Archive for June, 2010

“Hence we may observe how truly generous is that perfect system of morals taught by our blessed Savior, and how exactly conformable to the most just sentiments of human wisdom:

“If ye love them only who love you,” says our Lord, “what reward have ye? But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.” (cf. Matthew 5:43-48)

This is real Christian generosity; and it may be added, it is this only, which the world looks upon to be truly generous.”

John Walker in Easy Rules (Boston: Buckingham, 1810) 203-204.

He wakes up every day the same. Believing he’s gonna make a change.
Never wonders “if” but “when.”
I guarantee he can find a way to reach out and make somebody’s day.
Cause someone took the time with him.
He believes it’s the little things that make a great big change.

Hey Mr. Lovewell. Doing today what you do every day.
No matter how small believing it’s all the same. Come on Mr. Lovewell.
Oh we could use a few more just like you, who care enough to give this life away.
‘Cause you’ve been changed. The generous Mr. Lovewell loves today.

It may be a simple “how do you do?” The kind of thing that can pull them through.
A minute or two can mean so much.
Or maybe it’s the one across the street. He’s asking if there’s anything they need. ‘Cause they will know us by our love.
It may not mean that much to him. But it’s the world to them.

Hey Mr. Lovewell. Doing today what you do every day.
No matter how small believing it’s all the same. Come on Mr. Lovewell.
Oh we could use a few more just like you, who care enough to give this life away.
‘Cause you’ve been changed. The generous Mr. Lovewell loves today.

We all need more Mr. Lovewells.

MercyMe The Generous Mr. Lovewell

INO Records, 2010. www.mrlovewell.com

“Give your best to the Master, give of the strength of your youth;
Throw your soul’s fresh, glowing ardor, into the battle for truth.
Jesus set the example, dauntless was He, young and brave;
Give him your loyal devotion, give him the best that you have.

Give your best to the Master;
Give of the strength of your youth;
Clad in salvation’s full armor,
Join in the battle for truth.

Give of your best to the Master, give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service; consecrate every part.
Give, and you shall be given, God His beloved Son gave;
Gratefully seeking to serve Him, give Him the best that you have.

Give of your best to the Master, naught else is worthy His love;
He gave Himself for your ransom, gave up His glory above;
Laid down His life without murmur, you from sin’s ruin to save;
Give Him your heart’s adoration, give Him the best that you have.”

Howard Benjamin Grose (1851-1939) 

The One Year Book of Hymns compiled and edited by Robert K. Brown and Mark R. Norton, June 12 entry.

“Almsgiving, fasting and prayer call us to release the grip the world has on us and give ourselves more generously to others. We are not in this world to satisfy our own needs, but to be a source of God’s love for all in our world.

Almsgiving is a sign that money has no power over us. We can choose to give generously even from our own need. We also take authority over the food we eat. We say no to overeating so food will not control us. We make time in our busy lives for God. We spend time with the One who loves us so much. We do not let busyness control our lives. Am I in control of my life and my desires or am I in bondage to certain things? Jesus wants to set me free.”

Father Bill Adams, C.Ss.R. taken from Your Daily Spiritual Reflection: June 16, 2010 on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 from The Redemptorists of the Denver Province.

“Our transformation is never for ourselves alone. It is always for the sake of others!”

Ruth Haley Barton in Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP, 2008) 74.

“You sit on the couch, beer or soda in your hand and junk food by your side watching TV for hours–that’s ordinary. Your work around the clock not because you have to feed your family, but for no other reason than to park a better car in your garage than your neighbors have–that’s ordinary. You get up from the couch to play with your kids or you give your time and energy to help educate a prisoner or lend an ear to an elderly person–that’s extraordinary. Why? Because you are giving. Every gift breaks the barrier between the sacred and the mundane and floods the mundane with the sacred. When a gift is given, life becomes extraordinary because God’s own gift giving flows through the giver.”

Miroslav Volf in Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005) 53-54.

“Abandon all, you will receive heaven; abandon enslavement, you will acquire freedom.”

Archbishop Anthony Bloom in Beginning to Pray (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1970) 66.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38

“We are created to give–to be channels, not reservoirs.”

Dick Towner, John Tofilon, and Shannon Plate in Freed-Up Financial Living: How to Get there with Biblical Principles (South Barrington, IL: Willow Creek Association, 2008) 38.

“There is no such thing as being right with God and wrong with money.”

Ben Patterson in Freed-Up Financial Living: How to Get there with Biblical Principles as quoted by Dick Towner, John Tofilon and Shannon Plate (South Barrington, IL: Willow Creek Association, 2008) 14.

“The church was not formed to manage the property of its members, or to command their charitable efforts; nor can it show any commission to that effect. You are a steward not for the church but for God. The property which you have, or may have in possession, belongs to you; as an individual, and not as a member of the church; and you as an individual, must account for it to the Supreme Proprietor.”

Leonard Bacon in a sermon entitled: “The Christian Doctrine of Stewardship in Respect to Property” (1832).