12

Jump Start # 2242

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2242

Luke 12:20 “But God said, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’”

Our verse today is the shocking news that the farmer in Jesus’ parable heard from Heaven. The man was prosperous. He knew how to grow crops. He was industrious, hard working and thinking about the future. He had positioned himself to be able to expand his storage. His intentions were to tear down his existing barns and build larger barns. This was to be his retirement. After the construction of the new barns, he was going to slow down. His words were, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” One more big project before he heads into retirement.

But in the parable, something happened that he had not anticipated. He didn’t figure on dying, at least not at this point in his life. He was counting on more time and more years. He had worked hard so he could enjoy it. God had other plans. And, with the harshest word ever used in the Bible, this farmer is called a fool. The Psalms tells us that the fool is one who says there is no God. The contrast is sharp in the book of Proverbs between the wise and the fool.

Why did God call him a fool? Because he was one. He lived as if God never existed. He lived as if he was in control of the universe and had his life in the palms of his hands. He didn’t. He never did. God is in control. Each day is a gift from Heaven. And, with that, God asks this farmer one question: who is going to own what you have prepared? The farmer was not going to enjoy the fruit of his labor. The farmer was not going to see the benefits of his work. Someone else would take over, move in, and enjoy all good stored up for many years. The farmer worked it, but someone else would benefit from it.

Many sermons have pointed out how many times in this short parable that the farmer refers to himself. Me, myself and I, seem to be the most important things in this man’s life. Making plans wasn’t wrong. Expansion isn’t wrong. Retiring isn’t wrong. Even enjoying the fruits of our labor is something Solomon talked about a long time ago in Ecclesiastes.

This farmer had a disease that is most dangerous to Christians. It’s not a medical problem but a spiritual problem. It can’t be cured by medicine, only by faith. The farmer was a practical atheist. That’s the most deadly form of atheism. It’s often found in the heart of folks that go to Sunday worship. You won’t find these folks sending a check to the National Atheism Foundation. They are not posting anti-god statements on Facebook and Twitter. They aren’t saying unkind and blasphemous things about God. They haven’t written books supporting the theories of evolution. No, practical atheism is the hardest spiritual disease to detect. On the surface and in the minds of those who have this, they are Christians. They would admit that they love the Lord and believe in Him. Many have been baptized. Many own a Bible. Many will be found in church on Sunday. In theory, it seems that they are doing everything that believers do and are showing that they oppose atheism.

The difference is found in day to day living. Just like this farmer in Jesus’ parable. The plans do not include God. The language never thanks God. They live as if there will always be a tomorrow and they live as if everything they plan will come about. Their practical, everyday life, is without God. And, that is practical atheism. No prayers. No reading the Bible. No thankfulness. Completely secular. Completely earth bound. Completely living as if everything they dream and plan will be, just because they dreamed it and planned it.

The shocking thing about this parable is that it can mirror our lives so easily and quickly. We get so busy shopping, going to meetings at work, taking care of the house and the pets and the kids, watching some TV here and there and each day looks like the last one, and it that, God can’t be found.

Maybe this is one of the greatest benefits of Wednesday evening Bible classes. Mid-week. Between Sundays. A gentle reminder of what the farmer forgot, God. Get together and open God’s word. Get together and bow our heads to God. Get together and encourage one another spiritually. The word is taught. God is praised. Our hearts are encouraged. And, before we realize it, God is placed back in the center where He belongs.

With God at the center, we realize that death comes. We realize that following death is a judgment. We realize our choices, everyday, even today, can make all the difference in eternity.

Sometimes it’s hard to get out for Wednesday evening services. It’s dark this time of the year. It’s cold. You’ve gotten home and your body just wants to stay home. It’s tempting. Just wrap yourself up in a warm blanket, put on a ballgame or a holiday movie and stay in. Block out the world, the troubles and lose yourself for a few minutes in rest. Boy, that sounds wonderful doesn’t it. But right there, so simply, we’ve pushed God out of the picture. Not on purpose. Not because we are mean. We just didn’t think about that. We don’t think about that little old widow, who with her walker will be at church services tonight. She’s there and we are home wrapped up in our blanket. That seems backwards. We don’t think about that family with small children who will be out at services tonight. All the coats, hats, bags that they bring. You’d think they were traveling to the Alps with all the stuff they carry in. Yet, they will be there.

