16

Jump Start # 2824

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2824

Esther 4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will to in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I will perish.”

Our verse today contains the courageous words of the Jewish queen, Esther. Most know the story. Wicked Haman tricked the king into making an edict to eliminate all the Jews. They were to be wiped out. Killed. Slaughtered. That would include Esther. But, since she was the queen, she had an inside track to the king. She became the hope for all the Jews. If she didn’t act, the Jews would have been killed. Her relative, Mordecai, tells her, which is one of the most famous expressions in this book, “who knows whether or not you have attained royalty for such a time as this?” Maybe the very reason, Esther was the queen, was for that moment.

Several wonderful lessons for us:

First, even though Esther was married to the king, she could not approach him without permission. That is so foreign to our times. We’d think, over dinner, Esther would just straighten things out with the king. That wasn’t the way things worked. To approach the king without permission, as our verse indicates, could well invoke the death penalty. What a difficult situation that put Esther in. There was no one else to do what she had to do.

Now, do you see a bridge to you and I? It’s not approaching a king, or facing death, but often, it falls upon us as individuals to go speak to someone about their soul. There is no one else. No one else in the family will do it. No one else in the church has the connections as we do. Or, even more difficult, there may be a conversation that needs to take place that leads to repentance, forgiveness and some apologies. It may not go well. A friendship might end. The conversation may turn ugly. We think and think about what needs to be done. We wish that anyone else would do it. But there is no one. It’s you or it’s no one. You know that you must go.

Second, Esther understood the value of having others pray for her. She called upon all the Jews in the city to fast. This was more than just going without food. Most times in the Bible, fasting and prayer are hand in hand. Don’t eat for three days. During those three days, they’d be praying. Praying that the king would give Esther a moment to speak. Praying that Esther would find the right words. Praying that those words would touch the king’s heart and that he would be moved. The Jews in Susa could not go to the king, but what they could do was pray. Proverbs tells us that the king’s heart is like water in God’s hands. God can turn that heart any direction. Although no one else could go with Esther and no one else could stand beside her, the Jews were inviting God to be there.

Here is another wonderful bridge for you and I. Maybe it’s not up to us to have a delicate conversation with someone. It may be the preacher. It may be the shepherds. It may be someone who has a connection. But you know about it. Although you cannot be there, you can pray. You can pray for right words. You can pray for courage. You can pray for a soft heart that listens. Your prayers can do as much good as if you were standing right beside the person.

Third, Esther understood the seriousness of the situation. She could die. What she was doing was breaking the law, but it had to be done. Faith and courage will cause a person to rise up and do what is right. We put ourselves in the background and we stand with the Lord. To do nothing meant certain doom. So often, God’s people were placed in life and death situations. Daniel in the lion’s den. The three Jewish youths and the fiery furnace. Peter in prison. Paul shipwrecked. Following God and doing what is right is often risky and hard. Consequences follow. Esther knew this. She could die. She prayed. She had others pray. Then, she approached the king.

Fourth, the most powerful lesson I see here is how different it is for us to approach the Lord of Heaven and Earth. We don’t have to approach Him in fear. We don’t have to wait to be summoned. We don’t have to fear dying because we approach Him. Come boldly to the throne of grace is what Hebrews tells us. Don’t be bashful. Don’t be fearful. Don’t be scared. Come. Come boldly. Come now. For three days, Esther, prayed, fasted and thought about what she had to do. We don’t have to go through that to talk to God. What a blessing we have in the Lord. What a loving and open relationship we have. Esther could talk to God much easier than she could talk to her own husband. We need to be thankful that God wants us to talk to Him.

We must not allow fear to keep us from doing what needs to be done. The fearful preacher will never preach what really needs to be addressed in the congregation. The fearful shepherds will never approach certain members because they don’t want a tongue lashing. The fearful parent will not deal with the rebellious attitude of their teenager. We must pray and then do what is right.

Who knows whether you are put in the place you are for such a purpose as this? Who knows if God has put you in your family so you could lead them to Christ. Who knows if God opened doors for you to work where you do so you could show others the love of Jesus. Who knows if God did not put you in the congregation you are in to lead them to a closer and more Biblical relationship with the Lord. Who knows?

