09

Jump Start # 2012

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2012

Psalms 34:8 “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

Our congregation picks out a theme each year. All of our classes, our special meetings, our VBS and many of our sermons revolve around that central theme. This year it’s “Good news for tough times.” Tough times isn’t anything that’s new. All through the Scriptures we read about tough times. Famines and wars, persecution and oppression, prisons and fiery furnaces threated the people of God. And tough times is something that has been felt by many of us. Heartache, pain and disappointment are all too common for many homes.

 

I’ve been reading a little diary that my grandmother wrote. It’s worn, hard to read and her spelling makes it difficult to know just what she was talking about. My dad gave this to me with the hopes that I would transcribe it and we could have it for others in the family. So, I’ve been working my way through her daily entries. In March 1933, my grandma was 31 years old, married and had the two sons that she would have. She wrote on Monday March 6, “Monday morning and eggs are 8 cents and all of the banks are closed in the state. I don’t know what will happen next.” Just two months earlier, in January, she reported that eggs were selling for 23 cents. The bottom seemed to drop out. It was the depression. My grandparents were simple, country people. They were poor people. They had their vegetable garden and didn’t have to stand in soup lines like many people in the city did. That one line stood out for me, “I don’t know what will happen next.”

 

That probably has been repeated by many people. They guy who loses his job and has a mortgage and a family, “I don’t know what will happen next.” The woman who buries her husband and leaves the cemetery thinking, “I don’t know what will happen next.” Or, it could be the person who sits in the doctors office and hears the word, “Cancer.” “What will happen next,” he wonders. Tough times. Troublesome times. What will happen next?

 

I wonder, reading ‘what will happen next’, if that thought caused my grandma to lay awake at night. I wonder if her prayers were more fervent. Somehow she got through this. When I knew her, I was young and she was old. We didn’t get to have deep conversations about “what happened next.” But she was a Christian, a believer. Her faith, more than anything else is what got her through.

 

Our verse today is a great reminder for us when we do not know what will happen next. Four thoughts can be found in this amazing passage from Heaven.

 

First, God is good. What a great declaration. He is good. He gives good gifts. He sends blessings from Heaven. God does not delight in trouble. Death is His enemy, not His friend. Too many begin on the wrong foot with God. They start with the premise that God is mean or evil. They blame all the bad stuff on God. He’s not the one to point our finger at. It’s Satan who is wrong. It’s Satan who confuses us and causes us to blame a good God for things He never did. God is good.

 

Second, the Psalmist knew that God was good. He knew because he had tasted. Tasting God is an expression found in both the O.T. and the N.T. We can be like kids at the kitchen table. If they see something that they never had before, the first thing that they will do is to turn their nose up at it. Give it a try, mamma pleads. If it’s a veggie some won’t like it. If it’s green even more won’t like it. But how can one say that they don’t like it until they have tried it? How many are opposed to the Bible who have never read it? They have heard what others said, and based on that, they have turned their noses up at it. Or, they have had a bad experience with someone who wasn’t very serious as a Christian. Maybe the Christian was judgmental or offensive. The person assumes all Christians are like this. They are not. Jesus wasn’t.

 

How does one taste God? Try Him. Give Him a serious try. Not just two seconds. Find a congregation that is serious about following the Bible. Give them a try. Spend a hour in the gospel of Mark. Just an hour. Impressive. Remarkable. Amazing.

 

God is good because the Psalmist knew that. Do you know that?

 

Third, there is refuge in God. The word refuge means shelter. In a storm you try to find cover. What you find is a refuge. I was caught in a downpour last summer. I went from store overhang to the next store overhang. Refuge. We remember the “cities of refuge,” from the O.T. If someone accidently killed another person, they could beat it to one of the six cities of refuge and be safe there. If they left, the deceased family could get justice against them. Refuge.

 

In tough times, God is our refuge. He’s the one that brings comfort. So Paul said to the Thessalonians when talking about the death of Christians. “Comfort one another with these words,” is how Paul ended that section. A refuge. A place of shelter. A place of protection against the storm. The Scriptures are just that. They are a place of comfort. They are a place of shelter. Prayer is like that. We pour our hearts out to God, often filled with fear, fright and worry. We don’t know what will happen next. For my poor grandma, the price of eggs had fallen, the banks were closed and from history we know that it would take a World War to pull the nation together and out of that long depression.

