10

Jump Start # 3285

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3285

1 Timothy 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.“

Paul wanted the disciples to be praying. The apostle lists four different words for prayers: entreaties, prayers, petitions and thanksgiving. They are all prayers but they are uniquely different. Not every prayer is the same. Not every prayer asks the same things. And, on top of that, they were not to only pray for themselves. They were to pray for kings and all who are in authority, which in those days included the vile, wicked and violent Caesars. Pray that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. Those in charge can impact that, and they have. Laws against assemblies, worship and baptism would profoundly impact the disciples. The disciples were not overthrowing the government. Their goal was to live a tranquil and quiet life.

Think about that expression from our verse today, “tranquil and quiet life.” Not a loud life. Not a “in you face” life. Not a revolutionary. Not a trouble-maker. But a peaceful life. A quiet life.

Some thoughts:

First, our choices and involvement especially on social media has a lot to do with a tranquil and quiet life. Stirring things up by posting things that irritate and bother others draws a response. People jump into the discussion. Lots of things are said back and forth. Anger surfaces. Name calling. Insulting terms are used. Those things get people excited in a negative way. It creates strife and stress. It causes the blood to boil for some. I’ve seen it. You’ve seen it. Toss some bait out into the water and see if any sharks attack. They will.

Now, this is not the path to a tranquil and quiet life. “Did you read what this guy posted on Facebook,” and off we go, canons loaded and ready to go to war. We can’t police what people post. But you certainly do not have to attend every argument that you are invited to. Keeping that tranquil and quiet life may mean not reading what people post. It may mean keeping to yourself.

Second, even without social media, we can take sides and get involved in disputes that take place within the congregation. Something was said. It wasn’t said to us, about us or concerning us, but we feel compelled to jump into the skirmish and get involved. We muddy the waters when we do that. And, at the end of the day, we have not lived a peaceful, quiet life. We helped stir things up. We kept the fire going. We got in the middle of things that was none of our business. Rather than encouraging, we often discourage. Rather than helping, we can hurt. Rather than making things better, we can make things worse.

Third, the tranquil and quiet life is a state of the mind. It’s not about sitting on the beach and watching the tides roll in. It’s not about a lazy Saturday afternoon where a nap is the most important thing on your list of things to get done. No, in the midst of a busy day, a heavy work schedule, lots of people around and lots of demands, your life can still be peaceful and quiet. This comes from the insides and not the outsides. This comes from knowing our Savior. This is not a quality found only after retirement. Retirement is a concept that was not known in the first century world.

Letting the word of Christ richly dwell within you, as the Colossians were told leads to the tranquil life. Letting your mind dwell upon things that are pure, lovely and good as the Philippians were instructed leads to a quiet life. Worry, fear, anger, doubt stir us up and agitates our insides. As much as I do not like the movie “Frozen,” the major song, “Let it go,” is so appropriate here. Let things go. Let the shepherds shepherd. Let the deacons serve. Work out your own salvation. Stop being upset about who parks their car where, how late some come, where some sit and on and on and on, the list goes.

For years I used a story when I taught about worship about a couple driving home after Sunday morning services. The wife asked her husband if he saw sister Smith’s shoes. The husband said no. The wife asked if he saw how late the Jones family came in. The husband said no. The wife asked if saw who was sitting with the Thompson girl. The husband said no. Finally, frustrated, the wife declared, “It does you a lot of good going to church.” Bothered by others was Martha’s problem. It wasn’t serving. It was she was serving and her sister was sitting. That’s what bothered her. It burnt the biscuits.

How do I live a peaceful and quiet life? I stop allowing others to bother me and I focus upon what a wonderful relationship I have with Jesus. I think about the powerful spiritual blessings found in Christ. I think about how He has forgiven me and loves me.

Peaceful. Tranquil. Quiet. Have you prayed for those things? Have you sought those things? It sure makes a difference in your life when you stop trying to run the universe and fix everyone you come in contact with.

Roger

09

Jump Start # 3284

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3284

Philemon 17 “If then you regard me a partner, accept him as you would me.”

The story of Philemon is fascinating. A run-a-way slave that belonged to Philemon connects with Paul in Rome. That slave becomes a Christian and very useful and helpful to Paul. As Paul sends the letter of Colossians, he also sends the letter to Philemon, along with the run-a-way. Paul sends the slave, now a Christian, back. He appeals to Philemon, as our verse states, “accept him as you would me.”

But, something huge is missing. It’s the elephant in the room. And, it presents a huge lesson for us Biblically. Paul never tells Philemon to grant freedom to the slave. He was a slave. He ran away as a slave. He was being returned as a slave. One would think, and I see myself urging Philemon, had I been there, to change the status of this new Christian. Give him his freedom. Paul doesn’t do that.

