Archives by: Gary Hoag

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

“At present we find ourselves in a world where, as a matter of fact, few people are rich and powerful, while many are poor and weak. Some who are well-off often have actively wronged their neighbors to get or keep their wealth; others wrong their neighbors by allowing them to suffer rather than share with them. There is an obvious inequality in the distribution of the goods needed for life, and much of the inequality is a reflection of injustice.”

Dallas Willard in The Spirit of the Disciplines (San Francisco: Harper, 1988) 197.

This Christmas eve I am giving thanks that God did not send help to a world filled with “obvious inequality” and injustice, He came. Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who set aside the riches of heaven to be born in the most humble of settings. While ministering, He never had a place to lay his head, and encouraged those who had more than what as needed for life to share with those who were destitute.

So how do we follow the Christ of Christmas in the face of so much brokenness in this world? As we trust and obey, we become like Jesus, who was full of grace and truth. God transforms us. He turns our greed and unkindness to generosity and lovingkindness. Our living and giving does not win us favor with God. That favor was won for us by Christ on the cross. Our sharing, our love for our neighbors, spreads God’s love in the world.

God’s plan for addressing the “obvious inequality” and injustice in the world is us. We have not been overcome by evil but we overcome it with good. This Christmas, enjoy and share gifts with those you love, for sure, but don’t stop there. Enjoy and share the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. Jesus is the greatest Christmas gift ever because the life He offers is the one thing that the whole world needs.

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 1:46-55 – Mary’s song, a.k.a. “The Magnificat”

Yesterday I read Mary’s song from Luke. No wonder her humility and trust in God have inspired the faith of generations after her! Then, later in the day, I learned Sammy posted a sonnet he wrote for school on Facebook. Therein, his heart reveals similar posture. With his post he added this comment:

“After sharing it with my parents who loved it, I thought I might as well share it with everyone and maybe it could be a blessing to someone else. Also the background is some of the beautiful ice on Bear Creek behind my apartment. I call it “Waiting”.

We pray Mary’s song and Sammy’s sonnet bless you richly this Christmas!

“Waiting” by Sammy Hoag

God’s been and always will be in control
Everything that we do is in His hands
The Lord’s knowledge of the future is whole
He has set the perfect time for His plans

Life is confusing, complicated, rough
And things don’t always seem to go our way
Waiting for what we’d like is always tough
All we can do is to live day by day

We need not know what tomorrow may hold
Cause we know the One who holds tomorrow
The Lord has made the paths which will unfold
All that we can do is trust and follow

The wait is hard when we feel not able
Though in it all we know that God’s faithful

On coming to the house, [the magi] saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11

“Worshiping Jesus means joyfully ascribing authority and dignity to Christ with sacrificial gifts. We ascribe to him. We don’t add to him. God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything (Acts 17:25).

So the gifts of the magi are not given by way of assistance or need meeting. It would dishonor a monarch if foreign visitors came with royal care packages. Nor are these gifts meant to be bribes. God tells us in Deuteronomy 10:17 that he takes no bribe.

Well, what then do the gifts mean? How are they worship? The gifts are intensifiers of desire for Christ himself in much the same way that fasting is. When you give a gift to Christ like this, it’s a way of saying something like this:

The joy that I pursue is not the hope of getting rich with things from you. I have not come to you for your things but for yourself. And this desire I now intensify and demonstrate by giving up things in the hope of enjoying you more, not the things. By giving to you what you do not need and what I might enjoy I am saying more earnestly and more authentically, “You are my treasure, not these things.”

John Piper in the Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014) 51-52.

For more on the the significance of the gifts of the magi, check out the CLA blog post I wrote, entitled, The Magi and the Messiah, dated 23 December 2015.

Just like the ornaments on our Christmas tree hold special significance to us (pictured above), our gift giving carries a message to Christ. Have you decided what message you want send him this Christmas and year-end through your giving?

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Qririnius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. Luke 2:1-6

“Jesus’ family . . . peaceably complied with the requirement to be registered . . . A census was not simply a means of organizing the tax rolls but was also a means of demonstrating control over the world. Luke’s mention of the infamous census sets up the opposition between the proud, formidable empire of Caesar and God’s eternal reign. The child born in Bethlehem to parents subjected to Roman tyranny will ultimately challenge the existing political order and create an astonishing reversal of authority and power, not through violence but through obedience to God and the giving of his life.”

