31

Jump Start # 3690

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3690

Mark 4:41 “And they became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’”

It’s Halloween. Here and there one sees skeletons in yards, horror movies on TV and costumes that are so real that they seem real. I’ve got neighbors who really get into Halloween. They create a mini cemetery in their yards. Some have giant spiders hanging over the mailboxes.

Our verse today, taken from a section in Mark where there are a series of fast moving miracles, calming the storm, flowing into the next chapter and the casting out multiple of demons. The emotions within these two powerful sections are hard to fully understand. The disciples thought that they were about to die in the storm. They awaken a sleeping Jesus and say, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Putting that into our words today, “We are about to die!” Have you ever been that scared? And, as Jesus calms the storm, our verse appears. They become “very much afraid.” This wasn’t due to the storm. The storm was over. They ought to be breathing easier now. They ought to be reflective and calming down. Instead, it’s just the opposite. Their fear level climbed.

And, as we turn the page in Mark, here comes this wild looking, naked man running towards them, screaming. I’d be back in the boat, if I were them. The text doesn’t tell us that they were afraid, but is that necessary? Can’t you imagine it and see it? What was this man going to do?

Now, on a night in which children dress up and go door to door to get candy, scary music and movies fill the air, it might be good to reflect about fear. We might get a moment of scare when a child hides behind a door and pops out to our surprise. We might get scared for a moment when a car nearly hits us. But those moments pass quickly and we don’t dwell upon them. In contrast, multiple times in the Gospels we find the disciples afraid.

  • Seeing Jesus walking on the water, they became afraid
  • At the transfiguration, the three disciples were ‘very much afraid.’
  • At the tomb, the angel spoke to the women and said, “Do not be afraid’
  • When the shepherds in the field saw the angels who came to announce the birth of Jesus, they became terribly frightened.

We don’t get scared much these days. I can only imagine what sitting through a hurricane would be like. Last year, I went sky diving and the moment I left the plane, that was scary. But most days, things are pretty calm and normal. Here are some thoughts:

First, fear reminds us that there are things beyond our control. Storms. Death. Crime. Violence. Many people have had to face terrifying things. Daniel in a lion’s den. The three Jewish men being thrown into a fiery furnace. Israel seeing the coming Egyptians, while they had a massive sea in front of them. Jonah inside the giant fish.

Sometimes, the fear is imagined. What if I run out of money when I am retired? What if the kids no longer want to visit? What if I have to go to a nursing home? And, those unknown and imagined fears can be as real as a thump in the night.

Second, it’s hard for others to understand your fear. When I read our verse today, it doesn’t make me fearful. I have the rest of the N.T. I know how the story ends. I know what happens. They didn’t. And, so it is with each other. I don’t understand the fear that a new widow has when she walks into an empty house and has no one to talk to. I don’t understand the fear that the parents of a prodigal live every day. What is it like to have more bills than money and more problems than options?

I may not understand your fear. But I can be there for you. I can pray with you. I can hold your hand. I can listen to you. I may not think you have anything to fear, but I am not in your shoes. Fear tends to lessen when we are with others.

Third, the one sure solitude is that God is greater than anything we fear. God is greater than death. He conquered it. God is greater than any health issue. God can be with us and is with you, when others cannot. When you walk into that dark, empty house, God is with you. When there is no one to talk to, He is there. He hears. When the medical results do not turn out favorably, God is there. His promises are sure. His word is comfort. His way is absolute.

On a night which people try to scare, remember the greatest fright is dying without knowing the Lord. Our choices. Our steps. Our decisions. They take us closer to the Lord and with the Lord or they ignore the Lord. But one day, we will stand before the throne of God. It will be a great day for those who have trusted the Lord and walked close to Him. It will be sheer terror for those who have closed their eyes to the Lord.

Fear—sometimes it can lead to good things.

Roger

30

Jump Start # 3689

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3689

Judges 2:10 “All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.”

I call this ‘The Joshua Guilt.’ That’s not a technical expression, just something I came up with. Moses was dead. Joshua led the nation into the promise land. Mighty victories for Israel. The book of Joshua ends with, “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua” (24:31). But, as the transition to the book of Judges takes place, we find a new generation. A different generation. A generation that did not know the Lord. Immediately following our verse, the narrative goes into detail about how Israel followed other gods, built idols and forsook the Lord.

