15

Jump Start # 3513

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3513

Luke 5:5 “And Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your biding I will let down the nets.”

Jesus stood in the boat and taught the multitudes that were on the shoreline. When He finished, He told Peter to launch out into the deep and put down his nets for a catch. Wishful thinking, Peter might have thought. Peter let the Lord know that they had already tried that. We not only worked, but we have worked hard and we worked all night. We gave it our best shot, but nothing. We caught nothing. We are tired, dirty and discouraged. We are ready to go home. This is not the day to catch fish. Maybe, tomorrow will be better.

But, the words of Jesus had a sense of assurance about them. Maybe Jesus did know something. At your bidding I will, Peter says. Others express this as: I will do as You say; if You say so; because you say so.

This statement came from a submissive heart. Maybe Jesus does know more than we do. Maybe the Lord can see what we cannot see. The Lord never wants to hurt us, make fun of us, or see us fail. Maybe, just maybe, the Lord knows what He is talking about.

“At Your biding I will…”

Consider:

First, there are times when we have to be honest and simply do things God’s way. Peter could have held his ground, stating that he was the fisherman and Jesus was a teacher and a carpenter. Stay in your lane, Jesus. I’ve got this. I know all about this. I know fish. I know how to fish. Put in the topic: money, growing a church, parenting, dealing with depression, we think we’ve got a handle on those things. What does Jesus know about fish? What does Jesus know about depression? Stay in your lane, Jesus. We know.

And, then we hear Peter saying, at your bidding Lord, I will. When we come to that understanding, we realize that Jesus is in all lanes. Jesus knows about everything. One cannot improve upon what God has done.

Second, when Jesus said the very hairs on our heads are numbered, we realize that God knows things about us that even we do not know. If you had to guess, within ten, how many hairs are on your head, most couldn’t do it and it would still be a guess. God knows. And, if God knows how many hairs are on your head, He knows about your heart. He knows what tempts you. He knows your strengths. He knows your weaknesses. God knows you better than you know yourself. And, so when we proudly say, I can’t do that, God knows you can. I can’t forgive. Yes, you can. How do you know that? God says you can. When you think you cannot do any more. God knows you can.

At Your bidding Lord, I will.

Third, when we are tired, discouraged and ready to go home, God knows that we can do a little bit more. Cast out into the deep and lower those nets, beckons us. It calls us when we say, “I can’t teach another class.” “I can’t do any more hospitality.” When our hearts say, “We can’t,” the Lord says, “Cast out into the deep and lower your nets.”

Sometimes our efforts show very little results. Peter had worked hard. Peter had worked all night. And, what was there to show for that? Nothing. Another sermon to preach. Another class to teach. Another sad story to listen to. Another teen to advise. Another young couple to encourage. Another email to write. Another text to send. Another visit to the hospital. Another funeral home visitation to go to. Tired. Worked hard all night. Just ready to go home and try another day, the Lord says, “cast out into the deep and lower your nets.” So, we do. So, we shall. And, this time, the results may be amazing.

At Your biding Lord, I will…

Roger

14

Jump Start # 3512

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3512

1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”

I am writing this on a brand new computer system in my office. I now have two screens. It’s amazing and it took three of us to get all the cords here and there, where they needed to go. I had to shift things around, even move some furniture around. Dan who helped so much in this process made sure that all my programs looked the same and that I was comfortable with the new set up. Every preacher needs a Dan in their life. But like anything new, there is a learning curve and getting used to a different feel. For me, it’s the keyboard. For years, I’ve been using the laptop keyboard but now I have a wireless, soft touch keyboard. It’s nice. I just need to type and type and type so I can get the right feel.

Our verse today describing the transition from using and needing spiritual gifts to a mature place where only the written word of God would be necessary, is illustrated by the growing up of a child. I have a bunch of grandchildren, thirteen to be exact. The oldest is eleven and the youngest is less than a month old. When they are around, I hear a lot of talking and reasoning as a child. A lot of “knock-knock” jokes. It’s easy for grandparents to talk like the little ones. But if we did that all the time, someone would think we need to head to the “home.”

There are those who do not understand the context our passage is found in. They think speaking in tongues would be a wonderful thing. It was necessary at a point in the past, but it’s not the mature state that we ought to be in.

