15

Jump Start # 2595

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2595

1 Kings 16:31 “And it came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshipped him.”

Our verse today is the beginning of the reign of Ahab. And, we might as well be honest and say, the reign of Jezebel, for in many ways she ran the country. She forged letters. She put out death messages. She was more to be feared than Ahab. And, it is here that we see the downward spiral of the leader of God’s people and the tragic departure from God.

Ahab made three mistakes:

Ahab worshipped the wrong god. He served Baal. In a couple of chapters, Elijah will show how useless, pitiful and ineffective Baal was. Baal couldn’t send rain. He couldn’t stop a drought. He couldn’t send fire. He couldn’t hear the cries of his prophet. Baal was about as alive and helpful as a rock.

Ahab married the wrong person. Jezebel was wicked. She was a pagan. She was the daughter of a ungodly king. The law of Moses forbade marrying outside the nation. Many kings did. And, when they did, it cost them. Beginning with Solomon, these foreign women who had no interest in Jehovah, pulled their weak and faithless husbands to follow them into idolatry, child sacrifice and oppressing the people of God. Who you marry can make all the difference in the world spiritually. Even today, this same lesson is repeated. Moms and dads are so happy to see their child marry someone who is good looking, has a great job and has a great education. Even though this person may have zero interest spiritually, or worse, embrace things that are false and contrary to God’s word. Then when their child quits walking with the Lord, the parents seemed surprised and shocked. Why? Marrying Jezebel is a bad idea.

Ahab had the wrong attitude about sin. Ahab thought lightly of sin. Sin didn’t bother him. The text says, “it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam.” A trivial thing. We remember the game, “Trivial Pursuit.” The pursuit of what is trivial. To consider sin trivial means it did not bother him. Guilt didn’t follow what he did. His conscience didn’t warn him. He didn’t feel bad about what he was doing. We’d say, “It was no big deal to him.” And, that is concerning. That is a big deal that he thought it was no big deal. It bothers us that sin didn’t bother him. It should have. There should have been all kinds of red flags and warnings that grabbed his attention. But he ignored those. He never payed attention to those things. Sin wasn’t sinful to him. And, because of that, Ahab sank deeper and deeper into trouble with God. Certainly, he could make sin trivial, but that doesn’t mean God does. Certainly, a person can ignore God, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist.

Now some thoughts:

First, sin is a big deal. It always has been. Much too often we think something is only wrong because of the consequences. Murder is a big deal because someone’s life is now over. But telling a lie? Not too much harm, so not so bad. In a pick up game of basketball, there is a saying, “No blood, no foul.” That translates to mean not every little bump is going to be called a foul. A lot of stuff is going to be allowed. Only the obvious fouls, where there is blood, will be called.

Consider the first sin, eating forbidden fruit. No one really got hurt. What’s the big deal? God said No and Satan said Yes. Sin is a big deal. It will wreck our soul, separate us from God and without the forgiving blood of Jesus, we will be lost eternally. For eating some fruit? No. For, disobeying God. For placing yourself in God’s position. For listening and trusting Satan. It’s never ok to do wrong. Even if you do not get caught, it’s not ok. Even if you only do it one time, it’s not ok. We must stop trivializing sin.

Second, we can trivialize worship. We can make worship so casual that we fail to be in awe of God. We can make it so much about us, that God is left out. We can think singing doesn’t matter. God thinks it does. We can believe that sermons can be left out. You won’t find God agreeing with that. We can even make attendance trivial. Come if you want. And, if you don’t want to, it’s ok. God thinks otherwise. He wants His people together to worship. Great things happen when we are together. God knows that. Encouragement, help, love, connections all come from our fellowship. We are the family of God and families need to be together. We ought to miss each other. We ought to long to be with each other. Worship or ballgame? Worship or watching TV? Worship or mowing the yard? Trivialize…have we trivialized worship?

