08

Jump Start # 1929

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1929

Acts 12:2 “And he had James, the brother of John put to death with a sword.”

A Jump Start reader asked, “Why does faith waiver after the death of a fine Christian, especially when they pass suddenly?” The reader tells of the sudden passing of a preacher. His question took me to our verse today.

 

James, the brother of John died. He wasn’t just the brother of John, he was one of the chosen, one of the apostles. And, he didn’t just die. He was executed. He was murdered. King Herod arranged this. It was another of Herod’s family that executed John the Baptist.

 

Up to this point, the apostles had been arrested, occasionally beaten but some how they always escaped. Prison doors opened and they got away. But not this time. James, the apostle dies. What a crushing blow this must have been to the early church. If God didn’t protect the apostles, was any one safe? It looked like God turned His back and it looked like the enemy was going to win. Crush the leaders and usually a moment falls apart.

 

There are days in our journey with Christ that are very exciting and uplifting. Baptisms are like that. Having guest preachers are like that. Our singing is robust. Our prayers are earnest. The feeling is upbeat. But then there are the other days. The clouds seem to hang right above the auditorium. The mood is dark. The singing is slow and pitiful. No one feels like singing. No one can move past the fact that someone special is missing. A beloved elder has passed away. A preacher, still active and strong, has passed. A teenager has been killed. We understand that this is a part of life, but what a funk this puts us in. Walking back into the church building is so hard. People question whether or not they can recover from this. And filling the hearts is the question, “Why?”

 

The death of James reminds us of several important truths.

First, we know all too well from Hebrews 9:27, that there is an appointed time for death. The thing about that appointment, we are rarely ever ready for it. Death doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if a person is ready or not, death comes. It doesn’t matter how important the person is. It doesn’t matter how busy a person is. It doesn’t matter what projects remain unfinished. There have been books that were never finished because the author died. There have been uncompleted symphonies, paintings, school years and even sermons because of death. Death doesn’t care how young a person is. Death doesn’t care what desolation it leaves upon a family, or, a church. Death doesn’t care how good a person is. Death simply doesn’t care.

 

Second, the death of the apostle James reminds us that the kingdom is larger than all of us. The kingdom survived without James. It survived after Peter died. It survived after Paul died. It will survive after you and I are gone. Now, within a congregation, the death of an elder may end the eldership for a while. The death of a preacher may make things difficult for a while. But even with that, things move on. Often, death will cause others to step up and fill in. It may lead to others using a talent that they didn’t even know that they had.

 

Third, as to the “why,” the immediate answer is because we live in a broken world. This world is not our home, we sing. Because of sin, the world is cursed. Death, disease, disasters are part of a broken world. As I write this, yet another hurricane is nearing American shores. We haven’t recovered from the last one. Problems, trials and tragedies are often like that. They don’t wait in line, one at a time. Often we are hit all at once and from several directions at the same time. Problems at home. Problems at work. Problems at church. Problems with our health. Problems with our finances. Here they come, all at the same time.

 

This answer doesn’t satisfy us. We want to scream, “It’s not fair.” And, it isn’t. God has never promised safety for his people. You and I pray for isolation from problems. We want hurricanes to turn and get out of our world. Instead, God wants us to weather storms. He wants us to build our foundations upon Him, the rock. There are things we learn and see in the darkness of the night that we can never see in the sunshine. We must stop believing the myth that we can somehow turn things around to make our world Heaven. That will never be. There will always be tears, pain, sorrow and death here. There is no pill that can take those things away. Our world is broken. Our hope, is not in here, but there. Our hope is with the Lord. Our hope is a world in which there are no tears, sorrow, pain or death. That world is Heaven.

 

Fourth, Jesus said at the end of His great sermon that wind, rain and floods come to all of us. It comes to those who have built upon the sand and it comes to those who have rightly built upon the rock. Having the right foundation did not prevent the storms from coming. They came. But faith in the Lord enabled them to stand and remain standing during the storms. These storms come in many fashions. Sometimes they are literal storms, like hurricanes. Sometimes they are emotional storms. Sometimes they are broken hearts.

 

Finally, the death of a righteous person is considered a blessing by God. They are through with this crazy world. No more temptation. No more Satan. No more dealing with the things that plague us. They are blessed to be home with the Lord. They are the lucky ones. It’s the rest of us who must carry on that is hard. It’s hard to pick up after the death of a mate. It’s hard to fill that pulpit after the death of a preacher. It’s hard to keep leading the flock after the death of an elder. Righteous people leave a mark upon our hearts. Honor them. Take some time to reflect. But do, as they would want us to do, and get right back into the fight of things. Keep preaching. Keep leading. Keep helping the people of God. Don’t quit until God calls us.

