24

Jump Start # 524

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 524 

2 Corinthians 7:6 “But God who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus”

  This is an interesting passage. The flow of the passage leads to one conclusion and that is the apostle Paul had been depressed. That’s hard for many to grasp. They see Paul as nearly Superman. Always up. Always smiling. Slap him in the face and he’d still smile. That’s not the impression the N.T. gives us. He told the Corinthians that he was afraid. In the verse before our passage today, he reveals that he had conflicts externally and fears internally and his flesh had no rest. The life of the apostles was not glorious as we might assume. Today, we study their lives in great detail. Books have been written about them. We name cities, buildings and babies after them. Not back then. They were horribly treated. They were considered the scum of the earth. They were hunted down, they were misquoted, they were arrested and eventually they were executed. Yes, Paul was depressed.

  There are many things that get us down. The winter here in the Ohio Valley can be gloomy for months. The lack of sunshine affects the moods of some. The slow economy, the inability to find a decent paying job, mounting bills can cause one to be depressed. Dealing with failing health can be depressing. When things don’t go as we would want, that has an affect upon a person. The list of things that can make us blue is long. The affect that these things can have upon us can even be longer. When a person is down they just don’t feel like doing anything. Some stay in bed. Others would like to, but they can’t. They go to work, but they are not productive. Some quit going to church services—the reason, they don’t feel like it. Depression can make a person feel like they are walking around with a cloud over their head all day long.

  S0me depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. Medication is necessary to help a person. Understand that the medicine can help with the moods and emotions but the medicine doesn’t solve the problems that led to the depression. For others, it is a series of bad things happening to them that leads to depression. One thing after another and it gets to being too much for them. They can’t handle it. Some get angry. Some turn to the bottle. Some have an emotional meltdown. Still with others, it is a faith issue. The greater our faith, the less our worries. The greater our worries, the greater our fears and doubts will be.

  There is not a one size fits all solution to depression. It can be extremely complicated. There are various levels and affects of discouragement and depression. Those who witness others struggling with these issues often have a hard time understanding it. Their simple conclusion is to “snap out of it,” which they would gladly do, if they only knew how.

  Our passage reminds us that God was there to help Paul. The verse begins by stating, “God who comforts the depressed…” God doesn’t point fingers and expect you to “snap out” on your own. He is there. He comforts the depressed. He is active to help. God approached Paul’s problems spiritually. In the O.T., God was there for Elijah when he was hiding in the cave. God comes to us. God is help.

  What did God do? He didn’t take away Paul’s problems. That’s the solution we look for and we want. Take away the problem and I’ll be in better spirits. Often, it’s through the problem that our character is forged and shaped. We need problems to build and rely upon our faith in God.

  God sent Titus to Paul. The apostle was concerned about the Corinthians and the well being of that church. That weighed heavily upon his thinking. Titus brought news. The news was good. The brethren were obeying Paul’s letter and things were going well. The unknown can be the worst thing. Not knowing where the kids are…not knowing what the surgery will be like…not knowing what the boss wants…all those things can make the heart anxious and fearful. God brought Titus to Paul. Titus was the comfort.

  Our problems can make us have to change our schedule and our day in order to deal with them. They can occupy a lot of our time. God has a way, if we allow Him in, to comfort us. That comfort comes in many ways. Sometimes it’s the word of God. Sometimes, as with Paul, it comes through other people, God’s people. God sends them to help us.

  Let me share a personal story that just happened yesterday to me. Debbie and I had gone to Tennessee to visit our son. We spent the night there. A terrible thunderstorm went through the area. In the morning I discovered a tree limb had fallen and smacked our car. No glass was broken but it’s dinted in a few places. Bummer # 1. On the way home, my bank called. Someone somewhere got a hold of my debit card number and there were charges on it from Virginia. Many phone calls back and forth while on the road. Bummer # 2. Today, I have to go to the bank to sign some papers and so forth. My schedule didn’t have room for that, but it will now. That’s enough to put one in a bad mood. We were home about 15 minutes last night and off to a Bible study with a group of friends. It is awesome! It was very encouraging! Somehow dented cars and hassles at the bank didn’t seem so bad. Something happened last night that I didn’t even know. God comforted me. Through Scriptures, through friends, through faith, He was there. He helped.

