Jump Start # 419 

Proverbs 25:25 “Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land.” 

  Good news—everyone likes that. This passage takes us back to a time when good news traveled slowly, as all news did. The messenger riding the horse, going from village to village, telling the citizens news from the king. Waiting for good news is rarely done anymore and a younger generation doesn’t understand the anxious moments while one waited.

  I think of the families that had a son overseas fighting in a war. They awaited a letter from him, assuring them that he was fine. I think of student away from home and he awaited a letter from his folks. Today, we send information instantly. There isn’t much waiting time.

  Something special happened to those people who were waiting for good news from a distant land. While they waited, they prayed. They hoped. Often whole congregations prayed for the well being of their young men in battle. Hope was anticipated. At night, fervent prayers were offered. In the day, they looked for the mailman or the messenger coming with news. Each day waiting. Until finally, news came. Prayers had been answered. All is well. Hope becomes a reality.

  You can also see the father of the prodigal son here. His son was in a far country. He wasn’t doing well. You know the father was hoping for the best. Finally, he sees the son coming home and he rushes out to embrace him. Hope realized.

  Good news is worth sharing. Today, we facebook about engagements, weddings and babies born. Photos are taken. Happiness spreads. Good news fills the heart.

  It’s interesting that the word “gospel” means “good news.” What better news from a distant land, than God loves you and hasn’t given up on you and wants you to know His Son, Jesus Christ. The good news is that God has been thinking about you every day since you were born. Now, we haven’t always thought of God, have we? Sometimes we were out chasing fun and doing things that we shouldn’t have done, yet God didn’t give up on us. Good news came. Salvation from our sins. God wants us home with Him. That’s the gospel message.

  Now here’s a weird thing, some preachers almost apologize for telling you good news. Some how they twist the good news to be bad news. Some leave church, feeling beat up and emotional spanked by the preacher. There are some serious things that need to be preached. It’s hard to talk about Hell with a smile on your face, unless you are twisted on the inside. But the message over all is good news– good news from a distant land.

  I can see families gathered at a village when a rider comes in. He immediately shares his news with them. The families jump up and down with excitement. Smiles abound. Hugs are everywhere.

  I can see when news reaches Heaven that a weary and lost soul has found Jesus, the angels jumping up and down. Smiles abound. Hugs everywhere. Luke 15 tells us that the angels in Heaven rejoice when a sinner comes home to God. Good news from a distant land.

  Think about our days, there’s not a lot of good news. Wars overseas. Economic gloom. Scandals. People being bad and hurting others. That happens locally. It happens worldwide. The paper tells the sad stories. The newscast fills the airwaves of the dark details. Bad news…bad news…bad news. Bad news is a lot like wearing three day old socks. It feels different and there is a smell. If you haven’t experienced that, go look under the bed of your middle school boy, I’m sure you’ll experience what I’m talking about. With bad news all around us, it wears on us. We don’t smile much. There seems to be a burden we all are carrying. We look tired.

  Good news does just the opposite. It lifts our eyes up. We hold our heads up. We walk faster and more lively with good news in our hearts.

  Wish I had some good news, don’t you. We do! Just open up your New Testaments and read a page from the “good news” or Gospels. See Jesus in action. See His compassion. See His power. See His love. See Him not be tricked by those who won’t believe Him. See Him reach out and touch lepers and heal them. See Him offer Himself on the cross. See Him come out of that grave. See Him reigning in Heaven. Now, that’s good news!

  Good news from a distant land—be a messenger of that as you invite others to church. Tell others of Jesus and you are bringing good news from a far away place. It’ll do you good as well.

Roger

Jump Start # 418 

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

  One of the themes that runs throughout the book of Proverbs is the life of the righteous man. Often he is contrasted with the fool. Here in our verse today, he stands alone, without the contrasts, and we are told of his ways or the characteristics of the righteous man.

  Towers were part of shelters, much like the early forts were in the pioneer days of America. Settles lived out in their own cabins, where they raised livestock and had their gardens. When the threat of attack, often from Indians or the British, was eminent, the settlers would grab their muskets, and take their families to the forts. There they found safety. This is the image we get from our passage. The tower is a strong hold. The tower represents safety.

  Here, the name of the Lord is the tower. The name of the Lord. Moses was told that God’s name is “I AM.” In the disciples prayer, Jesus told them to pray, “Hallowed be Thy name.” Baptism was done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The “name of the Lord” represents all that the Lord is. Today, we might use the expression, “In the name of the Law,” to represent the police. The police carry authority. In the name of the law means you obey them. In the name of the Lord represents the authority of the Lord, the power of the Lord and all the goodness of the Lord.

