Archives by: Gary Hoag

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16

“There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not.

The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention. The angels sang: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.’ The person who shows love and compassion to those in any kind of affliction is blessed, not only with the virtue of good will, but also with the gift of peace.

The works of mercy are innumerable. Their very variety brings this advantage to those who are true Christians, that in the matter of almsgiving not only the rich and affluent but also those of average means and the poor are able to play their part. Those who are unequal in their capacity to give can be equal in the love within their hearts.”

Leo the Great (c. 400-461) in “Lenten Homily” as recounted by James Kubicki in A Year of Daily Offerings (Notre Dame: Ave Maria, 2016) reading for 13 March.d

The best part about giving alms, which is helping others in need, is that everyone can participate. Too often we think that if we only have average means or if we are even lacking financial resources, that we cannot be generous.

This is a key message that Nydia Garcia Schmidt, Ereny Monir, and I will teach today in El Salvador (pictured above). We will provide biblical teaching from the Old Testament and the New Testament on generous giving and provide practical tips for growing givers.

Each of us is “able” to be generous. Many people don’t know this. Generosity is something that must be taught from the Word, learned over time, and practiced faithfully. When God’s workers do this, they grow generous congregations and constituencies.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. Proverb 19:17

“If you help a poor person in the name of the Lord, you are making a gift and at the same time granting a loan. You are making a gift because you have no expectation of being reimbursed by that poor person. You are granting a loan because the Lord will settle the account. It is not much that the Lord receives by means of the poor, but He will pay a great deal on their behalf.”

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) PG31, 277 in Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World, ed. by Thomas Spidlik (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1994) 297-298.

When you read that making a gift is granting a loan, it makes you pause and think. Do that. Pause this Lent and think about giving to help others as giving a loan to the Lord.

He promises to reward you. So, what are you waiting for? Don’t keep money in the bank. Create your own stimulus cycle with God. Put to work what He has richly supplied.

On a national scale, I want to challenge you to join me in making a loan on behalf of Christian workers in three Latin American countries. What am I talking about? Hang with me here.

When you read this I will be on the plane to Houston en route to San Salvador. Pray for God’s blessings on the 10 trainings scheduled with hundreds of ministry workers in 5 cities in 3 countries over 15 days. Thanks.

Join in the work of strengthening ministry governance and local generosity in El Salvador, Panama, and Bolivia. Make a loan to God by giving to support our work in these largely poor countries.

Give a gift to GTP today as we are serving pastors and ministry workers freely. God will richly reward you for granting a loan. And you can trust Him to settle your account.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

“For every snake puts off it’s signs of age by pushing through some narrow place, and gets rid of its old apparel by squeezing it off. From then on it is young again in body. So, “enter in at the straight and narrow gate,” squeeze yourself through by fasting, break yourself away from perishing, “out of the old nature with its deeds.”

Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386) in The Catechetical Lectures 3.6 (ACCS2; Downers Grove: IVP, 2005) 8.

What a great word picture of the fasting process! We squeeze off the old self like a snake removes old dead skin. What are you squeezing off this Lent? How will you be different after Lent? Talk about what you are learning with someone.

I am packing today for GTP ministry work in El Salvador, Panama, and Bolivia. God’s opened doors for training pastors and ministry administrators. I’d appreciate your prayers for safe travel for our team members and peace and protection for my wife and family back home. Thanks.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18

“On its way to Jerusalem, Israel was purified in the wilderness and was trained to forget the customs of Egypt. Similarly the Word has graciously prescribed for us the holy fast of forty days of Lent. Let us make it a time of purification and purging, so that after the fast we will be prepared to go to the upper room and eat with him, to be partakers of the joys of heaven. There is no other way for us to be prepared to go up to Jerusalem and eat the Passover but to apply ourselves to the forty-day fast.”

Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296-373) in Festal Letter 6, ARL 109 (ACCS3; Downers Grove: IVP, 2003) 331.

We are about halfway through Lent so it’s good to remind ourselves why were are doing this. Its for our purification and purging. It’s to prepare us to live life after Lent as “partakers of the joys of heaven.”

To do this we must forget the proverbial customs of Egypt. The significances of this is often lost.

Athanasius wrote this Lent reminder from Egypt. He said to forget the most advanced society in antiquity. No place was more awesome than Egypt. God wanted them to realized they could do better with Him.

The same is true today. God has plans for us that are a hundred times better whatever we can create in USA or anywhere else. We must let go of our agenda to take hold of God’s plan for us. That’s why we pray, fast, and give in Lent.

These disciplines open our hands and our future for something better that only God can sort and supply.

Shout out to Sammy Hoag, our son who turns 25 today. Happy Birthday! It has been fun to watch him observe Lent through the years and see how it formed him into a faithful follower of Jesus.

