Jump Start # 3372

 Matthew 18:3 “and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.’”

I was preaching in another congregation recently. At the end of the sermon, I told the story about Jimi, the powerful example of a man on death row who read the Bible on his own and wanted to become a N.T. Christian. Jump Start #3348 tells Jimi’s story.

We sang an invitation song after I told Jimi’s story. It was a hymn I had never sung before. It’s called, “Praise the Lord, I’m coming home.” The ending chorus says, “…with each day I get closer to Heaven; praise the Lord, I’m coming home.” Tears were running down my cheeks. I was thinking about Jimi. The next morning, I wrote Jimi and told him about that church service and I referred to those powerful words in that chorus. My letter to him ended with “Praise the Lord, I’m coming home.”

Today, Jimi is to be executed. Forgiven by the grace of God, Jimi will sing hymns with the Heavenly Host. My heart is heavy thinking about Jimi. He wrote a letter that he wanted me to read to our congregation, thanking them for thinking about him. He was amazed how far and wide and touching his story became. He said that he looked forward to standing before us and thanking us in person. He wasn’t thinking about getting out of prison. It wasn’t a dream to come to Indiana and stand before our congregation. He was thinking about Heaven. He was anticipating thanking us when we see each other in Heaven.

Now, some thoughts:

First, the love and faith and courage found in Jimi is so fresh and impressive. There are so many things that Jimi doesn’t know or understand. He hasn’t sat in Bible classes for decades as many of us have. He has never heard a sermon before. He never sang with other Christians. He never took the Lord’s Supper. Locked away in solitary awaiting his execution, Jimi prayed and read his Bible. His faith is like a child’s. His heart is as big as the universe.

Sometimes we get down into the weeds and argue about the meaning of words and the applications of passages, and that simplistic, child-like faith, found in Jimi and longed for by the Lord, is often missing among us. The “lawyers” that often tested and challenged Jesus, were not the kind found in courtrooms. They were “experts” in the law of God. They knew the law and they knew meanings of words. Some of the modern commentaries are written that way. This word comes from that word which means this and is a form of that. And, after about three paragraphs of that stuff, one is so confused that he is none the better before reading those pages. A simple, trusting heart that may not know where the root words come from or how it is connected here and there, but simply believes in Jesus, like Jimi, catches the eyes of God. In lowering our nets so deep into Scriptures, I wonder if we have forgotten the qualities of a child-like faith. A child will ask, “Why is the sky blue?” You answer, “God made it that way.” And, before you can say anything about light rays and reflection and atmosphere, the child has gone on his merry way. He doesn’t understand or even care about light rays. God made the sky blue. Cool. That’s all he needed to know.

Second, how many among us have a gold mine of Bible classes, blogs, podcasts, sermons and so many resources that we let slide by because we are “too busy.” Too busy may well be our curse. Too busy to learn, when Jimi would love to have what you have. Too busy to connect, when Jimi would love to have a fellowship of believers. Too busy to attend. Too busy to pray. Too busy is just too busy. Jimi’s situation is very unique. Even when Paul was in prison, he had fellowship and worshiped with the people of God. Not Jimi. His conversion came while behind bars. Except for a few Bible studies once a week and some Jump Starts that I mailed to him, he was alone. No one to encourage him. No one to ask questions to. But, with that wonderful faith, he longed to see the Lord.

Third, I think of all the fussin’, gossipy ways that some spend their days engaged in, while a man sitting in prison is thinking about going to Heaven. It’s shameful the way some act these days. Give me a dozen Jimi’s. Innocent. Naïve. Pure. Trusting. Just wanting to go to Heaven.

Today, Jimi dies.

Praise the Lord, I’m coming home.

Roger

Jump Start # 3371

Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.”

Our passage today comes from the Lord’s wonderful invitation. He calls not the good, the best, as the old Marine recruitment ad boasted. Jesus calls the weary, the burdened, the tired. And, it’s not a physical tired from staying up too late. It’s a spiritual, emotional and mental burden that comes from guilt, shame and brokenness. The thrill of sin quickly passes. And, like a sudden Indiana tornado, what remains is the ruins that accompanies wrong choices and bad decisions. The mess takes a long time to clean up. And, without Jesus’ help, there is no forgiveness.

Within our verse today is the tiny expression, “Learn from Me.” Learn from the best. Learn from the One who was always right. Learn from the One who knows. And, how we learn is by opening the pages of the Bible and looking deeply into the stories about Jesus. His love. His compassion. His faithfulness to God’s word and His mission speak clearly and loudly.

Learn from Me. Last week, I was with a church about an hour and a half from where I live. I once preached in that community when I was in a training program, trying to understand this life called preaching. The folks at that congregation asked me to come up on a Saturday and conduct a workshop about shepherding God’s people. The elders wanted to learn. They wanted to do better. They knew I had studied that topic passionately and invited me to come. Several others were in the crowd. We spent a long time talking, sharing and understanding the Biblical concept of shepherds. And, I saw something remarkable in that workshop study.

First, there was an eagerness to learn. Nearly everyone was taking notes. They were asking questions. They were looking deeply into passages. And, what a refreshing and wonderful spirit they carried among them. They came to learn. They had the heart to learn. There were shepherds from other congregations that traveled to learn.

As elders or preachers, we must never stop learning, growing and doing better. A heart that is willing to look, listen and consider, is a heart that will continue to improve. I have run into the opposite spirit of this as well. I had one elder in another place boldly say, “I’ve been doing this 35 years. Do you think there is anything you can teach me?” I told him, “yes.” He walked away disgusted with me.

Second, there is an thought from leadership studies that says the followers never exceed the leaders. If the leaders quit growing, there comes a time when everyone else stops growing. Stagnation takes over when that happens and the church will just drift. Growing shepherds is a healthy sign. As they improve, learn and get better, so will the congregation.

Third, there are times that we are so busy with life that we don’t have the opportunities to spend a day looking deeply into things that will help us. Learning to communicate better. Learning how to recognize hurting hearts. Learning how to connect better. Those would be great and powerful studies to have among the shepherds in a congregation. Have their own studies. Have their own times to talk things through and learn.

To learn, one must open his heart. To learn, one must want to learn. Most of us have been in school classes that we didn’t want to be in. The topic was required in order to graduate or get a degree. Learning was hard because our hearts weren’t in to it. We counted the time when the class would be over. We learned little.

But what a difference it is when one wants to learn. As a disciple, we must always be growing. We must always be looking into God’s word. We will never reach the bottom of the depth of things we may learn.

Learn from Me, Jesus said. Oh, the things we have learned, and the things we can still learn.

Roger