10

Jump Start # 3424

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

Jump Start # 3424

Genesis 22:12 “He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

The story of Abraham is filled with challenges. He was called by God to leave his home and travel to a place he only had to trust God in. As an old man, he and his wife became parents. Then, as this chapter reveals, God told Abraham to sacrifice that child. The thought of killing one of our children is beyond all thoughts for us. Worse, he was to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. That meant, slicing his throat while he was alive. Collecting the blood. Then cutting Isaac into pieces and burning him upon the altar. That thought makes us shudder.

Running through this is a mighty lesson for us about challenges. Life is best described as not a smooth ride down a river with a few rocks and ripples now and then. Instead, it’s a white water ride with an occasional calm spot. We hold on and try to get through each challenge.

There are three myths of challenges that we must come to understand. When we don’t, we get upset and overcome by these things.

First, we assume that as we get older, things will get easier. That often isn’t the case.

Second, we assume as we get older, that we will have more time. This is how many envision retirement, a perpetual vacation. When I talk to retirees, the common thing they tell me is that there simply isn’t enough time in a day to get things done.

Third, as we get older, we think the challenges of our faith will subside. Maybe we think that Satan will leave us alone because we are too old to fool with. But that’s not the case. Up one side of the mountain or down the other side, there are challenges to our faith. One might move past youthful lusts, but there remains temptations that older disciples face. Many of those are our attitudes. Grumpy and gossipy is not a right of passage because you are old.

As we think about the Abraham story, there are three lessons we need to learn.

First, your greatest challenge may still be ahead of you. That may be hard to believe, but it is very likely. Fighting those youthful lusts, beginning a marriage, building a career all present unique challenges. Little kids running around the house, then teens, then grown adults, each phase brings blessings and challenges.

One of my favorite things to do is have supper with my wife on our back deck. There is a large woods behind our house. Birds, squirrels, deer and the sounds of the wind just bring a peaceful calming effect to both of us. The other night as we were sitting there, talking and enjoying the view, she said, “It’s going to be hard when one of us leaves first.” She was talking about death. And as most young couples, we said at our wedding, “Until death do us part” but you don’t think about that when you are in your twenties.

Indeed, the greatest challenges may still be ahead of us.

Second, your greatest challenge is met my the hundreds of earlier challenges you have already faced. Abraham didn’t start off with offering Isaac. He left his homeland. He became a parent at an old age. Challenge after challenge, prepared him for greater challenges. And, so it is for us. There has been car accidents in which we raced to the hospital with prayers on our lips. There has been surgeries where we waited anxiously for the outcome. There has been the death of dear friends and parents. Each of those challenges were met with faith, trust and hope. Each prepared us for the next challenge.

Third, your greatest challenge is something that you can win through Jesus Christ. Alone, these challenges will crush us, destroy us and ruin us. But with God, you can handle anything the world throws at you. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The first “He”, the one that is in us, is God. The other “he,” is not God. It’s the devil. It’s the deceivers. It’s the world. Fortified cities, tall giants, stormy nights, prison doors shut tight, fearful times and anxious moments for God’s people, but God was with them. And, the Lord will be with us. And, when we take that last breath here, it is our faith in the Lord that will allow us to open our eyes on the other side and see Him.

God said to Abraham, “Now I know”. It’s conquering these challenges that we know. We know that God is with us. We know that prayer works. We know that fellowship is powerful. We know. And, it often takes a challenge before we know that.

Roger

09

Jump Start # 3423

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

Jump Start # 3423

Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”

Cain and Abel—the first children born on the planet. They were the first to have earthly parents. And, as good Bible students know, the first murder and the first physical death of a human came through the wicked hands of Cain.

There is a thought about Abel that I had not realized until just now. Not only was he was the first person to die and the first person to be cast into eternity, but he was the first person in Hades, the unseen realm of the dead. Was he alone in Hades? How long was it until another righteous person joined him? Likely he did not have much of an understanding about what happens beyond death. You and I have Luke 16 and the rich man and Lazarus. Abel didn’t have that. You and I have Paul’s words about what happens in the resurrection, as the Corinthians were told. Abel didn’t have that. You and I understand that death and hades will be thrown into the lake of fire. Not sure if Abel got that before he died.