  I realized that as much as God wants to comfort us, we have a part in this as well. If we fight it, reject it, and just decided to be miserable, He’ll let us. But if we work with Him, follow Him where He leads us, often we will feel much better. After the darkest storms at night, the sun often shines the next day.

  God loves His children. He works with them, through them and for them. There is comfort in Scriptures. There is comfort in the presence of others. There is something about just opening up the Gospels and journeying by faith with Jesus.

  Someday there will be no more storms every again. Some day all the bad people who like to steal will be gone. Some day, Heaven will be ours.

  We are one day closer to Heaven today.

Roger

23

Jump Start # 523

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 523 

Psalms 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”

  I love Sundays—its not the fat newspapers, the mega sports day or the shopping that makes it special, it is the Lord. It’s worship. It’s being with God’s people. It is a day that is unlike the rest of the week. The routine is different on Sunday. There is a sense of recharging and connecting with God on that day.

  For David, who wrote our passage today, his worship would have been on the Sabbath in the tabernacle. He lived long before the Messiah came. He did not know hymns such as Amazing Grace. He didn’t live with the hope of a coming resurrection. The stories of the incredible Savior were not known to David. His world was animal sacrifices, priests and incense. Yet for him, he was glad to worship the Lord.

  Worship is so much more than “just going to church,” as some phrase it. It’s connecting with like believers, it’s magnifying the Lord, it’s  understanding God’s nature, it’s expressing our love for Him. Worship is looking back to that old rugged cross. Worship is looking forward to Heaven. Worship lifts our spirits and answers our questions. Worship ought to be passionate, personal and involving all that I am. Worship requires my mind, my heart, my love, and even my body. So anything that affects those things will affect my worship. When I’m not feeling well, it hits my worship. When I’m tried, my worship is off. When I’m bothered, my worship becomes bothered.

  Worship is not about what I get from church services, but rather, what I give. The very word, ‘worship’ means to kiss forward or as the Latin brings to us, “worth-ship.” It is esteeming the “worth” of something. In worship, therefore, what I am saying is, “What is God worth to me?”

  I wish every day was Sunday. I wish we only had to go to work two days a week and we could go to worship services five days a week. Wouldn’t that be awesome!

  I sense in many places and among many people, a tired and bored look when it comes to worship. I get excited. It’s not preaching, it’s being together and with the Lord. That’s amazing in my book.

  Someone had asked David to go to the house of the Lord. David was glad. He knew he’d meet the Lord there. He knew that worship has a way of calming a troubled heart and putting our order back in order.

  How about you? How do you feel about Sunday? Dread it? Just go through the motions? Can’t wait until church services are over so you can do what you want? Or, like David, are you thrilled to be able to be in the presence of God?

  Much of what happens on Saturday night determines what will happen on Sunday morning. The ancient priests in David’s time prepared before worship began. They had to have sacrifices, fire and many, many things to make their worship proper. That meant getting animals inspected and ready. That meant having wood for fires. Our preparation is mental, physical and emotional. Get a good nights sleep on Saturday because Sunday is coming. You are going to meet the King. Don’t fuss with TV, paperwork, dishes, or other things that get you sidetracked, stressed out, and bothered. Remember, you are going to meet the King. Read a verse or two. Say a pray or two. You get to meet the King, that ought to make the blood race through you.

  I was glad, David said. I agree.

Roger

20

Jump Start # 522

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 522 

1 John 4:4 “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 

  I love this verse and I use it often. It’s powerful, profound and very encouraging. The verse is packed with pronouns: you, them, He, and he. As with any Bible passage, grasping the context is essential. Without that, the “hes” and the “yous” and the “thems” can means just about anything you want.

  The chapter begins with John reminding the brethren not to believe everything they hear. They were encouraged to test the spirits to see if the are from God. He warns that there are many false prophets. The spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is from God. Those that don’t confess that are not. The background to these verses is the Gnostic influence that was just getting a start in the late first century. It was a philosophy and theory that God is too holy to dwell in the flesh. It also contended that what the flesh does has no impact upon the spirit. Many spin off ideas came from this. One of them is that Jesus was not the Christ or that Jesus was never in the flesh. Crazy stuff that confused folks and chipped away at the teachings of the New Testament. Throughout this letter you will find references to “know” or knowledge (which the Greek word gnosis—Gnosticism came from) and references to Jesus in the flesh.

