Archives by: Gary Hoag

But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians 4:4-5

“Hurry kills relationships. Love takes time; hurry doesn’t have it. It kills joy, gratitude, appreciation; people in a rush don’t have time to enter into the goodness of the moment. It kills wisdom; wisdom is born in the quiet, the slow. Wisdom has it’s own pace. It makes you wait for it—wait for the inner voice to come to the surface of your tempestuous mind, but not until waters of thought settle and calm. Hurry kills all that we hold dear: spirituality, health, marriage, family, thoughtful work, creativity, generosity… name your value. Hurry is a sociopathic predator loose in our society.”

John Mark Comer in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook, 2019) 52-53.

Happy Christmas.

Special thanks to my Aussie mate, Andrew Russell, for pointing me to this book.

I pray each of us is able to take time to ponder the sigificance of today. God took His time. And, just when all the factors came together, He sent us Jesus, to redeem us under the law and adopt us as His children.

We, on the other had, have a tendency not to take time but to hurry. We think we are helping situations and really we are making things worse. I’m convicted, pondering how hurry has impacted my relationships, my service, my generosity.

I am so guilty of this. God forgive me.

Interestingly, on my trip to Africa, my word for most every day was patience as hurry was not an option. Nothing goes fast in Africa. As I rest and reflect on the trip, that’s a big lesson for me. Thanks God.

So, as you celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ today, join me in considering how hurry may be trying to destroy your life, hinder your impact, and limit your generosity. Instead discover the power of “going slow to go fast.”

Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

“Paul’s references to this collection of money for the poor in Jerusalem – what he taught about it, and the safeguards he put in place around it – are revealing and instructive for us. They show Paul’s strong sense of accountability, transparency, and integrity. His example and his teaching apply just as much now to the financial affairs of churches and missions as they did in his day.

Paul makes use of the collection as an occasion for significant teaching. In fact, he gives more textual space in his letters to writing about this financial matter than he does to writing about justification by faith. That probably surprises us. Saying this, of course, is not in any sense to belittle Paul’s doctrine of justification or any of his great doctrinal teaching. But it does remind us that he considered Christian giving to be a matter of great theological importance also.”

Christopher J. H. Wright in The Gift of Accountability in his book The Shortfall: Owning the Challenge of Ministry Funding (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2021) 50.

Matters of diligent financial administration appear as theologically important to Paul as faithful gospel proclamation. Likely this is because He knew you can’t have one without the other.

Why mention this on the eve of Christmas?

God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus. It’s only fitting that our giving, reflect God’s giving and that it be stewarded with standards to preserve the integrity of gospel-centered efforts.

No wonder Jesus and Paul wanted us to get money right!

If you are looking for a ministry to support that helps churches and ministries get their house in order with accountability, transparency, and integrity, check out GTP at GTP.org.

A gift at this time will help us go from five to eight staff to expand our reach worldwide. This empowers ministries to help more people get to know the Christ of Christmas.

And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. 2 Corinthians 8:10-12

“During the previous year the Corinthian Christians had been the first not only in giving but in desiring to give. So, now Paul urges them to finish the task they had begun, so that their doing will keep pace with their desiring. This must be according to their means. For Christian giving is proportionate giving. The eager willingness comes first; so long as that is there, the gift is acceptable in proportion to what the giver has.

This expression “according to your means” might remind us of two similar expressions which occur in Acts. In Acts 11:29, members of the church in Antioch gave to the famine-stricken Judean Christians “as each one was able.” In Acts 2 and 4, members of the church in Jerusalem gave “to anyone who had need” Acts 2:45; 4:35)…

Christian giving is proportionate giving. Of course there are times when we are called to give as the Macedonians gave, out of proportion to our income, as a sacrificial offering in particular circumstances. But the principle here is a foundational one. Christian giving should never be less than proportionate to our income.”

John R. W. Stott in The Grace of Giving in The Shortfall: Owning the Challenge of Ministry Funding by Christopher J. H Wright (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2021) 37-38.

