28

Jump Start # 4188

Posted on October 28, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4188

Mark 12:43 “Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury.”

  Our verse today comes from the account of Jesus watching what people put into the treasury. In the temple, there were large funnel shaped containers that people would put money in. The large contributors would stand there pouring their money in. Coins was the accepted way of contributing.

The KJV tells us that the poor widow put in two mites. It was the smallest coin and least in value. The word is “lepton” which amounts to about 1/64th of a days wage. The reality is that this is a picture of a nobody giving nothing. What she gave was unimpressive. What she gave wouldn’t make much difference to the temple. What she gave was needed more for her than the temple. In our times, it would be like a child putting a penny in the collection plate on Sunday.

But, our verse shows something that only God saw. Jesus said that she put in “MORE” than all the contributors to the treasury. Now, from an accounting standpoint, one might disagree with Jesus. When the books were tallied, the dollar amount from the rich would be much more than the two pennies or mites that the widow put in. When the day was over, and the money counted, the financial books would not show what Jesus saw.  Jesus wasn’t looking at this from an accounting standpoint. He saw this from a faith standpoint.

This was such a powerful gift that Jesus wanted His disciples to see it. He called them over and pointed out the powerful lesson of faith. The poor widow put the Lord before herself. This is a lesson Jesus had been trying to get the disciples to see. She needed every nickel, dime and penny she had. She trusted the Lord. She put the Lord before her own personal needs. This was a sacrifice of love and devotion. It’s not the size of the gift, but the largeness of the heart that Heaven notices. The Lord was impressed.

From this unnamed widow comes some lessons for us:

First, we need a faith that endures through obstacles and trials. It’s easy to be a Christian when everything is going well in our lives. But, what about the times when it is not? What happens when the storms of life roll in? What about the dark nights of fear? Knowing that God will get us through those times and that God will be with us is a faith that we need. A faith that shines when we are alone. A faith that is strong when we are with those who do not believe. A faith that compels us to do and to give when my thoughts are to stay home and save.

This poor widow didn’t make a scene. She likely was embarrassed about how small and pitiful her giving was. She could have justified in her mind, it won’t make any difference and they won’t even miss it and just kept the money to herself. She certainly needed it. But, her faith wouldn’t allow that. She knew the right thing to do. Do we have such faith?

Second, we need a faith that does what it can. Jesus must have been sitting there watching the contributors for a while. He saw what the rich had put in. He saw what this poor widow put in. The rich put in large sums. But, they wouldn’t miss it. They had plenty more to live on. Not so with this poor widow. Her contribution wouldn’t buy much if anything. However, she did what she could.

Much too often, we compare ourselves with others. I can’t lead singing like that guy, we tell ourselves. And, that’s enough for us to sit on the sidelines. I can’t preach like our preacher, so we don’t. I can’t encourage like those other folks, so we don’t. I can’t do what others do. But, the same could be said of this poor widow in Mark’s gospel. She couldn’t give what the rich were giving. We must stop comparing ourselves and ranking who is best at what. Just do what you can. It may not seem like much, but if it is driven by faith, God notices.

In Matthew 10, Jesus tells us that a cup of cold water given to one of the little ones is rewarded in Heaven. Notice, it’s not paying the water bill. It’s not giving a case of water. It’s not taking the water to the governor’s palace. An insignificant gift given to an insignificant person is remembered in Heaven. One cup of cold water to a little one. Don’t focus on doing the big things. Do little things. Do what you can do. Pick up a piece of paper that has been dropped on the floor. Open the door for someone coming in. Greet a guest with a smile and handshake. Send a card of thankfulness to someone. Little things matter.

Third, we need a faith that looks to the Lord first. That’s what this poor widow did. Had she looked at her bank account, what bills she had due and what the week ahead was going to be like, she may have kept the money for herself. But, she looked to the Lord first. How would she survive? She needed every penny she had. The Lord would take care of her. The Lord had been with her when her husband died. The Lord has been by her side on this long journey she has taken. And, the Lord will be with her now. Doors will open somehow. That’s how the Lord operates. A faith that doesn’t give God the left overs, but puts Him first. It was the first fruits that Israel gave to God. Seek first His kingdom. God first. God before my feelings. God before the ballgames. God before all things.

This poor widow became an example to the disciples. Jesus wanted them to see. Jesus wanted them to be like her. Jesus wants us to do the same.

Roger

 

27

Jump Start # 4187

Posted on October 27, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4187

 

John 4:35 “Do not say, ‘There are let four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.’”

 Recently my wife and I took a hot air balloon ride in our area. Simply put, it was amazing. The sky was clear and so calm. I had to look down over the basket we were riding in to see if we were even moving. It was an adventure helping the crew fold up the deflated balloon and putting things away. The area we have moved to is city. Tons of houses and apartments springing up everywhere. Lots of cars, round-abouts, stores and just busy, busy, busy. It’s a faster pace than our little Lanesville where we moved from. It seems about every field around us is being made into housing additions or apartments. At least that’s what it seems like.

