11

Jump Start # 4198

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4198

Hebrews 9:27 “and inasmuch as it is appointed for me to die once and after this comes judgment.”

  As I write this, Michael Taylor is just a couple of hours from dying. Most don’t know Michael and fewer even care about his life or his death. This evening at 6 P.M. Michael is scheduled to be executed by the state of Alabama for his murderous actions many years ago. His attorneys have filed several appeals on his behalf. They are not trying to stop the execution, just the manner in which it is done. By his choice, Michael would rather face the gas chamber than lethal injection, especially with the numerous cases in which death by injection has not gone well.

A few months ago, Michael was immersed into Christ for the remission of his sins. The gospel is spreading rapidly among the death row inmates in Alabama. Some of this is the direct result of Jimi Baber who came to the Lord by simply reading the Bible. Others have sat through Bible classes taught by dedicated servants such as my friend Van Cooper.

I continue to tell the Jimi story as I travel the country preaching. It is so powerful and compelling.

We ought to see some lessons from this:

First, it’s not how we die, but rather how we lived that matters. Some will pass from this life quietly surrounded by family. Others have died in the horrors of war or crime. Some, as Jimi and Michael, and John the Baptist, and Paul and James and our Lord, were put to death by the government.

The choices we have made in life and our faith in the Lord is what truly matters and shapes our eternal future.

Second, forgiven, consequences follow. For Michael, his life here comes to an end. One may be forgiven, but divorced. One may be forgiven, but must register as a sex offender the rest of his life. One may be forgiven, but carry the health issues of years of drinking and drugs.

Because the Lord forgives, does not mean others will. Some have no room for grace and forgiveness in their hearts. Some have allowed hatred and bitterness to destroy any life within them. To this day, we refer to the story in Luke 15 as the Prodigal Son. We never call it the repentant son, or, the reformed son. The tag prodigal stays with him, even though he came home changed and sorry. Tags may stay with us because of our sins. Though forgiven, we may be known as the liar, or the cheat, or the drunk, or the womanizer. Some will never forget the wrongs that were done. Some will constantly remind us of what we did. Some will not believe that we changed, no matter what we say.

Third, Michael, much like Jimi, had a simple child like faith. There were so many things that neither understood. There were so many things that they never got to experience, such as the fellowship of a church, singing hymns with others, hearing sermons preached, taking the Lord’s Supper. It is easy for some of us to think that a person must master all those deep things before God accepts them. The man in Mark five, who had legions of demons, only knew that Jesus had removed those evil spirits from his life. There were so many things about Jesus that he did not know. But in his simply child like faith, Jesus told him to go home and tell his people what the Lord had done. Interestingly, as Jesus is later in Gentile country, a Canaanite woman comes pleading for Jesus to cast the demon out of her possessed child. How did she know Jesus could do that? How did she know who Jesus was? Could it be word from this man had reached her?

What a blessing it is for us to be able to assemble on Sunday with fellow believers. What a joy it is to hear passionate preaching. Singing with others sure makes our hearts swell. How easy it is for us to just take the weekly worship services for granted. But in the case of both Jimi and Michael and other believers on death row, they would love to witness and participate in what we get to do all the time.

Each of us have a story. Each of us have our own path that brought us to the Lord. But, in the end, each of us have humbled ourselves before our loving Savior and been immersed in the waters of baptism as He commanded.

One of the last things Jimi wrote to me, received in the mail after his execution, was his anticipation of meeting me in Heaven. Standing together, side by side, and before our Lord, each of us having a past that we are ashamed of and each of us having been washed in the pure blood of Jesus, forgiven.

What a beautiful word “forgiveness” is. There is a small cemetery located in busy New York City, that has a tombstone with no name or date on it. There is simply one word, “forgiven.” That could be said of us.

FORGIVEN…

Roger

10

Jump Start # 4197

Posted on November 10, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4197

2 Kings 24:3-4 “Surely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive.”

  Manasseh was the longest reigning king in Judah. More than five decades he reigned. His early years were corrupt, immoral, ungodly and violent. He put to death his own people. Why God allowed him to stay in power so long is something only known to Heaven. He was exiled and put in prison by the Assyrians. While in prison he reformed and changed. He prayed to the Lord. He knew that the Lord was God. He removed idols and reinstated the worship to the Lord.

However, the damage was done. Although Manasseh returned to the Lord, the people continued to serve the idols. The king learned his lesson but the people had not. And, in a remarkable statement, our verse ends with, “…and the Lord would not forgive.”