 

When outside and a rain storm comes up, we run inside. When storms of life come, we run to God. He is good. He is our refuge. He will help. He will shelter us.

 

Fourth, the one who takes refuge in God will be blessed. He will find security, hope and life with God. The storms are intense, but greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Blessed because he turned to God. Blessed because he knew that God knows what will happen next. Blessed because he trusts God. Blessed because he knows that God is good.

 

My dear grandma wrote in 1946, “My, six years have gone by since I wrote, and what sad and troublesome years these have been. One of the awfulist war’s of my life. They took almost all of our boys around here, but thanks to the good Lord He sent them all back that is close to home except two.” Both of my grandma’s boys, one being my dad, were in that war. Tough times. Troublesome times. God is our refuge.

 

I tend to think every generation could write their own diary of tough times. Some barely make it though. Some don’t make it. Others seem to get along well. I never heard my grandma speak of those days. She found refuge in a God that loved her and saw that she trusted and believed in Him.

 

My troubles seem like nothing when I read her diary. It makes me think I complain too much and I have it too easy. I don’t know what I would do if all my boys were off in a war. I’d cry a lot. I’d pray more. I’d find refuge in God.

 

My sweet grandma got to hear me preach a few times before she left this world. I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful that her troubles are over. Someday ours will be as well, if we trust, walk and believe in the Lord.

 

Indeed, God is good.

 

Roger

 

08

Jump Start # 2011

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2011

1 Peter 4:4 “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you”

Surprises—life is full of them. Some are great, like birthday surprises or an unexpected visit from a dear friend. Great times. Other surprises are shocking, such as, the wife who discovers that her husband has been unfaithful to her. Or, the worker who loses his job. Or, a letter from the IRS stating that you owe back taxes. Shock. Surprised. Upsetting.

Peter identifies two surprises in this setting. It illustrates the growing difference between the child of God and the people of the world. They are moving in different directions and they are after different things. This difference is found by the words in our verse, “they” and “you.” They, are the world. You, are the Christian. They are surprised at you. They thought differently. They thought you’d join them. They thought you were counted with them.

The first surprise Peter notices is from the world. They are surprised that the Christian doesn’t run with them. The ESV translates this, “they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.” They are surprised.

Why are they surprised? Did they not know that you are a Christian? Did they not notice a change in you? Did they think that there would be no problem? Did they think you could be a Christian and continue in the debauchery that ruined your soul? Did they think what you did outside of worship doesn’t matter? Did they think that they were ok with God?

Surprised. Shocked. All of this now turns to evil and wicked accusations. Peter ends the verse by saying, “they malign you.” They ridicule you. If you are not with them, then they are against you. The friendship ended when you would not join them in their sinful fun.

This shock continues today. When a person becomes a Christian, he takes a step out of the world and becomes a follower of Christ. Things change. He is not only adopted by God into Heaven’s family, but he now moves his citizenship from the world to Heaven. He sees himself as no longer fitting in with the world. God’s commands to “love not the world” and warnings about “friendship with the world” ring true for the Christian. He is now a stranger and an alien. As the hymn goes, “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ thru.”

Sadly, for many in the religious community, they have not made that break with the world. They do not see what happens on Sunday impacts what happens on Monday, Friday and Saturday. To be blunt, there are those who would proudly claim, “I can be a good Christian and still party with my friends.” Such thinking lacks insight, logic and above all, Biblical proof. No, you can’t be a good Christian and dance with the world. You are to be a light unto the world. You are to be transformed and not conformed to the world. If the world sees little difference in your dress, attitude, language, and behavior, other than sitting in a church building on Sunday morning, you’ve missed the point of Christianity.

Peter’s point is that the world is shocked. They are surprised. They don’t understand why you don’t run with them. And, since you don’t, they turn the tables on you and try to destroy you. They malign you. They accuse you. They mock you. They will have nothing to do with you. They are running fast toward Hell and since you won’t keep up with them, they want nothing to do with you.

