24

Jump Start # 1023

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1023

Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

  What a wonderful promise made by Jesus. This is a promise that has been fulfilled and is lived throughout the world, even today. Christ would build His church. Christ would build His church upon, not any rock, but THIS rock. That rock was more than Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the Living God. That rock is Christ. This is what the church is built upon. Christ is not establishing a hierarchy based upon Peter. Not at all. Christ toppled over hierarchies. The greatest, Jesus said, would be the servant. There was no pecking order among the apostles. There was no succession of rule or power. Those ideas do not come from the Bible.

 

What did Christ build? The easiest answer is to say, “the church.” Right. Now, what does that mean? We use the word “church” to mean three different things. First, we refer to the meeting house as the church. We drive by the church building and we say “that’s our church.” Second, we use the word “church” to refer to worship. Someone asks, “What time does church start?” By that, they want to know when worship begins. Jesus was not referring to these things. He was not talking about church buildings nor the time worship begins. A third way the word church is used, is to describe saved people. Saved people make up the church, the kingdom, the body, the flock and other descriptive terms found in the Bible. This is how Jesus is using this word. Upon this rock, I will build the saved. Jesus is building people. Jesus is saving people.

 

Groups of these saved believers met in communities that we call congregations. They gathered together every Sunday to worship, praise and encourage each other. Paul mentioned several times that the Corinthians came together. They prayed for one another. They sang together. They fellowshipped. They sensed a belonging and a spiritual connection among each other.

 

This was a new experience for the first century world. Pagan worship was individual. There was little bonding among the pagans. Even the Jews had a sense of isolationism. In the Temple, there were a series of court yards that limited how far a person could go. Gentiles could not go beyond the court of the gentiles. Women could not go beyond the court of women. Only the priest could surround the holy place. The synagogues were not much different. Women sat in the back and were silent. The men sat up toward the front.

 

With Christ all of that changed. Moms and Dads, working people, families, single people, widows, those once considered unclean and unfit to enter, would be there, blending voices, praising God, reading God’s word and teaching and preaching. What Christ did was build bridges so all could worship together. Church—it’s God’s idea, not ours.

 

There is a growing movement today among many younger people who claim to be spiritual but not religious. Those terms are not intended to be opposites, but folks are making them that way. Spiritual, meaning, I have a thing going on with God, often on my own terms, often without all that sticky doctrine. Me and God– praising, laughing, connecting, and making a difference. Not a part of any church. Not governed by any person. Doing my own thing as God leads me. Have you heard anything like this? It’s all over the internet and blogs. It’s the theme of far too many books today. Their fellowship is mankind. Their doctrine is love. All of this sounds pretty cool. I think there was a time in my life when I would have signed up for such a journey. I can see myself dancing to that music. There are a few problems with all of this. First and foremost, it’s not Biblical. It’s not what Jesus came to do. Those poor misguided souls who have bought into this liberal theology fail to see that Jesus had a doctrine. There was much more to it than simply love. My little New Testament is 600 pages long. There’s a lot more in those pages than simply praise God, love everyone and don’t judge. It wouldn’t take 600 pages to say that. There are pages that talk about false teachers. There are pages that discuss how to worship. There are pages about morality. There are pages about discipline.

 

What Jesus did was build His church, saved people. He wants us together. He wants us connected. He wants us fellowshipping each other. He wants us to want each other. We need each other. We need each other to help us, support us, encourage us and to make us accountable. We need each other to worship together. Jesus didn’t build individuals, but a church—a community of believers.

 

A congregation is a reflection of the members. A friendly church is the result of friendly members. A strong church comes from strong members. Laodicea, a lukewarm church, had lukewarm members. A dead church, had mostly dead members. A worldly church—worldly members. We often want the church to be different than we are. We want to do whatever we feel like, yet we expect the church to be warm, outgoing, growing and strong. It will never happen until the members are that way.

 

Each congregation has it’s own personality. Some are laid back and a bit causal about things. Others are very formal about things. Some congregations run like a clock. Everything is orderly, on time and never skips a beat. Others seem disorganized and a bit scattered, but they get things done in their own way.

