13

Jump Start # 1475

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1475

Mark 4:39 “And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.”

  Our verse today comes from that powerful story that took place upon the sea. Jesus and His disciples were crossing the sea and a violent storm came up. The waves were breaking over the boat. The boat was filling up with water. It looked like they were going to die. They thought that they were going to die. Jesus was asleep. They woke Him up and said, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Certainly Jesus cared. He always cares. They were not going to perish. Not that way. Not at that time. They didn’t know that, but Jesus did. Then comes our verse. Jesus calms the sea and the storm stops. It becomes perfectly calm. The only thing that wasn’t calmed was the nerves and the heart of the disciples. Once afraid of the storm, they were now afraid of Jesus. It’s one thing to cure an illness, but to control the weather? To change the weather? Who can do that? Wet, shivering, scared, they look to Jesus and wonder, “Who is He?”

 

I have often wondered who Jesus was talking to when He said, “Hush, be still.” The wind and the waves are not alive. They do not have ears to hear. One cannot talk to the weather. It’s similar to the creation story when God said, “Let there be light.” There was only God at the moment. Who was He talking to? In both cases, God was not talking specifically to a person, but bringing His will to be. God wanted light and there was light. Jesus wanted the storm to calm and it became calm. By saying those words, “Hush, be still,” the disciples understood that it was Jesus who stopped the storm. It wasn’t some weird fluke of nature, it was Jesus. They heard Him. They saw the immediate results. There was no question that Jesus changed the weather. Right then, right there. Amazing. No one can do that. How many times do we have an outdoor activity planned and it’s raining, especially, a wedding. It would be great to change the weather. We can’t. How many times have we sat in airports with flights delayed or cancelled because of weather. It would be great to change that. We can’t. No one can stop clouds from rolling in. No one can stop rain. No one can make thunderstorms move out of the area. No one, but Jesus. He did. He did what no one can do. He did the impossible. He was always doing the impossible. There was nothing too hard for Jesus. There was nothing out of His league. He could do anything. He had all authority. Everything was subject to Him. Everything obeyed Him.

 

There might be another lesson in Jesus saying, “Hush, be still.” The winds obeyed Him, but there was a need for the disciples to hush and be still. That’s hard when one is in the panic mode. Fear keeps us from being still. It isn’t always storms that causes that, but the uncertainties in life. A noise in the middle of the night awakens you. You lie very still listening, trying to figure out what that noise was.

 

  • You haven’t been feeling well. The doctor orders a series of very intense tests. Now you are scared.
  • The company you work for has announced some coming layoffs. Your boss wants to see you. You are scared.

 

The Psalmist said, “Be still and know that I am God.” Other versions uses the expression, “Cease striving.” Hush, be still. That’s a great thought for us. Be still.

 

Be still and be calm. How? How can we be still when our world is falling apart? How can we be still when things are up in the air and are so uncertain? How can we be still when we are frightened, unsure, and our nerves are on edge.

 

Jesus, after calming the sea, looked at those wet disciples and said, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They had Jesus. They had Jesus all the time. Jesus was with them in the storm. Hush, be still.

 

I wonder if that’s what God says of us. We get excited. We run around not sure what will happen, and God thinks, “Just hush. Be still. Do you not have faith?” You see faith and calm go together. Faith and confidence go together. What you don’t find is faith and worry together. Or, faith and fear together. The greater the faith, the less the worry and fear. The opposite is just as true. The greater the fear, the less the faith.

 

Hush, be still. It calmed the sea. It should have calmed some hearts. It’s what you and I need to remember. God is with us. God can do all things. We can get through these storms because of God. Hush, be still. Pray harder. Pray more. Get your eyes off the problems and put your eyes on Jesus.

 

Hush, be still. Those words are hard for those type A personalities. Being still isn’t in their vocabulary. High energy. Busy. Running. Full steam ahead is the way they operate. I know. I’m one of those types. Hush, be still, especially for our types. We can run right past Jerusalem. We can be going so fast that we don’t even notice Jesus in our boat. Hush, be still. Calm those nerves. Trust in the Lord.

 

It is interesting that Jesus miraculously calmed the storm, but He didn’t the disciples hearts. That is something that they would have to do through faith. Jesus gave them the reasons, but they would have to believe.