But one thing we do know, remaining silent, doing nothing, will never accomplish anything. It was a chance for Esther, but it was well worth it. It will be a chance for us, but if God works through us, that too, will be well worth it.

Such a time as this…

Roger

15

Jump Start # 2823

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2823

Numbers 20:10 “and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’”

A person’s anger can get the best of them. Words can fly that will be remembered for decades. Things can be done that pushes friendships away and even severs fellowship. Israel was complaining, once again. Unhappy. Not content. Wishing they could be back in Egypt, Moses just about had it with these people. It’s like a parent counting to three, to get a rebellious child to tone down and straighten up.

The Lord told Moses to take the staff and speak to the rock. Two things happened. They shouldn’t have happened, but Moses was mad. Instead of speaking, he struck the rock. He smacked the rock twice. I’m surprised that the rod did not shatter in pieces. That was mistake number one. He was to speak, not strike.

Mistake number two, is found in our verse today. Moses seemed to think that he could bring water out of the rock. Really? On your own? Have you ever done that before? And, could you separate the Red Sea? And, could you make the rod into a snake? One would wonder with such power, why did Moses need the Lord? He was taking credit for what God would do. It was the Lord who would bring water out of the rock. Without the Lord, nothing would happen. The Lord rebuked Moses for not treating Him holy and before the assembly of Israel for not honoring the Lord. The bringing of water out of the rock should have been a moment for all Israel to fall to their knees in praise to the Lord. But that didn’t happen.

As a result, Moses and Aaron would die in the wilderness. They would not be allowed to enter the land they had spent a long time heading towards. And, in this there are valuable lessons for us:

First, let us never keep the Lord out of the picture nor forget our humble place before Him. Great things happen, and some are too easily taking the credit when the increase and the blessings come from God. Our safety, our health, our growth directly point to the Lord. Without the Lord, we could not succeed.

Second, these verses remind us that even the leaders among us can do wrong. No one, but the Lord, is perfect. We can make wrong judgments. We can let our emotions get the best of us. We can say things that ought never to have been said. Our position and work in the kingdom doesn’t move us to being beyond the rules. All of us are accountable to the Lord and to each other.

Third, the nation would survive without Moses and Aaron. And, the church will survive without you and me. It would be a hard transition moving from Moses, who has been the leader for forty years, to Joshua, but that transition would not slow things down. In fact, as Joshua takes over, there is a rapid command to get ready to enter the land immediately. Preachers, shepherds need to understand that the work is greater than we are. What we can do is to put into place a legacy for who will follow. What we can do is to make it easy for those who come after us. My passionate study of Restoration History shows that preachers have come and gone. They did amazing work and a generation later they are forgotten. The kingdom will not collapse if any one of us are no longer here.

Fourth, there are consequences, often severe that follows our disobedience to God. The flow of this context makes us conclude that it was Moses who struck the rock. Aaron was just there. Why did Aaron have to die? We might assume that he was silent and didn’t stop Moses. We might assume that we was party to what Moses was doing. The Lord’s ways are always just and right. When leaders disobey, one of the great consequences that often follows is that they are no longer worthy to lead. Respect has been lost. Credibility is at stake. Trust has been shattered. Rather than limping along, trying to recover, if it ever can be recovered, it is often best for the leader to step down. God removed both Aaron and Moses.

It must have been a long, long journey down that mountain for Moses and Aaron’s son. They left Aaron up there. The Lord was going to take his life. I expect Moses had tears in his eyes. I also expect his heart was filled with remorse, regret and pain that he was the cause for his brother’s death. In just a moment, years and years of good can be destroyed. It takes a long time to build, but just moments to tear down. An angry word. An act of foolishness. Something not thought out. That’s all it takes to send people running the other direction. That’s all it takes to put a church into a tailspin. That’s all it takes to destroy unity and break the hearts and fellowship of others.