 

How important is your congregation to you? It’s important to God. Have you thought about the people in your congregation this week? Have you found a way to encourage someone? Maybe a phone call, a visit or a card sent in the mail? Have you prayed about your congregation this week? What would you do if your congregation didn’t exist? Have you thought about that? The eunuch from Ethiopia, that we wrote about yesterday, may well have been the only Christian in Ethiopia. I expect before long, there were others. I can just see the eunuch telling others about Jesus. But until that happened, he may have been the only one. How hard that would be. How lonely that would be. There is something special about belonging to a congregation. There is a group of people who support you, have your back and love you. They want you to do well. They want you to go to Heaven. The more a person connects with the community of believers the greater his chances are of making it. Hearts become intertwined. Love, care and support flows easily. It’s great to be a part of an amazing congregation. The group doesn’t have to be large, only large in heart and spirit. That’s what matters.

 

I love the group of believers that I am connected with. They are amazing. They are so busy doing things for others. They love the Lord with all their heart. I wish every person could experience what a church ought to be like—from top to bottom. Leaders who are invested in souls. Deacons who love to serve. Teachers who love to teach. Members who come, packing the building, because they love Jesus and each other. What an amazing group of people. We have in many things in common, but most of all is Jesus. We want to do what Jesus said. We love the Lord and each other.

 

Those who are trying to fly solo on this journey, miss this. They miss the “one another” that the Bible speaks about so often. They miss the connection. They miss what Jesus was trying to do.

 

Sunday is gathering time. Will you be there?

 

Roger

 

23

Jump Start # 1022

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1022

Acts 8:27-28 “So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and as reading the prophet Isaiah.”

 

The eunuch—what a favorite story of those who love the Lord and love to hear lessons about an honest and good heart being moved by the word of God. This account in the book of Acts is packed with lessons—many lessons. There is a lesson about God pulling Philip away from Samaria, where he was teaching multitudes to go talk to one person. One person. One person is important to God. That’s a great lesson.

There is a lesson about prophecy telling us about Christ. What the eunuch read was about the Messiah. It was an easy bridge to cross from that passage to Jesus and Calvary.

There is a lesson about baptism. They traveled and they came upon water. The eunuch, in incredible belief, asked if he could be baptized. Teaching Jesus necessitates telling one about baptism. Not doing that is a failure to show God’s complete story.

But there are some other lessons that are not as obvious. Let’s look at a few of them.

 

First, the eunuch was reading the Bible on his way home from worship. He had been to Jerusalem to worship. Now, he was heading home. In our language today, “church was over.” Yet, there he is reading Isaiah. That’s something. Some leave their Bibles at the church building until next week when they return. Others, toss their Bibles into the back seat and off we go. There is something fresh and remarkable about that eunuch. Maybe that’s why God pulled Philip away and sent him that direction. I wonder if we would do better if we spent more time in the word after worship?

 

Second, the eunuch had his own copy of Isaiah. That doesn’t seem such a big deal to us. It would have been huge back then. I doubt that Philip had a copy. Isaiah was written in three huge scrolls. To own a private copy would have been very expensive. The copies were hand written. Few had a copy in their homes. Most of them were stored in synagogues. This eunuch had his own copy. Amazing! He must have been a person of wealth to be able to do that. It speaks volumes about his faith. He could have bought many things. He bought a copy of Isaiah. I wonder if he had just purchased it in Jerusalem? That would be the likely place to get a copy. A person wouldn’t find a copy in Ethiopia, where he was heading. Remember the feel and the smell of a new Bible in your hands? There is nothing like it. The pages are crisp. The ink is bold. There is a newness about it. Most of my Bibles look like they’ve been dragged by dirt bikes. They are marked up, underlined and well worn. I have a new one, still in the box, sitting in my desk. It’ll come out soon. I’ll trying to get a few more miles out of the current one. The eunuch had his own copy of Isaiah.

 

Third, he was willing to ask questions about what he read. He didn’t pretend to know what he was reading. He was truly confused. He wanted to know. The subject of the Isaiah passage mattered. It mattered to him. He had a special curiosity about him. He was interested and he wanted to know. His mind was working. He was thinking. He needed to know. We need to know.

 

Our faith must be fed. It’s fed by a diet of the word of God. Life experiences can toughen us, but they don’t shape and mold our faith, not like the word of God can. There are no short cuts. A regular habit of reading the Bible builds strong faith. You look at powerful Christians in your life and you’ll see people who have a Bible near them and they turn to it often. That’s the mark of strong faith.

