23

Jump Start # 3332

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3332

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

I have always loved this passage Three bold statements fill this verse. Be kind. Be tender-hearted. Be forgiving. Those three statements fit nicely together. It’s really hard to be forgiving if one is not kind. And, being tender-hearted is just a natural outcome of being kind.

One would think that among disciples, being kind is a given. Some things just do not need to be said, yet, here the apostle says it. Maybe among some it wasn’t as natural as we thought. Maybe there was friction between Jews and Gentiles. Maybe there was a past and that made it difficult to be kind.

The opposite of kindness is meanness. This is why we find signs and posts on social media about being kind. However, without Jesus, there isn’t an example, nor a motive to be kind. Why should one be kind? Just because someone else says so? Some see kindness as allowing others to walk over them and take advantage of them. The movies are filled with rough and tough people who seek revenge and settle the score upon others.

I want to look at the back side of forgiving each other. What we see there is an apology. Someone has hurt another. An apology or an “I’m sorry” is offered. The person who was hurt accepts the apology and forgives. The very idea of the apostle bringing up forgiving tells us that we tend to hurt each other. We say things that shouldn’t be said. We think selfishly and run over the feelings of others. We take advantage of others. Yes, in a perfect world, among God’s people, we’d never need to apologize and we’d never need to forgive. However, this world isn’t Heaven, and, we do hurt one another. We are not perfect. Apologize and forgive—like salt and pepper, they belong in every home, in every church, and in every heart.

Let’s focus in upon the idea of an apology:

First, an apology ought to be and needs to be genuine. It rises from within, out of our hearts. Telling another person to apologize, when they don’t feel like it, or think they should, becomes forced and has the appearance of fake flowers. From a distance fake flowers look nice. But, they are fake. They don’t smell like real flowers. They don’t feel like real flowers. They are just an image, but not the real thing.

We see that in the home. A couple of boys will be roughhousing and one starts crying. Mom says, “tell your brother you are sorry.” He does so only because mom told him to. When mom leaves the room, he is likely to throw another punch. So much for the contrite heart. It was all fake, just like artificial flowers.

Sometimes a person will toss out an apology just because they got in trouble. At the end of a Sunday service a teen drags himself forward and mumbles some sorry words about making a mistake. The church rallies around him and prayers are offered. In time, as the story becomes known, the police were involved, it is a big mess. Was he truly sorry for his choices or was he sorry that he got caught and is now in trouble?

Second, it seems to me that an apology ought to be directed towards the people that were hurt. I’ve seen some offer an apology on Facebook, but who is reading that and who is that directed towards. If I wasn’t hurt or involved, there is no need to apologize to me. A generic social apology may reach many people but does it help the people who were directly hurt? Send a personal letter to the people involved or better yet, go tell them in person. What if a person has hurt a congregation? Do the same. Send a letter or go tell them in person. Facebook has a place but it cannot cover somethings that need to be done directly,

Third, before a person apologizes to another, one ought to apologize to God. We can tell someone that we forgive them, but that does not take the place of what God says. The church cannot forgive sins, only God can. A person can tearfully apologize to another person, but the wrongs that they have done must still be forgiven by God. Turn first to God before you turn to one another.

It seems from our passage that God knew His people who hurt each other. Sometimes that comes about as we grow. We have to move from a selfish center to having the heart of a servant. In that process, we can wound each other. Growth also means that we move away from attitudes, words and choices that are not God pleasing. Patience, grace and forgiveness are the keys that keep us together. Without that, we will walk away from each other.

No one is too big to apologize. No one ought to be too proud to apologize. It’s really hard to forgive someone when that person refuses to admit wrong and apologize. It will strain our fellowship, continue to hurt our feelings and keep us from progressing and growing in the Lord.

I am sorry…mean it. Say it. Don’t be too big for it.

Roger

22

Jump Start # 3331

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3331

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

I have been teaching a class entitled, ‘The Marks of Maturity.’ The mature disciple is what the Lord wants out of all of us. Act like men, is what the Corinthians were told. Grow up is what the Ephesians were told. The  lack of maturity among the Hebrews made the writer conclude that they needed to be taught again.

