Meditations

Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40

“The overseer should give opportune orders for keeping the churches in repair, either in reference to the building, or the altars and sacred vessels, and recommend cleanliness and silence in the holy place. Before his departure he should leave in writing the given orders, and rigorously exact their execution, so that everything may be done promptly.”

Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) in The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, translated from the Italian, edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm (New York: Benzinger, 1890) 461.

As I continue to read a document that is about 400 years old which recounts on the role of the overseer in ensuring order in the local church, I found this section as perfect for today.

Why? GTP turns 6 today. Time flies! Click here to see the GTP at 6 infographic. It celebrates God’s faithfulness to GTP in 6 years.

Similarly, our 2024 Annual Report (click for English or Spanish editions) talked about the importance and impact of putting order and oversight going back to Paul’s words to Titus. The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. Titus 1:5

One of the most generous things we can do is help every church and ministry in the world administrate with order and standards and have oversight with peer accountability. When we do that, we make sure churches don’t fall into disrepair, and more importantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ spreads exponentially.

I have arrived safely in Islamabad, Pakistan. And while I am celebrating, I am waiting on the LORD for a miracle.

The opposition to this global work is real. The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms do not want this work to happen. My co-worker, Prakash Chandra Giri, GTP Curriculum Developer, who was coming to help me activate the two new staff, has been detained at the border.

He lives in Nepal and has done ministry work with me in Bangladesh and India, and so they do not want to allow him to enter Pakistan. Pray for his entry into the country in Jesus name. We have work to do here for God to equip workers to repair His Church.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Matthew 25:35-36

“The bishop should not fail to personally examine all the priests and all the clerics of the place which he visits by interrogating each one of them in private, first on their employments and their mode of life so as to recommend to them, if necessary, assiduity in hearing confessions, in attending the dying, application to study, or prayer and detachment from dangerous societies, etc.

Finally, he should make inquiries in regard to the defects of others, and especially of the parish priest (since the visitations aim particularly at reforming parish priests), to find out whether he attends to the duty of preaching, of hearing confessions, of assisting the dying, whether he visits dangerous places, takes care to remove scandals, sees that the church is always kept clean, etc.; he should put similar questions in regard to the other ecclesiastics.

For this purpose it will be very useful, as is done by vigilant bishops, to keep a register in which, with the names of all the priests and all the clerics inscribed in alphabetical order, are noted their good or bad qualities according to the secret information that has been obtained. This register may prove very useful, particularly in order to select parish priests, rural deans, and other ministers, to give to every one the advice that he needs, and to watch more carefully over his conduct, etc.

The bishop should also make general inquiries about the abuses, the scandals, and the dissensions which exist in the place. Let him rest assured that in these private and secret examinations he will succeed in learning many important things of which he would have been ignorant; he will thus be able to remedy many abuses which otherwise would not be remedied.”

Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) in The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, translated from the Italian, edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm (New York: Benzinger, 1890) 461.

When you read this I will be somewhere between Denver and Istanbul en route to Islamabad. And while the details of today’s post may sound antiquated, they demonstrate the value of order and oversight.

Generous service includes visits and vigilance. That’s why I am headed to Pakistan. GTP welcomes two new staff members, Emmna Pervaiz and Sharoz Sajjad. They may feel like strangers to GTP, but shortly they will be oriented and activated.

How might you set aside the irrelevant details of this post (since you are likely not a priest) and model the generous service it contains? What might visits and vigilance look like in your life?

Notice that the overseer uses questions to make sure proper order exists. To ask questions requires thought, preparation, empathy, and more. That’s part of diligent oversight.

Imagine if every church and ministry had such order and oversight! Part of my reason for heading Pakistan relates to helping Khurram Younis, GTP Country Coordinator for Pakistan, activate it at his ministry.

What questions do we ask at GTP? Our GTP Diagnostic Tool asks 36 questions and points to Templates. Find it here. It’s free and available in Arabic, Czech, English, French, Russian, Slovak, and Spanish.

