17

Jump Start # 3290

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3290

Proverbs 26:13 “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!’”

Oh, the sluggard. He works harder at doing nothing than doing something. We don’t use the term ‘sluggard,’ much in our conversations. For us, it’s lazy bones. In a series of four verses in Proverbs 26, the writer paints a pathetic picture of the lazy. Our verse today begins this section on the sluggard.

Seeing a lion in the road is a great reason to stay inside. If one was to go out, he’d likely be torn to pieces by the fierce beast. By the flow of these verses, it seems that the sluggard was making up excuses. The lion is in the road. Now, the lion is in the open square, which would be in town. Which is it? The writer is not dismissing a dangerous situation. He is not telling the readers to do something foolish. Rather, it seems the sluggard is just saying these things. This is his reason for not getting out of bed. This is why he won’t go to work. Excuse after excuse and it makes him feel safe hiding behind excuses.

There sure are many lessons for us:

First, excuses are a polite way of avoiding what we don’t want to do. Just saying, “I don’t feel like doing that,” is too honest and abrupt. But hidden behind an excuse, and it’s easy for us to get around things. Talk to any police officer and the excuses they hear when people are pulled over. Often there isn’t much difference between an excuse and a lie.

The old preacher talked about modern miracles in his day. Folks that were too sick to get out to church services, were seen in restaurants at noon. Somehow they had recovered quickly. Must have been a miracle, the old preacher said.

Second, God sees through the smoke of an excuse. We can fool one another. We can be very convincing, but God knows. The issue in our verse today wasn’t the lion, it was the lazy heart of the person who didn’t want to do anything. It seems our culture is catering to the lazy. Rather than being industrious and working hard, some would rather stay home, play video games and get checks in the mail for doing nothing. Some of this has to be the way people were raised. Lazy people raise lazy kids. Busy people raise busy kids. Too lazy to work. Too lazy to get down to the church building. Too lazy to help anyone else. The idle mind becomes the devil’s playground is a very common expression. Keeping the mind, the hands, and the heart busy not only keeps one out of trouble, but it makes that person productive and helpful to others.

Third, now, what if there was truly a lion in the street? Form a plan on how to deal with that lion. Think about distracting that lion and sending someone out for help. Doing nothing results with nothing. Find a lion killer and get him to come. I expect the sluggard would just go back to bed.

I’ve noticed through the years that it is very hard for the industrious and the lazy to understand each other. The busy person is up and at it early in the morning. He has a list of things he wants to accomplish. He is driven, focused and goal oriented. It baffles him how someone can sleep away the morning. But the lazy doesn’t see the need to do all that the busy person is doing. Now, when lazy marries busy, it will be a rocky relationship. The two are not wired the same and there will be constant battles and friction.

And, let’s be honest here, it’s easy for a person to become a lazy preacher these days. Most of his time is spent alone. There are no time clocks in the church building. He can easily get a sermon from the internet on a Saturday evening. He can spend the week doing nothing. Such is a poor example to the church. Shepherds need to look into a man’s work habits before he is offered the position to preach. The criticism of preachers only working one day a week is actually true among the lazy. In our times today, it is easy to produce blogs, podcasts and other means to teach and reach others worldwide. I am not a fan of the lazy preacher.

A lion is in the street! So, do something about it. There are things to be done, and God is greater than any lion. David killed a lion. God shut the mouths of lions for Daniel. Maybe the sluggard should have prayed. But that may be expecting too much, since he is lazy.

Roger

16

Jump Start # 3289

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3289

James 1:26 “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”

Across from our church building is a small golf driving range. It’s a great summer oasis if I want to take a short break from what I am doing. In the late fall, the driving range closes for the winter. Every year, after it closes, they post the same message on the sign out front, “Think Spring.” When the cold winter wind blows, that’s a great reminder, “Think Spring.”

Something recently happened to the message on the sign. The word “Spring” is missing. The letters may have fallen off. The sign now reads, “Think”. And, in many ways, that’s a much better message. Think. We’d all do a lot better if we only do some thinking.

