22

Jump Start # 1587

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1587

Mark 9:48 “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

  I’ve been on the road a lot lately preaching in other places. When I’m gone, we have a huge talent pool at home that fills in for me. I’ve been listening to some of those lessons, trying to catch up on things I have missed. My friend, Bob, preached an amazing lesson on the subject of being lost. He referred to our verse today. I’ve been thinking about that verse.

In Mark nine, Jesus repeats this statement three times. It always follows a brutal statement.

 

  • If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. Better to be crippled than go “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
  • If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. Better to be lame than go “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
  • If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out. Better to be blind than to go “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

 

What horrific words. What a scary thought. You won’t find our verse cross stitched on some grandma’s sofa pillow. You won’t find it on a plague hanging on someone’s kitchen wall. You won’t find this verse in the list of favorite verses. Try teaching this verse in a kid’s Bible class. You’ll have the class running in fear and parents ready to toss you out the window. This verse doesn’t fit in the theology of the modern church. They have a high-fiving, good times Jesus who tells stories, winks at wrongs and pats kids on the head. Modern theology has out grown the subject of Hell. Few talk about it. Some don’t even talk about sin any more. If there is no sin, there won’t be any Hell. Everyone goes to Heaven. What a happy, happy neighborhood we have built by hand picking what verses we will use.

 

Jesus didn’t paint a false picture. The merciful God is also a just God. He wants us to be righteous and holy. He wants us to walk with Him. There is no side stepping that principle. To reject God is to reject any hope of salvation.

 

Two thoughts from our verse today:

 

Jesus is not talking about actually harming the body. He does not want you to cut off your hands and feet. Those are not the cause of our problems. A few pages earlier in Mark, Jesus said the source of our sins was from within. It is out of the heart that comes evil thoughts, fornications and such things. Cutting off the hands, feet and plucking out the eye will not stop immoral and wicked thoughts. Jesus is stressing the extreme sacrifice of putting Heaven first. Nothing should stand in the way of Heaven. Without a hand, foot or eye, one is considered handicapped. He is limited in what he can do. It is better to do without and not miss Heaven.

 

How important is Heaven to you? That’s what Jesus is driving at. What would you give up for Heaven? Would you walk away from friends that are taking you down the wrong path? Would you change a college major because your mind is getting polluted with false doctrine? Would you quit your job because it’s destroying your soul? Would you move to a different city if it saved your soul? Would you stop going to concerts, if that is what it took for you to be righteous and holy? Would you find a different congregation if that is what it took to help you be spiritual? Would you drive 50 miles one way to worship and be part of a growing church? Would you stop going to family reunions because they destroyed you with guilt and shame?  Just how far would you go for the Lord? Cut off your hand? That is so drastic. There is no growing your hand back. There is not changing your mind once it’s done. The literal amputation of the hand would be painful, and it would limit what you could do for the rest of your life. Some of the choices you make in life may be painful and they may limit you if that is what it takes to get to Heaven. Jesus is showing the seriousness of this. Many don’t see this. Some admit, “Sure, I do a few things here and there that I probably shouldn’t, but I still go to church on Sunday.” That guy isn’t serious about Heaven. “A little flirting at work is just innocent fun.” Really? You’re not serious about Heaven. “I don’t want to be a fanatic.” You’re not serious about Heaven. So, your family thinks you are taking things to the extreme. Jesus did. He had the cross. So, others say, “You don’t have to do that.” You know better. You do. You want to go to Heaven. Painful, limiting sacrifice. That’s what is found here. It is better to have sacrificed and survived than to be whole and lost.

 

Jesus also graphically tells of the punishment of Hell. The picture, just as graphic as amputation, shows fires that never go out and worms that never die. I’ve been doing some gardening this week. I’ve run into a few worms. You don’t find them on the side walk sunning. Those worms are dead. Worms are found in the mud, muck and mire. The environment that keeps worms alive sickens many of us. That’s where worms are. That’s the image of punishment. It’s not pleasant. It’s not nice. It’s not corrective. It’s awful. It’s made for Satan and his kind.

