22

Jump Start # 3128

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3128

Psalms 48:14 “For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.”

Our verse today is found within one of the wonderful praise Psalms written by the sons of Korah, or more accurately, the grandsons of Korah. Through the gloom of our troubles and times, these Psalms have a wonderful way of lifting our eyes Heavenward and reminding us that the Lord is The Lord and that He will see us safely through.

Biblical hope is not a wish. We wish for good weather, and it rains. We wish we had a rich uncle who put us in his will, but all of our uncles are broke and jobless. Wishing is just that, it’s wishing. Many times, if not most times, wishes are thoughts we’d like to see become reality but there is nothing to base it upon. There is no proof that they will come true.

Hope is different. Hope is founded upon the promises of God. Hope is sure and absolute. We know it will be, because God promised. What we don’t know is when it will be. Hope has nothing to do with crossing your fingers, finding a four-leaf clover or wishing upon a falling star. That’s the stuff of movies. Biblical hope is wrapped around the word of God. It’s founded and based upon what God has said. There is something substantial and evidential to Biblical hope. Our faith is not blind. Our faith is not a pipe dream or something we made up. It’s real. It’s true. It will be. It is part of God.

So things such as Heaven, forgiveness, eternity, seeing God are not just wonderful dreams, they are hope founded upon the character and the promises of God. They will be because God is.

Now, back to our Psalm from Korah’s family, God will guide us until death. How do we know that? How do we know that when we are old that God will not turn His back to us or cut us loose? How do we know? The promise and hope of God. This passage tells us that He will guide us until death.

When I think of that statement, guiding us until death, it brings to my mind the manned space missions through the years. A giant rocket would blast off into the sky, with American astronauts on board. From the moment that rocket leaves the launch pad, it is being traced on radar. Mission Control has their eye on that rocket all the time. Once the planned mission is completed, the focus is upon bringing the astronauts safely home. They are guided all the way home.

This verse reminds us that God guides us all the way home. There is never a time, nor, never a moment when God doesn’t guide us. And, here are some thoughts about that:

First, we need God’s guidance when we are young. Our lack of experience and wisdom can get us into all kinds of trouble. Following the crowd and seeking popularity often puts us in dangerous waters. We need God’s warnings to keep us grounded, safe and godly. The far country pulls many young people away from the Lord.

Second, we need God’s help when we are newly married. There are so many new things to get adjusted to and transitioning from selfishness to a servant is nearly impossible without the help of the Lord. We need God to guide us. We need God’s help as our careers take off. A lot of pressure, choices and influences come into our lives. God’s guidance will help us make the right decisions and to remain focused upon the Lord.

Third, we need God’s guidance as we grow in the kingdom and serve His people. We need to learn humility and love. We need to have the heart of a servant. We develop and use our talents the Lord has given us to honor Him and help others in their walk with the Lord.

Fourth, and as our verse says, God will guide us until death. As our journey ends here, we need God’s guidance to help us leave visible footsteps for others to follow. As our journey ends here, we need the comfort and assurance of God’s word as we face that ugly doorway of death.

Guidance and hope—both found wrapped together tightly in the love of God for us. Why does God guide us until death? Because He loves us and He wants to bring us safely home. For every stage in life, and for every challenge that life presents to us, God is there to lead us, guide us, and bring us safely home.

The guidance is there. It’s like a trail or a path through the woods. Stay on the path and you’ll reach your destination. Don’t look for short cuts. Don’t blaze your own trail. The way of the Cross leads home. It’s up to us to stick to the path. It’s up to us to accept God’s guidance. It’s up to us to realize God’s way is the direction that we need to be going. The culture of today points another direction. And with that, the world wishes for Heaven. But there is nothing to that wish. The righteous, following the path of God, have a divine hope that is sure and absolute.

All the way my Savior leads me…

Roger

21

Jump Start # 3127

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3127

Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Our verse is one of the many contrasts that makes the book of Proverbs such a loved and practical book. The wicked are contrasted with the righteous. Fleeing is contrasted with standing or remaining. Being afraid is contrasted with courage or boldness.

Now, why would the wicked flee if no one is pursing? They may believe someone is. They may believe that they are about to get into trouble because of the wicked choices that they have made. The wicked live on edge. Fearful, not trusting, never at ease or calm, that’s the life of the wicked. And, that image well defines where many are today. The news is bad. The economy is sinking. Flu. Covid. Now, monkeypox? Running scared. Nothing to hold on to. Nothing to believe. And, that is life without God. Without God, we are in charge and that’s scary. Without God there is no one to come to help us. Without God there is nothing sure, absolute and concrete.