The Joshua to Judges story is also the story of many families. It is also the story of many congregations. One is faithful and dedicated to the Lord. What follows is a train wreck. Abandoning the word of God, the next generation dances off to the music of false teaching and artificial faith. One generation strong, the next generation lost.

For a long time I looked to Joshua’s generation as failing. Had they only taught the next generation, I assumed, this would not have happened. Had they spent more time at home than going off to war, this could have been prevented. And, with this, we build the case for “Joshua Guilt.” Joshua’s generation failed. Joshua’s generation didn’t do what they should have. It seems so logical. It seems reasonable. It sure is easy to point the finger to Joshua and his people.

Yet, how does one reconcile the text telling us that Joshua served the Lord, and the people declaring, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey His voice” (Josh 24:24), and then they failed to teach the next generation? Obeying the voice of the Lord would include the famous Deuteronomy six passage about speaking to your child about the Lord. When he rises up, when he goes to bed, when you pass the gatepost, teaching, teaching, teaching. Did that generation do that?

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t Joshua’s generation, but the younger generation is where the problem is. Maybe they didn’t want to hear about God. Maybe they didn’t want to worship the way their parents did. Maybe they wanted to be like other nations. Maybe they liked idols.

One can only teach, if the other will listen. But when ears are closed, minds are made up and eyes are looking elsewhere, the lessons will not be learned. Maybe it wasn’t the fault of Joshua and his generation. Maybe they prayed a thousand prayers and taught and showed only to have a rebellious reception to what they were doing.

Some lessons for us:

First, it’s easy to point fingers. Was it Joshua or was it the next generation? We could debate that all day long. We could write books about that. In the end, we don’t know. It’s easy to look at a family and see some wayward children and conclude that the parents failed, were too busy, didn’t do their job and we could be so far from the truth.

Second, God put the responsibility upon the wayward generation that followed Joshua. They were the ones to go into captivity and be plundered. God didn’t give them a pass because they were not taught. Grown people are responsible for what they believe. Hezekiah had a terrible spiritual example in his father. Yet, he chose to walk with the Lord. His son, Manasseh, the longest ruler in Israel, was wicked until a change at the end of his life. Each person must decide for himself and they must take ownership of their own faith.

Third, we must teach our children to have their own faith. When young, we bring them to services and Bible classes. They see us worship. They see our faith as we live it day by day. But in time, they must decide if they will believe or not. Away from home, surrounded by those who do not believe, the college setting is often the decider of real faith. Many abandon the way they were taught. Some continue onward, now knowing and believing for themselves.

A generation of believers…and a generation of unbelievers. Interesting study historically. Fascinating deep dive into the “why” of such choices. But more important than all that, which generation am I? Am I a believer or have I rejected what the Bible says?

Roger

29

Jump Start # 3688

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

Jump Start # 3688

Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

I recently taught the book of Jude on a Tuesday. We walked through the four single chapter books of the N.T. for our series of studies. I walked away from that study with a great appreciation for Jude. Before, I’d looked at that book as being blunt and negative. But, not now. Stay the course. Stay in your lane, ’bro. And, help those who are leaning the other way. That’s what Jude is about.

Jude is not vague. Running through the horror stories of O.T. rebellion and God’s wrath upon such, he sets the tone for those who were wanting to tamper with God’s word. He calls them worldly, ungodly, arrogant, fault finders and the cause of trouble and division. They were likened to clouds without water and autumn trees without fruit—useless. They were not helpful. They were not bringing people closer to the Lord.

Our verse, early in this letter, states that they were turning the grace of God into licentiousness. Licentiousness—that’s a Bible word. One doesn’t hear that word out in the community. It means excess and without restraint. Say anything, and we witness that these days. Unfiltered. Obscene. Blasphemous. In the movies. In the songs. In conversations. Immodest—from pop singers, to actors on the screen. No restraints. No limits. No stopping.

In Jude’s days, false teachers were opening the doors to immoral behavior using the idea of grace as a green light for anything. Do what you want, God’s grace will cover you. Don’t have to be pure. Don’t have to be modest. Don’t have to be godly. Don’t have to righteous. The gift of grace will take care of that.

One would think that these false teachers had never read Romans 6—where Paul says, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” His answer was a loud, NO. Time has passed. And, these false teachers were confusing and dividing brethren.