And, it shouldn’t be the guilt that drives us to the church building on a Wednesday evening. Being there because we have to be there doesn’t do anyone, especially ourselves, any good. No, it’s not the guilt, but it’s the fact that I can stand right with Jesus’ farmer so easily. It’s the thought that I can go through a day without any thought of God and it doesn’t seem to bother me. It’s the thought that I can become so secular that practical atheism is a part of my world. Have I forgotten that everything that I enjoy around me is a gift from the Lord? Have I forgotten that the very talents that I have are given to me by the Lord? Have I forgotten that I need to feed my soul every day? Have I forgotten that I need encouragement to keep me from becoming like Jesus’ farmer? Have I forgotten that my presence at Wednesday Bible classes helps others?

No, it’s not guilt that gets us out of a warm house on a dark Wednesday night. It’s the need, the benefits, the reminders, and the communion with God.

The farmer in Jesus’ parable from what we are told, wasn’t a “bad” person. He was a good farmer. He wasn’t caught stealing, fixing prices, cheating others, on in bed with a neighbor’s wife. None of those things come from the story. He was simply a farmer who benefited from the rain that God sent and the sun that was a gift from Heaven and the agricultural principles that God established to be successful but who never gave God any credit nor did he ever consider that each day could be his last.

And, so it is with us. We walk among the blessings of God every day. Each day, we are closer to our last day. The sadness in Jesus’ parable is not that the farmer died. The farmer ignored God. He lived as a practical atheist. That’s the shame of this parable.

Wednesday evening, good time to show myself and the Lord that I am a believer!

Roger

11

Jump Start # 2241

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2241

1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

This simple verse. One sentence. Seventeen words. This is all that is necessary to help establish the Biblical world view of things. There are several voices out there telling us how things will be. There is a cultural voice that tells us we need to tolerate, stop offending or else we won’t exist. There is a political view that is pushing for cooperation of all world powers and the elimination of massive weapons of destruction lest there be a world war and we destroy each other. Then there is the environmental view. I heard this one on the radio the other day. It was about climate change. The young voice was pleading for the government to force corporations to change the way they use fossil fuels and to raise taxes to accomplish this. Fires, earthquakes, and, hurricanes were all the proof she needed to substantiate a warming climate. If we do not change immediately, she warned, we won’t have a planet in ten years. TEN YEARS. That’s not very long.

 

That’s when I thought of our verse. One verse kills her theory. Is the planet getting warmer? Who knows. The tracking of weather data is not very old. All through the Bible we read of great earthquakes and storms upon the sea. Those things are nothing new, except to some of us.

 

The problem I find is when brethren get all excited because of some of these gloom and doom voices. The sky is falling they believe and fear directs their lives. The Biblical world view is the only true view that is accurate and that we can count upon. The voices of culture, politics and climate control are also the voices of atheism, evolution and alien superstition. There are more who believe that there may have been life on Mars, even though there is no evidence of that, than believe in the existence of God, even though we trip and stumble over his evidence every day.

 

What does our verse tell us? How do these seventeen words put things back in order? The Bible is full of examples like this. We need to know them, believe them and stand behind them.

 

The context is the resurrection of Christ. Jesus was raised. Multiple proofs are given, such as eyewitness accounts, the word of Scriptures, prophecy and common sense. Not only was Christ raised, but so will we. That thought, our resurrection, flows directly into our verse today. Not all of us will die, or sleep, as he uses that expression. The word sleep is a common expression to describe the death of the righteous. It was used of Lazarus. It was used of Jairus’ twelve year-old daughter who had died. It was used to describe the Christians who had died in Thessalonica. Sleep. Resting. Not connected to what is going on around here, yet, alive.