The ride in the balloon gave us a different perspective. I was amazed at how much open fields, farm land and woods are all around us. The view from the sky is a lot different than the view from the ground. And, right there is a powerful lesson about perspectives.

In our verse today, Jesus is telling the disciples to open their eyes. Don’t look at the calendar and think there is still four months until the harvest. Four months to do nothing. Four months to let slide by. Four months to be idle. The fields are white right now, the Lord declared. The fields are ready for harvest. Open your eyes and see.

Perspective comes to us in a number of ways.

First, experience gives us a perspective. This may be one reason that shepherds in the church are also referred to as “elders,” not meaning so much age, but experience. They’ve learned. They’ve seen things. They’ve got miles on them spiritually. While the younger crowd may get excited about something that seems to be new, the experienced has seen it before. It’s nothing new. It’s just the old repackaged, rebranded and offered to a new crowd. This is why the voice of parents sound alarm when their teens want to do something that they haven’t thought out very well. The teen has never been 25 years old before. The parents have. The teen has never paid a mortgage before. Parents have. Teens haven’t gone to college. Parents have. Teens don’t know what it’s like to work all day and then come home to deal with the house, kids, pets and bills. Parents have. Perspective.

Second, there is the heavenly perspective that all disciples need to develop. Down here things don’t seem so bad. Down here, keeping up with everyone else is what one does. Down here, getting the newest car, the largest house and the best vacations is what one does. Down here, things are crowded. But, the view from the sky, sure changes things. The view from Heaven reveals what is really important. Our walk with the Lord, our close fellowship with one another, our staying with God’s word, our hearts and attitudes that are shaped by God, that is what is important to Heaven. There are just a few times in the Gospels when Jesus “marveled.” We might use the word, “wow.” What caught the eye of Jesus was not a fast chariot, but rather, faith. Faith that would push one through a crowd to touch Jesus. Faith that would not take no but persisted in pleading for mercy. Faith that says, “Lord, you don’t have to come. Just say the word.”

The Heavenly perspective defines success differently than the world does. It’s not the age nor type of car you drive, but what drives your heart. What is your ambition? What are you after? Heaven notices a cup of cold water given to a disciple. Heaven notices hearts that care for others. The Heavenly perspective will shape the words and choices that one makes. Oh, to see things from Heaven down, sure opens our eyes. Death is not so fearful when one who is walking with the Lord has that Heavenly perspective.

Third, a lot of the things that bother us and upsets us, changes when we have a Heavenly perspective. Politics are just politics. It is the Lord it raises kings and is in charge. Prices, weather, traffic, co-workers, teams losing can just ruin some people’s day.  Those things can put some in a foul mood for a long time. The Heavenly perspective sees through those things. That’s not what life is about and those things change all the time. The Heavenly perspective will lead us to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation. It will cause us to enjoy the company of fellow disciples. It will fill our hearts with joy to spend time in worship.

Balloon rides are good to see things from a different perspective. Now, if we could only grasp that Heavenly view, wouldn’t we all be better off?

Roger

26

Jump Start # 4186

Posted on October 26, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4186

John 18:4 “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’”

  Jesus is shown in the Scriptures to be the sacrifice for our sins. The Bible also shows that Jesus was a willing sacrifice. He offered up His life. He didn’t go down kicking and screaming. He wasn’t running from the law as a criminal. In fact, here in John 18, two powerful events show the willingness of Jesus to offer His life.

First, from Jerusalem, down the Kidron valley and back up the hill to the garden where Jesus was praying, the path was very visible. At night, the guards bringing torches to see, Jesus could have seen them coming for a long way. Easily He could have slipped away in the darkness and lived for another day. He waited. He watched. He saw them coming. He stayed there.

Second, as our verse today states, Jesus went forth. He approached them. He wasn’t hiding behind Peter. He knew why they were there and He came to them. Jesus was on a mission, driven by love and He was going to accomplish that role.

What should we learn from this?

First, how precious our salvation is. God gave the best of Heaven so we could be redeemed. There is no greater gift than the sacrifice of our Lord upon the cross. He wasn’t cornered in an alley and had no way out. He had multiple ways of escaping, including calling the host of Heaven down. But, He didn’t. The grace that God offers isn’t cheap. Every Sunday as we take the Lord’s Supper, we out to see our Lord stepping forward and saying, “I Am He.”