Hitting a rock and stealing the credit—doesn’t seem like a big deal to us, but they were to God. The magnitude of a sin is not in how many people were hurt, but in what the Lord has said.

It is interesting that Moses’ name is found in Hebrews 11, among those who gained approval. God took his life, but God granted him a heavenly home. The faith of Moses covered a lifetime. We are thankful that God does not judge our entire walk by one moment in time. It’s not a stretch to believe that Moses was tearful, penitent and sorry for what he had done. God was right and he knew that. And, when our emotions get the best of us and we say and do things that we later regret, this story is a reminder of the mercy and love for the Lord. Being in Heaven is far more important then being in the Promise land. By faith, Moses, gained approval.

Roger

14

Jump Start # 2822

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2822

1 Thessalonians 5:5b-6 “We are not of the night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”

Daytime and nighttime. Some folks are early morning people. Others are late at night people. Some get their best work done before noon. Some are just getting started around noon. In this section of Thessalonians, Paul is talking about daytime and nighttime. Later in the context he says, “for those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day…”

The use of daytime and nighttime is not about what time it is. It’s not about when one is at his peak in productivity. It’s about being spiritual or being worldly. It’s about righteousness and sinfulness. The darkness refers to that which is wrong. The daytime refers to what is right. We are of the day.

There is a practical understanding to this. More crime happens at night. More trouble happens at night. If you drive by a small town bar, it’s always dark inside, very dim. It’s not like driving by a Walmart. The darkness conceals trouble. It allows a bad person to do bad things and not be seen.

Our verse, again recognizes that Christians are of the day, not the night. We are called to be alert, sober and aware of what’s going on and aware of where we are headed. Our verse tells us not to sleep as others do. Again, this is not literal, because everyone must sleep sooner or later. He is talking about being asleep in life. Not being aware of what’s going on. Not paying attention. Not being alert, as the passage points us to.

Have you wondered why some “sleep” through life?

First, it may be that they don’t want to know what’s going on. Knowing, may involve action required on their part and they don’t want to do that. So, they ignore situations and live in the make believe world that everything is fine and everything will just turn out ok in the end.

This is a danger in the home. Teenagers rude behavior, slipping grades, skipping classes and hanging out with some rough kids are signs of trouble. Drugs. Immorality. Crime. The daytime parents see these things and actions are taken to save that child before he crashes in the rocks. The nighttime parents tell themselves that “kids will be kids,” and they become neglectful in doing anything. That is, until one night the police call and the child has been arrested, or seriously injured.

This is a danger in the congregation. Some shepherds are asleep at the helm. Members dropping out. People spreading wild ideas and spiritual poison among each other and neglectful elders believe that this is just a phase some go through and everything will be ok. They believe that until one Sunday they find out that twenty families have left and started a new congregation and that new congregation is moving quickly away from God’s pattern. Daytime or nighttime?

Second, others are so carnal and worldly minded that a spiritual thought never enters their mind. They never think about thanking the Lord in prayer. They never darken a church building. They have a Bible, but they are not sure where it is, probably in box in a closet somewhere. Their entire world revolves the here and now. Secular. Worldly. Minds wrapped around sports, politics, finance, and fun. Little depth. No observation. No insights. Shallow conversations. Empty plans. Empty hearts. The reason they are nighttime people is because that has been their entire life. That’s all they know and like a guy with a bad limp, they’ve gotten use to dwelling in darkness. The only time their world is rattled is when they must go to the funeral home. That scares them and for a moment they are thrust into the daytime. They don’t like it and as soon as they can get out of there and return to their nightlife, they’ll do. None the better. No lessons learned.

