20

Jump Start # 1480

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1480

Psalms 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”

  I thought of this passage last night. I was driving home on the highway and traffic was heavy. Suddenly we came to a stop. Both lanes, dead stop. Then we waited and waited. Most of us turned our engines off. Some turned around and drove in the grass the wrong way. It was dark. We must have sat there more than thirty minutes. I was bringing dinner home, so I went ahead and ate some of mine. Waiting and patience. It’s hard for us.

 

Our passage written from David is about wanting deliverance. He was not stuck in traffic. He didn’t have a cell phone to talk to others. He prayed. He prayed for God’s help. He prayed and he waited. He knew God would help. God is good to His people. He had to wait and not give up.

 

This is a great lesson for us. It’s not sitting in traffic that is our problem, well, not for most of us. It’s waiting for our prodigal to turn around and come back to the Lord. It’s waiting for a church to start doing right. It’s waiting for prayers to be answered. It’s waiting for our health to get better. These are all big things. These are the very things that keep us up at night. We pray and pray about these things. When these things are in our lives, most of us do not just say one little prayer. Rather, we pray and pray and pray about these things. We know the persistent widow and the importance of “bugging” Heaven with what bothers us. We understand the “Thy will be done” principle and would never want God to bend His will for us. We know those things. Still, we pray and we wait. The silence, the lack of an answer may be a test of our faith. It may a lesson in patience. It may simply not be in God’s timetable. “In His time,” is so often not in our time. We want answers within five minutes after we pray. We go asleep praying and hope the answer comes the next morning while we are having our coffee. But many times, we must wait.

 

Wait for the Lord…be strong and let your heart take courage. Don’t give up. Don’t doubt. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t take matters into your own hand. Don’t get desperate. Be strong. Let your heart take courage.

 

It seems that the “waiting” part and the “be strong” part go together. Those that can’t wait any longer have given in to impatience and a weakening faith. Some want to jump ship too soon. They get scared. They feel that they are on their own. They start doubting whether or not God loves them or hears them. They manufacture all kinds of reasons why their prayer has not been answered. Most of the things that they come up with are not healthy, Biblical or wise. Those false thoughts just take them further from the Lord.

 

Be strong. The  God that you love and trust in the sunshine remains the same in the storm and in the darkness. Be strong helps drive away worry. Be strong keeps doubt at bay. Be strong reminds you of your responsibilities with God. He still wants you to worship Him, even though you are waiting for His help. He still wants you to carry the character of Christ in your life, even though you wait. There are others that need you. That can’t be put on hold, just because you are waiting on God. There are people to be encourage. Some need to be taught. Life must go on. There are others around you that you must be an example to. How you carry yourself through all of this will be seen and remembered by others.

 

Now, what are some positive things that you and I can do when we are stuck in life. For me, it was sitting still in the dark on a highway last night. It might be a delayed flight. It might be road construction. It might be waiting on the kids at school. It might be waiting on a co-worker. It might be sitting in the doctor’s office.  There are a lot of “down time” in our lives. Modern technology makes it possible for us to talk to people, check emails, or even watch movies and TV while we are waiting.

 

How about using the “waiting” time to:

 

  • Say some prayers. Think about all the folks that you know that need help. There are folks who are ill. There are folks who have walked away from the Lord. There are folks who are new. There are some who do not know the Lord. Use your waiting time as your “Closet” and say their names and pray about them.

 

  • Use the time to count your blessings. Remember the hymn, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one…” Do that. Name them. We often start with the “biggies,” such as our family, health and our jobs. But look around and name the forgotten blessings in your life. As you name them, thank God for them. Counting and thanking go together.

 

  • Use your waiting time to work on memorizing verses. Pull a verse up on your phone and then work on saying it over and over.

 

  • Use the down time to make a list, either in your mind, or physically, of spiritual things that you need to do. There are folks who need calls. There are some who need cards and visits. With our technology, you can do some of those things while waiting. Make a phone call or send a message to someone. Let them know that you are thinking about them.

 

  • Take the time to do serious spiritual inventory. Look at what you are doing these days? Are you happy with the way you are turning out? Is God happy? What kind of legacy and footprints are you leaving for others to follow. What sins are plaguing you? What can you do with God’s help to defeat those sins? Are you growing spiritually?

 

You’ll find that these little exercises will help the time to pass, but they will also help you spiritually. You will find wonderful ways of using your time wisely. All around you will be impatient people. The world surrounds them and they cannot handle having to “wait.” You on the other hand, find constructive and positive ways to better yourself because of the wait. Your busy life may have missed those opportunities had you not had to wait.