Now, here are some thoughts for us:

First, there are many curious things like this that one can speculate about from the Bible. One can chase down what the ancients wrote about this. One can spend a ton of time seeing if Luther or Calvin had much to say about this. One could even write a research paper on Abel in Hades. But at the end of the day, it’s just a curiosity shot in the dark. And, as we exhaust hours chasing down ideas, leads, thoughts, it doesn’t really help us in our daily walk with the Lord. What was it like being the first person on the other side doesn’t help me to be closer to the Lord or more righteous. What was it like being the only person in Hades, doesn’t really help me make the best choices today.

A person can spend a lifetime studying the Bible, but what is he studying? Is he finding ways to be more pure, more like Christ and more righteous or is he just chasing rabbits through the field of curiosity? We need to know how to navigate through this broken world and be the disciples that the Lord wants. There is a wonderful place for depth and academia in Biblical research, but at the end of the day, does it help me with the Lord? I fight this with my fascination with church history. Love to spend time learning about old congregations, long ago preachers and all their stories. But, does any of that help me with the Lord? That’s what we must remember.

Second, the nature of God and what we learn about Him from the Scriptures, assures us that Abel was ok being the first one in Hades. God will take care of us is such a comforting thought. Later on, Hades would be filled with many heroes such as, Noah, Abraham, David and the prophets. Abel may have been the first, but he wouldn’t be the last.

God has always been with His people. When that lion’s den was sealed and Daniel was alone, God was with him. When those prison doors shut tight, and Paul was alone. God was with him. Even disobedient Jonah, in the belly of the fish, was not alone. God was with him. And, the Lord will be with us.

Third, as Cain had to live the rest of his life knowing what he did, Abel was on the other side and was taken care of by God. Abel would no longer be tempted. Abel would no longer be plagued with the things we that bring misery and heartache to our lives. Pain. Sorrow. Disease. Disappointments. Abel was finished with those things and he rested in the comfort of God.

The faith of believers ought not to fear, nor even dread death. We do all that we can here, but we long to be clothed on the other side as the apostle put it. We desire to be with the Lord. Death is just the doorway, the passage, that takes us from here to there. Abel died violently. Abel died innocently. Abel was killed because he did something right. And, in many ways, Abel’s death points to a similar death that took place on the Cross at Calvary. The Lord died violently. The Lord died innocently. The Lord was killed for something He did that was right.

The first in Hades. Someday, someone will be the last.

Roger

06

Jump Start # 3422

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

Jump Start # 3422

Psalms 77:2 “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; my soul refused to be comforted.”

Our verse today expresses the deep concern that many of us know but we don’t want to talk about. It’s when we have prayed and prayed and prayed, and it seems like God is not there. Nothing happens. We pour our hearts out day and night, and nothing. And, as our verse states, “my soul refused to be comforted.”

When that happens, we start checking for a reason. Maybe I’m not doing something right. Maybe God is upset with me. Maybe I have not been as diligent as I should have. We run all these checks through our minds and wonder why we can’t find peace and comfort from the Lord. Why is it that the Lord doesn’t answer our prayers?

There are some thoughts we need to remember:

First, God is not working on the same schedule or timetable as we are. We get impatient. We want answers now. And, part of that is just because of the culture we are in. We want things now. We send packages through a company called Federal EXPRESS. The phone company is called SPRINT. We manage finances on a program called QUICKEN. We diet on Slim FAST. Do you see what that does to us? Express. Sprint. Quick. Fast. And, we want God to operate that way for us. We want answers RIGHT NOW.

But, God does not operate that way. He has His own timetable. “In His time,” is more than a wonderful hymn, it’s a reminder that God doesn’t keep time as we do. So, we pray and nothing. That doesn’t mean God didn’t hear. It doesn’t mean that God is not already doing things. When the prophet complained that nothing was being done, God said, “Observe. Be astonished. Wonder. Because I am doing something in your days.” Habakkuk just didn’t see it. And, the same may be true of us. The answer to your prayer may be just over the horizon and God is busy doing things and you just can’t see it.

