Archives by: Gary Hoag

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

“God may change a promise, but not break a promise.” The Lord shall give that which is good.” He may change a temporal for a spiritual blessing; He may not increase “the basket and the store,” but He may increase the faith and the patience; He may cease to give His people pieces of silver, but He may give them treasures of gold.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 114.

I had a hard day yesterday. Let me explain and maybe you can relate?

God gave our team good things for which we were unprepared. He gave us challenges to grow our faith and patience when we were expecting increase in the basket and the store. Sound familiar?

It was a rare day with margin for rest in the schedule that got exchanged with troubles. Thankfully God helped us navigate them. God works for good, but not always the kind of good we expect.

As a result of the challenges, we determined to change hotels and realized only later that God wanted us on that side of the city for only a day and He had work for us on the other side of the city.

Sometimes the good that God gives us is temporal. It takes shape as provision in physical form. But other times, like yesterday, I got opportunities to grow in faith and patience.

As I process the experiences, I realize I had margin for the challenges. God used them, in part to mold and grow our Pakistan team. Now early the next morning I celebrate God’s generosity in this.

Thanks God for your goodness to us supplying spiritual gold when sometimes we hope for temporal silver.

And after a long morning and afternoon, a sweet blessing was to see beautiful flowers line the street to the location where we had an amazing event.

I shot the header photo from the front seat of the Uber. I felt like it was a warm welcome from the LORD. Then the time with influential workers went so well, praise God.

Peer accountability will come to Pakistan by God’s grace.

Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:3

The Israelites in the wilderness were continually exposed to change. Whenever the pillar stayed its motion, the tents were pitched; but tomorrow, ere the morning sun had risen, the trumpet sounded, the ark was in motion, and the fiery, cloudy pillar was leading the way through the narrow defiles of the mountain, up the hill side, or along the arid waste of the wilderness. They had scarcely time to rest a little before they heard the sound of “Away! this is not your rest; you must still be onward journeying towards Canaan!” They were never long in one place.

Even wells and palm trees could not detain them. Yet they had an abiding home in their God, his cloudy pillar was their roof-tree, and its flame by night their household fire. They must go onward from place to place, continually changing, never having time to settle, and to say, “Now we are secure; in this place we shall dwell.” “Yet,” says Moses, “though we are always changing, Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place throughout all generations.”

The Christian knows no change with regard to God. He may be rich today and poor tomorrow; he may be sickly today and well tomorrow; he may be in happiness today, tomorrow he may be distressed — but there is no change with regard to his relationship to God. If He loved me yesterday, He loves me today. My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Let prospects be blighted; let hopes be blasted; let joy be withered; let mildews destroy everything; I have lost nothing of what I have in God. He is “my strong habitation whereunto I can continually resort.” I am a pilgrim in the world, but at home in my God. In the earth I wander, but in God I dwell in a quiet habitation.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon in Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (Grand Rapids: CCEL) morning reading for for 27 February.

Special thanks to my friend Pat Knapp for locating this post and sharing it with me as I spend so much time on the road.

I love it. I read it three times.

And this post was fitting because we traveled yesterday to Karachi and had two great meetings but everything took longer than expected. The day started at 7am and ended at 11pm and in between, it was a big adventure. The flight was late. Traffic was terrible. The hotel rooms were not ready. Of course people said, “Welcome to Pakistan.”

As I turn back to the post I celebrate this idea: “My unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord. Let prospects be blighted; let hopes be blasted; let joy be withered; let mildews destroy everything; I have lost nothing of what I have in God.”

This shouts of God’s generosity and I pray that it fills us with hope, joy, and strength for service on a new day.

Pray for today’s event in Karachi. What a huge city! With nearly 19 million people, it’s the 12th largest city in the world. Praise God the top Christian workers are convening for a GTP teaching event, “Stewardship and Standards,” with the aim of forming a task force to form a peer accountability (like ECFA in USA) in Pakistan.

We did the same meeting in Islamabad/Rawalpindi and in Lahore and had and overwhelmingly positive response. People expressed honesty and humility about challenges and desire to take steps in together to strengthen churches and ministries for sustainability with standards.

Keep praying. The trip is far from over. But “my unmoving mansion of rest is my blessed Lord!”

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

“When the Lord pardons a sinner, He doth not pay a debt but bestows a gift.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 106.

I’ve had many great conversations about stewardship, accountability, trust, and generosity with church and ministry workers in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, and now Lahore. We go to Karachi from here.