Second, there is yet another surprise in Peter’s context. The next verse states, “but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” They will. The “they” is the same “they” as in verse four. It’s the world. They are surprised that you don’t run with them and then they will be surprised that they have to give an account to God. They are running away from God. They are embracing sin as much as they can. They do not believe in God and they certainly do not believe that they will give an account of their actions to Him. What is there to say about the flood of debauchery that they are racing towards? It breaks every command of God and it crushes the heart of God. He did not make us this way. It’s more than sin, it’s running away from God. It’s living the prodigal’s dream. The far country. Excitement. No rules. Do what you want. Drunk on sin and no conscience to bother them. They will give an account, is what Peter says. How shocked they will be. Had they truly believed this, they would have changed their behavior. When they stand before God, they will have no excuses and no options to change. It will be too late.

The Christian knows. The Christian understands that we will be judged. It’s not perfection, but faith wrapped around the grace of God that gives the Christian confidence and hope. The Christian longs to be in the presence of God. He longs to leave this sick world that gives little thought to the soul of man.

Surprises—the world has no idea. The Christian does. We walk by faith.

Roger

05

Jump Start # 2010

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2010

2 Corinthians 10:10 “For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible.”

I’ve been working on ‘The Notebook.’ The ‘Notebook’ is what we give to young interns who come to study and be mentored as preachers. It is a collection of articles about preaching. All kinds of stuff and advice. Some from my writings but mostly from others. Just about everything you can think of that has to do with preaching is found in ‘The Notebook.’ What about preachers and money? There are articles about that. What about funerals? Got articles on that. What about writing sermons? Tons on that. How to capture ideas, where to start, how to finish. ‘The Notebook’ is actually three notebooks now. There is so much stuff. There are things that a preacher will use the rest of his career. The Notebook needed some TLC. Articles were out of place and not organized. So, I got it looking good now.

 

Working on the Notebook brought me to our verse today. There is a section in the Notebook about handling criticism. For the young preacher, the critics are like the lion’s den. Some take pleasure at putting the preacher’s feet to the fire. They turn a study of the Bible, that we commonly call, Bible class, into stump the preacher hour. They like to be cute by asking uncomfortable, controversial and hard questions. They really don’t care what the correct answer is, they enjoy seeing a young preacher squirm under the pressure. Shame on such people. They wouldn’t like it if the roles were changed. Instead of being helpful, they are being hurtful and worse, I wonder what God thinks of their stinky attitude and behavior?

 

But our verse pulls the curtain back to some of the things Paul faced. His second letter to the Corinthians reveals many problems he faced with critics. Our verse today is one. Paul quotes what they were saying about him. His letters are strong. That probably implies what was said in 1 Corinthians. However, his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.

 

The NIV uses the expression, “his speaking amounts to nothing.”

 

Here are some things we learn from this:

 

First, every public figure has critics. The President has his share. The governor has his. The CEO has his. The school teacher has critics, usually parents. The college professor does. As a new semester approaches, students talk. They will say, “You don’t want that guy for History 101.” Critics. Leading the church as shepherds do, comes with critics. Even the guy who controls the thermostat in the church building has critics. “It’s too cold in here,” is said loudly enough for him to hear, while someone else declares, “I’m burning up.” The preacher has his share of critics as well. The sermon is too long. The sermon didn’t have enough verses. The preacher talks too fast. The preacher looks funny. I don’t like his hair cut. I don’t like his shoes. I don’t like his glasses. You’d think we were picking out a puppy at the pet store.

 

Second, not every critic is right nor even understands what he is talking about. Just because someone criticizes, doesn’t mean that they are right nor a person ought to change what they are doing. An honest heart will listen to the criticism and then make evaluations. Maybe adjustments need to be made. Maybe it’s just one person and everyone else thinks things are fine. Maybe they are way out in left field and they don’t have a clue what they are talking about. We use the expression, “Back seat driver” and “arm chair quarterback” to describe those who love to criticize but often do not have a clue. There on a Saturday afternoon, a guy watching the game on TV, and starts screaming at the coach and the players for something he sees is wrong. However this same guy who is watching the game, couldn’t make his high school team, never played college ball, and really doesn’t understand the ins and outs of pro sports other than what he sees on TV. From where he sits, on his couch, he knows just what needs to be done to win the game. Does he really?

