Archive for March, 2022

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

“Christians and sharers of a heavenly calling, you country folk, and all who come from the towns, you who in concord have gathered at the present feast, for by a general address I embrace you all, has each one of you thoughtfully considered and realized why we are assembled? And why are martyrs honored by the construction of notable buildings and by these annual assemblies, and what end did our fathers have in view when they ordained the things we see, and left the established custom to their descendants?

Is it not evident to one who concentrates his thought on this subject even for a short time, that these things have been given permanent form to rouse us to pious emulation, and that the feasts constitute public schools for our souls, in order that while we honor the martyrs, we may learn to imitate their sturdy piety; that lending the ear to the gathered teachers, we may learn some useful thing which we did not know before, either the certainty of some doctrine, or the explanation of some difficult Scripture, or may hear some discourse that will improve our morals?

But you seem to me to have abandoned your care for virtue, to have forgotten your zeal on behalf of your souls, and to have devoted all your thought to the rubbish of mammon and the business of the markets; some bargaining yourselves; some greedily haggling with competing dealers in order to reduce their prices. But transfer your love to the church. Abandon the love of money, that mad passion of the market.”

Asterius of Amasea (350-410) in his sermon, Against Coveteousness.

The next few posts will come from this powerful sermon delivered long ago but sounding as relevant as ever. Many Christians today have abandoned God for money. They devote all thought to mammon and the markets.

This posture stands in contrast to the effort we just rolled out in Malawi which is sweeping far and wide: “Give to God what you have.” Giving releases the power over those who possess it when they give it.

This abandonment is shocking because we are sharers of a heavenly calling. We get to show that care of virtue and not coveteousness is the force that drives us, and that God and not money is the one who sustains us.

Our work on this trip in Malawi is done. Soon we depart for Ethiopia, and then to Australia, Egypt, and USA from there. The Palmful of Maize vision has been unleashed. Thanks for your prayers for safe travel.

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:1-2

“They did not deposit the whole price of their land, but kept back a little for their own necessary use… The preaching of the Gospel and its wonders uplifted the first Christians to heaven, and men came from all directions to drink of the fountain of grace.

They gave up individual possessions and joined all together, so that personal wealth ceased to exist in this spiritual society. Among others, Ananias and his wife offered their property to the common stock. When once given to Christ, it was no longer their own. It was therefore wrong to keep some back, though merely in itself such a deed does not appear so.

Peter at once cut out this evil, in order that the disease might not spread to the whole body of believers. The deed was not a wrong done to Peter, and therefore it did not receive his forgiveness; but it was done to the Deity, and was an outrage on the faith.

Besides, if no notice had been taken, they would have thought their hidden deed escaped Christ’s notice, and so would have proceeded unrebuked to worse sins, and have infected others, like a pestilence, with the same ideas. To prevent this, Peter checks the disease, and drags up the weeds before they can spread over the field.”

The Apocriticus of Macarius Magnes, translated and compiled by T.W. Crafer (London, SPCK, 1919) excerpt from chapters XXII-XXIII

In this fourth century apology, Macarius unpacks the demise of Ananias and Sapphira as keeping back what belongs to God. Interesting the Greek word used for holding back is actually the word, embezzle, or stealing that which belongs to another. Everything belongs to God.

Today Matthew, Ray, and I are preaching in three different churches in Malawi. My message from Acts 4:32-5:11 is entitled, “Give to God what you have.” Our human tendency is sinful rationalization. “I earned what I have, so it’s mine.” We forget that God gives us the ability to produce wealth (cf. Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

The reason there remained no needy persons among them in the early church was because they were united in treating everything as belonging to God. When one acted otherwise, God rooted out the greedy person among them. Flourishing in commnity was rooted in the gospel and their generosity flowed from God’s grace.

Each of us can be tempted to play the rich fool as God blesses us. Remember, we are not a container, but a conduit of spiritual and material blessings. Ask the Spirit today if there is any cancer in your thinking that needs to be cut out. Do it lest it destroy you like it did Ananias and Sapphira.

God desires not to worry us but uses stories like this to wake us to depend on Him. He also does not want us to hold back anything for ourselves. This is a hard idea for many. It becomes easy when you soak in the gospel. God’s care for us went to the extent of not sparing His own son for us. We can do this. God’s got us.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

“He who shares our nature should share our love, itself the fruit of nature. Wherefore if a man find it a burden, I will not say only to relieve his brother’s needs, but to minister to his brother’s pleasures, let him mortify those same affections in himself, lest he become a transgressor. He may cherish himself as tenderly as he chooses, if only he remembers to show the same indulgence to his neighbor. This is the curb of temperance imposed on thee, O man, by the law of life and conscience, lest thou shouldest follow thine own lusts to destruction, or become enslaved by those passions which are the enemies of thy true welfare. Far better divide thine enjoyments with thy neighbor.”

