29

Jump Start # 2315

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2315

2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

Preach the word—the avenue to do that is what we call sermons. The other day I was out driving about listening to some of my favorite songs. The group, “The Eagles,” was on the radio. Love the song that was being played. I’ve seen the Eagles in concert. I’ve heard the song on the radio so many times, I know the words by heart. When I saw them live, I hoped that they would sing this song. They did. It was amazing.

 

That got me to thinking about sermons. I’ve been digging through some sermons finding what I want to take on the road in meetings. Sermons and songs on the radio are so different. We like hearing the same songs over and over. But we want each sermon to be an original. The more I thought about this, I realized that about 95% of my sermons will never be preached again. A lot of hours went into those sermons and once they are preached, they get filed away and most times are never surfaced again.

 

Once in a while, because of heavy schedule or a very busy week, a preacher may try to sneak an oldie in, but someone usually will catch it and that makes the preacher feel guilty. To repeat a sermon makes it seem like he didn’t do his work that week. He’s getting lazy. Guilt and shame keeps most of us from every preaching the same sermons to the same crowd again. It’s ok to hear the same song on the radio over and over, but we don’t want to hear the same sermon a second time.

 

Here are some thoughts:

 

First, new sermons keeps the preacher fresh, sharp and always learning and teaching. That’s the upside to new sermons. It is easy to get lazy, but most of the preachers I know would never be accused of that. They are so busy with so many other things that laziness is not among them. Always reading. Always thinking. Always observing. Always reflecting. Growth comes that way. It’s been said that a growing church comes from a growing pulpit and a growing leadership.

 

Second, for preachers that have been at the same congregation for a dozen years or more, most folks wouldn’t remember those early sermons and if the church has been growing, there will be many who never heard the sermons the first time they were delivered. Many of us like to preach a special series. A lot of time when into developing those series. It would be good to hear some of those lessons again. Rather than feeling ashamed and trying to pass off an old sermon as a new one by changing the title, rearranging and renaming the points, why not be upfront about it? Better still, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the shepherds asked the preacher to bring out a series that was first preached several years ago. It’s time to connect again. The Holy Spirit, through Peter’s hands, reminded the brethren of truths that they had known and heard before.

 

Third, the preacher can find ways to use the truths in those sermons in other avenues. Find ways to put them in class material. Use them for the basis of articles. A few of my sermons have become Jump Starts. It’s a shame that you put so much into a sermon and then it’s done and tucked away for good. There are other means to get those principles out.

 

Fourth, the truth taught actually never is lost. First, in the heart of the preacher, he has learned things. These will come out as he talks to others. Second, as the audience learns, they will remember and they will change. In this age of recordings and videos, many of those sermons are heard over and over again. There was a time when a preacher delivered a sermon and it was heard one time and that was it. These days, those sermons live on and on because of technology.

 

Fifth, the preacher shouldn’t feel like his efforts are wasted or in vain. He pours hours into developing a sermon and then it’s over. He may never preach that sermon again. Did it do any good? Most of us can not remember what we ate last year, except for a few special occasions at nice restaurants or holidays. Three meals a day for a whole year and we can remember just a handful. Were all those other meals useless? No. They gave us nourishment and strength for the time. They helped us. And, because we may not remember much about the meals, at the moment they were very helpful. The same goes with sermons. We may look back and remember a few here and there, but most have been forgotten. At the moment, they helped. At the moment, we learned some things. We may not recall the titles, the main points, but there have been things that we wrote in our Bibles and there were things that we stored in our memories that helped. And, although most have been forgotten, at the time they got us through worry, doubt and answered our questions. Those sermons challenged us and moved us. Those sermons changed us. We may not be able to point to one specific sermon, but we can see the accumulated good that they have done. Sitting at the feet of good preaching builds us, strengthens us, and helps us to grow.

 

There’s a lot to writing a sermon. From ideas, to introductions, to textual considerations, to applications, to illustrations—it’s like a composer writing a score for the symphony. There are many parts. There are many things to add and some things to drop off. There is a time factor to keep in mind. One must keep the audience in mind. What do they know and what are they going through. A lot of digging, thinking, writing, tossing paper into the waste basket, looking things up in books, reading, researching that goes into a single sermon. Those that boast that they can write a sermon in fifteen minutes, aren’t really lowering the nets very much.