Khurram did the Diagnostic Tool and I will coach him on using templates. In this way he will implement order and oversight for having a flourishing and sustainable ministry.

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants. Proverbs 27:23-27

“According to the Council of Trent, the bishop should personally visit all the places in his diocese at least every two years. The inconvenience in traveling certainly does not dispense one from this obligation; for it is the indispensable duty of the pastor, in spite of in conveniences and fatigue, to examine into the condition of his flock so as to provide for their wants. How many times did not St. Charles continue his visits notwithstanding the fever from which he suffered! It was a maxim of his that a bishop should go to bed only after the third attack of fever. On one occasion, in order to make a visitation in a certain place, he crept on his hands and feet through the mud and snow. And St. Francis de Sales, as we also read in his Life, in order to visit certain places was also obliged to drag himself along roads that were so bad that his feet were badly bruised, and he could not stand erect for several days. At other times he had to pass the night sleeping on leaves of trees, and when his friends begged him not to expose his life in this manner, he said “It is not necessary that I should live, but it is necessary that I should perform my duty.”

Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (1696-1787) in The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, translated from the Italian, edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm (New York: Benzinger, 1890) 459.

I am traveling again this week. Headed back to Pakistan tomorrow to activate two new staff members. Praise God. Yet, I had some back spasms this weekend which might make this trip challenging. I will do my duty by the grace of God.

On the way I will write a scholarly paper for an International Consultation on Enterprise Risk Management for Churches and Nonprofits. I scanned chapters from five books and will carry another three on the plane. Peaceful place to write!

My topic is entitled “Stewardship of the Mission and Risk: Policy development and protocol establishment with
standards to foster a culture of integrity before God and man.” So today’s post on duty gives me inspiration.

Notice that the Council of Trent urged overseers to make personal visits to “examine the condition of the flock and provide for their wants.” This echoes the wisdom of today’s Scripture passage.

Knowing and examining the condition of whatever God has called each of us to steward and providing necessary care are vital actions to ensure the ongoing sustainability of life, of ministry, and flourishing for all.

The consultation takes place online from 7:30-9:00am Denver Time on 6-9 May 2025. Download the concept note here. Click here to register. If you register that should get you free access to all the papers. They aim to help you do your duty.

And what does this have to do with generosity. I think the missing piece in ministry worldwide is good governance. That’s the oversight the Council of Trent called for, which echoes Paul in texts like Titus 1:5.

Doing our duty and ensuring good governance coupled with diligent risk management despite mud and snow, sometimes sleeping on leaves, or battling back spasms, comes into view as priceless generosity.

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11

“And if it appear hard to give up all, and then as our reward only have a whole lifetime on the cross, oh let us listen again to Paul as he tells us what made him so willingly give up all, and so intently choose the cross. It was Jesus – Christ Jesus, my Lord. The cross was the place where he could get into fullest union with his Lord. To know Him, to win Him, to be found in Him, to be made like to Him — this was the burning passion that made it easy to cast away all, that gave the cross such mighty attractive power. Anything to come nearer to Jesus. All for Jesus, was his motto. It contains the twofold answer to the question, How to attain this conformity to Christ’s death? The one is, Cast out all. The other, And let Jesus come in.”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Like Christ, excerpt from chapter 24 “Like Christ: Being Made Conformable To His Death.” 90-91. Click here to download a copy.

Imagine your heart as a physical room that housed that which you love, desire, and cherish. What does God see when He looks in that room? Does He see a crowded space? An empty space? Or somewhere in between.

Today’s Scripture uses strong language. Paul consider everything else that could have been in his heart as garbage next to gaining Christ, being found in Him and knowing Him.

Murray echoes this thinking in today’s reading. He does not use the word garbage, per se, but what do we do with garbage. A few minutes ago I took out the trash. I emptied the rubbish bin in our kitchen. Gone.

And I put a new bag in the bin or container. It’s empty now. The word picture comes into view for me thanks to Murray. The reason we cast out other loves, desires, and stuff from our hearts is so Christ can come in.