Third, some like the nighttime more than the daytime. Again, we are not talking about the hour on the clock but what’s in the heart of a person. Nighttime is void of God and spirituality. Daytime is alert, sober, serving and considerate. In the night, you don’t think about consequences. In the night you don’t think about influence. In the night you don’t think about others. Nighttime is a selfish world of lust, greed and want. Nighttime people don’t think about rules and what’s right. They don’t think about what’s best. And, that’s just the way they want things to be. They have wallowed in the mud with pigs so long that they actually enjoy it. The sickness and headache and pain that follows a night of drinking doesn’t stop them. They’ll return right back to that. The fear of sexual disease or pregnancy doesn’t slow them down on immorality. They’ll return right back to that. The addictive nature of drugs and alcohol doesn’t slow them down. Living fast. Living free. Responsible to no one. They believe they have the world by the tail and are standing on top of the world. Daytime? Absolutely not for these people. They love where they are. They don’t care if it’s sin. They don’t care if they are losing their souls. They indulge and drink sin by the gallons. They laugh when you mention Jesus. They have no time for worship. They are not interested in what is decent, moral, right and good. They are after what they want and nothing will stop them. Blind as they are, they wouldn’t trade their lives for yours for all the money in the world. They never realize how miserable, lonely and broken they really are. They never see how they have ruined themselves and lost great opportunities. They are not alert. They are not sober. They laugh their way through the day and through a lifetime.

But, we are of the day. We are careful. We are alert. Our eyes are open. We consider. We think. We include God. Our way is sure. Our future is bright. Our journey, though hard, is a blessing. We surround ourselves with quality people who love us, support us and are there for us.

We are of the day…

Roger

13

Jump Start # 2821

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2821

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Our verse today identifies an intense battle. It’s not a ballgame. It’s not a board game. It’s not a video game. It’s life and it’s very real. The battle is spiritual. The thief and Jesus. One came to give and the other came to take away. One makes things better and the other makes things worse. One is good and the other is bad. The thief is Satan. He has never accomplished anything worthwhile. He has never helped a soul. He has never brought a ray of sunshine. Instead, misery, pain, death and destruction follow him. He lies. He cheats. He offers the world, which is not his to give. He takes what is good and ruins it.

The motive of the thief is to destroy what Christ has established. Revelation tells us that Satan is at war with the people of God. He tried to entomb Christ, but the Lord was resurrected. Now, Satan tries to entomb us in addictions, fears and fighting.

There are three areas that Satan is interested in. He wants these three areas. He’ll try to break in at night and steal them. He’ll try to crush them right before your eyes. And, much too often, we do not see the workings of this snake. He is a coward. James tells us to resist and he’ll flee. Say “no,” to him and watch him run. Since he is a coward, he’ll hide behind issues, conflicts and other things that steal our attention and takes our focus off of the Lord. We don’t’ see him. We see the issues and conflicts. We are drawn to differences and never realize that behind these things is Satan. So, Satan will hide behind money issues, racial differences, building stress, worry and fear, to cloud our vision and to make us lose focus with the Lord. Satan will pull us apart. He will divide us. He’ll make us turn on each other. And, all through this, we never realize it’s Satan. Something as insignificant as wearing a mask has divided this country and God’s people. We’ve left congregations, some have split, some no longer are in fellowship with others, because of a mask. But, it’s not a mask. It’s Satan. He has accomplished what he was after, to steal, kill and destroy. He didn’t have to use error. That’s too obvious. He didn’t have to bring in false prophets. All it took was a simple little mask. Something made of paper. Something made of cloth. And, with that, he was able to do what progressive theology couldn’t do. With that he accomplished what atheistic professors could not do. He did not have to deny the Christ. He did not have to use intellectual textbooks to deceive people. No. It was just a mask. And, that little mask has become a reason for some to get angry with the very brethren that they have worshipped with and fellowshipped with for year. That little mask was all it took for Satan to accomplish his purpose.

Satan is after our congregations. He doesn’t want them walking near the Lord. He doesn’t care about the size of the group. It’s the closeness to the word of God that concerns Satan. A house full of people that are playing church only makes him smile. But a handful of serious, dedicated and committed disciples are enough to make a major difference in a community for decades. He knows that. How to stop solid Biblical preaching and teaching is the concern of Satan. How to keep people from growing spiritually is the concern of Satan. False teaching doesn’t stand a chance in a room full of people that know the Bible. That attack won’t work. Compliancy, apathy, indifference will only reach those who are not serious in their walk with the Lord. Congregations will survive because of the seriousness of disciples. A pandemic. Social distancing. Masks. How innocent. How deceptive. How easily to hide his motive behind those things. And, with that the people of God who prayed for each other, loved each other, now turn on each other. Attitudes flair. Anger rises. Rebellion surfaces. And, the congregation suffers. The work stops. People turn on each other. We become our own enemy. And, no one notices that Satan was behind all of this.

