08

Jump Start #3402

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

Jump Start # 3402

1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, and a good conscience and a faith without hypocrisy.”

Passages such as this are so pointed and plain, that one cannot possibly miss the point. There is a purpose of teaching God’s word. There is an endpoint. There is a goal. And here, the apostle reveals it to us. The goal is not to build up the numbers in the congregation. We worry about attendance numbers. Other than the opening pages of Acts, where we read about the number of conversions, the rest of the New Testament doesn’t focus on that. Which of the churches Paul wrote to was the largest? Was the Ephesian church larger than the Philippian church? Those things seem to matter to us. When I travel, the most asked question is, “How large is your congregation?” I’m never asked, “How strong is the church there?” or, “How faithful is the church there?” No, people want to know about size. That wasn’t the goal of our instruction, Paul said.

There are three expressions that are embedded in our passage. Each of the expressions have qualifiers on them.

The goal is love from a pure heart. Love that will seek the lost. Love that will help others. Love that longs to be with the Lord. And, just where is the source of that love? It comes form a pure heart. Not a fake heart. Not a heart that is going through the motions. It’s real. It’s honest. It’s pure. It’s genuine. It has no other desire than to please the Lord. There is no pretense. There is no hidden agenda. It’s not about self, but it is all about God.

The goal is a good conscience. A conscience that is not good is plagued with guilt, regret and remorse. A good conscience produces good motives. A good conscience is honest. A good conscience sleeps well at night. A good conscience embraces forgiveness and grace that “our instruction” teaches.

The goal is a faith without hypocrisy. A faith that is the real deal. A faith that loves the Lord. A faith that doesn’t look around to see if others are watching. A faith that is as strong when alone as it is in a crowd. A faith that longs to please the Lord.

And, just how does one get that love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith that is genuine? It comes from our instruction. That’s what the apostle was aiming at. Those three things, added with the qualifiers, is the target.

I wonder if we have somehow lost the purpose of our instruction. Could it be we are trying to produce nice conservative Republicans rather than disciples of Jesus? Could it be that we are trying to build budgets, pay off the building, and a number of other things, while forgetting the most important thing.

Heart. Conscience. Faith. Pure. Good. Without hypocrisy. That’s the aim. That’s the goal. That’ll make servants. That’ll get you through storms. That’ll help you though the night. And, what leads up to our verse today is warnings about strange doctrines, speculations, myths and endless genealogies. Chasing those rabbits will not bring about heart, conscience and faith. They will not be built upon what is pure, good and honest. Myths, strange doctrines, and speculations, are wrapped around lies and the egos of the speakers. Nothing pure there. Nothing good about them.

Goal. Purpose. Direction. Aim. We don’t just teach because we have to. We don’t preach just because it’s Sunday. There is a goal. There is a purpose. There is a direction.

In the heart of each person assembled, love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a faith that is true. Love is outward. Conscience is inward. Faith is upward. Combined and tied to the word of God they make a true disciple of Jesus. It’s not one, it’s all three. And, when those are missing, we need to do more instructing.

That’s how it works.

Roger

07

Jump Start # 3401

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

Jump Start # 3401

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment.”

The other day I watched a show that took a technical dive into the lyrics and music of Jim Croce’s song, Operator. What a great song that is. There are many things in that song that younger generations would not understand, such as, what is an operator? What is a matchbook? What does it mean for the operator to keep a dime? Great song. Great show explaining things.

Croce was a new and young musician. He had produced two albums and a greatest hit in just two years. Tragically, he was killed in a plane wreck. He was only thirty years old. This month marks the fiftieth year of his death. He has been dead longer than he was alive. One can only imagine what other wonderful songs he could have written had he not died so young.

This reflection makes us remember several important Biblical principles:

First, none of us are guaranteed a long life. This is true even among disciples. The church had barely started when Stephen was killed. One can only imagine what good he would have done had he lived longer. When we put all of our eggs in tomorrow’s basket, we might well be disappointed that we have not accomplished much. Now is all that we have. Today is the day of salvation, the apostle said.