All of this got me thinking about getting used to new things:

First, you and I have only known this world. It’s been our home as long as we have been alive. We may complain about the weather, but it’s all we are accustomed to. Spring, summer, fall and winter– that’s our world. Bugs. Green grass. Clouds in the sky. Eating. Sleeping. Getting older. That’s our world. That’s life. That’s all we have known.

However, we are headed to a different place. And, it will be so unlike what we are used to. Heaven doesn’t have bugs, seasons, the need to eat, nor will we age. I wonder how long it will take for us to get used to that? I doubt that we’ll miss this place. I’m certain that none of us will wish we could go back.

Second, there is an element within each congregation in which we must get used to new things. A new face in the pulpit, a new preacher. He will have his own style. He will have his own strengths. And, very likely, he will not be like the last preacher. And, as comfortable as you were with the last one, give the new guy a chance. Don’t compare the two. Don’t expect the new one to do things the way the old one did. Become his friend, and in time, you will grow very fond of the new preacher.

New faces in the congregation comes with a learning curve for all of us. Get the names of all those kids straight. Invite them into your fellowship and your heart. They may be brand new Christians and they’ll need some patience as they learn things. Be kind. On the other hand, they may have moved from another congregation. They must understand that this is a different congregation and although Biblical, they do things differently than the last place. Don’t enter in with the mindset of trying to change everything.

Third, there is getting used to seeing passages that we once always thought one way about, but now, we have learned, grown and these verses bring so much more understanding to us. For instance, the laborer that was hired at the eleventh hour from Jesus’ parable, has nothing to do with death bed repentance. Many have believed that for years. No one dies in that passage. The context tells us that the passage is about the generosity of God. You and I will be given the same as the apostles. Unbelievable.

Old things…new things. Change is hard to get used to. When I walk in my office now, it takes me a moment, because things are moved around. It looks different. But in just a little while, it will be just the way I like it.

Thanks, Dan. You’re the best.

Roger

13

Jump Start # 3511

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3511

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Oh, grace! That little five letter word stirs up so much emotion, concern and confusion. Some have a difficult time reading our verse today the way the Holy Spirit delivered it. Grace through faith is the way the passage reads. We are saved by grace through faith. Do you believe that?

Instantly, some have to respond, “Not faith alone.” And, any good student of the Bible understands that. Is it necessary to add that? Then some want to say, “that includes baptism, obedience to Christ and faithfulness.” And, any good student of the Bible will see that clearly. Is it necessary to add that to the verse? Even a careful walk through Ephesians will show what God expects and where our faith ought to take us.

Maybe, we feel compelled to say these things because the religious community has butchered grace and faith and redefined them so they are not longer what God intended. To help people see through the fog of such things, we might over explain things. There is a balance. We must look at all that the Bible teaches, not just one singular verse. That one verse may not give us the complete picture. Yet, on the other hand, we ought to be able to read a passage as God gave it to us. There is a balance.

The subject of Grace among us is often hard to understand.

First, this generation is not the only ones to discover the concept of God’s grace. The way some have said things, you’d get the idea that preachers from the past never mentioned grace. Some have gone so far as to actually say that. But, a simple dig in history shows how wrong that is. I know of my generation, grace has been preached often. I know generations past, even to the restoration movement, grace was a major theme in sermons and articles. I grew up hearing many great preachers talking about God’s grace. This isn’t a topic some have failed to teach on. It’s hard to talk about the prodigal son and not open the door to grace. The woman caught in adultery, the parable of the man who owed thousands of talents all stand upon the platform of God’s grace. It is unfair, inaccurate and even cruel to accuse earlier generations of ignoring the topic of grace. They did not.

Second, God’s grace isn’t a pass to say none of the other things we do matter. What if we started all over, and only had the Gospels, and all we had was Jesus, wouldn’t that make things easier and better. Such a foolish thing was presented in a sermon. We don’t have just the Gospels. The God of Heaven saw fit to give us all the N.T. The whole counsel of God is what we need. While we may not like things such as discipline, or patterns, or authority or doctrine, these things are part of Jesus. You cannot separate Jesus from His message and His message includes the totality of the N.T. You can’t have Jesus without His word. And, His word is more than just what was spoken in the Gospels. Check out what the apostle said in 1 Cor 14:37?