 

The theological question often asked, “Does the punishment fit the crime?” Who says it has to? Get the American legal system out of your head. This isn’t “Law and Order.” This is God. A person who lives a life without God, gets to spend an eternity without God. That means fire and worms. That’s life without God. Too busy. Too bored. Too smart. No need. Church too traditional. Don’t like preaching. Don’t like the music. Too many rules. Too many hypocrites. Come up with whatever reason you may for not following God and that path takes you to worms and fire. You can’t have it your way and still have Heaven. You don’t deserve Heaven. God doesn’t owe you Heaven. You may think your life here is “Hell,” it’s not. Here you have options and choices. There are no worms and fire here. The worst day you have here will still be far better than any day in Hell.

 

God doesn’t send someone to Hell for shoplifting or saying a word that they shouldn’t say. God allows a person to choose Hell because they don’t want Him. We are not sent to Hell. We’ve chosen Hell. God is only granting what we want. So continue to drink the poison of false religion, fall into the trap of entertainment worship, ignore God, close your eyes to the Bible, do as you please and you have chosen for yourself, an eternity without God.

 

Man, those are harsh words. Those aren’t nice. You won’t fill a church house with that kind of thinking. Well, what’s the alternative? Ignore the worm and fire verses? Preach a happy Jesus. Allow folks to do what they want. Fall in line with men claiming to be women. Marry who ever and what ever you feel like. Let society determine doctrine. Be more concerned about global warming than eternal fire. Save the whales but abort the human babies. Get, grab and go as much as you can. God made us. God put us here. God wants us to live with Him, through Him and by Him. We ought to be thankful and glorify Him every day. Sunday ought to be the best day of the week for us. We ought to long to be with God’s people, praising Him as He wants.

 

How serious are you about Heaven? What are you willing to do to get there? What are you willing to give up to get there? A hand? A foot? An eye?

 

Roger

 

21

Jump Start # 1586

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1586

Judges 2:10 “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.”

 

Solomon said, “a generation goes and a generation comes” (Ecc 1:4). Modern times have put labels on each generation. There are baby boomers, and Millennials, Generation X, and Generation Y. My dad’s generation is considered “The greatest generation.” Each generation is different. Each generation faces unique challenges and trials. There have been wars and depressions. There have been terrorist attacks and men walking on the moon. There have been floods and earthquakes. Some generations have witnessed many changes. Some have gone from no electricity to cell phones. Each generation has had stars and heroes. Each generation has seen changes from the previous generation. My grandma had hobos. I had hippies.

 

Our passage today reflects the passing of one generation and the coming of the next generation. The handing of the keys wasn’t smooth nor good. Joshua was the link to Moses. He knew Moses. He knew the 10 Commandments. He saw the plagues. He saw the Red Sea open up. There was Moses and then there was Joshua. But now it was time for Joshua to go. There arose another generation. This generation was moving a different direction. They did not know the Lord. What follows is sad:

 

  • Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord (11)
  • They forsook the Lord (12)
  • They followed other gods (12)
  • They bowed themselves down to the other gods (12)
  • They served Baal (13)

 

These verses concern every parent and every concerned Christian. As we hand the keys over to the next generation, what will happen? Will the next generation love what we have loved? Will they cherish the things of the Lord? Will they be faithful and obedient to the Lord? Will they continue on with the Lord?

 

Three lessons from this:

 

1. Each generation owes it to the next generation to teach them the word of God. Simple lessons must be repeated over and over and over. The younger ones must know. They must understand what the Scriptures teach. They must know what the Bible says. They must understand the difference between traditions and Bible. It is our duty to show them, teach them and instruct them. They need to know what God says.

 

For some reason Joshua’s generation didn’t teach the next generation. The passage says, “They did not know the Lord.” Why? Why did they not know? Was there no teaching? Was there no examples? Was there no guidance? Was there no answering questions? They didn’t know. Some how the ball was dropped. And that would affect future generations.

 

There must be some patience from those of us who know. We must remember that others do not know. So, lessons that we have heard before, must be taught again and again. Simple lessons. The same lessons.

