Archives by: Gary Hoag

You must demolish completely all the places where the nations whom you are about to dispossess served their gods, on the mountain heights, on the hills, and under every leafy tree. Break down their altars, smash their pillars, burn their sacred poles with fire, and hew down the idols of their gods, and thus blot out their name from their places. You shall not worship the Lord your God in such ways. But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes as his habitation to put his name there. You shall go there. Deuteronomy 12:2-5

“[This text] explicitly commands God’s people not just to avoid idolatry but also to demolish, break down, smash, burn, hew down, and blot out the names of those idols. For us, the word idol conjures up images of primitive people offering sacrifices to crude carved images. But an idol is anything we praise, celebrate, fixate on, and look to for help that’s not the true God.

Jesus says we cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). We’re told that greed is idolatry (Colossians 3:5), like lust is adultery. The New Testament recognizes a figurative sort of high places, where Christ’s people worship false gods instead of the one true God. Like Israel’s kings, we have the responsibility to topple all the idols in our own lives in order to give Jesus full Lordship. The fact that they didn’t use their power and authority to remove the high places and worship God alone should be a sobering reminder to us.

When the apostle John wrote to Christ-followers near the end of the first century, most had nothing to do with carved idols. Still, his final words to them in the letter of 1 John were, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (5:21). The New Living Translation captures the meaning this way: “Keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

Randy Alcorn in What Are the “High Places” in the Old Testament, and How Does That Apply to Us Today? Eternal Perspective Ministries blog post 14 November 2018.

GTP is hosting a webinar on 28 August 2020 on “Succession Planning for Sustainability” and as part of it, I am offering a biblical perspective on the role of the board and the responsibilities of the CEO.

When it comes to the work of the CEO, like those who lead God’s people in the Old Testament, we have to trust God with our whole heart and tear down the “high places” that contain idols to other gods.

The biblical command it not to avoid them but destroy what can tempt us to misplace our trust. No wonder Jesus told us to store up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. As Alcorn says elsewhere, “My heart always goes where I put God’s money.”

This means that individuals as well as CEOs must avoid stockpiling money as it does not sustain us. God sustains us. Our role is to put to work what He supplies obediently. Are you? For more insight, join us on the webinar.

And here’s a prayer that Alcorn prays for each of us linked to this idea: May God give us His grace to recognize the idols in our lives, and, by turning to Christ alone and exalting Him, throw them to the ground where they belong.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Matthew 18:21

“Peter accepted that if someone sins against us and then later asks forgiveness, we should grant the request willingly. But Peter also reasoned that there must be some reasonable limit to how many times we are expected to forgive. Peter must have suspected that Jesus would probably be expecting a particularly generous amount of mercy from His disciples, so he guessed high…

The point is not that we ought to forgive someone up to 490 times. Jesus is obviously using hyperbole. So, if you are keeping a tally of how many times you have forgiven your spouse, stop. Jesus’ point is that we ought to forgive an unlimited number of times.

You can imagine that if you were to tell your children they ought to be willing to forgive an unlimited number of times, they would no doubt respond, “But what about in cases where the offense is really bad?” Jesus anticipated this objection and shared a parable to answer it. The parable of the unforgiving servant…

With this parable. Jesus was teaching that whatever someone has done to offend us always pales in comparison to what we have done to offend God. The Christian who will not forgive is like a guy who will not forgive a few-thousand-dollar debt when he has himself been forgiven billions.”

Chris Brauns in Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008) 120-123

As I mine the topic of compassion I keep seeing generosity connected with mercy and forgiveness. So, I turned to the Gospels to see how generous Jesus wants us to show mercy and forgiven. Brauns added some good insights too.

The way to grow in generosity with mercy and forgiveness is to keep in the front of our minds the reality of “what we have done to offend God.” His mercy and forgiveness are incalcuable and should inspire us to be merciful and forgiving.

Likewise, when we keep in mind the generosity and grace that has been lavished on us, it transforms our relationship with money and possessions and causes us to generous in our living, giving, serving,  loving, and our forgiving.