 

Third, critics need to understand, unless they give a lot of thought and prayer, which most don’t, before they speak, their words, right or wrong as they may be, can hurt someone deeply. Compliments are quickly forgotten, but the criticisms are remembered, sometimes for a lifetime. This is why there are lists of famous criticisms that were wrong. Walt Disney was told he couldn’t draw. The Beatles were told that guitar music was on the way out. Most famous writers, could paper the walls of their homes with rejection letters from publishers. The critics have led some to quit. In the church, the fear of critics keeps some from serving as elders. The critics have led some young men to give up preaching. Giving tips and pointers, especially from someone who understands and has done what the person is doing, can be very helpful, if given with love and kindness and the intention to make a person better. But too often, critics like to slap cheap shots at a person, and the tone and the manner is destructive. God will remember how we treated others. There may be a long line of folks who are in trouble with Heaven because of their cruel, sharp and ugly comments that they have made to others.

 

Looking at what the Corinthians were saying, I am thankful that Paul had the backbone, faith and determination to not let them destroy his spirit. ‘His speaking amounts to nothing,’ is what they said. Really?

 

My first thought is, how many of them ever preached? Paul wasn’t a showman. This wasn’t a stand up comedy routine. What were they expecting, to be entertained?

 

Next, what Paul was saying, preaching, was the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe it wasn’t impressive because the Corinthians weren’t interested in spiritual things. Maybe they said these things because Paul was stepping on their toes. Maybe they said these things because they wanted a pat on the back rather than being told that they needed to repent. Preaching God’s word is impressive. It’s impressive to God. That’s why He has always used preachers. Noah was a preacher. The prophets were preachers. The apostles were preachers. Even Jesus was a preacher. Forgiveness from sins is not impressive? Heaven, not impressive? Being adopted by God, not impressive? What’s really not impressive are these Corinthians.

 

Also, the Corinthians may be been more impressed with the performance than the message. Was he passionate enough? Did his voice tone change? Did he use amazing stories? Did they listen to what Paul said? Did they hear the message? We can be so impressed or turned off because of the package, that we forget the substance within. It’s the message, not the messenger, that God is moved by.

 

Most today wouldn’t think too much of John the baptist. Look how he dressed. That would be enough of a turn off that people wouldn’t pay attention. Then Paul. He even admitted later, “…even if I am unskilled in speech” (11:6). I wonder how many would listen to him today? Would churches invite him for a meeting or would folks pass on him because, “He’s boring.” We may have become more impressed with the delivery than we are the message. We need to think about that.

 

Critics. Be careful how you say things. Preacher, keep preaching the best you can. We need you. Don’t let the critics get to you. Take a moment to catch your breath. Say a prayer. Then, get back at it. Preach the word. Preach it in season and out of season. The out of season times may come with criticism, but that’s ok. You are doing God’s work.

 

Roger

 

04

Jump Start # 2009

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2009

Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”

Our verse today are Peter’s words to the Roman soldier Cornelius. Peter was called to speak to this gentile who was a worshipper of God and a friend to the Jewish community. Among the things Peter says about Jesus is that “He went about doing good.”

Peter could pull many events from his memory about this. He had seen Jesus doing good. When the synagogue official’s young daughter was dying Jesus went. She died, but before the eyes of her parents, and Peter, James and John, Jesus commanded the girl to arise and she did. Hope, life and joy was restored.

Peter could remember the day that it was getting late and a large multitude was hungry. The disciples suggested sending them home. Jesus commanded that they sit in groups of fifty and one hundred. He then multiplied a poor boy’s snack to feed more than 5,000 people. The people were satisfied. Good was done.

Peter could remember the time an angry Jewish crowd brought a woman into the temple who had been caught in the very act of adultery. A very embarrassing situation. The leaders were demanding her death. Jesus wrote something in the dirt and said that those who were without sin cast the first stone. The crowd left humiliated. Jesus with the woman, told her that He did not condemn her but that she should sin no more. A life was saved. Jesus did good.

