Jump Start # 1236

Colossians 4:3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned

This week is Thanksgiving. A thankful heart is part of the makeup of a Christian. To be thankful is to appreciate a blessing and to recognize the effort and cost that made it possible. It is easy to be superficial with our thankfulness and to get fixed upon the same things, such as, our jobs, family, health. Those are all important but our thanks ought to go much further and deeper. We are to sing with thankfulness. We are express our thankfulness. We remember the nine lepers who were healed by Jesus, but never came back to thank Him. The one who did, a Samaritan, caught the attention of Jesus.

This week, I want to explore some things that have made a difference in our lives and that we may forget to be thankful for. Today, I want to consider the wonderful opportunities that have been presented to us in our lives. Everyone has them. Most would not be where they are today, if it wasn’t for those opportunities. Consider such things as:

• A program at a school that you applied for and received. That education and training made it possible for other doors to be opened in your life.

• A company that hired you when you were green and new and took a chance on you. Because of that experience you were able to move on to other jobs. That line on most applications, “three to five years experience” always shut doors. But there was that one place, the first place, that hired you without that experience. What an opportunity that was.

• A church that allowed a young man to give his first lessons. He was raw, disjointed and pretty simplistic. But that church was patient. They may have allowed that young man to enter into a training program and years later, he is a seasoned preacher. What an opportunity that was for him.

Most can look back and see the open door, the mentor who believed, the coach who took a chance on us, the opportunity that was made available. Sure we had to stick with it. Sure there was a lot of hard work, learning and molding. But had that first door never opened, we may have gone down a different path.

I look in my life and at the time you don’t really see what a great opportunity and opened door that stands before you, but it is. Five years after I was baptized I was preaching full time. But within those five years there were many congregations that allowed me, challenged me and pushed me to preach. Great men like Bob Dickey and L.A. Stauffer saw something that I never saw. They got me up in front of congregations, months after I became a Christian. I didn’t know much. They helped. They pointed me in the right direction, filled my arms with books and filled my heart with the love of Christ and the joy of preaching the Gospel. I really expect that I probably wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have those open doors.

Opportunity, a chance, is so important. Our verse today, is about such things. Paul was praying for an open door to preach. Just give me an opportunity is what Paul prayed. He realized that the opened doors came from Heaven. It was God who provided such opportunities. So he prayed. He prayed for more doors to be opened.

This leads us to these thoughts:

First, we need to be thankful for the opportunities and opened doors in our lives. Have you thanked God for the people who gave you a chance? What a difference those opened doors have made.

Second, it is important to see what a game changer and life experience those opportunities are. We need to be the one who is now opening doors for others. There is that person who, lacking much experience, is just wanting a chance. Look in their eyes. See their determination. Can you sign that letter than may help them get that scholarship, that job, that opportunity. Put your hand on that doorknob and open it for someone else.

Congregations need to see the value and importance of allowing young men to lead singing, give lessons and do things publicly. Most preachers today would not be doing what they are had not some church long ago gave them a chance. It takes patience as a church to do this. It takes some one with the heart of a mentor to fine tune and give great tips to these young guys. But who knows that in doing this, one of them will decide that he wants to devote his life to preaching. It all starts somewhere.

Third, share your story, your life lessons, your insights with others. Help the guy below you. Make the road easier for him. The school of hard knocks teaches like no other school and experience will help so much, but some mistakes can be avoided, some pains do not have to be experienced if we only tutored someone else. Be kind about this, not arrogant. Be helpful. Understand everyone has their own style and own way of doing things. I see Paul shaping and helping Timothy. I see the trust, the love and the long conversations that helped Timothy carry on in such a fine fashion. Timothy would never have been the way he was had it not been for Paul. It all started when Timothy was young, possibly late teens. Paul saw something in him. He wanted to take Timothy with him. They were traveling long and far from home. The journey would not always be smooth nor safe. Timothy’s parents allowed him to go. Parents must do this sometimes. It’s hard. We want our babies to stay close to home where we can watch them. But sometimes the best opened door is not close to home. Sometimes allowing them that chance to catch a dream is something that parents must do.

The congregation that I now work with is made up of some of the finest people that I have ever met. When the leadership first contacted me about moving here to work with them, they took a chance. They didn’t know me and I didn’t know them. I believe God was opening doors. What a rich and powerful journey it has been so far.

Some people dream dreams and others live those dreams. Some talk about all the things that they wanted to do, but they never did. They never took that chance. Chasing dreams is risky. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes you fall. Sometimes you find out that there are other dreams greater than the one you started with. But in pursuing those dreams, there are those open doors, those opportunities, that turn those dreams into reality.

This day, put some thought into the people and the places that opened doors for you. It probably starts with your parents. Give the Lord some thanks for those people and places that gave you a chance. Thank the Lord for being there. Thank the Lord for people that have made you a better person.

I have found that open doors is not just a thing for young people. Doors continually are opened throughout all of our lives. One door that surprisingly opened for me, is through these Jump Starts. I would have never dreamed that they have gone as far reaching and would have touched as many lives as they have. Open doors. We all have them.