When we experience union with the one who is love, we can then love those close to us, including our family members, neighbors, and brothers and sisters in Christ, with the love we have receive from God.

But imagine if our heart hold onto other things. Whatever we place their, controls us. If it is money or relationships, they dictate our lives. They hinder our generous living, giving, serving, and loving.

These other devoted things chart our demise. Is it time for some Spring cleaning on this Lenten feast day. Only after we fast from everything else and cast out all can we feast on Jesus.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:7-8

“And so far is it from being, as might appear, a matter of painful strain and weary effort thus to maintain the crucifixion position, to one who knows Christ in the power of His resurrection — for Paul puts this first — and so is made conformed to His death, it is rest and strength and victory. Because it is not the dead cross, not self’s self-denial, not a work in his own strength, that he has to do with, but the living Jesus, in whom the crucifixion is an accomplished thing, already passed into the life of resurrection. “I have been crucified with Christ: Christ liveth in me;” this it is that gives the courage and the desire for an ever growing, ever deeper entrance into most perfect conformity with His death. And how is this blessed conformity to be attained? Paul will give us the answer. “What things were gain to me, these I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, that I may know Him, being made conformed to His death.” The pearl is of great price; but oh I it is worth the purchase. Let us give up all, yes, all, to be admitted by Jesus to a place with Him on the cross.”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Like Christ, excerpt from chapter 24 “Like Christ: Being Made Conformable To His Death.” 90-91. Click here to download a copy.

I know someone grasps generosity when they realize that everything they have belongs to God and surrendering it, considering it all loss next to knowing Christ is worth the purchase.

Someone might say to me, but what about feeding my family, caring for my neighbor, or other ordinary questions. Let’s lean into those. Notice that it’s our flesh and desires that we must crucify.

We don’t live for ourselves anymore. We don’t appear greedy for gain anymore. We consider everything we have and all the desires we used to pursue as worthless next to the worth of the purchase.

I want you to be admitted to a place with Him on the cross. How you get there is up to you? Choose the counterintuitive path to rest, strength, and victory.

Stop straining at the oars of life and thinking generosity flows from your capacity. Surrender yourself and all you have and serve as a conduit of material and spiritual blessings.

God will make sure your family, your neighbor, and everyone else around you gets care. The question is whether or not you make this choice. It will cost you everything, but worth the purchase.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

“And this is being made conformable to Christ’s death, that we so give away ourselves and our whole life, with its power of willing and acting, to God, that we learn to be and work, and do nothing but what God reveals to us as His will. And such a life is called conformity to the death of Christ, not only because it is somewhat similar to His, but because it is Himself by His Holy Spirit just repeating and acting over again in us the life that animated Him in His crucifixion. Were it not for this, the very thought of such conformity would be akin to blasphemy. But now it is not so. In the power of the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of the crucified Jesus, the believer knows that the blessed resurrection life has its power and its glory from its being a crucifixion life, begotten from the cross. He yields himself to it, he believes that it has possession of him. Realizing that he himself has not the power to think or do anything that is good or holy: nay, that the power of the flesh asserts itself and defiles everything that is in him, he yields and holds every power of his being as far as his disposal of them goes in the place of crucifixion and condemnation. And so he yields and holds every power of his being, every faculty of body, soul, and spirit, at the disposal of Jesus. The distrust and denial of self in everything, the trust of Jesus in everything, mark his life. The very spirit of the cross breathes through his whole being.”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Like Christ, excerpt from chapter 24 “Like Christ: Being Made Conformable To His Death.” 90-91. Click here to download a copy.

Today I want to echo something I typed yesterday because I got a flood of emails, about this statement

“Giving up everything is not easy. Grasping life only happens when we let go. Generosity flows from our sacrifice, not our surplus. We gain nothing unless we let go of everything.”

Soak in that truth. Now continuing this thought, it requires a distrust and denial of self in everything.

Think about that in light of today’s Scripture. We are crucified with Christ and we no longer live. We stop trusting ourselves. We deny ourselves. By this way, Christ’s life is lived through us.