Our verse today describes a person whose mind and actions do not match. He thinks he is religious. However, his mouth tells a different story. His mouth is not bridled. The words fly and as they sting and hurt others, this man’s influence for good falls to the mud. No one thinks that he is a follower of Jesus, the way he talks. What he thinks and what he does are not consistent and they do not match.

Let’s think about “Think”:

First, a lot of trouble we get ourselves into wouldn’t happen so much if we did some thinking. We say things without considering how those words might be received. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Most of us struggle with figuring out that time. “Should I say this,” would prevent a lot of heartache if we only thought those thoughts. James tells us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. It seems we like to mix those things up and do more speaking than hearing.

Second, imagine if we could think of passages before we acted. The Psalmist meditated day and night upon God’s word. Thinking about what God wants me to do, would likely get me down to the church house more than I often go. Thinking about God and His divine kingdom would likely lead me to giving more money than I already do. Think. Think about the good that can be done. Think about the ways the kingdom can be expanded.

Third, Bible classes could really become challenging, deep and helpful if we put more thought into what we are doing. This begins first with the teacher. Asking simplistic questions that everyone already knows the answers to will generate silence or simplistic answers. It can be an exercise in just rehearsing what we already know. We need depth, challenging and insightful observations of God’s word from the teacher.

But the students in the classes need to think as well. Think about who is in the class. Some like to play the game ‘stump the teacher.’ They do this by asking controversial questions that have nothing to do with the subject being taught. They like to put the teacher on the spot and like being cute by making silly comments. Everyone laughs. One must understand who all is in the classroom. Young in faith. New to Christ. Broken hearts. Confused. And, comments made without thinking, can discourage, disappoint and even drive some away.

A person must “THINK” before he speaks in class. Will this be helpful? Is this something that I need to study before I speak out? Is this something that I ought to ask the teacher in private? Some, as soon as a thought crosses their minds, they open their mouths and say things that may not be appropriate, kind or helpful. THINK.

Finally, as one puts some thought into “THINK,” it is remarkable that God thinks about us. He loves you, not because you are part of the human race, but He loves you personally. He knows you. He made you. He understands how you are wired.

There are moments in our lives when it seems that no one is thinking of us. You may feel this way about your family. Everyone is occupied with themselves and no one thinks of you. You may feel this way about the church. You wonder if you dropped out, would anyone even miss you. You can feel this way about work. You easily can feel this way about society and the government. No one thinks about me. That quickly turns to, “No one cares about me.” But, there is one and He always thinks about you. He is God. He is busy blessing you, forgiving you, moving things in and out of your life that you are not even aware of.

But on another aspect, do we think about God? That “pray without ceasing” verse doesn’t really work well unless we are thinking about Him. When I think about Him, I want to pray to Him. When I think about Him, I step more closely to Him. When I think about Him, I realize how rich I am.

Think. I hope the driving range just keeps that word on the sign. It sure helps me every time I see it.

Think.

Roger

15

Jump Start # 3288

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3288

1 Samuel 11:2 “But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel.”

Our verse today is one that we hope that we’d never hear said to us. The Ammonites besieged Jabesh, which was in Israel. The situation was tense and bad. The people of Jabesh were willing to surrender and become the servants of the Ammonites. There was a condition, and that is where our verse comes in today. A covenant would be formed, but the right eye of the people of Jabesh would be gouged out. The right eye, for most people, is the most dominate. That would limit and hinder any future attacks from these people. Your right eye will be gouged out.

The opening sentences of Judges finds Israel fighting the Canaanites. The pagan king, Adoni-bezek was caught and his thumbs and big toes were cut off. He felt justice because he bragged that seventy other kings once struggled for scraps under his table. The big toes and thumbs of those seventy kings had been cut off by the Canaanites. Now, he was getting in return what he had done to others.

Gouged eyes and cut toes—not the stuff for a Sunday morning sermon title. There are lessons for us.

First, the world is violent and lacking mercy. It has been that way and it continues that way. It is so easy to believe that we are living in the worst times ever. And, things are dark and bad, but I don’t hear of any rulers gouging eyes and cutting off big toes. Most, outside of God’s people, have never heard of these stories, which means that history has taught no lessons.