 

There is something interesting about the death of James. He was the first apostle to be martyred. His brother, John, was the last apostle to die. Brothers. First and last. John had to carry on a long time without James. The two of them were part of that special trio with Peter. Peter, James and John. They, alone, witnessed the transfiguration. They, alone were allowed into the bedroom of Jairus’ daughter and saw Jesus bring her back from the dead. They alone were allowed to be close to the Lord in those garden prayers. Peter, James and John. Now, James was gone. I wonder what John felt. I wonder if it was hard to keep going. But he did. He would later write three letters and pen the last book of the New Testament, Revelation. In that grand throne scene, near the end of the book of Revelation, John sees the dead standing before the throne. Among the dead that he would have seen was James, his brother.

 

God is counting upon us to be His hands, feet and mouth in this generation. We must work and work hard until He calls us home. We must never stop. Wipe a tear from your eye if you must, but then roll those sleeves up higher, and get back at it. Preach. Teach. Show. Live. Become. That’s our duty. That’s what we must do.

 

We stand in the shadows of James.

 

Roger

 

 

07

Jump Start # 1928

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1928

1 John 3:11 “For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

I was doing some digging around in 1 John, the other day. The word “love” is found 26 times. There is the “God is love” passages and a warning to love not the world, but the majority of these verses are about loving one another. Christians loving fellow Christians. Over and over it is repeated to love one another. Our verse today states that you have heard this from the beginning. From the beginning of your learning about Christ, it has always been a love based faith. God so loved the world. We are to love one another.

 

Why? Why was this necessary to repeat so many times? Why this late in the New Testament? You’d think by the time this book was written, folks would know. Why do we have to be told over and over to love one another?

 

John doesn’t specifically tell us why. Obviously, this was important and this was needed. Here are some thoughts:

 

First, the church is like a family. Unlike friends who we choose to be with, we are born into a family with brothers and sisters. Had we not been in that family, those people may not have been our friends. We grow to like and love those people because they are our family. The church is much like this. We don’t choose who will be a member. If we are doing what God says, we are preaching the Gospel to everyone. Everyone is invited. Everyone is welcome. Now that brings people that we may not have chosen to be our friends. That brings people with different colors and different backgrounds than our own. That brings people with different ages than ours. It brings in the single person as well as the single parent. It brings in the senior citizen as well as the teenager. It brings in those who have had a rough background and those who came from good homes. Here we all are in one big church family. Back then, it was Jews and Gentiles. It was masters and slaves. Both groups would not normally socialize or even chit-chat with each other. But now, we have all become family because of Christ. His blood has saved us all and now we are connected in a church family, a congregation. It’s important that we love. It’s important that every person feels accepted, wanted and needed.

 

Second, it’s very easy to love only those that are like me. Jews would love Jews. Masters would love masters. Gentiles would love Gentiles. But this forms separations and groups and is nothing like what Jesus did. Look who He chose to be apostles. There were some from Galilee and one from Judea. There was a tax collector and a Jewish zealot. There were fishermen and non-fishermen. There were two sets of brothers and the rest were not related. There were partners in business and the rest who were not in business with each other. Such an odd mixture. Maybe a mini picture of what the church would be like. Unity and fellowship are built upon connecting with each other and working with each other. We are to be the body of Christ. The body works together. The body needs every part. Thus, love one another. This means crossing the boundaries to people who are not like me. This means sharing, caring and loving those who are different than I am. Love one another.

 

Third, every generation needs to learn these lessons. Our verse states, “you have heard from the beginning.” While this is true, we forget. We may have “heard” it but have never practiced it. New faces, new people all have to learn these old truths. The good a church does can be ruined by one generation that becomes standoffish and refuses to love one another. It’s pretty easy to sense when love is missing. There are a lot of whispering going on. Suspicious eyes are always quick to catch who is talking to who and who is sitting where. Tension is thick when love is missing. There is a hidden message that some are not welcomed there. All the good that church will try to accomplish will be limited because love does not abound. John says to love one another.

