would repent and come back to Him. Twice in our verses, the word, “Return” is used. God was wanting His people back. His goal was not to wipe them off the planet, but for them to be sorry for their sins and dedicate themselves to the Lord. That desire of the Lord has never changed. It is what God wants for us. The greatest command is to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind and soul. All—totally, completely in, all or nothing.

 

One expression from our passage today that is noteworthy is, “rend your heart and not your garments.” The word ‘rend’ means to tear or rip. Often the Scriptures tell of people tearing their garments.

 

  • Reuben tore his garments when he found that Joseph was no longer in the pit that he had been put in (Gen 37)
  • When Joseph’s brother brought the bloodied and shredded coat of many colors to their father, Jacob tore his clothes and put on sack cloth and ashes (Gen 37).
  • When Israel grumbled against Moses, Joshua tore his clothes (Num 14).
  • When David received word that Saul and his sons were killed in battle, David tore his clothes (2 Sam 1).

 

 

That expression is used often in the O.T. It is found in times of extreme grief, panic and shocking news. Our culture doesn’t do that. We don’t tear our clothes on purpose. We don’t put on burlap. We don’t pour ashes on our head. We simply cry. I’ve been around families that received sudden and shocking news of death. The tears flow. Some collapse in grief. It’s tough to witness such sorrow.

 

I expect our clothes cost too much and maybe we think too much of them to tear them. It’s just something that we do not do in our times. Our passage is telling the people to not tear or rend their clothes, but instead to tear their hearts. Tearing your clothes, back then, showed others how pitiful things were. It illustrated how broken up you were. Some could tear their clothes on the outside but not be affected much on the inside. God was wanting the inside. God is always more interested with our insides.

 

Jesus warned the multitudes about praising God with their lips, while their hearts were far from Him. David said that God was more interested in a broken and contrite heart than sacrifices. Here in Joel, it’s a torn heart, not torn clothes, that God was seeking.

 

Torn hearts brought about change. It meant that the people recognized their wrong. It was the first step leading to spiritual change. The prodigal experienced that when he came to his senses. He had a change of heart. His father was now worth coming home to, not running from. What happened? His heart was torn.

 

The torn heart, from our passage, is connected to weeping, mourning and fasting. The person with the torn heart isn’t happy. He’s done wrong. He recognizes that. He has sinned against God. Whether he was caught or not, whether others ever found out or not, he knows it’s not right. He’s played around with sin. He has not taken God seriously. His worship, his life, his attitude all reflect someone who has taken God for granted. He did what he wanted to do. He ignored God’s command. He thought he could break the commands without any difficulty or trouble. He lived on top of the world. But now he realized what a fool he has been. He neglected God. He has been acting like nothing matters, when it did. He has disappointed, angered and broken the heart of God. The Lord was angry with him. The Lord was ready to be done with him.

 

God was calling for this person to tear his heart. Rend, not your clothes, but your heart, is what the Lord was seeking. God was willing to forgive. God is compassionate. God is gracious. Return to God. Rend your heart.

 

We must wonder where we are in all of this. Could it be that we are just a step or two from where ancient Israel was? We worship on Sunday, but does that affect us on a Tuesday? We gather, smile, enjoy, have a good time, but do we feel sorry for the wrongs that we do? Have we found soft and nice ways to excuse indifference to God’s word? Have we found comfortable ways to hide our sins? Has mourning, fasting and tearing of our hearts long escaped us? Other than the time we initially become Christians, have we taken a liking to sin and found that it’s really not all that bad? Have we for too long played at church and worshipped our jobs? Has God taken second place to sports, weekend get-a-ways and “our time?”

 

Rend your hearts, may be the message for our times and our people. Tear your hearts. Rip your hearts. Take a look at where God is in your life. Are you and the Lord strong in your relationship? Are you getting closer to the Lord? Are you pleasing the Lord?

 

Rend your hearts—not fix them, not mend them, not patch them up. Faithfulness to the Lord begins on the insides. It’s an inside out direction.

 

Wonderful passage. It makes us think. It makes us look at ourselves. It makes us wonder.

 

Roger

 

22

Jump Start # 1378

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1378

Psalms 91:4 “He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”

 

Our passage is poetically describing the shelter, protection and care found in the Lord. God is good to His people. The idea that God is a “refuge” is found sprinkled throughout the Psalms. In this setting, fear from enemies was a very real threat. David experienced this often when fleeing from King Saul. His enemy was mighty. His enemy  was fierce. However, in the Lord, there was found comfort, protect and shelter.