Christ has forgiven us billions and showered on us the priceless gift of life. Let’s be known for our forgiveness and generosity in return. In hard times like we find ourselves, it will cause our light to shine for Him.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 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

“This most familiar and most beloved psalm invites us to a rich play of imagery. The predominant metaphor of the psalm is, of course, God as shepherd. Although some scholars believe that the metaphor of shepherd is carried through the entire psalm, it seems more plausible to us that the latter part of the psalm the imagery shifts from God as shepherd to God as generous host and giver of hospitality…

The tools of the shepherd (rod and staff) give comfort and assurance by providing strength and protection for the vulnerable sheep. The protective God feeds the trusting subject, even in a hostile environment. Oil may be used as a healing ointment for wounds that are acquired on the dangerous paths. The subject experiences luxurious extravagance in a context of threat, danger, and death. On all counts, this generous, trustworthy portrayal of God is more than a match for every threat and every adversity…

The traveler arrives at a safe destination, which turns out to be “the house of the Lord”; that is, the Jerusalem temple. In retrospect, the psalmist is able to recognize that “goodness and fidelity” have been “in pursuit of him”; this remarkable verb suggests that the subject thought he was being pursued by dangers and threats but in fact it was the providential goodness of God that was what had been following him and chasing after him.”

Walter Brueggemann in Psalms (NCBC; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014) 122-124.

As I journey through Psalms, like the traveler in today’s psalm, I am thankful that I lack nothing. Reflect on that reality.

We have everything we need in the Lord. He leads, guides, nourishes us, and helps us navigate hard times. Moreover, when we feel pursued by difficulty, it is really our Shepherd who is pursuing us with generosity and faithfulness (goodness and fidelity). Brueggemann urges us take solace in our faithful Shepherd who is “more than a match for every threat and every adversity” in the the storms we face in life. What challenges do you face today?

Lord, thanks for caring for me, for Your presence with me despite adversity, for pursuing me with generosity and fidelity, and for the privilege of dwelling with You. Amen.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12

“You’ve heard of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Jesus taught that. But Paul upgrades that to the Platinum Rule: Do unto others as Jesus has done for you: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Those who have experienced the gospel develop an uncontrollable impulse to be generous and an insane ability to forgive.”

J.D. Greear in “You Aren’t the Good Samaritan” blog post dated 24 April 2017.

I got to spend a little time fly fishing with Sammy at park we had never visited on Wednesday evening. I shot the new header photo just before sunset just before I caught my first walleye on a fly rod.

It was small, and yes I released it. Remember, every fish I catch is a gift from God, and every fish I release is my gift to the next angler.

Regarding today’s post, I used to think that going platinum was when a musical artist sold a certain number of records. Based on this comment from Greear, brought to my attention from Daily Meditations reader Pat Warbington, our generosity and kindness goes platinum when it follows the pattern set forth by Jesus.

Whose example are you following? Most people follow cultural patterns (and most of the time they do this unknowingly).

My prayer for readers everywhere is that God would give us “an uncontrollable impulse to be generous and an insane ability to forgive” so that we look like Jesus to the watching world. But be prepared. The religious establishment may try to silence you in the process. That’s precisely what they did with Jesus.

The biggest roadblock to “the generous life” may not actually be ungenerous people. It may well be “the giving life” that gives without sacrificing because it simultaneously focuses on preservation of place and comfort in the culture.

Such people specifically ignore the radical nature of the teachings of Jesus. In particular, they rationalize disobedience with regard to storing up earthly treasures.

Remember the example of Jesus. He gave His life out of love and compassion for the world and did not have a place to lay His head.

Let’s live “platinum” because its Jesus to whom we will someday give an account.

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5

“The Psalm has an intricate plan that is designed in every detail to serve its purpose. It opens and closes with the same measure, an inclusio that defines the whole as praising thanks.

The imperative “bless” introduces two lines and the beginning and four lines at the end to emphasize the psalm’s function as a rehearsal of declarations that exalt the LORD. The psalm has twenty-two lines, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, another clue to the poet’s attempt to be comprehensive.

In the second line there is a warning negative imperative [“forget not”] that tells how the psalm executes its purpose. The psalm is a liturgical “not forgetting” of all the LORD’s dealing; the body of the Psalm is a recollecting, remembering, reminding.”

James Luther Mays in Psalms (Interpretation: Louisville, WJKP, 2011) 326.

On this Saturday, wherever you area, take time to “forget not” God’s many blessings to you by cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Grateful hearts nurture rich generosity.