 

What Paul is saying is that not all Christians will die. Some will be alive when Jesus comes. Those who are alive will be changed. They will be changed quickly and instantly. They will not have to die first and then be raised. They will just be changed. I knew a Christian who openly hoped that she would be alive when Jesus comes. She wanted to see that. However, that wasn’t the case for her. God called her. Now, she will come with the Lord when He returns.

 

Not all Christians will die. There will be Christians alive when Jesus returns. That’s the flow and that’s the context of our passage. Christians. They will be living righteously. They will be worshipping on Sunday. They will be doing what you and I do. They will be living for Jesus and trying to spread the message about Jesus. That’s what Christians do. There will be some Christians who do not die.

 

That means, in ten years, the environment will not become so disastrous that no one will be alive. That’s won’t happen. There will be Christians alive when Jesus comes. That means, there will not be a nuclear war that destroys all living beings. That means we will not be destroyed by some massive germ, or, alien invasion, or a mighty asteroid hitting the planet. Those things make for the movies, and not very good ones at that, but it’s not true to the Biblical world picture.

 

Atheism runs on fear. We are on our own, it believes. There is no one to help us, so they teach. No one knows which disaster will wipe us out. They point to what happened to the dinosaurs, again, a view through the lens of atheism and fear, believing similar things might happen to humans. Atheism has no hope. Mankind has shown that peace treaties do not last long and we tend to break our promises, so the future is dark, scary and unknown. And, disaster movies just add to this possible list of what could happen.

 

And, here we are, quietly and calmly going about the King’s business, living with hope, faith and understanding. We don’t have to be environmental engineers to understand that climate change will not kill us all. We have the Bible. We don’t have to dive into the muddy waters of politics to wonder how we can get along with everyone else on this planet. We have the Bible. We don’t have to think about Mars. We don’t give any credit to aliens. We know that most likely the dinosaurs were killed in the flood or by mankind, and yes, we believe that man and dinosaurs were together at the same time. Where’s the proof? Footprints in fossils? No. Cave drawings? Even though they do exist, no. The proof is in the first page of the Bible. We don’t have to be biologist to understand this.

 

Just recently, a report came out that said all DNA of humans came from a single source. That was astonishing for scientists. Now, they quickly claimed that this did not point to creation or God, but that a single source was the original family for all humans. Our very context today told me that a long time ago. The first man, Adam. It says that several times. From Adam and Eve came all humans. Shocking? No. The Bible world picture has said that for centuries.

 

On his journey to Rome, Paul had a vision in which an angel told him what would happen. Paul reported those words to the rest of those on the ship. His words were, “It will turn out exactly as I have been told.” And, that, is exactly the way we believe. It will turn out exactly as we have been told.

 

We have been told that we will not all sleep, an expression used of the death of Christians. There will be Christians alive when Jesus comes. It will turn out exactly as we have been told. Will they be in America? That we don’t know. Will it be you and me? That we don’t know.

 

We must not allow the news to shape and change what the Bible teaches. We must not allow activists to use their opinions to shape what we know the Bible says. The Bible stands true because of mountains of evidence and proof. These other world views are constantly changing and often even contradicting each other.

 

We shall not all sleep…great words to remember.

 

Roger

 

10

Jump Start # 2240

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2240

Ezekiel 14:14 “even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves, declares the Lord God.”

Monday with Job. Our series is nearing the end. One of the interesting things about the book of Job, for as old, large and important as this book is, it is only referred to two other places in Scriptures. Job’s name is not listed among the heroes of Hebrews 11. Jesus never refers to Job. The apostles make no connection to Job. Job’s name is listed with Noah and Daniel four times here in Ezekiel and he is used as an example of endurance at the end of James, in the New Testament. Righteousness and endurance, that’s the take away from the use of Job’s name in other places.

