24

Jump Start # 1151

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

Jump Start # 1151

Matthew 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

 

Our verse today is found in that powerful 16th chapter of Matthew. It is here that we find Peter’s confession of Christ. Others viewed Jesus as a powerful prophet or teacher, but Peter acknowledged that He was the Son of the Living God. It is also here that Jesus promises to build His church. It is built not upon Peter, but upon what Peter said, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. It is here that the apostles are promised the keys to the kingdom. And it is here where Jesus tells of His coming death. He names the location, Jerusalem; He names the force behind it, the elders and chief priests; He identifies that He will suffer many things; He acknowledges that He will die; and, He states that He will be raised on the third day.

 

That is a lot for one section of Scripture. Hearing the news about His coming death, Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him, saying, “This shall never happen to You.” It is here that our verse follows.

 

Peter didn’t get it. This IS why Jesus came. He came to die as our Savior. If this NEVER happened, as Peter said, we would all be in our sins and headed for the ugly reality of Hell. The Lord’s response to Peter reminds us of two important principles.

 

First, Satan will use anyone or anything to get us. Peter wasn’t really Satan. Jesus knew that. He was acting like Satan. There is nothing Satan would love more than to have a Jesus on earth who never died for our sins. Years later, this same Peter would remind his readers to be on the alert because Satan prowls about like a lion. He’s on the hunt. He’s looking. Satan is powerful, wise, scheming and wicked. The Bible never states anything positive about Satan. He doesn’t play fair. He doesn’t go by the rules. And mostly, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care that his temptations may wreck a marriage. It may send a church into chaos and division. He doesn’t care that what he does causes anxious moments and heartache. He loves to create a mess and he never sticks around to clean it up. It’s God who has to do that. After Adam and Eve sinned, where was the serpent? It was God who came, clothed them and dealt with the sin. In the story of the prodigal son, where was all the friends of the prodigal? Gone. It was the father who ran out to boy. In the parable of the lost sheep, it was the shepherd who went looking for the wayward sheep. God cleans up the mess that Satan causes.

 

The Lord referring to Peter as Satan reminds us how close Satan can be to us. Peter was one of the chosen. He was in the inner circle with James and John. Satan using Peter reminds us that he can use our friends, our family, our jobs, our neighborhoods, even brethren to influence us and tempt us. He loves to discourage us, make us forget that we are followers of Christ, make us feel unpopular.  Facebook can be wonderful and helpful or it can be a tool of Satan to get to you. Satan uses every available means to discourage you, tempt you, distract you and influence you. The books you read, the movies you see, the people you call friends—are all opportunities for Satan to get to you. This is why Peter says, “Be on the alert.” Be watching, because he’s watching you. Recognize him. See him in these things. Don’t let those who are close to you be the way that Satan gets you.

 

Second, Jesus told Peter that he was not setting his mind on God’s interests. God’s interests is the salvation of man. God is interested in redeeming us. Peter had his mind on man’s interests. Man is interested in safe and easy. Man looks for the uncomplicated way through things. Not God. Sin is messy. Sin is hard. Sin must be dealt with in a very serious fashion—the death of Jesus.

 

What a great statement this is. It could be asked in many different avenues. Do we have our minds on God’s interests or man’s interests? Are we minding God’s store or our store? Are we more concerned about our wellbeing than the wellbeing of the kingdom?

 

What is interesting about this passage, is that Jesus didn’t toss Peter out. He said, “Get behind Me, Satan.” Yet Peter remains. He wasn’t finished with Peter. Getting his mind back where it belonged, Peter would be useful and needful to the kingdom. There is a lesson for us. We too quickly and easily, toss a person out and are done with them for life. Defriended. Gone. We don’t give them a chance to do right. We fail to see that we’ve done the same ourselves. We do not allow them to change. Jesus did.

 

Keep your eyes open. Satan is knocking on your door. He’s hoping that you’ll open it, just this once.

 

Roger

 

23

Jump Start # 1150

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

Jump Start # 1150

Matthew 10:2-4 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

 

Our verses today lists the names of the apostles. Chosen by Christ, witnesses of His words, works and mission and the spokesmen for the new kingdom that Christ established. The list is interesting. There are other lists in the Gospels. Peter’s name comes first. Judas’ name last. There were family members, brothers. There were partners in fishing business. Some knew each other. Then there is Simon the Zealot, a radical. A political rebel whose thinking would be to overthrow the Roman government. Then there is Matthew. He is called, “the tax collector.” He worked with and for Romans. He and Simon would have had some very heated arguments. Judas was from Judea, the rest from Galilee.