 

I have a collection of sermon outlines books that were written from generations ago. Of all the sermons those preachers preached, what remains today are about a dozen or so that are recorded in those books. What happened to all the other sermons? They were lived in the lives of those who heard them. Good was accomplished. And, what will be the future of the sermons we preach these days? It will be the same. A few might find their ways into a book that will sit on a shelf. But most will be lived in the hearts of those who hear us.

 

It is said of David that he served the purpose of God in his own generation. That’s what our sermons do. So, get to it Mr. Preacher. Sunday’s coming and we need God’s word preached to us.

 

Roger

 

28

Jump Start # 2314

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2314

2 Samuel 11:1 “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”

 

Our verse today is the background setting to David’s adultery, cover-up, deception and murder. “Then it happened in the spring,” is how this chapter begins. Then it happened, is David’s rapid tailspin and spiritual and moral crash. It happened just like this. In the spring, kings go to battle. But this king, David, stayed home. Had he gone to battle, this probably wouldn’t have happened.

 

In the spring, back then, kings go to battle. Today, in the spring, our preachers go out to preach. It’s Gospel Meeting time. Many congregations will invite a guest preacher to come and preach several evenings in a row. This custom has seen a few adjustments here and there but by in large it remains basically the same for generations. In the spring, the preachers go to preach. I’ll be one of them. The next few weeks I will be gone more than I am home. Let’s talk about the Gospel Meeting concept.

 

First, the preaching of God’s word is always good. When honest hearts intersect with the pure word of God, good things happen. Now here are some thoughts to consider. There was a time when a person could be shown in one lesson what God expected and they would be converted immediately. That doesn’t happen much anymore. There was a time when someone could hear a lesson about the purity of God’s church as compared to what’s going on in denominations. They would go home mad. They would stay up all night looking in their Bible. They would come back the next night, with a changed heart and ready to obey Jesus. Today, that person would go home mad and never come back. Most conversions today are the result of personal Bible study that covers a few weeks. That being the state of things today, preachers and congregations need to rethink the purpose of the meeting.

 

From a preacher’s standpoint, it helps knowing what is going on in a congregation and what type of lessons the shepherds would like to have. Too often the thought is, “Bring your best sermons.” What I think are my best sermons may not be what that church needs. I develop lessons for my home congregation. I am among them and I know what they need. So, some communication back and forth will make for a good meeting.

 

Second, preachers need to understand that during the week folks get tired. They have to work. Kids have to go to school. So, long, long sermons wear very thin with the audience. Some preachers get this. Some don’t. By the end of the week, those poor mamas who have been wrestling with their babies all week long look like they have been run over by a truck. Let’s drop the egos. None of us are so great that times stops for us. We’d like to think so, but that’s not the case. Bring lessons that encourage. Bring lessons that deal with life. Bring lessons that answers the need of the hour. Great historical studies about origins, histories of translations, religious movements long ago may fit better in Bible classes at the home congregation, but not for Gospel Meeting material. The preacher is not show casing himself. He is there to help a congregation. One of the best helps is to water weary hearts and encourage others.

 

Third, learn and share from each other. I love to sit down with a visiting preacher and ask him about what he is doing back in his home congregation. I like to hear about how they attract visitors. I like to hear about how they spruce up the building. I like to hear about how the shepherds are connecting with the people. Ideas. Suggestions. And, when I go to places, I like to look around. I like to get ideas and see what others are doing. It’s great for the host preacher and elders to take the visiting preacher out to lunch and to just talk, share ideas and help each other. Sometimes we forget that we are on the same side of the kingdom. There is no competition among us. We want all congregations to grow, flourish and make a difference in lives. Keeping things close to your vest, seems selfish. Talk about classes. Talk about what excites you in the Lord.

 

Fourth, what is done before and after the meeting often can really help the meeting. Talk it up. Print up things to pass out. Give the building a real spit shine. Think of ways to get more out of the meeting. And, then when it is over, don’t just go on like it never happened. Pull some thoughts from that meeting and use them in sermons, classes and other avenues. Keep talking and building upon the foundations that were presented.

 

I believe some churches have meetings every spring because they just believe that they are supposed to. They don’t know what is expected, what is to happen, nor what is supposed to be accomplished. The week comes and goes, and nothing much changes. The following year it will happen all over again and just about the same results will happen again.

