Meditations

You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:10-11

“The reference is to the poor, afflicted, needy, weak, wretched person who is suffering from oppression and abuse—in general the lowest class in society then and now. My heart was released when I read the rest of the verse. I interpreted it as an exercise in obedience to God and charity to my brothers and sisters who are in need.

In this verses we can learn many lessons about the heart of God for the poor. First, serving the poor is not optional. The fact that there is poverty on the earth is not a judgment on humanity; it is an opportunity to serve and glorify God.

Second, the verse tells us that we should not harden our hearts. We should not keep our hand closed, holding on to our stuff. We should, instead, open that hand with a grateful heart—a heart thankful for what God has given us. And we should be generous in sharing our time, talents, and treasure with our less-fortunate brothers and sisters, helping them overcome their poverty…

Being openhanded will not encourage the poor to depend on us. It is an opportunity to help them recognize our reliance on God, who is our Provider.”

Gladys Acuña Güitz in Hidden Treasure: Finding God in Unexpected Places with Betsy Ahl (Guatemala City: Potter’s House, 2021) 33.

This is a great book, released to help Potter’s House celebrate 35 years of service to the poor in Guatemala City. I commend it to anyone who works with the poor. Find it on Amazon here. I am excited to participate in an online event celebrating the book launch this evening.

Until I visited Gladys in Guatemala, I did not learn that that serving the poor is a great opportunity both to be blessed and to bless. We get to help people who experience far more than financial poverty to rise up out of the trash heap of life and learn to trust God with us.

God’s design and desire in Deuteronomy is that our hearts become soft and compassionate rather than hard and calloused. When we serve those who may be the lowest of low on earth, we realize by experience what our Lord did for us. We minister and are transformed in the process.

When we make margin to serve the needy, God does something through us and also in us. It’s hard to describe. He changes our hearts. He teaches us that He is our Provider. And, I think the reason it is not optional is because when we don’t serve, we remain empty, but when we do, we are enriched.

Thanks for teaching me this Gladys! Learn from her, friends. Read the book! It’s a page-turner.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

“If we wish to become generous givers, then we must know this Scripture [John 3:16] intimately. It reminds us that God does not ask of us anything that he has not first done for us. God is the first generous giver. He has provided the highest model of generosity, and He calls for biblical people to follow.”

Gordon MacDonald in Generosity: Moving Toward Life That Is Truly Life (Alpharetta: National Christian Foundation, 2009) 8.

I fly to Dallas this morning to go to the Missio Nexus Mission Leaders Conference. I will speak and listen to great role models in Christian missions. It’s enriching to learn from seasoned brothers as sisters, isn’t it? But we must remind ourselves that the highest model is our Lord Jesus Christ. Why?

What we tend to do as humans is compare ourselves to others. We even pick the people we want to compare ourselves to, and in so doing, we rationalize that we are doing great in areas like generosity. But if we look at the highest model, who sacrificed everything out of love, we are inspired to grow.

To avoid the damaging effects of pride, to stay on the path of growing in the grace of giving, and to excel in generosity, let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we do this, we get the right model and then when we follow, we only figure it out as we live it out that generosity is an invitation to life.

Shout out to my brother, David, in Lake Wales, Florida. Today is his birthday. I’ve always appreciated his example to me as a big brother and role model. He’s not perfect by any means, but he is tenacious in following Jesus. Happy Birthday David! Thanks for being a role model to me.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

“The true goal of being generous is not that the church will prosper, the budget will be reached or raised, or that the building will get built. The goal of generosity is not that I will, in the end, be blessed because I have pleased God. The ultimate goal of generosity is transformation of the individual. Does that help you see the connection between giving and being like God? The deeper our transformation the closer we move to being like God in character, in thought, and in action. Transformation is never skin deep or outward; transformation is from the inside out. It begins and grows from the heart, a heart that is becoming more like our Savior.

I recall the story of a young boy from a poor family walking home with a bag of groceries, a meager supply for the large household. It was cold and getting dark as he made his way through the busy streets, and then it happened––the bag tore, the load dropped, and the groceries scattered from one side of the walk to the other. Most busy pedestrians side-stepped the mess, except for one gentleman who had mercy on the boy. He bent down and helped him gather his supplies, clean up what was broken, and restock the grocery bag. As together they finished the task the little one, with tears staining his checks, looked into the face of the older man and asked, “Mister, are you Jesus?”

Dennis Fast in “The Goal of Generosity: Living a Transformed Life” excerpt from Day Seven of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

When we love with “actions and truth” as John writes in today’s Scripture people see the love of God in our actions. We look “like God.” They experience God through our interaction with them. Few short stories illustrate this better than the poor young boy who drops his bag of groceries.

