Jump Start # 2873

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

Special Note: Jump Starts is taking a few days off. We hope to be back on July 12th. There are literally hundreds of earlier Jump Starts posted on the website (www.jumpstartsdaily.com) that you can refer to. Thank you!

Paul loved the people of God. You can see that in the way he talks about brethren. You can see that in the longing he had to be with them. You can see that in how careful he was and protective he was of them. He simply loved the people of God.

And, for Paul, one of his greatest punishments was being isolated from these brethren. Stuck in a prison, he could not have the closeness and the fellowship that he had on the outside. The chains were nothing to Paul. Prison bars didn’t bother him. What hurt him was not being with his beloved brethren and not seeing how they were doing. In his thoughts, in his heart, and in his prayers is where the people of God were for Paul.

Now all of this comes back around to us. Paul had a strong affection for the people of God. Today, there are some who can’t stand each other in the church. They talk nasty about others, never go out of their way for others and would rather spend the day with worldly family and friends than with the people of God. And, if it is that way, how in the world do they plan to spend eternity with the people of God in Heaven? What do they think will change? If they don’t like brethren here, how will they like brethren there?

What do folks think Heaven will be like and who do they think will be there? Heaven isn’t an amusement park. Heaven isn’t doing your own thing the way you want to. Something is very wrong when we feel more comfortable and have more in common with the world than we do the people of God.

God’s people are not perfect. We are all a work in progress. We all need Jesus. Yet, we are trying. We love the Lord and His ways. We seek to do what God says. We may be quirky, odd and different, but we certainly aren’t blaspheming the Lord’s name, ignoring His laws, and living a selfish, arrogant life. Not at all.

Paul understood that the people of God had something going for them. Don’t you think there were a few odd ones back then? Don’t you think there were a few that didn’t fit in with the fashions of the day. Don’t you think there were some who leaned a bit to the judgmental side of things. Yet, these are the people of God. They have obeyed Jesus. They have made the Lord, their Lord. They have surrendered their hearts to Jesus. They have crucified themselves. Daily they were praying. Daily they were imitating. Daily they were walking in the steps of the Savior. The Romans probably didn’t think they were cool. The Greeks certainly thought they were dense. The philosophers wouldn’t waste their time thinking about them. Yet, these were God’s people. His family. Heaven Bound.

Some thoughts:

First, any attempt to merge the world with Christ is certain to fail. Hip Christians. Cool Christians. With it Christians. Drop all those tags. Either we are with Jesus or we are not. Don’t impress the world by trying to be like the world. You are different, if you are a Christian. You are going a different direction and you are after different things.

Second, we must not allow the world to define what is fun, right or successful for us and we cannot let the world shame us because it will not go along with Christ. Every attempt of Satan fails. Look what he offered Eve. Was she better off after eating the forbidden fruit? Satan tempted her and then abandoned her. He used her and forsook her. It was God who came along with the animal skins. It was God who came up with a plan to redeem man. It was God who came and cleaned up the mess that Satan made.

Third, take your eyes off the world. The glitter of money and fame will twist our values and colors our vision. God has more interests in the hearts of those who are lowly, hurting and believing than those who think they are standing on top of the world.

Paul loved his brethren. Do you? Paul had a place in his heart for those dear believers. Do you? If the people of God do not excite you here, they certainly won’t excite you up in Heaven. All around us are the best people in the whole world. They are not famous. They are not headliners. But they fill the heart of God and someday they will fill Heaven.

God’s people—you just gotta love ‘em.

Roger

Jump Start # 2746

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” 

  This is the final week of the year. And, I can just hear a collective, “good,” coming from so many people. It’s been a tough year. It’s been tough on the country. It’s been tough economically. It’s been tough on businesses. It’s been tough on churches. It’s been tough on schools. It’s been tough on families. And, it’s been tough personally. We know simply flipping a calendar from one month to the next or from one year to the next, doesn’t mean all troubles will end. It doesn’t mean that things automatically get better. We know that. We are smarter than that.

  As we get ready to wind this year up and move on, I thought it would be good to take a look backward as well as forward. We will do that this week with our Jump Starts. The backward look can help us prepare and plan for the forward look. The two views may look very different, yet the reflection can help us as we walk with the Lord.

  When Paul remembered the Philippians, it made him thankful.