 

Hush, be still. You can almost hear Jesus saying, “Shhhh.” Maybe that’s what we need today. Maybe we need to find Jesus. Maybe we need to simply, “Hush and be still.”

 

It works on storms and it works on us!

 

Roger

 

12

Jump Start # 1474

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1474

Acts 9:5 “And He said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” 

  Recently I took a friend on a cemetery journey here in southern Indiana. We went to the old brick church and stood at the grave of Absalom Littell, one of the first preachers of New Testament Christianity in New Albany, IN. He died before the Civil War. Then we traveled to a little place outside of Salem, IN and walked through the woods to the old Blue River cemetery where John Wright was buried. He was a Baptist preacher that changed for the simple New Testament system. He was adopting the New Testament pattern early in Indiana history. All through this area are the histories of folks who changed and left creeds and doctrines of man for just the Bible and only the Bible. They patterned worship and organized the churches according to what the New Testament said. They wanted to be known simply as Christians, and nothing else. These early preachers, heroes, fueled a movement that spread throughout the Ohio Valley. Churches changed. A new spirit of simply doing things the Bible way grew and grew.

 

Our verse today fits in with all of this. It is taken from a conversation between Saul of Tarsus and the Lord. Saul was on a rampage. He was determined to stamp out and crush this growing movement called “Christians.” It must have amazed him that the leader, Jesus was killed and the movement grew. Prominent spokesmen, like Stephen were killed, and the movement kept growing. Saul took this personal. He was traveling from city to city to arrest and bring back both men and women who belonged to Jesus. He was on such a mission when the Lord appeared to him in a vision. Saul was blinded. He heard someone speaking to him but did not know who it was. Our verse reveals who the voice was. It was Jesus. It was the leader of this movement. It was the one that Saul thought was dead. Shortly, a preacher was sent to Saul. The vision did not save him. Talking to Jesus did not save him. Saul was taught about Jesus. He came to understand who Jesus was and he obeyed the Lord by being baptized. Saul changed. Instead of standing in the way of the progress of Christianity, he now believed and supported Christianity. He changed.

 

Change is hard. It is especially hard to change what one believes. There is a process that takes place. Underling this process is a humble and honest heart. The proud never change. The stubborn never change. Even with proof before them, they won’t change. But for the honest and the humble, change is possible.

 

The process begins by realizing that a person hasn’t been right. They thought they were, but they were not. Saul thought he was right in persecuting Christians. The Law of Moses supported putting to death blasphemers. That’s what Saul was doing. He had the law of God behind him. The problem is, Christians were not blasphemers. Christians were part of God’s plan. Christians belonged to Christ, God’s chosen Messiah. There were some dots that had to be connected. Prophesy fulfilled by Jesus. Understanding resurrection. Seeing that Jesus was how God was going to bless all the nations of the world, the promise to Abraham. Jesus was the seed of woman that was going to crush Satan’s head, the promise to Adam. Jesus was the son of David, the rightful heir to the throne. Saul had been wrong about Jesus. Saul had not understood things correctly. All this time he was fighting God. This is how change begins. A person sees that they are not right. Evidence from the Bible shows that. The lights come on. Now they are at the crossroads of what they ought to do. Do they ignore what they now know? Do they find excuses? Do they change?

 

The honest and humble change. They admit that they were not right. This is very hard for some. Many can’t do it. This not only means that they have been wrong, it brings in thoughts about their family. Their parents were wrong. Their brothers and sisters are wrong. How could this be? Why didn’t someone tell them before now?

 

This change is huge. For many, it means leaving a church that they have been a part of. That’s embarrassing and people ask all kinds of questions. The change means they now realize that they have not been worshipping God correctly. This change most often leads to the personal discovery that they were not saved. They thought they were. They were told that they were. But when they looked in the Bible, they realized what was taught in the Bible was not what happened to them. They discover that there is no “Sinner’s Prayer” in the Bible. They assumed it was. They were told that it was. But no one could ever actually find it. They were shocked to lean that they had to be immersed, as Saul of Tarsus did, to receive forgiveness. They were never told that. They were told that a person was saved based upon faith and only faith. But the Bible showed otherwise. All this time they thought they were saved and they were not. They learned that faith wasn’t the same thing as feelings. Faith was based upon the word of God and not an emotional experience. They were wrong all this time. That is huge.