One of the things about maturity is that it is much easier to see immaturity than it is to describe maturity. Age has nothing to do with maturity. There are plenty of grown ups who have never grown up. Pity parties, whining because they didn’t get their way, pouting, selfish, throwing fits, this is not three-year-olds on an airplane, it’s adults at ballgames, restaurants and even in church services. Oh, the example we often leave before little eyes is sad.

Our verse today illustrates two avenues of maturity. Although the word ‘mature’ is not found here, the concept and principle certainly is.

First, it takes a mature heart to go and have a conversation with someone who has done wrong. Most texts will state in the footnotes, ‘If your brother sins against you.’ That’s personal. It’s one thing to see someone doing wrong, but you don’t have any personal part in that. However, if the sin was against you, you have been hurt. It’s your feelings that have been crushed. It’s your name and your reputation that has been tarnished. Now, we have something really invested in this matter. Someone has done you wrong and nothing has been done to make it right.

Here is where maturity or immaturity surfaces. In our hurt and anger, we can tell others. We can find ways to get even. We can just cut the person off and avoid him forever. So easy to do that. So immature to do that. The other person may not be aware that they have hurt you. They may have said something as a joke, but it wasn’t funny to you, because it ridiculed you.

What we typically do is wait for the offender to come to us. Why should I go to him, we say? I didn’t do anything wrong. He owes me an apology. So we sit and we wait. And while we wait, we stew. Our thoughts get darker and our mood becomes ugly. And we wait. And we wait. And, nothing happens. This is about the time that sides are drawn up, nasty things are said, and someone leaves. This happens because we don’t follow the Lord’s words here.

The person who was hurt is the one who initiates the conversation. He goes and shows the fault is what the text tells us. It takes a lot of maturity to do that. It takes a lot of courage to do that. What if he gets defensive? What if he gets angry? And, the more we think that way, the more we talk ourselves out of going. Go is what Jesus said. It may not be easy. It may not be what you want to do. Either, let the hurt go or go and have a conversation with the offender. Not the shepherds in the church. Not the preacher. But go to the person who hurt you.

To do this, one must pray and pray hard. To do this, one must think about how to bring the topic up and how to address the matter. The goal is not for an apology. That ought to come naturally. The goal is to help someone be better. The goal is to help someone see that his actions hurt. The goal is not to prove you are right and the offender is wrong. The goal is to win a brother.

Second, the other aspect of maturity is found in the person who is going to be talked to, the offender. Something he has done has hurt another. He may be aware of it. He may not be aware of it. Someone asks to meet with you. Immaturity suspects something and will dodge all contact and conversations. That’s immature. Immaturity will find excuses time and time again because he doesn’t want to face the music.

The mature will listen. He will not fire a counter attack. He will not be defensive. He will listen. There is a chance that all of this was an innocent misunderstanding. There is a chance that an apology needs to be offered and extended. The mature realizes that he is not beyond making mistakes and even hurting others. The mature wants to grow and be better in the Lord. The mature understands that he doesn’t have all the answers nor does he always do things right.

In the flow of these passages, Jesus, shows us two possible outcomes. The best is when this private conversation is met by two mature people and restoration and forgiveness flows. That’s the end of the matter. Nothing more needs to be said, ever again. Put the problem in an unmarked grave and never go back to visit it again. It’s over. Do not tell others about it, it’s over.

But, there is a possibility that the offender won’t listen. Jesus then says to take two or three with you. The intensity is turned up. Another conversation. If the seriousness is understood and the person listens, it’s done. If not, one more step, tell it to the church. If the offender, now in a third conversation about this problem, still refuses to listen, he is to be disciplined.

Maturity…immaturity. It’s really shown in a time of crisis.

Roger

19

Jump Start # 3330

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3330

John 5:37 “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.”