David E. Garland in Luke (ZECNT; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) 119.

Each year as we reflect on the Christmas story, God’s generosity comes into view in a new and beautiful way. Today I read Garland’s commentary alongside Luke’s account. Notice that while the Romans thought they were in control and exercised their power over God’s people through taxation, God’s provision and generosity to all people would come through an “astonishing reversal of authority and power, not through violence but through obedience to God and the giving of his life.”

Father in heaven, thank you God for the gift of Jesus, who saves us from our sins through the giving of his life, so that we too might have life in him. May the astonishing reversal of humble obedience be evident in our lives and through our generosity empowered your Holy Spirit. Make it so, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

“I am confident that these small acts of generosity are like the smallest seed that was planted and will grow into a large tree. Each time we give something to others, and each time we sow seeds of the Gospel in hearts, we are building the Kingdom of God…

What kinds of seeds are you sowing today? No matter how small, they could be very big to someone who sees that somebody cares.”

Michelle de Carion in Samaritan’s Purse blog post entitled “Generosity is Contagious” dated 23 July 2012.

I am safely home from Australia. Last night Jenni, Sophie, and I were watching a Christmas movie, and Sophie shared this Samaritan’s Purse quote with me about how small acts of generosity really add up!

It made us think of our friend, Dee Wolfe, and the great work that she and others are doing at Samaritan’s Purse! Consider the impact when many people do small acts of generosity together. It really adds up.

Their website says they’ve sent 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in the name of Jesus since 1993. At this time they are delivering approximately 12 million more boxes around the world.

Plan to make a box next year. Throw a box-making party with your friends. If you have children, have them help you make one. It’s a great way to teach them about generosity and build the Kingdom of God.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20

“I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that Luke used the same Greek word to describe the guest room in which there was no room for Jesus to be born and the guest room which he shared the Passover with his disciples on the night before he died.

The One for whom there was no guest room in Bethlehem now invites his followers into the guest room where, as the host at the table, he takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them…

In that upper room, around that last Passover table, confronted with the astonishing self-giving love of God in Christ, we are invited to take down the No Vacancy signs and allow Christ to come in…

The gospel is the story of the relentless intrusion of God’s love that refuses to acknowledge the No Vacancy signs we post around our lives. It means there’s always hope for every one of us. Is there room in your life for Christ to be born?”

James A. Harnish in When God Comes Down: An Advent Study for Adults (Nashville: Abingdon, 2012) 36-39.

Special thanks to my wife, Jenni, who sent me photos of pages 33-40 of this book for my edification yesterday. It was so good I just had to share it. Lord willing with safe travel, I will arrive home just after lunch today.

To make room for Jesus this Christmas, what do we have to do? Clean up the mess? No. Just open the door, and perhaps replace the No Vacancy sign with a big welcome mat! Without Christ enriching our lives it is absolutely impossible to be generous.

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

“Life shouldn’t be so busy. Futurists back in the 1950s and ’60s predicted that by the end of the twentieth century, people would be working an average of twenty-four hours a week. Our biggest challenge entering the twenty-first century would be how we would spend all that extra leisure time. Computers and other technological innovations would free us up from menial labor, developing unprecedented opportunities for rest and recreation.

How’s that working for you?

According to a Lou Harris poll, not so good. Our leisure time has shrunk by 37 percent since 1973. And the average work week has stretched from forty-one hours to forty-seven hours. For professionals today, it is not uncommon to log seventy- to eight-hour workweeks. This is one reason why the initial peace and joy I experienced in my newfound faith started to fade. I was so busy that I had no time to dedicate toward genuine spiritual growth on the Being axis or thoughtfully analyze my life and make practical changes on the Doing axis. I was living the classic hamster wheel life.

My personal experience on the treadmill leads me to tell all my clients, “No margin. No mission.” You won’t experience purpose, meaning, and joy if you don’t create margin in your calendar to proactively make changes in your life. And creating margin is hard work.”

Jeff Spadafora in The Joy Model: A Step-by-Step Guide to Peace, Purpose, and Balance (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016) 42-43.

I am excited for Jeff on the release of this book. This chapter on margin struck me because of Christmas. There was no margin, no space for Mary and Joseph, so Jesus was born in the stable with the animals. His cradle was a feeding trough.

