Archive for February, 2017

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

“Needs should not be the motivating factor in giving. The needs of the Jerusalem Christians were not motivating factors for the Macedonian Christians when they generously responded with gifts beyond their ability. Their Christian faith and love for Jesus was (2 Corinthians 8:1-5). The needs in Jerusalem simply indicated where they could exercise their Christian love.

Today, the needs of the church and people throughout the world are overwhelmingly immense … A frequent mistake among churches is to use needs to get members to give when Christian love should be the sole motivator. Needs are simply indicators of where to exert Christian generosity. Using needs as a motivating factor can actually end up counterproductive. Some may minimize their perception of what is needed and end up giving less than they should and could.

Again, those motivated by the church budget, may donate only “their fair share” by making comparisons with the contributions of others. Church budgets as motivators can actually limit giving because they often reflect minimum needs of the church and therefore pull down the level of potential giving. Love motivated giving, on the other hand, focuses on the need of the giver to give (out of love to Christ) rather than on the need of the church to receive (to meet the budget).”

Rev. Thomas Soltis of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in “Haphazard vs. Biblical Giving – Love vs. Need Motivation”.

As we think about giving this Lenten season and beyond, Soltis offers sound advice. We must not measure our giving based on needs. “Needs are simply indicators of where to exert Christian generosity.” We must give out of love and gratitude for all God has given us.

And when it comes to conversations about church or institutional budgets, if you are the one communicating to the congregation or constituents, lift their gaze toward God and encourage them to give out of love. This regular practice will help you grow “cheerful givers” whom God loves!

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23

“Jesus comes to us in the poor. What finally counts is not whether we know Jesus and His words, but whether we live our lives in the Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus is the spirit of love. Jesus Himself makes this clear when He speaks about the last judgment.

These people will ask, “Lord when did we see You hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” and Jesus will answer, “In so far as you did this to one of the least…of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:37, 40).

This is our great challenge and consolation. Jesus comes to us in the poor, the sick, the dying, the prisoners, the lonely, the disabled, the rejected. There we meet him, and there the door to God’s house is opened for us.”

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) in Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (New York: HarperCollins, 1997) daily reading for 4 August.

Both today’s biblical text and reading may shock some folks who think going to heaven is just about knowing Jesus. He Himself said that those who know and love Him will also obey Him and do what He says.

In the last parable in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus Himself said what separates us as sheep from the goats is what we do with the the poor. This is “our great challenge and consolation” as Nouwen put it.

What about you? The closer Jenni and I get to Jesus, the closer we find ourselves to the poor, the broken, and the hurting. We are realizing we can’t help everyone but we can serve those around us.

As we approach Lent, take a few minutes and think about the poor around you. Pray about how you might show them the Spirit of Jesus through some specific activity, as an act of love. Follow God’s leading in serving the poor.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

“Solitude is a human need, a need for everyone. Never mind about who is an extrovert or an introvert. Solitude offers an opportunity for reflection, for sorting things out…When talking to a group of young mothers not long ago, I did not mention solitude as primary, lest that sound to monastic, too far out of reach…

But a journal appears to be ordinary. In fact it may open an extraordinary path. The journal’s empty pages become a way into solitude. They invite recollection, or centering…After clearing a space for God we may begin our conversation with God…In front of the Lord, we pull out our unfinished agendas, our unfulfilled desires, our unrequited loves. What is to be done about this? We want to know…

Stillness in the presence of God, a listening attitude, is also prayer…Solitude is one way we imitate Jesus, who went apart for times of solitude even though his life was already filled with prayer. Early in the morning, while it was still dark, He went outside into a solitary place for prayer. Besides that, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert as a preparation for His ministry.”

Emilie Griffin in Small Surrenders: A Lenten Journey (Brewster: Paraclete, 2007) 45-48.

What’s today’s post have to do with generosity? Before we can go out and live a generous life, we must tap into the source of all generosity. That happens in solitude and prayer.

I like Griffin’s suggestion to journal because for some people, like young mothers, solitude seems out of reach. That’s where the practice of journaling can help us become fully present with ourselves and God despite the noise and distractions around us. Whether you journal or go to a quiet place, take time to vent, to pour out your heart before God, then also be sure to allow time to listen.

The forty days of Lent are modeled after the practice of Jesus who fasted for that timeframe before His ministry began. He was alone with the Father, tempted by the devil, and emerged from that exercise ready to minister generously! What about you? Are you up for the Lenten journey?

It starts Wednesday. Decide what you will do linked to prayer, fasting, and giving this Lent. Adopt your Lenten rhythms in these three areas for forty days from 1 March 2017 to 16 April 2017 (not counting the seven feast day Sundays, those are “days off”). They just might become a way of life. Don’t do this because I say so. Do it to follow the example of Jesus.