It is a question that is difficult to answer. Teachers of children’s classes have to deal with this question all the time. We adults just don’t think about it. The question? “What does God look like?” The technical answer is that God is a spirit. Flesh and bone does not inherit the kingdom. God doesn’t have a form, yet, when you pray, do you have a mental picture in your mind? When my kids call, by the tone of their voices and their talk, I can see them, even though I don’t see them. What about God? Do you see an elderly person sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch of Heaven? Do you see Him as an English judge, possibly in a white wig, seated behind a tall judicial bench? Do you see Him with a stern look upon His face? Do you see Him with no expression? Do you see Him smiling?

Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus tells Thomas, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

In the story of the prodigal, Luke 15, Jesus gives us one of the clearest pictures of God. Through words, we see Him. And, what we see, is exactly how Jesus lived. In seeing Jesus, we see the Father.

Consider the picture of God that Jesus draws for us:

First, as much as it breaks the heart of God, He allows us to run from Him and even make grave mistakes. The prodigal had enough of his father. He wanted freedom. He wanted the far country. The far country called him to a world of pleasure and excitement that he never had at home. I expect the father knew. Rather than saying, “No, you can’t go.” He let him go. He didn’t chase after him. He let him go.

And, so it is with us. How the Father longs for us to bend our wills and our hearts to Him. How He wants us to worship Him. But He’ll let us run the other way. He’ll let us fill our stomachs and veins with all kinds of chemicals that will only harm us. He’ll let us pollute our minds, bow down to images and embrace false doctrine. How hard it must be for the Father to see us hurting ourselves.

Second, as destroyed as we have made our lives, God allows us to come back home to Him. For the Jewish audience that Jesus was teaching, the image of a young man demanding his inheritance and then spending time with pigs was more than most could take. Heads must have been shaking as Jesus told this story. What a terrible image Jesus presented. And, yet, that’s us. We have broken hearts, vows and promises. We have ruined relationships, destroyed trust and filled our lips with lies that we knew were not true. Yes, we have been with pigs. We have wanted what pigs had. We were not made that way. We were made for better things. Sons living destitute of hope, faith and help. And, as much as we deserve to sleep in the beds we have made, God takes us back.

It’s much more than that. The father didn’t watch the son come crawling back. The father didn’t have a long lecture or an “I told you so,” speech. Instead, seeing the prodigal from a distance, he ran. He embraced. He kissed. That prodigal was likely very dirty, smelly and worn and ragged. That didn’t matter, not to the father. Forgiveness. Love. Acceptance. Things were better than the prodigal ever hoped. He was just wishing to be a servant. Instead, his status as a son was restored. It was never truly lost. He had only forgotten. Ring, sandal, robe, feast—the things we’d honor a hero with, come to the broken, lost prodigal. He didn’t deserve any of that. He hadn’t anything good to say, other than he had messed up.

What a picture of God that Jesus presents. We fear punishment that we so deserve, yet there is the Father with His arms stretched out, tears running down His eyes and a smile upon His face. What a picture of forgiveness. What an image of hope. What an illustration of grace.

Third, music, dancing and the smells of a feast fill the house, as the prodigal sees that the Father has always loved him. The prodigal didn’t have to slowly earn the love back. He was loved. He was always loved. Even with the pigs, the father loved him. Even when he walked out of the house, bent on putting distance between him and the father, the love was there. The prodigal didn’t appreciate it. The prodigal didn’t look for it. But when trouble came, the money was spent, famine emptied pantries and bellies, there was no one to help. There was no one there. The promises of the far country were all lies. He wasn’t better off. Rather than free, he was a prisoner. He was without a friend. But one constant remained, the father loved him. The love never left. He didn’t stop loving him. He didn’t just begin to love when he returned home. He was always loved. Always.

And, so it is for us. The times when we have been in the far country, and God wasn’t even a faint thought on our minds, He loved us. When we filled our hearts with lust and sin, He loved us. When we closed His book, refused to bow our heads, and emptied our hearts of Him, He still loved us. He has always loved us. When we were at our worst, He loved us. He has been patient with us. He has been kind to us. He has blessed us. He has never given up on us. We don’t have to earn His love. He has never stopped loving us.