 

There are some thoughts for us from this passage.

 

First, we must realize that God’s people have and do experience difficulties. Job was tried. David was chased. Paul was persecuted. The righteous do suffer. The righteous die. Stephen was killed by stones. James was killed by a sword. John the Baptist was beheaded. Hebrews tells of some being sawn into. Not all escaped lions dens or fiery furnaces. Jesus as well as Peter tells us that we are blessed if we suffer. The suffering saint is not being punished by God. The level of suffering is not an indication of God’s displeasure with us.

 

Second, God is always there. He is there for His people. The Psalmist viewed God as a giant bird who would spread wide His wings and His people could hide underneath Him. God was there to protect. There is a comforting thought in that. God sees. God knows. God cares. God has rescued His people. When the odds were against God’s people, victory against enemies came. God rescued His people from Egypt, Babylon and other foreign strong holds. God sent angels, hornets, and fire to put those foreign armies to flight. We are never alone because of God. We always have someone who understands in God.

 

Third, the expression from our passage, “His faithfulness is a shield,” probably refers to God’s promises. God is faithful. He is true to His word. If He said it, then it will be. That’s the way God is. He doesn’t say things and then finds out that He cannot deliver. He is sure. He is true. To a warrior, a shield was important. The shield is listed among the armor of a Christian in Ephesians 6. The shield would be held up and the soldier would shelter himself behind it. Arrows would be deflected by the shield. The blows of a sword would  not harm the soldier who had his shield. We stand behind the shield of God. The world and especially Satan, fires arrows at us. The enemy tells us that God’s word is not true. Attacks are made about the origin of the Bible. Others fire arrows from the field of science, believing that it will take down God’s soldier. Others look to sign peace treaties of compromise with immoral behavior. Attacks after attacks. Often, there are attacks on more than one front. The shield of faith, the shield of God, the faithfulness of God is what protects us. God is true. He has never lied. He has proven Himself. God stands. God is right. It is behind God that we stand and survive.

 

Fourth, it is important that one does not exchange the church for God. Some see the church every time they see God. The church serves a purpose. The church is important. We are the church. It is not the church that is our shield, but God’s faithfulness. The church, us, can let each other down. We don’t always keep our word as we ought to. We can run when we ought to dig in and fight for one another. We can get confused and even be wrong at times. The refuge, the protection, the shield was God, not the church.  Some live their lives through the church and not through God.

 

Fifth, because of God’s protective nature, the Psalmist was not afraid and was not turning back. God protected him. The enemy is often still on the battle front. The enemy hasn’t left the scene. Danger and trouble still lurk, however, with God, the tide has turned. With God, there is help. With God, there is nothing to fear.

 

This passage reminds us that we ought to turn to God more than each other. We can pour our hearts out to one another, but we are limited in what we can do. We can tell the world our woes on facebook, but our help comes from above. It was God that the Psalmist sought. God was the refuge. This tells us that we need to take it to the Lord in prayer, as one hymn states. We need to seek Heaven’s wisdom more. God is our help.

 

May you find comfort in these words.

 

Roger

 

18

Jump Start # 1377

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1377

Luke 11:1 “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.’”

 

I love this passage. It is so innocent and honest. The disciples saw Jesus pray. They wanted to learn how to pray. Prayer is one of those things that most of us feel like we could do better. Few that I have talked to like the way they pray. We don’t pray enough. We don’t pray about others. Our prayers are shallow. Then there are those wonderful classes about prayer. They help. They are good reminders.

 

Lets look into some thoughts about prayer today.

 

First, the request to be taught to pray came after Jesus prayed. They heard and then they asked. John 17 is one of the longest prayers of Jesus that is recorded. There were prayers on the cross. We know that He prayed all night. Jesus prayed often. He prayed before He chose the apostles. Jesus is the model to look to for prayer. He understood that prayer keeps our relationship with the Lord alive and vital. We need to talk to God.

 

Second, prayer is something that must be learned. It’s not natural and that’s why we often fail. It’s not that praying is hard, but it is in the sense to remember to pray not only about the big things in life but also the little things. Prayer is not about getting what I want but rather, inviting God into my life. It is God’s will becoming my will. Following a prayer ought to be a prayer of thanksgiving. We thank God for answering our prayers. Prayer is not always about getting. Prayer is praise. Prayer is thanking. Prayer is seeking Heaven’s help.