 

One of the best ways to read the Bible is to put the Bible on one arm of your chair and have a pen and pad of paper on the other arm. Like the eunuch, you’ll come across things that you do not understand. Write them down. You’ll see things that you want to remember, use that pen. You’ll find lessons that impress you, mark those down. Do more than just read. Ask questions. Dig for answers. Find connections. Raise the hood on a passage and tear into it until you figure it out.

 

This is how I write these Jump Starts. I’m asked all the time about my “insight” into the Scriptures. How do you see these things, folks have asked. It’s not rocket science. It’s just a matter of looking, thinking, reading. Read a passage out loud. Put yourself in the passage. People then are not a lot different than people today. Look for repeated words. Notice questions. Notice the answer to those questions. Notice reactions. Notice attitudes. Before long you’ll notice all kinds of things. Simple verses will explode with lessons and ideas. Don’t be in a hurry. Don’t chew on too many verses at a time. Give them time to simmer in your mind. You’ll get there. It’s a wonderful journey. It’s an insight that will change your life.

 

The eunuch impresses me. I think he was impressing God as well.

 

Roger

 

 

22

Jump Start # 1021

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1021

Hebrews 12:4 “You have not resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.”

  This passage speaks of a dedicated effort. The athlete will push and push himself, even when he is tired, hurting and doesn’t feel like doing any more, because he wants to win. His drive is strong. The goal is clear in his mind. Those who start their own business will pour hours and hours into the new endeavor. They will sacrifice a paycheck to keep the thing going. They will spend more hours at the business than they do at home. They want the business to take off and succeed. They are dedicated to seeing that done. A college student will do the same. They are driven to graduate on time. They will stay up all hours studying. They will write papers on a Saturday morning. They will work and work at learning because they want that diploma. They are driven.

The drive that our verse is talking about is resisting sin. Earlier in the chapter, the readers were told to lay aside the sin which so easily entangles them. Now this verse. This verse seems to be a reply to those who might want to throw in the towel. This verse may be a response to complaints that it is so hard and that they can’t do it. You have not resisted to the point of shedding blood…

 

Jesus shed His blood to forgive us of our sins. We can’t get far away from that thought. He shed. Have we? Have we resisted so much that we have shed blood?

 

It’s hard to know exactly what the writer had in mind. Some of the Hebrew Christians had been persecuted. They had their property seized. They were made public spectacles. Some were imprisoned. They remained confident and joyful. It seems that some were growing weary of all this. Some were quitting. Some were thinking about quitting. This may be the point. You have resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

 

There may be a bigger picture here. It may touch all of us and our fight against sin. Resist. Resist the devil, James said, and he will flee from you. Resist hard. Resist to the point of shedding blood. There was a desire and drive to strive against sin. Hold on. Hold out. Fight sin.

 

Sin is a choice that begins in the mind. It is a battle for the mind. Our hearts tell us yes. Our hearts find reasons, excuses and ways to engage in sin. Our hearts only see the moment. Our hearts are blind to consequences. Our hearts are interested in fun and being happy. Our hearts forget to run these things by God. Our minds know what God says. Our minds have studied the Bible. So, it’s a struggle between the heart and the mind, or simply, the head and the heart. The heart says, “yes.” The mind says, “No.” The heart tries to convince the mind. The heart says “one time. Just one time.” The heart says, “others are doing worse.” The heart says, “You deserve it.” The heart says, “Have some fun.” The mind says “No.” No. No. No. Head and heart. That’s where temptation knocks the loudest. That’s where the battle is won or lost. Which ever one we listen to, the head or the heart, will determine if we resist sin or give in to sin.

 

Resist. Resist hard. Resist to the point of shedding blood.

 

Consider some “shedding blood”  resistance:

 

1. If every time you are with a certain friend, you find yourself thinking wrong, talking wrong and doing wrong, isn’t time to part company. What if this has been a life long friend? Shedding blood. What if this is someone you have been dating? What if this person got you your job? What if this person helped you out financially? Resist sin to the point of shedding blood.

 

Shedding blood doesn’t sound very easy to me. This isn’t pricking your finger. This is shedding. This is pouring. This is putting your all into it. How serious are you about resisting? So serious, that you’ll end relationships that seem to be taking you away from God?

 

2. If your work environment makes you ungodly and is pulling you away from all that is right, then shedding blood may mean, leaving that job. Shedding blood may mean that you have to take a lesser paying job. It may mean you have to move. It may mean that you suffer, but doesn’t the shedding of blood cause one to suffer. There isn’t a nice way to shed blood. There isn’t a painless way to shed blood. Quitting your job is radical—but so is resisting sin to the point of shedding blood.