One of the leading hindrances to generosity in Africa and around the world is percentage giving. Those who teach that a percentage of a person’s income belongs to God and the rest belongs to them, actually send them to slavery because we become slaves to whatever we think we own.

Paul would say that promoters of the tithe both wrongly divide the word of truth and promote unacceptable giving. Alternatively, acceptable giving flows out of an eager heart that measures cheerful giving proportionately. Because all we possess is God’s, we give what we have.

There was not one but three tithes in the Old Testament law. They were designed to teach people to give to God, to care for each other, and to support the needy, the dispossessed, and people in ministry. They were designed as a base or a foundation and never designed to be a ceiling to limit giving.

That said, practically speaking, acceptable giving might appear as setting up automatic giving as a base. Then from there to have margin for Good Samaritan giving, that is, spontaneously aiding those in need that God puts in our path. It’s also wise to live on less than you make to have resources for new giving.

God is at work doing new things around us and invites us to put to work what we have to engage with Him. So, that our ‘doing’ can keep pace with our ‘desiring’ as the year ends, it’s a good time for each of us take inventory. We should also look around for new opportunities. As God has blessed us, let us resolve to put His resources to work.

Give proportionately with an eager heart.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. 3 John 5-8

“When John asks Gaius to “send them on their way in a manner that honors God” (3 John 6), he doesn’t just mean, “wave them goodbye and sing a nice hymn as they board the ship.” No, the Greek word was a technical term for making all of the advance preparations for someone going on a journey, including providing food and money, arranging transport if possible, paying fares, providing letters of identity and commendation, etc. And the reason John gives these instructions is that these people were traveling “for the sake of the Name” (meaning Jesus) and were “receiving no help from the pagans” – that is they had no other “secular” means of support (3 John 7). If they were going, then somebody was sending. Finally says John it is our duty to “show hospitality to such people” (3 John 8), which again means more than a nice cup of tea and a bed for the night. It speaks of substantial provision for their needs, what we would call financial support and other gifts in kind. So, this little letter of 3 John is a fascinating insight into early church missionary support and how it spoke of faithfulness – faithfulness to the truth matched by faithfulness to God’s servants.”

Christopher J. H. Wright in The Shortfall: Owning the Challenge of Ministry Funding (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2021) 8-9.

This is a great little book. Started reading it on my flight home from South Africa. I commend it to anyone who has responsibilities linked to raising ministry funds.

In this excerpt, Wright keenly points us to the example of John and his correspondence with Gaius. It offers great insight to how we might communicate with key givers.

The role Gaius played in “sending” God’s servants out even though He did not personally know them shows us that our giving must go beyond aiding friends to advancing the Name.

Furthermore, as ‘the Name’ is used rather than overtly saying ‘Jesus’, other scholars note that our generosity may put the servers and the senders in danger. But that must not hinder us.

I have arrived safely home and am profoundly thankful for those who showed hospitality to me in Malawi, Mozambique, Eswatini, and South Africa. I’m also thankful for the senders.

Thanks to the generosity of God’s people to GTP, our staff is sent to empower national workers to grow local giving. In part, we teach them to communicate like John does here with Gaius.

Without faithfulness in sending and in service there is Christian mission, back then or today. So, whether you are a pastor or ministry administrator, urge faithfulness in service and in sending.

And to make a Christmas gift to GTP to help us add staff and extend our reach around the world, click here. We are praying for another $12,625. Pray with me, please, for God to supply.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. Acts 16:25-26

“Instead of complaining or calling on God to judge their enemies, the two men prayed and praised God. When you are in pain, the midnight hour is not the easiest time for a sacred concert, but God gives “songs in the night” (Job 35:10; also see Ps. 42:8).

“Any fool can sing in the day,” said Charles Haddon Spurgeon. “It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skilful stager is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by … Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.”

Prayer and praise are powerful weapons (2 Chron. 20:1–22; Acts 4:23–37). God responded by shaking the foundations of the prison, opening all the doors, and loosening the prisoners’ bonds. They could have fled to freedom, but instead they remained right where they were.”