Fearful people are always talking about the storms. They are running about like ole’ Chicken Little, believing the sky is falling. When one is fearful, you can’t count on them for anything. And, the greater the fear, the more one worries. And, worry has a way of chipping away any faith that we have left.

The righteous have nothing to fear. They are bold. They are like a lion. And, what makes the righteous this way, is the Lord. Their faith in the Lord assures them that all will be fine. That faith conquers worry and drives fear away. The righteous may not know all the answers to fix all the problems in the country, but their hope is not in the next election, nor, the court house, or the state house. Their hope is in God.

Imagine walking down the street and instead of walking your dog, you were walking a lion. You wouldn’t be afraid of anything. Snake jump out at you? Nothing to fear. The lion would get it. A mean dog? No problem, you’ve got a lion beside you. Bad guy? Stand aside and release the lion. That’s the righteous. Satan throws new ideas, innovations and theories that are far from the truth. The world doesn’t know what to believe. The world is overcome with these things. The wicked believes all of them. Not the righteous. A college professor with a mountain of PhD’s and an armful of research material doesn’t move the righteous at all. The righteous knows that God is right. The righteous is not intimidated by intellectualism, the arrogance of authors, nor the size of the crowd on the other side. That doesn’t mean anything. The righteous has God and the Lord is always right. Bold as a lion. Fearless. Courageous. Nothing to run from and nothing to hide from.

The game plan of the wicked is often to scream the loudest. The mob mentality scares many people. Some are more afraid of being politically incorrect with culture than they are being Biblically correct with God. Stand with God. Be bold. When Peter was told not to bring up the name of Jesus again, he said, “we cannot stop speaking what we’ve heard and seen.” Boldness. Courage. Fearless.

The wrong will always try to silence that which is right. This is not about politics, elections, economy, but about Biblical truth. The pages of our Bible are lined with the courageous. Moses’ parents were not afraid of the king’s edict. The three Jewish men in Babylon refused to bow down to the idol. Daniel would not stop praying when it was against the law. Bold as a lion.

Courage. Boldness. Fearlessness. Faith. It’s time for God’s people to be lions and not mice. It’s time to draw a line in the sand and say to our friends, co-workers and family, “That’s just not right with God.” Will they stop? Probably, not. Will they turn on you? Good chance. Will they pressure you? Yes. But that lion has nothing to fear. Error always finds ways to hide, twist things and switch subjects. Truth conquers.

Bold as a lion…remember that!

Roger

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Jump Start # 3126

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3126

1 Kings 15:13 “He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned it at the brook Kidron.“

Asa was one of the good kings of Judah. There weren’t too many, but he was among them. The steps of righteousness involved cleaning out the filth of error and pagan worship. In doing this, Asa had to start in his family. Our text tells us of this mother. Other versions state that she was the grandmother. Either way, close because of family and either way, hard to go against someone older than you are.

The NAS tells us that Maacah’s image was “horrid.” The NIV says, “repulsive.” The ESV, “abominable.” The CSB says, “obscene.” It had to go. It wasn’t decent and it was godly.

Some lessons from this:

First, sometimes our families can really disappoint us and even offend us. They can do this in a number of ways. Inviting us to their same sex weddings. Refusing to accept their biological gender and demanding that we call them by their new choice. Drinking. Smoking. In trouble with the law. Multiple marriages and divorces. Oh, the pain that can be created by our families. Not only are their choices wrong, they expect, yea, even demand that we accept and approve of those choices. Asa didn’t. Mom or grandma, didn’t matter. He dethroned her and tossed her sick images into the Kidron.

It’s hard to be a light when we are going along with darkness. There are times when one has to draw a line and be an Asa in their family. You’ll likely get the reproach of everyone else. You may be banned from the family and made out to be the bad guy. The rest of the family doesn’t have a backbone. The rest have drunk the Kool-Aid of tolerance and error and are oblivious to the word of God.

Second, Asa smashed, cut up, burned and tossed the horrid idol that his mother made. He didn’t want any keepsake from it. He didn’t want any remembrance of it. He didn’t try to sell it on the O.T. Ebay of his day. He didn’t give it to someone. It was wrong and it was gone.