 

Fourth, Satan will do all that he can to destroy a church. He’ll fire the cannons of false teaching. That will catch a few. He’ll throw trouble and chaos. That’ll snag a few. He’ll attack the leaders. He’ll try to take out the next generation of leaders. But his greatest weapon is when a church lacks love for each other. Let a church turn on itself. Internal fussing and fighting and a good ole’ fashioned dispute among the people will lead to division and it will stop the good that it is doing. The focus will shift to the problems. All the energy will turn to which side ought one to be on. Ugly things will be said. Accusations will fly. Forgiveness, grace and love will be forgotten. And when the dust settles, if anyone has survived, there are generally folks who have quit, kids who grow up with this sour taste in their mouths about Christians and often times two struggling churches that are on life support. And, Satan smiles. He sucked the love out of their hearts and now they have turned on each other like bitter enemies. He has accomplished just what he intended. John says, “Love one another.”

 

Love one another does not mean change each other. Of course, we all have to become like Christ. We all are to walk in righteousness and develop the heart and characteristics of Christ. But with that, a Jewish Christian back then didn’t have to start liking pork. He may never eat pork. The Gentile would. Love each other. Those things don’t have to change. Some like country music. Some like opera. Some like the 60’s rock ‘n roll. Some don’t care. Love each other. Some like staying home. Some are barely home. They are always out doing things. Some are indoor people. Some live outdoors. Some like reading. Some don’t. Some like to eat out. Some like home cooked meals. Some like just a family at a time over. Others like a house full. Some think Philippians is the greatest book of the Bible. Others like Proverbs. Some like more hymns than preaching. Others like more preaching than hymns. Some like practical sermons. Some like textual sermons. Love others does not mean I have to change who I am. As long as we both are walking with the Lord, we’ll have our unique differences and our likes and dislikes, but we can still join hand and in hand, love each other, work together and worship as one. We, with our differences, can still be one in mind, one in voice and one in heart. With our differences, we are still united in one purpose and that is the glory of God. We, with our differences, want the kingdom to grow. We, different as we are, can learn from each other, encourage each other and help each other. We, with our differences, need each other.

 

John’s words are, “love one another.” That makes a lot of sense. This needs to be preached more and practiced often. Prodigals will come home when they know that they are loved. Young men will get up and try things when they know that they are loved, even if they make a mistake. When love abounds, you’ll find a lot of forgiveness. When there is love you’ll see smiles and hugs. Where there is love, you’ll find Christ in the heart.

 

It’s not always easy to love each other. Some days we have a hard time loving ourselves. It’s what God wants and for that, we will. We will go out of our way to talk to those we don’t normally talk to. We’ll include those who are different than we are to our home. We’ll tolerate the odd personalities. We’ll put up with the guy who tells the dumbest jokes or his stories go on forever. We’ll do that, because first, God puts up with us, and they also, put up with us.

 

Love one another. John wrote it often, probably because we need to be reminded.

 

Roger

 

06

Jump Start # 1927

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1927

Psalms 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds. There is no one who does good.”

 

The fool has said. The fool declares. The fool is wrong. What an interesting and revealing statement, ’The fool has said in his heart…” The word “Fool” is one of the strongest and most condemnable words God uses towards a person. We remember in Luke’s Gospel, the farmer who was going to tear down his barns and build larger ones. He died that night. God declared, ‘You fool. This very night your soul is required of you.” You fool. Here in our verse today, the word ‘fool’ comes from the Hebrew word Nabal, the name of the man who was married to Abigail. She called her husband a worthless man. He was a man of folly.

 

There are some things for us to note about the fool who declares that there is no God.

 

  • The fool who says this is ignoring evidence all around him. His eyes are closed. There are questions he cannot answer. The heavens declare the handiwork of God. The gentiles were said to be “without excuse” for not knowing God through his creative world. Paul said that these things were “clearly seen.” More than that, how does the fool explain the Bible. A product of man? Really? Legends and stories that have been edited and strung together. Really? Where’s that proof? Why have people died believing this book? Why has this book so shaped the thinking of man, governments, the arts, music, literature as no other book has? How does the fool explain fulfilled prophecy? How does the fool explain the references to things in the natural world that were not known until modern times? The fool declares his ignorance.

 

  • The fool isn’t dumb. It’s easy to put the two together. But the fool who declares that there is no God may well have several academic degrees. He may have authored books. He may lecture at prominent universities. He may be well known. He may have a following. He may be on TV often. His name may be a household name. Yet, he is still a fool because he declares there is no God. All his learning has not helped him to know the Lord. He has mastered in the very things that destroy faith.