Thank you, Lord.

Roger

Jump Start # 900

Colossians 4:3 “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned.”

We have reached yet another milestone with our Jump Starts. Today is # 900. 900! Can you believe it? At each milestone, I’ve paused, reflected and shared a few personal thoughts about this with you. Now that we are at 900, we know what’s around the corner if the Lord allows, 1000.

Our list of readers continues to grow, nearly weekly. We now have readers in several countries. There are several congregations that are now using Jump Starts as a part of their work. There are many who are sending Jump Starts to their own lists of family and friends. I’m not sure if we really know how many are receiving these, I’d expect it’s close to 1,200 every day. A lecture was given this summer about using the media to reach people with the gospel. The speaker was going to talk about our Jump Starts as one example.

We now have nine Jump Start books that cover various themes. There are two that I would like to add to this collection, maybe by this fall.

So many of you have sent me emails with encouraging thoughts. I have a file just for the Jump Start emails and it grows every week. I save every one. Thank you for that.

My good friend, Jim, has asked me many times, how long I will keep writing. It has gone longer than I have ever expected. One of the things that keeps me writing is realizing that through these Jump Starts, people are being helped. I wish you could read some of the emails that have been sent, thanking me for helping a family member get back to church or give their marriage another try. That’s the fire that keeps me going. I ran into an older man a while back, really didn’t know him, he grabbed my arm and pleaded with me to never stop writing. He said, “I need these every day.” That’s a “wow” in my book.

All of this works into our verse today. God opens doors for us. I have learned, especially through these Jump Starts, that God has more than one door and the biggest, brightest, and most obvious door, often is not the one that God opens. While I’m standing in front of one door, waiting for God to open it, there opens another door, and in my case, one called Jump Starts. Who would have thought that?

Here are lessons that I have been taught through writing these Jump Starts.

First, don’t be afraid to try something new. I have always written church bulletins and my own class material. I like writing but didn’t think it was really a gift. Sometimes my spelling and grammar makes the teachers out there shudder. In my family, my brother Randy was the writer. In high school, he was the sports editor for our high school paper. I stayed away from that all together. I have loved reading. I have my favorite writers. That has helped shape my thinking and my writing. There are several other preachers that are doing what I am doing now. I wish them well. We are not in competition.

I wonder if there is something you have never tried before. Teaching a class? Leading a song? Preaching? Writing? Being an encourager? Had the church where I now preach asked me to write a daily devotion, every day, as a requirement for me coming there, I might have passed on them. Our Jump Starts started small. At first, it was just a few families within the congregation where I am. This has always been for them, first and foremost. If anyone else read it, that was fine, but that wasn’t my target. From my powerful church family this thing exploded. So, when you try something, start small. Take your time. Put your heart into it. God may open a door you would never believe with that. Don’t be afraid to try. Don’t let, “I’ve never done that,” stop you. Don’t settle for the easy excuse, “I can’t do that.” How do you know? With God at the helm, who knows what you can do. That’s what I have found.

Second, listen to others. I have. Many of my Jump Starts have come from ideas from others. Someone will say, “I’d like you to write a Jump Start about…” No one of us has all the answers. Another perspective will help. Learn. Grow. Read. Share. Talk. Listen. Think. Try.

Third, realize that God is working through you when you are engaged in His work. Don’t get the big head because of some success. Don’t quit your day job and think that you are something you are not. Just as God can open a door, He can also close it. Each day, I marvel that anyone would read these. As far as I know, only two have read all 900 of these Jump Starts—that’s me and God. The “and God” part keeps one on their toes. It reminds one that the purpose of all of this is His glory and His good. It’s not about me—it’s about Him. Don’t every forget that. This is true with Jump Starts, preaching, teaching, growing a church, or growing a family.

Finally, pay attention to what you do. The little book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” isn’t what I’m after. Sweat the details. Listen to what you are saying, writing, teaching, preaching and doing. It does little good to help others, if first of all, it doesn’t help you. This is true with parenting. You want your kids to get a good nights sleep—how are you, the parent, doing with that? You want them to pay attention during worship– how are you doing with that? You want them to hang out with good people—how are you doing with that? Pay attention to what you are doing. Paul told the Romans, ‘thou that teaches, do you not teach yourself?’ Good thought. The person who has been helped the most by these, has been me. I told someone recently, that when I do stop sending these out, I will probably still get up every morning and write. This has helped shape my mind, heart and convictions. It’s been good for me. Preachers ought to be able to say the same about their preaching. Parents ought to be able to say that about parenting. It’s been good to me.

Thank you. Thank you for reading these. Thank you for your kind thoughts, your good ideas and your support. Now a favor, if I may. I have never really done this, but it’s time. In the words of Emeril, the cook, “Let’s turn it up a notch!” How about submitting the names of families and friends who would benefit from these Jump Starts. You can email me their names or better yet, you can subscribe them directly on the Jump Start website. Help us help more.

Thanks,

Roger