Grace is a wonderful gift from God. The Lord doesn’t have to save us. He doesn’t owe that to us. Saying, before one does something wrong, “God will forgive me,” is abusing grace and not understanding God. And, today, the abuse of grace continues. Hiding behind grace, there are those who are wanting the church to do things that are not found in the Bible. Some are saying that grace forgives us even before we sin. If that is true, then one wouldn’t need to repent. If I’m forgiven ahead of time, the sin isn’t there. There is nothing to repent of if I am already forgiven in advance. Crazy things being said about grace.

Some thoughts for us:

First, the grace of God ought to pull us closer to the Lord, not further away. That’s what we find in Titus. “The grace of God as appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and t live sensibly, righteously and godly” (Titus 2:11-12a).

The false teachers in the days of Jude did not understand grace. They were in no position to be teaching others. Their misunderstanding was only making things worse. Grace is a gift of Heaven. Grace ought to lead us to being thankful, holy and walk closer to our Lord. Turning grace into licentiousness, shows that they didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. And, neither do some today.

Second, it was through Jesus that grace was made possible. Had it not been for Jesus, there would have been no forgiveness, reconciliation or justification. We would remain enemies of God. Yet, our verse not only identifies that the false teachers were turning grace into licentiousness, but they were denying Jesus. Without Jesus there is no grace. Without Jesus, there is no Heaven. The idea that any of the brethren would give these corrupt teachers a second of their time is beyond me. These false teachers didn’t understand the concept of discipleship or righteousness. They were using God to cover for immoral and excessive hearts that were not serious about following the Lord.

It was the death of Jesus that allowed grace to be possible.

Third, God had little patience for these false teachers. Jude, as short as it is, runs through several powerful O.T. examples of rebellion. Cain. Korah. Balaam. Faithless Israel. Disobedient angels. All faced the judgment of God. Using an unknown prophecy from Enoch, Jude reminds the faithful that God will bring judgment upon the ungodly on that great day.

No rebel got away with his wicked deeds. Didn’t happen in the O.T. Didn’t happen in Jude’s days. Won’t happen in our time. No one can get around the Lord. Reading Jude one reaches the conclusion, why would I give these false teachers a second of my time. They are wrong. They are not helpful. They will be judged by the Lord.

And, for us, why do we spend so much time chasing the rabbits of error on social media? What will we do once we catch one of those rabbits? You will not be brought closer to the Lord in the pursuit of wrong. You will not build a better character, listening to what is not right.

Turning the grace of God…something to think about.

Roger

28

Jump Start # 3687

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

Jump Start # 3687

Proverbs 20:29 “The glory of young men is their strength, and the honor of old men is their gray hair.”

Young men and old men—such is life. If one lives long enough he will experience both. And, the contrasts that this passage brings out, builds upon the experiences and maturity that comes with time. There are some things that only time, faith, and experience can teach a person. One can have the book smarts, but until he has walked down some paths in life, it is hard to understand.

This may be one reason that leaders in the church are referred to as “elders” and one of the qualities is that they were not to be a new convert, as the NAS words it. Maturity. Learning things. Having some miles on the heart. The wisdom literature states, “I have been young and now I am old…”

Here are some lessons from this:

First, we must appreciate the gray hair among us in our churches. These folks have worshipped for decades. They have seen troubles, trials and when things haven’t gone according to plans. They have prayed a thousand prayers and listened to hundreds and hundreds of sermons. They have worn out Bibles, cried with other saints and seen the disappointment when some chose to walk no more with the Lord.

Our culture is driven by youth. Most of the commercials, except the ones for medicine, have young people in them. And, it is easy in our congregations to dismiss the thoughts of the senior saints as being traditional and out of touch. Often those words are said when in reality the proper expression is Biblical. The passion and energy of the youth needs to understand the wisdom of the aged.

I know of a congregation that takes a Sunday night now and then and has a special Bible study in which all ages sit together in the auditorium. The purpose is to get the young hearts to hear the voice of the shepherds and the senior saints. Most times we are divided up in our classrooms by ages and a young person never gets to hear the comments of an older Christian. The shepherds complimenting a fifth grader and then adding his own thoughts to the discussion. What a rich and wonderful experience that could be.

Second, we must work hard to blend together the ages within a congregation. Often there is a tug of war that takes place. Faster, new songs verses the older, well known songs. This way verses that way. Senior saints must not be sticks in the mud and be opposed to things just because they are different. Methods change. Methods come and go. We must not be wed to one way of doing things. The Biblical model never changes, but the generational one often does and needs to. Young people can be discouraged because any suggestion they make is met with an immediate “No,” because it’s never been done that way before. Using that logic, we’d still be using party telephone lines, driving cars with no seat belts and using funeral fans to cool us down.

