31

Jump Start # 3397

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3397

1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

Oh, to be young again, I hear some say. There is an energy, excitement and joy about young people. That’s true whether they are teens or those in their early 20’s. They are on top of technology. They have great ideas. They are fun to be around. And, so often the question is asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That question implies that I do not want to be doing what I am now doing.

Most of our sermons that are directed towards single people, are designed for teens or the topic of purity and dating. It sure seems that the apostle Paul was single, as we define that word. Many modern churches offer a singles ministry which looks nothing more than a platform for dating and eventually marriage. Sometimes there is a push for singles to get married and that isn’t always the best decision.

Some are single because they want to be single. And that can make them feel left out in many circles. Too old to fit in with the teens and definitely not a couple, what do you do with the single people? Often left to themselves, they can feel like they have leprosy. Something is wrong, because you are single. Rather than fellowshipping them and encouraging them, often we ignore them. The drop out rate among Christians is the highest among the single crowd. Off to college, many never connect with a church and worldly friends pull them away from Christ.

The expression “single” can have a wide definition. Some would put the divorced, the widow and the widower in that group. Some would put the kids in that group.

We can do a better job of helping single people feel that they are a part of the local fellowship. This can be done without trying to fix them up with someone. Having a group of young people, single, married, and anything else, just to be together, study, talk, and enjoy what they have in Christ is a great way to help with that.

There are some realities that single people need to realize:

First, being single isn’t a condition that one needs to hurry and get out of. You may be single for a long time. Being single is not a curse. It allows you to do things that others cannot. Without being tied down with a family, one can do much good for the kingdom. You can help brethren overseas. You can do so much for your congregation.

Paul’s words in 1 Cor 7 encouraged the single saints to remain single. He wished that everyone could be like he was. There was a unique situation that led him to say that, but there are opportunities and freedoms that single people have that those in a family do not. Rather than wishing away your life, hoping to be married, see the opportunities the Lord has granted you and use them faithfully for His kingdom.

Second, this may be the best time of your life, so enjoy it, benefit from it and make the most of it. You can take special classes in a local college. You have the time to do things that others do not. You can travel. You can volunteer. You can attend lectureships, meetings, singings and special events that can build your faith. You can be a powerful influence in your congregation. Have people over. Be the Barnabas in your church. Don’t spend your nights watching TV. Get out and use this time that God has given you for something good.

Third,  the habits you are doing now will determine the kind of person you are. Good habits such as a prayerful life, truth speaking, realizing the value of worship and honoring God the way He wants to be are such strong foundational things that will help you all of your life.

From our verse today, Timothy’s actions, were to be the example. Often older people won’t listen to the younger ones. That is a mistake. But Paul’s encouragement to Timothy was to show them. The apostle lists five core areas that Timothy could make a difference.

  • In speech. Talk godly. Talk respectfully. Talk kindly. Don’t get into gossip. Stay away from complaining. Set the tone for when people are around you. Be honest in your speech.
  • In conduct. Your behavior. Your talk and walk ought to match. Many can talk a good game, but they don’t show it. You show it. Show that the Lord is most important to you. Show that you care. Show that you are obedient. Your attendance. Your attitude. Your influence. They ought to all point to Jesus.
  • In love. Love, first for the Lord, then love for God’s people. Love is much more than a feeling, it’s an action word. Be praying for those in the congregation. Be involved in the lives of others. These people are your family in Christ. Love them, warts and all. Love them, imperfections and all.
  • In faith. Faith is what moves God. Faith is what catches the eye of God. Genuine faith. Strong faith. Determined faith. Diligent faith. Point people to God. Remind others that God remains on the throne. Believe that God is good. Know that God is there for you. The faith that led the three Jewish youths to stand rather than bow before an idol. The faith that led Peter to refuse to remain quiet about Jesus. Heaven bound—you believe it. You know it. You want it.
  • In purity. Purity in the way you talk. Purity in the way you dress. Purity in what shows you watch. Purity not just in the church building, but at work, on vacation, when out with friends. Pure on what you post and like on social media. Nothing questionable. Nothing out of line.

Timothy is raising the bar. People would see that young Timothy was serious about his faith. One doesn’t have to be sour, grumpy and frowning to be serious about their faith. I see the young people in our congregation. They are laughing, talking, smiling, and engaging with one another. There is nothing inappropriate taking place. There is nothing to be ashamed of. They are an example of a joyful Christian.

It’s ok to be single. What a great asset you can be.

Roger

30

Jump Start # 3396

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3396

Deuteronomy 23:14 “Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you lest He turn away from you.”