Righteousness is important to God. It ought to be important to us. It is a characteristic of God. God is a righteous judge. God loves righteousness. The concept of righteousness is being right. It is being right with God. This is a quality of the heart that comes from the inside out. Just occasionally being nice or doing good things doesn’t make a person “right.” Righteousness is who we are. Right with our thinking, which includes attitudes and the proper place of self in this big world. Right with our words, even when we are tired and bothered. Right with our actions. Making right choices, rather than the easiest or most convenient ones.

It is interesting to find Job listed with Noah and Daniel. Daniel was alive when Ezekiel was written. He was a contemporary who was living in Babylon. Both Noah and Job stretch back from the days of Genesis. Because of the genealogy listed in Genesis five, we’d tend to put Job after the flood, but he is not named anywhere in Genesis and we just have to make a good guess.

But of all the names that have passed through the Bible by the time of Ezekiel, God pulled out Noah, Daniel and Job. It’s like a lineup in baseball. His top three hitters. This is like the Yankees’ ‘murderers row’ of the 1920’s. It’s like the undefeated Miami Dolphins of 1972, our the undefeated I.U. Hoosiers of 1976. Champs. The best. Record setters. Between Noah and Ezekiel, we have David, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, all powerful men of faith. Yet, God’s selection was Noah, Daniel and Job. Blameless. Upright. Righteous.

All three, Noah, Daniel and Job had their faith tested. All three suffered. All three had to deal with the doubts and criticisms of others. All three faced life and death situations. All three never gave up on God.

Three simple thoughts from Job’s life:

First, we never know ahead of time what is going to happen. Sometimes, I think we wish we did. But if we knew everything that was going to happen and when it was going to happen, we would be petrified by fear and unable to function knowing what was to happen. As Job begins, there is no indication that he knew what was going to happen. It happened quickly. The layout of the first chapter makes it seem that it all happened at the same time. Attacks from invading countries, fire from Heaven, storms blowing down houses. And just like that, all Job’s livestock, his servants, and his children were gone. This wasn’t a series of slow steps, one by one. He was ruined financially, domestically and personally, immediately. He had to arrange for ten funerals. He had to deal with dead servants. He had to figure out how to live with no income. Satan hit Job hard, very hard.

This is where you and I live. We start off with Monday morning. Off to school, off to work. Just another plain ole’ Monday. Our lists are filled with things that need to be done today. And, just like that, the worst day of our lives could happen. Everything stops, but the world. Suddenly, what’s on our lists, doesn’t matter any more. This day may end with someone in the hospital. This day may end with a family having to choose which funeral home to call.

Long ago we used to hear a lot about astrology and horoscopes. People don’t talk about those things much. I think they found out that they were just made up. The stars, your astrological sign and all that hype was simply that, hype. Truth be, we just don’t know what’s going to happen before it happens.

But one thing we do know, righteous people will know what to do. That’s the point of Ezekiel using Job’s name. Although he didn’t know what was going to happen, he made righteous choices. Job was blameless and upright before Satan’s attacks, and he was that way afterwards as well. The trials didn’t end Job’s righteousness nor were they the force that led him to be righteous. He was righteous before, during and after the trials. So, even though we don’t know what’s going to happen today, we do know that God does. We will continue to trust God, no matter what. We will continue to walk by faith, no matter what. We will not lose our faith, our conviction, nor our cool, because righteous people know that God is with them even in the darkest valleys of life.

Second, a vertical perspective keeps you from having a horizontal crisis. Our up and down must be set first before we can deal with right and left. God is good. His goodness cannot be measured solely upon what happens to me. He is good, even when the day is dark. He is good even though He seems silent to me. He is good even when others are blaming me. He is good even when quitting seems to be the best option. Job was a believer long before his trials started. For someone to suffer what Job did, without faith and without righteousness, would destroy them. This is why suicide seems reasonable to some. This is why the bottle or a handful of pills is the only way some can get through a day. The righteous leans upon his faith. The faithless must find something, and the alternatives is just as dangerous and hurtful as the suffering they are going through.

