Archives by: Gary Hoag

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy, and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship. That religion should be relegated to solitude in such an age is, then, paradoxical. But it is also dangerous for two reasons. In the first place, when the modern world says to us aloud, “You may be religious when you are alone,” it adds under its breath, “and I will see to it that you never are alone.”

To make Christianity a private affair while banishing all privacy is to relegate it to the rainbow’s end or the Greek calends. That is one of the enemy’s stratagems. In the second place, there is the danger that real Christians who know that Christianity is not a solitary affair may react against that error by simply transporting into our spiritual life that same collectivism which has already conquered our secular life. That is the enemy’s other stratagem. Like a good chess player, he is always trying to maneuver you into a position where you can save your castle only by losing your bishop.

In order to avoid the trap we must insist that though the private conception of Christianity is an error, it is a profoundly natural one and is clumsily attempting to guard a great truth. Behind it is the obvious feeling that our modern collectivism is an outrage upon human nature and that from this, as from all other evils, God will be our shield and buckler.”

C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory (New York: Harper Collins, 1980) 160-161.

Notice as we move to Philippians, that Paul’s prayer for his partners in the gospel was that their love and knowledge would abound so that they’d be filled with discernment and righteousness.

In plain terms, Paul wanted the Philippians to bless others out of the abundance that flowed from their deep relationship with Jesus Christ. But, as Lewis notes, the evil one does not want this to happen.

How do we save our proverbial bishop, using this brilliant word picture from chess?

It’s simple actually. We cultivate this relationship with discipline in silence and solitude, and we live it out in community, regardless of what others are doing, making God our shield and buckler. But why do this?

We find time for privacy with God not just to grow in knowledge and love. It opens the door for true friendship with others in community. To make a generous impact in the lives of others, make time for silence and solitude.

This will not be easy in this busy, noisy world. It will require intentionality. Then live out your faith with boldness and generosity in community. We need each other to save both our castle and our bishop.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:8-10

“In his business in the kitchen (to which he had naturally a great aversion), having accustomed himself to do everything there for the love of God, and with prayer, upon all occasions, for His grace to do his work well, he had found everything easy, during the fifteen years that he had been employed there. That he was very well pleased with the post he was now in; but that he was as ready to quit that as the former, since he was always pleasing himself in every condition, by doing little things for the love of God.”

Brother Lawrence (c. 1614-1691) in The Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of Holy Life (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 5.

Our walk through Paul’s letters brings us to Ephesians. Here we realized we are saved by grace for a purpose: to do good works that He has prepared in advance for us to do. Let’s dig deeper into what those good works look like most of the time.

Brother Lawrence would say that it is doing little acts for the love of God. He found the grace to do this by stepping back from his work seven times to pray. This made it easier. It’s not that the work changed, but his perspective changed in the process.

To understand his setting, he worked in the kitchen in a monastery for 15 years. He didn’t really care for the work, but realized in the process, that it mattered and that it could bless others when done for the love of God.

How might your work make a generous contribution in the lives of those around you today by doing little things for the love of God?

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:15-17

“Contemplation is the highest expression of man’s in­tellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spirit­ual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness and for being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent and infinitely abundant Source.”

Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions, 1961) 1.

As we move on to the next letter of Paul, we dig into Colossians. In this letter, He urges us to pause, to contemplate, to soak in the peace and message of Christ. Why? So thankfulness and gratitude wells up within us and propel us to generous living and service. Take a few minutes today to do this. But how?

Merton would likely say to contemplate the goodness of God as the “invisible, transcendent and infinitely abundant Source” of all that is good. Soak in wonder of the gospel and the unfailing love that Christ has for you. Revel in God’s faithful provision in your life and how you have been blessed to be a blessing.

Then, let the fruit of contemplation, gratitude, propel you to good works. Elsewhere the Apostle Paul describes them as the good words that God has prepared in advance for you to do. I am learning that God wants these good works to flow from a grateful heart. And, share what you are learning with someone today to grow together.

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. Romans 12:3-6a

“If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest you displease God to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have. Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God’s judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.”

Thomas à Kempis in “Avoiding False Hope and Pride,” chapter 7 of The Imitation of Christ.

As we move to Romans, the next of Paul’s letters, we see that God generously supplies us with gifts by His grace alone. We must not be proud but glory in God, the giver of all good gifts.

And, as Thomas notes, we must not glory in wealth or those who are powerful. That happens a lot as charities approach the year-end giving season. Let me explain.

Too many ministries boast in their good deeds to try to convince people to give them money. Then they run to the powerful instead of the Powerful. The latter, of course is God, the Provider of all good gifts.

So, what’s this mean for us? It means that if we get to do good deeds as charities, don’t take any credit but give all glory to God. We must not think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

Instead, let’s simply celebrate everything we have to enjoy and share as gifts of grace. And, let us remain humble for this is the pathway to peace. Make it so, Lord Jesus, for each of us.

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2

“It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian breth­ren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed.

Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.