 

This is where change really snowballs. From that moment, they begin to check other things that they always believed. The Bible becomes the proving ground. If it’s not in the Bible, why are we doing it? How the church raised money was questioned. How the church was organized was questioned. Even worship got a new look. Every night there was a feverous look in the Bible. New discoveries were found again and again.  Change came because they wanted to do what the Bible said. They wanted to be Bible right. When they asked family and others about former practices, no one could give them a correct Bible answer. No one seemed to care.

 

Saul changed. He realized what he was doing wasn’t right. He did what the Lord wanted him to do. If you have never read the book, “Muscle and a shovel,” I would encourage you to get that book and read it. It is the story of one man’s journey to learn the Bible way. See yourself in that book. It is the journey that many have already traveled. Better yet, just sit down and ask yourself why is it that I believe what I do? Look in your Bible and see for yourself. Be Bible right.

 

Change is hard. To know and not change is dangerous. God wants you to follow Him.

 

Roger

 

11

Jump Start # 1473

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1473

Acts 10:1-2 “Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually.”

 

Today is Veteran’s Day—the day this country honors those who served in our military. It was on this day, November 11th, at 11 o’clock, that a treaty was signed to end WW I. That war, it was said, was the war to end all wars. We know that didn’t happen. It is the courage and service of so many in our country that keeps us safe and allows our freedoms to continue on.

 

Our passage today is about a soldier from the first century. Cornelius was an officer in the Roman Empire. This chapter of Acts is devoted to his conversion to Jesus Christ. Cornelius was a gentile. It took a series of visions before Peter would be convinced to go and preach Christ to him.

 

There are a few things we see in our verse today.

 

First, it is easy to stereotype people. It’s easy to assume everyone is like this or that. This is true of military folks. The expression, “cussing like a sailor” implies that all sailors cuss. Not true. To assume that all military are a rough and mean bunch is not true. Even way back, look at Cornelius. Godly. Generous. Caring. And part of that powerful Roman Empire that crushed the world. A lot of stereotypical comments are just a step away from prejudice. Many of them are made in ignorance without knowing a person specifically. The same could be said of athletes, especially professionals. Can’t lump them all together. Can’t assume that they are all worldly, ungodly, beer drinking party animals. Some are Christians. Generalizing is easy but much too often unfair. We can do that for regions of the country. “Well, everyone knows about those people in California.” Really? Or, people from the South…be careful. This crosses over to religious generalizations. We can lump folks together and assume nobody is reading their Bibles today. Really? Why then has there been over 100 million downloads of Youversion—the online Bible app? One hundred million! Someone is reading. All Catholics believe…be careful.

 

Cornelius wasn’t the only centurion that seemed to have a heart that leaned toward God. Remember the centurion at the cross? Remember the one who came to Jesus and wanted the Lord to heal his crippled servant? He asked Jesus to just say the word. He understood authority. Soldiers with faith. It is possible.

 

Second, Cornelius was doing a lot of great things before he knew about Jesus. That is another thought some can’t seem to understand. Christians are not the only ones who do good deeds. Cornelius was giving, praying and serious about his faith. Yet he did not know Jesus. Peter is sent. Peter is sent because Cornelius is not saved. Praying alone will not save a person. The “Sinner’s Prayer,” is not in the Bible. Just being nice is not enough for salvation. Giving is important but that alone will not save a person. Cornelius needed Jesus. Peter came. Peter preached. Cornelius was baptized. Cornelius became a Christian.