Third, steadfast faithfulness is the crowning mark of maturity. Satan didn’t lob an underhand pitch to Job. He blasted fastballs as hard as he could throw. Satan threw everything at him, but Job’s own death. God wouldn’t allow that. And, through all of this, Job never lost his perspective. He had some questions. He didn’t understand somethings, but he was always understanding that God was still there and God was still in charge. He didn’t turn to atheism. He didn’t allow the doubts of others to defeat him. He continued to be right even when it was difficult.

So, you and I have choices to make today. We can see how the day develops and allow that to shape our moods, attitudes and disposition. Or, we can decide what we will be no matter what happens. In God’s catalog of righteousness, you’d find three names, Noah, Daniel and our Job. They are there to remind us that we need to continue on even when it is hard.

God’s undefeated team—Noah, Daniel and Job. Makes you wonder, if God was to choose three names from our time, this generation, who he’d pick. It might not be three preachers. It might not be three elders. It may be just three folks who faithfully worship God through all kinds of storms. They’ve had prodigals in their families. They’d have cancer. They’ve lost jobs. They’ve seen valleys, but they’ve seen the Lord through faith. Week after week, there they are. Carrying on the best that they can. Sharing, being generous, being spiritual, being righteous. Right before our eyes, may living examples of God’s righteous people.

Are you one of them?

Roger

07

Jump Start # 2239

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2239

2 Peter 1:5 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge.”

 

Did you catch any of the funeral of President George Bush? I missed most of the Washington funeral. That was designed as a formal national funeral. All the living presidents were there. Lots of speeches about his career. The funeral yesterday in Houston had a different tone to it. It was personal, family and spiritual. Granddaughters read Scriptures. A grandson spoke. His preacher talked about the spiritual side of the man. There was a lot of dignity, honor and goodness. The event was classy.

 

This is where our verse comes in. Peter tells his Christian readers to add moral excellence to their faith. Other translations simply use the word, ‘virtue.’ The last chapter of Proverbs is commonly referred to as “the Virtuous Woman.” Words like decent, goodness, honorable, character flow from the word virtue. The mood surrounding today’s political climate is mean, nasty and selfish. A lot of name calling. A lot of division. A lot of talk and not much doing. Middle Americans are pretty turned off of what we see in politics today. But then we have a national funeral. A good man who gave his life to serving is remembered. The atmosphere seemed to change, at least for that moment. There was a spirit of being good to one another. Virtue has a way of doing that to a person. It tends to rub off on others. It makes others want to be good. How a culture honors and respects their dead says much about the heart of the times.

 

Here are some thoughts:

 

First, the length of our funerals has changed in the past few decades. It wasn’t too long ago that a family had two nights of visitation at the funeral home, and then came the funeral. That was shortened to a day of visitation and then the day of the funeral. It is common today to have a few hours of visitation right before the funeral. Everything in one day. That’s just the change in our times and it is more convenient for families. The Bush family have had what seems to be a week of funerals, but that was unique because of who George was and his position in the world of politics.

 

Second, as our nation continues to turn secular, many families are at a loss about the purpose of a funeral and what is supposed to happen. Less and less are preachers called, because no one in the family knows any preachers because no one in the family worships. So a family member is called upon to tell funny jokes and unbiblical references are made about fishing and having fun in Heaven. The family in the audience has no clue about what Heaven is like and who goes to Heaven. No thought is given to our rapid approach to our own deaths and how we ought to be living. That’s too preachy for a secular audience. The person who died never went to worship nor read the Bible, yet the family is firmly convinced that he is in Heaven, looking down and even once and a while sending messages to them. They do not understand God, the Lord’s wonderful sacrifice or the nature of Heaven. They have no interest in knowing these things. As quickly as the funeral is over, they shift back into the secular, busy mode and life goes on as if nothing every happened. I have seen full cans of beer left on tombstones in cemeteries. I suppose that represents the person’s life and in the mind of the family, they think he’s drinking a beer in Heaven with all his buddies who have passed on. What a contrast to the funeral of a Christian where hope, character, service and goodness are the qualities remembered. Scriptures are read. Prayers are offered. God is spoken throughout with reverence and holiness.