 

Put some thought into why you are having a meeting. Pick out a preacher that you feel will fit your needs. Don’t just have the same ones over and over, year after year. Bring in some fresh faces. Consider different ways of presenting the meeting. Rather than a week long meeting, try a few days. Try a weekend. Try a one day meeting. Wrap a theme around it and try to freshen up the idea. Put some thought, energy and effort into making it a real highlight of the year.

 

In the spring, the kings went off to war. These days, in the spring, the preachers go off to preach.

 

Roger

 

27

Jump Start # 2313

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2313

 

1 Samuel 15:22 “Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than to sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”

 

As old as the Scriptures and as modern and current as today, when someone has made a poor choice they are reminded of what they should have done. Parents do that all the time. Preachers do that in their sermons. But here, in our verse today, it’s the prophet Samuel. He asks this question to a king, not just any king, but Israel’s first king, king Saul.

 

Here’s the story. Saul was the new king. God wanted Saul to lead Israel against the Amalaekites. It was to be a complete and total rout of the enemy. Nothing was to be spared and nothing was to be brought back. Saul didn’t do that. He went to battle but he captured the king and brought him back along with the best of the animals and other things. Samuel confronts Saul. He denies wrong. He then passes blame upon the people. He immediately shows that although he stood head and shoulders above others, he was really a small person. Good leaders don’t blames others for their mistakes. And, it is here that a question is posed. Which do you think is better, obeying God or sacrificing?

 

There are many times these things are found in Scriptures. For instance Solomon tells us that a good name is better than fine perfume. He tells us the day of our death is better than the day of our birth. It’s better, he says, to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. The end of a matter is better, Solomon says, than the beginning. Most of us would like to argue with Solomon about these things. Funeral home or a party, we’d take the party. A phone call about a baby born or a phone call about someone dying, we’d take the good news about the birth. We even like beginnings better than endings. The beginning of a movie, a book, a vacation, is so much better than the end.

 

The Lord teaches in a similar way. In the sermon on the mount, the Lord said to first, leave your offering and be reconciled to your brother and then go and worship. Most of us would think that God comes first, so go worship first, and then work things out with your brother. That’s not the order Jesus gave.

 

Now, here are some things we see:

 

First, God’s order of things is often not the way we put place them. This tells us that God doesn’t think like we do, or probably more accurately, we don’t think like God does. We’d think God ought to be happy with sacrifices and possibly, even the sacrifices will make up for not obeying Him. But that’s not the way God sees it. If we obeyed Him, then our sacrifices and our worship would be acceptable and right as well.

 

So, these things remind us that we must stick with Scriptures and not our own thoughts. How we would do things is often not the way God wants things done.

 

Second, Sacrifice or obey, is not really the correct choices. One must do both. One doesn’t cancel out the other. One isn’t more important than the other. If one was going to obey God, then he would sacrifice as well. Our obedience to God’s word will govern how we worship and sacrifice. That’s missing today. Folks throw up any thing and every thing in worship and believe that God just loves it. God wasn’t thrilled with what Cain offered. God wasn’t thrilled with the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu. God wasn’t happy with the people in Malachi’s day who were offering crippled animals. When we remove obedience, we open the door for all kinds of odd, weird and bizarre things. Folks run as fast as they can to the latest innovations and the newest trends. The old is out and the new is in. Cutting edge. Progressive. Pushing the envelope. New ways to make music in worship. New ways to raise money. New ways to combine the physical with the spiritual. It won’t be too long until some of these churches will offer sports bars with hundreds of TV monitors, buffalo wings, chips and a cute message written on the napkins. And, why not? If you don’t obey, what’s wrong with that?

 

Third, we all face choices that come down to what does the Lord delight in? Keeping that before us will help us make the right decisions. Saul forgot about that. He disobeyed. He thought it was ok. It wasn’t. Rather than thinking about God delights in and what God wanted, Saul chose what he wanted. Self over God always leads to disobedience. And, it always leads to trouble and sin. When we start making our choices by what we feel like, then feelings replace faith. We will only do what we feel like doing. So, if we don’t feel like being nice, we won’t. If we don’t feel like going to worship, we won’t. If we don’t feel like apologizing, we won’t. If we don’t feel like staying married, we won’t. Rather than doing what God wants, our lives are summed up by a song that Sinatra sang, “I did it my way.” Saul did. He did it his way. It wasn’t the right way. It wasn’t God’s way. And, it got him in trouble.

