Archives by: Gary Hoag

The servant who had received the five talents went and put them to work and gained five more. Matthew 25:16

“Be an observer of providence; for God is showing you ever, by the way in which He leads you, whither He means to lead. Study your trials, your talents, the world’s wants, and stand ready to serve God now, in whatever He brings to your hand. Again consult your friends, and especially those who are most in the teaching of God. They know your talents and personal qualifications better, in some respects, than you do yourself. Ask their judgment of you and of the spheres and works to which you are best adapted. Once more, go to God Himself, and ask for the calling of God; for, as certainly as He has a plan or calling for you, He will somehow guide you into it.”

Horace Bushnell (1802-1876) in a sermon entitled, “Every Man’s Life a Plan of God,” in Sermons for the New Life (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1876) 22.

What does it mean to be an observer of providence?

Observers of providence are people who look at the needs around them and what God has supplied to them, and they put to work what they have and depend on God to sustain them.

This requires a beautiful mix of faith and obedience and of stewardship and generosity. Our service follows God’s leading, is fueled by God’s supply, and ministers to the wants around us.

Do you also notice the community layer that comes into view?

Such service is affirmed by those around us who know God deeply and who know us well. I will spend time today with a young man, Nathan Jones, that I have mentored for nearly two decades.

We can’t serve the next generation if we don’t invest time in their lives. Lastly, all this is reinforced by prayer with confirmation from God to be sure that our work aligns with His plan.

Father, make us observers of providence. By your Holy Spirit, show us what to do with what we have so you are glorified by our service. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:5

“And if you ask what is the temper which is most fitted to be victorious over sin on earth, I answer that in it the warp of a sunny gentleness must be woven across the woof of a strong character. That will make the best tissue to stand the wear and tear of the world’s trials. Our Lord was divinely gentle, but He was also strong with a wondrous strength and firmness.”

W. H. Lyttleton in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 255.

I want to send warm happy birthday greetings today to my mom, Patsy Hoag! Her warp (vertical threads of a tapestry) and woof (the horizontal threads) are sunny gentleness and strong character. When these two traits are combined they produce a generous spirit that blesses all around her.

I am asking God to help me grow in the “sunny gentleness” part. And, I think I located the way we can each nurture this trait in our lives in today’s Scripture. If we soak and sit in the reality of the nearness of our Lord, we find wondrous strength and firmness. Resting in Him help grow gentleness in us.

The world needs more people with the warp of sunny gentleness and the woof of a strong character. When we look at our Lord’s example, we see a generous mix of both. For us to exhibit the same in a world filled with trials, it seems that the secret for us is to rest together in the reality that “The Lord is near.”

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

“Character is so largely affected by associations that we cannot afford to be indifferent as to who and what our friends are. They write their names in our albums, but they do more, they help make us what we are. Be therefore careful in selecting them.”

M. Hulburd in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 255.

Last night I had the privilege of attending World Series game 5 with Dan Busby (pictured above). Better than the baseball action, which was unforgettable, was the special time with a faithful friend. His listening ear and wise words shape my mind and heart. This relates to generosity because his impact in my life would be priceless to measure.

Who writes their name in your proverbial album? Who is helping make you what you are? To grow in generosity this year, spend time in prayer and then identify a godly person to go deeper in friendship. This person will not only shape your life, but the impact of this experience will shape your character and your future in incalculable ways.

Next think about who you might touch in a similar fashion. We cannot afford to be indifferent about this, as Hulburd notes. As another friend reminded me yesterday via email, don’t underestimate the impact of small groups of committed people. In the first century, a handful of devoted disciples changed the world. Let’s do the same today.

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13

“Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. }ust as the Christian should not be con­ stantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian com­ munity has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community (New York: Harper One, 1954) 30.

Yesterday many friends and family surrounded us with love with the wedding of our son. Sammy and Emily are now happily married. And what a privilege to officiate (pictured above). It was a special experience of Christian community. What a gift. A few friends advised me beforehand to greet as many people as possible, to enjoy their presence, and simply thank them for coming. Now I see why. The experience of Christian community is a great gift.

