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Jump Start # 3167

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3167

John 1:41 “He found first his own brother, Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which translated means Christ).”

The other day I met Mr. Lincoln. He wasn’t as tall as I expected. He had a beard and he was as friendly and talkative as I had hoped. Some of you are thinking, ‘Something’s up, this couldn’t happen.’ Here’s the story. My dear friend, Rickie J. was in town to preach for us. We went out to Lincoln’s boyhood home in Indiana. He had never been there before. We got a private and personal guide by one of the employees of this National Park. Abe’s mother is buried there. Across the street, is the Lincoln State Park. That’s where his sister is buried. We went there. The guy at the gate asked how much Lincoln lure we were interested in. That’s like asking a child how many M & M’s do you want. Going back four greats, the man told us, that person and Abe Lincoln’s father were brothers. He went on to tell us that his last name was Lincoln. He even wore a beard. I told many people since, “I’ve met Lincoln.” I did. It wasn’t Abe, but it was a Lincoln.

Our verse is more impressive than that. It’s about finding Jesus, the Messiah. How exciting this was for those people in the first century. The prophets had announced that He was coming. John the baptist had declared that he was here. Now, after all these years, hope was realized. The Messiah had come.

For many of them, they were thinking of national independence. Freedom finally from Rome. No more taxes going to support Caesar. The Messiah was here. Yet, in a short while, they would realize that Jesus was interested in a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one. He rarely, rarely talked about Rome or the political occupation that Rome had upon the Jews. Freedom in Jesus’ terms was from sin, not Rome. Hope was in Heaven, not an independent nation that would rule the world once again.

Some lessons for us from all of this:

First, name dropping might impress us, but it doesn’t Heaven. We see the rich and famous in airports and other public places and we like to tell friends who we ran into. But seeing the famous doesn’t mean they invite us to their homes. It doesn’t mean that they notice us. From God’s perspective, it’s not who you saw, ran into, or met that matters. What God is concerned about is whether or not we know Jesus.

My good friend and fellow blogger, Ken Weliver tells the story of a lady running into the actor Paul Newman in an ice cream shop. She was so star struck that she put her ice cream cone in her purse. What ought to impress us is the Lord. The Psalmist said, “Stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel” (22:23). And, yet, does that happen? We get fidgety during worship, yawn when long sections of Scriptures are read, and check our watches if the sermon seems a bit long. Impressed with God, that’s where we ought to be.

  • We ought to be impressed with what God has made. Have you looked at the moon in a while? It’s something. God made that. How about a willy worm? God made him, also. Beautiful mountains, starry nights, waterfalls, rainbows, rain dripping through tree leaves, the smell of mowed lawns, butterflies, lightning bugs, and of course, you. Just consider what God has made.
  • We ought to be impressed with what God has done. Just walk through that Bible of yours. Gardens called Paradise. Seas and rivers that parted. Sun that stood still. Storms that were stopped. Diseases that were cured instantly. Demons that were driven out. God’s people have been protected from fires, lions, prisons and even Satan, himself. The dead were called back. Funerals were interrupted. Food was multiplied. Manna fell from the skies. Angels appeared. Armies were sent running away in fear. Prison doors opened. Axe heads floated. It is remarkable and amazing what our God has done. But more than that, God has forgiven you and changed you. Just look where you are today. Look what you have become. Amazing.
  • We ought to be impressed with what God is doing this day. Prayers are being answered. Blessings are descending. Sins are being forgiven. Hope is being renewed. Hearts are being made strong. Faith and convictions are leading people to stand up, speak up and put the Devil on notice. Things that once scared us, no longer will. Things we were once bothered about and worried about no longer concern us. Death doesn’t shake us any longer. Evil doesn’t scare us. Our mighty God is upon the throne and there is nothing that shall shake us any longer. Every day, this day, our God is in our lives doing things.
  • We ought to be impressed with what God will do in the future. This world is not our home. We belong to the Lord and we are a people that are Heaven Bound. A day is coming when we shall escape the trials and trouble of this ole’ world and be at home with the Lord. Resurrection is coming. Heaven is coming. God promised and it will be. The best is not behind us. The best is not now. The best is yet to come. Someday we shall see His face. Simply amazing!

I met Lincoln. No big deal. What is impressive is that God knows us. Christ lives in us. And, these thoughts ought to bring a true since of awe, excitement and joy to our hearts. Our Jesus. My Jesus.