 

3. Shedding blood may lead you to getting some professional help to break addictions such as alcohol, porn, gambling or even anger. Some sins can get a hold of us and control us. Cutting free is hard. Some can do it. Others need help. Seeking help admits you have a problem. Seeking help often costs and others find out about your sin. Hiding things is the natural way. Believing things will get better on their own is only a lie that allows us to continue with the addiction. Finding someone to talk to…going to a counselor…checking yourself into a rehab or addiction program is shedding blood. It’s serious. How serious are you about your fight against sin?

 

The battle against sin must be serious and fought courageously. That is the only way victory is possible in Jesus. He is there to help you. He is your strength. He has the answers. He provides the tools. However, we must engage in the battle our self. We must roll up our sleeves and get in there. If we quit at the first sight of blood, then Satan will win. He knows that we are weaklings and won’t put up much of a fight. However, if Satan sees that there is no limit to what we are willing to do to go to Heaven, then he’s in for a battle. John reminds us that “greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.” The wisdom literature tells us that if a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up. He will keep getting up.

 

Do you remember the first Rocky movie? It seems like a long time ago now. Rocky was going down. Bloodied. Eye swollen shut. It looked like Rocky was done. His trainer slit open his eyelid. Radical. Gross. The background music changed, Rocky found some momentum and got back in there swinging. He looked like a champ. He gave it his all. That’s us. Bloodied. Eyes swollen. Looking like a mess. Satan dances because he thinks he has conquered yet another Christian. We get up. Tired. Sore. We face that ugly opponent again. We swing with all that we have. We resist. We refuse to quit. We refuse to compromise. Blood splattering with every hit, we fight and fight until Satan leaves. We resist. We refuse to let sin conquer us. We refuse to simply play church.

 

How hard are you trying? Do you let the easiest thing mess up your attitude? Do you open the door to Satan at the first knock on the door?  Do you recognize sin? Do you turn shows off because they are not decent? Do you flip channels when immodesty  shows up on a commercial? Do you walk away from profane jokes? Do you refuse to take God’s name in vain? Do you defend God and His word? Do you resist? How hard are you resisting?

 

Shedding of blood…that’s serious.  That’s all we have. Put your all into it.

 

Roger

 

21

Jump Start # 1020

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1020

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

  It happened to me over the weekend. This is the second time it has happened to me. The first time, was at a baseball game. This time it happened when I went to the John Williams concert with the Louisville orchestra. Both times, I saw something very special in someone’s eyes and only wish I knew what they were seeing and thinking.

When I lived in Kansas City, I was blessed to go see the Royals (That wasn’t the blessing. They weren’t very good). The blessing was going with my dear friend Freddie, who once played for the Royals. He is loved by the baseball fans who remember his days. I sat at a ballgame with Freddie, a former player. It was great. I looked over several times and could see that he was really seeing things. I enjoyed the game. But I never played professionally. Freddie saw things I never did. He had an appreciation and a level of understanding that I could never grasp. I love asking him questions about the game, but it is a different world to me.

This past weekend, I went to the John Williams concert with my wife and friends, John and Sherry. John is a former classical guitarist. He knows conductors and musicians. He has played at Carnegie Hall. He has preformed in Europe. John no longer plays but he has a vast love and knowledge of composing and preforming. He knows music. He knows instruments. He knows orchestras. He knows the ins and the outs of the classical music world. A few times during the concert, I looked over at John. His eyes were so intense. I wish I saw what he saw. I wish I knew what he was thinking. He has a level of appreciation that I never will understand. His insights were amazing. He picked up on things that I never would have.

 

Our passage shows Jesus seeing things that others could not. It begins by saying, “Seeing the people…” Sure, you and I see people. They are in our way. They slow us down. They mess up our order. They say that they will arrive sometime between noon and five, and it’s usually closer to the five. Oh, we see people, but not like Jesus did.

 

He saw the people “distressed and dispirited.” That second word simply means, “the life was run out of them.” Drained. Empty. Hopeless. Tired. Struggling. That’s how Jesus saw them. He not only saw that, but seeing that, He felt compassion for them. He loved them. He cared for them. He felt what they were going through.

 

The wonderful shepherd section of John 10 reminds us that Jesus came to give life and give it abundantly. What a contrast—those who had life run out of them, Jesus came to fill them up with life. A better life. A new life. A forgiven life. A life with hope and promise. A life that begins with forgiveness.