 

  • This fool most times influences others, especially if he is a professor at a university. His closed eyes have led others to closing their eyes. His misunderstanding of the Bible has led him to conclude that God does not exist, because if He did, the world would be a better place. He doesn’t understand sin. He doesn’t understand the consequences of sin. He doesn’t understand that he is part of the problem in all of this. He proudly believes that matter is eternal, even though there is no proof of that. Without any explanation, he believes things started moving and all the elements were lined up at the right moment for a big bang to take place that started all of the evolutionary models. What he can’t answer is “Who was the big banger?” How did these things just get lined up and started? Like the ole’ pied piper, thousands dance to the song that the fool plays.

 

  • The theology of the fool is do whatever makes you happy. Transgender, same-sex marriage, abortion, suicide, all of these fit easily into the thinking of someone who has no responsibility to anyone else. If there is no God then ultimately there are no rules. Do what you want. Nothing is ever wrong. Truth is never absolute. This sounds awesome for a world that leans toward the selfish side of life. Drink it if you want. Smoke it if you want. Do whatever you want. Get all you can get and do all you can do. In the theology of a fool, we are not much different than a dog and when we die, that’s it.

 

For the Hollywood set and the elite, that flourishes in riches, this foolish gospel is what they live for. But for everyone else, it is a life of misery. This is as good as it gets? We struggle. We suffer. What is there to hope for? What is there to live for? The life of the common fool is long, hard and without much to look forward to. It ends in a nursing home and a few friends that show up at the funeral and that’s it. What’s the point? What’s the purpose? The fool doesn’t know.

 

  • The fool will find out five minutes after he has died that he was truly a fool. He will know that Jesus was right. He will know that the Bible spoke the truth. He will know that eternity is real and it’s so different than here. And, he will know that he is responsible for where he is. It will be too late for the fool to change. The footprints that he has left will lead others to follow in his same foolish ways. Too proud to admit he was wrong. Too smart to need God. Too intellectual for the Bible. After he dies, he will see what a fool he has been. What a mistake he made. What a wasted life he lived. He didn’t have to die like a fool. He didn’t have to be cast away from God forever. But his hard heart and closed ears refused to consider anything else. He lived thinking he was on top of the world. He lived mocking those who believed in God. He loved to point out the failures of Christians. He loved to discredit the Bible. Now, he would take it all back. Too late. Too late to warn others. Too late to save himself. What a fool he was.

 

  • Because the fool says, does not mean that he is right. He is not right. The evidence against him is huge. Not only is he not right, because the fool says, does not mean we need to give him a listening ear. The fool will use social media to proclaim his foolishness. He will line up friends to stack the deck against the believer. He will find safety in numbers. The fool isn’t right and the fool doesn’t need to be listened to.

 

Life without God seems like freedom for many people. But “no God,” means we are on our own. It means there is nothing beyond us to help us. It means this is it. Life without God is sad. There is no one to pray to. There is nothing beyond the grave to hope for. It is a long struggle that ends in nothingness.

 

I like the story of a guy who went to the funeral of an atheist. He looked in the casket and said, “He’s all dressed up with no place to go.” That’s the thinking of the fool. But the Bible says otherwise. Believe it or not, death isn’t the end. There are things much worse than dying and that’s being thrown into eternity without God. No prayers. No comfort. No hope. Nothing but punishment.

 

The fool has said. Maybe it’s time for the fool to stop talking and do some listening. Maybe it’s time for the fool to ask some real questions. Maybe it’s time for the fool to look into the Bible and think for himself. It’s time for the fool to declare that the Lord is God. Then and only then, will he stop being a fool.

 

Roger

 

 

05

Jump Start #1926

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1926

Acts 11:29 “And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.”

 

The destruction of hurricane Harvey is now being felt and witnessed throughout the world. Dozens and dozens of Christians have been affected. Many lost homes and cars and are a point in life that starting over seems nearly impossible. This may ruin some families. For this generation, this may be the greatest need we will ever see among our brethren.

 

Our passage today reminds us of a time that a prophet warned of a world wide famine. No water. No crops. Dying livestock. The brethren in Antioch sent money to the elders in Jerusalem to help the brethren. This is the pattern we follow to this day. We need to help our fellow man. This is what the good Samaritan story is all about. But churches help fellow members. The church money goes to brethren.