Second, as difficult as it is to realize this, “No,” is an answer. It’s not the answer we want. It’s not what we prayed for. Sometimes when a person feels like God hasn’t answered, He actually has. They just didn’t accept the answer God provided. We must remember that we work for God, not the other way around.

Third, the waiting on the Lord builds patience and it makes us trust Him. Patience is hard. Patience is more than just waiting. It’s not unraveling on the inside while we are waiting. Patience is trusting. And, we sure could use a truckload of patience these days. Notice impatient drivers as they wait in construction zones. Some will drive through the grass. Some will turn around right in front of a “No U-turn” sign. Some get upset and frustrated.

One of the things that helped this weary Psalmist was remembering. Three times that word is used in this chapter.

  • I will remember my songs in the night (6)
  • I shall remember the deeds of the Lord (11)
  • Surely, I will remember Your wonders of old (11)

And, just what will that trip down memory lane do for a person? He will see that God has been there. He will see that God takes care of His people. He will see that when it seems God’s people were put away and forgotten, God remembered. God remembered Noah who was held tight in the ark. God remembered Peter when the prison doors were shut. God remembered His people when the Egyptian oppression became extreme. God remembered. And, now the Psalmist remembered that God remembered.

Maybe the soul ought to be comforted if it was wrapped around the promises of God. Waiting on God is a great lesson for us.

Roger

05

Jump Start # 3421

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

Jump Start # 3421

1 Timothy 3:11 “Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.”

Recently in our Jump Starts I ran a couple of articles about a series of sermons I called, “Ten Things.” We posted “Ten things older Christians need to tell younger Christians.” That was followed by, “Ten things that can help your marriage.” I listed several other titles that I preached in that series. One of them was about gossip, “Ten things to remember about gossip.” One of our readers encouraged me to include that one in our Jump Starts.

Gossip is so easy to do and it can be so hurtful. Gossip can be disguised as merely “catching up on the news around here.” And, have you noticed that generally, if not always, gossip is negative. In gossip, one isn’t complimenting, commending, or bragging about someone else. Maybe if we did that more, things would improve. No, instead, gossip is about the negative, the dirt, the wrongs, the failures of others. There is office gossip. There is church gossip. There is neighborhood gossip. There is gossip in the family.

And, if gossip wasn’t bad enough, our verse magnifies it with the expression, “Malicious gossip.” Other translations state this as:

KJV/ESV: slanderers

NIV: malicious talkers

This verse is found among the qualities of the leaders in the congregation. Bishops and deacons—servants of God and helpers of God’s people. And, placed among those godly leaders, are words about the qualities of women. Faithful. Dignified. Not hurtful gossips. Leaders know things. Leaders are often involved in helping messy lives. Leaders must be careful with what they share. The women connected to these leaders are often the sounding boards that also hear and know of things going on within the congregation. They may know about a marriage coming apart before others do. They may know of trouble in the home before others do. They may know of addictions, arrests, and pain before others do. With this information, one must be careful. A gossip will tell things that should not be told. A gossip will inflict more pain and trouble.

Now, here’s the list, Ten Things to Remember about Gossip:

  1. Not all things said are true
  2. Words can hurt
  3. Gossip comes from a heart that likes to think the worst rather than the best
  4. Gossip lives or dies by the choices we make
  5. Gossip puts us in an awful group
  6. Gossip is wrong
  7. Thumper was right, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say nothin’ at all.”
  8. As our faith grows, our gossipy ways ought to stop
  9. We will be judged for what we say
  10. God expects you to build up and encourage one another, not tear them down and destroy them.

The ole’ saying about sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never harm you, we’ve found through the years not to be true. Long after those bones have healed, we remember those hurtful words. Decades later, we can still remember those words. And, that’s the danger of gossip. In the heat of the moment, words can be said and shared, and decades later, someone will still remember them.