 

Too often, I feel, we are ready to toss some people out. We tire of their ways and their excuses. We run out of patience with them. We are ready for them to hit the road. We don’t see any hope in their changing. We are ready to give up on them. Not Jesus. Jesus sees things we don’t. Jesus sees things that we can’t. Jesus is willing to wait. Jesus is willing to keep trying. Jesus sees hope. He did that with us. Many of us took some time to make up our minds about Jesus. It took some of us a long journey, involving straying from the path and going off to the wilderness, before we got it together with Jesus. He certainly was patient with us. Many of us had plenty of strong opinions and ideas about how things ought to be. Jesus had to chip away at those things before we were willing to lay down self and follow Him completely. We forget. We forget just what God saw in us. We forget how raw and rough we were at the beginning. We forget how spiritually dumb we were, even though many of us went to church all the time. And today, we are leading families, teaching classes, preaching and doing all kinds of marvelous works in the kingdom. This would not be possible had it not been for Jesus who saw something in us. God is the only one who doesn’t throw away what is broken. He finds a way of making the broken new and using it again.

 

Seeing the people…Jesus did that over and over. Remember the blind man in John 9? The disciples asked about the source of his blindness—his sins or his parents? Not once did they think or ask Jesus to help the blind man. Jesus saw him. He healed him. Remember the bent over woman in the synagogue? She had that problem for 18 long years. Still coming to the synagogue—still believing in God. People saw her each week, but on that particular day, Jesus really saw her. He called her forward and healed her. Remember the man lowered through the roof while Jesus was teaching in a crowded house? The Gospels tell us that Jesus saw their faith. Jesus is always seeing people.

 

Now, what does Jesus see in you? Have you thought about that? We tend to go from one extreme to the other. On one hand, some would say, “He sees nothing in me, because I am a complete mess up.” Others, proudly say, “Jesus sees in me the answer to this generation.” Both attitudes are wrong. Jesus doesn’t see that way.

 

Jesus sees you as someone worth saving. You are not junk. You are not too far gone. Jesus sees someone that He can trust in the kingdom. He wants you taking His word and teaching others. He sees you helping others. He sees you being His hands and His feet. Jesus sees someone that He wants in Heaven.

 

One time, at a Royals game with Freddie, the third baseman was scratching the dirt with his foot. Freddie leaned over and told me that he was moving the center fielder over. I asked, “How do you know that?” He said, “Roger, I played the game.” Later, the second baseman was thumbing his leg with the glove. He said that he was signaling the catcher. I caught the third baseman later scratching his arm. I said, “What does that mean? Who is he signaling?” Freddie smiled, “He has an itch.” Oh, I wish I knew what he knew. I wish I could see what he saw.

 

When I read my Bible, it’s the same way. I wish I knew what Jesus did. I wish I could see what He saw. Through faith, we learn. Through faith, we do open our eyes. Through faith, we can see things that we never saw before.

 

We sing, “Open our eyes, that we may see Jesus.” I wish we could see just how much He loves us. I wish we could see how often He thinks about us. I wish we could see just how much we wants us to spend forever with Him in Heaven. I wish I could truly see all that He has done for me. I wish I could see.

 

Seeing the people…

 

Roger

 

20

Jump Start # 1019

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1019

Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me, I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

  In our verse today, Paul is describing thinking—there is a right way to think and a wrong way to think. Thinking too much of self is definitely the wrong way. Thinking with sound judgment is the right way to think. The word “think” is repeated three times in this one sentence. Most of our problems stem from stinkin’ thinkin’. We get our feels hurt, our feathers ruffled, our nose out of joint because of the way someone treated us. We get worked up, bent out of shape, and upset because of all the negative thinking we put into something. Thinking the way we ought to isn’t easy. It seems that something is always getting in the way and messing things up in our mind.

The end part of this verse, “a measure of faith,” is what I want to focus on. We are to think with sound judgment as God has allotted…” God has allowed sound judgment. Some seem to have more than others. It may be according to this “Measure of faith.”

The word “measure” is fascinating. It comes from the word, “metron.” That word describe an instrument that is used to measure. A watch measures time. Or, it can describe what was measured, such as an hour is a measurement of time. This word, “metron” is where our “metronome” comes from. Music lovers use and understand the metronome. It measures beats in a movement. It is helpful in keeping time when playing music. A section of music is called a “measure.” Here, we talk about a “measure of faith.”