We think of the courageous Ephesians who gathered up the black magic books and burned them. The cost was 50,000 pieces of silver, an enormous amount. One might reason, sell the books and use the money for the kingdom. Fifty pieces of silver would go along way in supporting the apostles. But that would mean putting something wrong into the hands of others. They didn’t sell the books, they burned them. As one comes to Christ, he’ll find DVD’s, CD’s, video games, clothing, and other things that are just not decent nor fit for anyone. It’s not Ebay, but to the dump with that stuff. Find your Kidron and smash it, burn it and toss it.

In doing that, one sees what a fool he has been. So much money spent with the Devil. And, what did it bring? More sin. More dark thoughts. More trouble. It’s time to part with those things. And, when someone asks “Can I have them?” The answer is boldly, “NO.” No one gets these. No one is hurt by these ever again. Into the Kidron they go and by purging yourself of these things you are making a clean break back to Jesus.

Third, repentance can certainly make one feel so much better. Rather than defending the wrongs and hiding our sins, turn to God and do what is right. Cleansing is such a wonderful experience. We love clean cars, clean sheets, clean dishes, clean hands, and clean hearts. Repentance means a new start. It means God’s grace. It means getting things right this time.

I expect that prodigal felt so good that first night back home. Home, right where he belonged. Home, the place that loved him and accepted him. And, so it is for us when we come back to God. That is where we belong. That is what we were made for.

Fourth, there was no going forward for Asa, as long as a prominent family member was clinging to an offensive idol. If Asa did nothing, he looked like he was compromising, inconsistent and even a hypocrite. There have been far too many books recommended by preachers that are nothing more than spiritual poison. They need to be burned and tossed into the Kidron. Not telling others about some of the dangers is cowardly, sinful and negligent on their part. Sure there may be some good thoughts, good ideas, but don’t fail to warn about the dangers also found in those books. Recommending something without any qualifiers leaves the impression that everything in it is fine. That can be the very formula for someone getting tangled into error and their faith being damaged.

To cleanse the nation, Asa had to start at home. He had to be consistent.

There are times that you and I need to find the Kidron and rid ourselves of the things that are not helping us get to Heaven.

Roger

19

Jump Start # 3125

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3125

John 4:7 “There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’”

  It is fascinating seeing the flow of people that pass through Jesus’ life. In John 3 there is Nicodemus, the knowledgeable rabbi who would have strictly followed God’s law. Turn the page, and we come to our verse, the Samaritan woman. She has been through multiple marriages and was now living with someone. Her life seemed like a train wreck. A few pages later, there was a woman brought to Him who had been caught in adultery.

  Throughout the Gospel journey, there are centurions, synagogue officials, parents, tax collectors and eventually, Roman officials. In this short three year period, there were so many people that came into the life of Jesus.

 But, isn’t that true of us? Look at the people that have intersected your life and passed through your journey. High school friends. College roommates. Teachers. Coaches. Family. Co-workers. Brethren. Some we will never forget and others we hardly remember. Some are in and out of our lives like a meteor streaking across the night sky. Others have been there for decades. Life long friends. Some have helped us. Some have stood in the way and were difficult. Some we really loved. Some we tried to love, but it was hard.

  Now, from this, some lessons for us:

  First, every person you met had a story and a past, just as you do. Some stories are so amazing that it is hard to believe. Some have overcome great obstacles. But you have a story. You have a past. Some have never moved on from their past. Some were marked forever by their past. Some rose to great heights, in spite of their past.

  Second, every person in our story needed Jesus, just as you do. Some seemed to need Jesus a lot, but we all do. Every person has been stained by sin and have hurt God because of their selfish choices. Some would never admit to that. Some do not realize that. But it’s there, and we realize that.

  Third, every person in your story was loved by Jesus. That’s a lesson for us. Sometimes we have trouble loving some. Sometimes we don’t want to love. But Jesus did. He said it and He proved it by going to the cross. His death wasn’t for a few, but for all. It was for those who we might call enemies. It was for those who we may not like. Jesus love all. Jesus loved us. Jesus loved you.

  Fourth, Jesus offered salvation, hope and Heaven for every person in your story. There may be some that we would not associate with today. There may be some that we would not invite to our homes today. The promise of Jesus was for all people, including us and including you.

  Aside from the apostles, I wonder if Jesus had some people that He liked more than others? I wonder if Mary, Martha and Lazarus were high on His list of friends?

  People in our lives. You indeed are very rich if you can have a handful of faithful friends who are followers of Jesus. We need to be with people who are traveling the same direction we are. We need to have dear to our hearts those who can help us spiritually and make a difference for us.