 

I never did find out why we were stopped on the highway last night. I assumed it must have been a pretty bad accident. That thought allowed me to pray for people that I didn’t know. I prayed for their safety. I prayed for the first responders.

 

Wait…be strong…take courage—good thoughts for us as we travel about this day.

 

Roger

 

19

Jump Start # 1479

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1479

2 Peter 1:12 “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.”

Reminders. They are a valuable part of our lives. We have notices on our phones that remind us of important meetings. Facebook will remind us of the birthdays of friends and family. Most of us learned our A-B-C’s by repetition.

 

When it comes to teaching God’s word, reminders are also important but they present great challenges to us. In our verse, Peter recognized that his readers knew what he was telling them. This wasn’t new information. The reminders are necessary because we forget.

 

There is a challenge to the audience that hears things that “you already know.” Because you know these things doesn’t mean everyone else knows them. Every generation must be taught. Teaching often covers the same ground that others have learned years ago. How we react and respond to such things tells a lot about us. We can be bored because “we’ve already heard these things before.” We can be impatient and even critical with the teacher because we are not being taught new or challenging things. I find this spirit alive and well in far too many places. It is interesting that we do not have any trouble watching the same movie over and over. When the new Star Wars movie comes out, there will be some who will watch a dozen or more times. Every holiday season many of us enjoy watching the same favorite shows, including cartoons such as Frosty and Rudolph. Over and over we will watch these shows. We can quote the lines. We know exactly what will happen. The same goes for music. We like certain songs and enjoy listening to them over and over again. When we go to a concert, we like to hear our favorite songs. The new stuff is ok, but play our favorites! Should it be any different with hearing fundamental lessons over and over. Sermons about Noah or the fiery furnace or Gideon’s march, although well known by many of us, ought to bring fond memories and a certain comfort to us.

 

Sometimes older members can be a little harsh on the young preachers because they are presenting lessons about authority, the church, salvation, or worship. These young preachers are doing just exactly what they ought to be doing. Thank them for taking us back to those solid truths. We need reminders. We can forget the details. But don’t jump on them simply because you know and have heard these kind of lessons before. Remember, you are not the only one in the audience. Remember, it’s not all about you. Remember, we need folks to help us remember.

 

Second, there is a challenge to the preacher and teacher of these truths. Teaching the same type of lessons can be boring to the teacher if he is not careful. Lessons on the basics are needed all the time. But make them fresh. Make them challenging. Help a new generation to see what God is saying. Jude said to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered.” It’s been delivered. But return to it. Stay with it. Teach it over and over. Approach it from where people are today. Understand your audience. Help them to see things through their eyes.

 

I’ve been reading a PhD. Dissertation that was written in 1966. I read part of it before because I found sentences that I had underlined. But there are things I had forgotten. So, I’m reading it again. It seems to make more sense to me this time than the first time I read it. Repeating. Reminding. Re-reading. Those are the building blocks of our faith. It doesn’t take very long to read the entire Bible. So a person has read it. Is that it? Obviously, NO. He must read it again. He must read different sections again. He will focus upon and look for specific things with each reading.

 

Remember the hymn, “tell me the old, old story…” The story is old, simply because it took place a long, long time ago. But it can be old because many of us have known this story for decades. But tell it to me again. Never tire of hearing Biblical truths taught and preached. Never groan when the preacher announces that his lesson is about the Cross.

 

Peter reminded his readers of things that they already knew. We need to do the same. It’s good to do that. We need to do that with our sermons, our classes and our private studies. Be glad when you hear that ole’ familiar lesson. It means the gospel message is still being sent out.

 

Roger

 

18

Jump Start # 1478

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

Jump Start # 1478

Psalms 119:97 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day!”

  Our verse today comes from the longest chapter in the Bible. It is broken into sections by the Hebrew alphabet. The chapter is a tribute to the word of God. The value of the word and the praise of the word are expressed continually throughout the chapter.

The verse we are looking at today expresses three thoughts.

 

First, the law was loved. The law was more than just information. It was more than just things people needed to know. There was an attachment to the law. The writer loved the law. In college I was a science major. I took lots and lots of biology classes. I don’t think I ever thought that I loved my biology text book. It was necessary to complete the class, but most students either sold their book back to the school or ditched it in the nearest trash can. There was no love there.