Roger

15

Jump Start # 3166

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3166

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

I’ve noticed a trend on Facebook. It starts with a headline to grab your attention. “Experts say…” is usually how it begins. Experts say here are five fashion items you should no longer wear. Experts say here is seven decorating No-Nos that you need to quit doing. Experts say here are three foods that you should never keep in your refrigerator. On and on and on, the advice is given to us by the experts. The experts know. And, we are supposed to do what the experts tell us.

Now, I admit that I an a rebel at heart. And, when the experts say this is what you need to do, I always fight that. It’s interesting that the experts are never revealed. Who are they? What makes them experts? Why are their opinions better than my opinion? Those are the thoughts that I generally have.

Our verse tells us to come to Christ. He is the expert. He proved it. His credentials authorize it. The testimony of the Father demonstrates it. We need to listen to Jesus. His opinion, which is really not an opinion, must come before my opinion. And, when that rebel spirit rises up in our hearts to resist what He says, we must realize that He knows. He speaks from the standpoint that He is trying to help us. He loves us. He loves us so much that He gave His life for us.

Our lives are not only flooded with the opinions of experts on Facebook, but the advice of family and friends often comes across the same way. You must do this. You have to go here. We hear things like that all the time and when we don’t do what they say, they get upset. They have assumed the role of the expert in our lives.

The following verse in this context, Jesus tells us to learn from Him. He describes Himself as gentle and humble. And, not only does He have something to teach us, but He has walked that walk Himself. He knows. Following Him is what we should do. Following Him is what we must do.

The problem with opinions is that there are too many and everyone thinks that their opinion is the only one that counts. People can get a bit fussy when you don’t do what they think you should. Running the life of others has become a true profession for many people. The trouble is that often they haven’t run their own life very well. That’s the difference with Jesus. His life was perfection. His words were always timely. He was never out of place. He never had to apologize. He never over stated things. He never spoke out of turn.

I was helping a friend with his budget one day. He brought a sheet of paper with all his numbers and expenses on them. He wanted me to see his numbers. He was interested in trying to save money. I saw that he was tipping nearly 50% for his haircuts. That’s way too high, I told him. Immediately, he said, “that’s what I was told to do.” Yep. Right there, someone’s advice and someone’s opinion. Don’t know who told him that, unless it was the person cutting his hair. And, that shows us that often advice, opinions, and even the experts are not right.

Now, start fitting these thoughts into faith, worship and religion. The experts say, or, I think we ought to…and before long you have a confused mess in the religious community like we do these days. Every opinion is right and nothing is wrong. That’s what we are told.

I am the way, the truth and the life, is what our Lord says. There’s really only one voice that matters, the words of Jesus.

I think the next time I come across another of those, “The experts say,” on Facebook, I’ll just pass right on by. It might do us all a lot of good if we did that.

Roger

14

Jump Start # 3165

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3165

Proverbs 10:6 “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”

It was a Sunday evening worship service. One of the members offered an opening prayer. Very normal, except for one line that he said in that prayer. He thanked the Lord for our “Recent Blessings.” Recent blessings. Just the way he said that stuck with me. We know about blessings. We count them one by one, as the hymns goes. But often when we think about blessings, we are reaching back into our past. Recent blessings—that’s something to think about.

First, it recognizes that God is still active in our lives. How do you know that? Recent blessings. Recent, even today. The tap of blessings did not shut off after our salvation. God continues to open doors, forgive sins, connect people and as our passage today says, “blessings are on the head of the righteous.”

There are days when those valleys of the shadow of death sure seem long and dark. There are times when the silence to our prayers can make one feel that he is all alone. There are times with the needs, concerns and worries fill our prayers. But recent blessings reminds us that God is still there. Recent blessings tells us that God has not forgotten us. Recent blessings bring encouragement, hope and strength to the weary soul. God sure has been good to us. So many blessings. So many gifts from Heaven.

Second, recent blessings come in many forms. An encouraging call from someone you haven’t heard from in a long while, sure can be a recent blessing. Worship certainly is a recent blessing. We do it so often that we can take it for granted, but let’s not do that. The joy of singing praises with others, the power and passion of wonderful preaching, the strength in seeing others who desire to walk with the Lord, such wonderful blessings.