We have a divine appointment, is what our verse today reminds us of. One can’t skip that appointment. One won’t miss that appointment. One can’t reschedule that appointment. Only the Lord knows when that appointment will be for us.

Second, our passing can come suddenly and when we least expect it. For Croce, he had just finished a show. He was heading to the next show. Plans were being made for the next step in his career. But death called. And, so it is a reminder to us that we can have full schedules, lots of things to do and all of that can come to a sudden halt. Death doesn’t wait for you to finish projects, get your papers in order, or even to have your children raised. Death doesn’t wait for us.

Third, what matters is where one is with the Lord. Having super hits may put money in the pocket and give you a household name, but that doesn’t mean anything in eternity when we are with the great and the small, as Revelation puts it. Faith in the Lord and His generous grace is our only hope. We must walk daily with the Lord.

One of Jim Croce’s best songs was “Time in a bottle.” It begins, “If I could put time in a bottle…” But you can’t. No one can. It’s a sweet thought, but it’s not reality. We must live today as if it could be our last day.

Make plans for tomorrow, but live with one foot already in Heaven.

Roger

06

Jump Start # 3400

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

Jump Start # 3400

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Our verse today ends the first chapter of the Bible. It also is a conclusion to the creative world that the Lord made. Out of nothing, came everything. God said and it was. The world God made was sustaining, reproducing and a delight. We can only imagine how pure the waters were, and, how clean the air was. No graffiti. No names carved into trees. No pollution. No trash left behind. Pure, as God is. Clean, as God is. Perfect, as God is. That’s the world God created.

One of the most difficult issues in life that one faces is why does the innocent suffer? It’s one thing for a criminal to get shot down doing wrong, but why do children die? Why do kids get cancer? Why do good people suffer? Those are all tough questions.

And, when those questions become personal, and we can put names to those situations, then our faith often takes a hit. Those questions are the reason why some have no faith. In their minds, if God was all that He claims to be, then only the guilty would suffer. The perfection of creation ought to continue on, at least, for the innocent. But our world is cruel and harsh. Young children are shot and killed in schools. Children get diseases and die. And, crushed parents are left with empty memories and a whole lot of questions. Where was God? Why did God allow this? If God is good, how can He see this and do nothing?

The recovery from these tragic pains is long and hard. Some in hopelessness, turn to pills and the bottle. It destroys some marriages. And, often those angry questions are tossed in our laps and we are left without knowing what to say. We sing, “God is so good,” but for some in that Sunday audience, they are not so sure about that. They look around and see happy families and realize that they are not one of them. Either God is punishing me for something or God simply doesn’t like me, or worse, maybe God isn’t there at all.

Here are some thoughts:

First, it takes just two more pages in your Bible to realize that the goodness of creation was wrecked by the sin of man. It wasn’t God’s choice to have guilt, misery and sorrow in the world. You don’t find that in the first chapter. But by chapters three and four, there is disobedience, fear, death, and punishment. God didn’t create that. That wasn’t the way God intended things to be. That was man’s choice. That was the consequences of man looking away from God. The freewill which we all richly enjoy, allows wrong choices. It allows bad choices. It allows ungodly and sinful choices.

What God created was perfect. What God has prepared, Heaven, is perfect. In between, is our world. In between are the choices we make. Influenced by wrong, we will choose wrong. Tempted by evil, we will do evil.

Second, we must realize that even among our fellowship on a Sunday morning, are those with serious questions, fearful doubts, and struggles with making sense of things that do not make sense. When we sing, “I’m happy today, oh, yes, I’m happy today,” not everyone in that room is happy. Some are grieving. Some are angry. Some feel that God has left them alone. This is why it is so important to point all of us to the Scriptures.

