Jump Start # 1500

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

  We have reached another milestone with our Jump Starts. Today is # 1500. We started this little journey five years ago, and it seems to be gathering more and more steam as we go along. Our readership is at an all time high, with close to 3,000 reading these. These Jump Starts are found on Facebook, churches websites, planning books, and bulletin articles. When I travel to new places, it seems that the Jump Starts have gotten there before I have.

Just a couple of thanks are in order before I say something about our verse today.

First, thanks to the amazing Charlestown Road congregation. Their belief and support in this project is astonishing. They were and remain the main audience that I write to. They are responsible for the word getting out and spreading these to family and friends. Our Jump Starts have crossed the oceans and are read overseas. That is amazing! I have a file folder full of cards and emails sent to me about our Jump Starts. Thank you!

Second, thanks to the Lord for allowing this to take place. So many have stated that something written through this avenue has helped them, taught them or simply lifted their spirits. I am glad that the Lord can use this to help you.

At every milestone, my dear friend, Jim would call me and we would have a long talk about how long this little project ought to continue. Jim has now moved on to where the Lord is. I will miss talking to him today. I plan to continue writing through 2016, if the Lord allows, and then we will see if there is much left in me to keep this going. I am thankful for the good that this has done. It has certainly exceed anything I had expected.

Now our verse. The heavenly host in Heaven bows to the Almighty upon the throne. God is worthy of our praise. God is worthy of our thankfulness. God is worthy of our complete devotion to him. The praise to the Lord follows the blessings, gifts and goodness of God. The Lord has proven Himself. The Lord has shown Himself to be trustworthy. The Lord keeps His word. The attention in the early pages of Revelation is upon the throne. The Heavenly scene is so different than what most imagine today. We hear, even at funerals, fanciful ideas of chocolate, golf, fun and games and pets in Heaven. Books have been written by those who claimed that they saw Heaven. Their writings are contrary to the Bible and are without proof. They support a selfish “serve me” concept of Heaven. One would think that it is we who are on the throne. We get the impression that God is praising us. That’s not the picture at all. That’s not what the Bible says at all. It is God who is in the center. It is God who is upon the throne. The attention is upon the Lord.

This is not a unique concept. This is what was supposed to have happened in the Temple worship in the O.T. Ancient Israel, seemed to have forgotten that. Later on, that is the scene that should take place as the church worships God. The center of the worship is God. We ought to leave with our eyes and heart full of God. In Isaiah’s vision, he declared, “My eyes have seen the King.” That’s the way it ought to be for us as we leave worship. Our eyes have seen the King. That image, and that impression, ought to move us and change us. His goodness and His holiness ought to make us want to be better ourselves. His love ought to make us realize that we are not “nobodies”. God knows us and loves us.

Something is wrong when we leave worship worse than we came in. Fussing and fighting and positioning ourselves is an indication that we have taken our eyes and our attention off of the Lord. How can someone sit through worship and then within an hour act so mean and hateful? How can someone sit through worship and remain selfish and greedy? How can someone sit through worship and leave complaining? Could it be that God was not the center of our attention? Could it be that God was left out?

Worthy are You…He is and He will always be.

Roger