Archives by: Gary Hoag

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“The greatest lack today is not people or funds. The greatest need is prayer. Without increasing the number of Christian workers or their financial support, we could see multiplied results if we would only multiply prayer.”

Wesley L. Duewel in Touch the World Through Prayer (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986) 13.

I’ve safely arrived in Puerto Montt, Chile.

Tenglo Island is pictured above from the home of my hosts, Hector and Jessica Hijinosa. They serve on the board of Caminando en Victoria, a growing ministry that offers Christian camp activities and other children’s programs on the island.

How might you multiply prayer to see greater impact where you serve?

For some of you, it might mean you could help rally people to pray at a certain date and time each week or month. For others it might be to facilitate the sharing of prayer and praise items. For example, if you want to get the GTP prayer journal, click here.

While we have program work planned for Saturday, our focus Friday will be rest, fellowship, and prayer.

Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Philippians 4:15-16

“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity but its sending capacity.

Mike Stachura as quoted by Johnny Turner in A Biblical Theology of Christian Discipleship (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2021) chapter 3.

Notice the commitment of the Philippian church to sending Paul. And it was not one time support but perpetual giving. Whenever he had needs. Personally, I am praying for this for GTP.

I had an unbelievable week in Brazil. I went to celebrate the release of my three ECFA Press books in Portuguese. God had much bigger plans in mind.

In short, a network expressed interest in starting a peer accountability group for Brazil (like ECFA in USA) back in 2019, but they did not have the point person.

Well, God raised up that person! And he’s so enthusiastic, like Timothy joined Paul on his travels spontaneously, Rafael Bandeira will join me in Panama next Monday.

To hear more of the story. reply and I will share a copy of my Brazil trip report. Now, like Paul left one country and went to another, I head to Chile tonight.

Rather than pour God’s resources into property, I want to challenge you to invest in people. Can you pray about becoming a monthly giver to GTP? Click here to set it up.

We don’t have any property. We develop people like Rafael. Our work in his life magnifies the effectiveness and impact of gospel ministry across Brazil (and 109 other countries).

Imagine, he’s been asked to start by helping a network of 85 Christian ministries follow consistent standards for building trust and growing giving from Brazilians for God’s work.

Can’t wait to see what God will do among the receptive workers in Chile. Thanks for sending me and GTP with support and prayers! God bless you.

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

“From isolation three chief benefits, among many others, follow.

The first is that a man, by separating himself from many friends and acquaintances, and likewise from many not well-ordered affairs, to serve and praise God our Lord, merits no little in the sight of His Divine Majesty.

The second is, that being thus isolated, and not having his understanding divided on many things, but concentrating his care on one only, namely, on serving his Creator and benefiting his own soul, he uses with greater freedom his natural powers, in seeking with diligence what he so much desires.

The third: the more our soul finds itself alone and isolated, the more apt it makes itself to approach and to reach its Creator and Lord, and the more it so approaches Him, the more it disposes itself to receive graces and gifts from His Divine and Sovereign Goodness.”

Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) in The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola () 15

I am at the Brazil Missions Congress with over a thousand people. The schedule includes activities from 7am to 11pm daily. As you can imagine, there is little space to think or rest. I crave isolation and the benefits it offers.

I know my wife, Jenni, can relate. We talk almost daily as our calendars overlap, but she’s either having a soul care session, walking the dog, or on her way to her next commitment. Perhaps you crave isolation too?

Think of isolation not as living in a cave as a hermit, but as slipping away like Jesus in today’s Scripture to get the graces and gifts we need to serve others. By this way, we meet them with a full cup, not an empty one.

In isolation, I love how Ignatius portrays our Creator and Lord as “His Divine and Sovereign Goodness” which is another word for generosity. If we want to live generous lives, we must isolate to receive graces and gifts.

And, like Jesus, it might mean we have to get up early or sneak away from the crowds like he had to do. But it’s worth it. Is your calendar full? Block margin for isolation and just see what God gives you.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

“We must perform all our works in God and refer them to His glory, so that they will be permanent and stable. Everyone — whether kings, nobles, tradesmen or peasants — must do all things for the glory of God and under the inspiration of Christ’s example… We must make our way towards eternity, never regarding what men think of us, or of our actions, studying only to please God.”