As for us who are strong, our duty is to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not seek our own pleasure. Romans 15:1

“The New Testament also demands the sharing of resources. It is the duty of those who are wealthy to give generously of their wealth to those who are in conditions of physical need…Since God owns everything, since we are managers of what God has entrusted to us, and since that management exists for the good of others, then it stands to reason that God has blessed the wealthy in material items, not so that they may hoard things for themselves, but rather use that wealth to benefit those who have material needs.”

Charles R. Lane in Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 2006) 41. Lane was at the gathering of LCMS stewardship leaders that I attended this week.

Here, Lane rightly echoes the Apostle Paul in reminding the wealthy that with God’s abundant provision comes a responsibility, a duty. The wealthy must share with those who are weak and with those in need.

So often, when we possess more than enough, we get sucked into thinking the toxic notion that “we earned it” or that “it is ours to do with as we please”. Nothing could be further from the biblical truth!

Lane’s quote is a great reminder as we approach Lent because one of the three areas of focus in Lent is almsgiving. Almsgiving is personal giving to the poor or needy around us. Know anyone around you in need?

Christ-followers are stewards. We are not on this earth to seek our own pleasure. We have a duty to use God-given material wealth to aid others in need. The New Testament does not suggest this. It demands it!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

“My rheumatism is not really bad. It only produces extreme footsoreness in the left foot, so that after 50 years, the right one is fresh as a daisy, the left keeps on whimpering, “Stop! Stop! We’ve been 25 miles already”. The real nuisance is that I am beginning to get horribly fat and this foot comes just when I ought to be slimming by long walks. I have had to give up potatoes, milk, and bread: perhaps having to fast for medical reasons is just punishment for not having fasted enough on higher grounds.”

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in “Dear Mary” letter dated 1 November 1954 in Letters to an American Lady, edited by Clyde S. Kilby (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967) 28.

I can relate. Perhaps you can too.

I turn 50 this year. Lewis was 50. I have had issues with my left foot since I herniated disk in my back on 19 October 2009. Lewis had issues with his left foot. I feel like I am gaining weight, because either my clothing is shrinking or its getting too tight. Lewis admits to becoming “horribly fat”.

Why share this excerpt from a personal letter of C.S. Lewis and be vulnerable about my own condition?

I feel like the practices linked to praying and giving tend to stick after Lent is over, but fasting, not so much. Maybe I am too much of a product of this consumeristic society. I don’t know. I am praying about what I will fast from this Lent. I would encourage you to join me. Ash Wednesday is days away.

More than that, let us ask God to us make fasting a regular practice after Lent so that we have margin in this busy, noisy world to be with the Father and feast on God’s generous offer of bread that satisfies and living water that quenches our thirst. Let’s discipline ourselves to fast on higher grounds.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. et each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:1-5

“Paul’s citation of this poetry is remarkable for the way in which he turns from the mystery of the self-emptying Christ to the self-emptying of the church. He takes the self-emptying of Christ according to what must have been a normative christological tradition by his time, as certain. But his concern, in appeal to that tradition, is to make an argument about the life and conduct of the church. Thus, in verses 1-5 he urges that the church, in its concrete practice, must imitate the self-emptying of Jesus Christ. He requires of the church a self-emptying for the sake of others in community.”

Walter Brueggemann in Money and Possessions (Interpretation; Louisville: WJKP, 2016) 225-226.

As we approach the season of Lent leading up to Easter, let us together meditate on the self-emptying of Jesus Christ. Why? We are instructed to have the same mind.

Who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

Brueggemann concludes with this thought: “Self-emptying in economic conduct is done in an assurance that there is more than enough. When one is convinced of the scarcity of goods or for that matter a scarcity of divine grace, one readily becomes parsimonious and exclusionary. Such a stance, however, is inimical to the mind of Christ.”

Last night I arrived in Phoenix to meet with Lutheran Church Missouri Synod stewardship directors for two days. I shot the header photo at sunset over dinner. It was stunning. Today, far away, back in Cleveland, my father, John “Jack” Hoag, is celebrating his 78th birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for pointing me toward Jesus Christ and for self-emptying often to care for others in the community of faith.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

“I am convinced that anyone who brings up the question of consequences in the Christian life is only a mediocre and common Christian! I have known some who were interested in the deeper life but began asking questions: “What will it cost me – in terms of time, in money, in effort, in the matter of my friendships?” Others ask of the Lord when He calls them to move forward: “Will it be safe?” This question comes out of our constant bleating about security and our everlasting desire for safety above all else. A third question that we want Him to answer is: “Will it be convenient?”

What must our Lord think of us if His work and His witness depend on the security and the safety and the convenience of His people? No element of sacrifice, no bother, no disturbance – so we are not getting anywhere with God! We have stopped and pitched our tent halfway between the swamp and the peak. We are mediocre Christians.”

