Archives by: Gary Hoag

Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments. Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever. Psalm 112:1-3

“The Old Testament’s interest in family continuity corrects our excessive individualism…The prosperity promised in the present verses may be largely material, but a closer look reveals the moral and spiritual terms which make it an instrument of good. A land needs its mighty men, and is fortunate if they are of such stock as this and if wealth is in such hands.”

Derek Kidner in Psalms 73-150 (TOTC; London: IVP, 1973) 399.

Yesterday en route home from Cincinnati on “Super Tuesday” the news was blaring with election propoganda. Today I fly to Arizona for ECFA meetings with Dan Busby about projects slated for 2016. No doubt, more election news will flash on every airport TV. What’s my prayer for “this land” in which we find ourselves?

Father in heaven, You have blessed our land richly. Lest our material wealth ruin us, “make it an instrument of good,” so that we will reflect Your righteousness through our words and deeds. Make us rich conduits so that our generosity reveals You as our abundance Source. Make it so we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Psalm 62:10

“Whosoever has food to eat, and raiment to put on, with something over, is rich. Whoever has the necessaries and conveniences of life for himself and his family, and a little to spare for them that have not, is properly a rich man…

I have a message from God unto thee, O rich man! Whether thou wilt hear, or whether thou wilt forbear. Riches have increased with thee; at the peril of thy soul, “set not thine heart upon them!” Be thankful to Him that gave thee such a talent, so much power for doing good. Yet dare not to rejoice over them, but with fear and trembling…

“Beware thou cleave not unto them, lest thou be entangled and perish.” Do not make them thy end, thy chief delight, thy happiness, thy God! See that thou expect not happiness in money, nor anything that is purchasable thereby…”

John Wesley (1703-1791) Anglican Minister in “On The Danger Of Increasing Riches” (Sermon 126.1,9) delivered on 21 September 1790 in Bristol, England.

As Asbury Theological Seminary hosted these meetings I decided to read afresh one of Wesley’s sermons this morning. Here Wesley is near the end of his life. He enthusiastically echoes the warning from Psalms not to set your heart on riches as they increase but to realize their power for doing good.

That’s our hope as seminary leaders: to help the rich kept God as their chief delight and realize that they have so much power for doing good. Has God blessed your work with much fruit? Do you have more than enough? Be warned, lest riches entangle and destroy you. Chose thankfulness and generosity!

People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:20

“The rich are like beasts of burden, carrying treasure all day, and at the night of death unladen; they carry to their grave only the bruises and marks of their toil.”

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 523.

Today and tomorrow I am facilitating meetings with leaders of 14 leading evangelical seminaries in Cincinnati. One item we will discuss is how to engage in the deeply spiritual work of raising up givers.

Essentially we will explore how to teach people that the purpose of wealth is to have something to return to God, to care for our families, and to have something to share richly with those in need.

If you have never studied Psalm 49, read it today. It dismantles the false narratives linked to wealth that bombard all humankind: riches can’t save us, give us security in time of trouble, or provide the satisfaction we seek. Only God can.

Father in heaven, by your Holy Spirit, help us model these truths and not succumb to false narratives, so that we show others how to handle wealth, and bless us with fruitful meetings in Cincinnati, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners. Ecclesiastes 5:13

“Get rich, if you will–you take great risks. But Christianity does not say to any man, “You must be worth only so much, extend your business only so far.” It says, “Use your riches for the glory of God.” If they once usurp His place, woe to you!”

Herrick Johnson (1832-1913) Presbyterian clergyman in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 521.

How do riches usurp the place of God? Let’s learn from Solomon (and Johnson). When we hoard them rather than putting them in play in our business or through our giving, we end up like the rich fool.

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ Luke 12:20

And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16

“I expect to pass through this life but once. If there be any kindnesses I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow beings, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

A. B. Hegeman in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 362.

Though our visit with Sophie in California was brief, we made the most of our time with her and her boyfriend, Peter. Sammy, Jenni, and I head back to Colorado today.

If you are debating whether or not to sacrifice or show kindness to someone in need, don’t flinch in response to the nudging of the Spirit. Just do it in the name of Jesus!

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

“To the extent we try to merit the favor of God we will be unable to perceive it. To the extent we attempt to become something we are not, which was the original sin (trying to be like God), we forfeit the gift of whom we most truly are. To the extent we build our lives on any other foundation than the gift of our own belovedness before God, we build on sinking sands.

This is the challenge of grace. It’s really hard, because to accept the gift that comes with baptism means we must accept that we are just like everybody else. We are no better or worse. This is the baptism Jesus entered into, becoming just like us so we could become just like him.”

J.D. Walt in “Something in the Water” Seedbed Daily Text for 10 March 2016.