Francis Borgia (1510-1572) in 365 Days with the Saints: A Year of Wisdom from the Saints, compiled by Carol Kelly-Gangi (2015) 208.

It’s really rewarding to be at this conference in Brazil where my ECFA press books have been released in Portuguese. Tonight’s opening session was inspiring. Worship with 1,000+ people in Portuguese was a taste of the eternal Kingdom, for sure.

But so far, the highlight from the first day of the conference for me has been my conversation with Victor, who works for the publisher. We have gotten acquainted using Google Translate whilst I sit at the booth with him to autograph books.

He read The Choice and spoke with passion about how we must define success as faithfulness to God. It was priceless to see his passion. Then he elaborated on the fact that we must follow Christ’s example and live in light of eternity.

So, imagine my surprise when I read this in my Daily Office this morning. It prompted me to remind myself and readers to keep doing the good works that God prepared in advance for us to do for God’s glory and following the example of Jesus.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. Lamentations 3:40

“May the Lord teach this to those of you who do not know it: for my own part I must confess that, until the Lord taught me this method, I never knew what it was to get satisfaction and comfort out of prayer, and it is because I have always gained such great benefits from this custom of interior recollection that I have written about it at such length. Perhaps you all know this, but some sister may come to you who will not know it, so you must not be vexed at my having spoken about it here.

I conclude by advising anyone who wishes to acquire it (since, as I say, it is in our power to do so) not to grow weary of trying to get used to the method which has been described, for it is equivalent to a gradual gaining of the mastery over herself and is not vain labour. To conquer oneself for one’s own good is to make use of the senses in the service of the interior life. If she is speaking she must try to remember that there is One within her to Whom she can speak; if she is listening, let her remember that she can listen to Him Who is nearer to her than anyone else.

Briefly, let her realize that, if she likes, she need never withdraw from this good companionship, and let her grieve when she has left her Father alone for so long though her need of Him is so sore. If she can, let her practise recollection many times daily; if not, let her do so occasionally. As she grows accustomed to it, she will feel its benefits, either sooner or later. Once the Lord has granted it to her, she would not exchange it for any treasure.”

Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) in The Way of Perfection (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 115

I am safely in São Paulo, Brazil, pictured above.

Travel gives me time for interior reflection. It includes activities like stepping back from earthly affairs which weigh me down and take all my energy and focus and examining myself and attending to the state of my soul with God.

It offers unfathomable treasure for those who give themselves to it.

I am a novice at this; my wife is a pro. If there were biblical characters to equate to this it might be Martha who tended toward distraction and Mary who focused with devotion. Notice how Teresa depicts interior reflection.

“To conquer oneself for one’s own good is to make use of the senses in the service of the interior life.”

God hears us and is present with us, closer than anyone. When I travel and sit in the quiet of my hotel room, it seems easier to practice. I pray, like Teresa suggests and as my wife demonstrates, that I can do it many times daily.

Today through Wednesday, I attend the Brazil Missions Congress 2022 where my ECFA Press books will be released in Portuguese. Pray for me to make many good connections.

Over this time when everyone will be speaking Portuguese around me (with the exception of a translator that will assist me at times) I am asking God to help me have times for interior reflection throughout each day.

Join me in this and point others this way. As we do, we will find it outweighs the greatest earthly treasures.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Psalm 22:1-2

“This is the first and principal benefit caused by this arid and dark night of contemplation: the knowledge of oneself and of one’s misery. For, besides the fact that all the favours which God grants to the soul are habitually granted to them enwrapped in this knowledge, these aridities and this emptiness of the faculties, compared with the abundance which the soul experienced aforetime and the difficulty which it finds in good works, make it recognize its own lowliness and misery, which in the time of its prosperity it was unable to see.”

John of the Cross (1542-1591) in Dark Night of the Soul, excerpt from Chapter XII “Of the benefits which this night causes in the soul” (New York: Image Books, 1959) 37.

Ever feel all alone or forsaken. You cry out to God but He remains silent, and you find no rest.

When we go through such experiences, described fittingly by John of the Cross as a dark night of the soul, we gain a benefit. We learn about ourselves and about our misery various things we cannot see in times of prosperity.