Cruel, unforgiving, harsh, mean, evil and wicked are the words that ought to never be used to describe the people of God. Without a moral compass, and without a conscience, the depths of how far one may fall has no limits. Years ago I was sitting in a Federal penitentiary talking to a man on death roll about God. He detailed to me what he once did to the Viet Cong captives when he was in the military. If what he said was true, I don’t think the military brass would have approved and I had to wonder if the unspeakable things he did warped his mind to commit the violent crimes that put him on death row.

Sometimes we can get worked up, bothered and irritated by others, even our brethren. But, even then, that is not a reason to forget who we are and whom we serve. Far too many are willing to stand in the shadows of the prodigal’s brother, refusing to accept, refusing to forgive, and refusing to fellowship. Have we forgotten what we have done to our Savior? His love for us forgives and extends a second chance to do things better. Why can’t we be more like that?

Second, gouging eyes and cutting off big toes, was far more than punishment. It would be life long crippling of a person. Once the eye was gouged out, there was no replacing that. One would limp the rest of his life if his big toe was cut off. These things would intend to ruin their lives. They would never be the same after that. And, unfortunately, similar things happen to us. It’s not the cutting off of our toes, but it’s the gouging of our feelings, the stomping on our hearts, the ridicule, cutting remarks that stay will us for a long, long time. They cripple our confidence. They make us feel like a dog. Unwanted. Uninvited. Avoided. Ignored. Talked about. Gossiped. Excluded. These are the things that make preachers quit for good. These are the very reasons why some drop off the charts spiritually and never return.

Jesus was treated this way. They called Him names. They accused Him. They twisted His words. They hated Him. Peter tells us that Christ suffered and left us an example to follow. He uttered no threats in return, although He could have. He spoke no harsh words, although He had ever reason to. He entrusted Himself to His Father. Those are the steps we are to follow. Toxic co-workers, mean family members, nosey neighbors and cruel brethren test our patience and faith. We must take the higher road. We must act as our Lord did. No cutting toes when they want to gouge your eyes.

Third, practicing the golden rule is hard sometimes. It’s hard to be nice when someone wants your toes. It’s hard to be a light to those who want to pull out your eyeball. If everyone wore smiles and was friendly, we wouldn’t have to think much about being the light as Christ wants us to. But that’s the challenge. Jesus prayed for the very men who put nails in his hands and feet. Jesus put the ear back on one who came to arrest Him. Being nice to people who are not nice is a real test for us. Some will not thank you. Some will try to take advantage of you. Some will still be mean and nasty.

Both Paul and Peter told the disciples to pray for kings and those in charge. Those in charge would eventually put those two to death. But our lights shines the brightest when we are in the darkest places. It’s pretty easy to be a Christian in Sunday worship. It’s the days we are at work or in the stores or around the public and we witness selfish, rude behavior. Be the light.

Gouged eyes and cut toes—those things are in our Bibles for a reason. Maybe it’s to help us remember our place in this place.

Roger

14

Jump Start # 3287

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3287

Ecclesiastes 4:4 “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity.”

 

  When one studies Ecclesiastes, there are certain words that keep popping up over and over. Vanity is one of those words. Striving after the wind is another common and repeated expression in Ecclesiastes. But one that is often not given much attention is “I saw.” Four times, in chapter four, that phrase is used. “I saw,” is sprinkled throughout the book and it gives us the standpoint of what is written. This is not Heaven’s perspective, but what Solomon saw. He did not draw his conclusions after spending hours researching old papers and documents. This wasn’t something that he learned in school. He didn’t get this information from reading God’s word. The basis of his writings were what he saw. That is the standpoint from which Ecclesiastes is written. It is a perspective based upon the eyes of Solomon. And from what he saw, he drew conclusions and made judgments.

 

  And, like Solomon, we do the same thing. We see something, or, we hear something, and from that we form conclusions and judgments. Sometimes those conclusions and judgments are wrong. It’s hard for us to admit to that because we based our thoughts upon what we saw. “I saw,” isn’t always what there is to see.