Applying ourselves to the purging and purifying make us less worldly and give the world a taste of heaven.

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. Acts 4:32

“The righteous, upon whom no law need be imposed, spend no small part — as if a tithe — but the whole extent of their lives in spiritual works. They are free of the legal tax of tithing. If a good and holy need presents itself, they are free to relax their fasting without any scruple. For it is not a paltry tithe that is their being subtracted by those who have offered their all to the Lord along with themselves. Certainly the person who offers nothing of his own will and is compelled by legal necessity, without recourse, to pay his tithes to God, cannot do this without being seriously guilty of fraud. Hence it is eminently clear that the one who is responding fully to grace cannot be a slave of the law, watching out for things that are forbidden and carrying out things that are commanded, and that the perfect are those who do not make use even of things permitted by the law.”

John Cassian (360-435) in Conferences 21.29.2 (ACCS 9;Downers Grove: IVP, 2000) 139.

As we think about giving during Lent, it is great news that we are “free of the legal tax of tithing.”

For the early church in Acts this collective realization unleashed rich sharing and generosity. They responded “fully to grace” and God did miracles through them and led them to deploy “the whole extent of their lives in spiritual works.”

But what is most powerful is the reality that those “compelled by legal necessity” to tithe are actually guilty of fraud. They are aiming for the wrong goal and have returned to the law. Two such famous fakes appear in this Acts text, Ananias and Sapphira.

In my experience, those who focus on tithing think they are walking the righteous path when in reality, they are returning to slavery. The tithe in the Old Testament reflects God’s design as the start and not the finish of giving.

Also in Lent we learn that fasting teaches us to set aside our desires to give us margin for giving as “good and holy” needs present themselves. Prayer rounds out Lent as the third disciple. In prayer we attune to God and follow His leading in all this.

If this all seems too spiritual or complicated, don’t see it that way. Just offer your “all” instead of a paltry tithe and see what happens. You will avoid fraud and carry out the things that are commanded.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:37-38

“The season of Lent has come round again, the time when I owe you my annual exhortation, and why you also owe the Lord your good works as suited to the season; not of course that they can be any use to the Lord, but they are of use to you…to our prayers we must add, by almsgiving and fasting, the wings of lovingkindness, so that they may fly the more easily to God and reach Him. For this the Christian mind can readily understand how far removed we should be from the fraudulent filching of other peoples’ property; when it perceives how similar it is to fraud when you don’t give to the needy what you don’t need for yourself. The Lord say, “Give, and it will be given to you; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37-38). Let us practice these two sorts of almsgiving, namely, giving and forgiving, gently and generously since after all we pray to the Lord that good things may be given to us and that evil things may not be repaid to us.”

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in “Sermons on the Liturgical Season” 3.6 from The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the Twenty-First Century, trans. Edmund Hill (Hyde Park, NY; New City Press, 1995) 107.

Feast on this truth on the third Sunday of Lent.

God does not need our good works, but we need to do them. Our proclivity is to store up treasures for ourselves. Augustine smartly labels this as “fraudulent filching.” Great expression. It means “wrongful theft” or “keeping for yourself what God intends for others.”

As we enter the heart of the season of Lent, what do you have that God wants you to share?

Consider how the clothing, possessions, and money you have could benefit others. With your generosity, aid someone in crisis. Provide support to help a ministry build capacity. Do this not because the individuals or institutions need it, but because you need to give. God resourced you to share.

And add forgiving to your giving. The pathway to being people of justice is to forgive and give. When we extend to others the grace that we received, we show that we “get it.” We grasp that the purpose of the grace given to us is to extend it to others. See how giving and forgiving are linked? 

Only when we learn to share generously and gently the resources and the forgiveness we have received during Lent do we discover that we never run out. Should we decide to stop forgiving, then the spigot of grace will stop flowing toward us. Give and forgive.

Any other way of living for a Christian is fraudulent filching.

“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:21

“Let us examine also this statement: “This kind is not cast out except through prayer and fasting.” If at any time it is necessary that we should be engaged in the healing of one suffering from such a disorder, we are not to adjure nor put questions nor speak to the impure spirit as if it heard. But [by] devoting ourselves to prayer and fasting, we may be successful as we pray for the sufferer, and by our own fasting we may thrust out the unclean spirit from him.”

Origen of Alexandria (c. 184-253) in Commentary on Matthew 13.7 (ACCS 1b; Downers Grove: IVP, 2002) 61.

Think about it. Where is the power for ministry? It rests with God alone.

Because this is true, if we feel in any way there are barriers to ministry, let’s fast and pray. Let’s set aside our desires and ask God to cause His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Notice how this relates to generosity.

We see a need. We can’t solve it. Perhaps all the money in the world can’t sort it. Are we without hope? No! We have hope the world can’t fathom. Prayer and fasting combine “any time” to call God to do what we cannot do.

