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Jump Start # 3523

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3523

Matthew 7:7  ” Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

I admit that I’m a fan of Dave Ramsey, the financial talk host. Recently, his program has changed from dealing solely with money matters to job, marriage and relationship issues.  I usually grab bits and pieces of the show while driving to lunch. I’ve noticed lately some really complicated and deep problems. There are people who are massively in debt. The hole that they have dug is so deep, one wonders if they can ever get out. But caller after caller, it’s the same thing.

And, there are some parallels to spiritual lessons as well. The N.T. uses the concept of debt to describe sin and salvation in terms of being redeemed or the debt being cancelled.

First, it is easy to do what everyone else is doing. Just following the herd, being average, often isn’t a good place to be in life. Broke and without a plan is not a happy place. But spiritually, it’s the same. Being without Christ and just living day to day is certainly no place to be either.  We must follow Christ and not the crowd. Remember, the road to destruction is wide, easy and filled with people. There is a safety factor in believing that “not all these people can be wrong.” But, yes, they can be.

Second, getting ourselves in trouble can happen so gradually that we don’t even notice. It’s that way with debt and it’s that way with sin. Just one step from the cross today. Then, just another step tomorrow. In a couple of weeks we have stepped so far away that we no longer can see the cross. And, when that happens, we have taken our eyes off of the Lord. We can’t find the Lord.

And, what a graphic expression the Bible uses, “lost.” I’ve been lost a few times. I’ve gotten turned around in the middle of a woods and it took a while for me to get my bearings and get out. I’ve been lost driving before. As a child, I got lost in a store and the employees had to announce on a loud speaker for my parents. There is a period of time when a person is lost but he doesn’t realize it yet. He’s traveling down the road of life, thinking he knows where he is at, but he doesn’t. Then, when that moment hits him that he is lost, panic, fear and desperation fills the heart. Now the only thought is getting back to where one belongs. Becoming “unlost” or found, is the main concern. It’s that way physically and it’s that way spiritually. Many are lost, but they don’t realize it yet. For the few that know they are lost, seeking the Lord is the most important thing to them.

Third, it’s hard to turn things around. I have listened to the Ramsey program for so long now that I can pretty much tell what the hosts will say. There are certain steps in the Ramsey way and they do not deviate from them. And, there are certain steps with Christ. We cannot deviate from them either. Getting out of habitual sin and addictions can be done, but it will take more than just reading a favorite verse from Psalms. It’s hard, and it begins with a person really wanting to break free. It was that hopelessness that led the prodigal to get up and come home. As long as we are content to dwell with pigs, we will. When we realize that life could be better and that God created us for better things, then our hearts will open and we’ll begin the process back to God.

That desire to come back to the Lord is expressed in “Seek and you shall find.” And, here is something interesting. When the heart is truly seeking the Lord, he finds out that the Lord is seeking him. Luke tells us that the Lord came to “seek and save that which was lost.” So, put those thoughts together. The person lost is seeking to be found. And, there is the Lord seeking to find the one lost. What a beautiful picture that presents to us. The Lord isn’t doing other things and just waiting for us to come to Him. He is out looking for us. His Gospel is calling to us. He’s looking for us as we are looking for Him. And, in that way, one finds the Lord. God sends us reminders through people, posts on social media, and little things here and there that catches the eyes of those who are seeking. God is active. He’s out there looking for you.

People need encouragement and support. The journey back can be long and hard. And, some will quit because they don’t believe that they can ever break free. Lectures, guilt and finger pointing is not helpful. They need someone to walk with them. They need to hear success stories. They need prayers.

Life is messy and we sure can find ourselves in a lot of trouble very quickly. It takes determination, goals and focus to stay with the Lord. Can it be done? Certainly.

There are people you know that may be discovering for the first time that they are lost. Help them. Be a friend to them. Let them know that the Lord is looking for them.

Thank you, Lord.

Roger

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Jump Start # 3522

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3522

Revelation 3:4 “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.”

The church at Sardis was dead. What the Lord thought about this church and what others were saying about that church didn’t match. They had a name. A great name. Everyone thought that they were alive, but the Lord pulled the sheet over the body of that church. It had flatlined. They were lifeless. However, our verse reminds us that in the midst of that death scene, there were glimpses of life. Some were alive. There was a faithful few that fought death and continued to walk with the Lord.

The lessons from this section are powerful. How does a church die? Many have died right before our eyes. Many have died decades ago and no one noticed. Some still continue through the motions of worship and activity, but they are long gone.

First, death requires so little effort. It takes energy, effort, motivation, plans and determination to live. That is true physically and that is true spiritually. Just stop eating and in time, you will die. There was a cranky old family member who was making everyone miserable by their complaining negative spirit. Someone told this old grump, “You don’t have to take your medicine. You can just go and see Jesus.” Dying requires so little effort. Living takes all that we have.