Sharing truths, insights with others in a Bible class is a wonderful blessing. These things build faith and they help us in our walk with the Lord. The blessings of a wonderful congregation. The blessings of seeing senior saints and hearing the cry of little babies. The blessings of shepherds who love and care for us. The blessings of gifted preachers who pour their hearts out to help us know the Lord. So many spiritual tools available. So many friendships in the Lord. Recent blessings.

Third, rain when it has been dry, and dryness when it has been rainy are recent blessings of the Lord. Health, a good mind, a day filled with good deeds are all wonderful blessings. The opportunity to let your light shine and days when we have put the devil on the run are great blessings. Even this very day is a gift from the Lord. We can use this day to the glory of God or we can waste the time the Lord has given us, but it is a gift and a blessing.

Fourth, recent blessings make us thankful. Open your eyes and look around and see all the wonderful things the Lord has done. We certainly live in complaining times. People complain about the weather, the traffic, politics, prices, and even in church services, there are those who find things to complain about. But the one who is seeing recent blessings has a heart so filled with thankfulness and joy that he doesn’t let these other things bother him. The thankful heart is not a complaining heart. The thankful heart sees what the complainer never does. The thankful heart appreciates and glorifies the God who is so generous.

Recent blessings—you have some. I have some. Maybe this would be a great way to begin the day, by seeing what new blessings, recent blessings have come your way.

Our God is so good…

Roger

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Jump Start # 3164

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3164

Ephesians 4:3 “being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

There are things in life that we do not like to admit. Not being open, transparent and upfront about things has led to the necessity of checking car reports when buying a used car and home inspections when purchasing a house. We can create images that are often not reality. The perfect marriage. The perfect family. The perfect home. The perfect yard. I saw a guy years ago at a Kansas City funeral home spray painting the yard green. I wondered how it had such a bright green look in November. It was fake. It was paint. Reality reminds us that the image presented often deludes and deceives.

And, when it comes to our congregations, an image is often created but it cannot be sustained. One of the things that we do not like to admit is that our fellowship is splintered, divided and rarely does one part have anything to do with the other parts. Churches have split over doctrinal differences and personality clashes. And, once divided, the one part will have nothing to do with the other part. Young people grow up only knowing that the other group is wrong and that they should stay completely away from them, as if they had leprosy. A broken and divided fellowship is nothing to brag about, be proud about or even to be indifferent about.

Our verse today is not directed toward the brotherhood. It’s addressed to the Ephesian congregation, where absolute unity takes place. The apostle outlines three steps to a unified church.

First, there is a walk that we all have to walk. That’s how the chapter begins. We are “entreated” to walk in a manner worthy of the calling. Walk a specific way. Now, immediately, when this is not done, unity gets strained. Our fellowship is built around us all walking in the light (1 John 1:7). When some of us do not do that, then unity will not be possible.

Second, there is an attitude that we are all to manifest. The apostle writes, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). Those key expressions, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love—are attitudes. God expects us to have those attitudes. And those words are expressed in how we treat and interact with others. Are we gentle? Are we patient? Do we forbear? Are we humble? The wrong steps and the wrong attitudes will keep any unity from taking place. A person can tie the tail of two cats together, but they don’t want to be like that. One can say that they are joined, but it’s not a unity and it’s certainly not a happy occasion. There can be no olive braches extended and no open discussions when a person doesn’t want anything to do with the other one.

Third, there is a motive or drive that God expects us to display. Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, is what the third verse, our verse today, states. Diligence—doing things now. Getting right to it. Preserving—doing all that you can to sustain and keep the unity alive. I sometimes feel that some are more diligent at breaking unity than preserving it.

Three vital steps for unity within the Ephesian church. A person cannot pick just one of the three. All of them are necessary. And, without any of them, unity is nearly impossible.

Will this work on a brotherhood scale? Is it possible for all of us everywhere to be united? Unity and fellowship are not the same. Congregations do not fellowship one another. We are told to love the brotherhood, but that’s about it. Unity is personal. Unity involves individuals. Differences in spirit, attitude and practices causes some to pull back and withdrawal the hand of friendship and fellowship. I must agree with the way I believe we are to worship the Lord. That’s going to be maintained on the congregational level.

But I do believe some steps could be made to build a bridge with others. We have more in common than we have differences. I have a friend who works among the premillennial segment of churches of Christ. Our friendship revolves first around the restoration movement. We have built a friendship. He has heard me preach. We have our differences and we could accent those to the point that we never talk to each other. But I think we both have a genuine spirit that we want to move closer to one another and not further apart. I try to understand him and he tries to understand me.

