Meditations

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Mark 10:46-49

“For a poor person, everything is terrible–illness, humiliation, shame. We are cripples; we are afraid of everything; we depend on everyone. No one needs us. We are like garbage that everyone wants to get rid of.”

Blind Woman from Tiraspol, Moldova, in 1997, in Voices of the Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us? by Deepa Narayan (Oxford: OUP, 2000) 65.

Special thanks to my Filipino friend and brother, Anjji Gabriel, who reminded me about this quote. It resonates powerfully with me in real-time after preaching the message God put on my heart (listen to it here with Russian translation), and as today is the last day of my first visit to Moldova.

For the poor of the world who feel like garbage, each of us who is not poor gets to remind them, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Jesus sees their plight and His people care about them. We must, through our loving actions, show that God’s grace and kindness are for everyone. This is generosity.

Today I speak at Divitia Gratiae Christian University and Moldova Bible Seminary in Chișinău. Pray for me to uplift and inspire them to nurture Christian generosity to change their situation. Please also pray for negative Covid tests to enable us to cross the border back into Ukraine later today. Thank you.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

“Michael Cherenkov, Mission Eurasia’ executive field director, noted that when MB Foundation released The Seven-Day Generosity Challenge as a resource for friends and partners, their president and CEO Jon Wiebe didn’t realize how popular the resource would become in Eurasia. And now people read it in Russian, Ukrainian, and even Georgian.

“This book has already been reprinted three times in Eurasia with a total of 10,000 copies,” Cherenkov said. ‘Simple, clear and inspiring’. Mission Eurasia eventually became a partner in distributing this resource.

“We had been thinking about the importance of this topic in the churches of Eurasia for a long time,” Cherenkov said. “When I read this book in 2018, I knew right then that we had to translate it and publish for our partner churches in Ukraine. The book was a simple, clear, and inspiring invitation to be generous and I wanted to pass on that message as far as possible.”

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Roman went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

Got to teach yesterday on “the Way of Christian Giving” with about 50 youths, ages 18-25, at the School Without Walls in Chișinău, Moldova. The discussion and interaction gives me great hope for the future of this country.

I am so thankful for my friend and brother, Michael Cherenkov, who cares deeply about getting, simple, clear, and inspiring teaching on generosity to people all across Eurasia.

Since I agreed to travel to Ukraine and Moldova, he filled the schedule with multiple activities each day to maximize the reach and impact of the trip.

Preaching today at the Church Without Walls in the same room pictured above. Appreciate your prayers. God help me speak on generosity in a manner that is simple, clear, and inspiring!

When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Acts 17:1-4https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017%3A1-4&version=NIV

“Roman Rakhuba, leader of MB churches in Ukraine, teaches at Mission Eurasia’s School Without Walls (SWW) program, which is specifically designed to train and equip young leaders for ministry. He began sharing this resource with others and the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge became part of SWW curriculum throughout Eurasia.

Thousands of young leaders can read the book, download electronic versions, and even see these lessons in video format. As Mission Eurasia built on the idea of the “generosity challenge,” they started an online video program called, “Time to Be Generous.”

Seventy years of the Soviet regime taught many people to hold tightly to food, money, and other possessions. This mentality also affected the church. Today, the topic of generosity – and the legacy and experience of MB churches – helps unlock the potential of other sister churches for a more active and effective ministry in Eurasia.”

Roman Rakhuba serves the Mennonite Brethren churches of Ukraine and teaches at Mission Eurasia’s School without Walls (SWW).

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Roman went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

After ministering with Lydia in Philippi, Paul, Silas, and Timothy moved on to Thessalonica, where many men and women were persuaded and joined them. In similar fashion, with negative PCR tests, we hope to have an uneventful border crossing to Moldova today, and are praying for receptive hearts.

Before embarking on this journey, we overnighted at Odessa Theological Seminary, thanks to their gracious hospitality. Pictured above is the collonade near the Black Sea. This takes me back to the ancient world and makes me think how they would have responded to a visitor challenging them to think differently.

I can only imagine the shift in mentality for a person to come to faith in Jesus in the ancient world. Think about it. It might be similar to the new way of thinking the “School Without Walls” offers people who formerly lived under the Soviet regime.