 

It is interesting to me that the apostles never asked Jesus how to preach. Peter and John were fishermen. They weren’t accustomed to standing before crowds and speaking. They would. They would speak before officials, opponents and those that cherished every word that they said. They never asked Jesus how to preach. They never asked Jesus how to do a miracle. They would be sent preaching and confirming that word with miracles. Just what are the steps to healing someone? They never seemed to ask that. I would have. Just how do you raise the dead? Never asked that one. How do you grow faith? How do you grow a church? How do you appoint elders or shepherds in a congregation? What’s the best way to serve the Lord’s Supper? How do you get people to be stronger? Tons of questions that they could have asked, but it seems like they never did. But this one, teach us to pray, seems so simple. Maybe prayer builds a relationship with the Lord that would take care of many of those other questions. Maybe we don’t pray enough.

 

Third, in asking about prayer, they were not asking about the fundamental and core principles of prayer. For instance, they were not asking about “Who do we pray to?” They were not asking about reverence in prayer. They were not asking about praying to God instead of praying to man. Those that asked this question were Jewish men who grew up praying. Prayer was part of the fiber of Jews. In the home, synagogue and temple activities, prayer was a common sight. These twelve had heard prayers all of their lives. They understood the basics of prayer 101. What they were asking was how to pray like Jesus prayed. He really prayed. He prayed all the time. How do we do that? That’s the key question.

 

Fourth, what follows is what the world calls the “Lord’s Prayer.” The “Our Father, who art in Heaven.” Calling this the Lord’s prayer is somewhat true, because this came from the Lord. When asked, this is what He answered with. But, it is unlikely that Jesus ever prayed this Himself. He would not have asked for the forgiveness of sins, since He was without sin. Jesus never sinned. Only a sinner needs a Savior and forgiveness. It might be better to refer to this prayer as a “Model prayer.” It’s not so much these very words, but rather the thought, the faith, the trust that is found behind those words.

 

You’ll notice a few things about this prayer. First, it’s short. For one who prayed all night, Jesus offers a sample prayer that contains only 37 words, five sentences. Short. A prayer doesn’t have to be long to be good. There are times that a long prayer may not be the best. There are times a short prayer may not be the best. The best prayers come from the heart, not the number of words counted in that prayer.

 

You’ll also notice that the words Jesus uses are simple. No one has to run to the dictionary to find the definitions. Not here. It seems that these words were natural. The crowd Jesus taught and the make up of the disciples was that of the common man. This is not to say that they were unintelligent or dumb. They were not. This prayer is using words that they would have used. Every once in a while, you might here someone using 16 cylinder words in his prayer. One must wonder if the guy talks that way all the time or if he is trying to impress someone. You’ll never impress God with big words. God knows more than you ever will and God can speak and hear every language that ever existed. So, it often comes down to trying to impress those who are listening. Don’t do that. If your natural vocabulary includes big words, that’s fine. Don’t use words in prayers that you don’t understand. Pray in private like you pray in public. Pray in public like you pray in private.

 

You’ll also notice in this example Jesus gives us, that our prayers praise God (Hallowed be Thy name). Prayer includes physical things (our daily bread). Prayer involves spiritual things (forgiveness of sins). Prayer asks God to help us (Lead us not into temptation). Together, there seems to be a balance here. Not all prayer is about physical things. Not all prayer is about spiritual things. Not all prayer is about praise. Not all prayer asks God to help us. Different needs. Different concerns. Praying for physical things is not wrong.

 

You’ll notice that this prayer understands the place and nature of God. It is God who gives daily bread. It is God who forgives. It is God who leads us not into temptation. God, right there in our daily lives. God, not very far from us.

 

You’ll also notice the use of “us” in this model. Give “us” “our” daily bread. Forgive “us” “our” sins. Lead “us” not into temptation. The “us” and “our” reminds us that we are all in the same boat. There is not one of us that could say, I don’t need to say those things. There is not one of us that could conclude, you need to do that, but not me. No, you do need this. It’s a “us” and “our” type of situation.