What are things that practically could be done:

First, get to know brethren in the area that you may not align with doctrinally. Visit their singings and special meetings and invite them to yours. There is an old saying, “Don’t take down a fence until you know why it was put up.” There is some truth to that. Compromising convictions, closing your eye to doctrinal teachings is not and never will be a solution. Don’t go in with guns blazing and looking for a fight. Take the chips off your shoulder. We can learn a lot from others.

Second, keeping the spirit of Christ about us is essential to all conversations. One can disagree and still be friends. One can learn from others. One can try to show others why he remains where he is. Stop using terms, labels and names that are insulting and hurtful. Rather than healing, we pick the scabs off when that is done and the wounds never heal.

Third, we must remember that the working hub of New Testament activity is through the congregation. A brotherhood machinery never works. It’s without Biblical example and it usually ends up corrupt and mismanaged. The muscle of the N.T. is the congregation. That’s where unity is a must. That’s where our energy is put forth. Trying to tie all the churches together is not a good idea. Yet, maybe it’s time to stop considering those we disagree with as our enemies.

Unity—it’s hard. Politically, racially, spiritually. The Devil loves a divided world, a divided nation, a divided church and a divided heart. He’ll push differences. We must try to tie together what we can.

Roger

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Jump Start # 3163

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3163

Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Two Christians were talking. One said that she had seen a member of her congregation going into a bar with a woman that wasn’t his wife. She continued on, saying that she had lost respect for that man and was disappointed that no one in the church was doing anything about it. The other person, joined in with critical and complaining spirit about the poor leadership in the church. On and on the discussion went, spiraling downward rapidly. The two went on their separate ways. But the one with the new found information about the man in the bar was quick to tell another person that she ran into. And, this continued on for several weeks. More and more people learned about this disgusting behavior and more and more began to complain about the indifference and lack of action from the leadership.

And, the events in this story are all too often the norm in so many places today. The man made an unwise choice that hurt his influence and others made the unwise choice of talking about it. So often we excuse and ignore the spreading of tales and rumors, gossip, as most would call it, because the other is worse than talking about it. Neither is right.

Here are some thoughts:

First, our nature seems to always assume the worse. Maybe that woman was the man’s sister. Maybe. Maybe they were going into the bar, not to drink but to help someone or pick up a package. Maybe. From seeing someone go into the bar, we immediately assume that person is going to drink and likely, will be drunk before dawn. That happens a lot.

Second, from our passage, the one who initiated the conversation about the man was admitting that she was not spiritual. Our verse tells us what the spiritual person would do. Before they talked to another, they’d talk to the person. When we gossip, we are admitting that we are not strong. We are admitting that we are not spiritual.

Third, much too often, the person who witnessed the man going into the bar would say, “it’s not my job to go talk to him.” Some, would even say, that’s why we have elders. But isn’t it your job? Isn’t that what this passage is all about? How can we say we love one another and how can we desire to have everyone in Heaven when we’d rather talk about someone than help him. How would this woman who witnessed this do that? She needs to bring along her husband, and the two of them talk with this person. Maybe things were not as bad as they were assumed. Maybe they were worse. The spirit of restoration is the idea of wanting to help someone.

Fourth, the assumption was made by all of these people that the leaders of the congregation knew about all of this. They were being accused of sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing. It may well be that they didn’t know about this. Leaders are not able to read hearts like Jesus could. They do not watch our every movement. So, while we know things, they may not.

Fifth, as this story spins more and more out of control, the number of upset people continues to escalate. A lot of loose talking, cheap shots and judgmental attitudes could have been prevented had the first person followed the steps in our passage today. The one who is spiritual is not to tell others and then others and yet still more. The spiritual one has a responsibility to go and restore. Paul did not say, ‘unless you have elders, and then you don’t have to do this.’ That clause is not found here. Leaders or not. Elders or not. We are in this together and we need to help one another. Spreading things only makes it harder for the guilty person to do what is right. The more we talk about rather than talking to, the more the problem grows.

We don’t like doing what this passage says because it’s risky and messy and puts us on the very front lines where shots could be taken at us. Talking to others is much safer and easier. Rather than saving a soul, our actions can close the door on him because too many people are talking about him.

A Christian walks into a bar…let’s get the facts first. Let’s go to the source. Let’s find out what’s going on. Let’s try to help. The steps of restoration work when we follow what God says.

Good things for us to remember.

Roger