Third, we can trivialize our marriage. We can just take it for granted. We can ignore each other and not connect in a way that is healthy, growing and beneficial. Jezebel pulled Ahab further away from God. It wasn’t all her fault. He was going that way already. He was weak, indifferent and unconcerned about the way of God. We can make more fun of each other than we do nourish and help each other. We can ignore warning signs of communication and actually hurt each other. Instead of being a help to one another, we can become the major source of hurt. Our marriage is important. It is sacred. It is special. It needs to be protected, guarded and strengthened. Love is a bond that can forgive, aid and support.

Ahab thought nothing about sin. The real truth is, Ahab thought nothing about God. It showed. And, in the end, it cost him.

Grand lessons for us to remember and to help get our order in order, especially in these times.

Roger

14

Jump Start # 2594

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2594

1 Corinthians 8:7 “However not all men have this knowledge, but some being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled.”

Our passage today uses the word “accustomed.” That’s not an everyday expression for us. We use the words, “familiar” or, “use to,” or even, “habit.” The Corinthian Gentiles were once idol worshippers. That’s what they knew. That was very familiar to them. Eating meats that had been sacrificed to an idol, took them back to the way they once worshipped. They couldn’t make the distinction that meats offered to an idol meant nothing. It did to them and it hurt their faith.

They were accustomed to the idol. They were use to idol worship. It was all very familiar to them. Many years ago, I was visiting with a guy whose house was right beside a train track. As we were talking, a train went by. The house shook. I was shouting because it was so loud. When the train passed, I asked him if that bothered him. His reply, “I don’t even notice it anymore.” My insides were shaking. He had gotten familiar with it. He was use to it. He didn’t even notice. Boy, I did.

There are three things that we should never get use to. We don’t want to become so familiar that they do not bother us.

First, is sin. This is a hard one to deal with. Years in sin can make us callous and insensitive to what is wrong. We can become so accustomed to wrong that we don’t notice it and it doesn’t even bother us. This is especially true of certain words. Curse words. Taking God’s name in vain. It’s everywhere. It’s in music. It’s in the movies. Friends and family talk that way. Fewer and fewer “bad” words are being censored out these days. And, being so accustomed to them, they can pass right by us and we don’t even notice. You see this especially when someone is recommending a movie to you. They might say, “There’s a couple of bad words, here and there, but it’s really a clean movie.” So, you go. You are shocked at all the language. How could they have missed that? How could they have said there was only a couple of bad words here and there? They have become accustomed to bad language and they don’t notice it.

Wrong ought to bother us. It ought to make us notice when someone takes the name of our holy God in vain. When someone brags, “it was a little fib,” they are admitting to lying. Do we smile and laugh with them as if it is no big deal? Often, this is not a matter of loving wrong, it simply being so accustomed to wrong that we no longer even notice it. The train is roaring by and we have become used to it.

Now, we are not to be traffic cops from Heaven that go around pointing out everything that is wrong. That is not very effective. But, being sensitive to sin, will help us to keep ourselves pure. The focus needs to be inward. Have we become so accustomed to idols that we no longer recognize them? Are we so used to sin that sin no longer bothers us?

Second, we must never get used to worshipping at home every Sunday. We are having to do this. And, as congregations begin to open the doors of the church house back up and allow brethren to gather, some may want to continue worshipping the way things are. Rather than having to get cleaned up, drive, and meet at a specific time, I can stay in my jammies, catch worship on Youtube at an hour that is suited to me. We can get really comfortable doing this. And, when the call to come together to worship, some may want to stay at home. They have become accustomed to worshipping at home. This is a danger. God wants His people to gather together. When it is safe, we need to do that. Watching worship on a video is not the same as being there in person. Even with social distancing and wearing masks, there is a physical fellowship that is necessary. We can get very comfortable staying away, but that comes with a cost to our souls. God realizes that it is good for us to be together. We need each other. We need encouragement, teaching, examples, reminders and presence. We need unity. We need a combined work effort. We need hearts knit together. The longer we are apart, the more we get used to that and the more we wonder why do we even need to come together. Hire preachers to put out videos and we’ll just watch lessons from home. Not a good idea. This will not be good in the long run. There are other times when we may have to worship from home. Recovery from an illness or injury may keep us at home for a while. But within our hearts ought to be that desire to get back with our church family. We ought to long to see each other. When we are accustomed to spiritual isolation, we are opening the door to trouble. Satan is much stronger when we are alone. It’s easy to cut corners, be lazy and even selfish when we are alone. Don’t ever get accustomed to worshipping at home rather than gathering with the church.