Peter could remember the long journey to Jerusalem for the final time. Lepers were cured on the way. Jesus went to the home of Zacchaeus and included this tax collector among the people of God.

Nearly every page of our Gospels and for Peter, a mind filled with so many memories, of the good that Jesus did. The bent over woman. The woman with the issue of blood. The demon possessed. The blind. Lives were made better because of Jesus. Satan was on the run because of Jesus. Multitudes believed because of Jesus.

There is a link and a bridge that we ought to see here. If we are cut from the same cloth and are conformed to the image of Jesus, shouldn’t we be a people who go about doing good? Shouldn’t people know us for our good deeds? In Titus, we are reminded to be zealous for good deeds. The Galatians were told, as we have opportunity let us do good to all people, especially the household of faith.

Doing good. Is that how you and I are known? Is that what we are about? Do we point lives to Christ? Do we help restore hope and joy? Do we make lives better? Are we making a difference? I was watching a college basketball game the other day. There were so many time outs because the coaches were fussing about rules that the game became slow and tedious. The refs were looking at video replays. They were explaining things to the coaches. I finally gave up watching. It was too slow for me. Just play the game. Some are like this in life. They spend so much time in the huddle discussing how best to do this and that, nothing ever gets done. We can be known as a people who are always arguing about the rules. We can be known as a people who are long on talk and short on doing.

I’ve known many in my life who stood in the Lord’s shadows of doing good. The list of things that they did and the number of people that they helped was so long that they even forgot some of the things that they did. They’d see a church family in a restaurant, and they made sure to pay the bill for the other family. They’d help a college kid with his expenses. They’d fill a teenager’s car up with gas. They’d bring groceries to the home of a family that just moved into the area. They’d sit with someone in the surgery waiting room. They made sure that a older neighbor’s driveway was cleared of snow. They’d give books to young preachers. On and on and on the list continues. They went about doing just what Jesus did, doing good.

A person tends to remember someone who has done good for them., especially when it wasn’t expected. The world is full of those who complain, those who demand and those who take. Finding those special few who go about doing good is very unique, except it ought to be the norm among God’s people. There is an old thought that rings true, you must show that you care before someone will listen to what you say. Doing good is one of the best ways to show that you care.

All of this comes down to what we see in the mirror. What good are we doing? We can talk a good story. We can have great ideas. But are we going about doing good? Are we making a difference in people’s lives. Some have ready excuses. It’s expensive to do good. It is. Filing a guys gas tank up costs. Buying groceries or paying for a family’s meal costs. But isn’t that one reason why we have been blessed? We have so we can help. You don’t have to bankrupt the farm to do good. You can do what you can.

Others quickly proclaim, ‘But some will take advantage of you.’ They might. You may have to put borders up on some and even stop some good. Jesus stopped feeding the multitudes. Some went home. Some didn’t. Not everyone will take advantage of you.

Some will boast, “No one ever did that stuff to me.” Maybe not, but don’t you wish they did? That’s the golden rule right there. And still, there is not one of us Christians who has not been helped along the way by another Christian. We all have. Every one of us. The good you do may be just the think that someone needs in their faith and in their heart to keep going. It’s more than food or gas or a ticket to a game or a gift card, it’s showing that you thought of them and you cared. That’s what really matters. That’s the real difference.

How did Jesus build that base of followers? Have you ever thought about that. No website. No Facebook. No positive feed back for others to read. No pamphlets handed out. No business cards. No videos. Jesus went about doing good and the word spread. People are hungry for good, especially when it comes in their direction. Luke 12 tells us that there were so many thousands that they were stepping on one another. The feeding of the 5,000—why were there so many? They wanted to see Jesus. The crippled man who was lowered through the roof, that happened because the house Jesus was teaching in was packed. There was no room on the inside. Crowds—massive crowds, because Jesus was doing good.

Touching lives and making a difference—it makes us wonder if we have forgotten that.

Roger

03

Jump Start # 2008

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2008

Psalms 57:4 “My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire; even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue is a sharp sword.”