 

 

2. Once error starts, it continues. Crack the door just  a bit here, and those that follow will open it wide. What one generation allowed, the next will take farther. This is especially true if there is no Bible teaching. We see this with the history of Israel’s kings. We see this in our times. Look the other way, when it comes to living together. Look the other way when it comes to divorce for any reason. The next step is looking the other way for homosexual relationships. Now, it’s same sex marriages. The door is still being opened. What follows will be one person with multiple mates, polygamy. It won’t stop there. After that, marriage to pets. Wait, it won’t stop there. Then parents will be marrying their own kids. Farther and farther and farther away from God. We see this with the entertainment driven churches. They keep trying to please the crowds. More food. More shows. More fun. More laughter. Less Bible. No doctrine. No talk about sin. No righteous stuff. No rules. No accountability. Shallow. Hollow. Superficial. Empty. Nothing. Cheap talk. Nice words. No changing. No walking like Christ.

 

The slippery road down the slope of error is slow and gradual. It is often not even noticed. A step here and a step there and before long, after a few generations, they are so far from where it all started. Look at religious history—this is the story. Where the modern church is today is so far from where their founders started. Yet, they started by stepping away from the Bible. Once that happened, it’s hard to say what is going on today is wrong.

 

3. Once the door is opened, it cannot be closed. There is no going back. The days of Mayberry are over. It will never happen again. We have gone too far down the road. This is the danger of error. It takes people to places they never intended to be but once the door was opened, they could not close it. Shameful words spoken on TV was never allowed just a generation ago. What is PG today, would have been R a generation ago. The door is opened and there is no closing it.

 

What then can we do? Are we destined for these things? Is there any hope? Yes. The hope is in Jesus. Not as a nation, and not as a society, or even a generation, but as individuals, one by one, we can become righteous, holy and pure in the eyes of the Lord. God’s will can become our will.

 

All of this happens through teaching of God’s word. A generation arose that did not know the Lord. More specifically, a family arose, kids arose, that did not know the Lord. Do you see how important it is to stand for the Lord and to teach His ways.

 

Wouldn’t it have been so wonderful to read, “and another generation arose, and it followed the Lord completely.” That can be your family story. That can happen. It won’t just happen, but with teaching and love, it is happening today.

 

Roger

 

20

Jump Start # 1585

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1585

Philippians 3:2 “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision”

  Our verse today reminds me of a parent who is handing the keys of the family car over to their teenager as she plans to go visit some friends. Be careful…be careful…be careful. Paul’s words were more serious. Three times he uses the word “Beware.” As Dorothy and the Tin Man danced down the yellow brick road, they sang, “Lion, tigers and bears, oh, my.” Paul’s list includes dogs, evil workers and false circumcision. Oh, my!

 

Some thoughts here:

  Paul was trying to protect the brethren from danger. We need that. We can be naïve. We can be gullible. We can drink the poison of false doctrine without even recognizing it. Some can even ask for a second glass. Wolves who look like sheep was a warning Jesus made in the sermon on the mount. Ezekiel, long ago, used the analogy of the watchman who sees enemy coming. If he blows the trumpet he has done his job. If he blows the trumpet and the people ignore him, then they are at fault. However, if he sees danger coming, and does not warn, then the blood of the people will be upon him.

 

We need moms and dads to sound the warning to their kids. There is a lot of dangerous stuff out there that young people can innocently fall into and it can leave deep scars and mess them up for a long, long time. Drugs, alcohol, and porn can become life long battles. Parents know. Some have fought these battles all of their lives. Warnings should be sounded. Teaching purity, modesty and righteousness will affect what they do on dates and when they are with a group of friends. Knowing when to leave a party or when to leave a group of friends because things are not going the right direction will save them from so many heartaches. Will they know when to leave? Warnings. Beware…beware…beware.

 

We need shepherds in God’s kingdom to sound warnings to the sheep they are watching. How can one do his job when he sees the sheep eating poisonous grass. How can he sit back and see the sheep heading to a dangerous cliff or walking too close to a wolf. Beware…beware…beware. In the disguise of religion, particularly, religious blogs, books and videos, all kinds of poison is being offered. It sounds good. The guy even uses some verses. The naïve, the gullible will take it in without consideration. He won’t think things out. He doesn’t see the false doctrine. He doesn’t see the error that he is now accepting and believing. Teaching God’s word and knowing the word of God is a must.