Actually, it may be worse in my home country, USA. The pull of the culture is so strong. Is it “time to be generous?” I am praying daily for more people to become monthly supporters of GTP to unlock potential globally. Consider this prayerfully and set up your monthly giving here.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

“The Seven-Day Generosity Challenge is an unusual book. It’s not the type of book that you read and quickly forget. This book inspires, challenges and changes you. God’s Word accompanied by the writers’ life stories is not dry theory. Because of the challenges at the end of each chapter, the biblical principles of generosity get implemented in our everyday lives. I am grateful to God and everyone who participated in making this valuable book possible. I am planning to use it in our ladies’ groups.”

Mariana Vakula serves in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Mariana went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

I’ve been moved by the impact of this short devotional translated for Russian readers. It is inspiring, challenging, and bringing about change. Translation is what brought me together with Dr. Mykhailo (Michael) Cherenkov less than one year ago.

At that time, at GTP Yuri Boldirev, GTP Regional Facilitator for Eurasia, and I were praying for God to open doors in Eurasia. Then Mission Eurasia requested the rights translate The Sower, The Choice, and The Council in Russian. GTP freely provided these rights for publication in both Ukraine and Russia.

The translation should be completed by the end of 2021. Please pray for health and strength for the translators as they devote themselves to creating resources for people to study, much like the early church discussed and shared the teaching of the first apostles.

At GTP, we have resources, which we share freely, that aim to inspire, challenge, and bring about change. Mission Eurasia has a network to get them to people who will use them and share them with others. GTP may also provide training when the translations are done.

Today I meet with the Mission Eurasia staff in the morning. Then Dr. Mykhailo (Michael) Cherenkov, Mr. Don Parsons, Mr. Denys Gorenkov and I drive to the Black Sea and Odessa Theological Seminary. Graciously, they will lodge us for one night.

If the schedule seems full, know this: on my first visit to a country I let my host plan the days. I ask only that we gather to pray Psalm 2:8 on the first day we enter the country, and that we fast and pray about next steps on the last day. They plan the schedule. Tomorrow we enter Moldova.

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:9-10

“The initiative to talk about generosity, sacrifice, and a biblical view on stewardship is very timely and is now discussed at seminars, presentations, and printed resources. We are grateful to our partners for making this resource available for our evangelical churches, pastors, and leaders. We hope that as we promote this course and its ideas it will help Christians to look at generosity in a new way and help for spreading the gospel and for the churches to grow different ministries. Our hope is that as we distribute these books it will be helpful to many churches in taking care of financial needs of the church and missions and grow in other ways of giving. Some leaders use this material in their small groups, in seminars at Christian conferences and meetings with Christian businessmen.”

Pavel Tokarchuk is a pastor in Moscow, Russia, who also serves with Mission Eurasia.

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Pavel went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

In today’s Scripture, Paul and Silas had just enlisted Timothy to partner with them. They followed the Spirit’s leading to a new region, Macedonia. Lydia received them with generous hospitality, and they ministered to her and built her up in the Christian faith.

The Macedonians wanted help. The three served them fearlessly. When we partner and share resources, we must avoid giving handouts that create dependencies, but rather give a hand up to build disciples. That’s the fearless aim of GTP and our partner, Mission Eurasia!

So far, I have experienced receptive hearts and rich Ukrainian hospitality from saints like Lydia. If I were likened to the Apostle Paul, Dr. Mykhailo (Michael) Cherenkov would be Silas, and his colleague, Mr. Denys Gorenkov, serving with us like Timothy (and helping drive us around, too).

But this morning we changed our schedule. It reminds me of the pivot Paul, Silas, and Timothy had to make from Asia to Macedonia. Based on talks that started at the National Day of Prayer breakfast yesterday and continued last night, I have been invited to speak to a Baptist Union group.

Baptist Union serves 800 churches across Ukraine. I pray for ears to hear and wisdom to discern the needs of this context. Then later tonight, I will speak on “Nurturing Generosity and Sustainability” again (same topic as yesterday) but at another school, Kyiv Theological Seminary.

Sometimes pivots happen due to schedule changes. Other times it is linked to opposition, which is real in Eurasia. Pray for neighboring country, Belarus, and read this article in which Dr. Cherenkov was quoted only 2 days ago. Our brothers and sisters in Belarus are suffering and waiting on God for help. Lord have mercy.