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), excerpt from Chapter Eight in his classic work: On Loving God.

Today is the big launch event for Dzanja Lodzaza Chimanga, which in English is, Palmful of Maize. 56 people, two from 28 districts have converged on Malawi. They have come to hear about the curriculum and the program which has 12 lessons, one of which is linked to being generous to your neighbor.

I miss my neighbor, Ken Sharp, back home. Whenever I travel I don’t get to see him, but we always fellowship when I get home. What I love about our friendship is that we share the simple pleasures of life together. That’s how God designed it. We get more joy when we divide enjoyments with each other.

People often ask me what’s a good measure for enjoyment of blessings from God. How would Jesus answer? They say, “Is it okay if I enjoy this meal or this amazing experience?” I think Jesus would say today’s Scripture in reply to love God with what you have first, and then enjoy it with your neighbor.

I am learning that sharing is the pathway to life. Think of someone with whom you can share today. And if you feel inspired to help GTP for the investment we are making in Malawi to teach every child in every Sunday school class to share, give generously here. I am asking God to supply $50,000 for the cost of this trip and project expenses for the year.

For this trip we brought in four workers from three countries. We covered lodging and food for the week. We created a generosity curriculum and mapped the plan for nationwide rollout including printing and getting maize sacks. And we enjoyed lots of chambo and sima (fish and maize flour porridge) together.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:19-21

“For the pious, my beloved, it is always good to occupy themselves with the holy doctrines, teaching the fear of God and leading us in the right ways which are pleasing unto God. And especially with the stories of the memory of the works of the Saints, who lived well with God and were perfect in the holy service. For there is nothing of such profit to the pious soul as such meditations which show forth the excellent life and holy works and humble habit of monasticism.

For it is well known that there is no small consolation to be gathered from [an examination] as to how they lived and pleased God in humbleness; how they persisted in patience and in that love, which is a perfect sign of being a disciple of Christ, and in great works; how they persevered in steady and long fasting, how they humbled themselves in performing abundant services beloved by God. Not only blessed men have been seen doing this, but there have also been found women in all generations shining like stars in the whole world.”

In the “The Story of the Holy Hilaria, the daughter of king Zeno” translated from the Syriac.

In today’s Scripture, we find the disciples struggling against the spiritual forces of evil. Jesus teaches them that their difficulty linked to the littleness of their faith. Ho can it grow? It grows with prayer and fasting.

The story of Hilaria is about a girl who practiced “steady and long fasting” and did many wonderful services for God’s people, including heal her sister. She was daughter of Roman Emperor, Zeno.

She disquised herself as a man to become a monk. Why? She was pious and her story is recounted to inspire future pious people. In plain terms, she was deeply committed to God and wanted to join a community serving Him.

What about you? Are you around people who are deeply committed to God and willing to sacrifice everything for Him? Do you face adversity that can only be conquered by prayer and fasting?

Any generosity that flows from us must be rooted in deep faith and strengthened by prayer and fasting, so that what we request is a proclamation of what we see in the heart of God and in accordance with His will.

Yesterday we hoped to train 70 trainers with the contextualized generosity curriculum. God brought 118 people to Salima, Malawi (see above). They loved the 3 sample lessons the national trainers shared and the Palmful of Maize vision.

Tomorrow is the Palmful of Maize launch event. Fast and pray with us that 2 workers from 28 districts across Malawi can make it along with influential workers from across the capital city of Lilongwe.

We had torrential rains last night and had difficulty getting into the city. But we made it by God’s grace. Though the rains are continuing to come down and may cause flooding. God help us.

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 2:36-37

“Let not us, then, who are in Christ — that is, always in the lights cease from praying even during night. Thus the widow Anna, without intermission praying and watching, persevered in deserving well of God, as it is written in the Gospel: She departed not, it says, from the temple, serving with fastings and prayers night and day. Let the Gentiles look to this, who are not yet enlightened, or the Jews who have remained in darkness by having forsaken the light. Let us, beloved brethren, who are always in the light of the Lord, who remember and hold fast what by grace received we have begun to be, reckon night for day; let us believe that we always walk in the light, and let us not be hindered by the darkness which we have escaped. Let there be no failure of prayers in the hours of night — no idle and reckless waste of the occasions of prayer. New-created and newborn of the Spirit by the mercy of God, let us imitate what we shall one day be. Since in the kingdom we shall possess day alone, without intervention of night, let us so watch in the night as if in the daylight. Since we are to pray and give thanks to God for ever, let us not cease in this life also to pray and give thanks.”

Cyprian of Carthage in Treatise 4.36 On the Lord’s Prayer.