Warren Wiersbe in Commentary on Acts, 374. I am soaking in this text, Acts 16, as I feel like I have lived it in Africa.

One minute Paul and Silas thought they were going to Asia, then God deployed them to Macedonia. They ministered faithfully and yet they found themselves in prison. At midnight, in their darkest hour, they prayed and praised God. This is the last thing onlookers would have likely expected, but precisely what we must do.

I am on my way home, reflecting on the trip. Related to generosity, I am thankful for God’s generous outpouring of grace on my life, which enabled me to have patience daily and to suffer an unforgettable five-hour border experience. My African brother said that what touched him most was willingness to endure suffering without opening my mouth.

Anyone who knows me well knows what a miracle that is. Thanks God. Each of us might hope that what we do or say related to generosity touches people the most. But, in reality, I am learning, it is how we love and serve that touches them the most deeply. If you want to grow, pray daily for grace. That’s what I did on this trip.

When this posts I will be somewhere over the Atlantic. Allow me a moment of vulnerability. Before the trip, I had hoped to reach the goal of raising $75,000 at GTP to add staff. Our team is stretched to the limit. It did not happen. I feel like I am sitting in the dark. Do find yourself sitting in the dark? Take time to pray and praise!

Whilst I have been traveling, the needle has not moved much. So, before I board my flight, I am choosing to pray and praise. Join me. Pray with me for the remaining $13,225 USD. Click here to learn more. For the next 16 hours over the Atlantic, I resolve to wait on God and praise Him in the night.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25

“Divine deliverance takes place in the context of Paul and Silas singing and praising God near midnight. The other prisoners hear their praise. Tertullian says of this event, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven.”

Darrell Bock in Acts (BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007) 540.

After two weeks with Chris Maphosa touring Southern Africa by car and plane, I will long remember him as Silas. He sees me as Paul. We had some amazing times of generous service, but the highlight, was worshipping God during five difficult hours with unkind authorities at a border crossing and then experiencing divine deliverance.

And with others watching, only later we realized that it was our greatest ministry moment on the trip. What we do in crisis reveals our faith most? Want to have a generous witness? Bock reveals the secret unveiled by Tertullian. Put your heart in heaven and nothing can phase you! No news. No opposition. No crisis.

I am heading home today. By the time this posts I will be starting my journey. I should arrive home Tuesday afternoon, by God’s grace. But I will always remember that when it’s the darkest of night, near midnight, the only right thing to do is worship. For others are listening and it may be my greatest ministry moment, and yours too!

Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind! Psalm 66:5

“We must not cease to wonder at the great marvels of our God. It would be very difficult to draw a line between holy wonder and real worship; for when the soul is overwhelmed with the majesty of God’s glory, though it may not express itself in song, or even utter its voice with bowed head in humble prayer, yet it silently adores. Our incarnate God is to be worshipped as “the Wonderful”…

Let your soul lose itself in wonder, for wonder is in this way a very practical emotion. Holy wonder will lead you to grateful worship and heartfelt thanksgiving. It will cause within you godly watchfulness; you will be afraid to sin against such a love as this. Feeling the presence of the mighty God in the gift of his dear Son, you will put off your shoes from off your feet, because the place whereon you stand is holy ground. You will be moved at the same time to glorious hope. If Jesus has done such marvelous things on your behalf, you will feel that heaven itself is not too great for your expectation. Who can be astonished at anything, when he has once been astonished at the manger and the cross?

What is there wonderful left after one has seen the Savior? Dear reader, it may be that from the quietness and solitariness of your life, you are scarcely able to imitate the shepherds of Bethlehem, who told what they had seen and heard, but you can, at least, fill up the circle of the worshippers before the throne, by wondering at what God has done.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon in Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (Grand Rapids: CCEL) evening reading for 26 January.

On this Lord’s day, a week before Christmas, I turned my attention to Spurgeon’s classic devotional to celebrate the coming birth of Jesus and give thanks for the great things God has done on this trip.

Few things inspire our generous living, giving, serving, and loving more than holy wonder. It leads to grateful worship and heartfelt thanksgiving. We take our place in the circle with the shepherds.