King David had a baby that died. The mothers of Bethlehem had baby boys that died. The Hebrews had children that died during the days of Egypt. The tears and sorrows that those families felt and the questions why these things were allowed to happen can be answered technically in a Bible class. But when it’s your family, your child, those answers often do not seem like answers.

We need to be patient with those who are struggling. We need to be supportive. We need to help them see that God has not left them. Let’s remember that God saw His only Son die upon a cross after He was cruelly tortured and beaten. No one stopped it. No one stood up for Him. Heaven saw. Heaven realized. God understands.

Third, there is a strong pull to bring Heaven down to us. We want fairness in a land which is unfair. We want crime punished, yet, the criminal dances to his freedom. We want suffering to end, but it grows. We want children to be safe, yet often they are not. Why doesn’t God do something? He has. He has sent Jesus. Maybe God is expecting us to do something through Jesus. It’s not better laws that we need, it’s righteous people that we need. And, even if all of that were to happen, it is appointed unto man once to die, the letter to Hebrews tells us. Death is a part of this world. Death doesn’t care if you are young, loved and needed. Death doesn’t care if you are busy. Death doesn’t wait for you to finish what you have started.

There is a world of perfection. There is a world where death won’t enter. There is a world where everything is right. And, that world is called Heaven. It’s not here. It’s not now.

The suffering of this world ought to make us long for that Heavenly home.

Roger

05

Jump Start # 3399

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3399

2 Kings 6:28 “And the king said to her, ‘What is the matter with you?’ And she answered, ‘This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’”

Our passage is one in which we hope we never live to see. It was one of the darkest hours for Israel. The Syrians, led by Ben-hadad had taken the capital, Samaria. On top of the siege, a famine, called a “great famine” took place. And, it is here, where all hope seems to have vanished.

A donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver and people were buying bird droppings to eat. Tough times does not begin to describe the hopelessness and despair of these people. In our verse today, a woman cries out to the king. Something unfair had happened. She and another woman had boiled her child and ate him. They were to do the same with same with the other’s child, but she had hid him. This woman was complaining to the king.

Cannibalism. May we never see such times in our lives.

The steps of hopelessness are easy to recognize.

First, they begin when problems seem too great for us. In our passage, starvation or cannibalism. What a terrible choice to make. It doesn’t have to be that extreme for us. A broken marriage. Unable to find a decent job. Health problems and bills that seem a mountain high. The words “never,” and “impossible,” become the way describe the situation. Things will never get better, we say. It is impossible for us to get back on our feet, we believe.

Second, desperation leads a person to doing things that he thought he never would do. In our passage it was killing, boiling and eating their own child. I’ve never been so hungry that I had that thought. Most would conclude, “I’d starve to death first, before I did that.” Yet we say that with bellies and pantries filled. Would we?

So desperate, one turns to cheating and dishonesty to find money. So desperate, one turns to an affair to find enjoyment. So desperate, one drowns in a bottle of alcohol. On a regular day, those choices would never be made. But when things are bad, really bad, one can think thoughts that he never had before.

Third, in desperation and discouragement, one walks away from God. Their faith becomes shipwreck. They abandon God. Oh, their reasons seem solid. “I’ve prayed and prayed to God, but nothing,” they say. Or, “I’ve done everything that I was supposed to, and now look at my life.” Heartbroken, disillusioned, and without options, one gives up on God.

What’s the answer? What would you say to these women who were eating their own children? How does one hang on when there is nothing to grab hold of? Cute little quotes won’t help. Just handing someone a verse doesn’t change much. What can one do when all hope seems to be gone?

First, all hope is not gone. Two factors remain: God is still on the throne and you are still alive. A live dog is better than a dead lion, the Scriptures remind us. Pray. Pray. And keep praying. Lion’s dens. Fiery furnaces. Prison bars. Fortified cities. God was there for his people. Yes, the journey was often long and hard, but they were not forsaken.

