16

Jump Start # 3349

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3349

John 3:13 “And no one has ascended into Heaven, but He who descended from Heaven, even the Son of Man.”

It’s summertime. Schools out. Families are busy with summer activities that often include camps. Band camp. Football camp. Camps for kids. I have a grandchild who is in his first camp. I have been a counselor in camps many times. And, every year, there is one child who is homesick. He sits on the sidelines and doesn’t want to participate with the others. Tears well up in his little eyes. He just wants to go home. Many times, all it takes is a phone call. Talking to mom is all he needed to hear and by the time camp is over, he has had the best time of his life. But, sometimes that phone call isn’t enough. I’ve seen that parent have to come and take the child home before camp barely started. He was just too homesick.

I was thinking about that with our passage today. Do you think Jesus ever got homesick? This world and Heaven are very different. He did things on the planet that He never did in Heaven. The bodily form is something that was new and different for Jesus. Having to eat, sleep, deal with heat, bugs and people are things unique to here. Storms, demons, disease and death are all a part of our world. That’s life, we’d say. But it sure wasn’t that way in Heaven.

I know what it’s like to be homesick. I get that sometimes when I’m on the road. Another night in a strange bed. Things you are not used to. Foods you don’t normally eat. Out of your schedule and rhythm of doing things. There is something about “home sweet home.” Sitting in your own chair. Sleeping on your own pillow. Food out of your own frig. Nothing like home. It may not be fancy. And, the to-do list may be a mile long, but it’s home. Our homes are a reflection of us. We decorate it according to our tastes. We know where everything is. We are most comfortable when we are home.

For three decades Jesus was away from His home. I wonder if He longed to get back. I wonder if at night He thought about what Heaven looked like. The angels. The Father. The perfection of the perfect.

Was Jesus ever home-sick?

Here are a few thoughts:

First, He never complained about things on earth. BUGS. SNAKES. I’ve been to Israel in the summer. It was 108 one day. You don’t read about Jesus saying, “How do you deal with this heat?” Jesus is one who could do something about these things. He could stop storms. Yet, we don’t find Him complaining. We can’t do anything about these things and we complain all the time.

Second, Jesus remained focused on what He was to do. His work was with people and that’s where you find Jesus. He surrounded Himself with people. Hurting people. Confused people. Lost people. You don’t find Jesus sharing with Martha how to make biscuits. You don’t find Jesus telling Matthew about calculators. He knew but that wasn’t why He was here. Jesus came to seek the lost. Jesus came to save us. That’s where you find Jesus, doing what He was supposed to be doing.

Third, this world is all you and I have ever known. We have never met someone who went to Heaven for a weekend and was back to work on Monday. All the books about people dying and going to Heaven and coming back are bogus. Way too many doctrinal problems for those things to be true. This is all we know. Heaven will be a new experience for us. But we know it will be wonderful, because it’s God’s home. We know it will be wonderful because it is where Jesus was from.

He came from there to us, so we could go to Him.

Homesick for Heaven…that’s a wonderful thought!

Roger

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Jump Start # 3348

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3348

  Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

His name is Jimi and he has less than 35 days to live. Jimi is a Christian. Without any help from anyone, he read the Bible completely, cover to cover. He hates to admit this, but he read it because he was bored. The TV wasn’t working and he didn’t have anything else to do. As soon as Jimi finished reading, he started back and read the Bible through a second time. The words of God touched his heart. His sins were great and he understood that God was offering him grace through Jesus Christ. Jimi was baptized, immersed for the remission of his sins.

Jimi is unable to worship with any local congregation. Jimi has only 35 days to live. On July 20th, the state of Alabama is going to execute Jimi. Jimi sits on death row. He’s been there for a couple of decades. Around the year 2001, high on drugs and alcohol, Jimi hammered a woman to death. He knew her. He was dating the woman’s daughter. Jimi doesn’t remember a lot of the details. The broken TV, was in the prison. With nothing to do, Jimi started reading the Bible. No one prompted him and he knew it would not make any difference as to his outcome. So he read. And, he read. And, the pure word of God convicted him and changed him. He asked the prison officials to be baptized, immersed, and he was.

The granddaughter of the woman who was killed struggled with the horrific tragedy. She nearly ruined her life with substance abuse. Listening to a song on the radio about writing a letter, the granddaughter decided to write Jimi. She was tired of being angry. She was tired of thinking about the crime. She wrote Jimi to tell him that she forgave him. She was letting it go. The letter brought Jimi to his knees. He was expecting a cruel letter about him rotting in hell or deserving what he was soon to get. Instead, it was forgiveness. Jimi wrote the granddaughter back. Phone conversations took place between the two.