This is something that needs to be understood these days. It needs to be preached more. The way some talk, you’d think that God owes us forgiveness. He has to forgive us. But, that’s not the picture the Bible presents.

Paul referred to the salvation in Christ as a “gift” (2 Cor 9:15). A gift is just that, a gift. It’s not something that is owed, like a paycheck. In even a more stunning passage, Jesus’ parable about the man who was forgiven ten thousand talents, yet refused to forgive a fellow laborer who owed only a hundred denarii, the master withdrew the forgiveness and demanded the man to pay the full ten thousand talents. Forgiveness can be taken back!

In the example of prayer, Jesus said that “if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Mt 6:15).

Side by side, there are times God won’t forgive and there are situations in which God will take back His gift of grace and forgiveness. These are not done without reason. They are based upon the actions and the heart of the people involved. But, what a profound lesson for us to remember.

First, knowing this ought to turn our hearts against sin. Thinking I can do something wrong and God will always forgive me, is making grace cheap and abusing the Lord. He doesn’t have to forgive you. Just do what you want and it will all be ok, just doesn’t fly with what the Bible teaches. Forgiveness is something that we need to be eternally grateful for and thankful for.

Second, just saying, “I’m sorry,” without changing our ways or our heart doesn’t guarantee salvation from the Lord. Repentance means a change of your ways and a change of your heart. You no longer want to do what you have done. You now recognize that what you were doing was wrong. It’s more than just saying you are sorry and continuing onward down the wrong path. It is stopping. It is turning around. It is heading back to the Lord. The prodigal didn’t stay with the pigs. He got up and came home. Many a person will realize that they have made wrong choices in their life. Few are the ones who have the courage and the faith to return back to God where they belong. There was no celebration in the pig pen. There was no forgiveness in the far country. The prodigal had to get up and come home.

Third, even though we may be sorry for what we have done, there may be long lasting consequences that follow the choices that we have made. Manasseh changed late in life, but he led a nation so deep into idolatry that they did not want to leave. He killed many innocent people. He sacrificed his own children upon the idols of pagan gods. Those things don’t just come back. Changing your ways doesn’t bring back the damage that has been done.

For many of us it would never been the slaughter of the innocent, but how many have we slain with the words of our mouth? Words that are remembered decades later. Words that cut to the core of a person. We can say we are sorry, but the children grow up remembering. The spouse remembers. The brethren remember.

And the Lord would not forgive…that ought to touch our hearts, make us consider our ways and humble us before the Lord.

Roger

09

Jump Start # 4196

Posted on November 9, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4196

Psalms 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”

  It was a tough worship hour. The song leader was late and didn’t know many of the songs that he was trying to lead. Over and over, he stopped and tried to start over again. When he did lead, the songs were so slow that most dropped out of singing. The man offering the prayer mumbled so softly that only those sitting in the first few pews could hear him. The young man reading Scriptures butchered most of the words and spoke so fast that no one knew what he said. Then came the preaching. Long stories that seem to lose the audience, chasing every word through the Scriptures, long, dry and not sure what the point was. The service ended and it was more of a comedy of mistakes and what not to do. People were complaining. The leaders were in the hot seat. Instead of praising the Lord, it seemed to be thrown together at the last minute and was a waste of time.

Have you ever been there? I have. On vacation years ago with the family, we visited a congregation while on the road. The regular preacher was out of town. The man filling in was using 3 x5 cards. He had them propped against the pulpit microphone. He’d read one and lower it and read the next one. All was going fine for about the first five minutes. Then he suddenly realized that his cards were out of order. He stopped. And, for what seemed like forever, he held up the cards up and tried to get them in the right order. It was a long awkward moment, but a great teaching lesson for the family.

Here’s the thought: does my worship to God rely upon how others do things? What if the singing is bad? What if I can’t hear the prayer? What if the sermon is dry and the preacher keeps repeating himself over and over? Is the praise and honor from my heart based upon how others conduct public worship? What do I do, when worship falls apart?

Here are some thoughts:

First, your love for the Lord is not channeled through someone else. You don’t need someone else to be the basis of your honor of the Lord. If the singing is bad, you sing, the best you can. If you can’t hear the prayer, you say your own prayer. If the preaching seems lost and endless, open your Bible, and do your own study. You leave that worship period telling the Lord how thankful you are and how much you love Him.

You worship the Lord.

Second, keep your mind and your heart from being critical and going down the road of complaints. It’s easy to catch the mistakes. Anyone who has spoken publicly understands that you have to have some tough skin because any mistake you make will be pointed out. That’s enough for some to give up and never participate publicly again. Don’t be part of that. Some are new at doing things publicly and they are nervous. Some had a tough night that you didn’t know about and they are running thin on energy. Rather than jumping on the band wagon of complainers, make the day good by your worship to God.