And if we pause and ponder we discover such times really are a gift.

Prior experiences of abundance cause us as humans to look for those to be repeated. God supplied in one way, so we expect that to happen again. When it doesn’t we experience difficulty to persevere in good works.

The saints of old teach us through their writings from the lessons they learned.

We too can benefit if we pay attention. Let us give thanks for our lowliness and God’s greatness. For our misery and His might. For our limitations and suffering and His abundance and faithfulness.

That Jesus recounted today’s Scripture on the cross tells us that we can cry it too on hard days.

Likely I will get little rest tonight, crammed in the back of a full plane from Houston to São Paulo, Brazil. And with back pain and with challenges in various areas of my life, I could be tempted to despair.

But I have discovered the benefit and want to share it with you: from one lowly, miserable soul to another.

I have no idea when God will answer you or me or when we will find rest, but I know this. We learn priceless lessons about our abundant and faithful God in the meantime if we pay attention.

These lessons become treasures to enjoy and share. Thanks for your prayers for safe and pain-free travel. Lord have mercy.

Sometime after this posts I will arrive in São Paulo, Brazil, to attend a big missions conference as the ECFA Press books, The Sower, The Choice, and The Council which I co-authored will be released in Portuguese. Praise the LORD!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48

“The example which divine charity furnishes for our own, manifests still more the excellence of this virtue, although it is difficult for me to explain my perception of this excellence. When Christ Our Lord founded His most perfect law of love and grace, He exhorted us to be perfect imitators of our heavenly Father, who allows His sun to rise over the just and the unjust without distinction. Such doctrine and such an example only He Himself, the Son of the eternal Father, could give to men. Among all the visible creatures there is none like the sun to compare with divine charity and to show us how to imitate it; for this most noble star, from its very nature, without hesitation and entirely according to its own innate tendency, distributes its light in all directions, and without distinction to all who are capable of receiving it, and on its part never denies or suspends its benevolent activity. And this it does with out desiring acknowledgment, without imposing any obligation on any one, without asking for benefits or requiring any return, without finding in the objects of its enlightening bounty any previous goodness to move and draw it towards them. Nor does it expect any profit in the communication of its own blessed light, in which all participate and share.”

Mary of Ágreda (1602-1665) in The Mystical City of God (Hammond: Conkey, 1914) 399-400.

I am traveling from Denver to Houston to São Paulo, Brazil today and arriving tomorrow.

I will be in Brazil from 6-9 November 2022, then in Chile from 10-13 November 2022, then in Panama from 14-18 November 2022. Along the way I will share more about the the GTP program work in Latin America.

As I begin this journey, I read this amazing section from Mary of Ágreda who keenly describes the divine charity of Christ our Lord as the model for us using a creative word picture, namely, that of a noble star.

I want to highlight four aspects of this noble star for our own growth in generosity.

Firstly, it “distributes its light in all directions.” This teaches us that as our light shines and as people see our good works and glorify our father in heaven, the distribution of our generosity should likewise go in all directions.

Secondly, it flows “without distinction to all who are capable of receiving it.” This reminds us that we must be generous regard to both receptive and unreceptive souls. Some will receive it and some are simply not capable.

Thirdly, it “never denies or suspends its benevolent activity.” So, our generosity is not limited by the worthy or unworthiness of recipients. It flows perpetually from the abundance of God.

Fourthly, it shares “without asking for benefits or requiring any return.” This removes a leading hindrance to generosity as we as humans can often expect a return or a response to our giving.

Read the Scripture again, as well as this beautiful description of the divine charity of Christ our Lord and ask God to help you grow in any of these four areas where you may be lacking. He will do it by grace!

