26

Jump Start # 3564

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

Jump Start # 3564

Luke 15:28 “But he became angry, and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began entreating him.”

That brother of the prodigal son thought he was so different than his wild and wayward brother, but he wasn’t. He thought he was hand-in-hand with the father, but he wasn’t. He thought he was better than the prodigal because he hadn’t wasted all the inheritance, but he wasn’t.

The father goes out to the older brother, very similar as he ran out to the prodigal. But there are two major differences that take place. When the prodigal began his remorseful apology, the father interrupted him. He called for the sandals, robe and ring. He ordered the best beef to be slaughtered and cooked.

When the older brother speaks to the father, it’s a different tone. He verbally assaults and insults the father. And, the father lets this son say his piece. He doesn’t interrupt him. Sorrow fills the prodigal’s heart. Anger fills the heart of the older brother. Both are loved by their father. Both are lost. Both need the father. One learned that lesson the hard way. One never learned that lesson.

This powerful parable was used to answer the charge that Jesus was keeping company with sinners. He was. He came for that reason, to save the lost. The Pharisees have no mercy for the likes of prodigals. Their sins are so obvious. They are so far from God. But in this, the Pharisees cannot see that they are like the prodigal’s brother. Nor can they see that they too are so far from God. And, one thing that they would never want to hear is that they are very much like the prodigal. The two sons in Luke 15 were very much alike. Both were lost. One in the far county and one at home. One was lost in rebellion and one was lost in self-righteousness.

It’s easy to view these two sons as being so different, but they weren’t. They were both lost, just in different ways. Rather than rejoicing that his brother was home, the older son, refused to acknowledge the relationship, the fellowship and extend any forgiveness towards the prodigal. He wanted nothing to do with him. And, in so doing, he revealed that he was so unlike his Father. And, that’s what Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see. You think you have it all together, by following the law, but they had no mercy for others. They had no concern for those who had made terrible choices in their lives. And, they had no patience for those who were not like them.

I have preached and preached this parable. I have written dozens of Jump Starts on this parable. And, every time I hear some preach on this, as I did the other day, my eyes are opened to new aspects that I have never seen before.

Let’s look at the father in this story, from the perspective of a father. He represents God. He is the gracious, merciful God who is quick to forgive. That’s the point of the parable. But pull back a moment and look at this from the standpoint of a dad. Two boys. Two boys who really do not like each other, at least one doesn’t. Two boys who took different paths in life. One went off and was wild. Maybe drugs. Maybe sexually immoral. Flunked out of college that you were paying for. Totaled many cars through the years. Irresponsible. No direction. Living as if there was no God.

The other stayed nearby. Hard working. Paying his bills. Goes to church. The picture of a good son, but he has an attitude. He is quick to judge those who different. He’d rather cut people out of his life than help them. Without saying it, he feels that he is better than most people.

Some lessons:

First, as a dad, as a parent, your work doesn’t stop when they graduate from high school. Your role changes but you are always guiding, influencing and trying to point them to Jesus. It may feel like it was easier when they were eight-years-old and you could send them to their rooms, but now you reason with them as adults and you reason with them through Scriptures.

The father in Luke 15 was active in both of the lives of those two sons. The father runs to the prodigal. He knows it’s not the time for a lecture, but a moment for grace. He hugs and kisses that wayward boy. He then leaves the party for the prodigal to go talk to the other son. This time he realizes it is time for patience and sound reasoning. He extends that. His work with his sons wasn’t over.

Second, I wonder if the father felt like he had failed some how. How did one son become so worldly and the other son so judgmental. The father wasn’t like either one of those. What could he had done differently? Yet, putting this story back into the context, what more could God had done for those Pharisees? They had the law. They had the prophets. They used them to build a neat little safe religion that made them feel they were better than others. The story of Rahab. The story of David seating Saul’s grandson at his table. The story of the servant girl and Naaman. All of those ought to have touched the heart of the Pharisees but it didn’t.

Third, I expect it was much harder trying to work with the older son than it was the prodigal. The prodigal came to his senses. He realized he messed up big time. He came home broken and sorrowful. The older brother wasn’t there yet in his heart. He didn’t see that he had done anything wrong. He didn’t see that he too, needed to repent and needed mercy. He didn’t see that he was wrong. Not at all. It would be much harder and longer working through those attitudes of the older son.