This nuance actually came up in a conversation I had. If we saw God’s atoning work for us on the cross as just paying a debt, we might think that either we owed Him or we could pay it back. And it would not stir love in our hearts in return.

When, instead we acknowledge that we have received a priceless gift, it stirs within us deep love. But how does this relate to our own generosity. Let us give, not because we feel like we owe anything but because he did not spare anything for us.

Ponder that today. God did not spare anything but gave up His one and only Son for you and me because of His great love for us. Few things stir greater generosity and love than to ponder our pardon and the priceless gift of forgiveness.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6

“A minister of Christ is both a granary, to hold the corn, and a steward, to give it out; he, then, is an unfaithful servant who dealeth not out bountifully the bread of life.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 98.

I like this picture of the granary. It holds the good stuff that people need in a temporary way for dispensing bountifully. Imagine if every minister adopted this word picture.

Let’s play out the implications. God desires that His ministers (that includes all His servants) receive blessings for enjoyment and sharing. The granary stores it temporarily for dealing bountifully.

The ministry in Pakistan continues to far exceed all expectations. Thanks for your prayers. I am dispensing from the granary and having to refill each morning. Appreciate your ongoing prayers. Thanks.

The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile. Ecclesiastes 5:10

“Grace satisfies; other riches cannot.” He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver: this is also vanity.” Riches can no more fill the heart than a triangle can fill a circle; but grace fills up every chink.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 57.

“Grace makes beauty out of everything.” I thought of this line out of the U2 song, Grace, today after reading this excerpt from Watson. Then I paused and asked this question to my self. But what does grace have to do with generosity?

Grace may be the greatest treasure in the universe. It’s the secret sauce of the gospel that sets Christianity apart from Islam and every other religion in the world. Grace covers, fills, and lavishes the goodness of God on us.

And when we are weary or in war-torn or difficult places, grace abounds. People need it more than money.

That’s what I see in Pakistan. I see grace abounding among the Christians. Though it might be home to terrorists and pervasive brokenness, I see God’s hand at work. It brings satisfaction.

I see God’s generosity as He has lavished grace on new believers led to Christ by our GTP country team. Do you know anyone who needs a generous outpouring of grace from you today?

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. Isaiah 33:6

“The fear of God is a Christian’s safety; nothing can in reality hurt him. Plunder him of his money, he carries about
him a treasure of which he cannot be despoiled. “The fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Cast him into bonds, yet he is free; kill his body, he shall rise again. He who hath on the breastplate of God’s fear, may be shot at, but cannot be shot through.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 53.

The safest place on earth is the fear of God. This ranks among the greatest possible statements about generosity.

Isaiah calls him a “sure foundation” and “rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge” and then adds that the fear of the LORD is the “key to this treasure.”

Where is your safety, Christian?

I am learning that God is far more generous in His care than I previously knew. I cannot fathom the depths of His generous care though I visit some of the deepest and darkest places on earth.

I spent the yesterday afternoon training 40 future Christian workers in a church in Jhelum, Pakistan (pictured above). They rank among the most receptive young people I have ever served.

They fear no danger, have limited opportunities, and taught me about the Christian’s safety.

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Acts 10:1-4

“The fear of the Christian is not servile, but filial. There is a great difference between fearing God, and being afraid of God. The godly fear God, as a dutiful and loving son fears his father; but the wicked are afraid of him, as a prisoner is of his judge.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 51.

I have left the cosmopolitan confines of Islamabad and am ministering in Jhelum today.

Got here late and turned in even later and let’s just say the Muslim call to prayer threw me out of bed shortly after 5:00 AM through the thin walls of the home of my host. How they have learned to sleep through it (I can hear snoring on the other side of the walls), I will never know!

In an islamic setting the relationship with God is define by servile rules rather than filial love. If the difference remains unclear to you, read the post again.

This shapes generosity because any acts done linked to what one feels they like have to do, not because of what they get to do as a dutiful and loving child of God. People in Islam or Christians stuck in Old Testament thinking would both reflect this. To all of them, I say, God does not need your money, he wants your heart.

Conversely, Cornelius appears as a devout living, faithful praying, generous giving, and God-fearing person. This marks the way to life that God sees as memorable before Him.

Father. help us and our families by your Holy Spirit to live like Cornelius regardless of what everyone else is doing around us because of our filial relationship with you through your son, Jesus. Amen.