Notice the counter-cultural nature of the aid the man. When everyone else side-stepped the mess, he stopped. While the task was too big for the lad, he helped. Despite the mess, he cleaned up what was broken. This is generosity. The boy could not help but exclaim, “Mister, are you Jesus?”

God wants to transform us from the inside out as people who understand our role on earth and play it, not for blessings we get but to serve as conduits of blessing. He desires that we have mercy, extend kindness, and show love. God, make us into such people so others see You in us. Amen.

Join me and others from GTP for Monthly Global Prayer Hour tomorrow morning at 5am Denver Time. Then I fly to Dallas through Friday to speak and attend the Missio Nexus 2021 Mission Leaders Conference. Praying for a good time of service, networking, and learning.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:5-7

“If you want to have real fun, you must ride the generosity roller coaster. I live in Guatemala, a country with many challenges. But maybe the biggest challenge is to be able to see what the Lord sees and do what the Lord wants. There is so much poverty here that those who were born here have learned to accept it as part of the landscape. I am pastor of a church called Real Life, and through verses in Isaiah 58, the Lord began to awaken my heart to help the needy. In this passage, God says to His people, “I’m not impressed with your religion if you do not dedicate yourself to help the poor.”

As a result of understanding the will of God, we decided to start a movement called Iniciativa 58 and also to do a nationwide campaign called 40 Days of Generosity. We wanted to teach churches and Christians across Guatemala the blessing of giving and to show God’s love for needy people in our country. We had a vision event and challenged pastors to give out the devotional, to preach on generosity, and to invite families to read the devotional together every day. At the end of the forty days, we asked each church to raise the greatest offering that they had ever collected. But to do this with pure motives, the offerings that churches received were to go to help the needy. Over one hundred churches, denominations, ministries, businesses, and groups decided to join the 40 Days of Generosity for our country…

When the forty days were over, we didn’t receive a $20,000 offering or a $40,000 or $60,000 offering. When all the offering monies were counted at our church, we received $469,000 USD—enough to build 312 houses! This was the greatest offering our church had ever received in one event. We praise the Lord for what He did in us and through us during these forty days.

It’s fun to be generous. In this short devotional, I cannot tell about all the miracles we saw in the process. What I can do is invite you to have fun on the generosity roller coaster, in which we obey God and see Him supernaturally provide.”

Rony Madrid in “The Generosity Roller Coaster: Forty Days of Generosity” excerpt from Day Six of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

Rony Madrid is a friend. He not only leads Real Life Church, he helped activate CONFIABLE, the peer accountability group for Guatemala, like ECFA in the USA. He wants to multiply faithful stewards and have ministries follow standards to contribute to the sustainability of God’s work there.

And I love the word picture he uses of the roller coaster. Trusting God and giving generosity puts us on an adventure. On the way, we quickly realize we are not in control, that the journey is a breath-taking adventure, and afterwards we want to do it again because of the joy of the experience.

Don’t miss that Rony desired this not just for his church, but also for his country, his people. What about you? What if you not only tried to rally generosity for your home but what if you ignited a movement in your church and that impacted your community? If you do, it will be a roller coaster!

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

“A famous saying tells us, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” Giving a fish and giving a fishing lesson are both small and simple acts of generosity but with vastly different outcomes. Development organizations have long recognized the strategic relevance of this concept. A spirit of generosity is wonderful, but it can become something truly transformational when we get strategic!

In Ephesians, Paul tells us to “be very careful” how we live. The phrase implies the ideas of observation, thoughtfulness, and focus beyond the normal. “Making the most of every opportunity” extends this concept further. Not just recognizing an opportunity, not just mak- ing something of it, but squeezing the absolute maximum out of it! And not just occasionally—every opportunity!

Early in my ministry, I applied for a grant from a foundation that I knew supported the concept of what we were doing. I was hopeful of receiving $10,000 or maybe even a bit more. Their considered response: “We’ll give you $10,000 now, and if you can raise another $10,000 from other sources, we’ll match that with another $10,000.”

First, I was blessed by their generosity. We had a vision, and they were glad to respond. But I was doubly blessed (triply, in fact!) because of their strategic generosity. We were able to use their gesture to challenge other people to respond to our need, and we ended up with $30,000. But guess what? We weren’t the only ones who were blessed. The other givers were excited that their gift had been strategically doubled, and the original giver was encouraged to see additional support emerge for us. And our mission was significantly advanced.”

Gary Williams in “Strategic Generosity” excerpt from Day Five of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

Gary’s a dear Aussie mate. I must tell you “the rest of the story” to strengthen His word today about strategic generosity. He heads up CMA which builds up Christian ministry workers across Australia.

I don’t know who gave the $10,000, but I know the outcome. It helped CMA grow capacity. Today, CMA provides training in all facets of ministry administration and governance. And it formed CMASC.