I am grateful my friends in Sydney made room for me. I have had a peaceful, refreshing, and productive weekend. They made room for me, and I am richly blessed. Soon I will depart for home (and nearly a 100 degree swing in temperature…Lord have mercy).

What about you? As you consider Christmas approaching, make room in your calendar for rest. Set aside margin in life for serving others. Build margin in your budget for generous giving. It’s hard work, for sure, but it’s the only pathway to fulfilling our mission.

Let’s make the Christ of Christmas known to the world today, this season, and throughout the year. We live with margin so that we can give, serve, and love generously.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

“In our materialistic society, it is difficult to know at what economic level to live. With whom do I compare myself? What are my expectations? What assets will help me better minister the gospel? What will I do without? How much can I give? What sacrifice will I make? Such choices are made on a day-to-day basis and, frankly, it can get pretty tiring to resist the pressures of our society to buy more and more and better and bigger. Everyone around us breathes such consumerism, even our Christian brothers and sisters. It is just exhausting to say ‘no’ continually or to have to stop and think about how to use money.

Why not take one step? Make one cutback, simple but radical. Make one choice that will mean that you step away from your peers. For example, skip the weekly family take-away meal. Drop the year’s subscription to the theatre. Get rid of some of your investments. Don’t buy new clothes this year. Walk more and use the car less. Forget the overseas trip. Stop buying [music]. Sell the holiday flat. Move into a smaller house. Then — and here comes the exciting part — take out your cheque book and give away the money you have just saved …

Cheerfully give away what you have so that God may use you as an instrument of his generosity. Such a lifestyle is radical. It is frightening, because we sense a loss of control over our lives. But it is, after all, in God alone that we put our confidence, and not money. Furthermore, we are to follow the example of Jesus who “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Now that we Christians are indeed thoroughly rich let us give away our fading riches so that those who are poor in this world may become rich in Christ.”

Sandra King in “Not keeping up with the Joneses” in the Mattias Media Briefing dated 1 March 2000.

As we approach Christmas and the New Year, let us each think about one cutback we could make that would be simple but radical. If you are married, talk about this with your spouse. Do it. Then give the money to some facet of God’s work so that it helps someone who is poor in Christ become rich in Christ.

There’s likely no better testimony to our faith than radical, sacrificial generosity.

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 1 Timothy 6:18

“Timothy is advised to encourage the rich to “be generous and willing to share.” It is not only our acts of service but also our financial generosity that enables us to think sanely about who we are, what we have, and what we want. Generosity is at the core of the satisfied life.

This makes a lot of sense to me. One way to combat the grip money has on my heart is to consistently, faithfully, and generously give it away. The most anti-accumulation thing an affluent person can do is to systematically give money away.

The discipline of giving frees my heart from a growing infatuation with my stuff. Giving is the natural outflow of the thankful heart. Sharing is living in step with a God whose heart is wildly generous.”

Jeff Manion in Satisfied: Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013) 132-133.

Today I am thankful for my friends, Tom and Jaime Schell, who are sharing their flat in Sydney with me for the weekend to get some work done and finish edits to a book project before heading home for Christmas.

As God has blessed each of us this year, let’s resolve to follow God’s leading in doing acts of service and in making year-end financial gifts as a “natural overflow” in response to God’s generosity to us!

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 1 Peter 2:11

“There is too much sleep, too much meat and drink, too little fasting and self-denial, too much [taking part in] the world…and too little self-examination and prayer.”

William Bramwell, Wesleyan preacher, as recounted by Ben Jennings in “Fasting and Prayer” in Principles of Leadership, ed. Martin and Cozzins (Orlando: New Life, 2001) 292. Special thanks to Geoff Folland for the gift of this book Down Under.

As I teach at this retreat for the staff of Christian Super on “Living with Financial Health and Understanding” it’s evident that God is at work in many lives. Pray with me that the time away from life back in Sydney will help attendees hear the Word and see the world from God’s perspective.

Pray that the Spirit continues to work in the space of self-examination and prayer and moves people to self-denial as a platform for living, giving, serving and loving more generously. In plain terms, we are talking about learning to say “no” to some things so we can say “yes” to better things.

Consider joining us.

Take some time today (self-examination) or skip a meal (fasting) and ask God to show you any worldly desires in your life that need to go (self-denial). Self-examination and fasting are not practices we do for God. They are exercises we do for ourselves.

These practices reveal the things that limit generosity in our lives.