Archives by: Gary Hoag

We could have tongues of angels
We could move mountains with our faith
We could give everything away
but if we don’t have love
we’re left with nothing

We could see blind eyes opened
Know all the mysteries of our faith
We could sing all the highest praise
but if we don’t have love
we’re left with nothing

People of God, rise up
Rise up and shine God’s love
We are the light of the world
of the world oh
We are the light of the world
of the world oh…

Love is the what holds it all together
Love never fails, it never dies
There is no deeper truth
We know that God is love,
Our God is love

People of God, rise up
Rise up and shine God’s love
We are the light of the world
of the world oh
We are the light of the world
of the world oh…

Tear down the walls that divide us
Let love rebuild and unite us
All we need is,
All we need is love

People of God, rise up
Rise up and shine God’s love
We are the light of the world
of the world
People of God, rise up
Rise up and shine God’s love
We are the light of the world
of the world
We are the light of the world
of the world
We are the light of the world
of the world oh…

Gungor: People of God
YouTube Music Video:

Your picking up toys on the living room floor for the 15th time today
Matching up socks
Sweeping up lost cheerios that got away

You put a baby on your hip
Color on your lips and head out the door

While I may not know you,
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?

Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you,
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Maybe your that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name

You may be hooking up mergers
Cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day

Little stuff
Big stuff
In between stuff
God sees it all the same

While I may not know you
I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?
Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every thing you do

Maybe your sitting in math class
Or maybe on a mission in the Congo
Or maybe your working at the office
Singing along with the radio

Maybe your dining at a 5-star
Or feeding orphans in the Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere that you are

Whatever you do
It all matters
So do what you do
Don’t ever forget

To do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause He made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

In every little thing you do
In every little thing you do

Steven Curtis Chapman: Do Everything
YouTube Music Video:

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. 2 Corinthians 12:14a

“What Paul is saying is that he does not want the things that belong to the people in Corinth, but he wants them…I am coming to help you; I am not trying to get your money.”

Roger Omanson and John Ellington in A Translators Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (New York: UBS, 1993) 266.

This is the verse the Lord has led me to in anticipation of my third trip to South Korea. The focus of the trip from July 26-August 7 is to serve Korean churches and leaders by preaching and teaching on biblical stewardship and Christian generosity. Please pray for me and my family as they join me. Thank you.

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the Lord blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. Psalm 37:21-26

“In the above verses, we see that there is a connection between living out a life of righteousness and living out a life of generosity. Generosity is a byproduct of a righteousness life. It would be difficult for me to be living in a state of righteousness and not be generous and vice versa. They are both inter-related to one another.”

Larry Jones from “Generosity is a fruit of a Righteous Life” blogpost on Rich Christian, Poor Christian blog on 10 September 2010.

In Luke 9 and 10, the disciples were sent out with nothing so they would learn God would provide for their needs. In Luke 22 they show they miss this correlation Jesus makes: Use all God has provided, even the “shirt on your back,” for the difficult spiritual battle before you!

Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” [cf. Luke 9:1-6, 10:1-24] “Nothing,” they answered. He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That’s enough!” he replied. Luke 22:35-38

“Jesus muses over the good old days when he was able to send the disciples out and they received hospitality…When they go out on mission again, they can expect only trouble…The sword represents the opposite of peace. They will be targets, but Jesus does not authorize them to retaliate. The command to buy swords is akin to saying: “Keep your powder dry.” It is not intended to be taken literally. It means they will need every resource they have…Jesus’ command does not cause them to go buy swords. They cheerily announce that they possess two swords revealing what they have already done out of fear…”Enough” is in the singular, however, and it would not apply to the swords but must refer to something else…Jesus cuts off the conversation, as if to say, “Drop it.”

David E. Garland in Luke: Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) 870-871.

Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

“Jesus says in the fourth petition [of the Lord’s prayer which is “Give us today our daily bread”] to ask for the supplying of daily bread that we need. The gist of what the Lord commands us to ask for is His providential care…

God has made His decrees to give us His providential care, by our asking for daily bread. Therefore if we try to receive daily bread without asking for it, it is against God’s providence and we are disobedient to God’s word.

The lions may grow weak and hungry but those who see the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10

This means that whomever asks daily bread of God, He has promised to supply not only daily bread, but also everything that His children need without end. Therefore we ask for it…

We also ask to remove all things that hinder us from receiving God’s gifts. God supplies not only today’s bread but also tomorrow’s bread as an answer to prayer. He also lets use things that He gave us as answers to our prayers for His glory…

He says that it is enough for our family and us to have food for a day. How much do you and your family need for a day?