Third, we must never get accustomed to this world. We don’t fit in. We are headed a different direction. When we get used to things here, and become very comfortable with things here, then we can lose our desire for Heaven. We can lose our taste for what God has awaiting us. It gets harder to sing This world is not my home, when we feel like it is. We want to stay here as long as we can. We want things to continue just as they are. Accustomed. Used to it. Liking it. Having no desire to be anywhere else. The problem here is that we have not set on minds on things above. Our eyes, hearts and minds are earth bound. We’ve lost that longing for the heavenly. Moses was in an Egyptian palace and raised by Egyptians, but he was not Egyptians. The Hebrews taken to Babylon were given Babylonian names, taught Babylonian ways and introduced to Babylonian worship. They remained Hebrews. They were in Babylon but they were not Babylonians. Now, what about us? We are in this world but have we become a part of this world? Have we used the world’s definition of success and happiness to define us and guide us? Are we following the world or following the Lord? We are in this world, but are we of this world?

The Thessalonians turned to the one true and living God from idols. They left idols behind. They longed for something real and something better.

There are some things in life that we must never get use to.

Roger

13

Jump Start # 2593

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2593

Genesis 28:12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

I had a dream the other day about my grandparents. I haven’t thought about them in a long time. They were both N.T. Christians. My grandfather passed through the door of death when I was a sophomore at Purdue University. There wasn’t anything special about the dream. They were in a new house in a subdivision, which never happened. As in many dreams, our memories are sprinkled with this and that which doesn’t match reality. I’m not one who usually remembers dreams.

Many folks try to figure out what their dreams mean. Some think that there are messages in the dreams. A deep subconscious issue comes to the surface in a dream, I’ve heard some say. I don’t put much credit in those things. I tend to think many dreams are because a guy ate too many tacos the night before. Some of our dreams can become nightmares and we wake up startled and frightened.

Our verse today is about Jacob who had a dream. His dream was different from my dream. Jacob realized God was communicating to him. God used dreams, visions and many ways to communicate. Pharaoh had dreams that Joseph interpreted. Those interpretations saved the nation and allowed Joseph’s family to be connected again. Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which Daniel interpreted for him.

Some thoughts we need to keep in mind when we go down this road of dreams.

First, God speaks today through Jesus. That’s what Hebrews tells us. Believing your dreams are a divine message, like Jacob received is likely to get you into all kinds of deep water and it probably will not turn out well for you. Peter tells us that all things necessary for life and godliness has been given to us. If God tells you something in a dream, why doesn’t He tell me? Have you noticed in the Scriptures when God directly influenced people, it was not about buying oxen, land or who to marry. It was about His will. It was about fulfillment of prophecy. So, when a guy tells me that he had a dream and he believes God wants him to ask a certain girl to marry him, he’s gotten things crossed up. Now, what is his girl to believe? Suppose she doesn’t want to marry him? Does she believe that she is going against God for saying, “no.” And, if they get married, what happens if the marriage turns south. He’s changed his mind and wants out. Is He going against what he believed was a divine dream? What if he has another dream about marrying another person?

Jacob knew that God was the author of his dream. Joseph, Daniel and others knew exactly what those dreams were intended to communicate. We are guessing. We don’t know what those dreams mean. And, these dreams are not inspired nor given directly by God. God speaks through Jesus today.

Second, some would put more credit into a dream than the word of God. The word of God is tested, proven and the same for all of us. It has stood the test of time. God is not going to tell you something that ignores what He already says in His word. When people say, “I just know God wants me to do this,” how do they know? Got a verse to back that up, or is it just a feeling that has no foundation, evidence, or Biblical support? We live in times when people would rather follow their feelings than Scriptures. They determine right and wrong from the standpoint of their feelings. And, without realizing this, they have made themselves the standard, the authority and the final word. They have scooted God off the throne and have plopped themselves upon His throne. And, from this high and lofty spot, they declare “I just don’t see anything wrong with that.” Of course not. When all one does is look in the mirror, it’s hard to see anything except yourself. Are they looking in Scriptures? Are they trying to see what God says about things?