Our verse today comes from a series of laws given to Israel. The bulk of the chapter identifies who can or cannot come into the assembly of the Lord. But after that, comes some hygiene laws that details what Israel was to do when they went to the bathroom. They were to go outside the camp, with a shovel and cover up after they were done.

It may seem strange that God would care about that or that He felt the necessity to detail what should be done. Those that camp are likely to understand this much better than those of us that live in the city and always the city.

But tucked in these explanations about going to the bathroom, we find, “Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp…” Did you catch that? Have you seen that before? God walking in the camp of Israel. He didn’t want to see anything indecent, such as poop.

Here are some thoughts:

First, God has never been very far from His people. Lots of questions come to my mind when I think about God walking in the midst of Israel’s camp. What form was God in? Could Israel see God? What about those passages that say if you see God you will die?

But assuring for us is the promise that God is not far from any of us. I will never desert you or forsake you is how the Hebrew writer quoted the Lord. Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am, Jesus said.

With God among us, what is there to fear? With God among us, we’ll get through this. Sorrow. Worry. Fear. Troubles. Heartache. God is right here. God will help us. What great hope and comfort that ought to bring us. For Israel, God is walking in our midst.

Second, God doesn’t want to see anything indecent. For Israel that meant going outside the camp with a shovel when they had to go to the bathroom. God didn’t want to see that. But for us, we must wonder the way some dress these days. So little clothing. So much skin exposed. We causally give that a pass because it’s a wedding we say. It’s vacation we say. It’s hot we say. God doesn’t want to see anything indecent.

  • NAS/ESV/NIV: indecent
  • KJV: unclean

Third, the holiness of God is manifested through these principles. God is holy. Making God like one of us, just one of the boys, not only discredits God, it is blasphemous. Worship can praise God or it can be a mockery and insulting to God. God didn’t accept Cain’s sacrifice. Nor will the holy God accept our worship if it is not holy. Rather than trying to make God like one of us, we must make ourselves like God. We need to raise the bar on excellence and expectations. Indecent needs to go outside the camp.

God walking within the camp. What a thought. Did it do Israel any good? Does it do us any good?

Roger

29

Jump Start # 3395

Posted on August 29, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3395

Philippians 4:9 “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.”

One of the beginning points in any Bible discussion is to be on the same page about the word of God. This is essential and this is the starting point. If one immediately starts talking about differences in what they believe with another, it quickly turns into here is what I think and here is what you think, and around and around you will go. But if one establishes the fact that God’s word is absolute and the final authority, then it really doesn’t matter what I think or what you think. It doesn’t matter how I feel or how you feel. It doesn’t matter what I want or what you want. What God says becomes our only concern.

That was the spirit of the early American restoration movement as whole congregations returned to following the pattern that was established in the N.T. But how does one begin with “authority”? That very word seems dull in our times today. There are ways to teach the authority of God without even using that word. Our passage from Philippians is one that I often begin with in a very first study that I have with someone. One doesn’t need a handful of verses. This one will do that job. If Paul did it, we ought to. If he didn’t, why are we? Great questions.

I like to use the illustration of a blueprint. Sometimes I’ll actually bring a blueprint to illustrate what I’m wanting the person to see. Every house, church building, office building, airport was designed and drawn by an architect. He makes the drawings, showing where windows and doors are and how long walls are. The plans are then given to a construction crew. When they follow the blueprint to the letter, the outcome is the what the architect intended. When there is a problem, the architects are called in and sometimes modifications are made, but they are first made on paper.

To look at a blueprint you’ll notice little symbols, like sideways triangles. Those are doors, detailing which ways the doors are to swing open. There are symbols indicating where the windows are to be. All of this is fairly standard. But here comes two key components of blueprints and Biblical authority.

First, the architects draw where windows and doors are to be. He does not have to indicate on other walls, “No doors here,” and “No windows here.” The construction crew understands how blueprints work. In Biblical authority, we call this the silence of God. God tells us what He wants, but He doesn’t have to say, ”No doors there,” and “No windows there.” To be specific, there is no N.T. verse that says a church cannot have a band. You won’t find that in the N.T. When someone says, “The Bible says you can have a piano in worship,” one would be hard pressed to back that up with a verse. It’s not there. Can we then have instruments in worship? NO. Why not? God did not say you can’t. Neither does the architect say you can’t put a door where it’s not shown on the blueprint. The blueprints shows what is supposed to be there.

Why was Cain’s sacrifice rejected? Many will say his attitude wasn’t right? Where did that come from? Not the text of the Bible. In Hebrews 11, Abel offered his sacrifice by faith. Faith is not an attitude but a heart that obeys the Lord. Faith comes from hearing and trusting what God says. God must have told them. Vegetables were not on the blueprint and Cain put them there.