 

Borrowing from the music world, this passage lends to the idea that we each have beat or a note. Not one of us plays the entire score by ourselves. There are no solos here. We blend in with others and make a wonderful sound that the composer had in his mind when he wrote the score. Orchestras are a wonderful example of this. The strings begin a piece, soft and gentle. The woodwinds and other stringed instruments come in, adding depth and flavor. Now the harp, some percussion, and soon the entire orchestra is playing together. Blended, matching and sounding beautiful. Each playing their note and drawn together, it makes a wonderful, wonderful sound. The music is rich and stirring. We each have a measure of faith. None of us has all the faith. The strengthen of a congregation is much more than just the faith of the preacher. It’s in the leadership of the shepherds. It’s in the faithfulness of the sweet widows. It’s in the enthusiasm of the young people. It’s in grandmas, and young families, and deacons. Combined, together, blended—each playing their own part, they are strong, powerful and are just what God wanted. They each have a measure of faith.

 

I witnessed this over the weekend. John Williams was in town conducting many of his famous pieces. You know John Williams—the music to Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Star Wars, ET and many, many other movie sound tracts. Williams has received more Oscar nominations that any other person. We went. Sat in the 8th row, dead center. Amazing. He led the orchestra in playing his music. Piece after piece. Strong. Beautiful. Incredible. One piece, from the movie Lincoln, opens with a solo cello. The first chair cello, sitting just a few inches from John Williams started. Williams turned to him, without waving his baton, the cello started. Everyone was watching. It was the largest crowd in history for this orchestra. The house was packed. The orchestra watched. John Williams watched. The cello just played. Soon the other instruments came in and everyone was playing. Beautiful piece.

 

That was an amazing moment for me. I can not imagine playing in front of a record audience. I can not imagine playing alone before the rest of the orchestra. Worst, I can not imagine playing in front of the composer. He wrote the piece. He knows just how it is to sound. He knows what he wants. It was beautiful. When the piece ended, the audience gave a rousing applause. John Williams stuck his hand out and shook the hand of the cello player. There was a sign of approval. It touched that cello player. The rest of the night, he rarely looked at the audience. He focused upon John Williams. He was playing his music.

 

It struck me about God. God’s book, the Bible, is His score. It is His piece. You and I stand before God, and He watches us. He watches not with a frown upon His face. He watches not with a pencil in hand, ready to mark every mistake we make. He watches with enjoyment as we preform what He has written. Our marriages, when following His word, plays out just as He wanted it to. Our families, our friendships, our fellowship, even our worship—it’s just the way He wrote it. Now, when a person, ignores what God says and plays the music to his own liking, it won’t sound like the conductor wants and it is certainly not the way the composer wrote it. When we follow His lead, when we focus upon what He has written, things are beautiful.

 

Jesus told the man with five talents, “Well done, good and faithful…” He extended His hand, we might say, and shook the hand of the five talent man. That’s the way it is supposed to sound. You played it just the way I wrote it. It was beautiful.

 

Don’t fight God. Don’t try to improve upon what He has written. Don’t think you can make it better. What God has done is the masterpiece. It is brilliant. It is amazing. You and I make it come alive by playing our notes. What a beautiful sound it makes when we follow the lead of our Master.

 

Is your marriage just the way God wrote it? Is He looking at you and saying, “that’s just the way I wanted it?” How about your relationship with the kids? How about your faith? How about your fellowship in the congregation? God had a masterpiece in mind when he wrote the Bible. You and I now get to make it come alive by the way we live.

 

I expect no one enjoyed the Williams concert as much as John Williams did. You could tell. He was having the time of his life. The audience gave him three encores. They would have done more, but he was tired. He loved it. He smiled. He shook the hands of about everyone in the orchestra. He waved and waved to the audience. He knew what it was supposed to be like. It was from his mind and his heart. The orchestra played   the way he wrote it.

 

I wonder if God is the same. I wonder if God gets the most enjoyment when He sees things working just the way He wrote it. I wonder if He smiles and smiles. From His mind and His heart, we live out what He wrote.

 

A measure of faith…a note at a time. Focus upon what you are to play. Play it the best that you can. The applause goes to the composure, who wrote such a wonderful, wonderful piece.

 

Well done, God! I’m thankful I could be a part of something so grand and so wonderful.

 

Roger