Second, churches die because error replaces truth. This is happening right before our eyes these days. Walking away from doctrine and believing all that matters is “Jesus,” whatever that means has become the popular tune that too many are listening to these days. A church may have a full parking lot on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean they are alive. They may jump up and down, clap their hands, laugh, spill their coffee, and have the time of their lives, but that doesn’t mean that they are alive. Our verse identifies “walking with Me.” That’s the key. When Jesus stops, many keep going. When Jesus turns, many keep going straight. And, to justify themselves, “Look how many followers I have,” or, “Look how filled our pews are.” That’s not the yardstick to use. Walking with Jesus is.

Third, churches die when members forget who the enemy is. When we turn on one another, and consume each other in criticism and judgmental attitudes, we will quickly die. Shooting the good guys isn’t the answer. The enemy is Satan. We must help each other. The Thessalonians were told to admonish, encourage and help one another. It’s time we made up our minds whose side we are on.

The story from Sardis reminds us that reputation and character are not the same. Reputation is what people think you are. Character is what you really are. In that time, people thought Sardis was alive. They had a name. Jesus knew the truth. Their character was quite different. They were declared dead.

The writer, J.R. Miller said, “The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a person. What a man is survives him. It can never be buried.” This is why Hebrews pronounces, Abel, though dead, still speaks. Character, that’s what really matters.

How did the few in Sardis remain alive? They were surrounded by death. Lifeless members attempting to worship the living God. That just doesn’t work. And, for many of our Jump Start readers, what is the answer if you find yourself in a dead church? What can I do?

Here are some quick thoughts:

First, you must not allow the death to overtake you. How easy it is to just join everyone else. When we go along with what everyone else is doing, then we become what they are. This means the few in Sardis were active when everyone else was sitting on the sidelines. It means they were still connecting with the Lord, when everyone else had become unplugged. They were growing when everyone else was dying.

So, you continue to invite people into your home and extend hospitality and encouragement, even though you know that no one will do the same. You do what is right. You continue to teach and teach and teach, even when no one else is interested in teaching. You do what is right. You continue to invite, invite and invite, when no one else will do the same. You do what is right. You continue to drop suggestions, ideas and hope, even though you know every idea will be shot down. You do what is right.

Your faith is in the Lord, not a dead church. You don’t have to be dead. The few in Sardis must have looked so different to everyone else. Their eyes were upon the Lord.

The faithful few…make sure you are numbered among them.

Roger

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Jump Start # 3521

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3521

Esther 2:22 “And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.”

Tuesdays with Esther—this is our little series we are running. The historical narrative in which Esther is written is a fascinating story. There are several little things that happen that makes the big story. Our verse today is one of them.

Mordecai who has raised Esther seems to have some official position. He sits at the king’s gate, which is much more than sitting on a park bench at the county court house. Official business was conducted at the king’s gate. It is here that Mordecai learns of a plot to assassinate the king. This has layers of potential problems. If this plot is carried out, who would be the next king? Esther is currently the Queen. Would she be executed? Would the new ruler make life hard for the Jews?

Mordecai tells the Queen about the plot. The word is taken to the king and it is looked into. Found credible, the two potential assassins are impaled on a stake. Our English Bibles uses the word gallows, which brings the image of the game “hangman” or the old West, with a wooden platform and a trapdoor that sprung open. The language doesn’t support that image.

There are lessons for us here:

First, evil is always lurking about wanting to upset things. Assassinate the king. Split the church. Spread rumors to hurt someone. Evil is never satisfied. Evil is not content. Evil wants to cripple and destroy what is good and right.

And, as much as we want to believe that everyone has a good heart, the truth is some do not. Some are so corrupt and evil that wicked is all that they know. There are those that feed wicked with corrupt thoughts. Music can do this. Video games can do this. Movies can do this. Friends can do this. And, when a person has surrounded himself with only wicked, it should not surprise us that he engages in evil deeds.

We are not told the back story as to why there was a plot to kill Xerxes. Could these men have been supporters of Queen Vashti and they were upset that she had been removed? History tells us that Xerxes would be murdered in his bed about 15 years later.

Second, it is interesting that Mordecai, a Jew captured by the Babylonians, now under the reign of Persia, would care about a foreign ruler. How easily he could have said, “This is none of my business.” Or, “I don’t want to get involved.” And, much too often, when those things are stated, evil prevails. It could have been stopped, but someone looked the other way. Mordecai didn’t do that. It’s risky to stop evil, but it’s the right thing to do. How often when a blow up happens in the family or in the congregation, someone says, “I knew that was going to happen.” Well, why didn’t you do something? Silence and “it’s none of my business,” often is just a cover for being a coward. The kingdom is our business. The welfare and the wellbeing of the congregation is our business. To sit idly on the sidelines when you could have and should have done something is a mark of fear and lack of commitment.