Satan is after our marriages. He will use work and the stress of pandemics to make couples angry with each other. He’ll use the close of schools and social events to make families weary of each other. Hours upon hours of mindless TV watching fills the days and the nights. Our souls suffer. Our spirits suffer. All we see is how abnormal life has become. We never see Satan. We never see that all of this is just one of his ways to chip away at our families. Divorce seems like an acceptable option. Why live this way? Happiness has gone. Nothing seems right. And, Satan smiles. He smiles because no one notices him. It’s pandemics. It’s how things just are not normal any more. That’s all people see. That’s all they talk about. No one points a finger at the evil one. The thief has entered the house and no one saw him. And, what he stole was the love, the bond, the trust, and the commitment between a couple.

Satan is after you. Too tired to watch the videos put out by the church. Too busy to listen to podcasts put out by the church. Too much to do to keep up with Bible readings and Bible classes. And, Satan smiles. Our rhythms have been disrupted. It’s hard to get back into the groove again. Ropes and masks at church just doesn’t seem right. And, in all of this our intensity with the Lord has slowed down. We are no longer as engaged, excited or involved as we once were. It’s the pandemic we tell ourselves. But Satan knows. He smiles. They’ll never catch him, he believes. They’ll never know it’s him. The thief has robbed our peace of mind and our hope and confidence. We are not the way we once were. The fox has gotten into the chicken house and no one did anything.

Yet, for many, this is not the way the story will be written. For many congregations, families and individuals, this pandemic was nothing more than a speed bump that they passed over. Masks have been no big deal for many. Inconvenient and not to their liking, but not something to get upset over and certainly not something to destroy what is good and right over. These folks recognize that Satan is behind all of this. He’s used something innocent to get his hands where they do not belong. He’s reached in to steal our congregations, our families and our souls. The wise recognize this. Our fellowship will not be disturbed over something as silly as a mask. Our marriages are greater than a pandemic. And, our souls are much more valuable than all of this. Through this, some congregations, some families and some individuals have grown stronger, closer together and are better on this side of things than they were before. The thief tried, but it didn’t work for these people. He couldn’t get in.

There has been a battle going on. It continues to go on. Don’t lose sight of what is really happening. Don’t allow something simple to destroy what is great in the eyes of the Lord. Masks have done more than cover our mouths, they have covered the schemes of the devil. Our enemy is not each other. Our enemy is Satan.

Don’t let that thief into your heart. He’ll hide behind just about anything to get his way in. And, once he is in, all trouble breaks out.

Roger

12

Jump Start # 2820

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2820

2 Thessalonians 3:6 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep aloof from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.”

Recently I wrote about legalism and obedience. There were many encouraging replies to that Jump Start and more than one asked me to write about traditions. Legalism– obedience-traditions, those lines can get fuzzy in many minds and it is very easy to journey from one to the other.

In our verse today, the apostle refers to traditions. Some in Thessalonica were not following the traditions received from the apostles. The word ‘tradition’ is just one degree better than being a legalist, especially in the minds of younger people. And, in any discussion, it is important to speak the same language by understanding what we mean when we use certain words. Tradition is a way of doing things. Some traditions do not happen very often. In our home, we have a tradition of putting up a Christmas tree in late November or early December. We don’t do that in July. It’s a yearly tradition. There are also daily traditions. I drive the same roads every day to get down to the church building. If there is construction or a major accident, I’m forced to really think about what other roads I can take. A daily tradition.

Now, on top of that, there are traditions are passed down from generation to generation. Some vacation the same place year after year. This was something started when they were young and it continues now that they are adults. Some congregations will have a Gospel meeting the same week every Spring and every fall. This has been going on for a long, long time.