 

Understand also, for the Psalmist, the law that he loved included the dreaded Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. We are not talking about Philippians. We are not talking about the amazing Gospels. His law was the very parts of the Bible that we read the least and dread the most. He loved it not because it was intriguing literature, but rather, because it was from God. This was God’s word. This was God trying to connect, lead, shape and help the people that He loved. How could a person not love it for that very reason.

 

Second, because he loved God’s law, he would make it a part of his life. Loving the law and ignoring the law do not go together. Today, people say, “What’s the big deal?” What’s the big deal about how we worship? What’s the big deal about the form of music in worship? It doesn’t matter? Really? Those that say that make that claim on their own. They won’t find the Bible making that claim. They won’t find God in the Scripture saying, “I really don’t care.” No, it’s just the opposite. God is specific. God declares. To love the law is to love the way of God. Those that are determined to change things, often claim that they are fighting tradition, but most times, they are fighting God. It doesn’t bother them to introduce new things, different things, even wrong things. Their actions reveal that they do not have a love for the Lord nor a love for His word. You can’t love the Lord and not love His word. His word came from Him. His word is part of Him. “I love God, but I don’t do much of that Bible stuff,” is ridiculous. It’s modern theology. It’s a lie of Satan. You can’t know God without the Bible. To purposely ignore what the Bible says is to insult God.

 

Those that love God, love His word. They make the word of God a part of their lives. They read it. They study it. They know it. They use it. That word shapes their lives. Because of that word, they make adjustments in their language, attitude, and even friends. That word warns them. That word defines the boundaries of what is right and wrong. That word becomes a central piece of their lives.

 

Third, because of that love for the law, the Psalmist thought about the law. He meditated upon it all day long. That’s how the Bible gets into us and works upon us. It’s more than just reading several verses every day. It’s chewing on a verse or two. It’s thinking about what it meant then and what it means today. It’s finding applications. It’s using that word in our world. It’s seeing how that word helps us at work and at home. It’s learning and changing because of that word.

 

The Psalmist meditated upon the law of God. He went about his day thinking about that law. This brought God into his day. This raised the bar for him spiritually. He didn’t turn off his spiritual radar once he left the place of worship. It stayed with him. At home. In business. In his travels. With the law racing through his mind, he would be more thoughtful and thankful. He would see things as God sees them. He would have a proper perspective of his place in the world. The evils of pride, materialism, judgmental spirit and apathy are driven out when one is thinking about the law of God.

 

This meditation did not involve sitting with your legs folded like a pretzel, burning incense and humming with your palms facing upward. This wasn’t a Hindu practice. Meditation involves thinking about things on purpose. It’s bringing great thoughts to your mind. Here, it involved bringing the word of God to your attention. He seemed to do this on his own. It wasn’t that someone told him to do this. It wasn’t that he was sitting in God’s house. It seems he decided to think about God’s word on his own. Why would he do that? Because he loved the word. We tend to think about what we love. If you think a lot about money, guess what? You may have a love of money problem. If you think about yourself a lot, you may have your priorities out of order. If you think about wrong things, you might one day do those wrong things. Here was a man that loved God, loved God’s word and he thought about that word. He thought about it often. Our verse says, “all day” he meditated. He thought and thought about God’s word.

 

We wonder, didn’t the guy have to go to work? How can you think about the law when at work I have to think about numbers, people, budgets, inventory and so forth. Then, when I get home, I have to think about dinner, the kids, taking care of the place, catching up on the news. We look at our verse and think, “I’d love to be able to do that, but I have a life.” It’s easy to conclude that our Psalmist was like a monk that just sat around all day thinking about the word. That’s not a fair picture. More than that, it’s not accurate. Sure he worked. Sure he had a family. Sure he had obligations. But he still thought about the word. Could it be that when in different settings, the word of God that affected that is what he thought about. For instance, at work, he might have thought about honesty and working hard. There are verses about that. At home, he thought about his love for his family and his need to be a spiritual leader. There are verses about that. With friends, he thought about his light shinning. There are verses about that. In worship, he thought about the God he loved. Lots of verses about that. Maybe, just maybe, what he was doing shaped what portions of the word he thought about. Maybe his life and the word walked together, each helping the other.

 

The person who does this finds that he rarely turns off his spiritual thinking. This easily leads to multiple prayers to God throughout the day. That “pray without ceasing,” becomes a pleasant reality. He thanks God. He asks God for forgiveness. He asks God for understanding. Praying, thinking, walking with the Lord. This becomes natural. It’s not like the artificial leg that has to be strapped on. It supports a person but there is neither feeling nor warmth in the fake leg. This is not our faith. This is not our religion.