This prompts within us a godly watchfulness and a glorious hope. In short, we no longer live for ourselves, but for our Savior. But it all starts with holy wonder, and we have to pause for that.

I am in my final 36 hours in Africa, sorting fiend reports, expense reports, and getting my PCR test. But I am pausing to worship. Even in this busy season, we must take time for holy wonder.

In so doing, I am seeing but a glimpse of the things that Jesus–Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace–has done for all of us in His great love.

To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. John 8:31

“The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.

No man ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test over it. We disobey and then wonder why we don’t go on spiritually…When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don’t shirk it. If you do, you will become a religious humbug. Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually. First go — at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you.”

Oswald Chambers in “The Way to Know” in My Utmost for His Highest (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1963) reading on 27 July.

Obedience often appears as fanatical. When Jesus sent the disciples on mission he said to take nothing for the journey. This was crazy. But His intructions had a purpose: to teach them to trust Him. I will teach on this today.

Many thought I was crazy to take this trip, but I felt led by God to serve workers in southern Africa. But it’s been an amazing learning experience, to see Him work in power despite the pandemic. For where God guides, He provides. Where He opens doors, no one can close them. Where He beckons us, we must follow, regardless of the cost. And we only learn the lessons by obeying.

What about you? Is he asking you to take a risk instead of trusting in your resources? Your greatest act of generosity may actually be humble obedience, which often appears as letting go. When Jesus calls us to let go of money, for example, He is not try to rob us but help us because we trust whatever our hands hold onto.

Today, we host more than 100 pastor and ministry workers in Manzini, Eswatini (pictured above with mountains, clouds and cooler weather). Please pray for Chris Maphosa and me as we teach on “Strengthening Churches and Ministries for Sustainability.”

The pathway to sustainable ministry for churches and ministries across Africa and the world is not linked to getting money but being obedient. If you want a copy of the handout, reply to this email.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

“Oh, be generous in your self-surrender! Meet His measureless devotion for you, with a measureless devotion to Him. Be glad and eager to throw yourself headlong into His dear arms, and to hand over the reins of government to Him. Whatever there is of you, let Him have it all. Give up forever everything that is separate from Him.”

Hannah Whitall Smith in The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life (Christian Witness Company) 89.

This expression, “hand over the reins,” is fitting for me in real time. For example, after I type this on the morning of 17 December 2021, sitting Maputo, Mozambique, the plans for our ride once crossing the border into Eswatini have changed.

God has it sorted, but not sure how that’s going to work out. Resting in His unfailing love.

No matter how much we might try to plan things, the situation constantly changes. So, perhaps one of the biggest lessons I have learned in my tour of Africa has been to “hand over the reins” afresh to God related to my schedule, my service, and all of life.

It’s been a good thing, not easy at times, but really good. It’s filled me with peace.

This relates to generosity in that our self-surrender, appears as the only appropriate response to the measureless love and devotion that God has for us. By handing over the reins, the Spirit can work geneorusly through us toward others for God’s glory.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

“My starting point is that we’re already there. We cannot attain the presenve of God because we’re already totally in the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. Little do we realize that God is maintaining us in existence with every breath we take. As we take another it means that God is choosing us now and now and now. We have nothing to attain or earn.”

Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs, as recounted by Jim Branch in The Blue Book: A Devotional Guide for Every Season of Your Life (Middletown, DE, 2020) 213.

I woke up just before my alarm. It was sunrise here in Maputo, Mozambique. I sensed the presence of Christ with me. Then I read this post in this book I brought with me on the trip. What a profound idea. “Christ is with me.” But somehow by grace I became fully aware of it in my small room.

This realization gave me a sense of comfort. It reminded me that the trip is going good because He is good. And the cool part is, as we approach Christmas, He is God with us, Immanuel. May that awareness fill you with comfort and peace and take shape as gift to give others.

Remind everyone you know that the Christ of Christmas is God with us. We are not alone in crazy times. So I head off for an all day seminar with influential pastors and ministry workers knowing that Christ is with me. And I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. So can you!