“The very spirit of the cross breathes through his whole being.” What a lesson for Lent!

So what we give up is trusting ourselves and listening to ourselves. Like Jesus, we listen to God and become conduits of the divine life, and many spiritual and material blessings.

That’s generosity at its best, comfortable in conformity with the crucified Christ.

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. John 12:24-26

“Above all, it was Christ’s death on the cross that made Him the life of the world, gave Him the power to bless and to save. In the conformity to Christ’s death there is an end of self: we give up ourselves to live and die for others: we are full of the faith that our surrender of ourselves to bear the sin of others is accepted of the Father. Out of this death we rise, with the power to love and to bless.

And now, what is this conformity to the death of the cross that brings such blessings, and wherein does it consist? We see it in Jesus. The cross means entire self-abnegation. The cross means the death of self—the utter surrender of our own will and our life to be lost in the will of God, to let God’s will do with us what it pleases. This was what the cross meant to Jesus. It cost Him a terrible struggle before He could give Himself up to it.

When He was sore amazed and very heavy, and His soul exceeding sorrowful unto death, it was because His whole being shrank back from that cross and its curse. Three times he had to pray before He could fully say, “yet not my will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:36-56). But He did say it. And His giving Himself up to the cross is to say: Let me do anything, rather than that God’s will should not be done. I give up everything, only God’s will must be done.”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Like Christ, excerpt from chapter 24 “Like Christ: Being Made Conformable To His Death.” 90-91. Click here to download a copy.

I am safely home from Central Asia. It was humbling to spend time with people who minister in “Voice of the Martyrs” type situations. GTP will plan program work in the days to come to help their churches and ministries flourish in hard places.

I love it when I read a familiar text and discover something new. I do not recall ever noticing that Jesus prayed three times. That’s there for us. Three is a number in Scripture linked to dying to self and surrendering to God.

Esther fasted for three days. Jonah was in the whale for three days. Of course, the death and resurrection of Jesus happened in three days. These are but a few examples. Consider the implications for us and for our generous living today.

Giving up everything is not easy. Grasping life only happens when we let go. Generosity flows from our sacrifice, not our surplus. We gain nothing unless we let go of everything.

That’s what it means to follow Jesus. God does not need our money. He wants our hearts – complete surrender. Does He have yours? If you are not sure, maybe go pray three times.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

“But the greatest triumph of all is to elevate this horror of the Same Old Thing into a philosophy so that nonsense in the intellect may reinforce corruption in the will. It is here that the general Evolutionary or Historical character of modern European thought (partly our work) comes in so useful. The Enemy loves platitudes. Of a proposed course of action He wants men, so far as I can see, to ask very simple questions; is it righteous? is it prudent? is it possible? Now if we can keep men asking “Is it in accordance with the general movement of our time? Is it progressive or reactionary? Is this the way that History is going?” they will neglect the relevant questions.

And the questions they do ask are, of course, unanswerable; for they do not know the future, and what the future will be depends very largely on just those choices which they now invoke the future to help them to make. As a result, while their minds are buzzing in this vacuum, we have the better chance to slip in and bend them to the action we have decided on. And great work has already been done. Once they knew that some changes were for the better, and others for the worse, and others again indifferent. We have largely removed this knowledge. For the descriptive adjective “unchanged” we have substituted the emotional adjective “stagnant”. We have trained them to think of the Future as a promised land which favored heroes attain — not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.”

C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters: Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil (Samizdat University Press) 51.

Are you (and the people you spend time with) asking the right questions? I continue to enjoy my fresh exploration of this classic work, in which Screwtape explains how to perform devious tactics in order to mentor the little devil, Wormwood.

In the words of Paul to the Colossians, such tactics are hollow and deceptive. Paul even pins the blame on the spiritual forces of this world – like Screwtape and Wormwood – lest you think such writings can be understood as just imaginary.

Money and generosity also come into view as people think about the future. The comment by Lewis that the devil’s tactics leave people stagnant and thinking of the future a promised land only favored heroes attain struck me. Let me explain.