Bonhoeffer teaches us that Christian community is something to receive and participate in but not something we can ever claim as ours. He’s right. Think about it. Even as we own nothing, but experience everything is a gift of grace, we don’t own people either, so our interaction with and the blessings generously shared in the process are gifts from God who chose us as His own in the first place.

Today, while Sammy and Emily head to Hawaii for their honeymoon and relatives depart, I fly to Washington D.C. to experience the gift of Christian community with a dear friend, Dan Busby, president of ECFA. We will enjoy fellowship, talk about our families, share about our GTP and ECFA work, and go to World Series game 5 together. It’s a gift from God. I pray our experience of Christian community produces fruits that bless the whole world.

Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant. My eyes are continually toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net. Psalm 27:12-15

“To fear God is to recognize that one is not the centre of the universe. The fear of God engenders proper humility in a person that makes them teachable. This fear is not an emotion that makes one run away, but rather to persist in God’s awesome presence and to listen to his instructions. He instructs them because they are willing to learn. For that reason God confides in them and makes His covenant known to them, and hte result is that they will be rewarded. Interestingly, the psalmist specifies the reward as the inheritance of the land…Only by listening to God and obeying him will he avoid the pitfalls of life.”

Tremper Longman III in Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: IVP, 2014) 145.

Our only son, Samuel David Hoag, marries Emily Susanna Law today. It will be grand celebration of Christian love. At the rehearsal dinner last night, he gave me a gift of a utility knife. These words were etched on it:”Thanks for raising me to be the man I am today, Samuel.”

The gift also had a card with it. “Dad, Thanks for officiating my wedding and for supporting me and Emily’s relationship. Who’s the man? Sammy” What a great gift coupled with a kind and thoughtful expression of thankfulness and commitment.

“Who’s the man?” That short question stemming from today’s Scripture is the code question my son and I have asked each other for personal accountability to remain humble, teachable, and obedient to God for more than a decade. When he asks me the question, I reply, “We are!” and vice versa.

His words on that paper really touched me. They shouted gratitude for sacrifice and support. They also shouted commitment to God. He will persist in listening to God’s instructions now that he builds a household of his own. The knife is great, but his words were a priceless gift!

The promise I hold onto from Psalm 25 is that Sammy and Emily will experience the blessing of God for the course they have charted together. So even as Sammy’s words were a gift to me, God’s promise is an even greater gift to them.

This is a secret of divine generosity. When we give, blessing returns to us. We don’t end up empty, but rather, enriched. May their marriage continue to reflect the love and generosity of God. I pray this is true of everyone reading this for God’s glory.

What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:29-35

“St. Paul, dissuading his converts from marriage, says nothing about that side of the matter except to discourage prolonged abstinence from Venus (I Cor. VII, 5). What he fears is pre-occupation, the need of constantly “pleasing”—that is, considering—one’s partner, the multiple distractions of domesticity. It is marriage itself, not the marriage bed, that will be likely to hinder us from waiting uninterruptedly on God. And surely St. Paul is right? If I may trust my own experience, it is (within marriage as without) the practical and prudential cares of this world, and even the smallest and most prosaic of those cares, that are the great distraction. The gnat-like cloud of petty anxieties and decisions about the conduct of the next hour have interfered with my prayers more often than any passion or appetite whatever. The great, permanent temptation of marriage is not to sensuality but (quite bluntly) to avarice.”

C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves (New York: Harcourt, 1960) 124.

Yesterday Sammy and I enjoyed a great hunt together (pictured above). While on the drive back, we talked about Lewis and The Four Loves. While he’s head over heels in love, I urged him to keep God first. Or in the words of Lewis, to wait “uninterruptedly” on God. I shared that while marriage is a gift from God, it also comes with the danger of avarice.

Does you marriage distract from your generous service to God? Let’s think about this danger for a moment. Avarice is the desire for things. Practically, this comes into view as “wanting” a big house, nice cars, big vacations, etc. When we want these things, we shift from waiting “uninterruptedly” on God, to spending ourselves in an endless pursuit of these things.