Later, some brethren from a small Alabama church made contact with Jimi and further Bible studies were made. In a recent study, the brethren could only speak to Jimi through the slot in the metal door where the food tray was placed. Jimi is in good spirits and when asked about the upcoming July 20th date, he says, “they can’t take Heaven away from me.”

The story of forgiveness was picked up by the Atlantic magazine in an article titled, “A Murder forgiven.” Word about Jimi was spread.  I learned about this from a shepherd who visited Jimi. He is one of our Jump Start readers and a fine example of sharing the gospel with prisoners.

This story has some wonderful lessons for us:

First, the Gospel is powerful. The Gospel still works. Without a preacher. Without any tracts, personal Bible studies or anything else, Jimi learned the truth of God’s word by just reading it. The power is still there. The word can be understood and it can be obeyed. Just read the words. Let the words sink in. An amazing God still changes lives.

Second, Grace is wonderful. God continues to allow second chances even after we have hurt many people and got ourselves into deep trouble. One wonders what Paul felt like the first time he returned to Jerusalem as a Christian. Before, he was there arresting Christians and casting his vote against them. But he changed. He was forgiven. He was now one of them. Would they accept him? And, one must wonder what the brethren thought about Paul. They may have had family members who were in prison because of Paul. Could they forgive? Would they forgive?

Third, forgiveness is hard. Letting go frees a prisoner and we find out that we were that prisoner. As long as we hold those dark thoughts within us, we seek to get even. Anger replaces joy. Our lives become gloomy and we age. This story of the granddaughter ought to humble us. We get upset and unable to forgive because we were not invited to a party or someone said something negative about us. What a great example for us. God can forgive. Can we? Anger, bitterness, resentment, wrath are what we find when we refuse to forgive. Forgiveness is a choice. It’s always the right choice. It’s a difficult choice. But the good that comes from that choice is amazing.

Fourth, Heaven is possible. Sometimes we may think it is out of our reach. Sometimes we may believe that we have done so much wrong that there is no way that God can forgive. But He can and He will. The pages of the N.T. are lined with people who made wrong choices. Sin dominated their lives and defined who they were. Yet, by the saving grace of Jesus and their faith in Him, they were saved. Cleansed. Justified. Redeemed. Sanctified. Powerful salvation words that illustrate that God hasn’t given up on us. We are not too far gone for God to reach. Jesus is all the difference.

I’ll be thinking about Jimi in the coming days. I wonder if on the 20th of the next month, if Jimi will meet the apostle Paul? What a conversation they could have. I expect Jimi will have tears in eyes when he sees the Lord. I expect I’ll have tears in my eyes when I see the Lord. God’s gracious love is amazing and marvelous.

Could you say a prayer for Jimi?

Roger

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Jump Start # 3347

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3347

Ephesians 4:11-12 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”

This past winter and early spring was very hard on many shrubs in our region. Driving about, one sees a lot of dead bushes in the landscape of homes. Mine was no exception. I had three that bit the dust. They were big. I got them dug up. But I had to bring out the arsenal of tools to get that done. Started with my shovel, a spade. Then I have a special shovel called, root slayer. It has jagged teeth on the edges. But those big roots were a real problem. Clippers. Then a special landscape saw. The job was done. I was a mess. I couldn’t have done it without all those tools.

And, that takes us to our passage today. God’s arsenal of tools for us. One can’t do a job effective without the proper tools. These “tools” of Heaven are for the equipping of the saints so we can get about the work in the kingdom.

Several things to notice here:

First, it is God who provided these tools. “He gave,” simply means, God gave. He knew exactly what we need to get the work done in the kingdom. You’ll notice, there are no coaches, motivational speakers, growth experts, cooks, counselors or many other things that modern churches believe are necessary to do the work in the kingdom. God knew.

Although there are major differences between apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors, there is a similar thread connecting them all. They are all teachers. They teach God’s word. That’s what apostles did. That’s what prophets did. That’s what evangelists do. That’s what pastors do. The means to equip the saints was not a weekend get-a-way at the beach. It was learning from these godly men. It was being taught the word of God.

Interestingly, here is the only time the word “pastor” is found in the N.T. And, just this one time is all it takes for the religious community to get things scrambled up and confused. The pastor is not the preacher. A pastor is one who pastures. Properly, it should have been translated “shepherd.” That would have eliminated a lot of confusion.

Second, we are taught to then go and work in the service of the kingdom. We are not the end of the journey. We have been taught so we can teach. We have been given tools so we can use them. Showing up once a week to fill a pew with no intention of doing anything in the kingdom that week is missing the thrust of this passage. In fact, one must wonder if a person has truly been taught if that is his mindset. Equip the saints. Put the tools in their hands so they can work the fields of God.