Why does God tell us to ask for “daily bread” only? Find the answer in Proverbs 30:7-9…

We have to have grace to enjoy every good blessing given to us by God. So we ask for grace to enjoy [and share] the blessing that God has given to us.”

Dong Hee Lee in Understanding and Application of Westminster Shorter Catechism (2002) 309-311.

“Since stewardship is a way of life, and not simply a program of church support, the most important ingredient in any effort to encourage giving of time, talent, and treasure is the personal witness of individuals [pastors and lay leaders] who have experienced a change of heart as a result of their commitment to stewardship.”

Sylvester D. Ryan, chairman of ad hoc committee on stewardship that produced Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response (Washington D.C.: USCCB, 2002) 59.

“The decision to live as a community that embraces stewardship as a way of life typically does not happen all at once. Often the decision follows a period of challenge for the [church]; quite often a financial challenge prompts the initial exploration of stewardship. When the pastor or pastoral leaders reach a decision to foster stewardship within the [church], they are taking a step of faith that truly has the power to change the life of the community and the lives of individuals. It is in many ways how the life of the disciple becomes “real,” as people begin to think about their priorities, about how they spend their time, give of their financial resources, and see themselves as created and gifted by God for the building of God’s reign.”

Leisa Anslinger and Victoria Shepp in Forming Generous Hearts: Stewardship Planning for Lifelong Faith Formation (New London, CT: Twenty Third Publications) 83.

“Gratitude, like a fresh, brisk wind, draws me back to the truth and sets me and my small life in the greater context of God’s person and purposes. Gratitude prepares me for soul searching under God’s guidance and direction, not my own. Each day is a gift. There is a significant “Other,” a giver and lover of my soul.

Sometimes it’s easy to look back on a given day with gratitude. Just pausing to reflect brings to mind various blessings, conversations or “coincidences” that would otherwise have been lost to history. It feels natural to remember to acknowledge, to look back and say, “This is a day the Lord made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

At other times, though, choosing gratitude is an act of faith. In particularly painful or confusing season of life, gratitude dries up. Even then God is with us. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,” claims the psalmist. Why? Because there is no real threat? No. “For you are with me” (Psalm 23:4). God’s presence really did accompany you throughout the day–as threatening or evil as the day may have been–whether you realized it or not. Perhaps just that assurance will form the foundation of your gratitude today.”

Mindy Caliguire in Soul Searching (Downers Grove: IVP) 45.
 

Is the Generosity Monk married? Yes!

I like to tell people that I am married to a modern day Teresa of Avila. Not really, though my wife is a spiritual director. She is Jenni of Littleton and today is our 20th wedding anniversary. In her honor enjoy this selection of poems, quotes, maxims of Teresa of Avila. I love them all, especially the last one which captures her response to God’s extraordinary generosity.

“Let nothing disturb thee;
let nothing dismay thee:
All thing pass; God never changes.
Patience attains all that it strives for.
He who has God finds he lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.”

“It seems as if Thou didst subject those who love Thee to a severe trial: but it is in order that they may learn, in the depths of that trial, the depths of Thy love.”

“However many years life might last, no one could ever wish for a better friend than God.”

“It is no small pity, and should cause us no little shame, that, through our own fault, we do not understand ourselves, or know who we are…We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness.”

“God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher.”

“Always think of yourself as everyone’s servant; look for Christ our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all.”

“Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

“May it please His Majesty that the extraordinary generosity He has shown this miserable sinner serve to encourage and rouse those who read this to abandon completely everything for God. If His Majesty repays so fully that even in this life the reward and gain possessed by those who serve Him is clearly seen, what will this reward be in the the next life?”

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

References: “Poem IX”, in Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila ed. E. Allison Peers, Vol. 3 (1963) 288. Ch. XXV. “Divine Locutions. Discussions on That Subject” §22 & 23. Cover material: The Interior Castle. First Mansions, Ch. 1, trans. by E. Allison Peers (1961) 18; First Mansions, Ch. 2: The Human Soul, trans. By the Benedictines of Stanbrook (1911), rev. and ed. by Fr. Benedict Zimmerman. Fourth Mansions, Ch. 3: Prayer of Quiet, as translated by the Benedictines of Stanbrook (1911), revised and edited by Fr. Benedict Zimmerman. Maxim 25 in “Maxims for Her Nuns” in Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila ed. by E. Allison Peers, Vol. 3. (1963) 257. Neuberger, Anne E. A Circle of Saints: Stories and Activities for Children Ages 4-8. (New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2009) 72. Teresa of Avila The Book of Her Life (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2008) 138.