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) in Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings is a revised edition of Renewed Day by Day, vol. 2. Compiled by Gerald B. Smith (Chicago: Moody, 2008) reading for 9 May.

What measure of sacrifice, bother, and disturbance is there in your Christian faith?

Perhaps it’s time to learn some new disciplines. Try the three that were central to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (Matthew 6:1-18). As we approach Easter, join Christians around the world in observing Lent.

Add sacrifice to your giving by thinking of those less fortunate and sharing some of what you have with them. Add bother to your schedule by carving out more time for prayer and less time for some other activities. Add disturbance to your diet by fasting from something so you can feast on Jesus.

We observe Lent because it helps us move from mediocre Christianity to the deeper life that God wants for us. Jenni and I have developed three different Lenten resources. If you’d like PDF copies of them, simply reply to this email and I can send them to you. A little sacrifice, bother, and disturbance just might change your life!

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

“What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out anything.”

D.L. Moody (1837-1899) in Anecdotes & Illustrations of D.L Moody related by Him in His Revival Work (Washington D.C.: McClure & Rhodes, 1878) 79.

Paul ministered from about 52-54 A.D. in Ephesus. Today’s Scripture recounts the famous last words of his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders before leaving. He reminded everyone that Jesus prioritized giving over receiving.

Long after him Moody labored in Chicago and said many profound things in his revival notes. This statement is moving because of all that it reveals. Our “giving out” demonstrates the temperature of our faith.

What about you? If you are “all the time receiving” and not “giving out” generously, what might that say about your Christianity?

Here’s my advice, especially as we approach the season of Lent: Pray, map out a plan for growing in the grace of giving during Lent, and then work out your plan!

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 2 Kings 2:9

“I have seen apostolic holiness revived within our church. I will say before the throne of God that I have seen as earnest and as true a godliness as Paul or Peter ever witnessed. I have seen such godly zeal, such holiness, such devotion to the Master’s business as Christ Himself would look upon with joy and satisfaction.

But there are others who never enter heartily into our projects of concern or unite with our gatherings of prayer. To them I say, “My dear brethren, if you are indeed with us, if you have fellowship with us and with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, I beseech you to ask the Lord to make you more earnest than the most earnest of us have ever been.

If you have been slow either in generosity of your giving or in the earnestness of your pleading, ask the Lord that you may henceforth double your pace and do more in the time that remains for you in this life than anyone might dream possible.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life (Lynnwood: Emerald, 1993) 85-86.

Lent begins on 1 March 2017 this year. From that day, Ash Wednesday, there are 40 days (not counting the six feast day Sundays) leading up to Easter on 16 April 2017 (the seventh feast day Sunday). Why mention this?

Lent is the “Spring Training” of life when the Church dedicates time to focus on the core practices of the Sermon on the Mount: almsgiving (“When you give alms…” Matthew 6:2), prayer (“When you pray…” Matthew 6:5), and fasting (“When you give fast…” Matthew 6:16).

In our home, we don’t focus about how bad things are in the world. We ask God to make us part of the solution through our giving, prayers, and fasting. Care to join us? Want to see revival in the church? It starts with you and me.

Father in heaven, pour out a double portion of your Spirit so that we double our pace. Deepen our generosity in giving, our earnestness in prayer, and our humility in fasting this Lent. Help us retrain ourselves so that our lives reflect godly zeal and devotion. In your mercy, hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

“The whole Bible shows that the angels are happy beings; far happier than we can conceive. (1) They are holy beings — ever doing God’s commandments. Now, holiness and happiness are inseparable. (2) They are in heaven —always in the smile of their Father. They “do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven;” they must be happy — no tear on their cheek, no sigh in their bosom. (3) They are represented as praising God — one crying to another, “Holy, holy, holy,” and singing, “Worthy is the Lamb.” Now, singing praises is a sign of mirth and gladness. “Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”

Now, I want you to see that the happiness of these happy spirits consists in giving. They all give: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?” Upon the earth, very few people give; most people like to receive money; to keep it, to lay it up in the bank, to see it becoming more and more. There are only a few people that give — these often not the richest; but in heaven all give. It is their greatest pleasure. Search every dwelling of every angel — you will not find one hoard among them all. They are all ministering spirits.”

Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) in “More Blessed to Give Than to Receive” Sermon 82 on Acts 20:35 in The Works of the Late Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, Vol. 2, Sermons (New York: Robert Carter, 1847) 477.

In this sermon on the only “traditional” saying of Jesus not recounted in the Gospels — “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 — McCheyne reminds us that giving is the greatest pleasure of the inhabitants of heaven. They are happy because they are doing what God made them to do.

What about you and me? Are we ministering givers that reflect the happiness of heaven? The angels of heaven exhibit the generosity of God. On this Lord’s day, let us contemplate what this means for those of us who claim our citizenship in heaven. As the Holy Spirit stirs within you, give like heaven!