Our passage refers to apostolic traditions. We might call these patterns or blueprints of how things were done. Paul told the Philippians, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things…” Apostolic traditions carry more weight than our traditions. Here in our verse, discipline was to be imposed upon the one who rebelled and would not follow the apostle’s traditions. It might be easier to understand apostolic tradition as simply the way the apostles taught brethren to do things. They were binding. They were part of God’s will. This is not the same as our traditions.

Churches have traditions, just as families do. And, our traditions bring a sense of order and comfort to us. Where I worship, we begin worship on Sunday at 9:30 in the morning. This congregation has been doing that for a long time. Several years ago, the time we met on Sunday evening was changed. We had to really get the word out, remind people and make it clear why and what we were doing.

Traditions are a way of doing things. The two problems that surface with traditions is when we are unable to adjust them or change them. Some would think meeting at 9:30 on Sunday morning is found in the Bible somewhere. It’s not. If anything, those early disciples met in the evening. When Paul preached at midnight, I do not believe he started at 10:00 in the morning with his sermon. Likely, those disciples were servants and slaves and had to get their work done in the day and they met that evening or night for worship. Covid has shaken and rattled many of our traditions. It has made us look at things and made us consider are these the best way of doing what we are doing. Change for some folks is a hard thing. But sometimes it is necessary. Tradition can lead to lifeless and meaningless worship if one is not careful. Same songs, same way, same everything and one can sleepwalk through worship. Putting energy, passion, thought, organization and planning into worship will help keep things fresh and alive. Some congregations are now thinking about the two services on Sunday. It was a tradition prior to Covid. But having a break and now trying to start up, some are looking at what works best for them. Many congregations are realizing that “Passing the plate,” for both the Lord’s Supper and the contribution, is not the most sanitary way of doing things. Most just never thought about this before. Now we are. And, out of this, new ways of doing things are being looked at. Those that are stuck in tradition won’t do well with new ways. Tradition is not Scripture. What works for one generation may not work for another generation. Because one congregation meets differently than another does not necessarily mean that one is better or one is stronger. Sometimes we like to pass judgment upon what other congregations are doing and we are not a part of them. As long as they are Biblically worshipping the Lord, we ought to be pleased.

The other problems about traditions is that they often make younger Christians scream. They hate traditions. Some go running the other way looking for something different, something new, something “non-traditional.” And, the problem with non-traditional is that one must change all the time. There is nothing consistent. And, even with that, after a while, change becomes the new tradition. A church could meet at 1:30 in the morning, but I don’t think that would please many people, especially mothers of little ones.

Traditions are not wrong unless we are hopelessly stuck in them and refuse to change for what might be something more efficient and even better. Traditions are not wrong unless we view them as the only way things can be done.

What helps seeing what matters and what doesn’t matter is to travel about and worship with some outside of your region. Go South. Go North. Go overseas. In India, when I worshipped there several years ago, everyone sits on the floor. The women and children on one side and the men on the other side. They do not sit as families. Before everyone comes in, they all take their shoes off and pile them up outside the door. The men passing the contribution, have a basket on a long pole. They put that basket before each person. Now all of this was very unusual to me. It’s not the way we do things here in Indiana. But, it was Scriptural and it worked for them. I did not think that they were wrong for the way they did things.

Traditions help us. But don’t be stuck there. There is an old story about grandma always cutting the ends of the ham off before she baked it. Her daughter did the same thing. Now, the grown granddaughter was doing it that way too. When one asked Grandma why she did that, her reply was, it was the only way to get the ham to fit into her pan. Grandma had a reason. Daughter and granddaughter were just doing it because that’s the way they learned it. Let us make sure we know why we are doing things and not just doing them because we’ve always done it that way. I’ve preached for congregations that always had a meeting in late summer. It was always the same week. No adjustments. Could not be the week before and it could not be the week later. When asked why that week, it was because that’s the time before the farmers got the hay in. When asked how many farmers where in the congregation, the reply was no one these days. Don’t throw out reason for the sake of tradition.

Hope this has been helpful…

Roger