  Facebook as brought back to our lives people that we have lost touch with through the years. That can be good and it also can be bad. Before you open the doors to your heart to another person, consider whether or not that person can help you with the Lord.

  Who is dear to your heart? Have you told them?

  People in our lives. Where would we be without them? Fellowship in Christ is a sweet, sweet blessing and someday we will be together forever!

Roger

18

Jump Start # 3124

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3124

1 Timothy 3:10 “And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.”

Our verse today is found among what is commonly called the qualifications of a deacon. Characteristics may be a better description and understanding than qualifications. Character is what a person is. It’s his spiritual DNA. Some can put on a good show and others are pretty good at telling you what you want to hear, but character is what defines you.

And, in our verse today, we have a simple reminder, before they are appointed as deacons, test them. The ESV expresses this, “…prove themselves blameless.” Now, some thoughts spring from this.

First, the proving or testing takes place before they are officially recognized as servants of the church or deacons. What a mistake it is, and I’ve seen in happen, for a church to appoint someone who is lukewarm with the hopes that now he will step it up. And if he doesn’t? The flow of our passage is that these men have proven themselves or passed the test and have shown themselves to be dependable, worthy and responsible.  As hard as it is to appoint someone, it’s even harder to “unappoint” them.

Second, all of this implies that a man has shown himself to be busy, faithful, dependable and trustworthy in the kingdom. He’s proven that. He’s passed the test, we could say. Now, this implies that these men have been doing things. And, that implies that not every function, duty or task, has to be done by an official elder or deacon. If that be the case, how would anyone ever prove himself. He must be given things to do. Not everyone needs a title, and those terms are not so much titles as job descriptions. We call a painter, a painter, because he paints. A photographer, because he takes pictures. A shepherd, because he shepherds the people of God. A servant, because he serves. Teaching classes, taking care of scheduling, heading up groups, seeing after widows, paying the bills for the church, many, many ways for a man to be busy showing himself to be honest, dependable and committed.

If there is nothing for a man to do, then how can he prove himself?

Third, becoming a deacon is not climbing the ladder in the church. There are no ladders in the church. Much too often, it is viewed that deacons are junior elders or that’s the first step in becoming an elder some day. Not so. Completely different roles and different functions. The shepherds are not at the top of the pinnacle. That’s how some diagram the organization of the kingdom. Jesus-elders– deacons– members. I’ve heard people say, “I’m just a member,” as if that is a lowly peasant who doesn’t count. Some have said that deacons do physical things and elders spiritual. That’s not taught that way in the Bible. Different roles. Different functions. The Biblical diagram would be a straight horizontal line, with the shepherds leading the rest of us.

It is interesting to see that in Philippians 1, there were deacons. Yet, we know that early on, there were no church buildings. Deacons without church buildings. What did they do? Today, we’ve turned deacons into maintenance men. One has to be married, have children, be appointed, so he can change a light bulb in the church house. Really? That’s it? Could it be in the first century that the deacons had a much more spiritual role than we allow them today? Could it be that the deacons took the inspired letters from the apostles and faithfully delivered them to the churches? Could it be that the dependable deacons took money from the churches and gave it to the apostles?

The role of a deacon is a servant. A servant puts the master first. A servant pleases the master. The master is not the elders. The master is not even the church. The master is Jesus. He serves, because Jesus first served. He goes out of his way, because Jesus always went out of His way. He puts others first, because Jesus put us first. The heart of the servant is to make the kingdom the best he can and thus honor the God who is before all. Being a deacon isn’t about prestige. It’s about find a towel, getting a bowl of water, and washing the dirty feet of others. Nothing too glamorous about that. But, that’s what Jesus did. Being a deacon isn’t becoming a sergeant in the church where you can boss people around. No one bosses anyone. We lead by example. We teach by influence. We show before we tell.

Fourth, there is a bit of application in our verse for all of us. Shouldn’t each of us prove ourselves? Shouldn’t we be living in such a way that people do not have to ask if we are Christians, they know. They see it. We prove it with our words and attitudes, and that includes on social media. We prove it by our choices. We prove it by our modesty. We prove it by our seeking the kingdom first.

Dependable. Faithful. Committed. Honest. Dedicated. Loyal. Godly. Pure. Righteous. These are the things that need to be in our DNA. These are the things that people need to see in us. Around our family. Around the neighborhood. Around the office. Proven. Passed the text. We belong to Christ. We are one of His.

Our theme this year is: I am His and He is mine! How do we know that? How do others know that? Simple. It’s proven.

Roger