 

Third, what we leave a cemetery with is the memories of the departed person. This is where character truly impacts a person. This is where virtue makes all the difference. The funeral of a celebrity or a nationally known person draws the curious just because we have heard about this famous person. But for you and I, most of the funerals we attend are family and friends. It’s character, love and hope that makes the difference here. We remember simple things from the past. We remember a grandmother who made us cookies or read to us. We remember an uncle who took us fishing. We remember goodness, kindness and love. We remember someone who gave us a chance when we were starting out. We remember a mentor. We remember a coach, a school teacher, that made a difference. Goodness is remembered. And, that goodness has a way of making us wonder about our own lives. Are we walking in the same steps of helping others? Are we going out of our way for others? Sometimes it’s a funeral that shakes us a bit and makes us think about what’s really important in life. We can get so caught up in keeping up with others and image, that we forget about character. We’ve made sure that the outside image is polished and looking good, but we’ve forgotten about the inside, who we really are. We sit at a funeral and think about this person who didn’t care about giving up a Saturday to help someone. Floods of memories and stories come to your mind. Here is someone who gave a few dollars to help someone out. Here is someone who walked through life with a smile. Maybe his image was plain and simple. Maybe he didn’t care so much about labels and having the latest. Maybe his life seemed to run at a slower pace than ours, but something pulls us to that person. There was a goodness, a virtue about him, that made others seem special. You sit. You think. You reflect. You’re not seeing that at work. It’s cut throat there. You’re not seeing that in the neighborhood. You’re not seeing that even in the family. You wish you could go back to those earlier days. Things seemed less self centered then. People seemed to value people more than stuff. You didn’t have all this crazy insensitive “you can’t say that,” floating through the air. People naturally cared. You think so more. People seem so uptight today. People seem so angry today. People seem so busy today. Everyone is on their cell phone but no one has any real friends. And, you think.

 

You came to the funeral to show your respect to someone you cared about. However, you leave the funeral, thinking, “I need to change. I am going to do better.” That’s the way virtue works. It’s appealing and it’s contagious. Moral goodness shines especially in the sewer of our times. We see it missing in so many places. Doing the right thing, simply because it’s the right thing to do. Thinking more of the other person than yourself. Giving up of your time to help someone. Virtue. Goodness. Rightness. It’s like the sun peeking out after days and days of dark clouds. Virtue shines so brightly. Virtue makes you want to serve others.

 

It is the funerals of the virtuous that do us the most good. It makes us wonder what in the world are we doing? It makes us seem so self-centered. It makes us lower our heads in shame and think why am I not that way? What matters, it comes out in funerals. Character. Relationships. Goodness. Love. Virtue.

 

Peter wants us to add virtue to our character. It’s the first thing that follows faith. Faith and then virtue. Goodness. Character. Service. Heart. Honor. Decency. Respect.

 

These are the things that are noticed in life. These are the things that we need to live and show others. The dignity of life. It must be lived before it can be talked about at a funeral.

 

Roger

 

06

Jump Start # 2238

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2238

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Our verse today is well known as “The works of the flesh.” Listed here are 15 specific sins. Some are attitudes, such as jealousy. Some are manifested in action, such as disputes, drunkenness and outbursts of anger. These have varying degrees of consequences. We come home from work saying we are jealous of a co-worker’s year end bonus doesn’t have the same consequences as coming home drunk. Some of these are the way we treat others. A few of these involve our belief system, such as idolatry.

Here are some things we learn from this list:

First, somewhere in the list, most of us find our past. We like to believe that we were pretty squeaky clean in our past and the only thing missing was going to worship every week. Nice try. We know better. We were all sinners. And, those sins are often among the list here.