At the end of the day, the bottom line is, did you worship God today? If we immediately start in with, the song leader led songs that no one knew, the guy saying the prayer mumbled, the preaching was long, we’ve yet to answer the question. Did you worship God today? Your worship to God is not based upon what others do. It is based upon your heart and your relationship with the Lord.

Third, learning to worship and thank the Lord every day helps you get through the worship periods where there have been many mistakes. Some only worship God on Sunday when they are in the church building. But, what about Monday morning? What about Saturday afternoon? Praying to God. Thanking God. Reading God’s word. Living a life that reflects joy and salvation is an everyday, everywhere aspect of a disciple of Christ.

Taking a walk outside, brings prayers of thankfulness. Walking up and feeling well, brings prayers of thankfulness. Thinking of others, brings thoughts of salvation, fellowship and the love for the Lord. We wouldn’t know most in our church family had it not been for the Lord. A life of worship develops the heart to honor and praise the Lord when everything around you seems to be falling apart.

So, when some are walking out of the church building, complaining about how terrible the worship is, you are thinking, how wonderful God is. You are seeing what they never saw. You are not allowing others to set the tone of your worship.

I was glad when they said, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ Some would qualify that verse by asking, Who is preaching today? Who is leading singing? For them, that would determine if they were glad or not.

But, for the true worshipper of God, it didn’t matter. God was to be praised and thanked. Worship is based upon your heart and not the performance of others.

Roger

06

Jump Start # 4195

Posted on November 6, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4195

John 10:13 “He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.”

  Our verse today comes from the beautiful picture of the good shepherd. What a powerful illustration for God’s leaders today. The role of the good shepherd was a relational concept, rather than by position or power. In the military, rank gives you authority. However, rank doesn’t necessarily make a good leader. The boss at work is in charge because he is the boss. The owner of the company is in charge because he is the owner. But how they manage people, make decisions and connect may all be based upon the fact that “I am the boss and you are not.”

The in relational model, leadership takes place based upon compassion, care and knowing what’s best. Throughout the John 10 picture, we find the sheep know the voice of the good shepherd and the good shepherd knows the sheep by name. They have spent time with each other. They know each other. There is a trust level there. The sheep will not follow a voice that they do not recognize. Great stuff for all leaders today.

Sprinkled in this context is the difference between the hireling, or hired hand, and the good shepherd. For the hireling, watching sheep is just a job. It’s a means to a pay check. When a wolf appears, the hireling takes off. He runs. He abandons the sheep. He is only thinking about himself.

And, in a very revealing statement, our verse says, he is not concerned about the sheep. Others state it:

  • Phillips: he has no interest in the sheep
  • CEV: they don’t care about the sheep
  • CEB: sheep don’t matter to him

Take this hireling out of the fields of Judea and put him in our setting today. Imagine a cook who doesn’t care about the food? A doctor who doesn’t care about his patients? A mechanic who doesn’t care about cars? You know the results. Disaster.

When one doesn’t care they will not go the extra mile. They won’t pay attention to the details. They work stay late to make sure things are right. A lot of mistakes and trouble follows when one doesn’t care. A student who doesn’t care about grades will flunk. A person who doesn’t care about their health will have a lot of aches and pains. A person who doesn’t care about their house will have messy yards, leaky roofs and a pig pen to live in.

Sadly, sometimes a person is appointed a shepherd in God’s church who doesn’t care about the people. His success in business is what got him appointed and he will run the church like his business. Out of touch, not listening to others, doing what is quick and easy, the church drifts and people become weak and discouraged as long as he is at the helm.

Sheep don’t matter to him – what a statement.

How is care demonstrated? Do I care about others? How do I know?

First, care is shown by doing things without being asked. When people are announced at church as being ill, the one who cares hears that. A card will be sent in the mail. A phone call is made. Food is taken. No one asks or is told to do those things. That’s the natural response to someone who cares.

In many congregations, the announcements are one of the last things said at the close of services. For some, it’s like the two minute warning in a football game. Time to gather things up, put on your coat, and get ready to leave. And, in doing that, the announcements are not heard. Nothing is ever done, because one is more interested in leaving than caring.

Second, care is shown by my private prayers. A brother or sister is home bound because of a surgery. You think about that person. You offer a prayer for their recovery. No one may ever know that you prayed. God does. You’ve taken a moment to think about your church family and you have prayed for them. The sheep do matter to you. You realize that you love them. You need them. They are part of your spiritual family.