Perhaps follow the example of David, the psalmist, and go through the alphabet? Try it. Think of something you are thankful for with each letter. In English, go from A to Z.

Start and end your practice with praise. This psalm touched me from the start as it says He heals all our diseases, redeems our life from the pit, and crowns us with love and compassion. That sums up 2020 for me.

What are you grateful for today?

Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me—they have no regard for You. But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:14-15

“A direct complaint is registered…the language is concrete and seems to be descriptive of an actual situation. However, as is usually the case in the psalms there is nothing to identify what is going on with any degree of specificity…Verse 15 is a form of the basic description of the nature of the Lord found in Exodus 34:6. Other forms of the affirmation are found in Numbers 14:18; Psalm 103:8; 145:8; Nehemiah 9:17; Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:13. The expressions in the differing contexts represent a liturgical usage of the confession of faith.”

Marvin E. Tate in Psalms 51-100 (Waco: Word, 1990) 382-383.

There are real problems in the world today. Some, like COVID, are affecting everyone. Other challenges are regional, local, and many are personal. What do we do when the crisis escalates to life-threatening levels?

The biblical answer is to confess faith in our compassionate God.

Numerous biblical texts in the Old Testament reveal that through the history of God’s people, this was the pattern. When in crisis, proclaim your trust in the Sovereign Lord.

Whether it’s related to COVID or other matters, let us together confess our faith. Let’s add fasting and prayer to this confession. Generosity today comes into view as a God who hears, cares, and acts for us.

God, thanks that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. We proclaim our trust and dependence on you today. Come to our aid in crisis. Amen.

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:11

“Stewarding God’s creation and the resources entrusted to us means that we can generously share with others whatever blessings we receive. Generosity is an overflow of the steward’s grateful response to God, who freely showers us with daily abundance.

God bestows us with material things for our personal needs, and we can help those who have less in life. Biblical stewardship liberates the stewards and frees them toward generous living and not just generous giving.”

Zenet Maramara (Philippines) in “Biblical Stewardship: The Foundation of All Generosity” in Christ-Centered Generosity: Global Perspectives on the Biblical Call to a Generous Life (Colbert: GGN & KLP) 141.

I’m doing a global webinar with Zenet next week so I read her piece in this great book for inspiration. She also came to mind because of her passion for creation stewardship, and these are sad times in Colorado as wildfires are destroying vast stretches of God’s creation.

She makes an important connection. Don’t miss it. As stewards of God’s creation our job is to care for the earth and all who live in it. He supplies everything. This really does liberate us. It frees us to live and give generously. Our job is to enjoy and “help those who have less.”

And as today’s Scripture notes, this is not optional. It’s a command. When we live this way, He showers abundance. Speaking of showers. God, please send rain on Colorado to help the firefighters put out the fires and save those in harm’s way.

This is what the wicked are like—always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. Psalm 73:12-14

“The poet’s envy is rooted in the observation of an easy, wealthy life. The life of the wicked seemed to be untroubled with the burdens that normal people experienced and, despite their obvious rejection of God and the oppression of the weak, the rich just seemed to get richer.

The essence of the matter from Asaph’s perspective seems to be that wealth, however it is gained, makes life easier—an attitude often echoed in our own day! Ultimately, Asaph comes to the realization that his conclusion was not true in his day, just as it remains untrue in ours.

As we shall see in a moment, Asaph’s envy was based on an illusion. Real life for those who reject God is never as attractive as their lifestyle may seem to indicate. This was Asaph’s eventual realization as his concept of wealth is transformed.

For the time being, however, the observation of an easy life, wealth, and power proved all too seductive for Asaph, thus causing him to experience the genuine crisis of faith he recounts in these verses of his complaint.”

Dennis Tucker Jr. and Jamie A. Grant in Psalms, Volume 2 (NIVAC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2018) 64-65.

It’s happening. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It’s a crisis. If you are an observer in the middle, you have three choices.

One, you can be tempted to envy, like Asaph in this psalm. Don’t go there. Real life is not found in riches. Such people may look happy. But wealth, though it promises big things, never satisfies.

Two, you can continue amassing wealth. It is not the right way, so while it looks good, it is actually “wicked” to God. This may shake people and hopefully wake them. Amassing wealth reveals misplaced trust.

