Meditations

“What shall we do, then, brethren? Shall we become slothful in well-doing, and cease from the practice of love? God forbid that any such course should be followed by us! But rather let us hasten with all energy and readiness of mind to perform every good work. For the Creator and Lord of all Himself rejoices in His works.

For by His infinitely great power He established the heavens, and by His incomprehensible wisdom He adorned them. He also divided the earth from the water which surrounds it, and fixed it upon the immoveable foundation of His own will. The animals also which are upon it He commanded by His own word into existence. So likewise, when He had formed the sea, and the living creatures which are in it, He enclosed them [within their proper bounds] by His own power. Above all, with His holy and undefiled hands He formed man, the most excellent [of His creatures], and truly great through the understanding given him— the express likeness of His own image. For thus says God: “Let us make man in Our image, and after Our likeness. So God made man; male and female He created them.” Having thus finished all these things, He approved them, and blessed them, and said, “Increase and multiply.”

We see, then, how all righteous men have been adorned with good works, and how the Lord Himself, adorning Himself with His works, rejoiced. Having therefore such an example, let us without delay accede to His will, and let us work the work of righteousness with our whole strength.”

Clement of Rome (30-100) in 1 Clement 33, a.k.a. the first letter of Clement to the Corinthians 33. As I prepare for teaching this summer, I plan to walk through church history in my daily study for fresh inspiration. Early this morning I read excerpts from the Apostolic Fathers. Clement of Rome is a personal favorite, as he is thought to be the same Clement who was co-worker of the Apostle Paul mentioned in Philippians 4:3.

Clement exhorts fellow Christ followers (and us) to “hasten with all energy and readiness of mind to perform every good work” inspired by God’s good works evidenced in all of creation. As we enjoy the beauty of Spring, may we hasten to “work the work of righteousness with our whole strength” so that as people see our good works, they will glorify our Father who is in Heaven (cf. Matthew 5:16).

Want to hear a great song about sacrificial giving before it goes mainstream? Click to enjoy “Living Sacrifice” by Anthony Badell.

Every little thing and all that I have gained from you
Every little part all of my own heart for you
More than I have seen and more than I have known is you
You have given more than I could ever know or use

So I’ll worship with my life
A living sacrifice
You are source of everything
You are all I have my King

So all I have is yours my heart, my mind, and soul to lose
You can have it all to use me in the world for you
Teach me how to give a brand new way to live life through
To move in every way that gives my life away to you

Anthony Badell leads contemporary worship for Holy Cross Lutheran Church (ELCA), Overland Park, KS. Why share a song today?

I am traveling today and one thing I love to do when I travel is brand truth on my soul through tunes! I love listening to Christian music, so I hope you enjoy this song!

“Today I sow for a Great Awakening. Today, I stake everything on the promise of the Word of God. I depend entirely on the power of the Holy Spirit. I have the same mind in me that was in Christ Jesus. Because Jesus is good news and Jesus is in me I am good news. Today, I will sow the extravagance of the Gospel everywhere I go and into everyone I meet. Today, I will love others as Jesus has loved me. Today, I will remember that the tiniest seeds become the tallest trees; that the seeds sown today become the shade of tomorrow; that the faith of right now becomes the future of the everlasting Kingdom. Today, I sow for a Great Awakening.”

J.D. Walt in “The Sower’s Creed” on the back cover of “Seedbed Sower’s Almanac” for the growing season of our Lord 2015-2016.

Last night I had the privilege of table fellowship, an evening walk, and prayer with J.D. at Asbury Theological Seminary. He recited “The Sower’s Creed” to me while we were together. I exclaimed, “Amen, brother!” Together we are committed to sowing generously, all we are and all we have, for a Great Awakening. Care to join us?

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. Ecclesiastes 11:6

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6

Video shooting linked to the “Faith and Finances” videos went well yesterday. Thanks for your prayers. We invite you to continue to pray for us today that things wrap up smoothly.