 

Trouble often comes in a trinity. Here it is dogs, evil workers, and false circumcision. These were Jewish false teachers, Christians who had ulterior motives, and those who were set to cause harm to the kingdom. Their ways were wicked. Their thinking was bent. They intentions were misguided. The results would be harmful. In Timothy, we read of some who had “shipwrecked” the faith of others. This passage reminds me of being in a room with several two year olds. You can’t take your eyes off of them. This one is going here and that one is going there. Another one is putting something in his mouth that he shouldn’t. Another one is throwing something at another child. About thirty minutes of that and most of us are done for the day. Trouble often comes in packs. I don’t see, nor think that this was a united effort against the kingdom. The dogs, evil workers and false circumcision just happened to be present because God’s people were present. We can put all of our attention upon dealing with the dogs when the false circumcision enters the back door.  Trouble is like that. Be alert, Peter says. Beware, is what Paul says here.

 

  Paul called this trouble what they really were: false, evil and dogs. Those are not nice words. These were not nice people. They were hurting God’s people. They were a real threat. Recognize them. Call them for what they are. Some have trouble with this. Some would even call a snake, “nice.” No, way. “Nice and dead,” maybe, but never, NICE. Paul didn’t try to turn a negative into a positive. He didn’t put a nice spin on this problem. He wasn’t optimistic about them. This is what they are and this is what you need to know. There are some who want to see you fail. There are some who would love to see a “For Sale” sign in the front yard of the church building. There are those who have no interest in the goodness of the Gospel. They want to shut what you do down. They want to silence your voice. They want to unplug your influence. They want you to go away and never be seen again. That’s not nice! They are not nice! That’s the point of this passage.

 

So what were the Philippians to do? Go and hide? Run away? No. They were to stay the course. They were to keep on keeping on. They were to keep their eyes on the horizon and sail onward. Trouble must be dealt with. Preachers and parents must prepare our young people as they head off to college. Equip them with the answers that they need to deal with evolution, the spirit of tolerance, and the pull to worship at the “happy-clappy” places. Young Daniel made up his mind ahead of time that he would not eat the king’s food (Dan 1:8). He was prepared. He was equipped.

 

We must not be afraid to call spiritual poison for what it is. It is wrong. It is dangerous. It is deadly. Recognize why things are wrong. Recognize the danger. Don’t be recommending books that are dripping with poison and error. Don’t put a “like” on Facebook to things that God doesn’t like, whether it’s a picture, post or comment. I’ve seen far too many Christians reposting articles that are laced with bad language. Shame on us. Some have even said, “It’s a good article, with a few bad words.” Would you hand a child a cookie and tell his mom, “It’s a good cookie with a few drops of poison.” Beware…beware…beware.

 

Some have made Christians so nice that saying anything negative is liken to cussing to them. Let’s be real. The world is dangerous, especially to Christians. There are many traps and dangers out there. Recognize trouble and beware of it.

 

We can be safe but we must remain Biblical and be street smart. That’s the key. Some, even on God’s side of things, don’t get it. They muddy the water and dilute the message. They are doing more harm than good. Be Biblical. Be true to the message and the word. And, be street smart. Keep your eyes open. Be watching. Satan’s out there. He will use anything and anyone to get you.

 

With Christ, you can succeed. With Christ, you can make it. Keep your eyes open and follow the Savior.

 

Roger

 

19

Jump Start # 1584

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1584

2 Corinthians 11:28 “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

  Our verse today is found at the end of a list of things that Paul had endured since he took up preaching Christ. He is telling these things not to brag, but to counter criticism from some Corinthians who did not feel that he was a true apostle. They were chipping away at some of the things he had said. It was not his reputation at stake, but his authority as an apostle. God had granted him the right to not just preach and teach but to bind and loose the commands of Heaven. Paul had said some tough things to the Corinthians. Typical of human nature, they attacked the messenger rather than looking deeply within themselves. This is what the Jewish audience did to Stephen.