 

As the last year is reviewed and lists of top news stories are complied, near the top is found the expression, “Fake news.” Those words became a battle cry between the national administration and the news media. Fake news isn’t something new. Making false accusations and blaming the innocent is a tacit that Satan has used for a long time. Jesus was falsely accused. Joseph was accused and sent to prison for something he never did.

 

Our verse today, shows how David felt that he was surrounded by those who planned to hurt him. They breathe fire. Their teeth are like spears. Their tongue is a sharp sword. It wasn’t physical violence that David feared, but those cutting and harsh things that they were saying about him.

 

Mother’s words, “Stick and stones may break your bones, but words will never harm you,” is a cute saying, but we’ve learned that she wasn’t right. Words do hurt. Hurts can be sharp as a sword. For some, those mean and cruel things have stayed with us for a long, long time. A parent who, in anger, declares, “You can never do anything right,” is laying a foundation upon which that child may always believe. In school, he gets into trouble, knowing that, ‘he can’t do anything right.’ In a failed marriage, he gives up because he knows that ‘he can’t do anything right.’ His shattered self esteem takes him from job to job, always carrying with him the idea, ‘you can’t do anything right.’ And, sadly, for some, they will go to their grave believing, ‘you can’t do anything right.’

 

For others, it was more blunt, ‘you’re dumb.’ That has been something that they carried with them all of their life. Yet for others, it was the comparisons. ‘Why can’t you get good grades like your brother?’ Then, later in life, ‘why can’t you make money like your brother?’ Is it hard to figure out why jealousy and a poor relationship existed between the siblings.

 

Why do men speak with fire? Why aren’t they nice?

 

First, some don’t care. They are mean. They intend to hurt. They want to drive you away. Their weapon of choice is cruel words that are meant to cut, destroy and hurt you. They have no feelings. They have no conscience.

 

Second, some speak without thinking. They are upset and angry and they do not realize how cruel their words are, nor that they will be remembered for a lifetime. The slow to speak and quick to hear have been reversed. They don’t really mean what they said and often they will apologize later, but the damage has been done.

 

Third, some are so focused upon themselves that they don’t think about others. They say what they feel because it makes them feel better. They don’t care what ears hear what they say.

 

This is the culture we live in. Toxic co-workers. Mean neighbors. Cruel family members. And, too often, insensitive church members. They say things that should never be said. Their hearts are not in the right place. Our ears are what receive these mean things. Sometimes there is an agenda behind those mean things. They want you to quit your job and leave. They want you out of the family. They want you to move from the neighborhood. They want you to go to another church. They talk about you. They whisper behind your back. They gossip about you. They make your life uncomfortable. They spread fire with their tongues. Unlike children, we can’t run to a parent and make these folks stop.

 

What can be done? Is there any hope?

 

David, from our passage today, “cried to God” (Ps 57:3). He knew that God would help him (v. 4). That’s the first step. Take it to the Lord. Pray about it. Pray that there will be a change of hearts. Pray that the fires from the tongues cease. Pray that they will see what they are doing. Pray that you will be strong.

 

Next, do not engage in a war of words. Most times you cannot win that war and it will only make you feel worse. When those who do not play by the rules get in a mud slinging contest, the outcome will be very messy. They will sink to limits that you cannot go to. They will do things that are not proper for you to do. If you feel compelled to say something, do it one on one and in private. With some, whatever you say will be used against you and will feed further gossip.

 

Finally, be tough. Get some leather on your skin. If you must cry, do it at home where they can’t see you. Don’t allow them to win by crushing you. It may get so toxic that you must leave, but make that the last and final step, not the first. Running is easy. But once you’ve done that, you’ll find yourself running most of your life. They said things to Jesus. He did not reply. He left us an example to follow, not just in holiness but in suffering.

 

Sometimes it’s simply not worth it to say things in reply. The ears are not listening and the hearts are closed. It may make us feel better but in the end, little good will be accomplished. God knows. That’s the key. You are not alone. You have help from Heaven. Some day soon, these things will end.

 

Make sure our tongues are not sharp and spreading fire. Be careful what you say and how you say it. Think first. Glorify God with your mouth.

 

Much to think about as we head back to work and the “cheerful season” is over.

 

Roger