Archive for December, 2011

“Kindliness is their nature. There is no falsehood among them. They love one another. They do not neglect widows. Orphans they rescue from those who are cruel to them. Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If they see a traveling stranger they bring him under their roof. They rejoice over him as a real brother, for they do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they are brothers in the Spirit and in God. If one of them sees that one of their poor must leave the world, he provides for his burial as well as he can. And if they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed by their opponents for the sake of their Christ’s name, all of them take care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among them is poor or comes into want while they themselves have nothing to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can supply the poor man with the food he needs.”

Aristides (c. 125-150 CE), Christian apologist in Apology 15. Cf. Bruce Longenecker in Remember the Poor (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010) 61.

“We actually cannot give God anything that He has not first given to us.”

Jerry Bridges in Transforming Grace (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991) 77.

“The basis of God’s authority in our lives is His generosity.”

Bishop Philip Jones, Anglican Mission in America, Testimony at Network Leaders Meeting, Little Rock, AR, 19 October 2011.

“Concern for the needy of the poor was one of the expressions of fellowship in Christ. Christian charity was motivated not by sympathy or self righteousness but by Christian love which was the determinative force of that fellowship.”

If I give all I possess to the poor…but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor 13:3

Keith F. Nickel in The Collection: A Study in Paul’s Strategy (Naperville: Alec R. Allenson, 1966) 103.

“Three clear principles differentiate the scriptural view of our money from the “American Dream” view:

It’s not our money – it all comes from God.
We are not entitled to it but entrusted with it.
God expects us to use it in the interest of the Kingdom.

How about you? … Whose “game” are you in? Our own? Or God’s? We don’t have to be in full-time ministry to be in God’s game, but we do have to serve God full-time–as stewards of all that He has given us.

If we are in God’s game, we need to put the American Dream to death, because God’s game is a different game altogether.”

Richard Stearns, president of World Vision in The Hole in Our Gospel (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) 207-209.

“It takes me a long while to realize that God has no respect for anything I bring to Him. All He wants from me is unconditional surrender.”

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) in Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God by David McCasland (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1993) 29

“Surplus goods that one did not need were to be given as alms rather than to be stored up as treasure…It must have been a constant pull, for those who were marginal economically, to want to “lay up treasures on earth” (surplus goods, wealth). To share those “treasures” with needy community members, however, in keeping with covenant principles, would be “laying up treasures in heaven,” that is, with God, whose covenantal will was supposed to be done.” (cf. Matthew 6:19-21)

Richard Horsley in Covenant Economics: A Biblical Vision of Justice for All (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 2009) 155.

In the aftermath of The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Horatio and Anna Spafford, real estate investors, literally watched their “fortune go up in smoke…Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, they reached out to others. Rather than hoarding what they had left, they shared it with those who had nothing. Their finances may have suffered loss, but their faith did not.” Their generous service continued until 1873.

Weary from two years of aiding the afflicted, Horatio, Anna and their four daughters, Annie (11), Maggie (9), Bessie (7) and Tanetta (2), planned a vacation. They would travel across the Atlantic on the Ville du Havre to England to meet up with D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey for evangelistic meetings and then travel in Europe. A last minute change of plans caused Horatio to stay back.

“At approximately 2:00 a.m. on November 22, 1873, in the eastern part of the North Atlantic, the passengers were jolted out of their sleep by what sounded like two loud claps of thunder. Making their way up to the main deck from the berthing compartments below, the stunned passengers discovered their ship had been rammed by the Irish cargo vessel Loch Earn, tearing the Ville du Havre almost in half. The passengers huddled in small groups as the crew struggled to launch the lifeboats. Only a few were able to be launched, and they were later found to be filled largely with the French crewmembers, rather than with any of the passengers. The Ville du Havre sank to the bottom of the sea in a mere 12 minutes.”

All four daughters perished at sea. Anna survived. In response to the news, Horatio is famous for penning the words to the song, “It is well with my soul.” Below is the record Anna’s less than famous, and yet equally profound response.

“One of the first thoughts that came to her memory was Aunty Sims, pointing her finger and saying: “It’s easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God.” That phrase repeated itself in [Anna’s] mind. She thought, “I won’t be a fair-weather friend to God. I will trust Him, and someday I’ll understand.”

The Spaffords could be generous in times of crisis and grateful in experiencing great loss only because of their deep faith and trust in God.

Story quotes by Al Maxey, Reflections Issue #331 – January 11, 2008 and Anna Spafford quote by Bertha Spafford Vester in Our Jerusalem: an American family in the Holy city, 1881-1949 (Doubleday, 1950) 36.

And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.” 2 Chronicles 25:9

“The Lord is able to give you much more than this” is a very satisfactory answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the funds, and what we lose for His sake He can repay a thousandfold. Our part is to obey His will, and we may rest assured that He will provide for us.”

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) Morning by Morning: A New Edition of the Classic Devotional Based on the ESV, ed. Alistair Begg, entry for 30 November (Wheaton: Crossway, 2007).

“We can all be stimulated to greater generosity by the known generosity of others.”

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:1-7

John R.W. Stott (1921-2011) Stott on Stewardship: Ten Principles of Christian Giving (Chattanooga, TN: Generous Giving, 2003) 11.