Second, seek help. Let others know. By the end of this chapter, four lepers become the heroes. They go to the Syrian camp realizing that if they stay put, they will starve. If they go to the Syrians, they might be killed, but at least it would be swift and over. But God caused the Syrians to run in fear, leaving all their food and supplies. The lepers race back to tell Israel the good news. God had provided. God was there. Salvation had arrived.

God’s family is large. There are many people that can get engaged and help. They need to know.

Third, hope is wrapped around faith. When faith is uncertain, so is our hope. Understand, as hard as this may sound, there are things worse than death. When we think God has left us, all hope is gone. Getting through this life isn’t the battle. Finding rest, peace and enjoyment is not our pursuit. We are after God. Our hope is eternity with the Lord. Keep believing. Keep trusting. Keep walking towards the Lord.

Troubles. Hopelessness. Fear. These all seem much larger when God is out of the picture.

Eating bird droppings and your children is not the worst thing in this passage. It is giving up on God and allowing troubles to drive out hope and being conquered by fear.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Thou art with me… Do you believe that?

Roger

01

Jump Start # 3398

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3398

Note: Monday is a holiday. There will not be a Jump Start that day.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sin.”

This section of Ephesians is showing the marvelous salvation that is found in Christ Jesus. The chapter begins with where they started, dead in sin and trespasses. By the fourth verse, we have, “But God.” That’s always the game changer. We were dead, but God made us alive. We were lost, but God found us. We were in real trouble, but God did not give up on us.

In this flow of Ephesians, there is another interesting concept, past and present. Notice:

  • And you were (v. 1). That’s past tense.
  • For we are (v. 10). That’s present tense.
  • You were (v. 12). Past tense.
  • But now (v. 13). Present.
  • You are (v. 19). Present.

And, that little back and forth exchange, between past and present is worth thinking about.

First, we all have a past. As true with the Ephesians, as true with us, that past isn’t worth bragging about. We have a history. Each of us has a story. Our past has colored us, shaped us and defined us. Some will hang on to their past and use that as an excuse for why they can’t be what they ought to. Some never forget their past. All have sinned, the Romans were told. That’s true of the Jew. That’s true of the Gentile. That’s true of folks back then and that’s true of us today.

Second, some continue to make the past their present. Nothing has changed. They’ve gotten older, but not any wiser and definitely not any closer to the Lord. They see nothing wrong with the past, so on they sail, staying the same course. Others like to hide behind cute phrases such as “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” The problem is that we are not dogs. We are created in the image of God. That may be true of dogs, but it isn’t true of us. And, unless we change our present, the future will look just like the past. Same results. Same things. And, it’s because we continue to make the same choices and continue down the same path.

Third, we all have a present, and that is now. Today has enough trouble of it’s own, our Lord said. Today is the day of salvation, the Corinthians were told. Now, our present can be troubled because of the past that we bring into it. Our present can be hindered because we can’t escape the consequences of our past. We shape today by the choices we make. Today doesn’t have to look like yesterday. Today can be better than yesterday.

Fourth, we all have a future. We do. Now, our future may not be here, but we will live on and on and on. Our future is determined by our present and our past. A quote we posted recently on our congregation’s Facebook page stated, “Death is just changing address. The choices you make determine what neighborhood you live in.” Our future must look beyond the horizon of this planet. Our future includes eternity. We will spend more time on that side of life than we do on this side of life. Walk through any old cemetery and you’ll notice that most of the people have been dead longer than they were alive. They have spent more time on the other side than they ever did on this side.

One constant in this past-present-future concept is that our Lord remains the same. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same God that Noah prayed to, is the same God that you pray to. The same God that comforted the apostle, is the same God that comforts you. The same God that gave hope to an oppressed people, is the same God that gives you hope.

We change, God doesn’t. We need to be getting better. God is always the best.

You were. You are. The difference is, “But God.” He always makes the difference.

Roger