The measure with which God bestows the gift of visible community is varied. The Christian in exile is comforted by a brief visit of a Christian brother, a prayer together and a brother’s blessing; indeed, he is strengthened by a letter writ­ ten by the hand of a Christian. The greetings in the letters written with Paul’s own hand were doubtless tokens of such community.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together (New York: HarperOne, 1954) 20-21.

Our journey through Paul’s letters brings us to 2 Corinthians, and chapters 8-9 provide some of the richest teaching on generosity in the New Testament. That text (today’s Scripture) begins with these words from the Apostle Paul. He was so excited about the generosity of the grace given the Macedonians that he wanted to share their story with the Corinthians.

Coupled with this, Bonhoeffer’s classic work reminds us today that Paul wrote these letters as tokens that celebrated the gift of community. In plain terms, Paul wanted the Corinthians to join in the collection because they were part of something bigger, the global community of recipients of the grace of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know about you, but Covid has sure caused me to appreciate the gracious gift that community is for each of us. But we can “reach out and touch someone” with a text, an email, a voice message, as well as a personal visit. How might this be an aspect of your generosity that is worth more than money?

Today I am taking the day of to rest, have coffee with my daughter, and clean my office. Funny how piles stack up around us. I may do some other things too. Not sure. I plan to message some people, as God leads. Join me. Let’s share this gift of grace, spreading love and Christian community today.

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

“But there is another kind of suffering, known only to the Christian: it is voluntary suffering deliberately and knowingly incurred for the sake of Christ. Such is a luxury, a treasure of fabulous value, a source of riches beyond the power of the mind to conceive. And it is rare as well as precious, for there are few in this decadent age who will of their own choice go down into this dark mine looking for jewels. But of our own choice it must be, for there is no other way to get down. God will not force us into this kind of suffering; He will not lay this cross upon us nor embarrass us with riches we do not want.

Such riches are reserved for those who apply to serve in the legion of the expendables who love not their lives unto the death, who volunteer to suffer for Christ’s sake and who follow up their application with lives that challenge the devil and invite the fury of hell. Such as these have said goodbye to the world’s toys; they have chosen to suffer affliction with the people of God; they have accepted toil and suffering as their earthly portion. The marks of the cross are upon them and they are known in heaven and in hell.”

A.W. Tozer in “The Use of Suffering” in The Root of the Righteous (1955) 75.

Today marks Veteran’s Day when America give thanks for those who have served in the military. I am grateful for their service. People who are dear to me (too many to list) number among the ranks.

But I also want to point us to another group of unsung heroes today. They have no holiday. These are the guys and gals who “chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things” as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians.

These are, in the words of A.W. Tozer, “the legion of the expendables.” They love not their lives unto death but volunteer their service to God. I work with them all over the world with GTP.

Want to join this legion?

Tozer says this group says “goodbye to the world’s toys” and instead chooses to suffer “affliction with the people of God.” In so doing, they discover not loss, but rather, unfathomable gain.

Who are the people of God?

Most people wrongly define this as brothers and sisters in their country. As we move to 1 Corinthians (I am working through his letters chronologically), it is now A.D. 54 and Paul is in Roman Asia.

He is from Tarsus, sitting in Ephesus, and writing to Greece. The people of God are an international people. This “legion of the expendables” is a global community willing to sacrifice all for Christ.

Do you number among the ranks of this group?

If we want to boast about anything in this life, anything at all, let us boast in the Lord. In Him are fabulous riches. Any sacrifice for Him results in treasure of incomparable value.

I also salute “the legion of the expendables” today. God be with you all over the globe.

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

“There is much emphasis on notoriety and fame in our society. Our newspapers and television keep giving us the message: What counts is to be known, praised, and admired, whether you are a writer, an actor, a musician, or a politician. Still, real greatness is often hidden, humble, simple, and unobtrusive. It is not easy to trust ourselves and our actions without public affirmation. We must have strong self-confidence combined with deep humility. Some of the greatest works of art and the most important works of peace were created by people who had no need for the limelight. They knew that what they were doing was their call, and they did it with great patience, perseverance, and love.”

Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) in “Hidden Greatness” in Bread for the Journey (New York: HarperCollins) Reading for 25 February.

Moving along in Paul’s letters chronologically, we come to 1 Thessalonians. In this letter, Paul, Silas, and Timothy remind the Thessalonians that they remembered their “work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Or in Nouwen’s works, as they pursued their calling, God saw their “hidden greatness” though maybe it would not make them famous in the view of the world. I find that so much of our generous service for God goes unnoticed. Much of what we do is not glamorous. It’s actually quite monotonous.

We can do it generously, however, not for others, but for God who is watching. Afresh today, let us resolve to chose generosity that not only does not make the limelight, but has no need for it because we serve an audience of One. God, be glorified through our patience, perseverance, and love. Amen.

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, we find the Christian life so difficult because we seek for God’s blessing while we live in our own will. We should be glad to live the Christian life according to our own liking. We make our own plans and choose our own work, and then we ask the Lord Jesus to come in and take care that sin shall not conquer us too much, and that we shall not go too far wrong; we ask Him to come in and give us so much of His blessing. But our relationship to Jesus ought to be such that we are entirely at His disposal, and every day come to Him humbly and straightforwardly and say: “Lord, is there anything in me that is not according to Thy will, that has not been ordered by Thee, or that is not entirely given up to Thee?”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Absolute Surrender (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 67.