 

The list of apostles, is much like the make up of a congregation. There is a mixture. In that mix, are friends, and family. In that list are those who probably would never know each other, and especially never be together, such as Simon and Matthew. Some from one region, some from another region. Blue collar workers, those whose living came from doing things with their hands, such as the fishermen, Peter, James and John. Others, such as Matthew, had a desk job and worked with numbers.

 

Some modern writers believe it is imperative to get into the mind and the thinking of these men to understand why and what they intended with their messages. This journey shapes how some see Scripture. One has to understand how a first century fisherman saw the world to understand the basis of his questions and answers. One must know how a tax collector saw himself to grasp what Matthew says. The problem with all of this, at least to me, is that it assumes fisherman all basically thought the same way and that tax collectors all basically thought the same way. Does that work today? With our wide political differences, religious differences, do all doctors basically think the same? Do all preachers basically think the same? See the problem with that. And then to travel back 2,000 years where there is very limited insights about what people thought—it makes understanding a passage a very difficult and questionable task. Jesus said that we can know the truth. I may not know what tax collectors thought or felt, or know how fishermen were wired, but I can know God’s will. My understanding of God’s will is not based upon having to understand how someone thought 2,000 years ago. God’s word works for tax collectors, fishermen and everyone else. It is God’s will that we must know. It is the mind of God revealed that we must focus upon. God’s word had an immediate audience, but it was not intended for that setting alone. God’s word is alive and active today, as it was when it was first delivered.

 

Through Christ, these twelve apostles became shaped, formed and molded into the spiritual leaders that they were. Christ chose busy people. Peter, James and John were busy with their nets when Christ called them. Matthew was at his tax table when called. They were not sitting idle. They were not sleeping. They were not bums. Christ called busy people to become busy in His kingdom.

 

Jesus wanted all of them. Judas was chosen as well as Matthew as well as Simon as well as Peter. Jesus had a vision and a plan for them. Everyone was wanted and needed. That helps us to understand the workings within a congregation. Sometimes some do not feel wanted nor accepted. Some may think that we don’t need the “Matthews” among us. Jesus didn’t see it that way. Some may not want anyone other than fellow fishermen. Jesus didn’t see it that way. Some may want a church with only people from the same area, Jesus didn’t see it that way.

 

And there they are. Peter, outspoken. Judas, a thief, who even stole from Jesus. Thaddaeus, who seems very quiet, at least from the Biblical record. Philip, who doesn’t know what to do when Jesus tells him to find food for the 5,000. A mixture of faith, dedication and love. Some seem to get the concept fast, others it took some time. So it is in the congregation. Some seem to get in trouble for suggesting the wrong thing and some getting into arguments with each other about greatness. A look at these twelve is a mirror to a congregation.

 

There is one component that kept them together and kept them focused and that is Jesus. He was the compass. He was the voice. He was the center. Without Jesus, this unit would have dissolved quickly. Most would have quit. Most would not have spoken to each other. Jesus was the difference.

 

Can we see that in a congregation? We are different. We are Peter and we are Matthew. We are Simon and we are Thaddaeus. Jesus never tried to make twelve Peters. He didn’t make Simon and Matthew go into a room and settle their differences. He didn’t start a subunit of the apostles nor allow Judas to head up the southern branch of the apostles. There was no such thing. In a congregation we have some that are outspoken. They are the first to see things, suggest things and do things. There are some, like Philip who do not see solutions. They see problems. There are some who may not like each other, like a Simon and a Matthew. What a mixture a congregation can be. Educated and simple. Blue collar and white collar. Different races. Different backgrounds. Different thinking. Too often those differences drive wedges that separate and leads to dividing the congregation. It is much easier today to find those who are like us and start our own congregation than it is to learn to love, accept and get along with those we differ with. Matthew, today, would have a congregation of tax collectors. Simon, would worship with fellow political rebels. The fishermen would have their own congregation. That’s the way we operate today. Jesus didn’t. Together. Learn from each other. Help each other. If we are accepted by Christ, then we ought to accept each other.

 

There in lies the real problem. Because some are different, we question whether they belong because we question whether they have truly been accepted by God. Those from Judea are different than the Galileans. Maybe, they aren’t true believers. Oh, the judging starts. We question. We become suspicious. We doubt. We avoid. We become stand offish. We do the very thing the apostles didn’t do.