Third, then what are we to make of dreams? Not much. Sometimes they take us down memory lane, which is nice. Sometimes they make no sense and we can waste a lot of time trying to figure out something that can’t be figured out. My practical ways just tells me to get about reality and get busy doing what you know the Lord wants you to do. That’s easy to find, it’s in the Scriptures. There is no missing the point. It’s a matter of doing it. Some make journals of their dreams. Why? Why not journal observations you make from the Scriptures? Why not write down goals? Why not make a list of things you can do to help others? Making a grocery list is a better use of time than writing down dreams.

Finally, be thankful that God has communicated to us in words. Words have definite meanings. Words can be studied, copied, translated and even memorized. Words are absolute. Feelings are like walking through a modern art gallery. I’ve been there. I stand and look at a large canvas with paint spewed all over it. Abstract, I’m told. The guide has us looking at it and we are supposed to understand some inner struggle the artist had with cultural conflicts. People stand and stare and stare at it. People comment, “I see the struggle between injustice and oppressive government.” I stand and think the artist tripped over a bucket of paint. Trying to figure out people’s feelings is not absolute. This is why the way to God is not feeling based. This is why God’s will is not feeling based. Feelings are involved and we ought to be passionate about God, but that’s the foundation of our faith and hope. The word of God is. The apostles were told to go everywhere and preach the Gospel. Those absolute, definable, describable words which everyone could understand. That’s what we stand upon.

My sweet grandfather was born near the end of the 1800’s. His grandfather was in the Civil War. It’s nice to be reminded of him and I hope to see him on the other side. Dreams are for sleeping. Daytime is for getting about what we know God wants us to do.

Roger

12

Jump Start # 2592

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2592

Matthew 20:20 “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.”

We celebrated Mother’s day this past Sunday. Our moms do so much for us and too often it’s a thankless job that is driven by love. No one loves those little babies as much as their mama does. Mother’s day always brings a mix bag of emotions. For some, their mom is no longer with them. That is my story. Worse, for some their relationship with their mom is not healthy. Mother’s day is not a day of smiles, memories and joy for these folks. It’s tense, painful and full of confusion.

Our passage today is about a mom. She was the wife of Zebedee. She had two sons, James and John, who were among the chosen apostles. Those two, along with Peter, made that tight inner circle with Jesus. So many times we read of Peter, James and John. This is their mom. She comes to Jesus. She has a request. She needs to ask Jesus something.

Now, remember, James and John are not in the third grade. They are grown fishermen. They are likely close to the age of Jesus, possibly around thirty years old. Mom, needs to tell Jesus something. Imagine your mom coming to your place of work and wanting to make a request to your boss. Most of us would run and hide. We’d be embarrassed. “What is she doing,” we’d think.

When the Lord asked her what she needed, she said that she’d like each of her boys sitting on either side of the Lord in His kingdom. One boy on the right side and the other on the left side. Top positions. Let my boys be vice-presidents of this operation. Put them right up there at the top. Put them right beside Jesus. Mama Z thought Jesus was going places and she wanted to make sure her boys were going to be included. She didn’t want them left out. She didn’t want them on the sidelines. Right side and left side, that’s were she thought her boys belonged. She wanted her boys in positions above the rest of the apostles. Only one person can sit on the right side of Jesus. And, only one person can sit on the left side. She wanted her boys covering those spots. No one else. Not one boy on the right and let the Lord pick who will be on the left. Not one boy on the right and Peter on the left. Not for this mamma bear. She is fighting for both boys. She wants them both up at the top. One on the right and one on the left.

The Lord’s first reply was, “you do not know what you are asking.” Mama Z didn’t get it. This wasn’t a ride to the top. This wasn’t a ground floor operation and in just a short time they’d be sitting in the penthouse suite. Jesus’ kingdom wasn’t like that. His kingdom, He told Pilate, was not of this world. His kingdom was spiritual. Jesus was about to drink a cup of suffering. He was going to be rejected, abused and murdered. Can they drink that cup, He asks her and the James and John? This isn’t the picture you boys were dreaming of. This isn’t going to turn out the way you think it is. They won’t be rich. No one will be opening doors for them, buying them meals and giving them keys to the city. Instead, it will be jails, hunted down, ugly accusations and serious threats against them.