And, with that, Jesus puts down His paint brush and leaves us with the most incredible picture of God. It is better than we imagined. So much grace. So much love. So much hope.

What does God look like? He looks like Jesus.

(Is there someone that you can share this with? Someone who could use this? Copy it and send it to them)

Roger

18

Jump Start # 3329

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3329

2 Samuel 3:38 “Then the king said to his servants, ‘Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel this day?’”

Just ever so often, if a person is really fortunate and blessed, there comes along a special person in their life that is so meaningful and helpful that your life is made the better because of that. One never forgets that person. His name was Robert, but most knew him simply as Bob. For me, it was always brother Bob. He was a successful businessman, owning and running a major school bus company. He was the chairman of the board of Florida College for a quarter of a century, leading the small, struggling campus through some dark and difficult times. Quick with a smile, tender in heart, he was a kind man. His heart was as big as the world. He was one you could count on. He helped so many people financially to get through tough times, to start businesses and to send their kids to college. He could spend the day talking politics. He was an avid Republican and he let you know that.

I knew bro. Bob for twenty-five years. It was through the church that our lives intersected and from that we became friends. I have golfed with him many times, eaten at his table, dined with him at the country club and ridden in fear of my life as he drove his car. I’ve heard him tell the same jokes a dozen times, but, even though I knew the punch line, it still was funny each time. We have attended weddings and funerals together. Bob and I went to visit so many people. It was a regular occurrence, nearly every week for us. How sweet those conversations were, always asking about my family and how things were going. I always offered to drive, but he wouldn’t have it. I just closed my eyes and prayed a lot when he drove. He’d show up at the hospital before someone had surgery and offer a prayer with them. That’s just the way he was.

The first time I ever met Bob, we had driven from Indiana with our family to his home in Raymore, Missouri. I was looking to fill the preaching job at Hickman Mills. My wife and I and our four kids sat in the van in front of his house. I had heard that he was a wealthy man. My wife instructed the kids not to walk around with their mouths open and do not touch anything. As my wife and I were talking to JoAnn, I noticed a light being turned on and off and on and off. I went into that room, ready to scold my kids, and it was Bob showing my children how the chandelier worked. He was a kid at heart. And that was the start of a decade relationship of working with him. Bob served as one of the shepherds at Hickman Mills. His roots ran very, very deep in that Hickman congregation. He loved those people and he wanted to see a lasting and thriving work there. He left a powerful example of love, dedication and service.

We had a work day at the church building a long time ago. Someone was looking for Bob. I walked around and found him in the men’s bathroom, scrubbing a toilet. A guy that owned his own business. The chairman of the board of a college. An elder in the church. Successful. Important. Busy. But not too good to get on his knees and clean a toilet. He never complained about doing it. He never wondered why someone else didn’t do it. There was something to be done, and he could do it. And, those that knew Bob, saw things like this all the time. He was always ready to help. He was never too busy to listen. He was a wonderful encourager.

There was a time early in his life that he had cancer. He asked the Lord that if he spared him that he would dedicate his life in serving the Lord. And, that he did with a vengeance. Whatever Bob did, he was all in. He didn’t dabble in golf. He was good at it. He wasn’t a casual Christian, he was all in. And, when it came to the Lord, no one knew how to worship any better than bro. Bob. Although he wore many hats in life, the one that he was most proud of was simply being a disciple of Jesus. He prayed like no one else. He could dig treasures out of Scriptures that most would have missed. And, he simply loved people. His family. His friends. His church. His neighbors. Few people loved life and did as much good as Bob Harmon did.

When I started these daily blogs thirteen years ago, Bob not only read every one, but he would print them and put them in notebooks. I know. He has shown them to me.  I am thankful that my four children were old enough to have witnessed this good man and each have their own precious memories of how kind and helpful he was. They saw first hand what a servant looks like.