Lent reminds me to keep my trust where it belongs.

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Acts 13:1-2

“It must be noticed that the Holy Spirit does not speak to those who happen to be there by chance but to those who serve God and observe fasting. And it must be noticed again that they did not lay hands on the deacons at random but on those who were previously fasting and praying.”

Ammonius of Alexandria (175-242) in “Catena on the Acts of the Apostles” 13:2 in Ancient Christian Commentary on the Scriptures, Volume 5 on Acts (Downers Grove: IVP, 2006) 158.

Are you seeking God for direction for your future? To navigate challenges? For help in crisis? Take time this Lent for prayer and fasting.

From the days of the early church with Saul and Barnabas in Antioch and from the writings of Ammonius in Alexandria about a century later, we gain insight on the early church mindset related to service, worship, and fasting.

It’s the doorway for engaging in God’s work. We set our proverbial desires at the door and embrace what God has for us instead. It is not random. It’s the ready position for being empowered by the Spirit.

Wherever you are today, I hope that prayer and fasting will shape your service and put you on a generous trajectory that is guided and supplied by God.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Matthew 4:1-2

“Christ fasted a little before His temptation, we before Easter. As far as the fasting days are concerned it is the same, but the difference in the seasons is no little one. He armed Himself with them against temptation; but to us this fast is symbolical of dying with Christ, and it is a purification in preparation for the festival. And He fasted absolutely for forty days, for He was God; but we measure our fasting by our power, even though some are led by zeal to rush beyond their strength. Again, He gave the Sacrament of the Passover to His Disciples in an upper chamber, and after supper, and one day before He suffered; but we celebrate it in Houses of Prayer, and before food,and after His resurrection. He rose again the third day; our resurrection is not till after a long time. But matters which have to do with Him are neither abruptly separated from us, nor yet yoked together with those which concern us in point of time; but they were handed down to us just so far as to be patterns of what we should do.”

Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386) in Oration XL.XXX (delivered in 381) 555.

This reveals that fasting during Lent as a symbol of “dying with Christ” was practiced in the 300’s in the early church as a patterns for our “purification” and “preparation” for the celebration of Easter.

If are not journeying through Lent and focusing on giving, fasting, and prayer, why not start today. Download my free ebook, Lent Companion, as a guide for your journey. Start mid-stream.

Do this for purification. God will show you stuff in your life that is too important or simply needs to go. This will create margin in your heart or your budget for giving and service.

Also do it for preparation. The aim of Lent is to teach is to set aside our desires, attune to God, and give generously. This is how all of life should be lived after Lent. Enjoy learning new patterns for life.

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15

“But those, moreover, whom you consider rich, who add forests to forests, and who, excluding the poor from their neighbourhood, stretch out their fields far and wide into space without any limits, who possess immense heaps of silver and gold and mighty sums of money, either in built-up heaps or in buried stores, even in the midst of their riches those are torn to pieces by the anxiety of vague thought, lest the robber should spoil, lest the murderer should attack, lest the envy of some wealthier neighbour should become hostile, and harass them with malicious lawsuits.

Such a one enjoys no security either in his food or in his sleep. In the midst of the banquet he sighs, although he drinks from a jewelled goblet; and when his luxurious bed has enfolded his body, languid with feasting, in its yielding bosom, he lies wakeful in the midst of the down; nor does he perceive, poor wretch, that these things are merely gilded torments, that he is held in bondage by his gold, and that he is the slave of his luxury and wealth rather than their master. And oh, the odious blindness of perception, and the deep darkness of senseless greed! Although he might disburden himself and get rid of the load, he rather continues to brood over his vexing wealth, he goes on obstinately clinging to his tormenting hoards.

From him there is no liberality to dependents, no communication to the poor. And yet such people call that their own money, which they guard with jealous labour, shut up at home as if it were another’s, and from which they derive no benefit either for their friends, for their children, or, in fine, for themselves. Their possession amounts to this only, that they can keep others from possessing it; and oh, what a marvellous perversion of names! They call those things goods, which they absolutely put to none but bad uses.”

Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258) in Epistle 1 “To Donatus” 12 translated by Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 495.

Why do we need to watch out for greed? What ever we hold on to gets a hold on to us. It causes us to have blindness of perception. And, as a result, Cyprian would say that we put “goods” to “bad uses.”

How do we avoid this? We must intentionally put goods to good uses. That’s why we fast, pray, and give during Lent. We loosen the grip that possessions have on us.

Also, we realize that what the world says we need, stuff such as money and possessions, is not what sustains us or brings us joy. It’s only found in the enjoyment and sharing of blessings.

No wonder Jesus did not hold on to any possessions and commanded us to let go of them. He was not trying to rob us, but help us. We must do the same for others lest they remain blind.