 

I expect it’s hard for some to think that this man as described to us in our verse today was not already a Christian. It’s hard to think that the sweet grandma down the street is not a Christian.  The helpful neighbor, the kind co-worker, the generous boss, are all good people. They may listen to your woes. They may come when you need a helping hand. They show up at the funeral home. They may bring food when you are sick. They ask about your family. They really seem to care. It’s off the charts to think that these people are not Christians. This misunderstanding comes from how one defines a Christian. If your definition is nothing more than someone who is nice to you then you’ll see the world as filled with a lot of Christians. However, if you use the exclusive Biblical definition, where the word comes from, it means one who belongs to Christ. Such a person will through their faith obey the gospel of Jesus. They will have humbled themselves, repented of their sins, confessed Christ and been immersed for the remission of sins. That’s the thought of the great commission. That’s the result of Peter’s first gospel sermon in Acts 2. That’s what happens here to Cornelius. Good Cornelius became a Christian. Without Jesus, a person is not a Christian. Being nice, being generous, even praying, all illustrated by Cornelius, shows that one may still be outside of Christ and in their sins. We are buried with Christ in baptism is what the Romans were told. Saul was told to be baptized to wash away his sins. In Revelation, Jesus is introduced as one who washes away sins by His blood.

 

Our sins are not counter balanced by good deeds. Baking cookies for a friend doesn’t remove sins. It’s not living with the idea of doing more good than bad. God doesn’t have a heavenly scale that balances our good verses our bad. That’s a common idea. Doing more good than bad will get one into Heaven, is a thought that many have. First, that’s salvation by works. Second, that assumes bad is ok, just as long as I have more good than bad. That’s faulty. Bad is never ok. Third, that assumes the good deeds take care of the bad deeds. They don’t. Only the blood of Christ can forgive sins. Fourth, that lessens the seriousness of sin. The wages of sin is death, the Romans were told.

 

So, good ole’ Cornelius, who gave and prayed and feared God, had to obey Christ to be a Christian.

 

Hats off on this day to the many who have served the military in the past and are doing so now. Thank You! Hats off to those who have bowed their hearts to Jesus and have become a New Testament Christian.

 

Thanks, most of all to our Jesus. Without Him, we would be all in trouble.

 

Roger

 

10

Jump Start # 1472

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1472

2 Timothy 4:16 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.”

  The Bible comes to us much like an onion. There are the initial lessons and principles. Very obvious. Right there on the surface. You can’t miss them. But then one finds another layer of applications and lessons. Then one finds yet more layers of lessons. Like that onion, layers and layers of lessons. That’s what makes reading the Bible so fascinating. A person never gets all that there is to get. So many stop at the surface and are content with just the obvious. Looking at words, making applications, lowering your nets, as I like to say, thinking longer and deeper, opens the door to a wonderful world of so many more lessons. Now there is a caution that comes with this form of thinking and application. One cannot bypass nor miss the obvious lessons. Some are so eager to look for the obscure lessons that they ignore the obvious. Can’t do that. The doctrines, the principles are there for a reason and we must grasp those things.

 

Our verse today is from the last page that Paul would write by inspiration. He sits in a Roman jail. This is his second stint in that jail. He knows very soon that Caesar will order his execution. Earlier in the chapter Paul wrote, “The time of my departure has come.” Written as if he was talking about hopping on a plane to fly somewhere, his departure or exit, was from this world. He knew his time was up.

 

In our verse he reveals that he has already had one trial. “My first defense,” was the first time he stood before Caesar. There are three statements in this simple verse that I want to consider. It’s a sentence that we could easily pass over, but it speaks volumes to the spirit and attitude of Paul. It helps us.

 

First, no one supported me. At his first defense, he stood alone. No one. Like the Lord at His trial, Paul was by himself. That is concerning, when you remember all the names that Paul names in his letters. Romans 16 is full of names. At the end of every letter Paul is thanking people, naming people and connected to people. But here, when he needed others, he stood alone.

 

Second, worse still, Paul says, “all deserted me.” It’s one thing to think Paul was in Rome and everyone else was scattered elsewhere and they couldn’t get to him in time. That’s one thing. But Paul tells us why no one supported him, they all deserted him. In a moment when he needed them the most, they were not there.

 

Thirdly, and most surprisingly, Paul asks God and those that would read this letter, “not be counted against them.” Now this is the layer we must look at. Amazing spirit. Wonderful and forgiving attitude. Something most of us would do well to give some thought to.

 

People disappoint us. We invite people to come and they don’t show up. Not even a phone call telling that they can’t come. No one RSVPs anymore. We’ve had four weddings. Some who said they were coming didn’t. And some who never replied showed up. That’s tough on the father of the bride when he is paying for things. People tell you that they will be there for you, and they are not. People disappoint. Some desert. When you think you can count on them, they bail on you.