 

Give some thought today to God’s word. Find some passages that fit what you are doing today and let them simmer a while in your mind. Learn. See. Grow. That’s the way this works.

 

Roger

 

17

Jump Start # 1477

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

Jump Start # 1477

Revelation 12:17 “So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

  There is a lot of unrest and fear in the world. The Paris murders have been declared an act of war by the French President. Manhunts, arrests and nightly bombings are part of the retaliation and an effort to end the further threats of danger. The rumblings of war are on the horizon. War talk is nothing new. The history of the world has seen all kinds of wars. There has been long wars, such as the “hundred year war.” There has been wars that were supposed to end all wars. They didn’t. There has been major world wars—two of them. The history of Europe is a study of conflict and wars. Before much of that, the history of the Old Testament is a study of nations fighting nations. Powerful nations such Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans shaped and dominated the political map of Bible times.

 

Our verse today describes yet another type of war, a spiritual war. The dragon, who is Satan, the chapter tells us, went off to make war with the people of God. Satan had a specific target, those who obey God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. That’s who he is after. That who he wants defeated.

 

There are some special things about this war that we need to know.

 

First, the enemy, Satan, is the greatest enemy of all time. He can’t be killed by us. He is a spiritual being. He is first found in the garden in Genesis 3 and here he is centuries later in the book of Revelation. This enemy knows you. He knows your weak points. This enemy never tires. He never takes a day off. He is everywhere. You cannot escape him. Before you get to work today, he was there. Before your plane lands for a vacation, he is there waiting for you. Peter describes him as a roaring lion that seeks someone to devour. Our enemy is spiritual. It will take spiritual weapons to overcome him.

 

Second, the battle front is not land but your heart. Satan wants to destroy you spiritually. This is an internal battle. Temptation is his weapon of choice. He uses many ways to attack us. He will use a busy lifestyle to keep us away from God. He will use books and blogs to distort the truth to confuse you. He will use family and friends to get in your way. He loves discouragement because it leads us to taking our foot off the spiritual accelerator. He will allow hardships to conquer us and make us doubt. He will tempt us with sin. He knows which one you like the best. For some it’s moral issues. For others, it’s attitudes. He will allow those who are close to us to confuse us. He will use gossip to get us to away from the cross. He will give us reasons to complain, like ancient Israel. He will give us little side issues to occupy our energy and time so we neglect the big things. He will mess with our families so it will take us away from Jesus. Our enemy doesn’t care. He doesn’t care how many people are counting on you. He doesn’t care how new you are to Jesus. He doesn’t care how many people get hurt by your departure. He doesn’t care if he has already attacked you once today. He simply doesn’t care. He doesn’t have a heart. He doesn’t know kindness. He has every wicked spiritual tool available to use. He attacks us one by one. If he can pull the marriage apart, he will win. If he can weaken us, he will win. If he can make us sit in church buildings without worshipping, he will win. He doesn’t play by the rules. He never quits.

 

Third, the only way to win this battle is through Christ. On your own, you won’t make it. You must take the warnings of the Bible seriously. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Do we really believe that? We are told to not love the world. Yet we can act, dress, talk and behave just like the world. We are told not to be conformed to the world. We are told to resist the devil. These warnings and these truths must be taken seriously, or we will be a victim laying upon the battle ground. Have you ever seen those old black and white photos of the aftermath of Civil War battles? The battle is over, and there is this soldier lying in the mud dead. For him, it didn’t really matter which side won that day, because he’s journey was over. He was finished. He lost. The battle for him was over for ever. We don’t want that. Satan does. Across this land, there are hundreds who have given up the fight. They allowed Satan to win. They no longer worship. Some no longer believe. Some have compromised and worship in a nonbiblical fashion. They allowed their marriage to end. They allowed sin to dominate their lives. They sold out. They gave in. In the end, Satan has won.  That cannot happen to us.

 

As frightening as the Paris murders are and talk by Isis to do even more murders, possibly here in this country, there is a greater battle. Isis can kill the body but they can’t do anything more. For the child of God death isn’t a loss. It opens the door to a wonderful world with the Savior. The greater threat is by one who can destroy our soul. We need to be concerned about who our kids call “friends.” We need to really think about what shows are we watching on TV. We need to give serious thought to what we are feeding our souls. Innocent things may be poisoned by the evil one. Our attitudes shift. Our morals loosen. We find ourselves doing things today that we would have never done five years ago. Why? Has Satan taken some of our hearts?