Often it takes people years to realize that these are an empty quest. I am thankful to have a wife that aims to grow closer to God, not to accumulate things or experiences. She encourages my generous service. What a blessing! I pray that Sammy and Emily, as they wed tomorrow, will wait “uninterruptedly” on God. Make it so, Lord Jesus.

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4

“Like the cellar-growing vine is the Christian who lives in the darkness and bondage of fear. But let him go forth, with the liberty of God, into the light of love, and he will be like the plant in the field, healthy, robust, and joyful.”

H. W. Beecher in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 106.

Sammy and I will walk through some fields this morning with Joy and Hope (Sure we will have those feelings on this pre-wedding pheasant hunting outing, but those are the name of our German Shorthair Pointer hunting dogs). As he gets married this weekend and builds a home, I pray it grows into a healthy, robust, and joyful place.

I’ve been thinking about what questions to ask him and any last words to say in our last shoulder-to-shoulder outing before he gets married. I think I’ve landed on these two ideas: liberty of God and light of love. The first is vertical, relating to his relationship with God, and the second is horizontal, linked to other people.

This is essentially the Greatest Commandment of Jesus, to love God and love others. So, what does this have to do with generosity? Studies show that a son flourishes with the blessing of his father. I hope to give him one final memorable blessing to live in the liberty of God and in the light of His love.

Few choose to live this way, which is why today’s Scripture text says that “rare and beautiful treasures” are in the rooms of homes built by wisdom. This is a good reminder for me, and perhaps for you too, to remove all fear from the house, which brings darkness, and to keep liberty and love in every corner of our home.

But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. Haggai 2:4

“So, my brethren, let us do our work, that others entering on it may carry it forward through after generations. Thus shall the work of the fathers become the glory of their children; and in the end, when the mystery of God shall be finished, we shall see, in its completed beauty and proportion, the great fabric into which we put our little all; and we shall rejoice at once in the skill of the Architect and the diligence of the successive builders.”

William M. Taylor in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 126.

Today’s Scripture was the verse for our Global Gathering which brought three groups together, the board, staff, and regional facilitators of GTP. Three times Haggai exclaims “Be strong” and then he adds “and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” It’s like God was speaking to all of us.

I charged the group to build GTP not for ourselves but for the next generation. Likewise, wherever you are, ask yourself if you are working for God and for the next generation. This picture of the generations as “successive builders” adds depth to our investment in their lives.

I will be somewhere in the air between Frankfurt and Denver when this posts. Upon arrival my focus turns to Sammy and Emily’s wedding celebration this coming Saturday. Pray with me for a generous outpouring of grace, love, and peace as two lives and the communities that nurtured them come together to celebrate their union in Christ.

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49

“God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the place where He wishes us to be employed; and that employment is truly “our Father’s business.” He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough, for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves, or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves.”

John Ruskin in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 123.

In wrapping up on the final day with GTP staff at the Global Gathering, I’m so happy. Most of the time this week of service I was happy too. As I reflect, the times I was not happy, I am sure I was either trying to control outcomes or trying to accomplish my purposes. Notice my issue would be like a stubborn child not wanting what the Father desired. Ever do that?

God forgive me for those times.

So what is the generous gift from our good and kind Father? We get the gift of strength sufficient for each day, the confidence that we are pleasing Him, and we get happiness in our work. Thank you for your generosity, God. Help us to embrace this so that we are always working with rather than kicking against our Father’s business and doing it with happiness.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

“To deny one’s self, to take up the cross, denotes something immeasurably grander than self-imposed penance or rigid conformity to a divine statute. It is the surrender of self to an ennobling work, an absolute subordination of personal advantages and of personal pleasures for the sake of truth and the welfare of others, and a willing acceptance of every disability which their interests may entail.”

George C. Lorimer in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 169.

As the GTP Global Gathering draws to a close, I am thankful for the power of Christ in each board member, staff member, and regional facilitator to help us do “immeasurably more” as we surrender ourselves to the “ennobling work” before us for the welfare of others.

The “willing acceptance of every disability struck me” part when I read it. Most people want generous service that is comfortable. What would it look like for you to uncomfortably surrender for the sake of others? Sacrifice is the path to which He has called us. It is following in the steps of Christ Jesus.