Now, some lessons from this:

First, moms always want the best for their children. Sometimes moms close their eyes to any wrong that their children do and that is not healthy. No one is perfect. Some would rather sue the world than to admit that their little darling has done anything wrong. In teaching the principles of marriage, God said that a man was to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. That was first spoken in Genesis and the Lord repeated it in Matthew. Leaving is not about location, but maturity, responsible and able to stand on your own feet. But, this is a two way street. The man is to leave father and mother, and the father and mother need to let the child go. Problems arise in young marriages when parents interfere and try to run that household as well. Parents must understand the difference between something being spiritually wrong and just a difference in tastes and judgments. Your grown children will do things differently than you do. A time for a parent to speak up is when they see their child harming their soul spiritually. But if we are fussing with them all the time, they will just tune us out.

Years ago, I was walking with one of my kids, who was in college at that time, through a hardware store. We passed a line of toilets for sale. One was black. He’d never seen a black toilet. He loved it. Soon, we were walking by the appliances. He spotted a black refrigerator and stove. Then there was a black dishwasher he spotted. His mind was running. He said, “Someday, I’m going to get all those black things. I think I’ll paint the walls black.” I thought, that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. I said, “do you want to live in a cave?” But then I caught myself and said, “Go for it, if that’s what you want.” Is it wrong to have all black appliances and black walls? No. Can one go to Heaven like that? Yes. Would I do that? Never!

My son, Jordan preaches. He’s an amazing preacher. But I don’t like how he organizes his books on the shelves. Guess what? He doesn’t like the way I organize my books on my shelf. Can we both go to Heaven the way we are doing things? Yes. That’s what parents have to understand. Your child will do things differently than you do things. If it is not spiritually wrong, let it go and let them do it. Don’t nag. Don’t guilt them into changing things your way. Parents have to let their grown children go. Tough lesson for many of us.

Second, Mama Z, had some grand ambitions for her two sons. She wanted them near Jesus. You can’t get any closer than right hand and left hand. She saw something good in Jesus. She wanted her boys involved with what Jesus was doing. She didn’t want her sons just dabbling in this work. She wanted them fully invested. Right hand and left hand meant key conversations, intimate discussions, first to know things, advisors, deeply involved. She didn’t just want the boys to “go to church” once in a while. Right up there with Jesus.

Now, that’s a thought. What do moms today want for their children? Good grades. Meet someone cute, get married. Find a great job. Make as much money as possible. Play ball for a division I school? What about spiritually? How many moms today are thinking, “I’d like my boys to preach someday.” Or, “I’d like to see my boys be shepherds in God’s church someday.” Have you prayed those prayers? What are you doing about that? Are you putting them around those who would be great examples? Do we even think about our spiritual future of our children other than just become Christians? Do we think about how they can help the kingdom?

You just have to love this mother. She went to Jesus. She was bold. She was a bit forward. The boys would probably never say anything, she must have thought, so I will.

James and John—two apostles. The first apostle to die and the last apostle to die.

Let’s be putting some thoughts into our children’s spiritual future. That thought begins at home.

Roger

11

Jump Start # 2591

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2591

Matthew 18:16 “When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.”

I am currently teaching a class, via video, on the miracles of Jesus. Fascinating discoveries and insights into the life of our Messiah. There was no disease that He could not cure. There was never a situation in which Jesus shook His head and said, “I’m sorry, nothing more can be done.” Never! And, it is remarkable to see how the crowds were filled with injured, diseased and sick people. They all wanted Jesus to heal them. They wanted physical wellness. There is no way to know how many Jesus healed. Our verse is one of many that generically tells us that Jesus healed all who were in that crowd. Village after village He did that.