“Ultimately, we cannot stand still or tread water in the Christian life. We are either moving closer toward God and learning to better love our neighbor, or we are missing opportunities to further express our love for God and neighbor and gradually moving away from God.

The goal of every Christian should be to become a disciple, a follower, of Jesus Christ. People do not learn how to follow Jesus by reading books about following Jesus. We learn how to follow Jesus by following him, even if by fits and starts.”

Kevin M. Watson in The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience (Wilmore, KY: Seedbed, 2014) 15.

This book champions a conversation-driven versus content-driven small group format (much like The Alpha Course). So why cite Watson today? I pray my forthcoming “Faith and Finances” curriculum and the 12 corresponding “seven-minute seminary” videos we are shooting today and tomorrow will get people talking in similar fashion. I’ll let you all know when they are available to view freely online.

Following Jesus “even if by fits and starts” as Watson puts it, is the only way to live. We learn by doing it. My family has found this is especially true linked to generosity. We did not realize what it meant to be conduits of spiritual and material blessings until we started doing it!

“Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.” Luke 16:2

“In so many respects are the children of men stewards of the Lord, the Possessor of heaven and earth: So large a portion of His goods, of various kinds, hath he committed to their charge. But it is not forever, nor indeed for any considerable time: We have this trust reposed in us only during the short, uncertain space that we sojourn here below; only so long as we remain on earth, as this fleeting breath is in our nostrils.

The hour is swiftly approaching, it is just at hand, when we “can be no longer stewards!”

The moment the body “returns to the dust as it was, and the Spirit to God that gave it,” we bear that character no more; the time of our stewardship is at an end. Part of those goods wherewith we were before entrusted are now come to an end; at least, they are so with regard to us; nor are we longer entrusted with them: And that part which remains can no longer be employed or improved as it was before.

John Wesley (1703-1791) in “The Good Steward” Sermon 51.2.1.

The world wants each of us to think that life is a long journey during which we are our own master. Alternatively, God’s Word and John Wesley with passion teach us that life is a “short, uncertain space” in which we serve as stewards of gifts, goods, and the greatest treasure of all, the gospel. Thus, we must live in a state of readiness to give an account for our stewardship. Are you ready?

Today I am flying to Kentucky to shoot twelve seven-minute videos that will correspond to the twelve modules of my forthcoming “Faith and Finances” curriculum. Pray for me. I will also fellowship with Jay Mansur, J.D. Walt, and others. Can’t wait! Why shoot these and make them freely available? I want to inspire Christians to faithful stewardship so that they hear two words from the Master: “Well done!”

“I have made the mistake of striving for stuff in place of first seeking the kingdom of heaven. My earthly kingdom building is a tireless endeavor that wearies the soul, frazzles emotions, kills the body, and puts relationships at risk…Jesus rocks the religious world by describing the humble in heart as those who are truly happy. To be poor in spirit is to be humble in heart.

Advancement in the kingdom of heaven comes from downward mobility to the feet of our Master Jesus. The way up is down…Can those wealthy in worldly goods also be poor in spirit? Yes, of course, but it is harder because they have more competition for their affection and devotion to their heavenly Father. This is why Jesus said it is hard (not impossible) for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Boyd Bailey in Wisdom Hunters daily email “How to Die Rich” dated 1 May 2015.

Jesus does not condemn the rich man. He’s sympathetic toward him (cf. Mark 10:17-31). He knows how hard it is for those who have riches to let go of them. He Himself became poor so that we might become rich (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9). What does this mean for us?

Jesus wants us to identify and release whatever competes with Him for our affection? Let it go! Whatever we are not willing to let go of is the thing in which we are placing our trust. For most Americans, it’s money. In our rich context, many believe we can stockpile riches for ourselves and claim to trust in Jesus.

To “trust in Jesus” is to give up on the tireless striving to build an earthly kingdom. Those who follow His plan work hard, and they may amass great wealth, but it’s not for hoarding but for enjoyment and sharing. In the case of the rich man, Jesus instructed him to share it with the destitute.