So here we are, visiting our daughter in sunny San Diego, and I get this profound daily text from J.D. Walt. He’s spot on! (Subscribe to his daily text if you have not done so already). Not only do we fail miserably when we try to be like God, in the words of my brother, J.D., we miss the point altogether. “We forfeit the gift of who we most truly are.”

Accept the gift, “the gift of your own belovedness before God.” Receive the gift of grace, and everything will change, including your generosity. Henceforth it will flow not from you as the source, for there is only one Benefactor God from whom all good things flow (cf. James 1:17). Only when we learn to gratefully receive can we grasp what it means to freely give.

God loves you and me. And we love our children (though they are not kids anymore!) It’s great to hear what Sammy and Sophie are doing, to hear how they are connected to Christ and to others in community, to get reports on school and friends (including Sophie’s sweet young boyfriend, Peter, who, like her, appears to love Jesus deeply), and to know that they are having fun on sinking sand (the beach, that is). What makes us most thankful, though, is that they are building their lives on the solid foundation of the gift of grace! Are you?

How could you show others the gift of their own belovedness before God today?

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

“The Bible calls the good man’s [or woman’s] life a light; and it is the nature of light to flow out spontaneously in all directions, and fill the world unconsciously with its beams. So the Christian shines it would say, not so much because he [or she] will, as because he [or she] is a luminous object.

Not that the active influence of Christians is made of no account in the figure, but only that this symbol of light has its propriety in the fact that their unconscious influence is the chief influence, and has the precedence in its power over the world.

The outward endeavors made by good men or bad to sway others, they call their influence; whereas it is, in fact, but a fraction, and, in most cases, but a very small fraction of the good or evil that flows out of their lives.”

Horace Bushnell (1802-1876) Congregational minister in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 350.

Special thanks to Sophie and Jenni for the new Meditations header photo. They took this picture yesterday on a beautiful hike at Torrey Pines. Sammy and I arrived here late last night.

We are together as a family in Southern California and so thankful for how Sophie “shines” for Jesus out here! What about you? Does light generously flow out of your life? Are you a luminous object?

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24

“Jesus Christ and all the writers of the New Testament call us to break free of mammon lust and live in joyous trust. Their radical criticism of wealth is combined with a spirit of unconditional generosity. They point us to a way of living in which everything we have we receive as a gift, and everything we have is cared for by God, and everything we have is available to others when it is right and good. This reality frames the heart of Christian simplicity. It is the means of liberation and power to do what is right and to overcome the forces of fear and avarice.”

Richard Foster in The Freedom of Simplicity (New York: HarperCollins, 1981) 62.

Do you live in joyous trust? Elsewhere Foster says, “Stop trying to impress people with your clothes and impress them with your life.” The Christian life that is free of mammon lust is liberating and powerful. Could it be that the lack of power in the Church today betrays devotion to mammon lust rather than to God?

Today I am attending meetings in Indianapolis and will give a devotional to launch an ECFA church advisory group that will speak into the creation of a variety of Christian financial literacy materials and resources for God’s Church. Pray for me as I point the attention of the group to what the New Testament contains for followers of Christ.

When my meeting is over, I fly from Indianapolis to San Diego, while Sammy flies from Denver to San Diego. Tonight we connect with Jenni and Sophie to celebrate Sammy’s 20th birthday at In-N-Out Burger. Happy Birthday, Sammy! We thank God for the gift of three days together, and for a son who lives in joyous trust!

How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. Psalm 31:19

“All we want in Christ, we shall find in Christ. If we want little, we shall find little. If we want much, we shall find much; but if in utter helplessness we case our all on our Christ, He will be to us the whole treasury of God.”

Henry Benjamin Whipple (1822-1901) in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 95.

In fasting during Lent I am learning afresh that I can do without anything but Christ, and in Him I have far more than enough. More than I could ever imagine! In pausing repeatedly in the Psalms, I too am learning that often my prayers are too little.

The culture tells us if we do anything in “utter helplessness” that we are weak. Christ reminds us that such a posture is our strongest one. What do you want in Christ? Are you finding what you are looking for? I find He over-delivers good things!

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

“The first of all English games is making money. That is an all-absorbing game; and we knock each other down oftener in playing at that than at football, or any other rougher sport; and it is absolutely without purpose; no one who engages heartily in that game ever knows why.

Ask a great money-maker what he wants to do with his money–he never knows. He doesn’t make it to do any thing with it. He gets it only that he may get it. “What will you make of what you have got?” you ask, “Well, I’ll get more,” he says.

Just as as cricket you get more funds, there is no use in the runs but to get more of them than other people in the game. And there is no use in the money; but to have more of it than other people in the game.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon in Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, compiled by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert (New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham, 1895) 18.

Ask yourself this question as you consider your work on this Monday in Lent: Do I work to accumulate money or do I work to have something to return to God, to care for my family, and to share with those in need (cf. Ephesians 4:28)?