Jump Start # 1800

Hebrews 11:39-40 “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

Today’s Jump Start reaches another milestone—number 1800. WOW! That’s hard for me to believe. That is a lot of writing. This Jump Start journey started seven years ago as a thirty day experiment. I never dreamed that I would still be writing these seven years later, nor that they would be so widely read and used. Jump Starts have found their ways into sermons, classes, bulletin articles and have been passed on to others dozens and dozens of times. There are now 19 Jump Start books that we have compiled based upon themes. As we reach yet another milestone, I want to thank you the readers. It is because of you that I continue to write these each week.

Milestones are important in life. Certain birthdays are milestones. “Big ones” is when a person reaches 40 or 50 years of age. It’s a milestone. There are other milestones in life that we may not talk so much about, but they are important. The number of years at your job is a milestone. The amount of weight that you loss through your diet is a milestone. Running farther than you ever have before, is a milestone. Reaching a financial goal is a milestone. Graduating from college is a milestone. These little victories come with diligence, hard work and sacrifices. Behind each of these milestones are hours and hours of hard work. But looking back, with great satisfaction and achievement, it was well worth it.

God has His own milestones that we pull from the Bible.

• Moses was the most humble
• Solomon, the smartest
• Sampson, the strongest
• Job, blameless
• Noah, righteous

Hebrews 11—is another section of great milestones in Biblical history. It’s a walk through O.T. history. It’s a hall of fame of Bible greats. There is one thread connecting all of these lives, names and stories and that is faith. They walked by faith. Most of the names listed in Hebrews 11 suffered. Their journeys were made up of choices. The details of many of these lives shows flaws and mistakes and sins, yet they carried on in faith. They are listed on this page as those who gained approval. These are the ones who God gave a thumbs up to. They pleased the Lord. They illustrate for us that we too can do the same. It is a matter of walking by faith in the Lord that we love.

Hebrews 11 also leaves out a few important milestones. The first is always important. You remember some of your “firsts.” Your first car. Your first date. Your first house. Your first “real” job. There is somethings special about those “firsts.” There are several Bible “firsts” that are missing from Hebrews 11.

• The first man, Adam, is not named here
• The first high priest, Aaron, is not named here
• The first king of Israel, Saul, is not named here
• The first temple builder, Solomon, is not named here

Being first isn’t as important as being faithful. It’s the everyday simple choices that we make that illustrate our walking in faith that catches the eye of the Lord. The choice to not say what you feel like saying. The choice to help someone when no one else is. The choice to encourage someone. The choice to invite someone to services. The choice to spend time with your kids when you are tired. The choice to give a little more money to help the kingdom. The choice to volunteer to teach a class. The choice to stick around after services and shake some hands. The choice to help a neighbor clean up his yard.

Choices…made every day. Choices shaped and formed by faith. Choices that help us remain righteous. Choices that allow us to shed some light to help others. The names found in Hebrews 11 are people like you and I who every day had to make choices. Some were big, such as Moses’ parents refusing to heed to the king’s edict. Or, Moses, refusing to stay in the Egyptian palace and instead, became a nomad with the people of God. Simple choices, such as how David spent his time as a shepherd. Choices, like Rahab hiding the spies. Choices, like Joseph who refused to be crushed by sexual temptation. Walking by faith governs our choices. Little choices, like what I will wear today. Big choices, like who someone marries or what they will do in life.

Our faith helps us with our choices. The more we are thinking, the more we are careful, the more we build our faith, the more these choices will turn out right. We see some who have made wrong choices. We look in our past and we remember times when we have done the same things. We said things that we shouldn’t have. We were at places that we shouldn’t have been. Those moments, those wrong choices, are times when we weren’t using our faith. We weren’t thinking. We didn’t consider God. We remember. We see. All of that helps us even more to stay the course and to continue to walk with the Lord.

Thank you, friends, for helping us reach this great milestone of 1800 Jump Starts. Just yesterday, someone asked me, “How do you do this every day?” There is no real answer. I just do it. God has blessed me and gifted me in ways that even surprises me. If the elders had asked me years ago, when I first thought about moving here to write a daily devotion, everyday, I probably would have been so scared that I would have turned down the opportunity to move. Our Jump Starts are a living example of trying something. Taking a risk. Pushing yourself. Doing something that you hope will turn out well. Who knows what others can and will do when they try things.

There is a wonderful team of folks and a congregation that financially makes all of this possible. None of this would have worked without all of them. I hope that in this collection of writings, that I now realize will outlive me, that you have found some comfort, encouragement and hope to continue to walk by faith.

Thank you,

Roger