 

So, this means that there will be times I will do things that I do not feel like doing. I will do them because they are the right thing to do. I will do them because God delights in them. I may feel like staying home, but someone needs to talk and they could use some encouragement. I may not really feel like going out, but I will. There may be days that I do not feel like going to worship. Maybe, I’m tired. Maybe, I’m down. Maybe, I’d just like to stay home. But I go. I go because it’s the right thing to do. Most times, when I do that, I find that not only was it the right choice, but it really helped turn my spirits around.

 

Which is better? Which does the Lord delight in? Boy, those two questions could get us out of a lot of trouble. I sure hope I can remember those questions.

 

Roger

 

26

Jump Start # 2312

Posted on March 26, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2312

Judges 2:10 “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.”

 

It was a family that I have known for decades. It’s a large family. It started with me knowing the grandparents. Knew them for years. One by one, I came to know the grown children and their spouses. Then, I came to know the grandchildren. And now, the grandchildren are married and starting their families. We are talking about 40-50 people. I know most of them.

 

The other day this huge family gathered for a funeral. Grandma had died. I was asked to speak a few words. Grandma was related to the infamous bank robber, John Dillinger. The story goes that grandma’s dad actually went to Chicago to help identify the slain bank robber. Not sure about that.

 

This family, as with most families, has had it share of drama, issues and stories that they’d like to forget and put behind them. But something remarkable stands out about this family—they are all N.T. Christians. Grandpa and Grandma were. That’s how I got to know them. Their four children are. They all married N.T. Christians. All those grandkids are N.T. Christians, and those that are married, have married N.T. Christians. It’s amazing! This huge family, and other than the little ones, just about everyone is a N.T. Christian. That’s something I talked about during the funeral. Those things just do not happen on their own.

 

And, this is where our verse comes in. The book of Joshua ends and Judges begins. Not only is it a transition in leadership, but it’s a change in generations. Joshua’s generation served the Lord. Unlike their parents who all died in the wilderness because of unfaithfulness, Joshua led the people to the Lord. They were committed. But that generation died. There arose a new generation. This new generation did not know the Lord. The following verses show the details of this: they forsook the Lord, they followed after other gods, and they bowed to idols. The wheels came off. The nation crashed. They had forgotten about Joshua, Moses, the Ten Commandments and all that the Lord had done. God fed the nation in the wilderness. The Red Sea parted. There were ten plagues. The walls of Jericho fell. But for these people, that was ancient history. Without instruction, without guidance, the weeds took over the heart and they left the Lord. For the next four hundred years, the length of the judges, a continual cycle is repeated over and over. Punishment, repentance, deliverance and falling away.

 

How does one keep faith going throughout generations? How is it that this one family can have so many Christians? Luck? Magic? It’s none of those things.

 

First, God’s word must be lived, practiced and a applied daily. Faith is not a Sunday thing, but everyday part of our lives. The little ones need to grow up seeing the importance of worship. Putting other things before worship sends a message. It tells the heart that God isn’t always first. Do what you feel like doing and then if you have time to worship you can. Such thinking doesn’t make for convictions of the heart. God is talked about at home. God’s word is read at home. God is as much a member of the family as anyone else.

 

Second, every person must decide for themselves about the Lord. Faith isn’t inherited. We may grow up seeing it but many walk away, or in some cases, run away from it as soon as we can. God is good. God’s way is always right. That’s the lessons that must be taught. The purity of God’s word must be understood. It’s not about the church. It is all about God. Concepts of worship, marriage, faithfulness, holiness—these are the basics that are talked about around the kitchen table. The questions the little ones ask demand a Bible answer.

 

When I read our passage today, I see all kinds of red flags. “Another generation arose that did not know the Lord,” why? Why did they not know? Was it assumed that they would just naturally follow the parents? Was it assumed that if the parents knew, the children would know? There seems to have been a breakdown in teaching. Were the parents too busy? Did they just take them to “church” thinking that was enough? Generation one must teach and show generation two. There is not going to be much hope for generation three if that doesn’t happen.