  The “you” of our verse are the Christians John is writing to. The “greater is He” is God who is in us. The “he” that is in the world, would be these Gnostic prophets that were spreading their poison, but more so, Satan, who is always behind everything that is crooked and false.

  Greater is God who is in you than Satan who is in the world. That’s how we are going to look at this passage.

  First, Satan is powerful. The Bible acknowledges that. We are told to not be ignorant of him. He is portrayed as a roaring lion. We know this all too well. Satan is everywhere. There is no town that is “Satan free.” There is no man made defense that keeps Satan completely out. As you go to work, Satan is already there. At school, Satan is there. On your day off, Satan will find you. He’ll be at your vacation spot. He’ll be at the stores. He’ll be at the movie theatre. He even goes to church. He’s never sick. He observes no holidays. He never retires. And he has an agenda. He wants your soul. He’ll attack your church. He’ll attack your marriage. He’ll attack you. He deceives. He lies. He tempts. He creates doubt. He confuses. He finds you when you are having a bad day. He seeks you when you are stressed. He follows you when you are alone. He loves the night and he loves when you are vulnerable. That’s Satan. Satan knows the word of God. He’s demonstrated that twice—once with Eve by adding a word, and once with Jesus, by misapplying a passage. He can twist and turn the Bible so it won’t do what it’s supposed to do nor help you as it should. He knows that God’s word is the sword. He knows that the word is your avenue to stay connected with God and to keep you holy and on the path to Heaven. I expect he hates Jump Starts or any other tool that helps you spiritually. Satan loves to dangle carrots of lust, pride, materialism and selfishness before our eyes. The forbidden fruit looks so good. He knows that. He uses that. Thousands fall to his tricks everyday. You and I trip and stumble before we realize what he is doing to us. This is Satan. He is your greatest enemy. He cannot be ignored. You have to face him and fight him. This is your greatest struggle in life.

  Our passage tells us, as great as he is in the world, God who is in us is greater. Satan is not equal to God. Satan is not eternal. He is not all powerful. He had to get permission to sift Peter. He was given limits as to what he could do to Job. The future of Satan is sure. He’s headed to Hell. God made hell just for Satan. People are not supposed to go there, but they will if they live without God. Hell is ugly, painful and pitiful—just what Satan deserves. God tells us how to deal with Satan. James says resist and he will flee. Timothy was told to flee youthful lusts. The Ephesians were told to put on the full armor of God and to stand firm. God’s armor would extinguish every flaming missile of the evil one.

  Where is God? He is in you. He is in those who walk, love, follow and obey Christ. This is a blessing of being a child of God. We have God. We have God with us everywhere. God is in you when you go to work and Satan is there. God is in you when you are at school and Satan is there. God is in you working, reminding, and helping us. God’s word works. Jesus went to the word to fight Satan in the wilderness.

  Greater is God who is in us than Satan. I don’t have to give in to Satan. I don’t have to choose wrong. Saying, “I couldn’t help it,” doesn’t fly for the Christian, because you can help it. God is in you and he is greater than he who is in the world. You can win. You can be holy. You can be righteous. How? The world is so polluted with sin, how can I? Greater is God who is in you than Satan who is in the world—that’s how.

  Pray to God—He’s not far away. Use godly tools. Know the word. Know Satan. Know what buttons he pushes to get you confused and foggy. The battle belongs to the Lord.

  God is in you…you don’t have to run to the church building…you don’t have to run to a city of refuge, as they did in the O.T., nor find a priest as they did in the O.T. God is in you. He chooses to dwell in your heart. He does that so you will dwell in Him.

  Satan is watching you right now. But greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.

Roger

19

Jump Start #521

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 521 

1 Kings 2:2-3 “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn,

  King David was old and about to die. He knew that. His son, Solomon, was the next king of Israel. Our passage today could be viewed as David’s farewell address and his charge to the next king, who just happened to be his son. His words ring true today and the concepts could be spoken from a dad to his son before he goes off to college, the military, or even gets married.