As I said yesterday, reply if you want to receive a copy of my teaching handout in Russian and English. And as others have asked how they can help, click here to make a charitable gift to GTP to assist with this effort to train and resource national workers in Ukraine and Moldova or become a monthly giver. I am praying for people to stand with us at GTP as monthly givers.

And he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3:5

“I found Seven-Day Generosity Challenge very compelling and encouraging. I loved the biblical view on finances and generosity in general. I feel like I was already living that life of generosity, but when you serve people all the time and give, you need to receive as well. And I received an encouraging message from the book. God spoke to me and helped me understand the depth of why I serve others. Ultimately, it’s all from Him and for Him.”

Aleksei Yuditsenko is the pastor of Heart for Christ MB Church in Berdyansk, Ukraine.

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Aleksei went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

In today’s Scripture, the beggar was “expecting to receive” something from Peter and John. Do we have that posture? Without receiving we cannot live a lifestyle of generosity, for we will have nothing to give.

Along these lines, Yuditsenko makes a powerful point. Likely, he is a mature believer who shares and serves generously. But in doing further study, he learned they “why” behind all that he has received. Everything is from God and for God.

Because this is true, this entire trip is also from God and for God. So, as is my custom when entering a country for the first time, we got up early, went to the heart of Kyiv (pictured above at sunrise) and prayed Psalm 2:8 in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, and asked God for Ukraine, not for us, but for Him.

Then, this morning Dr. Mykhailo (Michael) Cherenkov, Mr. Denys Gorenkov, and I attended the National Day of Prayer Breakfast in Kyiv. Church, government, and community servants came together to pray and God united and empowered us for collaborative ministry.

It was an awesome event. It gave me a glimpse into the joys and sorrow in the history of Ukraine. They celebrated 30 years of independence and the 9th national prayer breakfast. I met many people and, remarkably, even met the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and snapped a selfie with him. I will post that on Facebook.

I am 9 hours ahead of Denver so I updated this post at lunch. This afternoon we will go to Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary where I will speak (with Russian translation) at on “Nurturing Generosity and Sustainability: Four New Testament Insights for Global Application.” This topic ranks among the top needs.

Tonight, we will meet with key church workers in Irpin. Pray for a heart to receive and understand their challenges and insight to know what to share in response. Pray also for stamina as it will be a very long first full day in Ukraine and good sleep.

Reply if you want to receive a copy of my teaching handout in Russian and English. And click here to make a charitable gift to GTP to assist with trip expenses for bringing generosity and sustainability teaching to enthusiastic Eurasian fellow servants.

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7

“As a family we also started to set aside a certain fixed amount of money for people in need. Recently, I started to think about how I can financially support a project, especially now, in time of crisis and pandemic. Our journey of cultivating the culture of generosity continues, and I see how God blesses us and invites us to grow in this discipline.”

Igor Syrbu is a church pastor in Chișinău, Moldova.

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Igor went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

I hope to meet Igor when I am in Chișinău this weekend. I love how he describes growth in generosity. It’s a journey that he is taking with his family. Along the way, they are learning that they are blessed to participate in caring for the poor, funding a project, and other things.

How might you serve the poor and give to projects?

I encourage people to add things to their giving portfolio to grow in this grace. For example, add a missionary or ministry to your monthly giving. Add a project or set aside money to give to families in need. And, by all means, talk about it as family so you grow and watch God supply together.

When this posts I am in flight to Kyiv, Ukraine.

If you want a copy of my trip itinerary to pray for safe travel and fruitful ministry, reply to this email. In the coming days, I’ll share more about the focus of this journey.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25

“Generosity is an outcome of a deep relationship with God; when we don’t walk closely with the Lord, we lose the ability to be sensitive and live a generous life; generosity is a reflection of God’s nature in us; every person is not an owner of all they possess, rather, a steward.”

Sergei Semenov is a youth leader at a church in Zaporozhye, Ukraine.

This testimony was collected by Mission Eurasia after Sergei went through the Seven-Day Generosity Challenge by Jon Wiebe, my friend and fellow stewardship author and administrator at MB Foundation.

The Apostle Paul teaches us that generosity is a fruit of the Spirit. It comes from walking closely with God.

Semenov uses a great word that equates with fruit. It’s an outcome. It only comes from having a deep relationship with God who is generous. It’s a reflection of God’s nature and His work in us.