  Here are a few things I’ve seen over the past year:

• Many folks have worked harder than they ever have. The work to produce videos, zoom classes and livestream has taxed many congregations, but somehow, likely with the Lord’s help, we’ve managed not to just survive, but more than that, we have excelled. We’ve had to learn new technology. We’ve had to work through problems and bugs that interfered with sound and visual presentations. We’ve learned shortcuts and have gotten pretty adapted at what we were doing. It’s amazing what can be done.

• We’ve learned patience with each other as those early videos were nothing to write home about. We understood that our preachers and teachers were doing the best that they could at the moment. The lessons dealt with faith, storms, trials, courage and the very things that we needed during this troublesome time.

• We saw that although not everyone agreed nor were on the same page about how services ought to be conducted during the pandemic, with masks, social distancing and times no in-person meetings, we understood that worship had to go on. Some didn’t see eye to eye but by in large we understood the greater picture and that was the wellbeing of the entire congregation and the honor of the Lord.

• We witnessed the struggle that many elderships went through in trying to make the right call on these things. The conversations and prayers were often long. Many elderships were torn about what the right decision ought to be. These men were going down roads that no one in modern times have traveled before. There was no example from the past that could guide them. The toll on these great hearts has been great. Their love for the congregation has been demonstrated in ways never before seen.

• We have found the power of connection through emails, texts and sending cards. Apart, we have remained close and our expressions of thankfulness and love have been felt by the genuine care of so many.

• We have stayed close to the Lord, maybe even closer than in times past. Our needs, concerns and fears have been expressed to Heaven and the Lord has blessed us in so many ways.

• Although we have had to juggle reshaping services, helping those who could not get out, our focus upon the truth and our love for the lost has never been lost. We’ve found unique ways to teach, reach and connect others to the Bible. We’ve had funerals that were difficult because of the restrictions yet, we found ways to make things work. We’ve been exhausted, but we haven’t given up. We’ve had to cancel some plans, but we kept moving forward. The catalog of sermons produced through this pandemic has been some of the best preaching in years. Our ears have been especially open to lessons that seemed so timely, helpful and practical during this season of storms. Our hearts and our faith has grown.

  Was this past year a complete failure? Absolutely not. Was it just moving through the motions? No. Much good came from those who chose to find good in it. For many, it was one of the best years of building faith and using their talents. And, what we found is that difficulties do just that. It causes all of us to get off the sidelines of life and to become engaged in the great struggle for faith and hope.

  And, one of the greatest lessons we’ve learned from this year is that we can do it. Battered, a bit weary, but we are not down and we are never out. We’ve got through this and that has given us hope that we can face anything. We long for better times, but even if they don’t come, we know that we can carry on.

  Before you jump upon the bandwagon of those who proclaim this year as nothing but gloom and doom, take a long, long look. Much good has come that may never have happened under normal times. And, on the other side of this storm, we’ll be a stronger, closer and better group of disciples.

  Roger

Jump Start # 1981

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

Thanksgiving is upon us. It’s a time for family, food, and good memories. We have so much to be thankful for. The list ought to be long. Our verse today reminds us of three important aspects of our thankfulness.

First, remember the people in your life. No one is an island to himself, the old poet wrote long ago. We all stand upon the shoulders of others. There has been many who opened doors to us, mentored us, gave us our first chance, believed in us and stood right along side of us. Through the years, hard work, experience, knowledge has allowed us to develop even further, but all through our lives there has been people who stood in the shadows of our lives that were there for us. Parents. Grandparents. Friends. Brethren.

Some had college paid for by parents. Some got their first job because of someone in the family. Doors were opened for us and things happened that allowed us to become who we are. It is amazing to think about all the people in our lives.

Now, turn this to the spiritual side of things. The same remains true. There has been countless people on the sidelines cheering us on as we walk with the Lord. There was the first ones who introduced the Gospel to us and taught us. There was those first churches that allowed us to lead our first song, or say our first public prayer. There were those churches that allowed us to preach when we weren’t very good. There were those godly people in our lives who we asked questions. They were there when our world seemed to be falling apart. We sat in hospital waiting rooms and looked up and here they walked in. They were there when we were hitting bottom emotionally and spiritually. Some of us would not be where we are today, had it not been for them. Some of us thought about throwing in the towel spiritually, but someone was there who guided us back and helped us to have a safe landing.

Paul is remembering the Philippians. He had taught them and they had supported him. They came through when others didn’t. Paul remembered. Have you? Have you remembered those who helped you? I talked recently to the preacher who baptized me more than forty years ago. He’s still preaching. He is going to send me one of his old sermons. I plan to frame it. He touched my life a long time ago and I don’t ever want to forget.