Teaching the difference between Biblical and Generational models helps smooths things out.

Third, many mistakes could be avoided if young and old communicated better. No one ought to feel threatened because of a generational difference. No one ought to be dismissed or discounted because of age. It was a young servant girl that brought healing to the Syrian Naaman. He could have thought that she was too young to know anything.

Older women are to teach younger women, Titus was told. How we diaper a baby may be different and how we cook food may be foreign to some, but the issues of life such as worry, fear and doubt still circle around us. It is faith that drives those things out. One generation may not fully understand the other generation, but together they can bring so much to the kingdom of God. Together, they can be a blessing to the community. Together, they can show the world what unity, love and grace looks like.

Gray hair—not such a bad thing.

Roger

25

Jump Start # 3686

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3686

1 Samuel 16:11 “And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are these all the children?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest and behold, he is tending the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’”

Our verse today is God’s introduction of David to us. We do not find him in a classroom, busy studying advanced classes. We do not find him on the battlefields, fighting for the glory of the Lord. Instead, David is out watching sheep. The youngest of a nothing family. He was not even brought in when the prophet wanted to see all the sons. No one would have thought that he’d be the one. Young and watching sheep, doesn’t seem like the credentials for someone who is going to run a nation. What did he know about kingdoms? Would he bankrupt the nation buying stuff for himself? What did he know about military insights and diplomacy with other nations? Why would God pick a kid to govern his people? Wasn’t there anyone else? Wasn’t there any one more qualified?

Some things gradually take place that puts David in the palace. His skill on the harp allowed him to sit before King Saul. That puts him in the palace where he sees the day to day operations of a kingdom. His humble heart allowed the Lord to guide him and lead him to wisdom that would make a difference. Many of he Psalms appear to have been written during these shepherd years of David. Pulling from the night skies, the mountains, the water, David seemed to have a great faith in the Lord.

And, that becomes a great lesson for us:

First, we may not give someone much attention because of their age. Too young, we think. God didn’t see that with David. We may think a person has too little experience. God didn’t with David. Watching sheep is not the same as running a kingdom. Yet, within that young heart, was the insight and wisdom to make the right decisions.

Second, David didn’t waste his time while out in the fields watching sheep. Fewer things could be more boring than watching lazy sheep eat grass all day. No cell phone. No video games. No tablet to watch movies. The hours must have crept like years. Yet, the choices of young David made all the difference. Learning to play that harp would one day put him in the palace. The courage to fight the lion gave him the confidence to fight the giant. He understood that his strength and his victory was not in himself but in the Lord.

Out in the fields watching sheep, David may have dreamed of one day, owning his own house and having his own flocks. But to think that he believed that he would be the king of Israel, is really a stretch. Yet, what he did during those shepherd years prepared his heart and life to serve the Lord.

And, that’s a thought for us. A dumb summer job. A starter job. The boring job of mowing the yard. The thankless job of cleaning your room. No one cares, we think. It doesn’t matter, we tell ourselves. Yet, the choices we make can shape our hearts for the person we will be in twenty years.

Third, there was no one in David’s family that thought he’d be chosen one day to be the king of Israel. Certainly his brothers didn’t think he would. His own father seems surprised that Samuel wants the youngest son to be brought in from watching the sheep. Why him? He’s nothing special.

Our own families can be our biggest discouragement. One must know what they are capable of and plow ahead, even when family tries to talk you out of such things. Our young men must not be discouraged from preaching. When the talk around the kitchen table is about how much money one can make, preaching is tossed to the floor. When the talk is about how much one can make as easily as possible, preaching isn’t brought up. When it is said, “You can do better than be a preacher,” a young man will look for that. God chose David. Not his family. Not his father.

God saw what no one else saw. Oh, to have such eyes. Oh, to give someone a chance. Oh, to have the heart to find something useful to do when the days are long and boring. Dreams—don’t throw water on them. Direct them. Remind them to stay close to the Lord.

David was chosen because God wanted him. A young person can be useful to the Lord. A young person can do what others will not do. David’s youthfulness was a problem for Saul when facing Goliath. It wasn’t for David. It wasn’t for God. He had the experience. More than that, he had the faith. He had what the older ones did not. And so it is today. The younger ones may have a greater faith in the Lord than we older ones. We do well to watch, learn and listen to the young David’s among us today.

There remains the youngest…but what a person he was. He was God’s chosen.

Roger