And Semenov on to say that we can lose the ability to be sensitive or guided by this Spirit. So, what’s the first lesson for us from Eurasian voices on generosity? 

Stay close to God and remain sensitive to be guided by the Spirit so God produces the outcome of generosity in and through us!

Today I fly from Denver to Chicago. There I meet up with Dr. Mikhail (Michael) Cherenkov of Mission Eurasia. We fly to Munich, Germany, later today, and then tomorrow on to Kyiv, Ukraine.

Appreciate your prayers for safe travel. Dosvedanya.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:12-13

“How are we to give? Toward our financial poverty that many might have spiritual wealth. Leaders cannot shy away from talking about money simply from fears about the abuses of prosperity theology. We need to urge biblical, generous giving — sacrificial giving — or we too will be in error.”

Michael Oh, Executive Director / CEO of The Lausanne Movement in his final address from Romans 12 at the Lausanne Global Consultation on Prosperity Theology, Poverty and the Gospel, on 30 March – 2 April 2014.

This is a fitting ending to our recent PG [prosperity gospel] analysis as it relates to generosity.

To avoid error we should give to our “financial poverty that many might have spiritual wealth.” And we should not avoid hard conversations about money. But the sobering reality is that each of us, at any time, can be in error.

How can we avoid this? We need to make sure our giving reflects the biblical and generous model of sacrifice. Any margin we have belongs to God for others.

For further reading on this from the Lausanne Library, here’s a great book for stewards, The Grace of Giving: Money and The Gospel and The Gift of Accountability by John Stott and Chris Wright.

This resource connects two components, generosity and accountability, to help God’s workers avoid error. And peer accountability groups like AfCAA for Africa exist to aid ministries in avoiding error.

If you have not taken the opportunity to give to help AfCAA meet the AfCAA@5 match, give today. It’s at $2,089 USD toward the goal of $5,000 USD with 25 days to go. Give as you are able.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

“In the teaching of TP [theology of prosperity]; God appears as an extremely rich landowner, owner of all the gold of the universe. From this, they derive that Christians must be extremely rich and that they should wear gold. Also, teach that Jesus was a wealthy man, living in prosperity since his birth until his death. The cross is interpreted as the way by which Christ makes Christians prosperous, that is to say Jesus died so that the Christians may live in prosperity and not under the curse of the law (the poverty). The Church becomes a transnational corporation in which it is necessary to invest money to obtain many economic gains. Heaven is transformed into a place of unparalleled luxury, which implies that on earth Christians must live in a sumptuous manner “to be get accustomed” to their future eternal residence. Finally, Christians are financiers, people who know how to invest in the “Bank of God”. They are the “bankers of God”.”

Martin Ocaña in “The New Apostolic Reformation and the Theology of Prosperity: The “Kingdom of God” as a Hermeneutical Key” in Lausanne Movement post dated 2 October 2015.

Thanks to the many people who have sent me messages about how “helpful” and “close to home” these posts have been to you on the theology of prosperity as it relates to generosity. One brother stated, “I hope it makes many of us look in the mirror. What’s happening in our Christian community looks more and more like PG [prosperity gospel] all the time.” Amen! Remember, inspect the fruit!

How we live shows what we believe. So, how many so-called Christians live like they believe that God wants us to pursue all the good things in life (a sumptuous lifestyle)? After all, Jesus came to enrich our lives, right?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In this piece, Ocaña helps us see the theological flaws of TP and how those who embrace them weave them together to rationalize giving as investing to obtain economic gain and the pathway to sumptuous living. Sadly, many will likely give an offering to God in church tomorrow coupled with a string attached, a prayer that in return God will do something for them or provide something to them.

That’s not generosity, as God does not need money. We need to give it.

Generosity starts with the realization that all we are and all we have is from God and entrusted to us for our enjoyment and sharing. He wants that truth to sink into our heads and permeate our hearts. This leads faithful stewards to use what belongs to God in keeping with His purposes. Rather than hold on to it, they put it in play. That’s generosity.

It appears not as sumptuous living for ourselves but rather simple living for the good of others.

Tomorrow I will wrap up this study of prosperity theology and return to Colorado from Florida (pictured above on a peace boat ride I took with my parents yesterday). I will do that as I fly to the Ukraine on Monday, and I want to research Eurasian thoughts on generosity.