 

Can we learn from them? Can we quit trying to make everyone into a Peter or a Matthew and let them grow in their own way, with their own talents? You don’t see Jesus telling Thaddeaus to speak up more. You don’t find Jesus telling Matthew, I wish you were more like Peter. Never happened. Be like Christ. Become shaped by Jesus. The cookie-cutter thinking doesn’t work. Not everyone can teach. It’s the worst thing for some. Pressuring or guilting someone into that is like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Not all can lead. If they did, who would follow? Not all can preach. Not all are planners. Don’t change everyone into one model or mode that you think fits best. Jesus didn’t do that with the apostles. He used their personalities and talents for the kingdom. We need to learn the same. Be thankful for the Peters, the Matthews and the Simons.

 

Each of us are useful. Each of us can add to the kingdom. Each of us must be ourselves, but we all must be Christ like. Christ living in us—Peter, James, John, Matthew and Simon. Not the same. Not doing the same. But all believers who are after the same thing. That’s the key.

 

We can learn from those apostles. They help us see each other. Thanks be to Christ, that brings us together and sees a need for each of us in His kingdom.

 

Roger

 

22

Jump Start # 1149

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

Jump Start # 1149

Matthew 23:23  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

 

Matthew 23 is a tough chapter. Jesus blasts the hard-headed, hypocritical Pharisees. There are those who love this chapter because Jesus calls names. They like to call others names and so they find justification here in Jesus. Many fail to realize that Jesus had been teaching and demonstrating through miracles who He was. This had been going on for three years. They still didn’t get it. They still challenged, tested and accused Him. They were unwilling to accept Jesus for who He truly was. Now, down to the wire, just shortly before the cross at Calvary, Jesus gets very plain and blunt with them. Those that look to Jesus as a hero in calling others out need to understand the background first.

 

There are a series of things that the scribes and Pharisees were doing wrong. They had misplaced the emphasis. Their faith had become empty and external. There was nothing on the inside. It was fake. Our verse is just one example of that.

 

They were very strict about tithing seeds. Have you given much thought about how slow and tiresome that could be. Seeds are small. I bought some flower seeds this year. Three thousand seeds came in one small bag. The Jews in Jesus’ day would spread those seeds out and divide them by counting to ten. Out of the ten, one would go to God and the rest would be used to plant. How tedious this was. Jesus never said that this was wrong nor a waste of time. The verse ends, “without neglecting the others.” Jesus wanted them to do this. This was taking their faith seriously. It was good to include God in all things, even seeds.

 

Where they fumbled was they were not that careful with their hearts. Give them a handful of seeds and they seemed to get that right. But matters such as justice, mercy and faithfulness—they missed those. Justice, what is right. Justice—meaning doing things just or right. Not looking the other way. Not bending the rules. Doing things right. Justice is how we look at ourselves. They had a track record of not being too serious about that. Remember the woman caught in adultery and brought to the temple before Jesus? They did this to trap Jesus.  Many things wrong there. Remember the question about divorce? They were trying to trap Jesus. A heart that is trying to trick, test or trap someone, is not a good heart. Something was missing.

 

Mercy is how we respond to others. We need to be just with selves, and have mercy with others. Mercy is not tolerance, nor looking the other way. Mercy involves forgiveness. To have mercy, a person must have a heart. I’ve found that there seems to be many “heart-less” folks these days. They are hard, mean, demanding and above all, unwilling to forgive. In James it says, if we are merciless, then God will have no mercy for us. Jesus, in the example prayer, stated that if we do not forgive, neither will God forgive us. The lack of justice and mercy paints a picture of someone who is hard on others but breaking the rules themselves. They expect others to toe the line, but they don’t. Double standards. Unforgiving.

 

Faithfulness—driven by faith. Faithful, first and foremost, to God. Faithful to the cause. Faithful to God’s word. Faithful to one another. Loyal. Dedicated. Committed. Those are the companions to faithfulness.

 

These Jews were good at counting seeds, but failed to do the things that really counted. What good is it to give God one out of every ten seeds, when they were ugly towards others, heartless and faithless in their walk with God. Seed counting doesn’t compensate for being shallow, empty and godless on the inside.