Three, you can be generous to enjoy and share all God supplies. This is what it means to keep your heart and hands pure. Not easy in the world in which we find ourselves.

God help us to avoid envy and amassing wealth but rather enjoy and share it richly. Amen.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:3-9

“God puts you in hard moments when you cry out for his comfort so that your heart becomes tender to those near you who need the same comfort. Sometimes we are quicker to judge than to comfort.

This hit me not too long ago on the streets of Philadelphia, where I live. I walked by a young homeless person who was begging on the street, and I immediately thought, “I wonder what you did to get yourself here.” Criticism came more quickly to me than compassion. Hard-heartedness is more natural for us than I think we like to admit.

We’re that way with our children when we yell at them as if we’re shocked that they’re struggling with the same things we struggled with when we were their ages. We’re that way when we look down on the parents who can’t seem to control their children in restaurants or on those who have trouble paying their bills.

It is a function of the self-righteousness that, in some ways, still lives inside all of us. When we have named ourselves as strong, wise, capable, mature, and righteous, we tend to look down on those who have not achieved what we think we have. So, God humbles us. He puts us in situations where our weakness, foolishness, and immaturity are exposed.”

Paul David Tripp in New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 201.

As I explore compassion this year, I realize that it requires growth in humility, is coupled with suffering, and requires avoiding pitfalls. Think about it. Christ first humbled himself and suffered, which positions him to “the Father of compassion,” and steered clear of traps. We get to follow in His steps.

The key, as my friend John Cochran who sent me this piece reminded me, is to catch ourselves when our tendency is toward criticism. I am guilty of this. God help me. Perhaps you are too? It is easy to forget how long it took us to learn things. And so criticism, the enemy of compassion, prevails.

May it not be so with us today by God’s grace, by His Holy Spirit. Forgive us, Father, for the sin of criticism we ask in the name of Jesus, so that our dependency will be on your righteousness and not our own, and so our lives will lift others up rather than beat them down. Amen.

God presides in the great assembly; He renders judgment among the “gods”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. “I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.” Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. Psalm 82

“The existence of the other gods in the psalm is puzzling to modern readers, but in our diverse world perhaps this psalm should give us pause and invite us to think of monotheism differently.

Others are not necessarily delusional in their belief in their gods, but are simply people from different places with different cultures. Maybe the ancients knew more than we do. We should not assume that others are evil or suspect simply because a group of people have a different god. This psalm leaves such issues of the gods with God.

Further, the psalm places us in the council reserved for gods. This is not our usual vision of what goes on in heaven, and in that it invites the readers to stretch their own ideas of what the world of the gods might be.

What is clear is that the values of the God of Israel’s kingdom have worldwide impact. The other gods are not condemned for deceiving the people or for not worshipping the Chief God, but according to vv. 3-4 for not caring for the ones with the least voice.

The values of Psalm 82 are clearly also the values in the heavenly realm. This psalm declares that the foundations of the earth are shaken, not by political or theological issues, but by the treatment of those who are homeless and hungry, alone and without justice.

We often think of judgment falling on those who do not believe as we do; this psalm declares that the gods judge just as humans, not by what we believe, but by what we choose to do or not do for the others that God created and loves.”

Beth Tanner The Book of Psalms (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014) 644.

Reading the Psalms lately has touched me deeply at the divine hours. I often have to juggle the times linked to work or meetings, but the practice of pausing is impacting my thinking and helping me stay centered.

In this psalm, God presides over the gods of the earth and will judge people for their deeds. Jesus echoes this. What will separate the sheep and the goats at the last judgment will be their treatment of the lowly.

We are living in a time when people are focused on political and theological issues. We must tune all that out! Instead, let us put our money where our faith is. Pour it into people and with those serving the needy, especially during the pandemic.

A significant global economic implication of the pandemic is that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. So, here is the test to prepare for the final judgment. Put to work what you have to serve others.

We must all remember that what we do with money God has entrusted us to steward will reflect what we really believed and thus, determine how it will go for us. How will it go for you? Only you can answer that.

If you store up treasures for yourself, it reveals your misplaced trust. You will have to explain to Jesus why you ignored his command. If you instead pour them out for the needy, He will look after you now and on the last day.