 

You’ll also notice that this type of prayer could and should be prayed often, even daily. The bread that was prayed for was a “daily” bread. It was not the month’s quota of bread. It wasn’t the year’s supply of bread. It’s today. Tomorrow, we’ll need to ask the Lord for bread again. This tells us that we’ll be repeating some prayers, maybe often, maybe every day. Before the bread arrives, there were folks who baked it. Before that, there were folks that processed the grain. Before that, there were folks who harvested the grain. Before that, there was a farmer who planted the seed. In all of this duration, there was the right amount of rain and sunshine, provided by the Lord, to grow the grain. There was a period of time between the day the seed was planted and the day the person took a bite of the bread. The same could be said of fruit. Similar things could be said about meat. There were many steps and many blessings from Heaven before the food lands on our table. God was involved all along the way. That is simply something to consider.

 

Teach us to pray. What a profound question. What a great step in recognizing the position of God, the trust of our hearts and the goodness of the Lord’s blessings.

 

Pray…It just makes a person want to stop what they are doing for a moment and thank the Lord.

 

Roger

 

17

Jump Start # 1376

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1376

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

  I write this Jump Start from a hotel room in Alabama. I have been in a lectureship with three good friends at a congregation I have never been to before. It is always a bit scary going to a new place. In this lectureship I have been the only Yankee speaking. But something remarkable happened. It always does. It never fails. These wonderful people, who didn’t know me, took me in, shared their hearts, opened their ears and just made this one of the best weeks for me. It has been a mountain climbing experience spiritually.

 

In our verse today, Paul was expressing his experience with the Philippians. He had been received warmly. It was a delightful, encouraging and heartfelt experience. Paul was expressing his emotions two ways.

 

First, he thanked God. I do the same. Had it not been for God there would not have been an intersection with these people. God was to be thanked, not just for crossing lives, but for changing lives. God saved. God forgave. God made them better. Names were being written in the book of life. Great things were happening. Paul was thankful.

 

Second, Paul told the Philippians about it. This is where we can fumble the ball. Sometimes we fail to express our thankfulness to those who have been so kind to us. We may pray to God, and we should, but we may never let others know. We ought to. Encouragement is like blowing air into the soul. Even good folks get weary now and then. Even the best among us sometimes wonder if we are doing any good. A pat on the back, a shout out from the elders, a card in the mail, a gift, a hug are all the wonderful ways that we can let others know that they touched our lives and we are the better because of it.

 

This passage also reveals the two sides of encouragement.

 

First, there is the receiving side. We need to be able to appreciate the goodness of others. Some want to be the Lone Rangers in life. That’s not good. We need one another. It was God who declared that it was not good for man to be alone. We are a communal type of people. We need to be around others. Being a preacher and before people, I get a lot of flowery introductions and compliments. Sometimes it can be a bit much. Too much syrup isn’t good. But pancakes without any syrup isn’t good either. Don’t toot your own horn, but also, if someone has benefited from something you have done, let them compliment you. Let them say their “Thank you” to you. Don’t deflate their compliments. Be humble and give glory to God.

 

Second, there is the giving side of encouragement. That is equally important. We must learn to recognize the good that others are doing. One guy can’t do it all. He may think he can, but he can’t. He ought to recognize that the church is a team of wonderful helpers. Everyone does their own part. Everyone chips in. When that happens, good things will be praised. Folks will get discouraged when time after time they do things and no one even says thank you. The work isn’t done for the praise. The Lord wondered where were the nine were after He healed ten lepers. One returned to thank. One returned to bless Jesus. The others never said anything. Don’t be like those nine. Appreciate the hard work others are doing. Let them know that you know and that you appreciate it so much.

 

Mark Twain said he could go a whole month on one good compliment. There is a lot of truth to that.

 

Is there someone today that you can get a pat on the back? Is there someone that you can say, “Thank you, for what you do.” It may be someone at home. We tend to overlook those the most. It may be someone who is simply doing their job, but they’ve put their heart into it and are doing the best that they can. Letting them know that you appreciate can just make their day.

 

My thanks to the wonderful brethren in Alabama who encouraged me much more than I encouraged them.

 

Thank you,

 

Roger

 

16

Jump Start # 1375

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1375

Hebrews 10:24 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”

Our passage today is the third in a series of “Let Us” expressions. I appreciate how it is worded. The text doesn’t say, ‘You need to…” or, “you ought to,” or, even, “I did.” Rather, it’s a LET US. Us—you and me. Us-being together. A single person is not an us. It takes more than one to make an us. You and others become an us.