The farmer has his tools. The mechanic has his tools. The cook has her tools. Even folks like engineers, writers, and musicians have their tools. I have watched many videos about various musicians. In the background, one sees rows of guitars. Why do they need so many? Each is a tool that helps him do what he needs to do.

I have two rooms full of books. Those are my tools. My beloved wife has never said, “Don’t you think you have enough?” Or, “Is it really necessary to buy another book?” She understands that those tools help me to do what I do.

Third, have you ever considered these Jump Starts as tools that can help you in your work? On the Jump Start website (jumpstartsdaily.com) are two search engines. One allows you to look up passages that I have written about. In the other, one can search a specific word and if I have mentioned it, those Jump Starts will be listed.

  • Consider using these tools to generate ideas. You need an idea for a Wednesday invitation or a sermon. Ideas come from many places. Chase down some of these Jump Starts to help you.
  • Consider using these for illustrations
  • Consider sharing these with someone you are trying to help
  • Consider using these for home studies or even the basis of Bible classes

Tools. Tools that can help you get your job done. I suppose I could have dug those dead shrubs out with my bare hands, but I expect I’d still be at it and I wouldn’t be able to type again for a long time. Having the right tools makes all the difference. So it is spiritually.

Equipping the saints…

Roger

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Jump Start # 3346

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3346

Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

There are two small words in our verse today that are very important. They are the key to this passage. In many ways, these two small words are some of the hardest words in the Bible to fulfill. Combined, these two words are made up of a total of six letters, but what powerful, powerful implications they demand. What are these two little words? “JUST AS.” Husbands love your wives, JUST AS Christ also loved the church. Not only are these two words found in our verse, but they are used twice before this in the Ephesian letter. Paul says to forgive, JUST AS God in Christ has forgiven you (4:32) and walk in love JUST AS Christ also loved you (5:2).

It’s one thing to love your wife. It’s one thing to forgive another. It’s one thing to love others. But when the qualifier, “JUST AS” is attached, it brings a whole new meaning and depth to those passages. Consider:

FORGIVE JUST AS GOD HAS FORGIVEN YOU. How many times has God forgiven us? Never does God say, “Not again!” Never does God say, “I’m tired of forgiving you.” Never does God say, “When will you ever get your act together?” Yet, here we are and someone says something mean about us, and we declare that we will never forgive them and we will never forget it. What happened to the “JUST AS” part?

LOVE JUST AS CHRIST LOVED YOU. There have been times when we weren’t very loveable. There are times when we’d rather be with the pigs than with God. There were times when we never thought about God. Yet, He never stopped thinking about us. And, here comes that person who asks if they can talk to you after services. You sigh. You complain. You search for any excuse to get out of doing that. You want to go home. You want to do what you want to do. And, somehow the “JUST AS” was forgotten.

HUSBANDS LOVE YOUR WIVES JUST AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH. Do you realize that there is not one thing we have to do that Jesus didn’t first do. We have to go to worship, someone says. Jesus did that. We have to be good. Jesus was perfect. We are supposed to pray. Jesus did all the time. We have to give. Jesus gave it all. Rather than being demanding, Jesus was the example. Jesus showed us what we are supposed to do. So, at the end of a long day, tired, sitting in your chair, husbands, we start barking orders for the family to come and take care of us. What about the JUST AS part?

Those are tough words to keep up with. Imagine someone saying, I expect you to putt a golf ball JUST AS a professional golfer does. A lot of pressure and most of us would fail. I want you to paint JUST AS an artist paints. I struggle with stick figures. I want you to cook JUST AS the chefs do on TV. That would trouble most of us. How about play an instrument JUST AS a famous musician?

Forgive JUST AS. Love JUST AS. Love wives JUST AS. And, the comparison is not to one of the apostles. I want you to be dependable like Peter. I think we could do that. The Peter who sank in water. The Peter who denied. Got that. We can do that. I want you to believe like Thomas. You means, doubting Thomas? Oh, we can do that. We don’t have to see the nail prints. We believe. But it’s not one of the apostles. It’s not you or me. It’s the Lord. Forgive as God forgives. Love as God loves. Love wives as Christ loves the church. It’s perfection that is placed before us. God never messed up on forgiving. There was never a time when He should have forgiven but He didn’t. The same with love. God always loves. He loves so much that the Bible says, God is love. There are moments when some of the disciples wanted to call down fire from Heaven and burn people up. Not God. There were times when the disciples wanted to send people away. Not God. Always right. Always perfect.

And, that’s what we are facing. That’s our goal. It’s not just the honor roll, it’s straight A’s. It’s not just winning the game, it’s pitching a perfect game. How can we? How can we forgive like God? How can we love like God? He never messes up and we seem to always mess up. He knows just the right thing to do and we, too often, do just the wrong thing.