Second, when the builders decide to make changes from the blueprint, they have moved from being builders to being designers and architects. That is not their job. We once built a house from scratch. As the house was nearly done, I was walking through it with the main foreman. We went into the bathroom and there was a skylight. I told him we did not order a skylight. He pulled out the blueprints and with a puzzled face said, “Merry Christmas.” They had not followed the blueprints. When it comes to following God, He is the designer and the architect. We are the builders. When we start modifying the blueprints to our liking, then we have moved into the realm of God and we do not belong there.

Back to the illustration of music in worship. The word “music” is very broad. It includes all kinds of music. But you remember from high school that there was a difference between band class and chorus class. You didn’t bring a trumpet to chorus class. And, if you showed up to band class without an instrument, everyone would wonder what you were doing. Band and chorus—very different. In the N.T. when it came to worship, God never said, make music. What we find on the divine blueprint are nine passages and all nine involve singing. Would it be wrong to include a band? Would it be wrong for a construction crew to modify what is on the blueprint without authorization from the architect or the owner?

If you paid a lot of money to hire a designer and an architect to draw the plans for a new house, but the construction company ignored that and built what they wanted to build, you’d be furious. Lawyers would be called. Someone would be fired. It would be a mess. And, why? Because someone didn’t follow the blueprint.

It works that way in construction and it works that way Biblically. It’s a matter of following what the blueprint says. And, just like that, you have taught someone the valuable lesson of Bible authority. God doesn’t have to tell us everything wrong for it to be wrong. God tells us what He wants. We are not in the position to alter or change what God has said. If we made the assumption that things were Ok unless God specifically said, “No,” we would find ourselves looking more and more like the world and not like Christ. The Lord has shown us what pleases Him and how to walk in holiness. Our job is to follow and build our lives according to the plans that God has given us.

It’s a matter of following the blueprint. The real issue is that some do not like the way the blueprint looks. And, that is a whole other issue and a matter of faith.

Roger

28

Jump Start # 3394

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3394

Psalms 42:5 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”

I saw a report recently that said the suicides in this country are at an all time high. The numbers that were compared went back to the days of World War II, eighty years ago. This is something to be concerned about. Why are suicides so high now? We are not in a major war. The economy, though not good, is not in a depression. Covid has been managed. And, yet, more people are giving up. And, it’s not just teens that are committing suicide. It’s professionals. It men and women well into their careers.

Those that analyze the such things will attribute a rise in crime, drug addiction and mental illness as the cause. But that’s like seeing a bump on your leg and putting a band aide on it and never realizing that deep inside is a form of cancer. We see the bump, but we don’t see the cancer. We see crime, drug addiction and mental illness. Those are just bumps in our society. Pouring money into those things will not change anything. There is a much deeper problem in our culture. And, until that is addressed, crime, drug addiction, mental illness and suicides will continue to rise. The answer is not more shelters. The answer is not free food. The answer is not legalizing drugs. Those are merely the bumps.

Our verse, written long, long ago addresses the inner problem. Two questions are asked. They are personal. They are intended to bring reflection. The first, “why are you in despair, O my soul?” Great question. For many, the answer would be the externals. It’s hot outside. I have a terrible job, some would say. My family doesn’t like me. There is too much traffic. My co-workers stress me. I can’t afford what I want. On and on, we complain.

What this question tells us is that what is going on around me and on the outside does not have to affect my insides. Why are you in despair, O my soul? Why?

The second question asks, “And why have you become disturbed within me?” So things are bad on the outside. Do they have to be bad on the inside? You can’t control the outside, but you certainly do control the inside. Misery is an option and a choice. You don’t have to go there.

Our passage ends with the answer. Here’s the solution. “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him.” That’s it! Hope in God. The God who understands what you are facing. The God who sees you. The God who is already in tomorrow. The God who’s promises are rich and true. The God who has blessed you. The God who will forgive you. The God who longs for you to spend forever with Him.

Don’t hope in the next election. That’s not the answer. Our hope is not in the Whitehouse, courthouse, school house, or even the church house. Our hope is in God. When Lot had to flee corrupt Sodom, God was there. When Job was broken down with pain and sorrow, God was there. When Noah saw that ark door closed, God was there. For Joshua, God was there. For Gideon, God was there. For David, God was there. For Paul, God was there. And for you, God is there.

Why are suicide rates up? The answer is simple. It’s not drugs. It’s not crime. It’s not the economy. It’s that they have no hope. What they hoped for, failed. Their hope was in themselves. Their hope was in someone else. Their hope was in the government. And, when their hope failed, so did their will to live.