  The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs to the name of the Lord. There he is safe. He is safe doing the will of God. He is safe trusting in the Lord. The Lord loves. The Lord protects.

  The application is a man who turns to the Lord. He would do that in prayer. His life is jumbled and he turns to the Lord. He lays his day before the Lord. His confidence grows because he has wisely sought the Lord. He knows as he prays, it is God’s will that will be accomplished, not his. He seeks that.

  The righteous man is safe as he runs to God’s word. God’s word shows him what is right and it warns him. He is safe as he walks with the Lord. The Lord will help him. The Lord’s words will guide him to what is right. The way of the Lord leads home.

  The righteous man runs to the Lord when he is afraid. Fear is a killer of faith. Many things can make us afraid. The greatest is the unknown. We haven’t felt well for sometime. We fear the worst. Things aren’t going well at work, we fear the worst. Life tends to do that to us. Fear makes the dog bigger than he is. Fear sees things in shadows that aren’t there. The internal fear is the worst of all. Our fears feed worry. Our fears keep us from going on. 

  The righteous man knows what to do. He heads to the Lord’s tower. There he will be safe. When he is afraid, seek the Lord. The Lord is good.

  Unlike our illustration of the early settler in America, the righteous man runs to the Lord all the time, not just when he is in trouble. The righteous man loves the Lord and seeks Him. The righteous man can’t live without the Lord. He loves the Lord. He loves the Scriptures. He has found, both in the teaching of the Bible, and by personal experience, safety is found in following the Lord.

  The song, “Trust and obey for there is no other way…” Trust. The Lord will do well to you. Trust. God is on the throne. Trust. Not in ourselves, but the Lord. It is to the Lord we must go. It is to the tower, His tower that all will be made right.

  This is the way of the righteous. Have you been to the tower lately? Does the name of the Lord bring joy to you, clear down to the bones? It is there, at His tower, that you are safe!

Roger

Jump Start # 417 

Proverbs 16:20 “He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”

  Proverbs are the practical side of living the righteous life. It’s the manual of how to do it. Our verse today is interesting. The wise man is one who gives attention to the word. It is not specified what the “word” is. In some ways, he may be implying our speech and giving care to what we say and how we say it. Some folks talk without engaging their brain and as a result they always have to apologize. They would do better if they paid attention to the word.

  But some how that explanation doesn’t really seem to fit this verse. “Word” and speech are not the same and the passage ends with trusting in the Lord. We find two positive thoughts—”finding good” and being “blessed.” The connection is the word and the Lord. The wise man is pointing to the word of God. Paying attention to the Bible and trusting the Lord.

  Those two are an easy fit. God gave us the Bible. If a person believes the Bible, follows the Bible, are the not in essence trusting the Lord who wrote it?

  I want to look at the expression, “gives attention to the word.” God’s word demands not only our time and our study, but our careful look, our paying attention. We read the Bible differently than we do other things. I remember a summer school class I took in high school that developed speed reading. A book was propped up and a bright light, just the perfect size of one sentence on a page would move down the book. The student was expected to keep up with the light. As the summer progressed, the speed of the light would move faster and faster, until we could fly through a page. Often to keep up, we’d read the first and last sentence of a paragraph, and parts of the rest. By the end of the summer I could read fast. I still do on some things, but I’ve had to learn to read slowly and carefully. Reading the Bible fast isn’t good. A person can skip words, the order of words and miss the real intention of a verse.

  I read the Bible slow. I usually have a pen in hand so I can underline or circle words. Paying attention to the word is crucial. Don’t skip words, don’t fly through verses. I’m not a huge fan of read the Bible through in a year programs. I’ve done them and it’s important to read all of the Bible, but if you miss a day or two, you get so far behind that a person must read a dozen chapters to get back on schedule and then it’s keep with the schedule not so much grasping what is read.

  I’d rather a person read a few sentences a day. Think about the details. Why is it written this way? What is the passage driving at? How does it fit in the context. Details. Pay close attention to the words. Remembering. Learning. Meditating. These are the steps of knowing God’s word.

  The result is that a person will find good. They will find that God’s word leads them to good. Good behavior. Good attitudes. Good deeds. Above all, the good Lord.

  The book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” is an interesting thought—doesn’t work with God. Details matter. How you get there is just as important as getting there. Sweat the small stuff, it’ll do you good.

  Peter wanted brethren to “speak as the oracles of God” (4:11). That’s important. Speaking as  God speaks. Using words as God uses them. You listen to folks in a religious conversation and you can quickly tell you has been paying attention to the words. It comes out. They know what the word means. You understand God’s message. They have given time to it.

  Good advice—essential wisdom—pay attention to the details of God’s message!

Roger