 

Most of us would get upset with people who disappoint. Most would write them off and not have anything to do with them again. In the family, such behavior leads to hurt feelings and arguments. In the church, these things are enough for some to pull stakes and leave. I don’t feel part of the group. No one includes me. The church has disappointed me. Finished with them, is our spirit. I’ll find another congregation. And we do that. For some, that isn’t an option. There isn’t “another congregation” close. So they either suffer silently or they simply throw in the towel and give up. They quit. They are not a part any longer. It’s hard to blame them. Hurt feelings don’t just heal immediately because someone says, “I’m sorry.” Broken trust. Betrayed confidence. Feeling left out. Ignored. Disappointment. We expect more and better from fellow Christians. We  tend to believe, and rightly so, that they ought to act and treat others better than the world does. In fact, sometimes the world shines brighter than other Christians do. There has been times when it was those who were not Christians that brought the food, came to the funeral home and were with a family. The church family was no where to be seen. Disappointed. Disillusioned. Defeated.

 

The more we dwell upon those things the madder we become. The hurt intensifies. It’s hard being with those who disappointed you.

 

Our Paul has a different spirit. He didn’t want anyone to think less about those who neglected him. Don’t hold it against them. May it not be counted against them. Don’t mistreat them because they mistreated Paul.  To the very end the apostle was manifesting and illustrating the spirit of forgiveness and kindness. Forgiveness is easy to preach. The hardest thing is when you have someone to forgive. Do you do it? It sure seems that way here with Paul.

 

Certainly their desertion hurt Paul. Alone in the prison. Soon to die. It would have been great to have some to come and pray with him. Where was Silas, who years before, sat in a prison with Paul and at midnight were singing praises to God. Wouldn’t that have been great to happen again for Paul. Not this time. No Silas. No singing. Instead of dwelling on this and letting it eat him up, Paul let it go. Paul did not count it against them in his heart and he certainly didn’t want God nor anyone else to do the same. Let it go. That’s more than a hit song from the Frozen movie, it’s exactly what Paul did. He was a master of that. He told the Philippians that he let go of the past. He wasn’t plagued by the past. Forgiven. Changed. Paul moved on. Let it go, is what he did. Peter told his readers to do the same when it came to our worries. Cast them upon the Lord. Let the go. Give it to God. Stop clinging to those things that eat away at your faith.

 

Someone disappoint you? That’s not hard to find. You’ll see people at work who do that. They get a paycheck but they barely work. They spend the day shopping on line, talking on the phone, gossiping with co-workers, playing computer games and barely working. You’re there and you bust it all day long. You are honest. You give your best. They don’t do anything. It’s enough to fry the bacon. But don’t. Let it go.

 

The same can happen at worship. Here comes this one family and they are late. They are always late. Move the clocks back and they still are late. Your bacon starts frying. It’s enough to ruin your worship. But don’t. Let it go. Or, he’s the guy who can’t sing. He’s terrible. Worse he feels that he must sing loud. The louder he is, the worse he is. Smell the bacon frying. Don’t. Let it go.

 

It could be someone in your house that really gets to you. Maybe it’s the teenagers. Somehow they can’t make it to the closet so everything they own falls to the floor. The room is trashed. What a mess. The bacon is really overcooked. Don’t. Parent as you should. But don’t let it destroy you. Let it go.

 

People disappoint. People let us down. Our verse reminds us of how the apostle dealt with it. This helps. Others let us down, and we can’t get over it. We think about it for months and months. It grows and festers within us. We nearly blow our tops because of it. Let it go. May it not be counted against them.

 

Paul wanted those who deserted him to continue to be used in the kingdom. He wanted them to be supported by the churches. He didn’t want others to do what they had done. May it not be counted against them.

 

Do you think you could say that? May it not be counted against them. Do you think you could live that way?

 

 

When real bacon is frying it sure smells great. When the bacon happens to be our moods, spirits and attitudes, then it becomes an awful smell and a real mess.

 

May it not be counted against them…

 

Roger

 

 

09

Jump Start # 1471

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1471

Matthew 16:9 Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?