It is likely that Philemon had other slaves. Would he need to release all of them and give all of them their freedom? Much of the economy of the Roman world depended upon slaves. Yet, in every culture where the Gospel has been taken, slavery ends. It’s hard to practice the golden rule when you do not allow another person the same privileges and rights that you have.

However, Paul never specifically states, “Let him go.”

Lessons we ought to see here:

First, our zeal to make things right and better can lead us to say things that God never has. We can pressure people, insist that they do things, that God never does. I see myself here. I would have layered Philemon with so many passages about how Jesus treated people to get him to release Onesimus, the slave. The apostle didn’t do that. We can run ahead of God. In our passion to make things right, we can speak where God hasn’t. And, without realizing this, we can complicate things, muddy the waters and create bigger problems. Let God speak for Himself. Where God stops, we need to stop.

The Galatian letter tells us that there were slave and freeman in Christ. Through Christ, they were all one. Yet, the slave remained the slave. The master was the master. The Greek a Greek. The woman a woman. Had Paul pushed Philemon to release the slave, what would then happen in the Galatia region? What would happen in the Roman church?

We can be so pinpointed and zoomed in on one specific problem that we make declarations and expectations of others without thinking the impact that has on the whole congregation or the inconsistencies that it presents.

Second, what seems right to us may not be what God requires. When there is a hurt and a person wants to apologize and seek forgiveness, we can stack all kinds of “here’s what you need to do” upon the person before forgiveness will be offered. That seems only right and fair to us. The broken and contrite heart is what moves God. A lifetime of paying back and making things right still would not be enough for some.

Third, although Onesimus was being returned to Philemon as a slave, it was up to Philemon to show that their relationship was different. The slave wasn’t in the position to do much. Philemon, the master, would treat the slave as an equal in Christ. The positions didn’t change, but the relationship did. The rules of Christ would apply equally to both men. Worship and honor of God would be at the heart of all they did. One would think that Onesimus would influence and teach fellow slaves about Christ. No longer would the thought of running away be in his mind. Trust and even love would be a bond between them.

As the Colossian letter was read to the church, the congregation that Philemon and now Onesimus would have been a part of, Paul’s words, “Masters grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in Heaven” (4:1). Those words would have stung a bit but also been a great reminder of what the Lord anticipated from Philemon. Were there others in that congregation that had slaves? Philemon’s role would be an example for all.

Accept him as you would accept me, are the words of our verse today. And, just how would we accept Paul today? In our homes, we’d have him sit on our couch. We’d ask him if he was hungry or wanted something to drink. We’d talk. We’d do a lot of listening. We’d hug. We’d pray. We’d ask what we could do to help him. We would be so happy to have him with us. We’d promise to keep in touch and we would.

We’d treat him as one of us, because he is one of us. Sure are some decent thoughts for us to think about. Stay with God. Don’t run ahead of Him and don’t lag behind Him. Don’t go to the left and don’t go to the right. Step by step, we are to walk with the Lord.

Roger

08

Jump Start # 3283

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3283

Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

Sin comes in many forms. Sin can be an action or behavior, such as drunkenness. Sin can be an attitude, such as hatred. Sin can be mental, such as lust. The outside of a person can look good, while the inside is a real mess. This is how Jesus pictured some of the Pharisees. They were like a cup that was washed on the outside, but the inside was unclean. They were like a white tombstone but on the inside they were rotten.

Sin comes with consequences. Some will see our sin. Some may never know our sin. I was talking with someone the other day about our first sin. We remember a lot of firsts. The first kiss. The first car. The first homerun. The first sermon. But what about the first sin? I have no statistical proof. I’ve seen no surveys on this. But, simply knowing people and knowing myself, I wonder if our first sin was telling a lie. And, likely, we told it to the people who loved us the most, our parents.

Telling a lie is so easy. And, once one has gotten good at it, it’s the default mode when one looks for an excuse, an alibi, a coverup or simply because they don’t want to face the truth. I wish I could say that I have never lied before, but that would be a lie. I try very hard these days to be honest and truthful, even if it gets me in trouble and even if it hurts.

Here are some truths about lying:

First, lying is against the nature of God. God is holy. In God, there is no darkness. Seeking the righteous of God, as Jesus tells us to in the great sermon, will move us to being honest. The more we are around the world, the more we are lied to and the more easily it is for us to lie. God keeps His word. God is faithful. God remembers His promises.

Second, lying is very addictive. Once one starts down that path, it’s easier and easier to lie all the time. According to a study conducted at Notre Dame, the average person lies 1.65 times a day. I’m not sure what the .65 means? Half lies? Partial lies? Little white lies?  One lie a day doesn’t seem so bad. However in a given week that average person will tell 11 lies. In a year that comes to 602 lies. And in twenty-five years, that comes to 15,000 lies. Now, that really looks bad. That’s a lot of lying. And, some lie more than one time a day. It is so easy to tell a lie.