  There is a string that runs through these expressions. It’s as if each phrase is a bead and they are all strung together with the connection being “keep these things.” David says: Keep the charge of the Lord…keep His statutes…(keep) His commandments…(keep) His ordinances…and (keep) His testimonies. Keep, keep, keep. The book of Proverbs says to “buy truth and sell it not.” Keep it!

  In order to keep something, a person has to have it to start with. To keep the faith, a person has to have faith. To keep the commandments, a person has to have the commandments. David wasn’t giving Solomon anything. Solomon already had these. He had God’s statutes, commandments, ordinances and testimonies. They had been given through Moses and the prophets. It was up to Solomon to now keep these things. You keep by doing them and obeying them.

  Keeping implies guarding, protecting and maintaining the way things are supposed to be. By telling Solomon to keep, David was implying, don’t change things, don’t depart from these, don’t give up on these, don’t go away from these. What powerful words that are needed today.

  Too many folks do not understand the value of keeping. Some keep things that really do not matter. They keep stuff. This is why shows like “Hoarders” is so popular. We are amazed that people can live that way. Too many others live that way mentally and emotionally. We keep things that people have said to us. We keep living in the past. We keep scars and pains of failures. These things are often called emotional baggage and we lug these things around from relationship to relationship. They seem to get heavier and heavier through the years and we seem to add more and more to them all the time. Give them up. Leave the past. This is not what David is telling Solomon. We sometimes keep the wrong stuff.

  Others fail to keep God’s word. They are not content with it. They don’t want to stay with it. It’s old to them. It’s the religion of their grandparents. So, instead of keeping what God said, they leave it. They leave it for the thrill of something new, exciting and different. They change the structure of worship, which ought to be praise to God, for exciting times for the audience. They give up preaching for plays…feasting on the word for feasting on the pot roast…bowing the head and heart to God for clapping in applause to man. They leave the word for comedy…current events…and the shallowness of pep talks. They have not kept. They did not stay with it. They have not maintained. Is it any wonder that Youtube videos, such as the current, “I love Jesus and hate religion” are so popular today. Folks want Jesus but not religion. Give me Jesus, but you keep the church. Give me Jesus without the commands, the requirements, or the responsibilities. I want the Jesus who is a friend. I want the Jesus who is cool with me not going to church. I want the Jesus who won’t frown if I drink alcohol now and then. I want Jesus who understands that marriage isn’t for me—I’ll just live with my girl friend.  Do you know that 12 million people have viewed that Youtube. People love it. They see it as speaking to them. It’s how they have felt and now they see you can love Jesus and hate religion.

  What about keeping? What about keeping the law? What about keeping the commandments? What would Jesus want us to do? He said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Jesus spoke about divorce. In fact He was pretty narrow about who can get a divorce. Still want Jesus? What about worship? Jesus wasn’t “against religion” or church. He worshipped in the temple all his life while on earth. He observed every Jewish holiday according to the Law. Jesus kept the law, perfectly. Still want Jesus?

  You see, the Jesus that the Youtube crowd wants isn’t the Jesus of the Bible. It’s their own Jesus. A Jesus that they think, DIDN’T KEEP the rules. But the real Jesus did. They want a Jesus that lets you stay the way you are. But the real Jesus wants righteous living and holiness. They want a Jesus that’s cool. But the real Jesus was holy. The people of His day didn’t understand Him, like Him or want Him around. Still want Jesus?

  It’s about time for us to get back to the keeping business. To keep the commands, we first have to know the New Testament, our law today. We need to follow it. We need to love it. We need to be satisfied that it alone will lead us to Heaven. No changing is needed nor necessary.

  Keep it…keep it…keep it. It starts with us and then our families and then our congregations. Throw out the man made rules. Give up on being progressive and different. Just tell me the old, old story of Jesus. The way of the Cross leads home—that’s more than a song, that’s just the way it is.

  Keep it…how important this is.