Second, Paul was not just walking down memory lane here. His remembrance of the Philippians led him to pray to God. He was thankful to God for those people in his life. It may well have been orchestrated by God that these lives intersected. The same may be true of us. Godly people with kind hearts took the time to help us get molded by the Lord. They taught us, shared with us and helped us. Have we thanked the Lord for those people? Have we said their names to Heaven? Paul thanked God for the Philippians.

Thirdly, Paul told the Philippians. That’s how we know about all of this. We read this in his letter to the Philippians. Being thankful needs to be shared. It needs to be shared with God and to the very people that we are thankful for. He told them. Now, this may seem a bit awkward, and some certainly wouldn’t want any praise or attention, that’s just the way they are, but it is encouraging and helpful to show your appreciation to those who have helped you.

Have you thanked elders who took the time to walk you through a problem? They willing gave up an evening or more for you and they would do it all over again if necessary, but hearing words of appreciation from you makes their day.

Have you thanked your preacher for the fine lessons he has preached? He’s poured hours into thinking, studying, writing and crafting that sermon. He wanted it to be perfect and he knows it wasn’t. But something he said, a passage that was explained, a principle that you forgot about, an application that challenged you, changed you, helped you, and strengthened you. Did you share that with him? The preachers I know would simply say that they were doing their jobs. And they were, but what a fine job they were doing. But it’s good to let them know.

Have you thanked your parents for taking you to worship and introducing God to you? Many of us avoided the mistakes and sins that nearly destroyed our friends, all because we grew up with rules, guidelines, expectations and accountability. We may have hated it at the time, but we look back and now realize those very things kept up safe. While our classmates were out late smoking dope, we had to be home. We were safe because of that. We learned to respect authority and obey the rules. We were taught manners and were expected to show them. We had to do things around the house, which taught us about community, service and one another. Our parents poured their lives into our lives. And here we stand today, all grown up, responsible, raising our own families and we look back and think without our parents what a train wreck we would have been. Have you thanked God for your parents? Have you told them thank you?

Fourth, and what is amazing in all of this, if we have developed and become the people of God that we ought to be, as we are remembering and thanking, there is someone out there who is doing that very thing to us. They are remembering something we said or did that touched their lives. They remember the time we devoted to helping them. They remember the gift we gave. They remember the big guy taking the time for the little guy. Years have past and we may have forgotten what was done, but out there is someone who will never forget. They remember. They thank the Lord for you. They may even reach out and tell you.

This is how all of this ought to be. We have been helped and now we are there to help others. We endured storms because of what others did for us and now we are there during the stormy nights for others. We know what it’s like. We know what helps.

Lives touching lives. It’s a fellowship. It’s a love for one another. It’s only doing what the Lord first did. It’s Christianity!

Remember. Thank the Lord. Tell the person.

So simple, yet so important!

Roger

Jump Start # 1466

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you”

  Sundays are amazing. Things are so different on Sundays. Our schedule is different. We gather to worship. We see our church family which we love so dearly. We learn. We are reminded. We are challenged. We praise. We are given hope and understanding. We can come to worship dragging, but we leave with our eyes upon the Lord. Sundays are great. It’s my favorite day of the week. I wish every day was a Sunday. But Sunday comes to an end, and Monday morning rolls around. Time to get the kids out the door for school. Time to get to work. Traffic. Attitudes. Deadlines. Work. Then there is getting home to make dinner, run the kids to practice, hopefully get a little daylight to rake a few leaves, catch a little TV and then it’s bedtime before all of this starts all over again. It doesn’t take very long, and the uniqueness of Sunday is gone. So busy. So much to do. So many demands. And on top of this it’s now November and the holidays are racing toward us.

Does this sound familiar to you? Is this you? Do you ever wonder how can I get off this merry-go-round? Is the only hope just to hang on until the kids are out of the house or you retire?

I thought of our verse today. It’s not deep. It’s not stuffed with great Biblical principles. Ten simple words. One sentence. Three people are found in this one sentence. “Me,” “you,” and “God.” Two simple thoughts. I remember and I pray.

Paul remembered the Philippians. He wasn’t with them when he wrote this. His writing to them brought up fond memories. “My remembrance of you,” was something that meant a lot to the apostle. Because of that precious thought and memory, it led Paul to pray to God. He thanked “his” God. If it wasn’t for God, Paul would not be a Christian. If it wasn’t for God, Paul probably would have never traveled to Philippi. If it wasn’t for God, Paul would have never known those amazing people. Paul remembered and Paul thanked.