 

Paul contrasts his journey and walk with the Lord to those loud mouth critics. He says that he was in far more labors, far more imprisonments, often in danger of death. Then he pulls back the curtain and shows us what he experienced. It wasn’t pretty. Apostles were not esteemed. In other places Paul says, “we are the scum of the earth,” and so they were. Beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, dangers from all sorts of people, hungry, thirsty, sleepless, cold—most of us would wonder, “why do this?” Because Christ went to the cross. Why not quit? Because Jesus never did.

 

We look at this list and then we must hang our heads. Whining preachers complain if they don’t have the latest gadget. We sigh because services are a bit long one Sunday. We nearly explode if the air conditioner goes out during services. It’s so hard being a Christian, we tell ourselves. It’s embarrassing to think that, when we see what this apostle endured. Without this chapter, we wouldn’t know much about this. He never brags about these things. He never uses these things as a “I’m better than you are,” spirit. He did what he could for the Lord. He was willing to be worn out in service to the Lord. He would not let others stop him.

 

Then comes our verse. Aside from all of these external things, there were internal things. I tend to think these things bothered Paul more than the externals. The externals were unbelievable. But the internals were the things that were dearest to Paul’s heart. The external things were attacks upon Paul’s body. The internal things were the wellbeing of the brethren and the churches. He truly loved those young churches. He wanted them to do well. In so many places, they struggled.

 

  • The Galatians nearly devoured each other with Jewish and Gentile issues over the law.
  • The Romans struggled with pointing fingers at each other over eating meats
  • The Philippians had some who were not in harmony
  • The Ephesians had coming trouble through false teachers
  • The Corinthians sued each other. They were divided. They misused the Lord’s Supper. The looked the other way concerning a serious moral failure among them.

 

Would these churches make it? Would they destroy each other from within? Paul had serious concerns about these places. His prayers were for these brethren.

 

The daily concern of the churches was on Paul’s mind. Here are some thoughts for us:

 

1. I wonder if we have a concern about the congregation we are with. Not just a daily concern, any concern. Do we ever think about the people? Do we pray for them? Do we know what is going on? Do we care? Even among leaders, this question must be asked. It must be asked because there too often is little evidence that they care. A caring heart will try to make things better. A caring heart will be involved. Are our prayers only for our self and our friends? Do we pray for the congregation? If no one cares, the place will far apart.

 

2. Our interest must primarily be among the people we worship with. We do not have the burdens of all the churches. This is not our responsibility nor our work. Some seem to want to know what is going on everywhere. They are more nosey than anything else. They don’t do anything with that information other than tell others. We must be careful about sticking our noses in places that we do not belong. Paul had that authority and right. We do not. Our interests must focus upon where we worship, labor and fellowship.

 

3. Churches change. Some get stronger, others become weaker. It’s not a cycle that all go through. It’s based upon the energy, the interests, the commitment and the closeness to the Lord. Churches that seem stuck can become “unstuck” and moving in the right direction, if they put that desire before them and make the right choices. We don’t have to accept status quo. We don’t have to just continue to coast along. We can make a difference in this generation and the next by stepping things up. Excellence in worship, leaders who shepherd, preachers who are passionate, members who care—that’s the key. That will bring about real changes that are Biblical, positive and pleasing to the Lord.

 

Paul was concerned about the churches. We may be more concerned about a scratch on our car than a soul that is not doing well. Start taking interest in where you worship. Spit shine the place. Have folks over in your home. Encourage the preacher to teach some classes during the day and then go to those classes. Do more. Do better. Don’t wait for others, it may never happen.

 

Daily concern for the churches—leads to daily prayers and daily actions.

 

Paul went through a lot. I think the internal concern for those churches ate him up the most.

 

Roger

 

18

Jump Start # 1583

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1583

Mark 2:11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”