 

And there it comes to us. We can be sticklers for certain doctrinal points, but gossipy, annoying, and avoiding others who are different than we are. Get it right on the inside first, then start counting the seeds. Getting the seeds right doesn’t make up for not getting the heart right. I’ve read discussions on line where folks accuse, get mean and call names because of some trivial differences. We need to be right with God. We need to obey God. The book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” isn’t a Biblical model. We need to sweat ALL stuff. We need to get serious, be serious and be right. But it starts with the insides. Have the mind of Christ in you the Philippians were told. Paul said, “Christ lives in me.” The Galatians were told that Christ was to be formed in them. The Romans were told that they were to be conformed to the image of Christ. Imitate Christ. Christ is our example. Over and over and over, the New Testament drums that theme. Our attitudes. Our language. How we handle differences. These are all shaped and formed by Christ in us.

 

Justice, mercy and faithfulness—those are foundation stones to what we believe. Missing those, misses everything. It doesn’t matter how many seeds you count, if you miss the core principles. How are you treating others? How serious are you taking things? Do you think before you speak? Do you expect others to do things that you know you won’t do?

 

You wonder if these Pharisees that Jesus was addressing ever got in arguments, fussed and got ugly while counting seeds? You wonder, as they counted those seeds, what was going through their heads? If mercy, justice and faithfulness was missing, was it contempt, greed and complaining? You wonder if they “miscounted” some seeds now and then, since faithfulness wasn’t something that they were concerned about?

 

We must wonder the same about us? Our worship? The way we treat others? Our seriousness to what God says? This chapter would use two illustrations to describe the hearts of those Pharisees. They were like a dish that was washed on the outside, but the inside was filthy. They were like a tombstone, white and nice on the outside, but under the ground was dead bodies. The inside of the cup. Under the ground. The weightier provisions of the law. These folks sure looked good on the outside. But it’s the inside that comes out. It comes out in our words, choices, attitudes. Ugly thoughts. Mean words. Condemning attitudes. Critical of others. Those are the very things that these Pharisees were guilty of. They, like the elder brother in the story of the prodigal, stayed home with the Father, worked hard, but missed the whole point of things. They looked so much better than the younger brother who was out living sinful. However, it was the younger brother, whose pure and honest heart made him see himself and come home that trumps the cold heart of the elder brother.

 

What’s on the inside? That’s what Jesus is after. That’s what He is interested in. Don’t stop counting seeds, but count seeds with thankfulness, joy and love. Count seeds, building faith, mercy and justice within you. Counting seeds doesn’t do much good when there’s nothing on the inside.

 

Jesus sure has a way of saying things. He knew. He always does.

 

Roger

 

21

Jump Start # 1148

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

Jump Start # 1148

John 8:2 “Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.”

 

Yesterday, I started with this verse in one of my sermons. What follows is the sad story of a woman being caught having immoral sex and being brought into the temple by some angry men who were bent on disproving Jesus. Shouts of stoning her filled the air. In a moment, her life nearly ended.

 

There are some powerful lessons that come from that section. Lessons about grace. Lessons about taking the next step with Christ. But some of the greatest lessons are found in our verse today. Let’s notice a few.

 

EARLY IN THE MORNING. Early in the morning Jesus is up, dressed and at the temple. I like that. I’m a early riser. There is something about a new morning. It was early in the morning that the women gathered to the tomb of Jesus and found it to be empty. In the Old Testament, God sent His prophets out early in the morning. No laziness about God or Jesus. Up early. In the temple. How the morning starts often sets the tone for the rest of the day. If we start behind schedule, we find our selves racing the rest of the day. Starting the day upset, mad, stressed will certainly color how you see everything else in the day. Try getting up a bit earlier. To do this, you may have to go to bed a bit earlier. Try starting the day with a prayer. Try giving God your day. The thoughts behind our devotional, “Jump Starts,” comes from this concept. It was developed to be sent out early in the morning so you could start the day with a verse and a few thoughts. “Jump Start” your day—just like jump starting a car, it was hoped that this would get your mind in a spiritual place. So many of our readers have commented about how this has been helpful to them. I’m thankful. Early in the morning.

 

HE CAME INTO THE TEMPLE. Now there are different reasons for getting up early in the morning. We do this sometimes to catch a flight at the airport. Or we may have to beat traffic so we must leave early. Jesus went to the temple early in the morning. I understand that there were gates around parts of the temple. I don’t know if they were always open. But on this day, early in the morning, Jesus made his way into the Temple. The temple is where God’s presence was. The temple meant worship. The temple was good and right. The next few verses reveal how some thought nothing of bringing an unclean and sinful person into the temple. They didn’t care. They were after Jesus. They were so blinded with hatred and envy that they didn’t even think about God and the Holy Temple. Starting the day in the temple—what a great way to begin the day. I wish there was a way we could all meet at the church building before work and school have a prayer and then go. Doesn’t work out the way so many of us are spread out these days.

