Archives by: Gary Hoag

“Only he who gives thanks for little things receives the big things. We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts he has in store for us, because we do not give thanks for daily gifts.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) in Life Together (New York: Harper & Row, 1954) 29.

“There is nothing riches are so likely to breed as pride. Every fruit, every grain, every kind of corn, every tree, has its own proper worm. There’s one worm for apples, another for pears, another for beans, another for wheat. The worm in riches is pride.”

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430) in Sermon 61.10 (cf. 1 Timothy 6:17, Luke 12:13-21, trans. Daniel Doyle and Edmund Hill (New York: New City Press).

“Communion with God in prayer is the primary way for us to receive His generous love and mercy, and to learn to love ourselves in ordered ways so that we can give of ourselves in truly generous ways…It can be helpful to ask the Lord who He wants us to love more generously and how. It is important to spend daily time with the Lord in silence, so that we can receive all that He has for us, and so that we will know how He wants us to pray for and to serve others.”

Catherine Lynn Forsythe in “Receiving and Giving God’s Generous Love” in Under His Mercy: Newsletter of the Franciscan Sisters (Spring 2008).

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. 
In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:10-14

“For it was thou [O Lord, my God] who didst cause me not to want more than thou gavest and it was thou who gavest to those who nourished me the will to give me what thou didst give them. And they…were willing to give me what thou hadst supplied abundantly. It was, indeed, good for them that my good should come through them, though, in truth, it was not from them but by them. For it is from thee, O God, that all good things come.”

Augustine, Confessions VI.7. English trans. Albert Outler.

For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me—the breath of man that I have created. I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him. Isaiah 57:15-18

“We have been blessed with abundance. But instead of living in grateful generosity, our hearts have been seduced by the mirage of material things. We have consumed more and more, fattening our souls so that our appetite for material things is distorted and warped. Look on us. Expose our unjust ways. Please heal our wounded, wandering hearts. Re-calibrate our desires so that we rejoice in what You have given. Lead us in your ways of blessing and restore us to the joy of simplicity.”

Stephen Hawthorne, Prayer for the City: A 40 Day Prayer Adventure, Day 20.

If we have food and clothing, let us be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:8

“The rich man gets nothing more with his riches than the poor man is pleading for from him, food and clothing. What more do you get from all the things you have? You’ve got your food, you’ve got your necessary clothing; necessary, I say, not vain, not superfluous. What else can you get from your riches? Tell me. For sure it will be all your superfluities. Well, let your superfluities provide the poor with their necessities.”

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, (354-430) Sermon 61.12 trans. Daniel Doyle and Edmund Hill (New York: New City Press).

“Amos was a shepherd living in the rugged terrain south of Jerusalem. One day while about the regular duties of sheep-tending, he was dramatically confronted by a vision of God’s fearsome judgment. Knowing this vision was from God, Amos left his flock to deliver the stinging rebuke to Israel…

Amos also exposed the practice of selling wheat on the Sabbath, cheating with dishonest scales, and selling the refuse of wheat remaining after the harvest which under Jewish law was to be left to the edges of the field of the poor. This was God’s welfare plan but the Jews had become so greedy profiting at the expense of the poor and powerless that they were depriving them of the crumbs needed to stay alive.

Amos pronounced God’s judgment upon Israel because “they sell the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals,” a reference to the common practice of the wealth who could bribe judges with as little as the price of a poor man’s sandals.

Greed had replaced justice, money had triumphed over mercy, and the judicial system was merely a pawn of power and privilege used to oppress the very people it was intended to protect. The righteousness of God was no longer the standard in the land.

And so, speaking through Amos, God demanded that the nation repent, “Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts” [Amos 5:15a] And then in one of the grandest declarations of Scripture, he thundered, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” [Amos 5:24].

Let those who believe that “God helps those who help themselves” read Amos. The Bible teaches exactly the opposite of that hallowed American maxim: God cares especially for those who can’t help themselves—the poor and needy, the forgotten and helpless. Amos warned that the nation whose vested interests manipulated power structures for their own gain, at the expense of the poor, must face the judgment of an angry God.”

Charles W. Colson (1931-2012) Loving God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983) 143-144.

As you may know, Colson went home to be with the Lord yesterday. I believe his instructions to those of use reading this post would be something like this: “Man your posts and do our duty to proclaim repentance, stand for justice and care for the helpless.”

For more info that celebrates his life and legacy, visit: www.chuckcolson.org

Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. He does not…oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. Ezekiel 18:5, 7-8a

“This just man does not use his economic position to exploit people who are in a weaker financial position. Most interesting is how the text pairs “he does not commit robbery” with the explanatory clause that he actively gives food and clothing to the poor. The implication is that if you do not actively and generously share your resources with the poor, you are a robber. You are not living justly.”

Tim Keller in Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just (New York: Dutton, 2010) 15-17. Cf. Deut 10:18-19, Is 58:6-7, and Matt 6:1-2 where “not giving generously, then, is not stinginess, but unrighteousness.”

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. John 6:9-11

“When we offer to others what little we have to give, Jesus will use it to feed them with abundant life. God is unlimited in his generosity and in his desire to feed his people. But he does need us to offer what little we have. Am I sharing with others the little time or talent or energy or treasure that I have so others might experience the abundant blessing of God?”

Bill Adams in The Redemptorists of the Denver Province blogpost for 20 April 2012.

Whoever has ears, let them hear. Matthew 13:9

“Everyone has a story to tell. Generous listening is about sitting still and hearing the story… giving them the floor…the talking stick. When we listen generously we may ask for clarification, but must always encourage the speaker forward with their story…

A generous listener listens patiently and carefully. A generous listener doesn’t jump to conclusions. A generous listener doesn’t judge. A generous listener doesn’t focus on the personal cost of the speech. A generous listener encourages the speaker to speak. A generous listener asks for and encourages clarity on the part of the speaker in a spirit of kindness and love. A generous listener is ultimately seeking wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, Gods miracles, discernment, and understanding…

Generous listening not only helps us to be a blessing to others who need to sort out life but it refreshes life for us as well.

Generous listening holds the promise of another blessing for the listener: If you listen long enough, you just might learn something new…

Our service to our Lord, born out of gratitude to Him and love for Him, can only proceed through His power when we are in meaningful relationship with Him.

So how do we create and maintain a meaningful relationship with our Lord. Generous listening.”

Milton Sanders, excerpts from a sermon entitled Generous Listening delivered at Crossroads Church, La Paz, Mexico, on 1 January 2012.

For the manuscript, visit: www.crossroadslapaz.org/doc/20120101.pdf