CMASC is the peer accountability group for Australia (like ECFA in the USA or AfCAA for Africa). CMASC accredits ministries for following standards to honor God and position them for sustainability.

This week I get to speak at the CMA Resilient Conference on “Discerning Direction: Mapping faithful activities for teams and measuring fruitful outcomes that honor God.” Pray I serve them well.

And may I challenge you to practice strategic generosity. Yesterday I alerted you to the status of the matching gift for AfCAA. With 11 days left we are up to 22 givers and $2,359 USD toward the $5,000 goal.

Make the most of this opportunity. Gary Williams might add, a gift to AfCAA moves beyond giving a person a fish. Like CMASC, AfCAA teaches people to fish to ensure God-honoring, fruitful ministry!

One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” 2 Kings 4:8-10

“It is not unusual for a prophet of Elisha’s status to have people come to him primarily for what they can get. What he may not be familiar with are people who show acts of kindness and generosity without expecting anything in return. This is exactly what he gets and even more on a trip to Shunem. When the wealthy woman invites him in, he may think her family has a problem that money cannot solve. They must need deliverance, or healing of a disease that has defied medical care. They certainly need a spiritual intervention.

Rather than asking for support of any kind from the man of God, this family takes the initiative to make their resources available by offering him a meal after a tiring journey. This invitation of guests—or, better put, strangers—to meals appears to be a norm for this family as she persuaded Elisha to eat! Wow! She is giving away her meal, and is not ready to take no for an answer. What a generous spirit!

It appears that the meal was lavish and the atmosphere so cordial that Elisha soon becomes a regular guest at meals in this home. The woman, in consultation with her husband, then decides to take their generosity even further by building a guest chalet for Elisha. They are willing to release their resources freely to build and furnish a chalet for an itinerant minister. Notice how thorough they are in providing essential furnishings in order to guarantee a comfortable stay for their guest.

Kehinde Ojo in “Generous Living: Taking Initiative” excerpt from Day of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

What would it look like for you to take the initiative to support someone in ministry? Imagine the gift that the woman enjoyed: fellowship with Elisha. While it came at a cost, the gain outweighed the price.

Imagine if you started with extending an invitation to support someone doing God’s work? Pause and ask God what it might look like to make space for someone serving God like Elisha today.

Kehinde is a dear Nigerian brother to me. We are both passionate about the work of AfCAA for Africa. AfCAA is replacing corruption with accountability, and in so doing, turning darkness to light.

Like ECFA serves ministries across the USA, AfCAA is accrediting ministries for following standards in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and other countries are in queue. But they need our help.

Like Elisha, AfCAA needs support from people in places like Shunam. Can you be hospitable today? Please make space to share. Join me in supporting this work. Give to the AfCAA matching effort.

When we support those we do not know in the work of God we get the gift of community. The match has only 12 days left. It’s at 20 givers and $2,228 USD toward the $5,000 USD goal. Click here to give.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

“What does your “all” look like?

In these short verses, we have one of the foundational models for joyful management of our finances, and it comes from a widow. Widows (and widowers) live with loss all the time. Beyond the immediate sense of loss, pain, and heartache is the ongoing struggle to overcome the absence of their husband (or wife)—a source of physical, emotional, spiritual, and practical (including financial) support. For a widow in the first century in particular, life could be treacherous.

By Luke 20, Jesus is approaching the last days of His life and is spending His time teaching many groups of people at the temple in Jerusalem: Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the law, and His disciples. Teaching is His priority.

But as He looks up, something even more important captures his attention. He sees an unnamed widow, probably invisible to others, stepping forward and giving absolutely all she has in trust to God. She places two coins into the treasury.

Let’s pause for a minute to consider the impact of that one single act and the implication that has for how we approach our financial stewardship. The temple storehouse and treasury was designed for two groups of people: the Levite priests (who could own no property so depended on the temple for their financial needs) and the poor, the widows and orphans. It was a mechanism by which they could receive financial support, an early social welfare system. Each recipient from the temple store was dependent on the joyous generosity of God’s people. Those who had much, gave. Those who lacked, received.

And then suddenly this widow turns the system on its head. By rights, she could have taken from the treasury, according to her need. But instead she gives!

Nobody notices but Jesus. He stops in his tracks, moved by the way the poor widow gives: he tells us she gives all she has. He emphasizes this word “all” by repeating it three times in his two-sentence directive to the disciples. She gives everything. Nothing is held back.

Remember, the widow in the temple is not a parable or a nice story about how even the poor can give. This is a real event.”

Mike O’Neill in “Financial Stewardship: Giving Our All” excerpt from Day of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

What I appreciated about O’Neill’s comments on this text is that he reminds us how subversive and sacrifical the widow’s gift of “all” she had was. In giving “all” she had rather than taking, she turned the system on its head and caught the attention of Jesus.