I think the answer before us is in the Lord’s invitation in Matthew. Come, take My yoke, and learn from Me. Come. Take. Learn. That’s how. That’s how we open our hearts to love others. That’s how we extend grace and forgiveness to others. On our own, we can’t do this. But, having spent time with Jesus. Having learned. Having seen. Having taken on His heart and mind, we can.

These Ephesian “Just As” statements are not intended to be impossibilities. Rather, through God and with God we can. We can forgive those who have hurt us so terribly. We can love the unlovable. We can give our all in a marriage, just as Christ gave His all to our salvation.

JUST AS…six letters, but what powerful statements they are.

JUST AS…

Roger

12

Jump Start # 3345

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3345

1 Corinthians 7:10 “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband.”

Recently, Jason and I gave a one-two, back to back, Sunday morning and Sunday evening sermons on marriage. His focus was upon those soon to get married and recently married, the foundation of marriage. My focus was upon those who are married. As our verse states, “to the married…” These lessons are on our website and all the social media outlets we post on. It would be good to share with others. June is the month of weddings. We’ve had many weddings within our church family lately.

In doing a little digging around, this is what I found. There is a divorce every 36 seconds. So by the time it takes you to read this Jump Start, there will have been around eight divorces. The most common age for divorce is 30. Stats remain constant that 50% of first marriages end in divorce. The number increases to 60% for second marriages and a whopping 73% for third marriages. Most divorces occur during the first or second year of marriage and the fifth to eighth year of marriage.

Within our verse today are the words, “the wife should not leave her husband.” Do not think of the American concept of separation or legal separation. That wasn’t known when those words were penned. “Should not leave” means divorce. Don’t get a divorce. And many don’t. For some, it’s still the stigma that someone failed in that relationship. For some, it’s the kids and the grandkids. For some, it’s just too much hassle and messy. So, some stay married, but they aren’t really married. They act more like brother and sister or roommates than husband and wife. They tolerate each other and try not to irritate each other, but the relationship is not bliss. If they could do it all over again, they wouldn’t, at least not with that person.

So, here we are. To the married, the apostle says. What are some things we ought to be seeing in our marriage? What are some road signs as we put the miles on?

First, love deepens. There are some similarities between a creek, a river and the ocean. They all have flowing water. Each has a bank or shoreline. They have fish in them. But there are some major differences in the width and the depth. I’ve jumped across many creeks. Can’t say that I have ever jumped across a river and no one can jump across the ocean. I have waded in the middle of creeks. Won’t do that in the middle of a river and certainly not in the middle of the ocean.

And, as the difference between a creek, a river and the ocean, so is the love between a husband and wife through the years. It’s the depth that truly makes the difference. The appearance, the outside is important, but in time, it’s the depth and the quality that one truly is amazed with.

Second, grace abounds so much more through the years. Early in a relationship there are several things that can bother and irritate you about another person. A lot of time is spent trying to change the other person into your liking. But grace and love shows that there are things about that person that makes them just the way they are. Patience grows with love. Had you asked me when I was single if I could distinguish between Mozart and Beethoven, not only would the answer be “No,” but I didn’t care. Through years of going to so many classical concerts with my wife, I have changed. I enjoy that so much and in turn she now knows more about the Beatles than I do. You bark less through the years and learn to help each other out more.

Third, as one grows in Christ, the relationship becomes richer and more meaningful. There is a shift from my happiness to lets do things for someone else. Less about self and more about the Lord. The geometric principle of the triangle is so true in marriage. At the base, is the husband and wife. At the top is the Lord. As each side gets closer to the top, the sides get closer to each other. And, the opposite is true as well. As the sides move down the triangle, away from the top, the sides become farther and farther apart. This being a true principle, the best thing one can do for their marriage is get closer to Jesus. If both are doing that, they will get closer to each other.

And, here is what happens. Rather than bitter, they become better. Rather than being a curse to each other, they become a blessing to each other. Rather than being a pain, they become joy. Rather than an example to avoid, they become an example to follow.

Through the years, the godly couple become a team, working together. Like a Prisca and Aquila, together, they invite people into their homes. Together they teach and encourage. Together they make lives better. Together.

And, people notice. They see a godly couple who are serving the Lord. They see a couple who are an example to others. Some may be grandparents by now. But rich in love and deep in faith, that ole’ river keeps flowing and flowing, with it’s destination, not the ocean, but Heaven.

To the married…don’t take each other for granted. Don’t allow things to get stale. Don’t stop growing in the Lord. Be a blessing to each other and to the Lord. Be an example for those just starting out. A lot of love. A love of grace. A lot of forgiveness. And, a whole lot of Jesus. And, those ugly divorce stats, won’t mean a thing to you.

To the married…

Roger