 

The history of God’s people have found faithful ones as slaves in Egypt. There were faithful ones in captivity in Babylon. They were chased. They were imprisoned. Some were killed. Their faithfulness and loyalty to the Lord is what found favor with the Lord. God said of Caleb that he had a “different spirit.” He followed the Lord “fully.” That must be us. That’s our que. We must move through this world with a “different spirit.” We must follow the Lord fully. It’s not enough to follow at a distance. It’s not enough to follow some of the time. All in or not at all. Love the Lord with ALL of your heart, mind and soul. Turn the keys of your heart over to God. Let go of them. Give them to God.

 

In a complaining and negative world, we carry a different spirit. We are thankful. It a time of gloom and doom, we carry a different spirit, hopeful. When some are talking about others, we don’t. We have a different spirit. When some are being ugly, we won’t be. We have a different spirit. We are reflective. We are thankful. We are kind. We are Christ-like.

 

There is a war going on. It doesn’t involve bombs and planes. It is about your soul and your heart. Satan wants to poison it. God wants you to continue with Him.

 

Onward, Christian soldier…our journey may be hard, lonesome and fierce, but we shall win if we continue with Christ. That’s God’s promise. The battle between God and Satan is not still up in the air. Satan looses. Revelation tells us that. His future is sealed. Hell is his home. Don’t go with him. You don’t have to. This is one battle you cannot lose. This is one battle that you can turn the tide and win. With God at our side, we shall overcome!

 

Roger

 

16

Jump Start # 1476

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

Jump Start # 1476

Proverbs 16:20 “He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”

  Our passage today introduces us to two wonderful thoughts. These are essential and important in both Bible study and growing our faith. The more we do these things the greater our faith will be.

First, is to pay attention to the word. The word must be the Word of God, the Bible. Pay attention. We know what that means. Teachers say that to a students who are talking instead of listening. Not paying attention to the road has led to many car accidents. Being distracted while driving is a huge problem. Parents will say, ‘pay attention,’ as they are trying to talk seriously with their children. But here, in this passage, it is paying attention to the word.

 

Notice what is said. Notice the word order. Notice how God uses words. Notice why things were said. Notice the context. Look carefully. Look slowly. Give attention to the word. Give it the attention it deserves. Listen. Listen well.  There is a positive result attached to this. The one who does this will find good.

 

He will find the will of God. He will find what God expects and wants. He will find how to please the Lord. He will find truths. He will find ways to build quality character. Giving attention has positive benefits.

 

This expression, “gives attention,” reminds us that there is no short cut to learning God’s word. There is not speed dial to Bible knowledge. Staying with it. Staying at it will bring the great knowledge that supports a great faith.

 

Second, trust the Lord. Have faith in the Lord. Believe what He says. Know what He promises. There is great benefits in doing this. The who does is “blessed.” He is blessed because that trusting faith will lead to his salvation. That trusting faith will calm him during the storms of life. That trusting faith will give him the assurance and hope that will sustain him.

 

Pay attention…trust. There are some things in the Bible that are hard for us to figure out. Sometimes it’s the “how” they did it that we just don’t know. How did the apostles baptize 3,000 people in one day? How did the word spread so rapidly without Facebook, websites, printed flyers? How did so many receive the Lord’s Supper on Sunday? How did Jonah survive in the belly of a whale? How did Joseph roll the stone in front of Jesus’ grave?  How did the crowds hear Jesus without a microphone and speakers? How did 12 apostles feed more than 5,000 people? There are many “I wonder how that happened?” in our Bibles. Trust in the Lord. Sometimes the details are not given. Sometimes the details are not important to the story. t

 

Trust the Lord. Trust that the Lord’s way works. We don’t nor can we improve upon what God has done. We must simply trust the Lord. His way works. His way for couples works in a marriage. His way for raising children works. His way for worship works. Trust in the Lord.

 

 

Simple thoughts…give attention and trust. Those two fit well together. Those two feed each other. The more of one the greater the other will be. They are hard to separate. They are hard to do without.

 

Give attention and trust…in this crazy world that seems to be falling apart more and more, give attention to the word and trusting God seems to make more and more sense. It is one of the few things that we can count upon. This is something that you can do.

 

Roger