Second, the example of Jesus ought to inspire us and encourage us. This wasn’t easy. He knew what was going to happen. He knew, and yet He put His own well being behind Him for the salvation of our souls. There are times and places that may be unpleasant for us, but we need to push back our feelings and do what is good and right. It’s hard to have critical conversations with some. Tensions running high. But, truth needs to be spoken plainly, so you do it. Visiting nursing homes and hospital rooms may be unpleasant. There are smells. There are sights you’d rather not see. Everything inside us is telling us don’t go, but we do. We do because it is the right thing to do. Our visit can lift a lonely heart. Our visit can encourage. We’ll do the unpleasant because our Lord stepped forward when the mob came for Him.

Third, seeing what Jesus has done for us ought to compel us to complain less and be more thankful. Statements like, “Technically, we don’t have to go on Wednesday nights Bible class,” will never come from the lips of one who understands that Jesus stepped forward for you. You’ll be thankful that you can spend more time with God’s people and learn more from His powerful word. Jesus wasn’t blindsided. He saw them coming and He stayed. He pushed past His personal safety and well being for the salvation of mankind.

I have stood in the very garden where Jesus was. I looked down that Kidron Valley and up to the wall of Jerusalem. I expect the disciples may have shouted, “Here they come,” and yet Jesus stayed. He watched. He stepped forward.

Oh, How I love Jesus. Don’t you?

Roger

23

Jump Start # 4185

Posted on October 23, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4185

1 Timothy 6:1 “All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against.”

Paul reminds the common Christian that the way they treat others is a reflection of the faith that they hold. Here specifically, it is the attitude of the Christian slave towards his master. The master was to be considered as worthy of all honor. In the following verse, Paul addresses those whose masters are Christians. Echoes of the book of Philemon could be found here. And, once again we come to that major Biblical principle that I cannot be vertically right with God if I am horizontally wrong with my fellow man.

The parallel to us today would be the work place. You might feel like a slave but worse if you let on that you feel that way. Complaining, trash talking the boss, wanting to do as little as possible illustrates that our talk and our walk do not match. This is a growing problem with many business owners today. I hear it all the time. “The younger generation doesn’t want to work.” Or, “They won’t go out of their way to help out.” This month I have been working at a local produce farm that raises pumpkins. I’m the pumpkin man. I spend the day weighing pumpkins, moving pumpkins and restocking pumpkins. At the end of the day I’m in the store, sweeping and moping floors. I do this to get out of the house and be around others. Some of the high school workers walk out as soon as the clock hits the time they are to be done. No staying later. No helping out others. Off they go, while the older workers finish up.

Layered in Paul’s explanation is that the way the slaves regarded their masters directly impacted the name of God and the doctrine that Paul was preaching. Principles about being a servant fall flat when one doesn’t act that way. Loving your neighbor seems artificial when a person disrespects those over him.

Our verse ends with the words, “not be spoken against.” The NAS footnotes this as, “blasphemed.” God’s name is sacred. Within the first few lines of the Ten Commandments is a warning about taking the name of God in vain. But it’s more than just God’s name. It includes God’s doctrine or teaching. The way the slaves regarded their master could easily give rise to blaspheming the very doctrine that they believed in. This is when our talk and our walk do not match.

The doctrine wasn’t blasphemed by false teaching, but by the sorry, poor and unkind attitudes that the slaves held towards their masters. It’s hard to preach God is love, when I spend my day saying ugly things about those who are in charge. The children of God ought to be a reflection of the Father that they serve. When reviled, Jesus uttered no threats in return.

Some lessons for us:

First, the way you treat others will open more doors to evangelism than a mountain of tracts that teach the truth. It’s hard to invite someone to services after I have despised, ridiculed, and mocked a person. Why would anyone want anything to do with a religion that tears people apart and pokes fun at them. People hear what you say. People remember what you say. When around those that you do not like or are causing trouble in your life, watch our lips and do your job.

Second, the Bible is only good if we take the words off the pages and put them into practice through our choices. If we keep our faith at the church building, then our faith won’t do us much good. To believe is to so act. If you believe it was going to storm today, then you’d take your umbrella with you. We must move past the country club environment in which we are only friendly to those who are like us. The rest we ignore. That’s not the Bible way. God sends blessings upon the righteous and the wicked. Seeing faith in action is something that many have never witnessed before. Many know divorce, but they’ve never seen a marriage thrive. Many have seen shouting, screaming and slamming doors. They have never witnessed grace and forgiveness. Many will do something if they get something beneficial in return. But to help someone out and get nothing back, is very odd and strange to them.

Third,  if not careful, we can become our own worst enemy. Paul’s concern about the doctrine being blasphemed was not directed toward attackers of faith on social media. He was writing to Christians. He was writing to those who had masters. Sometimes we can sure help the devil by not doing what we ought to do. The little one’s hear what mom and dad say in the car on the way home from services. Our friends hear what we say about the church we attend.

Horizontal and vertical – they impact each other and we need to be right in both directions.