What made Bob, Bob? First it was his love, trust and faith in Jesus. He truly believed. Second, it was never forgetting where he came from. Third, it was his love for people like you and me. He cared. He shared. Charles Dickens has Jacob Marely saying to Ebenezer Scrooge in  A Christmas Carol, “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.”  Bob Harmon got that. His business was us. His business was the kingdom. He dedicated his life to helping us be better. He would do what he could to see that.

And, now, sweet Bob has finished his journey here. He joins his brother Dick and JoAnn, and his own sons and his beloved JoAnn in that rest promised by the Lord. Our verse this day speaks of a prince and a great man that has fallen. Such could be said of our beloved Bob. He stood out as a prince, a one of a kind. His wealth wasn’t showy but was a pathway he used to help others. His love of the Lord has carried him through dark days. He was a believer and was not ashamed of that. He prayed. He worshipped. He walked with the Lord. And, for that, his heart and his character reflected Jesus.

Those of us that were touched by the love and goodness of this great man not only are blessed but in a small way that torch passes on to us. Indeed a prince and a great man has been among us and we are the better because of that. I am better because of that.

Thank you, Lord, for putting amazing people in our lives. Thank you, for Bob Harmon. Thank you, for putting our beloved Bob in our lives. He is where he has always wanted to be, in Your presence, Lord.

May we do the good that this great man has done.

We are blessed.

Roger

17

Jump Start # 3328

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

Jump Start # 3328

John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.”

Here in this conversation with the apostles, Jesus is once again reminding them that He is leaving. As the chapter began, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” He was heading to the cross. He had an appointment with death. But, beyond that, He was heading back to Heaven. “Where I am, there you may be also,” is a promise He made to them.

The “works” Jesus talks about in our verse are the miracles. “Believe on the account of the works themselves,” Jesus said in the previous verse. In the fifth chapter, Jesus said that the works bear witness to who He is.

So, two things come from our verse today. The works that Jesus did, the apostles would do. Jesus healed. The apostles healed. Jesus raised the dead. The apostles would do the same. But then Jesus said, “greater works than these” will be done by them. The apostles would do greater works than Jesus? What could they do greater than Jesus? Is it possible that anyone can do anything better than Jesus?

  • In John 9, Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man and gave him sight. Yet, as the apostles preached the saving Gospel, thousands had their spiritual eyes opened to who Jesus was.
  • In John 6, Jesus fed five thousand. In Acts 4, through the preaching of the Gospel, five thousand obeyed the saving message of Jesus and their lives are changed.

The greater work that would be done would be the preaching to the multitudes. The faith that the preaching generated would change eternity for those that believed.

Now consider:

First, the five thousand that ate the food that Jesus multiplied received a meal. Their bellies were full. But the next day they would be hungry again. What Jesus did helped in the moment, but it didn’t change things even a day later. In eternity, that food wouldn’t impact them. The people that Jesus raised from the dead, all eventually died again. However, the saving message of the Gospel changed lives forever. It saved people from their sins and opened the doorway to Heaven for them.

Second, the work of Jesus was limited to the areas of Galilee and Judea. The work of the apostles went into all the world. With but a few exceptions, the work of Jesus was directed towards the Jews. The work of the apostles included people of all nations. Even within Caesar’s household came the message of Jesus.

Third, the miracles of Jesus have ended. The purpose was not to cure disease. If so, He failed. The intent was to show that He was the Son of God. However, the work of the apostles continues on to this day. Sunday after Sunday, brethren gather and the words of the Gospel are read, preached and studied. Congregations are made stronger, lives are enriched and hope springs deeply within those that believe. Their work continues.

Greater works than Jesus—that’s hard to believe. But it’s true. It’s true because He said so. It’s true because we see the outcome. And, you and I participate in this. We do this, first, when our hearts turn and we became believers. Secondly, we participate in this when we tell others the message of Jesus. The words of Jesus can change the eternity for those who believe. We have a hand in doing the greatest work of all, preaching, teaching and sharing the saving message of Jesus Christ.

The death of Jesus has no impact if people do not know about it. The preaching of the Gospel is the greatest work of all. You have a part in that. You preach. You support and defend preaching. You bring people to the Gospel.

The greatest work in the world.

Roger