 

Our verse also reminds us that they were to think about others. Consider, it says, how to stimulate one another. Consider how to do that. Consider the best way. Too often, when it comes to thinking, we only think about ourselves. We want others to do for us. We want to be pampered, praised and noticed. But that’s not the direction here. That’s never the direction with Jesus. He never tells us to praise ourselves. He never tells us to ignore others and take care of only yourself. Not Jesus. He tells us the story of the good Samaritan. And He ends that story with a “Go and do thou likewise.” Go put that story into action. Go live that story. Do it.

 

So we are to consider others. We are to consider how to stimulate them. Another word might be, move them. Another could be, encourage them. They are to be stimulated to love and good deeds. We need some kicking in the pants now and then to get us moving. We need reminders. We need someone to point the way. We need a trail blazer. We need someone to cut a path through the wilderness. In my area, Daniel Boone is a hero. He was just like that. He found and made trails through the wilderness that others would follow. He was a leader. Shepherds are like that. Remember the great Psalms 23? “He leads me beside quiet waters,” and, “He guides me in the paths of righteousness…” Led by the shepherd.

 

I have found through the years, if you ask someone or include them, usually, they’ll do it. Some have a hard time seeing things. It’s that “open your eyes” concept when Jesus told the disciples about the fields being white for harvest. Some can walk right past the fields and never notice that they are ready for harvest. I’m not sure what folks can be thinking about, but some simply do not see it. The open your eyes concept helps us to be the Lord’s hands, feet and eyes. We help others when we see their needs.

 

Jesus saw little Zacchaeus up in that tree. Jesus saw the bent over woman in the synagogue. Jesus sees the smallest and simplest of gifts, such as a cup of cold water given to a thirsty soul. Jesus sees. It helps when we can see things like Jesus did.

 

Our passage identifies two areas to stimulate one another in. First, Love. This is not an emotion. It is not a feeling. It is about caring. Compassion leads to service. If one cares, he goes. If one cares, he does. Jesus had compassion upon the multitudes and He fed them. Jesus felt compassion and healed the blind. Stimulated to love. This may lead to someone apologizing. This may lead to someone forgiving. Maybe it’s way past due. Maybe they feel that they just can’t take that step. Consider how to stimulate them to love…Reason with them. Show them. Help them. Teach them.

 

The other area that we need some stimulating is in good deeds. Sometimes we just allow others to do that. We let others take the food. We let others do the work. We let others serve. In many congregations, it’s the older members who are doing most of this. It may be that they have the time. It may be that they have the money. Young families are limited, but they are not excluded. The older generation gets tired of always doing. They wonder what will happen when they are gone. Who will pick up the work after them? That’s a good question to have. That is a concern. That is something to think about. Possibly, the older crowd ought to include a younger family and together they serve others. Together, one teaches the other and one encourages the other.

 

I wonder if the bulk of our stimulating one another is left to sermons. The sermon can stir us. The sermon can motivate us. The sermon can help. But I do not feel that is the extent of this. The passage is not directed to preachers only. It was directed to all those who heard those words read. So, some of our stimulating will come not from the pulpit, but also, and most often, from one another. Each other, doing what we can. Each other, doing what we ought to. Each other.

 

This is what parents do. They encourage their little ones to play together and be nice. They encourage and show their littles ones how to make their bed and pick up their toys. As they get bigger, they show them how to help others. They start doing for others.

 

Some may have never been shown those things by their parents. It may be that their parents were never shown. One generation tends to pass one what they know. If they never know, then they can’t pass that on. Some never thought about helping someone else unless there was a real crisis. A neighbor has a tree down and you’ll get all the guys showing up with saws. Someone has a car in a ditch and there will be folks stopping by to help. That’s good and that’s the way it ought to be. However, without a crisis we can be rather unfriendly to one another. We need some stimulation. We need someone to point the direction for us. Praying for someone, is a great thing to do. Who doesn’t need a pray these days? Giving something to someone for no other reason than you’re being nice.

 

Those good deeds done, may be the very thing that opens the door to a closed heart. We can doctrine someone to death. There is a place for teaching doctrine. We’d never discount that. That’s how a person will learn Christ and be saved. It’s a must. But some can be rather cold and indifferent why pushing doctrine. Showing some love and good deeds can melt the hardest hearts. So the guy won’t take you up on your invitation to come to worship, still be nice and generous with him. So the guy doesn’t want any more Bible studies with you. Don’t write him off and shun him. Be nice and generous with him.

 

We need to encourage one another in these things. We need to be the cheerleaders yelling on the sidelines of life for one another. We need to let others know that we count on them, believe in them and are with them.

 

Let us consider…give it some thought.

 

Roger