 

  First, visual perceptions can’t see everything. Habakkuk begged God to do something about the injustice in his days. God was doing something. He told the prophet that he would not believe what was happening. He had no idea. He couldn’t see what all God was doing. Job is another illustration of this. Job didn’t know about the conversation between God and Satan. We know about it, but Job didn’t.

 

  We see things from our corner of the world. We cannot see all the other corners. This limits our vision and it impacts our conclusions and judgments. Because we don’t see something, doesn’t mean things are not happening.

 

  Second, visual perceptions often miss the backstory. Just about every story has a history Something led to something else. Not aware of that history, we can draw conclusions that are just not completely true. Visual perception doesn’t give us the whole story. What led up to what we now see is something that we often do not see.

 

  Third, visual perceptions cannot read motives or attitudes. What was the reason for what was done? We can see with our eyes the outcome, but our eyes cannot see the motives. Did anger lead to certain actions? How about jealousy? How about greed? How about lust? How about wanting to help someone? The motives reveal the intent. We can drive through town and see a brother in Christ walking into a bar. That’s what our eyes saw. From that, we can believe he’s going in to get a drink. From that, he’s meeting someone and likely having an affair. From that, he’s a drunk. From that, he’s living a double life. From that, we want to run and tell the elders. We are ready to accuse and bring charges against this person. What began with our eyes leads to wild rumors and speculations. But, what if his car had broken down and he wasn’t getting any reception on his phone, so he walked into the bar to make a phone call? What if it was all very innocent? What I saw, led to what I thought, but all of that could have been wrong.

 

  We sometimes call this jumping to conclusions. Rash and quick judgments often hurt innocent actions. Job’s friends were guilty of this. Their opening speech declares, “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it” (4:8). Job’s children all died in a sudden storm. From the observation of Job’s friend, they were being punished for some sin. They harvested trouble because they had sowed trouble. Yet, this wasn’t right. Their conclusions and theology were all out of alignment. There were things happening that he did not see.

 

  So what are we to make with all of this?

 

  First, before I make conclusions based upon what I saw, maybe I ought to have a conversation and find out what really happened. Don’t enter the conversation with your mind made up, like Job’s friends. Don’t come with guns blazing. Ask, don’t accuse. Come with gentleness and kindness.

 

  Second, not everything I see is my business. We like to make everything our business, from what we see posted on social media, to what we overhear in the church building, to what our eyes see. A busybody is not a compliment that comes from God. Being busy in the kingdom is not the same as a busybody. It’s hard for some to leave things as they are. It’s hard for some not to want to know everything that is going on. Somethings are simply not our business.

 

  Third, our own perspective has a way of tainting our vision. If we look for trouble, we’ll probably find it. If we try to see what’s wrong, you’ll find it. I have gone to eat at places that I did not want to go to. Before I got out of the car, my mood was sour. I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t like the food. Every little detail that I could complain about, I did. The tables were too close to each other. The menu didn’t have the food I wanted. The server seemed too busy. There wasn’t very many ice cubes in my cup. I looked at the fork and knife carefully to see if they were clean. My perspective colored how I saw things.

 

  This is true politically. No matter what great ideas are presented in Congress, some will shoot them down simply because they come from the opposite party.

 

  Nathanael had a perspective problem when he declared, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” His mind was made up. Didn’t matter what he saw. His attitude colored his vision.

 

  Better than I saw with my eyes, is I saw in the Scriptures. That’s the right vision. That’s always the correct way of seeing things.

 

  Solomon’s journal that we call Ecclesiastes, changes as he leaves the horizontal vision of life under the sun and starts looking at things vertically, Heavenward. The same changes for us, as well.

 

  Roger

 

13

Jump Start # 3286

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3286

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 concludes a long list of the trials, troubles and tribulations that Paul endured. Against his nature, he was forced to defend himself against some who were taking pot shots at his preaching and his role as an apostle. It’s easy to coach from the stands. The backseat driver always knows what to do, so it seems.

I know of no Christian who could stand beside Paul and say, I’ve had similar things in my life. No one. Whipped. Beaten with rods. Stoned. Shipwrecked. Verse 26 lists eight different dangers that Paul experienced. Hungry. Cold. This grand soldier of Christ kept going.