Second, because of the nature of most of these listed sins, people have been hurt, which means we have hurt others in the past. That hurt doesn’t have to be physical injuries. The pain we caused our parents who were wanting the best in us. The pain that we caused our mates when we made wrong choices. The pain we caused among brethren when we didn’t side with Jesus. People tend to remember who and how they were hurt. That means, with our past, there are some memories people have of us that we wish they didn’t.

Third, people can change. That’s the point of this list of the works of the flesh. Why list these things unless a person can change? The key expression here is “those who practice such things.” The practicing part is a choice. We practice playing instruments. We have play practice. We have practice before a big game. To practice is to participate and to engage in things on purpose. The changing takes place when we decide not to do these things. We make the choice to flee from these things and to pursue what God wants. The change comes about especially through Christ. A person can stop doing some of these things for other reasons, but the greatest and most lasting change is when one puts on Christ. A person denies himself and allows Christ to live in him.

Fourth, most all of these changes begins in our minds. Some are easier than others. There is a hostile spirit found in this list of sins. Jealousy is where it begins but it spreads to anger, disputes, dissentions and factions. That grouping centers around how we view each other. To conquer these things, a person must change how they view others and how they see themselves. Instead of shunning, we choose to associate. Instead of telling others what to do, we listen and cooperate. Instead of pushing people away, we find ways to connect. But all of this starts in our mind. It’s how we see others. This changes as we learn from Jesus. The Lord with the Samaritans. The Lord including tax collectors among his chosen. The Lord with the outcasts and those snubbed socially, like Zacchaeus. Spending time with Jesus in the Gospels makes us look at how we are treating others. Do we think the worst of someone because of the color of their skin? Do you write some people off simply because they are from the West Coast and “everybody knows about people from there.” Spending time with Jesus makes us not only see others differently, but it makes us realize that we are not as special as we’d like to believe.

A yearly tradition for us is to watch the Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott. Best version of that show, period. There’s a scene where Scrooge is with the spirit of Christmas Present and he sees two neglected, poor children. They are pitiful looking. The Spirit says, just possibly in the view of Heaven, those two children were more valuable than Scrooge was. You ought to take an evening and watch that show. It will make you wonder about your place and how you view others. Great show.

Fifth, some of these changes are easier than others. Leaving idolatry is hard. It means rewiring your thinking about God. It means leaving the way you have worshipped and what you thought was right. It often means leaving your family who still embraces idolatry. There is a lot that comes with leaving idolatry. But the same is true of sensuality. Changing your thinking about lust and selfishness is hard. Some sins, including porn, can be very addicting and consuming of our lives. Porn isn’t new to modern times. We were in Pompeii this past summer. Graphic mosaics survived the destruction. Many were what we’d call hard core porn. Pompeii was destroyed in A.D. 79. Sensuality then and sensuality today. But it’s not mosaics nor images on computers, but what is in our minds and hearts. Can a person leave that? Yes.

Sixth, new choices must be found. It’s not enough to stop these sins. Something must fill our hearts and our times. This is why immediately following we find the fruit of the Spirit. Here again are attitudes, but they are different attitudes. Joy, love, kindness, gentleness, peace, goodness, faithfulness have replaced the terrible sins that separate and divide each other. Here we are looking to help. Here we are bringing sunshine to darkness. Here we are doing what is right.

The results are enormous. Rather than leaving a trail of pain and destruction, with the new life and the new choices, comes building people up and making people better. Rather than being part of the problem, we become a helpful solution. We’ve changed. Our outlook, our attitude and our behavior changes.

Everyday we face situations where we pull from our old human nature of selfishness or we choose to do what Christ would do. Fighting ourselves is one of our biggest challenges and battles that we face. Crucifying self and burying the old self is hard. The old self wants to be resurrected but we must keep that from happening. Daily feeding your soul. Daily following Jesus. Daily making the right choices. This is how we leave the works of the flesh and manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

It’s a matter of daily choices. Seeing the consequences helps make these choices more apparent. Knowing what God wants helps with our choices.

Works or fruit…flesh or Spirit…kept out of the kingdom or invited in. Becoming like Jesus is the key to all of these things.

Roger