 

Some thoughts for all of us:

 

First, we are one large family of God. Although we worship in separate and independent congregations, we belong to each other through the blood of Christ. This is why hurting one another or trash talking one part of the family hurts all of the family. We are connected. This hurricane has impacted our family in Christ.

 

Second, the needs are enormous. Supplies, man power and especially money is needed. There are multiple sites listening the names of brethren who are in dire need. Paypay accounts and Gofundme accounts are easy ways for individuals to send money directly to our family in Christ. This is going to be a long process with many layers of needs. Just sending a check one time probably won’t be enough for this.

 

Third, real sacrifices need to be made. It may be necessary for some congregations to rethink some of their plans in order to help out our family in Christ. Spending thousands on new carpet for the auditorium, or send that same money to brethren in Texas? Carpet is nice and it’s probably needed, but maybe because of the circumstances, we can live with it for another year and help our brethren. As we head to fall Gospel meeting times, I challenge my fellow preachers to donate their meeting money to help our brethren. I have decided to do that with my remaining meetings this year. Folks in Texas need it more than I do.

 

A sacrifice hurts. A sacrifice costs. That’s the very idea of a sacrifice.

 

Fourth, abled bodied men who have ability may need to go to Texas to help. What better feeling than knowing here are some brethren from all over the country coming to help their brethren in need. Go knowing this isn’t a sight seeing trip. You need to plan to be dirty, wet and tired. Don’t go if you are going to stand around and take pictures. Go to help. Multiple groups with supplies are on the way down now. Consider taking your vacation to help these folks. This is something that they will forever be appreciative of and it is something that will change you forever.

 

Fifth, pray. Pray privately for these folks. Pray in our congregations for these folks. In a short while, maybe even this week, the news media will move on to the next hot story. Texas will still be suffering. Recovery is slow and tedious. Don’t forget our family in Christ.

 

Sixth, Biblically, the question comes up, why did God allow so many of His own people to suffer? Why did God allow His people to suffer from the famine that our verse talks about? Why did God allow His people to suffer in Egypt? The answer to this is that we live in a broken world. Since Adam ate the forbidden fruit, the world has been falling apart. Disease, disaster, crime, violence and tragedies have plagued this planet. The world groans for relief, Romans tells us. This isn’t Heaven. It never will be. As long as we are on this planet, we are subject to destructive weather, sins of others, and the steps necessary to bring about death. Our hope is not for a better planet but for a home with God. In Luke 13, we learn about the murder of Galileans who were worshipping and a tower that fell and killed 18 people. Jesus’ response? Repent. You repent. This is what life is like in a broken world. The innocent are not sheltered. People like Abel are murdered. Righteous people like Job suffer. If fingers need to be pointed, it’s not upward to Heaven, but it’s in the mirror to ourselves. We did not directly cause the hurricane in Texas, but we contributed to the world being broken by our own sin. I preached on this last Sunday evening. Someone afterward said, “If Adam had never sinned, then there would be no hurricanes?” I said, “in theory you are right. But in reality, I would have let you down, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

 

Seventh, being structured in independent congregations, as the New Testament teaches, can lead to isolation if one is not careful. We can stick our heads in the sand and only care about our specific people in our congregation and ignore everyone else. We could, but that’s not very loving. We could, but that wouldn’t please the Lord. We could, but reading our verse today ought to sting us about helping brethren elsewhere. Global communication allows us to be in touch world wide and fast these days. We can know. We can share information. We can help.

 

Finally, the simple golden rule reminds us that helping others, especially our brethren, our family in Christ, is the right thing to do. Next time, it may be us who are in need. What would you want done if it was your home, your cars and all your possessions that were lost?

 

I hope both individuals and congregations step up at this time. I hope folks will go above and beyond in helping others. I can only imagine someday in Heaven running into someone who embraces us and says “thank you, because of what you did years ago when I was in Texas. You made a difference to me.”

 

 

Share this Jump Start with others. Post and share this to encourage our family in Christ to help out. Print this in bulletins and get the word out. Our family is in need. Can we help? Will we help?

 

Let’s be generous! Let’s do it the Bible way!

 

Roger

 

01

Jump Start # 1925

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1925

Ezekiel 18:20 “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.”

It’s raining here today. It’s raining hard and it’s going to rain all day. We are finally getting what’s left of Hurricane Harvey. Our rains will be nothing like Texas. We will not have floods like Texas did. Yet, all these days later, we are experiencing what’s left of that massive and destructive hurricane.