The gossip is arrogant. He thinks he is better than the person he is talking about. He enjoys putting people down, while never looking in the mirror to see where he stands with God. His cold and heartless attitude violates the golden rule. He becomes furious if someone were to gossip about him. And, for those who have ears that are eager to listen to gossip, you must realize that when you are not around the gossip, he is likely  saying things about you. That’s the nature of a gossip.

Gossip spreads from gossip to gossip. Rumors start. Suspicion rises. Reputations are hurt. Feelings are crushed. People leave the congregation. Family members refuse to talk to each other. And, the recovery from gossip is long and hard. Apologies often do not seem enough. The word is out. Things were said that should never have been said. Trust is shattered. And a flood of damage cannot be stopped.

What can be done? Don’t gossip. Don’t be the one saying things and don’t be the one listening to such things. And, when someone says, “I probably shouldn’t say this,” stop them. Say, “Then don’t say it.”

Can you imagine what God could do if He was a gossip? He knows everything about all of us. He knows our thoughts. He has heard every word out of our mouths. He has seen us all the time. There are no secrets we hide from God. Oh, the damage God could cause if He was a gossip. But He is not. And, if He is not, why are we?

Let’s speak kindly about one another.

Roger

04

Jump Start # 3420

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3420

Psalms 89:1 “I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever; to all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.”

Our verse sounds as if it comes from the lips of one happy person. He loves the Lord and he knows that the Lord loves him. And, because of that, he is singing and telling others about the Lord. What a refreshing and helpful verse this is in our times.

Have you noticed that people are just not happy these days. And, when we are not happy, we complain. And, there is a lot of complaints filling the air anymore. Not enough workers. Prices are high. Lines are long. This isn’t right and that ain’t right. And, the more one complains, the more he finds others willing to sing that same sad song with him.

And, for us disciples, it’s easy to get caught up in that. They complain at school. They complain at work. The drive home, and the traffic makes some complain. Nothing is right and everything is wrong. Misery finds company and misery keeps company.

Then, we read passages like our verse today. Singing of the lovingkindness of the Lord. Not just on a Sunday, but forever. God is so good. He is so good to me. Do you believe that? Blessings. Forgiveness. Hope. Promises. Help. Fellowship. Prayers answered. The words abound when we think about the kindness of the Lord. Rather than joining in the chorus of complainers, sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Now, just how does one do that? Will all the gloom and doom around a person, how do we sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord?

First, one must think about the Lord. Count your many blessings, is how one of our hymns reminds us. Rather than looking at the dreary rain, look for the rainbow. Focus is the key here. It helps taking a break from the nightly news. Guess what happens when you don’t watch it? The world goes on without you. Shootings. Murder. Crime. Protests. Troubles. Disasters. Having a steady diet of that every evening is enough to be miserable. So, take a break. Don’t watch the news.

Second, spend some time outside. That’s where you’ll see the glory and majesty of the Lord. Listen to the birds. Watch a spider spin a web. Listen to the wind through the trees. It’s more than nature, it’s God showing what He does. There is a calming sensation that quiets our souls when we just sit outside. Leave your phone inside. You don’t need it. Look at the clouds. Take in the smells. Listen to the sounds. Look at how many shades of green God has on His pallet. Don’t let bugs, heat or other things get you to complaining. Sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Third, spend some serious time in God’s word. Get a pen out and circle some words. Take some notes. Notice things. Ask yourself some questions. Drop that bucket deep into the well of God. It’s hard to do some complaining while you are digging into God’s word. See the power of God. See the compassion of the Lord. See the joys of salvation. Walk with the Savior through the Gospels.

Three simple things. But, it’s hard doing these things. We want to watch the news. We want to stay inside. We want to busy ourselves with things other than God’s word. And, when that becomes our course in life, we won’t be singing much. We’ll be complaining with the rest of the world.

Turn off the news. Get outside. Open your Bible. And, when you do that, your attitude changes. You’ll feel better. You’ll do better. And, before you know it, you’ll be singing a hymn or two. You might even sing, “I’m happy today, O, yes, I’m happy today.” You just might sing that when everyone around you is singing, “Gloom, despair and agony on me.”

I will sing. I will tell others. God is so good.

Roger