And, through all of this, we ought to see ourselves. There are days we are with the prodigal in the pig pen. May we ever learn from those sins. There are days that we stand with the older brother, arms crossed, snug look on our faces, and a cold and closed heart to others. May God forgive us for that. There are days when we hate to admit that we are like everyone else. Then there are opportunities for us to be like the Father, gracious, merciful and helpful. May we strive to always be like that.

Powerful, powerful, story. May God help us to be more like Him.

Roger

25

Jump Start # 3563

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

Jump Start # 3563

Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”

I am currently teaching aspects of the book of Leviticus. One might ask, “Why? Is this the elder’s form of timeout, or punishment?” No, actually, it was my choice. It was by design. Our theme this year is “Bringing the Best.” And, what better place to show that than the sacrifices found in Leviticus. They brought the best of the herds and flocks. They gave to God.

Leviticus has a horrible reputation. It’s commonly thought to be the most boring book of the Bible. It’s only read, because one has to read it. And, with such a sorry mindset, most do not see any value in this book. And, oh, the wonderful and powerful lessons they miss. The images pointing to our Savior are all over Leviticus.

The book of Leviticus opens immediately with burnt offering sacrifices. Cattle. Lambs. Specific birds. From that flows grain offerings, then peace offerings and guilt or sin offerings. So many offerings. When Solomon dedicated the temple, thousands of animals were sacrificed.

These sacrifices involved much more than just killing an animal. The image is like a slaughter house. Parts were taken out of the animal. The animal was cut up. Blood was collected. Parts were burned. Parts were to be cooked and eaten. Blood was to be sprinkled around the altar.

As I was working my way through those sacrifices, it quickly occurred to me that the priests had to have a strong stomach to do what they were doing. I’ve gone hunting and fishing before. I like it when someone else cleans and skins the animals. I’m not a fan of doing that. And, the older I get, a lesser fan that becomes.

There are details and specifics that we are not told. It’s not the point of the Scriptures, but I’d sure like to know. Did anyone wash down the altar after all the blood was sprinkled upon it? If not, the altar would have been stained with the reddish-brown tint of old blood. Sacrifice after sacrifice. Every morning and every evening there were sacrifices. Did they ever bring in a new altar? And, why blood? Our verse tells us. Life is in the blood. The sacrifice involved death. It was a one way street. The animal sacrificed was not coming back. It was more than killed, it was cut to pieces and burned. Only ashes remained.

Today, progressives would scream at the abuse of animals used in the sacrifices. Yet, this was the design of God. And, in this there are some lessons:

First, the value of a human made in the image of God is far greater than any animal. Atheistic evolution has scrambled up that value system in the minds of many today. Jesus did not die for animals. The blood of animals was spilled to appease the God who had been sinned against.

Second, the cost of an animal was a constant reminder of the cost of sin. Even back then, a lamb, a goat or a cow cost. And, these were not old animals that had lived beyond their usefulness. They were young, a year old. They were perfect, without defect. Prime animals to breed. Prime animals to make a profit. God was requiring the best. Sin costs. I wonder if we had to pay $100 every week for our sins, if that would slow us down some. I wonder if that would make us gossip less and sit on that hatred that rises up within us.

What I found in a little searching is that typically to buy a cow today costs about $3,000. It all depends upon the type of cow, age of the cow and so forth. That does not factor into taking care of the cow, the feed, the vet, the other factors.

Now, what if you had to pay $3000 every week because of your sin? If we had to do that every week, we’d be paying around $156,000 a year. That would destroy most of us. And, since we don’t have to pay that or really any amount, we have taken the sting out of sin and cheapened grace. We tell a lie. We shouldn’t, but no big deal. Really? Go buy a cow and then say that. A lustful thought? Probably shouldn’t, but no one got hurt. Go tell that to the cow. Some greed. Some selfishness. Some angry moments. Keep going and soon, we will need a whole herd of cattle.

Third, it was messy trying to deal with sin. It wasn’t simply going and apologizing. It wasn’t just saying, “I’ll not do it again.” An animal had to be taken to the tabernacle. You had to slay it and allow the priest to cut it up. That took time. A good chance you’d get animal blood on you. The sounds of a gasping animal dying because it’s throat was slit fills the air. The smell of burning animals and blood saturate your skin and nose. And, this wasn’t a once in a lifetime process. You’d be doing this over and over and over. Would one ever get used to this?