I have made the mistake of thinking it is my job to take care of my earthly life while Jesus takes care of my eternal soul. How we live our earthly life shows what we believe about eternal life. And to the rich man seeking eternal life,  Jesus said, “go, sell, give, come, and follow!” This was not a call to emptiness but to richness.

To follow Jesus does not mean we end up empty and alone (as the world claims), but rather we find a place in God’s family where (along with persecutions) we work, enjoy, and share the fruit of our labor with those who can’t work, such as the elderly and the needy. Life according to Jesus is one hundred fold better than anything we can build on our own.

Sadly, what the world offers looks good, which is why it competes for our affection. Don’t be fooled.

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 1 John 3:17-18

“Helping someone in need is not about giving someone some spare change. It’s not an obligatory act. The holy love of God is about compassion, which is a Holy Spirit inspired disposition of the heart that leads to action.

The big issue isn’t whether we are helping people in need; it’s whether our heart is truly open to those we are helping. I’ve helped people in need many times in order to make myself feel better, but I can’t say my heart was truly open to them…

Love means doing something for another from the deep wellsprings of Christ in us. It’s not just actions nor is it mere truth. Love is a holy compulsion to help others, everywhere, all the time, no matter what. . . so help us God. John isn’t trying to shake us up. He’s shaking us down. He’s not accusing us but awakening us.”

J.D. Walt in “People Need Help, Not Pity” blog post on 1 May 2015 at Seedbed’s Daily Text.

Bam! J.D. nailed it. How often do we help from a closed heart? We have the “world’s goods” in one side and a “brother in need” on the other. At that moment, John is trying to wake us to the reality that we are positioned to be generous conduits because of God’s love. When we don’t, we reveal our heart condition.

What’s your heart condition?

“It may be few, comparatively, of the children of God are called to serve the Lord in the way of establishing Orphan-Houses, etc; but all of them may, yea, are called upon to trust in God, to rely on Him, in their various positions and circumstances, and apply the word of God, faith, and prayer to their family circumstances, their earthly occupation, their afflictions and necessities of every kind, both temporally and spiritually; just as we, by God’s help, in some little measure seek to apply the word of God, faith, and prayer…But make a trial of it, if you have never done so before and you will see how happy a life it is.”

George Müller in Answers to Prayer (Chicago: Moody Press, 2008) 97.

This morning I read George Müller. He is one of my favorite inspirational characters. Here he invites the reader to “make a trial” of a way of life that simply seeks to “apply the word of God, faith, and prayer” to all of life. With moral decay and widespread strife all around us, how do we avoid avoid being overcome by all this? How do we renounce impiety, which is lukewarm faith? How do we show the world the way to life? Müller would say, “make a trial of it!” Put your trust in the grace of God.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14

“Here are three simple but essential tasks…

Task #1 – Teach your members and visitors ways to practice better financial stewardship of their God-given resources.

Task #2 – Develop strategic ways to encourage giving, especially through mission.

Task #3 – Teach spiritual and biblical values that help members give as an act of worship and witness.”

Clayton Smith in Propel: Good Stewardship, Greater Generosity (Nashville: Abingdon, 2013) 31. He shared these comments at the Ecumenical Stewardship Center “Stewardship Fusion” conference on 28 April 2015.

Preaching on stewardship and teaching about generosity linked to our worship and witness is central to developing a culture of generosity in local church settings. Amen!

“The Bible is the book of generosity because it is about a generous God seeking to form a generous people.”

John H. Thomas in “The Book of Generosity: Giving and Formation” workshop at the Ecumenical Stewardship Center “Stewardship Fusion” conference in Kansas City on 28 April 2015.

Thomas shared that to encourage generosity we often try to pull external triggers to get people to respond. This might produce random gifts. Meanwhile God works from the inside out.

When His Spirit is at work in our lives we become generous … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control … Galatians 5:22-23

Yesterday I was blessed by speakers like Thomas. Today it’s my turn to teach. Speak through me to bless your people, Father, by your Holy Spirit, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!