That took me to our verse today. The prophet is showing in this chapter a series of generations. One does well and one does not do well. The choices of each person brings blessings or curses from Heaven. Ezekiel is showing the value of responsibility. We can’t ride into Heaven on the coattails of someone else’s faith. I know a man who regularly reminds me that his dad preached. But I don’t think dear ole’ dad would be very pleased with the choices that his son is currently making. He’s a mess. Boasting about the goodness of our parents doesn’t give us a pass for our wrong choices. The person who sins will die. That’s Ezekiel’s point. Responsibility falls upon the person who makes those choices. We do not inherit sin. Nor, do we inherit righteousness. We must all walk by faith in the Lord. That’s the principles being taught here.

But today it’s raining. There is an impact both sin and righteousness has upon others. While other people are not responsible for the choices that we have made, our choices will have an effect upon their lives. We sometimes call these the consequences. There are consequences of sinful living and there are consequences of living righteously. The rains from a week old hurricane can still impact areas far away from where the hurricane hit.

So, let’s look at both sides of this.

The consequences of a sinful life, a life lived without Jesus Christ. The first observation will be noted in the person who has chosen to live that way. His language, his attitude, his dress, his habits all reflect a life without God. He lives for self. He isn’t thankful, forgiving or serving. That’s the immediate. That’s the person who has chosen to live that way. But the consequences are seen all around him.

His influence isn’t goodness. As Jesus tells us to let our light shine and to do good works that the Father may be glorified, this won’t happen to the person living without Christ. He may in some emergencies, such as we witness in Texas, help others who are in an emergency, but what happens when the emergency is over? Does he continue to serve? He doesn’t lead people to goodness. He doesn’t bring the best out of people. The negative, the wrong, the sinful is what surrounds him.

His family suffers. They grow up not knowing God. The only time they hear God’s name is when it is blasphemed. Bibles are never opened. Prayers are never said. Worship is never attended. They may claim to believe, but they live as atheists. The children tend to be on the rougher side of things. At an early age, they are cussing. They only respect authority when they must. They grow up learning to use people and get what they want.

His choices further sins. Have you ever wondered why there is so much alcohol and so many raunchy movies? This is what people want. Businesses are driven by profits. If people didn’t buy these things, then companies would stop making them. There is a demand. There is a market for things that are wrong. The porn industry is huge. Why? Money is being made. This is the consequences of a life without Christ.

Why is there so much hatred and prejudice these days? This doesn’t come from folks following Jesus. It comes from hearts that have no direction and no teaching. This is a consequence of life without Jesus. The world becomes darker, meaner and less safe. The more that ignore Jesus, the more these things grow. Speeches, laws and politicians will not change these things. Only Jesus. This is the rain that comes from hurricanes. The man who chooses to ignore Jesus will be punished. But by his choices, others have been touched and affected.

The consequences of a righteous life. There are consequences. Walking with Jesus is a blessing and it is a blessing to others.

First, the home is made better. Love, fairness, truth, accountability, and forgiveness are found in a home that is led by righteous parents. The prodigal came home because he knew the nature of his father. The servants were treated well. Are the homes of righteous people perfect? No. Do they have bumps in their marriages? Yes. Do their kids make wrong choices? Yes. But goodness is the standard for the home. The attitudes are different. The language is different. What is expected is different. No back talking to anyone.

Second, Sundays are special in the homes of the righteous. It’s the day the family gathers with the church to worship God. Everyone is expected to be there. Singing, praying, compliments, helping and serving come from hearts that follow the Lord. The mood is different. There is genuine care for others.

Third, because of the influence of a righteous man, there is an atmosphere of goodness even at work. His influence can keep meetings from being hostile and ugly. His tone keeps office gossip minimal. He is noted for his hard work and his honest work. It raises the bar among others.

Fourth, he is known in the community as one you can count upon. His words and his integrity have been shown to be true and honest. He is liked by others. He is the baseball coach that talks to the kid who has trouble. He is parent who sticks around and helps after school meetings. He picks up trash in the neighborhood, simply because it’s the right thing to do.

There are consequences of our choices, not just with God but in all of life. We are leaving footprints. Others will remember us and know us for what we have chosen in life. Long after we are gone, people will remember what we have done. We leave examples to follow or we leave a trial of messes for others to deal with.

It’s raining here today. This is the consequences of a destructive hurricane several days ago. There are always consequences—good or bad.

Roger