To turn the system on it’s head is to give differently than those around us. Most people give their extra. Jesus celebrates when we give our all. As, Jesus sees your giving and mine, does He stop in His tracks or perhaps shrug His shoulders when looking at you and me?

While walking in the ancient St. Sophia Cathedral (pictured above), I feel like I could picture the woman coming and making her offering. How might you give your “all” in such a way that no one notices but it catches God’s attention?

Ponder that and consider O’Neill’s opening question: “What does your “all” look like?” As God leads you, act on what He has put on your heart just now. Give subversively and sacrificially. In so doing, you just might spark a celebration in heaven as Jesus is watching.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12:1-4

“Name one place where you need to give up control and trust God to provide, even when others take advantage of your generosity. Now turn it over to God and be at peace in Him. Name one person you are relying on to be your provider instead of God. Repent today of that misplaced trust and, like Abraham, ask God to give you the strength and courage to trust in Him alone. Name one thing that God may be asking you to give away today in order to be obedient to His call to generosity. Make a decision today to be obedient, to give that thing away, and to watch God meet all of your needs.”

Richard Samuel in “Abraham: An Example of the Generous Life” excerpt from Day 2 of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

Samuel makes important connections related to generosity. We can only be a blessing to others if we steward what God supplies with obedience. This requires trust in Him, rather than ourselves to supply, and it marks the pathway for blessing others.

Please read today’s post again. But this time, ask the Spirit to guide you as to which imperative may relate to you. Is it time to name one place, person, or thing? Will you repent and make a decision? Generosity for Abraham started with obedience, was tested with trust, and resulted in blessing.

God said, “Go” and he went. What is God telling you to do? Will you trust and extend blessing?

I have connected in Frankfurt en route home from Kyiv, Ukraine to Denver, Colorado. It was an amazing trip. Almost unthinkable to serve a total of 560 receptive people in multiple groups in 2 countries during Covid. The Lord opened a door and said, “Go” so I went. All glory to God.

Reply if you want a copy of the Ukraine and Moldova GTP and Mission Eurasia trip report. And I hope you like the header photo of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine. I got to walk through it and was gripped with awe at the rich history of our faith etched on the walls.

And, of course, I thought of my beloved daughter, Sophie. I hope she can visit someday.

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. Titus 3:14

“Our response to God’s generosity is to begin to surrender today our love for our earthly goods and to put our trust in God, who gives generously all that we ask and need. God as owner is also provider. Our responsibilities are faithful obedience to His will and to carry out God’s wishes. That includes pursuing His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the other things will be added unto us. It takes a journey of faith to fully rely on God to carry out His promises, and the time to begin is now. As we daily experience His grace and provision, our faith grows.”

Zenet Maramara in “Biblical Stewardship: The Foundation of All Generosity” excerpt from Day 1 of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.

It’s been an unforgettable first trip to Ukraine and Moldova. The receptivity of 560 people in 12 groups has moved me deeply. They have been eager to learn to do good as a response to God’s generosity and to grasp and fulfill their responsibilities and live productive lives.

Reply to this email if you want a copy of the trip report. I have appreciated your prayers over this rigorous 10 day journey. Thanks to those who have made gifts to GTP to help. There are still needs if you are able to give. I have meetings and cultural activities today and return to Denver via Frankfurt tomorrow.

God bless you on your own journey. Reflect today for five minutes on all God has done for you and all He has supplied. What would it look like to put it to work to carry out God’s wishes or meet urgent needs where you live? Ask the Spirit to guide your response and empower you to fulfill your responsibilities.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

“An unexpected development happened when MB Foundation partnered with Mission Eurasia, which trains and equips Christian leaders throughout Eurasia. Sergey Rakhuba, Mission Eurasia’s president, agreed to help translate the devotional into Russian and recognized the value of its teachings in their ministry. Mission Eurasia soon began using it in 65 training locations throughout the 14 countries they serve.”

This comment from Mission Eurasia relates to the distribution of  the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

Just like the response of the Christians in Macedonia was unexpected, the response to the challenge to grow in the grace of giving was unexpected from God’s people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

I too have experienced this on this trip. You would never know a pandemic is raging. God fills the room each time with enthusiastic peopleand we’ve had not issues with Covid. See pictures on Facebook. If you want a copy of the trip report when I finish it in the next day or so before returning home, reply and I will send it to you.

Also unexpected was the beauty of the country. The header photo was taken from the Old Orhei Cave Monastery of the fruit trees, corn fields, and vineyards below. Stunning peaceful setting. I love Moldova and Ukraine. Beautiful scenery and even more beautiful people.

Today I deliver my last talk on “Nurturing Generosity and Sustainability: Four New Testament Insights for Global Application” at Odessa Theological Seminary. Pray with me for the unexpected. Receptive hearts to grow as stewards and to help ministries follow standards to flourish with sustainability. Thank you.