Those two simple things can help you on a day like today. Grab a great thought from Sunday worship. Maybe it was seeing the building full of people. Maybe it was talking and sitting with a friend. Maybe it was seeing someone obey the Lord and turn their life around. Maybe it was a passage read. Maybe it was something said in a prayer. Maybe it was just the wonderful escape that worship is from our crazy world. Remember. Then from that, pray to God. Thank God for Sundays. Thank God that you were there. Thank God for what you remember.

Now this won’t slow down your busy pace. The dog has to go to the vet. The bills have to be paid. There are appointments to be made. However, in your mind, you have an oasis from Sunday. A hope that hasn’t escaped. A lesson learned. A memory that helps you keep God before you. A reminder of who you are and what is important. A simple way to keep your order in order. Ballgames, practices, doctor’s appointments, grocery stores, oil changes, pulling weeds, vacuuming, these all have a place, but not at the top of the list. Somehow the world is always wanting to push these things to the top. Remembering Sunday helps you see what is really important. God. Fellowship. Truth. Salvation. Kingdom. Character. Hope. Our Jesus. Now that’s a list! Those things will get you through any mess you encounter today.

Paul remembered and Paul prayed. We can do that.

Give it a try. See if it makes you day a bit better.

Roger

Jump Start # 1376

Philippians 1:3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

  I write this Jump Start from a hotel room in Alabama. I have been in a lectureship with three good friends at a congregation I have never been to before. It is always a bit scary going to a new place. In this lectureship I have been the only Yankee speaking. But something remarkable happened. It always does. It never fails. These wonderful people, who didn’t know me, took me in, shared their hearts, opened their ears and just made this one of the best weeks for me. It has been a mountain climbing experience spiritually.

In our verse today, Paul was expressing his experience with the Philippians. He had been received warmly. It was a delightful, encouraging and heartfelt experience. Paul was expressing his emotions two ways.

First, he thanked God. I do the same. Had it not been for God there would not have been an intersection with these people. God was to be thanked, not just for crossing lives, but for changing lives. God saved. God forgave. God made them better. Names were being written in the book of life. Great things were happening. Paul was thankful.

Second, Paul told the Philippians about it. This is where we can fumble the ball. Sometimes we fail to express our thankfulness to those who have been so kind to us. We may pray to God, and we should, but we may never let others know. We ought to. Encouragement is like blowing air into the soul. Even good folks get weary now and then. Even the best among us sometimes wonder if we are doing any good. A pat on the back, a shout out from the elders, a card in the mail, a gift, a hug are all the wonderful ways that we can let others know that they touched our lives and we are the better because of it.

This passage also reveals the two sides of encouragement.

First, there is the receiving side. We need to be able to appreciate the goodness of others. Some want to be the Lone Rangers in life. That’s not good. We need one another. It was God who declared that it was not good for man to be alone. We are a communal type of people. We need to be around others. Being a preacher and before people, I get a lot of flowery introductions and compliments. Sometimes it can be a bit much. Too much syrup isn’t good. But pancakes without any syrup isn’t good either. Don’t toot your own horn, but also, if someone has benefited from something you have done, let them compliment you. Let them say their “Thank you” to you. Don’t deflate their compliments. Be humble and give glory to God.

Second, there is the giving side of encouragement. That is equally important. We must learn to recognize the good that others are doing. One guy can’t do it all. He may think he can, but he can’t. He ought to recognize that the church is a team of wonderful helpers. Everyone does their own part. Everyone chips in. When that happens, good things will be praised. Folks will get discouraged when time after time they do things and no one even says thank you. The work isn’t done for the praise. The Lord wondered where were the nine were after He healed ten lepers. One returned to thank. One returned to bless Jesus. The others never said anything. Don’t be like those nine. Appreciate the hard work others are doing. Let them know that you know and that you appreciate it so much.

Mark Twain said he could go a whole month on one good compliment. There is a lot of truth to that.

Is there someone today that you can get a pat on the back? Is there someone that you can say, “Thank you, for what you do.” It may be someone at home. We tend to overlook those the most. It may be someone who is simply doing their job, but they’ve put their heart into it and are doing the best that they can. Letting them know that you appreciate can just make their day.

My thanks to the wonderful brethren in Alabama who encouraged me much more than I encouraged them.

Thank you,

Roger