And Cornelius is on my mind today, because today is my Father’s 86th birthday.

Like the faith and life of Cornelius shaped his family, my dad’s God-fearing life shaped my brother, sister, and me to see devout living, faithful praying, and generous giving. Happy Birthday Dad!

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. Psalm 19:7-10

“Faith is the key that unlocks the cabinet of the promises, and empties out their treasures into the soul. Faith overcomes all the allurements of the world, all the riches of the world, and all the delights of the world; and it does this by showing the soul” the land that is afar off;” it carries the believer to the Mount of Transfiguration, and confidently assures of “a better country” — “a land that floweth with milk and honey.””

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 50.

This trip is stretching me.

I have had to get out the key to the cabinet. Can you think of a time that you needed to saturate yourself in all the promises of God to sustain and support you?

They are perfect, trustworthy, simple, and right. They bring joy and light. They are reliable and priceless. They are sweeter than any honey.

And we never know their value until we rely on them. We never figure it out until we live it out.

So far the ministry in Islamabad has exceeded all expectations. The receptivity to accountability teaching and generosity training has been like watching people drink a cup of water in a thirsty land.

What do I mean? They have demonstrated vulnerability, admitting to absolute and pervasive brokenness, and expressed a desire to make a new start with courage like I have never heard.

I am emptying myself in service to them. I woke weary today.

But then I read this reading and decided to sit and soak in God’s promises for more time than I had to give. It was worth it. I am ready now to go facilitate a training. My soul is full of the boundless riches of God.

I’ve got this. I am transfigured. So do you. Get the key to the cabinet.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” Revelation 22:16

“Faith shows the believer better things than the world can show: it gives a sight of Christ and glory; it gives a prospect of heaven. As the mariner, in a dark night, climbs to the top of the mast, and cries out — ” I see a star! ” so faith climbs up above sense and reason into heaven, and sees Christ, that bright Morning Star.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 45.

As I serve in an Islamic Republic for the next two weeks, I often see the crescent and star symbol.

Today’s quote from Watson brings into view the aim of the generous service of our team over two weeks. We want people to see the bright Morning Star, Jesus.

Many may note that another star, a morning star referring to Lucifer or the devil appears in this text.

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! Isaiah 14:12

Scholars note that only Jesus is the “bright” Morning Star, which may imply his Sovereignty over all other gods. That’s where our team places our trust.

Pray for us that service will give a sight of Christ and glory; it give a prospect of heaven to the people here.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12

“God decrees salvation in a way of working. One of the Fathers, when disputing with another on fate and destiny, thus
argues: One gave counsel to his friend, who was sick, not to send for a physician, because, said he, it is appointed by destiny whether thou shalt recover or not : if it be thy destiny to recover, thou needest not the physician; if it be not thy destiny, he will do thee no good.”

This is an argument fetched out of the devil’s tactics; because God decrees the end in the use of means. God decreed that Hezekiah should recover out of his sickness; but then he was to lay a fig to his boil. Although it is “the blessing of the Lord which maketh rich,” yet it is also true that the hand of the diligent maketh rich. God’s decreeing is carried on by our
working.”

Thomas Watson in Puritan Gems; or, Wise and Holy Saying of the Rev. Thomas Watson, Anglican Minister. edited and arranged by the Rev. John Adey (London: Snow and Ward, 1850) 39.

Whether Paul was with the Philippians or not, he wanted them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. In plain terms, they would figure it out as they worked it out with humility, diligence, and obedience.

I feel like the Paul, the traveling apostle with his comment “not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence.” Likewise, whether I am with you in the USA or absent from you, I hope you do the same thing.

I am safely in Pakistan. See the view of Margalla Hills from my hotel room in Islamabad.

And one of the blessings that happens with faithful service and hard work is material wealth. “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.” Proverbs 10:4

But wealth can lead us to the opposite of humility, diligence, and obedience. It tempts us toward pride, laziness, and disobedience. How do we avoid this? As God blesses us, we grow our generosity.

And notice that God’s decreeing is carried on by our working. Another way to say this would be God’s ways like today’s Scripture or the the proverb above are proved true by our working (or lack of work).

In a sense, our work “saves us” from ourselves and from our human, sinful ways. This is not about earning eternal life. It’s about understanding that people with authentic faith work. And God blesses them to bless others.

So, get to work and give generously. In so doing, you work out your salvation.