 

I meet people like we read about in our verse today. The parents or grandparents followed the Lord. They don’t. They have complaints, issues and problems. Most times it’s about the church. Rarely do they want to take those discussions to the Bible. It’s the church they claim is too narrow. But could it actually be that truth is narrow and they are kicking the cat because they are really mad at the dog? The church doesn’t make the rules. The church doesn’t set the policy of right and wrong. All that comes from God. All that comes from the Bible.

 

Third, everyday God must mean something to me. I can trace my spiritual heritage back five generations. But there are lots and lots of family all through there that didn’t stay with the Lord and like ancient Israel, decided to worship as they wanted to. So, here I am today. Is it because of my parents? That may have shown me things and got me pointed in the right direction, but now, it’s up to me. Everyday I must make choices. My faith or the lack of faith, directs those choices. I preach. I do that because it was my choice. My children are all Christians. We have shown them and taught them. But today, it’s their choices.

 

I have seen families all together at worship. But when mom and dad are out of the picture, the kids start falling off one by one. Why? Obviously, they were there because of the parents and not the Lord. Every day, do I pray? Every day do I open God’s word. Every day do I think about helping others? Every day do I watch what I say? Every day. When faith is alive and real, we own it. We do these things because we want to.

 

Finally, one of the greatest lessons is applying the grace, forgiveness and love that the Lord wants us to have throughout our family. Sometimes, it is family that hurts us the most. Sometimes it is family that frustrates us the most. Sometimes we can hold to the doctrine of Christ, but we forget about the spirit of Christ. Some family members journey to the far country. Do we allow them back, like the prodigal’s father? Some family members have said and done things that are mean and hurtful. Do we hold that over them the rest of their lives? I wonder if why some have walked away is not because of what the Bible teaches, but because of the way Christians have behaved. We must move past that. We follow Christ, not the church. Jesus is our Savior, not the church. The church, like we are, is a work in progress. We are merely reformed sinners who do have a past. We are far from perfect and we still need a lot of improvement. How we present that, or whether we admit that or hide behind our pride is something that family recognizes.

 

One of the greatest fields of evangelism is around the kitchen table. We worry more about going overseas sometimes than we do sitting down with a prodigal in the family and simply having a conversation. Treat them the way you would want to be treated. Love, kindness, gentleness will do more good than beating one over the head.

 

Legacy—what’s your spiritual legacy looking like? I think it’s interesting that most people in the world would be fascinated about being connected to Dillinger. But this family doesn’t talk about it. They are more interested in being connected to Jesus. And, that, speaks volumes! And, that may be just one reason so many of them walk with the Lord.

 

Roger

 

25

Jump Start # 2311

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2311

1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

We are in the midst of March Madness and here in Indiana, where basketball is king, there is a lot of excitement about our favorite teams. I had a friend from the south visiting recently. He asked if all this hype about Indiana basketball was true. I told him about the size of some of the high school gyms and then told him to drive around and notice all the basketball goals. He came back with stories of seeing goals on garages, on barns, on poles and even saw one on a tree. That’s basketball in Indiana.

Our verse draws from the world of sports. Paul uses parallels from the field of track (v. 24) and boxing (v. 26). His points are clear. The lessons are obvious. Run in such a way that you will win. We strive for an imperishable crown. Run with direction and purpose. Discipline your body to serve you. Don’t be disqualified. Be in control.

These thoughts make simple lessons for a Wednesday evening invitation. But that was not Paul’s intention. His words are powerful. The thoughts are deep. Be in control of yourself so that you will not be disqualified. The disqualified do not receive a prize. The disqualified go home as losers. And, in this setting, it wasn’t that you got beat by a better team. Here, you got beat by yourself. You were not prepared. You weren’t ready. You lost and it was your fault.

Now, some thoughts:

First, we must be in control. One of the virtues found in 2 Peter is self control. We try to control others but we can’t. We’d like to control the weather, but we can’t. But what we can control, we often don’t. Control our tongue and our anger. You could say something, but you won’t, because you are under control. The way that one guy is driving sure makes you want to do something, but you won’t because you are under control. Your thoughts are under control. Your words are under control. Your actions are under control. Your passions and feelings are under control. When your life is not under control, you are along for a ride. Who knows where your tongue, feelings and attitude may take you. Out of control, you’re likely to say anything, even if it’s cruel, hurtful and untrue. Out of control, you’re likely to explode in anger at any moment. It’s uncomfortable being around someone who is out of control. You don’t know when they might blow up. You walk on egg shells, fearing them.