 

HE SAT DOWN. Jesus did this often. He sat in a boat and taught. The sermon on the mount was taught sitting down. It seems that He sat most times when He taught. That’s just the opposite of what we do. I stand. I stand behind a pulpit. Once in a while I’ll teach a class sitting down. It’s more informal to me. I suppose Jesus didn’t walk about much when He taught. He sat. Sitting relaxes people. Sitting takes away the air of authority. Although He had authority, it didn’t come from His posture but rather His words. Jesus wasn’t bossy. His body language would be criticized by the experts today. He was His own man. He sat. I like that. I told some recently, that I’d like to preach a sermon sitting in a pew. “The sermon from the pew,” is what I’d call it. Not sure what I’d do with it, but I like that title and idea. He sat down.

 

HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM. That’s Jesus. Always teaching. Sometimes it was just the apostles. Other times it was the whole multitudes. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus as He taught. Her sister, Martha, was bothered and distracted about the whole thing. Jesus taught. What a great way to begin the day. So Jesus wasn’t the only one in the temple early in the morning. Others were there. He had an audience. Did they know He would be there? Did they realize what a blessing they had to listen to Jesus.

 

You and I can listen and learn from Jesus. We can do that early in the morning. Find a moment, open to the Gospels and read. A good place to start would be right here in John 8. Look at all that happened. Watch Jesus. Interesting. You’ll see things. You’ll learn things.

 

Start the day with Jesus—what a great way to get about things.

 

Give it a try!

 

Roger

 

 

 

18

Jump Start # 1147

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1147

Psalms 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

 

Our verse today reflects two thoughts that the Psalmist had. First, he recognized that the day was a gift from the Lord. The Lord, he said, has made this day. Today is a gift. We might be busy with work or a full schedule of things we must do, but without this day, none of that would matter. We often take each day for granted. We just assume that there will be a tomorrow. Someday there won’t be. The gifts will stop, and this world as we know it will end. The Lord has made today. We need to be thankful .

 

Secondly, he recognized that the value of rejoicing and being glad. Those are choices. Those are attitudes. It’s ok to smile. It’s ok to be happy. It’s ok to enjoy the day. So often we deal with the other side of our emotions. We talk about being discouraged, depressed, down. We see wars starting up, gas prices are high, this is wrong and that is not right and life becomes a drudgery that we tread through. If we can only make it to the end we think, then it will be alright. Misery, pain and unhappiness seem to be constant companions. They make us complain about everything from the weather, the room temperature, the traffic and length of church services. Woe is me becomes our motto and theme of life.

 

The Psalmist didn’t agree with that. Rejoice. Be glad. Smile. Enjoy the day. Be happy. It’s ok. God’s not going to be upset with you if you enjoy the day He has made. Happy Christians are contagious. You walk into a church building and are greeted by smiles, hugs and joyful conservations, it makes you want to stick around. The opposite is just as true. You walk in to some places, it’s like walking into a funeral home. Frowns, whispers, and stern looks greet you at the door. The first thing that crosses your mind is that they don’t want me here. I’m not welcome. It doesn’t take much of that for me to decide very quickly, I’ll be somewhere else next time.

 

Let us rejoice and be glad. What a delightful command. Rejoice is deeper than happiness. Being happy is based upon who you are with and what is going on. It is determined by what is “happening.” Happiness is set by what happens. Joy or rejoicing, is based upon deep relationships with the Lord. This is why Paul in a Roman prison could rejoice. His “happenings” were not the best, but his relationship, love and faith in the Lord was supreme. He could rejoice in the Lord.

 

This is why a person could be sitting in the dentist’s chair, and be rejoicing. This is why a person can be up to his eyeballs in work, very busy, yet rejoicing in the Lord. Tired and rejoicing—not opposites. Busy and rejoicing—yes. You don’t have to be on a vacation to rejoice. You don’t have to have a day off to rejoice. It’s an inside kind of thing. It’s who you are, it’s what God has done, it’s not based upon the weather or traffic patterns.

 

Smiling Christians—those are my favorites. They just warm the insides and make you feel good.

 

Rejoice today. This is the day God has made. It’s ok to do that. It’s ok to feel good on the inside about life. God is good. That’s what matters the most.

 

 

Enjoy the day!

 

Roger