Roger

22

Jump Start # 4184

Posted on October 22, 2026 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 4184 

Luke 19:45-46 “And He entered the temple and began to cast out those who were selling, saying to them, ‘It is written, ‘And my house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robber’s den.’”

 

Throwback Thursday: an article written from the past

 Lessons from Jesus in the Temple 

This verse finds Jesus in Jerusalem, in the temple. This was shortly before His arrest and trial. Jesus cast out the money changers. This was the second time Jesus did this. Every male Jew was required to go to the temple for the feast days. During that time, sacrifices would be offered by the priests. As the Jews scattered away from Jerusalem, two necessities developed. First, for those who lived far away and had to travel great distances, it was not practical to bring lambs for the sacrifices. Local shepherds would sell lambs to the priests who would sell them to those who arrived without sacrifices. Secondly, only Jewish coins were accepted in the Temple offerings. Those from other places had Roman coins. Money changers, or more accurately, “Exchangers” would set up in the Temple area where people could change their Roman coins for the proper Jewish coins.

Now, all of this seems like a rather nice and good solution to help those from other places. It is in theory. But what happened, the local Jews, and particularly, the priests, took advantage of the situation by inflating the prices and making huge profits off the people. The occasion to worship God became a time to rob their fellow Jews and put them in a situation in which they had no other option but to pay the high prices.

 

The spirit of sacrifice and worship was ruined by the greed of the local Jews. In tossing them out, Jesus referred to two O.T. passages. Isaiah 56:7 refers to “My house of prayer,” and Jeremiah 7:11 refers to the house becoming a “den of robbers.”

 

We find Jesus going to God’s word. He did that often. When Satan tempted Him, Jesus went to the word. When questioned about divorce, Jesus went to the word. When asked about the resurrection He appealed to the word. Here in this passage He says, “It is written…” Jesus was a man who knew the word of God, lived according to the word of God, and relied upon the word of God. This is a good lesson for us. There is an old saying that states, “The Bible that is falling apart belongs to the person whose life is not falling apart.” I wonder if we have become satisfied with vague and general concepts about the Bible and are not bothered by our inability to state, “It is written.” Often, folks substitute, “Here’s what I think,” or, “Here’s how I see it,” instead of “It is written.”

 

 

Becoming a “It is written” people means we spend time knowing, reading, and learning the Bible. Our lives become saturated with God’s word and our speech reveals those things. Jesus was a man of the book. It got Him out of trouble with Satan, it answered questions that He was asked, and it showed Him what should be. Now, it’s not too hard to see the opposite in those statements. Not being a person of the book will find us getting into trouble, not knowing the right answers and not being able to recognize what is right and what is wrong. Error has a great advantage upon people who do not know the Bible and are content with a superficial and often artificial foundation of Biblical learning. Listen to people talking about the Bible, read a few blog pages and what you find is a repeating of shallow and false statements heard over and over again. Jesus said, ‘It is written.’

We also notice here, that the Jews turned God’s house, from a house of prayer to a robber’s den. A robber’s den, was like a cave. It is where desperados would go after robbing a place. It was their hideout. In such a place you’d find the worst. Tall tales of wickedness, bragging about theft and wrong doing and enjoyment in sinful activity is what one would find. A robber’s den is not a place for decent people. It was dangerous, dirty, and debased. This is the image that Jesus is drawing here. The temple was God’s. It was His idea. It was built according to His plans. It housed His spirit. It was a place of prayer. It was a place to connect to the Holy God of Israel. It was a place where God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness intersected. Spending a day in the Temple should have had a positive effect upon a person. It should lift their spirits and moved their hearts to walking in righteousness. It should have…but for some locals, it became a place to make a profit. God had been replaced with greed. Instead of longing for Heaven, they were longing for wealth. They were using God to further their sinful ways. God was a commodity and they thought nothing of making money because of Him. This was shameful, disgusting and wrong. Jesus would not have it. He drove them out. Notice, He didn’t get in a fist fight. He didn’t injure anyone. He didn’t become violent. That’s not Jesus. He was always under control.

But all of this makes a person think, doesn’t it? Have our church services become so much about us that we simply use God as an opportunity to visit with friends, make business contacts, or find dates. Spending time with God ought to do something to us as well. Connecting, reminding, seeing,  understanding God’s holiness ought to make us walk in righteousness. Our sins and His righteous ways intersect. Asking for mercy and help in our walk with Him ought to fill our hearts as we sing unto the Holy God.

I don’t see folks in church services making profit, like in our passage today, but still, I wonder if Jesus would toss out a few of us for not paying attention, for being bored and for just not being thrilled to be in the presence of God. I’m glad He doesn’t. I believe there would have been a few times that I would have been tossed out.

God deserves our best…all the time and every time!

Roger

July, 2015