Second, we put ourselves in control when the Words of Jesus fill our hearts. This is not something that others can do for us. No one can put you in control and no one can put me in control. We do it to ourselves. The honest and good heart that intersects with the Word of God will change. Kindness replaces rudeness. Listening replaces shouting. Patience replaces demands and threats. Forgiveness replaces revenge. Christ replaces selfishness. These are all choices, choices made by us when our hearts are filled with the Word of God.

Third, Paul understood that unless he controlled himself, he would be disqualified. In a track event, it might be embarrassing to be disqualified, but there will be other races. But, here, to be disqualified by God meant you are not pleasing the Lord and you are kept from Heaven. There are consequences to being out of control. When a person declares, “I couldn’t help it,” they are not honest. They could, if they were under control. We don’t have to sin. No one makes us sin. The very body that houses our soul can be a great asset or a great liability to us. There is a direct connection between our body and our soul. What we do in our body impacts our soul. Unless our body is subject to Christ, we will lose our soul. You can’t love the Lord with your heart and disobey Him with your body.

Fourth, Paul never overestimated grace. The word grace doesn’t come up in this section. Just love the Lord is the flavor of the month. Love the Lord and party like a wild college student on Spring Break. Love the Lord but worship anyway you want. Love the Lord and don’t even pay attention to the Bible. How can one think this way? Abuse of grace. Thinking that these things do not matter, grace will get me through.

Somehow Paul didn’t think that way. Why run in such a way, if you have grace? Why discipline your body, if you have grace? Grace will take care of it. Why sweat the details? Why worry about the small things? Why fuss over walking exactly? Grace will cover it. Grace will fill in the gaps. Grace will erase all the times you colored outside the lines. Funny, you don’t find that here. What you do read is Paul saying that he buffet his body. That word ‘buffet’ carries the idea of beating or bruising. Paul was not describing self affliction but the intensity of following Christ. These things did matter. There is a certain way to run. If you don’t run that way you won’t win. Paul understood that he could be disqualified.

Now, does this lead to perfection? We must be perfect or we won’t make it. No. But what Paul is driving at is the motive, ambition and drive behind what we are doing. Carelessness says it doesn’t matter. Indifference will flippantly assume that grace takes care of everything and I don’t even have to try. While we are not perfect, we are to strive as if we can be perfect. We must have as our ambition the desire to please the Lord. I know a couple of policemen. Recently I got to ride in a police SUV. We were escorting a funeral. Had the red and blue lights on. It was great. Now, because I know a couple of cops, would I drive foolishly knowing that if I got pulled over I could drop their names and avoid a ticket? Absolutely NOT. That’s abusing our friendship and taking advantage of things. I’ve seen them out and about and I will wave to them, but I am not going to assume friendship will excuse my recklessness. Is it any different with God’s grace? To be so careless and to assume that God will take care of things is to abuse and take advantage of things. God doesn’t owe us forgiveness. He doesn’t have to forgive us. It is His right. It is His privilege.

Fourth, Paul understood that he could be disqualified. That’s amazing. Can you imagine if he was? We’d be looking for him in Heaven and he wouldn’t be there. Look at all the good he did. Look at what his writings through the Holy Spirit have done. And, yet, he could be disqualified. And, if an apostle could be disqualified, you and I know all too well, that we could too. There’s only one thing worse than being in Hell, and that’s being a Christian in Hell. We are supposed to be on the other side. We worshipped. We prayed. We gave money. We were in this for decades, yet disqualified because we didn’t run the way that God wanted us to. We could have, we just didn’t want to. We should have, but we wanted to do what we like. We wanted to be happy. We wanted to be free. We wanted to do as we wanted to. And, that spirit and that tone leads to being disqualified. The first step of discipleship is to “deny yourself.” That comes before following Jesus. That comes before taking up your cross. Denying self is to buffet your body. Denying self is to crucify yourself. Denying self is to make Jesus the Lord of your heart.

March madness—a great time in Indiana. Play by the rules. Play hard. Play fair. Give it your all. Losing is not an option. We sure can learn from these thoughts.

Roger