Fasting at night is not hard. We are sleeping. By day, of course, is another story. Fasting by day simply teaches us that Christ is the only thing that satisfies. That’s what Anna learned by experience.

There are some who argue that the generous person needs to have a “balanced” life. It looks something like this, they “care for yourself” and then “care for others” but that care flows out of their capacity and depends on self rather than God.

Then there are people like Anna who “without intermission” serve in God’s house, day and night. How did she do it? What sustained or fueled her? The text reveals her secret: fasting and prayer.

If you are reading this, I urge you this Lent to stop pursuing a “balanced” life with frequent intermissions. as your ability to care for yourself is insufficient compared to what God can do for you, in you, and through you.

Instead, without intermission, live, give, serve, and love like Anna. In so doing, when you have desires, give them over to God and ask Him to fulfill them whilst simultaneously fueling you to bless others. See what happens.

You might emerge as a modern day Patrick. His life impacted all of Ireland. That’s my hope for Malawi. Today the national workers we have served will train about 60-70 trainers to spread the generosity curriculum in 28 districts.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One… Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth… Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 2:1, 3:18, 5:21

“And now, my children, hearken unto me and beware of the spirit of deceit and envy. For envy ruleth over the whole mind of a man, and suffereth him neither to eat nor to drink, nor to do any good thing. But it ever suggesteth (to him) to destroy him that he envieth; and so long as he that is envied flourisheth, he that envieth fadeth away. Two years therefore I afflicted my soul with fasting in the fear of the Lord, and I learnt that deliverance from envy cometh by the fear of God. For if a man flee to the Lord, the evil spirit runneth away from him, and his mind is lightened. And henceforward he sympathiseth with him whom he envied and forgiveth those who are hostile to him, and so ceaseth from his envy.”

The Testament of Simeon 3:1-6 in The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. From The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament by R. H. Charles, vol. II, Oxford Press.

It’s been rewarding to participate in creating a generosity curriculum for the Sunday School programs of Malawi. Each of 12 lessons had a memory verse. One verse we used, above, was 1 John 3:18, about loving with actions and truth. It prompted me to read other “children” verses and to go to the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.

In The Testament of Simeon, he warns children about deceit and envy. This is a good lesson for adults who want to be generous. Why? Wealth is deceitful according to Jesus and it leads us to desire the wrong things which is envy. What’s the way out of its power? It’s fasting in the fear of the Lord! It’s setting aside your desires and desiring God over all.

Today in Malawi we focus on the parallel idea of accountability that must accompany generosity. If you have not been tracking with us, GTP is rolling out a program called Palmful of Maize for Malawi, inspired by Handful of Rice from India, in partnership with STUM and GenerousChurch.

We created a 16 lesson generosity curriculum for the Sunday School programs of Malawi that will run from 24 April to 7 August 2022 all across Malawi. Now we are working with the national team that will facilitate like Levites the work of training people to give maize so that it can be converted to resources for mission and mercy efforts.

God help us stand on the foundation of the AfCAA standards which exhibit fear of God. God help us set aside our desires and understand your heart for mobilizing the next generation to be generous with what they have. In your mercy hear our prayer in the matchless name of Jesus. Amen.

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. Acts 11:27-30

“It is interesting also to compare the custom of the early Christians in the matter of fasting, that they might relieve by their self-denial the necessities of the poor. This is precisely what we find described so fully in the Similitudes of Hermas (Sim. v. 3), where the directions are given that on the day when we fast we are ourselves to eat only bread and water, and calculate the amount saved thereby and bestow it on the poor. Now very many of the later fathers teach the same doctrine, that fasting and alms are conjoined in duty and merit, and that it is proper, under certain circumstances, for the church to call for such an expression of religion. But what makes for the antiquity of the apology is that the whole church fasts, not merely one day, but two or three days, and that not by direction or rule, but because they are poor and have no other way of meeting the needs of those who are poorer than themselves. It is a spontaneous, rather than a commanded charity, dictated at once by love and necessity.”

J. Rendel Harris in the introduction to “The Apology of Aristides on Behalf of the Christians” which he wrote in A.D. 125 to Roman Emperor Hadrian, who reigned from A.D. 117-138 about the Christians (Cambridge University Press, 1893) 15.

What I am seeing in the people of Malawi seems to echo what Aristides reported of the early church. They were poor but they practiced self-denial out of love and necessity for those who were more poor.

It’s a powerful witness.

Our GTP team in partnership with GenerousChurch been working with four influential workers of STUM (Sunday School Teachers United Movement) to create the generosity curriculum for use in churches across Malawi.

So far so good. We work to finish a draft today so it can be translated tomorrow.

Appreciate your prayers for us.