In our verse today, Paul makes a contrast from the external trials to the internal concern he had for all the churches. The mental, emotional and deep spiritual concerns can hurt us more than all the other things. Just walk through the N.T. churches and you’ll see this.

The Corinthians were divided, carnal, jealous and some even denied the resurrection of Jesus.

The Galatians were leaning back to parts of the Law of Moses.

In the joyous Philippian church, there were two sisters who were not getting along.

In Ephesus, there were shepherds drawing people away from Christ.

In Colossae, would Philemon treat the run-a-way slave as a brother in Christ?

Later on, Laodicea, would become stagnate.

The Romans were fighting about eating meats.

In Thessalonica, some stopped working and were not following the example of the apostles.

Then there were the individuals, such as Mark who deserted Paul. Demas who went back to the world. Alexander who was causing a lot of trouble. Peter was acting like a hypocrite.

The daily pressure of concern for all the churches.

Some thoughts for us:

First, the concern for all the churches surrounded the spiritual wellbeing of the people. We know that from what Paul wrote in his letters to this churches. It wasn’t about budgets. It wasn’t about padding pews. It wasn’t about parking lots. It wasn’t about where to order toner for the copy machine. It was about the spiritual strength of the brethren. Were they growing in the Lord? Was false teaching making a way among them? Paul’s concern was the internal wellbeing of the brethren.

We can be so consumed with the things that do not matter that we miss what really matters. It’s not filling the church house every Sunday, it’s filling hearts with Jesus Christ. That’s the key. That comes from faith. That comes from consistently teaching God’s word.

Second, the concern for all the churches was the responsibility of the apostles. It is not ours. Minding our own business, even congregationally, is hard for some. Some want to be the watchman for the brotherhood. Some want to be involved in every skirmish found everywhere. Our focus needs to be upon the congregation we are a part of.

One of the aspects of pure Biblical study is to understand that Paul wore three different hats. He was an apostle. He was a preacher. He was a Christian. And, when we read Scriptures, we must figure out which hat Paul is wearing. What he does as an apostle, only apostles could do. The concern for all the churches was something that was the work of the apostles. The keys of the kingdom were given to them, not us. They had the authority from Heaven to declare in every church what God’s will was. We do not carry that authority. We cannot butt our way into another place and make demands.

Keeping track of what is going on in every place not only is a waste of time, it’s not our job. What goes on down the road in another congregation is their business. I may like it or I may think they’ve gone nuts, but it’s not my business. I can talk about them. I can blackball them. I can thrown mud at them. And, sadly that’s the choices many make. You don’t find Paul telling the Ephesians about how mixed up the Corinthians were. You don’t read in Romans about the fighting sisters of Philippi. It wasn’t the concern of these other places. Nosey minds want to know all the dirt that goes on in the brotherhood. That kind of information doesn’t build faith and it doesn’t help folks get to Heaven. In major cities, where there are many congregations, knowing too much about others and getting in each other’s business can be a real problem. Often judgments are made without knowing all the facts and the backstory. Some are accused of accepting wrong or doing wrong without knowing what’s going on behind the scenes.

Third, our concern needs to be focused upon the congregation I’m a part of, my family and myself. Daily pressure is what our verse says. Daily. When one reads the opening of nearly every letter Paul wrote, he states that he prays for them. All those churches. All those people. Yet, do you, do I, even pray for one congregation, the one I am a member at? Daily, Paul was concerned. Daily, Paul was thinking about them. Daily, Paul was wanting and praying for their spiritual success. How about us?

I get the impression that some are not content nor happy unless there is some smoke in the air somewhere. They love to dig up the dirt, hear about the scandals, learn about trouble, see what preachers got fired. And, when none of that is going on, they just can’t stand it. Such should not be the mindset of God’s people.

Every church has problems and issues from time to time. Every person could be doing more and doing better. But rather than focusing upon what’s not right, we need to turn our attention to the blessings of God and how rich we are spiritually. God’s family is wonderful, caring and supportive.

The daily pressure of concern for all the churches. What a powerful statement. What a great responsibility.

Roger