Third, lying is progressive. One must have a good memory when he tells lies. Sooner or later what he said will come back and haunt him. A person tells one lie to escape trouble. Then he must tell lie number two to cover lie number one. Then lie number three to cover lie number two, which covers lie number one. And, before long a person starts believing his lies and he doesn’t know what the truth is.

It seems to me that one of the real dangers of lies is that we begin to believe them ourselves. History is rewritten in our favor. This quickly moves into deceiving ourselves. Truth and lying between so mixed up in our minds that we are not sure what is true and what is a lie.

Fourth, lying crushes our credibility with others and ruins our soul with God. Lying isn’t ok. When one is known to be a liar, it is hard for people to trust him. But God knows. God knows how we are. There are certain professions that have a bad reputation because of lying. People are skeptical. People do not want to believe. People do not trust. That’s what lying will do. In a marriage, where our relationship is built upon trust, lying knocks the legs out of that foundation. In our fellowship, where honesty and trust are the fundamental values, lying destroys it. And, in our walk with God, words such as “do not be deceived,” reminds us that our dishonesty can ruin our soul.

The average person tells 15,000 lies in twenty-five years. It is such an easy trap to fall into. And, one area that we so innocently fall in are the hymns we sing. Lying in church— who would have thought! We sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” but we treat the Lord more like a casual friend. “Bless be the tie that binds our hearts,” yet we avoid certain people after services because we don’t like them. Are we singing the truth? Are we doing what we are singing?

Or, the person that sits through the sermon with his eyes closed and then boasts on the way out, “You did a good job today, preacher. I liked that sermon.” One of these days, I just might ask someone like that, which point was better the fourth or the final point? When he says “the fourth, for sure,” I’ll smile and tell him that there were only three points!

Pure lips come from an honest heart. Being true is hard in a false world. We see on the news, that even under oath, some lie. We must be different. We must be known for our word. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, said our Lord. Our words are a reflection of our character.

Speak the truth, is what our verse today says. That’s what we must do!

Roger

07

Jump Start # 3282

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3282

Galatians 1:7 “which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the Gospel of Christ.”

There are two key words that are found in our verse today. They both start with the letter “D.” Disturbing and distort. Those are not happy words. No one says with a smile upon their face, “I was disturbed today.” Those words are troubling. Those words create problems. A disturbed congregation is not in a good place.

To disturb is to bother. I think of a big brother who likes to pick and tease a younger brother. He is bothering him. He is disturbing him.

To distort is to change. It carries the idea of twisting. What was straight is no longer that way.

Here are some other expressions:

  • Phillips: upsetting and travesty
  • KJV: trouble and pervert
  • ESV: trouble and distort
  • CEB: confusing and change

Contextually, Jewish teachers were introducing portions of the law into the Gospel. The pure message was becoming mingled with things Jesus didn’t teach. The message was changing and the people were becoming bothered by this. Was circumcision necessary? Were certain Jewish holidays still necessary to observe? The instance of these things was causing problems. The Acts 15 discussion centered upon this very point. Was it necessary for a Gentile to become Jewish in order to be saved? Could one be saved without circumcision? This was not one of those items that you hold your view and I’ll hold mine. At stake was fellowship. At stake was Paul teaching correctly? At stake, were all those Gentiles actually saved?

This was not a topic that no one knew the answer. God had spoken. In Acts 15, the Holy Spirit had declared. Circumcision was not necessary for salvation. Those not content with that, kept insisting. They kept pushing. They kept bothering. They kept twisting. Like a gnat buzzing around you on a hot summer day, they were irritating, not encouraging. They were hurting, not helping. They were walking away and not towards the Lord.

And, within this is a spirit that was not content with what God had said. That same spirit is found in Paul’s warnings in Acts 20. Some of the elders of Ephesus were distorting and disturbing. Men will arise, the apostle said, speaking “perverse things to draw the disciples after them.” A distorted message. Twisting words. Changing meanings. Pouring their thoughts and ideas into what God revealed.

We need to see:

First, disturbed and distorted arises from a heart that is not content with what God has said. They want more. They want different. They want something else. They want anything else. Those that have enough conscience will try to justify it by going to ancient secular writings to manipulate a meaning that aligns with their thinking. Those without a conscience, simply do not care. They will float off to all kinds of wild ideas and cling to their feelings as new revelations from God. The Bible no longer is the standard for these folks. Disturbing and distorting.

Not content with what God says about worship. Not content with what God says about gender. Not content with what God says about marriage. Not content with what God says about salvation. Not content with what God says about purpose of the church. Not content. Dissatisfied. Longing for change. Wanting more. And, it’s that spirit that drives changes that are not according to the Bible. Feelings quickly replace God’s word. What I want replaces what God says. And, just like that, the Bible becomes nothing more than divine suggestions and not the absolute authority of God.