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

“In the Middle Ages life itself imposed an unvarying rule of living. Is man now to live without a rule? A thousand moral and religious questions start up and cry out for an answer. Things have become possible now which were not possible before. Men and women can spend their lives in an unvarying round of amusements and excitements, even without supposing them to seek vicious pleasures. Theatres, operas, balls, novels—things unknown to their ancestors—may make up their life. Is this right? Is it safe? A most momentous question this, which requires an answer. Here is a new thing upon earth, or at least a state of things which has not existed since the Teutonic nations were converted—the upper classes of society able to live in a constant round of amusement, and thinking themselves satisfactorily sure of salvation, because of the hypothetical absence of great sin. Are unlimited balls and unlimited sacraments compatible? Or is a worldly life a perilous one for those who live it? Or rather ought not Christians to spend more time in prayer, in devotion, in voluntary almsgiving and works of charity, in proportion as they are set free from many duties? Is not life more dangerous and salvation more insecure because of this terrible invasion of the world, with audacious requirements and unblushing exigencies? Considering the cool impudence with which the world insists on his own innocence, nay, has even the impertinence to look upon its general mode of life as a duty to society, it does seem as if this new attitude of the world called for new rules and a greater strictness to counteract its dangers. Now, The Scale or Ladder of Perfection is valuable because it is an English book containing an answer to this question.”

Walter Hilton (1340-1396) in “An Essay on the Spiritual Life of Mediaeval England” as a preface to The Scale or Ladder of Perfection (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 31.

This excerpt from the preface to Hilton’s classic work marks not only a fresh find but contains wise counsel for us.

He’s writing this in the late 1300’s and it sounds like what someone might write in the present day. People fill their lives with “theatres, operas, balls, novels” and more and so life has become, in a word, worldly.

And I think wisdom is found in this key sentence in the latter portion of this post.

“Or rather ought not Christians to spend more time in prayer, in devotion, in voluntary almsgiving and works of charity, in proportion as they are set free from many duties?”

The more people obey God and flourish, the more he often blesses spiritually and materially. Should we keep the blessing to ascend to the upper classes and to “live in a constant round of amusement.” I think not.

Let’s actually aim higher. Let’s aim higher the squandering resources on senseless things that won’t satisfy.

Let’s focus together on prayer, devotion, voluntary almsgiving, and works of charity. That means trusting God to care for us and not ourselves, while devoting ourselves to obedience, caring, and sharing.

It’s counterintuitive, which is why most people miss this path. For greater insight, enjoy Hilton’s classic work.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

“The Servant. Lord, Thou hast so entirely poured out the abyss of Thy divine love in Thy passion, that I wonder if Thou canst show any more signs of Thy love?

Eternal Wisdom. Yes. Even as the stars of heaven are countless, so the love-tokens of My unfathomable love are uncounted.

The Servant. Ah, sweet Love of mine! Ah, tender Lord elect! How my soul languishes for Thy love! Turn Thy mild countenance towards me, outcast creature that I am; see how everything vanishes and passes away in me except only the one treasure of Thy ardent love, and therefore tell me something further of this rich and hidden treasure.”

Henry Suso (1295-1366) in “How We Ought To Lovingly Receive God” Chapter XXIII of Blessed Henry Suso’s Little Book of Eternal Wisdom (Boston: Noonan, 1887) 160-161.

What is the treasure we possess in jars of clay? It’s the love of God.

Suso eloquently notes in this classic work which sketches the interchange between The Servant and Eternal Wisdom that “even as the stars of heaven are countless, so the love-tokens of My unfathomable love are uncounted.”

What a beautiful word picture. Soak in that for a while!

Notice that everything else vanishes next to the treasure of God’s love. All else is fleeting and temporary. Ask yourself if you rank among those who do as most people do, which is pursue earthly riches rather than eternal love-tokens.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

“It seems to me, my daughter, that everything passes so quickly that we should be thinking more about how to die than how to live.”

Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. 2, featuring The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle (ICS, 1980).

For years, my mentor, Dan Busby, taught me how to live. I just said to someone recently that he also taught me how to die because he was thinking about how to die. He asked me pointedly to officiate his memorial service along with two other trusted brothers.

In short, he wanted the service to be online, as he said many of his non-believing friends would never set foot in a church. He wanted a simple recounting of his life and faith and gave me one charge: to point people to Jesus.

He even scripted me. He wanted me to share a quote from Mallie Robinson: “Take one step towards God and He will take two steps toward you.” He wanted his legacy to point people to Jesus. He said to trust God to sort the rest.

Life goes fast. In a blink it’s gone. So, our focus must be to prepare for eternity and to help others make it there. How will you die? It’s not a morbid question. It may be the most important and generous one you ever ponder.