When all we see are problems, the dawn never comes. But when we realize in a dark Philippian prison, past midnight, God was the hope for Paul and Silas. They sang and prayed. Their hope wasn’t in busting out. Their hope wasn’t in bribing a guard. Their hope was in the Lord.

We’ve made a mess of our past, yet, God can help us. The future looks foggy, yet, God can help. Marriage troubles, God can help. Family issues, God can help. Church scabbles, God can help. The power, the hope, the strength is not in us, but in God.

Hope in God, who keeps His promises. Who can do what no one else can.

Why are suicide rates sky rocketing? People do not know God and there is nothing left for them to hope for. The answer is obvious. We must show the world Jesus Christ. Hope in God, that’s the answer. The darkest nights are not so bad when we hope in God.

Roger

18

Jump Start # 3393

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3393

Note: Jump Starts are taking off next week off to recharge our batteries. We hopefully will be back on August 28th. You can always go to the Jump Start website (jumpstartsdaily.com) to find over three thousand articles written.

Acts 13:45 “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.”

I was out mowing the other day and I got bit. It wasn’t a bee. It wasn’t a mosquito. It certainly wasn’t a snake. But it was one of the worst bites I’ve had in a long, long time. It bothered me the rest of the day. And, what bit me was the spirit of jealousy. As I mow, my mind thinks, reflects and considers. I was thinking about some things people said recently. More so, I was thinking about what some were saying about other preachers. And, right then is when I got bit. Great things were being said about sermons others preached. Great praise was being expressed to the good others were doing. And, most times, I’m right there singing those same praises. But alone on my mower I thought, “No one is saying that about me,” and that’s when the jealousy bug bites. And, that bite hurts.

All through our Bibles jealousy is condemned. It creates bad thoughts about others. One has a hard time rejoicing with others when he has been bitten by jealousy. Rachel was jealous of her sister. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. Although the text doesn’t specifically say this, it seems that Cain was jealous of Abel. The Corinthians were ripe with jealous, which naturally leads to division. Jealousy is listed as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians.

The way that males are wired, our self worth comes from what we do. Our value is based upon what we do. This is why males are more competitive in nature. This is why our jobs and what we do is so wired into how we view ourselves. A mistake a young bride makes is telling her husband that he can’t do things like her dad can. That knocks the wind out of a young husband. He’s being compared and he didn’t come out on top.

And, although we would never admit it, yes, we preachers have egos and can be jealous of one another. I have stood at the door of the church beside a visiting preacher as someone loudly said, “Boy, I sure wish we could have preaching like that all the time around here.” Yep, I heard that. And, yes, it stung.

Here are some things I have learned:

First, the spirit of jealousy doesn’t put you in a good place. It makes you have thoughts that are not productive, useful, nor Biblical. It makes you want to find fault with the one you are jealous of. And, jealousy makes you not like the person who is praising another. Why are they not praising me, you think. So, you begin not liking that person. The faster one can get rid of jealousy the better.

Second, among us preachers, we are all different. We have different strengths. Some are so polished in the pulpit. Others are great at evangelism. Some have amazing podcasts. Some are gifted writers. And, everyone has their favorites. But we must recognize that we are not in competition with each other. We are on the same team. We are after the same goal. It’s not about us, or which one of us is the best, it’s about Jesus. The old expression of hiding ourselves behind the cross, is something that we need to remind ourselves of. We should want all of us to do our very best. My best is all that I can do. I need to work at it. I need to learn. But in the end, I can only be me. I can’t be like someone else. But when all of us in the kingdom are doing our best, it will just help the kingdom. That’s the goal. It’s not about the number of followers, stats on viewers, readers, books published and such things. It’s about doing all we can to help the kingdom.

Apollos is described as an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures. The Corinthians didn’t think much of Paul’s preaching. Apollos came to Corinth. One can assume that they loved him, because he spoke so well. Was he better than Paul? Don’t go there. Talented in different areas, grow the kingdom.

Third, some of the hardest working preachers are unknown to most of us. They do not hold many meetings. They work in congregations and just mind their business and do the work God wants them to do. And, that is the best remedy for the bite of jealousy. Get busy and do what you can do. Is the Lord pleased with what you are doing? Some will like others more than you. That’s ok. Some will talk about others and never mention you. That’s ok. The Lord knows and it’s the Lord that you are trying to please.

Fourth, most of the preachers I know would go out of their way to help anyone get to know Jesus. They’d take an afternoon and spend it with a young preacher to answer his questions and help him grow. They are open to share ideas and things that have worked well for them. They have the spirit that they want all of us to do our best.

And, interestingly, by the time I was finished mowing, the sting of jealousy no longer bothered me. I’m doing what I can, the best way I know how. God has given me special talents and I am thankful for that.

Roger