I see honest, God-fearing people stagnate because as they think about the future, rather than putting to work what they have obediently through giving and sharing, they stockpile wealth. And they hold on to much fear along with it.

So like stagnant stewards they don’t do the things God desires for them to do. As a result, nonsense in the intellect reinforces corruption in the will. They embrace nonsense and do exactly the opposite of obedience. Let me give an example.

Jesus says explicitly not to store up treasures on earth but to store them in heaven. But most American Christians ignore Jesus. I know. I did it for years. I bought the devil’s schemes. He uses these questions to stagnate us.

“Is it righteous? is it prudent?” So we rationalize that they only right and prudent way is to ignore Jesus and store up money. If this stings, don’t take it personally. You will thank me in 20 million years if you change directions now.

Don’t be a stagnant steward. Remember, God cares about and sees your obedience (or disobedience) and can be trusted to care for you better than you could ever care for yourself. Keep trusting the Same Old God who never changes!

Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

“The use of Fashions in thought is to distract the attention of men from their real dangers. We direct the fashionable outcry of each generation against those vices of which it is least in danger and fix its approval on the virtue nearest to that vice which we are trying to make endemic. The game is to have them all running about with fire extinguishers whenever there is a flood, and all crowding to that side of the boat which is already nearly gunwale under. Thus we make it fashionable to expose the dangers of enthusiasm at the very moment when they are all really becoming worldly and lukewarm; a century later, when we are really making them all Byronic and drunk with emotion, the fashionable outcry is directed against the dangers of the mere “understanding”. Cruel ages are put on their guard against Sentimentality, feckless and idle ones against Respectability, lecherous ones against Puritanism; and whenever all men are really hastening to be slaves or tyrants we make Liberalism the prime bogey.”

C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters: Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil (Samizdat University Press) 51.

Fashions are distractions. Social media is a great place to find them.

The evil one will do anything he can to lead us to the unwise use of our time, energy, and resources. When writing to the church in Ephesus, the financial capital of the ancient world, the Apostle Paul urged people to be very careful.

If you did not track with Lewis, read this post again.

And over the next week, I want you to do something for me. Every time you see what seems as craziness to you, pause and think of how the evil one might be trying to fool you into following the fashionable.

More than sentimentality, respectability, and Puritanism are at stake.

Those who get sucked into the fashionable become worldly and lukewarm. And our Lord Jesus Christ has already told us what He does with those who are worldly and lukewarm. He will spit you out.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16

I have spent four amazing days with people from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Karakalpakstan, Tatarstan, North Caucasus, Bashkortostan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Abkhazia. Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Russia, and Azerbaijan.

Thanks for your prayers for safe travel home and for God’s help with the many opportunities in follow up.

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

“This demand is valuable in various ways. In the first place it diminishes pleasure while increasing desire. The pleasure of novelty is by its very nature more subject than any other to the law of diminishing returns. And continued novelty costs money, so that the desire for it spells avarice or unhappiness or both. And again, the more rapacious this desire, the sooner it must eat up all the innocent sources of pleasure and pass on to those the Enemy forbids. Thus by inflaming the horror of the Same Old Thing we have recently made the Arts, for example, less dangerous to us than perhaps, they have ever been, “low-brow” and “high-brow” artists alike being now daily drawn into fresh, and still fresh, excesses of lasciviousness, unreason, cruelty, and pride. Finally, the desire for novelty is indispensable if we are to produce Fashions or Vogues.”

C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters: Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil (Samizdat University Press) 51.

Don’t misread this. The evil forces, as demonstrated by the words of Screwtape to Wormwood, aim to stir the demand for pleasure and novelty in us so that we don’t enjoy anything.

When we succomb to their ways, in the words of the famous song, we get “no satisfaction” and the evil forces celebrate because it leads to avarice, unhappiness, and sometimes even lasciviousness.

What about you? Don’t let your story include avarice, unhappiness, or lasciviousness. Continued novelty will not only cost you money. It will stifle your joy and your generosity.