If anything, grace teaches us to live righteously and godly, as we find in Titus. Righteously means living RIGHT. It is God who determines what is right. Ignoring what God has said, doesn’t make one right. Understanding that you have been given a second chance that you do not deserve, leads one to walking closer to the Lord and trying ever harder to please the Lord. Grace isn’t an open door to do whatever I feel like. When radicals say “all this church stuff doesn’t matter,” what are they basing this upon? Is that something God has said? The first Christians were devoted to the apostle’s doctrine. Yet, some today think, doctrine is a dirty word. Doctrine doesn’t matter. Just give me Jesus, is what they say. Yet, the Jesus they want is one that they have made up and is not the Jesus of the Bible. Six times in John’s first letter he mentions the need to keep the commandments. Grace and obedience are not enemies. They fit together nicely in the platform of faith.

Third, the truth is that I need grace. You need grace. We can’t get it right. We sin. We drop the ball. We have our little issues. I am not perfect. You are not perfect. We are not perfect in our behavior and we are not perfect in our thinking. We study so we can know God’s will. We work hard at teaching the best that we can, but in the end, there are topics that I may not be correct on. I want to be, but I am not. As I learn, I change. My goal is to please the Lord. I want all to know the Lord.

And, the area that this causes most trouble with is how we see each other. To ourselves, we readily admit that we are not perfect and we need God’s grace. But to others, we can be so quick to write them off, accuse them of error and be ready to cast them adrift on their own.

We seem to thrive in being the prosecutor and jury and even the judge to so many others. We are quick to say, “they are wrong.” We pull that out faster than a six-gun in the ole’ West. The N.T. warns of trouble makers. Paul named by name those that were being a pain to him and not walking according to the pattern. But it seems to me, that the greater emphasis ought to be looking at one’s own self and allowing God to determine who is in and who is out. Fellowship exists on a congregational level where there is accountability and responsibility and action that can be taken, as well as benefits drawn from. Brotherhood is something we are to love.

I am thankful for God’s amazing grace. I’d have no chance without it. And as I see others struggling along, I want to help them. I want to share with them what I believe is true. And, if they want me to participate in things that I am uncomfortable with, I will kindly decline. My faith won’t let me do that.

Grace, it’s a topic that is hard to fully understand, especially when we don’t deserve any of it.

Roger

12

Jump Start # 3510

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3510

Psalms 73:16 “When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight.”

Asaph in this Psalm pulls the curtains back on the world we live in and shows us the cold realty that many feel but hate to admit. The wicked seem to be the only ones not suffering. The righteous are trying. The righteous want to obey God, but it seems the wicked, who ignore God, are prospering more and better. It just doesn’t seem right.

Our verse today reveals the true feelings of the Psalmist. It was troublesome to him. Earlier he admitted, “my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped” (2). God is good, but why do the good suffer and not the wicked?

Here are some thoughts for us:

First, what I know and what I see often do not match. I understand what the Bible teaches, but what I see in the world seems so different. And, that is enough for some to conclude that what they believed is no longer correct. What their eyes observe must be the truth. Crime does pay. Some do get away with murder. Why not be selfish and get all the stuff that your eyes desires?

This disconnect between what God says and what we observe in the world can be very troubling. Could it be that it is our vision and not our faith that is troubled? When we walk by faith and not by sight, what we know overcomes what we see.

Second, it bothers us that the wicked are not bothered. It’s one thing that they have chosen to ignore God, but as the text says, they are at ease in life. It doesn’t bother them. It bothers us more than it bothers them. We think about their soul more than they think about their soul. That is always the case with the spiritual. We see beyond the present. We look into the eternal, while the wicked are only interested in today.

Third, the measure of spiritual success can never be counted in the material or the physical. So, the wicked are prosperous, fat and proud, those things mean nothing to Heaven. I pulled out of the church parking lot the other day, in my car that has more than 150,000 miles on it. Immediately, a rich blue Lamborghini drove up along side of me. The young driver looked over at me with a smug smile on his face. Was he better than me because of the car he drove? Was I jealous? Not for a second. I thought, I’d hate to pay the insurance on that thing. There’s no room for car seats for my grandkids. Sure can’t put much luggage in that car. I’d probably get a ticket if I had that car. I’d worry every time I parked it that someone would either steal it or bump into it.