But there is something of interest to me about all of this. Jesus healed these sick, diseased and injured people, sometimes, the people did not even know who Jesus was. What happened after these people got well? When Jesus cleansed the ten lepers, He told them to go show themselves to the priest. They had begged for mercy from Jesus. He did what no one else could do. In that specific story, one leper, the Samaritan, returned to thank Jesus. The other nine, gone. Went to the priest as Jesus said. After that? Probably went home. Probably returned to a normal life again. Back to work. Back to social interactions. Back to family. Back to whatever life had been like before.

And, this is what I wonder about. They got what they wanted. They got the impossible. They got a miracle. They got healing. But now that they got well, did they need Jesus anymore? He changed their lives. He gave them future and hope. He gave them what no one else could. Yet, I just wonder how many never saw Jesus again. I wonder how many went back to their lives, joyous to have a life and never realizing that Jesus had so much more to give them. He had eternal life for them. He had salvation. Their disease and injuries was not near as serious as their plight with sin was. The diseases end with death. Sin kills us spiritually. It transcends death and impacts our eternity. Did these folks get that? Did they know that there was something that they needed much more than wellness of their bodies?

Of course, that very thought must be put before us. Have I gotten from Jesus what I needed or wanted and now I am good and I do not need Him? Have I put him on a shelf. I know where He is. If I need Him, I’ll just reach out and take Him down. But for now, I’m doing ok.

Paul had a different Heavenly view of things. He gladly said that “Christ lives in me.” He had not gotten all that he wanted from the Lord. He wanted the Lord in His life all the time. There doesn’t have to be a problem. Things do not have to be wrong. I think we often view our relationship with the Lord like a husband and wife conversation. The wife says to her husband, “We need to talk.” He immediately thinks, “I’m in trouble,” or, “I forgot something important.” The husband dreads the “we need to talk” conversations. To him, it usually goes this way. She talks and he listens. She tells him what he needs to do and then he needs to do it. And, in some way, that can describe how we feel about our relationship with the Lord. Too much of Jesus around and He’ll likely say, “We need to talk.” And, we know that will be a one sided conversation that won’t end well for us. So, to avoid that, we get what we need from Jesus. The sick got healed. Then they went home. We get forgiveness. Then we go about our lives.

When you look at that, it sure looks like people were taking advantage of Jesus. They got what they wanted and then they didn’t need Him anymore. And, could that be the same for us? We want problems to go away. We want to feel well. We get those things and then we think, “I’m good.” Don’t need anything else.

Here are a few things to consider:

First, in any relationship, the more we put into it, the more energy, effort, time, dedication we commit to it, the greater it is for all involved. It’s that way with our families. It’s that way with our fellowship. It’s that way with the Lord. The more you pour into your faith, walk and love to the Lord, the stronger, closer and more confident you will be. You don’t need Jesus only for problems and valleys. You need Jesus all the time.

You can tell the people who have done what Paul said, allowed Christ to live in them. You can see it in their attitudes. You see it in their willingness to serve. You see it in the joy that they carry in their hearts.

Second, having Jesus with you all the time and being one who follows, thinks, prays and worships the Lord every day, will likely generate fewer problems in your life. This doesn’t mean you won’t get sick or some day the car won’t start. But many of our problems are caused because we allow worry, fear and doubt to dominate us. Not being as close to the Lord as we ought to be, we make the choices that are not the best. We lean more toward self more than the Lord. We are patient more when we are walking closely to the Lord. We don’t let things bother us as much when we are walking closely to the Lord. We forgive more. We extend grace more. We are kinder and more gentle when we are with the Lord.

Third, our outlook in general improves when we are with the Lord. We are a people whose destination is Heaven. Hopeful, optimistic and joyful are the common qualities found with those who are near the Lord. Dark thoughts. Negative attitudes. Sour moods. Defeatist spirit. That thinking just doesn’t belong with the Lord.

Many of those who were healed actually believed. And, I expect many on that day of Pentecost, when Peter was preaching connected the dots. They had seen the miracles. They had heard about Jesus. Now, they came to understand. And, at Pentecost, many turned their lives over to the Lord. Salvation was the greatest healing Jesus ever did.

I need Thee every hour—more than just a hymn, a truism and a reality in our lives. Oh, the difference Jesus can make.

Roger