Need we say this, how often are our prayers focused and based solely upon ourselves. Our health. Our concerns. Our lives. Our needs. The one who cares is often praying more about others than himself. He loves others. He is always thinking about others. And, when alone, he is praying for others.

Third, it is a shallow and selfish heart that only cares about self. That’s the main difference between the good shepherd and the hireling. When the wolf comes, the hireling is thinking about his safety. He runs. He doesn’t care about the sheep. And, the good shepherd? He’ll stay in there and defend and fight for those sheep. Much like young David who pulled a sheep out of the lion’s mouth, the good shepherd puts the wellbeing of the sheep above his own safety.

Sadly, I’ve heard people moan and complain when a person wanted to be baptized at the end of services. It meant staying longer. It meant they couldn’t eat lunch right away. Rather than rejoicing over the salvation of a sinner and joining with the angels of Heaven in celebrating a heart coming to the Lord, they mumble under their breath because it meant they were delayed in doing what they wanted to do. The hireling only thinks about himself.

Sheep matter to us. They matter because they matter to the Lord. When one is not doing well it ought to grab out attention. We pray. We do what we can. We encourage. We help out. Why? Because the sheep matter to us.

Do sheep matter to you?

Roger

05

Jump Start # 4194

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4194

 

Matthew 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.”

 

Throwback Thursday: an article written from the past

A Servant of Christ

 

Servants—that thought isn’t very appealing to us unless we are the ones who have servants. Sure, it’d be rather nice to have someone bring you a glass of ice tea while you sat in your chair. It’d be nice for someone to take care of your clothes, clean them, iron them, hang them up. It’d be nice to be driven around. Being served isn’t a bad thing. Many moms feel like servants.

 

Throughout the N.T., God’s faithful, such as Peter, Paul, John, James, and Timothy are referred to as “bond-servants” of Jesus Christ. This was not a demeaning term. This was not something that was considered “low” on the totem pole. It was what they were. They served Jesus. They were servants of Christ. All that they did was to please God.

 

We’ve gotten away from that expression. We rarely refer to each other as “servants of Christ.” Moving away from this idea has also moved us away from the spirit and the heart of being a servant. Too many want to be served rather than to serve.

 

There are some reminders about servants that we forget. Consider just a few.

 

  1. Servants put the work of Christ before self. The apostles endured many hardships. The pay was pitiful. The conditions harsh. The treatment often violent. Why did they do that? Because they were servants. Servants serve. They fed the master before they fed themselves. They took care of the master before they took care of themselves. Spiritually that’s translated into the apostles traveling, preaching, teaching in all kinds of circumstances for the cause of Christ. The one who looks for the easy way, the cushy job, the most perks, has lost the spirit of a servant.

 

  1. The work of a servant is often long and hard. Servants serve. Many classes. Many sermons. Many studies. Many discussions. Jesus said that the laborer is worthy of his hire. Sometimes things get mixed up in our heads. We get the idea that God is working for us. God serves us. Wrong. We are the servants, not God. We serve Him.

 

  1. Servants often do thankless jobs. The work of servants isn’t done to receive praise. It is to please the Master. There isn’t much ‘climbing the ladder’ among servants. They do things because it is right and it’s what the master wants. If it is attention and praise, the servant will be disappointed. Servants aren’t praised, God is.

 

 

  1. The reward of the servant is that they are engaged in the greatest work in the world and what they have done is recognized by Heaven. Their reward is Heaven. Jesus said even a cup of cold water given to a disciple would be remembered. The prodigal remembered that his father’s servants had more than enough to eat. God is good to His servants.

 

 

  1. The heart of the servant is to love the things that God loves. The servant is interested in the growth of the kingdom. The servant will give up Saturday mornings to serve. He will give up an evening at home to serve. He will stay long after worship has ended to serve. Helping God’s people is his interests. Making things better is his goal. He serves because he loves God.

 

 

I feel that some preachers have forgotten that they are servants. The servant will sacrifice personal interests for the kingdom. He will endure hardships, as Paul reminded the preacher, Timothy.

 

I feel that some elderships have forgotten that they are servants. Some act like bosses. They are good at snapping out orders that they expect others to complete, but when it comes to serving, they are on the short end of that stick. Shame on them. Shepherds serve the flock. There is no way around that.

 

I feel that some brethren have the idea that they have outgrown the servant concept. They show up, want everything to be perfect and if it’s not, they will complain and possibly even leave. Where’s the heart of a servant?

 

Lord, make me a servant.

Roger

March, 2014