I have a great family. I have forgiveness through the Lord. I’m Heaven bound. I have the privilege of teaching the amazing word of God. I am blessed and I am content. Success is never measured by something that be crunched at the next intersection. One doesn’t need to look at his 401 to know that God has been good to him.

For the Psalmist in our passage today, everything changed when he went into the sanctuary of the Lord (17). Then he got the right perspective and the right understanding. The enduring blessing is knowing the Lord.

The unevenness of life gets smoothed out in eternity. It is there that everyone will see truly what is important. The rich farmer of Luke’s gospel was only interested in bigger barns. He learned too late what really mattered. The account of the rich man and Lazarus is another powerful example of what matters. When the rich man died, his purple clothes, fine food and gated house didn’t help him at all.

It is in the sanctuary that everything makes sense. And, if that be the case, we ought to spend more time in the sanctuary. We ought to reflect and observe God’s word carefully. We need to take our eyes off the glitter and gold of the world and keep them focused upon the Lord.

Maybe Asaph ought to have looked less at his neighbors and spent more time thanking the Lord for the blessings he has received. Maybe I ought to do the same!

Roger

09

Jump Start # 3509

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3509

Psalms 63:6 “When I remember You on my bed, I mediate on You in the night watches.”

It came as a comment in a Bible class. Sweet, honest, innocent, it was a concern of a disciple. I have thought about this myself several times. This person admitted that she often falls asleep in the midst of praying to God at night. Feeling terrible about this, she feels that she must apologize to God the next day. Now, this isn’t the only time in the day this person prays. I know this person, and she has a heart of gold. But it bothers her that she falls asleep in prayer. Is that disrespectful? Imagine you and I having a conversation and I fell asleep talking to you. You’d wonder what was wrong with me. Does God think the same if we fall asleep in prayer?

Our verse today has the Psalmist meditating upon the Lord in his bed through the night watches. Although, it doesn’t say that he fell asleep doing that, it’s not hard to imagine that didn’t happen.

Now, let’s put some thought to this:

First, I can think of nothing more comforting, encouraging and helpful to fall asleep to than thinking about the Lord. What pleasant thoughts that gives us. Thinking about all that has to be done the next day can keep us awake, stressed and hurried. The Lord knows us. He knows how the body tires. He knows our hearts and how we long to honor Him.

Second, the stressful life, the wicked world we live in and the pressures that come upon us, can defeat us and make us feel alone. However, as the apostle wrote, “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7). Safe in the arms of Jesus, is a wonderful hymn to think about as one goes to sleep. I don’t have to know everything. I don’t have to come up with an answer or a solution for everything. I don’t have to fix every problem. My God is upon the throne and as I close my eyes in sweet rest, His eyes remain open. Let the Lord run the universe.

Third, ending the day in prayer is a wonderful way to thank the Lord for the blessings and opportunities of that day and it is a time to confess our failures of the day. Pray and pray often. As we reflect upon the day, there has been food that we have eaten. There has been safe journeys. There has been times to honor and praise the Lord. And, before we fill our minds with tomorrow, invite the Lord into your heart through prayer. God’s already in tomorrow. He’ll beat you there. Got some tough tests, conversations, possible bad news, bring God into those things and find the peace that will protect you.

Personally, some of the best sermons, class ideas and even these Jump Starts come to my mind during the night. Some of our greatest work can come from lifting up names to Heaven during the night. Praying for others, thanking God for blessings, focusing upon the goodness of fellowship, truth and hope helps us stay close to the Lord. Rather than counting sheep in your mind, count your blessings, as the hymn tells us.

Is it wrong to fall asleep during prayer? What is the alternative? I’m tired, so I won’t pray for fear that I’ll fall asleep? Instead of focusing upon the Lord, I think about stuff? As a little child falls asleep in his mother’s arms, so we fall asleep talking to the one we love so much. I’d much rather hear people say that they fell asleep in prayer than to admit that they don’t pray at all.

As a loving parent, sees that sleeping child, sweet and precious, but tired from a busy day, I tend to think that’s how God sees His children.

Hope this helps each of us…

Roger