I was praying about where to shift my reading yesterday, and I felt let to return to the Pauline letters coupled with Christian classics for a time. I hope you appreciate them too.

Today, that leads us to Paul’s first letter, Galatians. Therein he wanted the Galatians to realize what happens to us when we follow Christ. We no longer live but Christ lives in and through us. Soak in that idea for a bit.

This means, according to Murray, that our lives are now lived “entirely at His disposal.” But how often, as Murray states, do we find this life hard because we really just want God to bless our will and plans.

The decision rests with each of us. Will we humbly and straightforwardly surrender everything to God or will we try to follow God along with our own plans and desires?

Think about it. There’s no such thing as partial surrender. We either surrender or we don’t.

But our fear of absolute surrender links to thinking that, if we do it, we will end up empty and destitute. In reality, emptying or dying to self is the only pathway to enrichment and deliverance.

This links to generosity because when those who surrender appear as conduits of blessing rather than containers. Going all the way back to Abraham, God’s design is to bless us to be a blessing.

It requires absolute surrender.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. Luke 6:24-26

“But it will be well to note what class of people takes comfort in the thought of God. Surely not that perverse and crooked generation to whom it was said, ‘Woe unto you that are rich; for ye have received your consolation’…

It is meet that those who are not satisfied by the present should be sustained by the thought of the future, and that the contemplation of eternal happiness should solace those who scorn to drink from the river of transitory joys…

In that day those who set not their hearts aright will feel, too late, how easy is Christ’s yoke, to which they would not bend their necks and how light His burden, in comparison with the pains they must then endure.

O wretched slaves of mammon, you cannot glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ while you trust in treasures laid up on earth: you cannot taste and see how gracious the Lord is, while you are hungering for gold. If you have not rejoiced at the thought of His coming, that day will be indeed a day of wrath to you.”

Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153) in On Loving God (CSD) excerpt from chapter 4, page 7.

In today’s Scripture, Jesus proclaims the woes on the rich. Later, He offers further explanation. His followers cannot serve God and mammon. Few, however, connect the dots and declare the judgment on those who trust in riches like Bernard of Clairvaux.

Let me explain how I believe this relates to generosity.

Rather than pursue transitory joys, the fruit of God’s work in followers of Christ is generosity. We serve not as containers but rather conduits of blessing. But, one of the leading hindrances to generosity is the desire for money and the hunger for gold.

This hunger takes shape as wanting an income stream or measure of wealth to sustain a standard of living. This is yoking with mammon. Those who do not only miss out on the easy yoke of Christ. For Bernard, they get the reward of the unrighteous, that is judgment.

Growing in generosity is about learning to trust that Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light. It’s about discovering that He’s the only thing that satisfies in a world field with transitory joys. Unfathomable blessings await the obedient.

Bernard would add that endless disappointment follows those who trust in mammon.

So, if you want to grow in generosity, set your heart right. Pursue God rather than transitory pleasures. Find your joy in God and not in the gifts He supplies. But do this one step at a time. That’s why we taste and see how good and gracious is our God.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

“God being replenished with a goodness which surpasses all praise and honour, receives no advantage nor increase by all the benedictions which we give Him. He is neither richer nor greater, nor more content or happy by them, for His happiness, His content, His greatness, and His riches neither are nor can be any other thing than the divine infinity of His goodness. At the same time, since, according to our ordinary estimation, honour is held one of the greatest effects of our benevolence towards others, and since by it we not only do not imply any indigence in those we honour, but rather protest that they abound in excellence, we therefore make use of this kind of benevolence towards God, who not only approves it, but exacts it, as suitable to our condition, and so proper to testify the respectful love we bear Him, that He has ordained we should render and refer all honour and glory unto Him.

Thus then the soul who has taken a great complacency in God’s infinite perfection, seeing that she cannot wish Him any increase of goodness, because He has infinitely more than she can either wish or conceive, desires at least that His name may be blessed, exalted, praised, honoured and adored ever more and more. And beginning with Her own heart, she ceases not to provoke it to this holy exercise, and, as a sacred bee, flies hither and thither amongst the flowers of the divine works and excellences, gathering from them a sweet variety of complacencies, from which she works up and composes the heavenly honey of benedictions, praises, and confessions of honour, by which, as far as she is able, she magnifies and glorifies the name of her well-beloved.”

Francis de Sales (1567-1622) in “How Holy Benevolence Produces the Praise of the Divine Well-Beloved” in his classic work, Treatise on the Love of God (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 207-208.

I started meeting with a new spiritual director, Bruce Tallman, who pointed me to this work in our recent conversation. As I read a few excerpts from it today, this picture of a sacred bee struck me.

The flowers come into view in my mind as the beauty and goodness of God. And yet, a little bee is sacred or set apart to taste the flowers and, in so doing, pollinates them and participates in the spreading of their beauty.

That’s what we do when we celebrate the generosity and goodness of God which is abundant. We participate in spreading it widely like a sacred bee. May our lives proclaim God’s generous love today and everyday! Amen.