And, what would your children think, when you took a cute one-year-old lamb away from the house and you did not come back with it. How would you explain what happened to that little lamb? When they asked why you sinned and caused this, what would you say?

As powerful and wonderful and liberating as the complete sacrifice of Jesus is, I wonder if there is just a big disconnect between our sins and what it took to bring forgiveness. The death of a person. The bleeding Jesus died for us. We know that by faith. We read that in our Bibles. But, we don’t see it. We don’t walk down a road with a lamb or cow tied to a rope that we are leading.

Sacrifices…Leviticus…how dare anyone say ‘that book’ is boring? One needs to drive out to the county and take a look at some cows. That may change your thinking just a bit.

Roger

24

Jump Start # 3562

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3562

1 Corinthians 4:11 “To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless”

One of the powerful lessons we see in the lives of the early disciples is that they had a kingdom focus. They viewed themselves as simply a part of that picture and as tools to be used to enhance and grow the kingdom of God.

Our verse today is a classic example of that mindset. Five descriptive terms are used. All five of them would cause most to complain. All five would be enough for some to declare this isn’t fair and for many, they would quit. Those five expressions: hungry; thirsty; poorly clothed; roughly treated; homeless. The apostles were not the grand ambassadors of the kingdom that some would like to see. We don’t see people buying their meals, giving them expensive clothing, praising them and naming their children after them. Homeless. Roughly treated. Poorly clothed. Thirsty. Hungry. And, why? Because they were engaged in the work of the kingdom. The kingdom was greater than they were. They were second to the kingdom.

With this background, this same apostle wrote a young preacher and told him to endure hardships. Not the words of encouragement that someone would like to receive. Why would a young preacher like Timothy stay with it? Because he had a kingdom picture in his heart and mind. The kingdom was larger than he was. He was second to the kingdom.

That spirit is sprinkled through the stories of the early restoration preachers in this country. Many riding on horse back, crossed rivers and got completely wet, only to go to the next place to preach wearing those wet clothes. There is a story of a group of wicked men who placed dynamite inside a pulpit with the attempts to blow a preacher up. I know a preacher who personally told me that he was shoved in a classroom and a knife was pulled out to stab him because that person didn’t agree with what was being preached.

And, yet, those preachers continued on. Paid pennies. Most struggling to make ends meet, they poured their hearts into preaching and teaching God’s word. They had a Kingdom focus about them.

We are rapidly heading into a season in which there are fewer and fewer preachers. The number of churches that are looking for a preacher right now is massive. I’ve have been asked so many times recently, “Where are all the preachers?” And, “Why are there so few preachers these days?” And, more concerning, what’s the future going to look like?

Here are some thoughts:

First, as to the why there are fewer preachers these day. As generations change, older preachers retire or die. The men that were my mentors, heroes as I began preaching are all mostly gone now. Another reason for fewer preachers is that many congregations are now using two or more preachers. The work is big and the load demands that many. So, that cuts into the pool of preachers. A third reason, is that many have quit. There are all kinds of reasons why, but after a dozen years of preaching, many look elsewhere to do things. Some may not have the stomach to endure hardships. Some run from hardships. And, a fourth reason, is that there isn’t many younger men coming on to be preachers. Maybe they have seen too many horrifying stories about how preachers were treated. Maybe the pressure is too much. Maybe the money elsewhere is too good. But, maybe, we have not done a good enough job of presenting serving in the kingdom as an honorable work to do. In the home and in the congregation, our attitudes about preaching and preachers is heard by little ears and when it’s mostly negative and complaining, why would one want to do that?

We had a lot of preachers in our home when my children were small. They would have visiting preachers sign their Bibles. We looked upon preachers as heroes. They grew up knowing their names and loving them. My preaching friends became their friends. It doesn’t surprise me that one of my sons chose to preach. All of my children have a strong love for preachers. It’s the atmosphere one creates that can make a difference.

Second, with fewer preachers, congregations may have to make some visionary adjustments in the future. Some may have to merge. I know for some, they’d rather kiss the devil than sell the building and form a larger and healthier congregation with another one in town. Or, congregations may have to share a preacher. Adjustments of times of services may have to change for one preacher to work with two congregations. Every congregation having their own preacher may soon be a thing of the past. It just may not work.

Third, more and more men in the congregation will need to step up. Working through the week at a secular job and preaching on Sundays is hard and that may be the future for some congregations. The kingdom will continue on. God promises that. Things change and sometimes we may not like those changes and those changes may require more on our part, but we can do it. Helping one another out will be beneficial as experienced preachers encourage and help newer preachers.