  Matthew 16 is an important chapter, they all are! It is here that Peter makes the great confession about Christ. It is here that Jesus introduces the concept of the church. It is here that the line of authority going to the apostles is expressed. It is also here that Jesus tells the disciples that He will killed and raised up on the third day. It is here where Peter rebukes Jesus for saying that and the Lord telling Peter, “Get behind Me Satan.” It’s a packed chapter. Great stuff. Powerful lessons.

One lesson that is overlooked with all the other great things going on in this chapter is the forgetfulness of the disciples. They launch out to cross the sea. Jesus and the twelve are in the boat. Jesus begins to warn them about the Pharisees and the influence of the Pharisees. The twelve realize that they forgot to bring any food. Mark tells us that they had one loaf of bread among them. Jesus is teaching some very important principles. The disciples are not listening. They are talking among themselves about food. How typical. How close this sounds to us. More worried about our bellies than anything else, they stopped listening to Jesus. It is here that our verse is found. This story is repeated in both Mark’s and Luke’s Gospel. We don’t have anything to eat. What are we going to do?

Our verse has Jesus reminding them of what had happened so recently. A large crowd had gathered, more than 5,000 people. Jesus told the disciples to feed them. All they could find was a kid’s snack—a few dried fish and some bread. But with that, the Lord fed the 5,000 until they were satisfied and the left overs filled twelve baskets. If that is not impressive enough, shortly after that he nearly repeated the same miracle by feeding 4,000. And here in the boat they have twelve disciples and one loaf. More than that, they have Jesus. That’s the point. He will take care of them. He has proven what He can do. He has shown His power. He can change substance, such as making water into wine. He can multiply food. Why worry, they have Jesus.

Most concerning, it seems to Jesus is that they forgot. His words, “Do you not yet understand or remember…” Jesus would not allow them to drown in a storm. He would not allow Peter to down in the sea. He would not allow them to go hungry. He would take care of them. This was a trust issue. Remembering builds trust. Forgetting opens the door to doubt, fear and unsettling thoughts.

Yet, are these twelve not you and I? Bellies first, souls second. Thinking about food when we ought to be listening. Forgetting the things that Jesus has done for us. Forgetting.

Part of our worship on Sundays is to take the Lord’s Supper. The words on most tables state the Lord’s principle, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Remember Me. I wonder, if we did not have the Lord’s Supper each week, if we would tend to forget? I wonder if our thoughts would gravitate to our bellies, our needs, our jobs, our homes, our happiness and we would forget that the Lord has taken care of us. The Lord has been there for us. The Lord has answered prayers for us. The Lord has forgiven us. Remember? Have we forgotten?

The look back helps with the look forward. It is when we forget what the Lord has done in the past that we get unsure and we feel alone and helpless. The Lord is with us. Do you remember any of your prayers from last year? Praying for the kids? Praying for health of babies and friends? Praying for jobs? Praying for parents? Did the Lord answer any of those prayers in a way that you wanted? Do you remember? Do you remember encouragement from Scriptures? Maybe you were down. Maybe things were not going well. Some one shared a passage that seemed to be written just for you. My it helped back them. It got you back on your feet again. It reminded you that God is merciful. It reminded you that God loves. It reminded you that God wasn’t finished with you.

We forget. We get in that boat with the twelve and we start complaining about food. We forget that the Lord is with us. We forget that the Lord will help us. If we could only remember. If those twelve disciples only remembered. Imagine the story if Peter, it would be Peter first, in a panic mode, cried out that we have nothing to eat. Imagine Andrew pulling out the one loaf. Andrew was the one who found the kid with the fish and bread. Andrew has bread. The rest say, “that’s not enough.” The boat rocks with misery and complaints. John looks to Jesus and says, “But we have Jesus.” Immediately, everyone remembers. That didn’t happen in the Gospel but it could happen to you.

Remember. Remember what you learned yesterday in worship. Remember the songs you sang in praise. Remember the prayers offered. Remember the hope. Remember the many faces that gathered to praise. Your Monday goes smoother when you put a little bit of Sunday into it. Don’t forget. Don’t toss out yesterday. Our journeys can seem a lot longer and a lot more difficult when we forget that Jesus is with us.

Simple thoughts—I hope they help you today.

Roger