And like the Christians in the early church, as you are able, can you help GTP finish the Trust Fund campaign which ends today. We are so close! We are at $9,710 toward the goal of $10,000. Only $290 to go today.

Click here to learn more about the GTP Trust Fund which will support projects like the work we are doing in Malawi. Thanks in advance for your help. Please give as you are able out of love and necessity.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Acts 2:32-35

“As the early Christians faced the world, they saw immense spiritual and physical poverty all around them. Rather than acting as individual givers, they came together and sought collective impact with their giving.

Could one giver have administered the daily distribution of food to widows? No. But, acting in unison, many believers accomplished this task together. The loving community they formed – feeding the hungry, welcoming children, and worshipping in joyful unity – allowed the early Jesus communities to spread.

In this milieu of collaborative giving and spiritual devotion, Barnabas took a bold leap of faith into generosity. This initial step in his discipleship journey would propel him forward, as he became a partner to Paul and one of the most critical leaders in the early days of the missionary expansion of the Church.

Giving generously, in community with other believers can facilitate leveraged impact for God’s kingdom. And it might just propel you into a new calling you never anticipated, like it did Barnabas.”

John Cortines in “4 relatable lessons on giving from the early church” article by NCF on 2 March 2022.

This is a good little article about giving in Acts. It’s fitting for us during Lent because we are journeying together to grow in this grace. When we join forces in giving we are certainly better together.

Collaborative giving moves us toward common kingdom objectives. When we work together, needs are eliminated, problems are solved, and God gets the glory before a watching world.

That’s the ultimate objective of our efforts in Malawi. Today it was estimated that the contextualized generosity curriculum and Palmful of Maize will touch upwards of 500,000 children in 1,000+ churches this year.

That’s collaborative giving among the poor so that there is no needy person among them and so that mission is fueled by local giving. So beautiful! So encouraging! To God be the glory.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 2 Peter 1:5-7

“A mild man, observing the folly and the error and the unrighteousness of men, yearns for God and prays to Him with inward trust, that He may cause His divine gifts to flow, and may nurture His mildness in all men, till they acknowledge Him and turn themselves to the truth. This mild man also observes with compassion the bodily needs of all men: he serves them, he gives to them, he lends, he comforts each man according to his needs, according to his own ability and to discretion…

By means of knowledge a man shall purge his conscience of all faults, and adorn it with all virtues: and with moderation a man shall give and take, shall do and let alone, be silent and speak, fast and eat, hear and answer, and act in all things according to knowledge and discretion, clad in a moral virtue which is called temperance or moderation.”

Jan van Ruysbroek (1293-1381) in The Spiritual Espousals (London: Faber and Faber, 1952) 70, 76.

As we journey through Lent with fasting and feasting, we realize that it’s a journey of observing our error and unrighteousness and adorning ourselves with virtues for a purpose. God forms us into “mild” people who meet the needs of others.

Notice that prayer is a place of inward trust that births temperance and moderation in us. This propels a “mild” person to outward service that is measured according to needs and according to one’s ability. Do you give accordingly? Let me explain.

To give according to needs is to discern them. To give according to your means is to put to work what you have. You serve, give, lend, and comfort holding nothing back. The capacity to do this flows from temperance and moderation.

This is the aim of Palmful of Maize project in Malawi: to teach a generation of children in every Sunday School class in the country that God blesses us with divine gifts to enjoy and share according to our ability with those around us.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. Jeremiah 18:1-6

“The work of God is fashioning man.” Shaping the creature, whom He formed out of the mud of this earth with His own hands, into His own image and likeness, and so bringing him to share ever more fully in His own life…“The business of the Christian is nothing else but to be ever preparing for death.”

Irenaeus of Lyons in Against Heresies 5:15:2 and commentary by John Behr in On the Apostolic Preaching (Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997) 104.

If God has given you apostolic work to do, the Apostolic Fathers can provide rich inspiration.

Today’s Scripture from Jeremiah reminds us that God can make broken people into useful vessels. Irenaeus describe it similarly that God’s work is fashioning us. Our work is preparing for life eternal with Him.

We do that by fulfilling the calling He has for us: to do good works which he prepared in advance for us to do. As our team has convened from around the world in Malawi, this idea inspires me.

And the word “mud” struck me in reading Irenaeus. God made us from mud. Many things in Malawi are fashioned from mud. Each one is fashioned for a purpose. That’s the same for us. God made us for a purpose.

It’s a bold vision to create a contextualize generosity curriculum for every Sunday School class in Malawi. Therein we will remind each child the purpose God made them: to love God and love others generously.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us as we work together with influential national workers. And lift yourself up to the Lord asking Him what you need to do to prepare for your death, which is experiencing life eternal.