It could actually be good that there are fewer preachers. It may just require more of us to get off the sidelines and get into the game. Everyone doing their part is how the kingdom grows.

Kingdom focused—that’s the key.

Roger

23

Jump Start # 3561

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

Jump Start # 3561

Mark 6:37 “But He answered them, ‘You give them something to eat!’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?’”

 

  Life is often plagued with problems. They come at us without an announcement. Driving in this morning to the office, there was a wreck on the freeway. Miles of traffic inching very slowly. I had to make some adjustments to my schedule. Problems do that. Your child wakes us telling you that he doesn’t feel well. Adjustments have to be made. You get in your car and it won’t start. Adjustments have to be made. At work, the computers are down. Adjustments.

 

  In our passage, the feeding of the five thousand, it was getting late in the day. The disciples approached Jesus with a suggestion, send the crowd home. Let them feed themselves. Jesus had other ideas. This is where our verse comes from. You feed them.

 

  And, this quickly turned into two problems. First, we don’t have any food. All they could find was a poor boy’s snack. That was enough for that boy and no one else. Second, we don’t have enough money among us to go into a village and buy some food.

 

  Now, imagine if they did have enough money. The two hundred denarii, that our verse states, would be nearly a year’s income. Who carries that kind of money with them? And, even if they had that kind of money, it would take a while to go into the village. The text tells us that it was getting late. They didn’t have 24 hour convenient stores back then. And, how would twelve apostles carry the food to feed 5,000 to 10,000 people? They’d have to buy or rent a cart and some oxen. That would cut into the money needed to buy the food. Problems upon problems.

 

  It’s easy to find problems. Look around, you’ll see cobwebs in the corners, chipped paint, a scratch on the furniture, a leaky faucet, weeds in the garden, a stack of bills that need to be paid. And, that’s what our eyes see. When we look with our hearts, we see people who haven’t apologized. We notice prejudice and hatred. We hear gossip. We see members sleeping in church, or worse, some who don’t come at all. Problems upon problems.

 

  Our passage tells us something about problems:

 

  First, it’s easy to see the problem but to have no ideas as to what to do about them. The disciples saw a problem, the people need to eat. They were the ones who brought that up to Jesus. But they didn’t have any answers. Some people are problem solvers. The rest are problem finders. If something is wrong, they’ll be the first to tell you about it. Problem finders don’t have any answers. Their goal and mission in life is to point out what’s broken, what’s not working, what’s wrong and then have someone else fix it. Their work is done once they have identified the problem.

 

  Second, there are problems that only Jesus can fix. I was putting some Jump Start books together to mail the other day and the stapler ran out of staples. I didn’t drop to my knees and go to Heaven for help. Maybe I should have. I just walked down the hallway to the resource room and grabbed another bunch of staples. I could solve that one on my own.

 

  But what to do when a brother runs out of faith? I can’t go down to the resource room and grab another batch of faith for him. I can talk to him. I can share some verses with him. But, ultimately, he needs Jesus. He needs the Divine to heal his confused and broken spirit.

 

  And, this is a valuable lesson for us. We like to fix every problem. We like to believe that there is nothing that we cannot handle. We try and often we add to the problems because we are dealing with things beyond our knowledge and we do not have any solutions. There are things that only God can fix. We must recognize that.

 

  Third, much too often, as with these disciples from our verse today, the answer to the problem is right there among us. They had seen Jesus calm storms. They had seen Jesus providing a massive catch of fish. The blind were now seeing, because of Jesus. The lepers were cured. The lame walked. We don’t have food, but we have Jesus. If only their eyes could have seen that.

 

  If only my eyes can see that. I’m never truly alone, I have Jesus. I am never without help, I have Jesus. I am never in a place where no one understands, I have Jesus. Standing right there beside me is Jesus.

 

  When Jesus, from our verse today, said, “You give them something to eat,” they should have asked, “Jesus, will you help us?” And, that’s what I need to be asking to navigate through this world. Instead of seeing only problems and trying to solve things on my own, getting frustrated, stressed, worried and doubtful, “Jesus will you help me?”

 

  You can’t get around problems. But you sure don’t have to give up. Jesus, will you help me?

 

  Roger

 

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Jump Start # 3560

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3560

Colossians 2:4 “I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.”