Mordecai told the Queen. He did not try to take the assassins on himself. He went to the proper channels and allowed the process of the government and the law to deal with this.

Third, the “what-if” game certainly comes to play here. What if Mordecai had not heard about the plot? What if Esther had not been the Queen? Most likely, the king is killed and a chapter or two later, the Jews would have been killed in Persia. And, to that great statement in chapter 4, the most famous verse in Esther, “who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” Could that be said about Mordecai here in this section? Maybe he was there for that very reason. And, maybe you are where you are for that very reason.

We’d all love to work at a place where the office day begins with a prayer, at lunch, Bibles are opened and studied and everyone is humble and kind. But for most, it’s not that way. It’s not even close to that. Toxic, gutter language, crude, offensive and it vexes your soul and spirit every day, just like Sodom did to Lot. But maybe you are there for such a time as this? Maybe your influence will open the eyes of a few. Maybe your example will change the culture. Maybe God has placed you there for this very reason.

And, the same could be said of our families. We’d love to have everyone in the family a believer. To go to worship together as one massive family. To sit around the kitchen table and talk about the Bible and share good thoughts. But for so many, it’s not that way. Cussing, lying, drinking and selfishness is as common as ice in the cups. Whenever God’s name is brought up, it’s blasphemous and cursing. Why can’t my family be different? Maybe God has placed you there for such a time as this. Maybe you can influence one to talk seriously and deeply about things that matter. Maybe your example can catch the attention of others. Maybe one will come with you to services.

Mordecai could have turned a deaf ear to what he heard. He didn’t. He could have ignored it. He didn’t. And, when it was time to encourage Esther to step up and be bold, who already had done that? He had.

Tuesdays with Esther.

Roger

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Jump Start # 3520

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3520

Galatians 4:11 “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”

The words of the apostle in our verse today are the very things that are often wondered by many today. The Galatians were not strong in their faith. They were struggling and many failing. The letter opens with Paul’s amazement that so many had already deserted for a twisted and false form of the Gospel. Paul had preached, worked hard and taught and taught them. But it didn’t stick with many of them. And, when that happens, the honest heart begins to wonder, “Is it me?” “Was it the way I taught?” “Could I have done something differently?” “ Has all of this been a waste of time?”

This is not solely a religious dilemma. School teaches face this. Is anyone paying attention? Am I making any difference? Parents often face this. Is anyone listening? Am I getting through to them?

  • Phillips words this as: you stagger me, you make me wonder if all my efforts over you have been wasted
  • CEB: I’m afraid for you! Perhaps my hard work for you has been for nothing.
  • Peterson: I am afraid that all my hard work among you has gone up in a puff of smoke!

Feeling like you are wasting your time quickly drains the energy out of the heart of the one teaching. Blank stares. No one following along. Questions asked that were answered in the last class. Have I labored over you in vain?

It is that feeling that makes a preacher begin to wonder if it’s time to move on. Maybe someone else would be more effective. Maybe a fresh and different voice would help the people. Not connecting, not making a difference is the tell-tell sign for most preachers to hit the road and move out of Dodge. I have felt that way. Most preachers have. Another sermon. Another class. Another article. And, one wonders, is it doing any good? Am I wasting time?

Here are a few thoughts:

First, teaching God’s word, whether in the home or the church building is never a waste of time. There comes a responsibility upon the student to take the initiative and come with a heart to learn. Bored people are just that, bored people. Some want to be done with “church” as fast as they can so they can go on and do what they want to do. Such an attitude and such a spirit wearies the Lord and the righteous. It’s that same attitude that will fail to grow, bear fruit for the kingdom and struggle with the same questions over and over.

Keep teaching, preacher. Keep explaining Mom and Dad. Your hope is that one day those lessons will sink deep into their little hearts and it will make a difference. The alternative is to throw up your hands and give up. And, then who will teach?

Second, keep learning how to teach. Maybe your methods are stale. Maybe your questions are so obvious that they do not challenge. Maybe you need a fresh coat of paint on the way you teach. Look at others. Learn from others. Try different methods. As you grow more, you’ll find different ways to connect better with the ones you are trying to teach.

Third, it helps giving some feed back to the teacher. An honest question. A “thank you.” A “I hadn’t thought about that before.” Taking notes. Telling the teacher, “I really like this class.” Sharing what you learned with others. All of that is helpful. When mama cooks dinner, she likes to hear once in a while, “Thank you,” or, “I really like that.” Feedback is important. So many places that we do business with these days, will send email surveys wanting to know how they did. They are looking for feedback.

And, when the last Amen is said, and the conversations quickly turn to the ballgame, the teacher wonders, “Have I labored in vain?” “Did anything stick?” But to see people still sitting in the pew, with Bibles opened and talking to one another, what a rich and rewarding picture that is.