Second, there is always an element of cowardice found among those who want to distort and disturb. Very often, they want others to do all the dirty work for them, while they pump ideas through books and podcasts.  So, when accountability comes into play, they hide behind the curtain and say they were just suggesting possibilities while others were carrying out their marching orders. A disturbed church is unsettled. It’s on the verge of busting and splitting. A war will soon take place. Satan smiles because he loves a disturbed church.

Third, one must close their eyes to plain Biblical principles in order to think that they can change the word of God. The evidence is overwhelming. From the O.T. through the N.T. the resounding message is to follow what has been delivered. God’s message isn’t fluid. It’s not changing. Culture doesn’t make adjustments to it.

Disturbed and distorted—not the elements that bring one closer to the Lord. Not the kind of things that will help you grow in faith.

Roger

06

Jump Start # 3281

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3281

1 Samuel 17:34-36a “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear…”

Our verses today tell the chilling story, as David recalls it, of his fighting wild animals to rescue his father’s sheep. David said these words to King Saul. Israel and the king were shaking in their boots because of the threats of the giant, Goliath. Israel and the Philistines were positioned for war. Goliath daily challenged Israel and no one would step up until young David, the shepherd boy, heard those blasphemous taunts from the giant. He was ready. He was willing. God will bring down this Philistine is what raced through the veins of young David. The fate and the future of Israel rested on a one-on-one battle with the warrior giant. There is no way that the king would allow a kid to fight. Our verse is how David convinces Saul to let him fight.

I find it interesting that David said, “a lion or a bear came…” I think I’d have those details very clear in my mind. There would be no “lion OR “bear”. I’d know which one it was. But later David states that he has killed both a lion and a bear. And, notice the details. The lamb was in the lion’s mouth. David grabbed the beard of the lion. Did you notice how close David was to this animal. He didn’t shoot arrows from a hilltop at the lion. He didn’t use a sling from a distance. He grabbed the beard of that beast and fought it to the death and rescued the lamb.

What a great lesson for shepherds in God’s church today.

First, it was just one lamb. Count your losses and run. Save the flock. That’s how many may have thought, but not David. He went after that lion. He saved the lamb. Every lamb matters. He fought the beast. He killed it. Watching the sheep was David’s responsibility. David did what he could to save each and every lamb.

And, that must be the spirit of our shepherds in the kingdom today. Every sheep matters. Even those that are weak and need a lot of attention. Even those that are always wandering off somewhere. Even those that do not listen to the voice of the shepherd. Every sheep matters.

Some get themselves in trouble by their own choices. Some put themselves right where lions are. Even then, even when it’s their own fault, every lamb is worth saving.

Second, the work of shepherding can be dangerous. There is no indication that David had anyone with him. He very likely was all alone. Had he become injured, the sheep couldn’t help him. He could have bled to death. David didn’t think about himself. His focus was upon stopping the lion and saving the sheep.

Sometimes shepherds today will take some heat and criticism by others who do not understand. The critical and gossipy tongue can cause a lot of damage and pain. The shepherd keeps in pursuit until that lost sheep is brought back. The shepherd often has scars. I expect David had many. Battles. Fighting the enemy. Saving the sheep. Those experiences make all the difference. Those experiences gave David the courage to face a giant. Each battle won prepares us for the next battle. Today, we carry scars within our hearts. Battles fought. Lives saved. Enemies defeated. Being a shepherd isn’t for the coward. Shepherds carry scars.

Third, the enemy was destroyed. David tells us that he killed both a lion and a bear. A dead lion is no longer a threat. The storm passed. The trouble was over. The sheep were no help for David in these battles. Today, the battle for truth means that error must be exposed. People need to be taught that spiritual poison kills the soul. Shepherds who lack backbones and are cowardly will see the flock scattered over a dozen hills and the enemy feasting upon what they were to protect. Our battles are spiritual. They are fought and won by the teaching of God’s word. Standing strong and committed to God’s word is the only way these battles can be won. Lions lurk about flocks today. Careless sheep do not see the dangers. Closer and closer the lion approaches the flock. He waits. He waits patiently. He waits for the right moment. And, then in a flash, he’s upon the lamb and it’s in his mouth. The shepherd David saw that. He ran into action. He chased and got the lion and saved the lamb. He then prevented further attacks by destroying the lion.

The scars of a shepherd. Battles fought. Battles won. Sheep saved. And, sheep do not thank a shepherd. Sheep return to doing what sheep do, grazing the fields. But David knew. God knew. One more that wasn’t lost to the enemy.

Great reminders for God’s leaders today.

Roger