Roger

18

Jump Start # 520

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 520 

Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

  Honesty—it is the foundation stone of all relationships. God hates lying. He said that in Proverbs six. One of the 10 commandments condemned false witnesses. The lack of trust has made society sign papers for nearly every transactions and back those papers up with a battery of attorneys. Honesty is the key. It is one of the core values of being a Christian.

  Lying began in the garden when the serpent told Eve that she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit. Lying is one of the easiest and earliest sins we learn. People lie to avoid trouble—first to their parents, then to teachers, then to the police, then to their bosses, then to their mates. And generally, all along, they have been lying to God and themselves.

  Telling the truth can hurt. It can get folks mad at you, and so, it is just easier to lie. It’s easier to tell a lie than to commit to something that we don’t want to do. For instance, telling someone, “I’m busy,” gets you out of something you really don’t want to do. The truth may be that you are not busy, you just don’t want to do it. A lot of folks have found that it’s easy to say that they are sick, when they are not, just to get a day off of work or to skip school. Later that morning they are at the mall shopping and eating with the best of them, having a great time, thinking nothing of what they have done. Horror strikes them when they happen to run into someone who has been told that they were sick. Now the person has to think of a fast one, which often is another lie, to cover their tracks. Living on deceit and dishonesty becomes a way of life for them.

  Relationships that are built upon lies will someday crumble and crash. The truth has a way of coming to the surface. Often more lies have to be told to hide the earlier lies and after that more lies to hide those recent lies. There can be so many lies that a person just doesn’t know what the is the truth. Some folks are professionals at lying. They can look you right in the eye and tell you a lie. Others can shed tears, and you think this is for real, but you find out it’s not.

  The apostles words from our verse today, “Lay aside falsehood, speak the truth…” Jesus said, “let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Don’t say yes when you mean no. Be honest. Be truthful.

  One thing about lying that is almost universal and that is most people hate being lied to. They don’t have a problem lying to others, they have their reasons, but when someone lies to them, they get upset and vocal. Amazing to me that they don’t see the inconsistency in all of that.

  How does one be honest? The simplest way is to just do it. Tell the truth. Be honest. Honest about your feelings. Honest about what the job is about. Honest about the item being sold. Honest with God.

  Being honest may cause you to lose a few bucks. It may cost you a job. Being honest may take a while to fill a position. Honesty may open some doors that you don’t like. It may show that you are not the hotshot that everyone thinks you are. It may reveal that you, yes you, need a lot of spiritual help. Being honest, especially with God, may reveal that you’ve played church far too long and that you have a shallow relationship with Him.

  Being honest often is the pathway to better relationships and the improvements necessary for positive change. Remember Jesus’ story about the two men who went to pray in the temple (Luke 18)? The publican beat his chest, wouldn’t look Heavenward, and begged God to have mercy on him. The Pharisee, bragged and bragged about all the great things he had done and how he was so different for everyone else, especially the publican who was praying near him. He was lying to God and to himself. Had he been honest, like the other man, he would have asked for mercy as well. Being honest will take us to the Bible. It will cause us to drop to our knees in prayer. It will make us go across the street and apologize. It will lead us to have true connections and real relationships. We sometimes, maybe most times, do not like to hear negative things about ourselves. We like praise, compliments, and honors. Proverbs tells us that the wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy.

  I believe this is one of the reasons, not the only reason, that God established the church. We need each other. We need honest fellowship, connections, and accountability. I need the wounds of a friend, even though it’s painful to hear. I need people to be honest. That is the means for us to improve. We often don’t see it in ourselves. It is like bad breathe. Usually the guy that has it doesn’t realize it but everyone else does! We need others to help us, be honest with us, and to be patient with us.

  Speak the truth each one of you…it may be hard, but give it a try today. All day long. On the phone…in meetings…with co-workers…in emails…on facebook…with the kids…with your mate…with brethren…and with God. One day—tell the truth all day long. Piece of cake for many of our readers because you already do it. For others, this will be a challenge. You may stop yourself mid-sentence and change what you were going to say. I need to be honest. It has to start some time, it might as well be today.

  If you missed it a time or two, tell God about it. He already knows. Ask Him to help you and to be patient with you. Then go back in and engage in life and do it with honest lips, honest hearts and honest motives.

  Roger