There is an expression that states all of us will be exactly the same way we are in five years except for the books we read and the people we associate with. Those influences can have a positive or a negative impact upon us. As parents, we taught our little ones to pick good friends when they went to school. As they got to the dating age we encouraged them to look beyond the surface and to see if there was anything upstairs working in that head. But sometimes, as adults we’ve given ourselves a pass on the type of people we hang out with.

It is interesting to see multiple times in Colossians two, that Paul brings this topic up. Notice:

  • No one will delude you with persuasive argument (4)
  • See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception (8)
  • No one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink (16)
  • Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize (18)
  • Why do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch (20-21)

Five times in one context, the apostle warns about the twisted influence of others. The words are vivid: delude, take captive, defraud. And the means which this is done is also very illustrated: persuasive argument; philosophy; empty deception; judging; decrees.

It doesn’t take much insight to see that Paul was concerned and he saw this as a real problem. Years ago, we hired a magician to come to our home and put on a show for a bunch of teens. He did the typical card tricks and was great with the teens. He had them laughing and engaged in what he was doing. The one that got me was how he cut a small rope in two pieces and then, somehow, it came back together. I asked him to do that a second time. He did. I watched intently. I watched what he did with his hands. I knew it was a trick. But I couldn’t figure it out. He’d smile at me because he knew he had me.

And, that’s just the way error works. It doesn’t begin by announcing that this is something that is wrong. It looks good. It’s like those knock-off products that look like the real thing. Someone once gave me a Rolex watch. It looked like the real deal. I scanned through pictures of Rolex watches on the internet. I finally took it to a jeweler who told me it was a fake. The twisted Gospel can seem so close to the original that many accept it without thinking things out.

So, before us, are the words, “see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy.” How? Most of us are not experts in the original languages. When something looks so close to the real one, how am I to know? How do I not get deluded, deceived and taken captive?

First, we know the answer is not in trusting what my preacher says. The historical path of digression has most times be blazed by preachers. Oh, I love my preacher, we say. I trust my preacher. I believe he is a good man. He wouldn’t tell me anything that wasn’t true.

Paul’s words to the Colossians were not directed to the preachers. The “see to it that no one takes you captive” and “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize” was the responsibility of each member. They had to take ownership of their faith. They were the ones to “see to it” and “Let no one” mess with their faith.

You can’t really take responsibility of your neighbor’s yard. It may be full of weeds and even trash. But you can certainly keep those things out of your yard. So, we are responsible for our faith. If we are deluded, it’s our fault. If we don’t recognize error, it’s our fault. If we walk blindly into deception with open arms, it’s our fault. It’s like the small print listed at the bottom of some contracts. We sign off without reading all that stuff, but we were the ones who signed off.

Second, knowing the word of God will keep you from being defrauded and deceived. This is where we must think things through. We must search carefully and ponder. Recent books are pushing ideas that Acts-Epistles are not a pattern for the church. Slick maneuvering of concepts and passages paints a pretty picture that the church mirrors Jesus. Sounds good. Jesus fed multitudes. Thus the church ought to feed multitudes. Jesus accepted everyone without question. The church ought to accept everyone without question. It all sounds so good. It sounds so right. Not a patterned hermeneutics but a theological hermeneutics.

And, without realizing it, a rope was cut right before our eyes and put back together we don’t know how it happen. John says as we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7). What if someone isn’t walking in the light? What if someone doesn’t even know what the light is? What if someone wants to remain in the dark? Jesus accepted all and so should the church? No.

Was Jesus’ feeding the multitudes a pattern for the church or a demonstration of the compassion and power of Christ? Was the Lord intending the church to feed multitudes or believe that Jesus is the Christ, the chosen one of God?

Jesus also turned over tables and drove out those who were abusing God’s temple for profit. Ought the church to do the same? How is it that one example is followed and not others?

Then, what is the function of Acts-Epistles? If not instructions for the church to follow, what?

Third, and, after all these many, many years, why are some finding new ways that no one before has ever noticed? That’s odd. They could be right, but don’t be fooled by the slogans of “different, new, unique, never seen before.”

Don’t be fooled. Don’t be deceived. Don’t be persuaded. Don’t be defrauded. They way to keep that from happening is to know the Word of God. Know it well. Know it like you know anything else. The magicians of religion will always come up with fancy ways of trying to fool us and trick us. We know better because we know the word of God.

Don’t let anyone delude you…

Roger