  Our verse today comes from the incredible miracle that took place in a home in Capernaum. The house was packed. A person couldn’t even get through the door. I expect some were standing against the wall and others were sitting on the floor. It was probably stuffy in there. Four friends carrying a crippled man on a pallet came to find Jesus. They just know Jesus will heal him. They can’t get in. They can’t get to Jesus. No one will step outside so they can come inside. That would enough for many of us. We tried. We couldn’t get in. Maybe tomorrow, we tell ourselves. But not these four. Tomorrow won’t work. Up to the roof they go. They remove the tiles and make an opening, it would be a large opening. Debris, dust, dirt would be falling on the people below. They lower the pallet with their injured friend. All eyes would be looking up to see this. The pallet is lowered slowly before the Lord. They say nothing. The injured man says nothing. Jesus speaks first. He says, “Your sins are forgiven you.” This was based upon seeing their faith. Interesting, they didn’t bring their crippled friend to get forgiveness. They just wanted him to walk. As soon as Jesus says this, the grumbling Pharisees go into action. They question Jesus’ right to forgive sins. No one can forgive sins except God. They were right. They simply didn’t connect the dots. Only God can forgive. Jesus just forgave. The conclusion is obvious. Jesus is God. They accuse Jesus of blasphemy.

 

It was at this point that Jesus questioned them. Which is easier forgiving sins or restoring crippled legs? Many would say, forgiving sins. Forgiving sins seems like empty words. But they weren’t. Behind the authority to forgive sins would come a sacrifice for those sins. Forgiving sins meant a cross. It meant a death. It meant a resurrection. Now, which is easier? Jesus started with the most difficult—forgiveness.

 

It was at this point that Jesus wanting to demonstrate that He had all authority said, “Get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” Get up. That was an act of faith on the crippled man. He had not “gotten up” in a long time. His legs were shot. He couldn’t get up. Even if he could, he would be so weak that he could not pick up his pallet. He’d fall over if he even could stand.

 

What an act of faith! Did Jesus mean it? Could he really do it? There was a room full of people. What if he failed? What if he fell? What if he couldn’t do it? Get up, pick up your pallet and go home. The text tells us that he did exactly that. There is no indication that anyone step forward to help him up. He was on his own. A moment of faith. A moment of trust.

 

He got up  and immediately picked up his pallet and went out in sight of everyone. To do that, people moved around to allow him to pass by. The crowded house was full of amazement. People were declaring, “We’ve never seen anything like this.” I expect as he got outside there were four friends hurrying off the room who embraced and their faces were filled with smiles. Jesus did it. We knew he would do it. As they left, there must have been others who thought, “I sure wish I had brought my crippled son,” or, “I wish I brought mama, she’s not been well.”

 

Get up and pick up your pallet. Faith meets the incredible Jesus.

 

You and I have pallets that we are confined to. We are held down by the crippling nature of sin. We are confined by guilt and shame. We have hurt others. We have let others down. We have failed. Satan is always reminding us of our failures. Often, family and friends do the same thing. We are kept on our mats.

 

God wants to forgive you. There is a way. There is a plan. It starts with faith. Faith in the Lord. Faith that Jesus is the Lord. Faith in that He can forgive you. That faith leads to repentance, the turning away from sin and the turning to God. That faith leads you to confess that Jesus is the Savior, the Son of God. That faith leads you to be immersed in water for forgiveness. It’s that last step, baptism that trips many people. They want to be saved before baptism. They want to be saved without baptism. They want Jesus to do it all.  Get up and pick up your pallet. Is that any different than Jesus’ words, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved”? Can you do it? Will it really work? Can I finally get off this mat of guilt, shame and sin? How do I know? Same thoughts as the crippled man on that mat in the Capernaum house. Faith. Trust. Knowing Jesus.

 

Some of us have been on these mats for a long, long time. We can’t forgive ourselves. We can’t forget what we’ve done. We keep returning to the scene of the crime. It’s like those white crosses you see along the road side. They are reminders of a fatal car accident. Someone died there. Some continue to put flowers at those crosses. I’ve seen some decorated. The person isn’t buried there. It’s not a cemetery. It’s a scene of an accident. Something terrible happened. And now there is that constant reminder. Every day I pass several of these crosses. I wonder why the families keep them there. I wonder why they want that reminder of that horrific nightmare. Having never gone through that, this puzzles me. Our sins and mistakes can be like those white crosses along side the highway. There they are. We remember them. We don’t ever get very far way from them. These things become a burden and a discouragement to us.

 

It’s time to allow Jesus to forgive us and then forgive ourselves. It’s time to remove those crosses that remind us of our failures.

 

Get up, take up your pallet and go home. Can you do that spiritually? Can you believe?

 

Roger