The Galatian problem wasn’t the teacher. It wasn’t the subject being taught. It was the hearts and shallow faith of the Galatian people. Was Paul’s efforts a waste of time? Today we have that letter to the Galatians in our Bibles. It is that letter that warns of the works of the flesh. It is that letter that details the fruit of the Spirit. It is that letter that shows that we are all one in Christ. Thousands of years later, the efforts of that lone apostle is still touching hearts, teaching souls and making a difference in our lives.

And, in a much smaller scale, the same is true among our efforts. I have run into people decades after I have preached a lesson and they will show me a notecard that they kept in their Bible, or quote some statement that I have long forgotten, but they never did. The same impact is true in parenting. My mom has been gone for more than twenty-five years, but even today, there are things she said, that I remember. She may have and probably did wonder if anything she said got through my thick head, but it did and I remember.

So, mom and dad, Bible class teacher, preacher, keep plugging away. Stay at it. Don’t give up. You may plant seeds today that you will never see grow, but in time, those little seeds can produce mighty oaks.

It’s never a waste of time to teach God’s word. To answer Paul’s question, “Have I labored in vain,” NO. No you haven’t. What you did is still making a difference today!

Roger

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Jump Start # 3519

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3519

Luke 16:23 “And in Hades he lifts up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

I was working ahead on some Jump Starts and other things I do around here and I noticed that next week we have a “Leap Day.” An extra day is added to February every four years. I’m sure those who keep track of  yearly calendars, atomic time and such things could give a full reason as to why we are given an extra day every four years. It probably also makes sense to those who understand such things why every spring we “spring forward” with time and every fall we “fall back” with time. For the most of us, it’s an inconvenience and we don’t get it. I don’t get it when it is explained.

So, next week, we get an “extra day.” And, that brings us to our passage today. The story of the rich man and poor Lazarus. The rich man seems to have everything, but he really didn’t. He had a full belly, full closets but an empty heart. His eyes could count his money, but they couldn’t see the opportunity to help a poor man laying at his gate. There are many people who would have envied this rich man. He had it all, but he really didn’t. And, in death, he and Lazarus trade places. The rich man in death is begging and has no one to help him, just as Lazarus was in life. In death, the rich man was in a place that no one wanted to be. In life, no one wanted to be where Lazarus was. Comfort in life, comfort in death. Agony in life, agony in death. Those two men were complete opposites in life and in death.

Several years ago, we produced a Jump Start book on the rich man and Lazarus. If you would like a free copy, email me (Rogshouse@aol.com).

Imagine in the Luke 16 account, that the rich man was given one extra day. It’s leap year for the rich man. What would that look like?

First, it is very, very likely that the rich man would have spent an extra day pursuing wealth and pleasure. The lessons he learned came after he died. Given another day, we’d expect that nothing would have changed. Given another week…another month…another year…his eyes could not see and his heart was closed.

I appreciate being able to pray for family and friends of our church family. We pray for their physical wellbeing through surgeries, treatments and hospital stays. And, after their recovery, rarely is anything ever said about them again. What about their souls? We’ve prayed for more days, but what have they done with those days? Maybe it’s time we prayed for the souls and the salvation of our friends and neighbors. Like ole’ Hezekiah, if they are given another 15 years to live, that’s wonderful. But, what if those 15 years are just a continuation of an indifferent spirit about the Lord who gives them that time?

Second, may the Lord open our eyes to see lessons before it’s too late. The penitent rich man saw things in death that he never saw in life. They were there. He could have seen them, if he looked. But his attention was drawn to making money, eating fine foods and wearing rich clothes. Because of that, he never saw what was really important. He never saw what would happen to his gated house, his fine clothes after he left this place. Where are those things today? Faith, hope, conviction, being a servant, those are the things that he saw too late. He saw how valuable Moses and the Prophets were after he was dead.

And, what about us? Do we have opportunity laying right in our path and we fail to see it? Opportunity to shine light? Opportunity to serve? Opportunity to teach? Right there, every day when we walk into work or school. Everyday as we have conversations with family members. Everyday as we share things on social media.

Poor Lazarus was not in Africa. He was at the gate of the rich man’s house. There was no going or coming without passing by Lazarus. Open our eyes, Lord.

Third, the walk through any cemetery is a stroll through time with those who wished they had one more day. One more day to seek the Lord. One more day to come to the Lord. One more day to apologize. One more day to resist the devil. Cemeteries are islands of regret of so many that lived for themselves but not for the Lord.

How about spending next Thursday, Leap Day, in deep prayer and thankfulness. An extra day given to you. Don’t  waste it. Don’t treat it as just another day.  You are given a blessing that multitudes who are gone would love to have. An extra day…what a blessing.

Roger