Meditations

“We need to hear Jesus’ admonition, “do not worry,” and choose the right master: not ourselves, but God. Choosing to make God our Master and the center of our life increases our Life. Full and splendid Life is the consequence when we allow ourselves to trust in God, be dependent upon God, be mastered by God’s generosity and care. This is a kind Master, indeed. Why choose mammon with its incessant worries, when we can choose God who arrays us in all divine splendor.

Most of us don’t consciously choose ourselves as our master; we are much more subtle about it. We couch our mammon choice in thinking we are making ourselves and those around us better. The measure is our worrying. Obsessive worry about things, future plans, success, money, security, looks, etc., is a clue that we have chosen ourselves as master. It is a clue that we need to change the master we serve and choose instead the most compassionate, most generous, and most dependable Master: God…

Telling humans not to worry about tomorrow is like telling them not to be the center of their own lives. And that is exactly the point of the gospel [Matthew 6:24-34]. The two masters are God or ourselves. Yes, we ourselves are the mammon. If we choose ourselves, we worry. If we choose God, we will feed on God’s generosity, be clothed in God’s gift of Life, and be made rich in faith. This choice is sufficient not only for a day, but for a whole lifetime…”

Joyce Ann Zimmerman, Kathleen Harmon, and Christopher W. Conlon in Living Liturgy Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis for Sundays and Solemnities: Year A – 2014 (Collegeville: OSB, 2013) 68-69.

Meditate on this gospel passage today and ask yourself this question: What master am I serving?

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:24-34

“Too often the fundraising staff are sequestered away from the main program staff and left to do the work that no one else wants to do. In our experience with hundreds of faith-based not-for-profits, few would list the development department among their ministries. Program staff and CEOs tend to see development work as funding ministry but not as ministry itself…

Our goal is to help you confront this attitude and build a development program that is steeped in prayer, is Spirit-led, and results in the spiritual growth of your giving partners as well as your staff.”

John R. Frank and R. Scott Rodin in Development 101: Building a Comprehensive Development Program on Biblical Values (Colbert: Kingdom Life and Steward, 2015) 3.

If you are looking for a book to help you with the practical aspects of the ministry of connecting God’s people to God’s work, then this new release is for you!

“Personal exposure to needs is often a prerequisite for a lifestyle of deep, sacrificial generosity on behalf of others. Commitments of money, time, and personal energy can develop when the prospering truly see the suffering of the poor and weak. The exposure can then lead to believers truly growing as…people who not only help the poor but know them in real relationships.”

Amy Sherman in Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010) 74.

Edgar and Gladys Güitz, our friends from Potter’s House, were staying with us over the past week and returned to Guatemala. They have helped our family not only see the destitute but to get to know them as Treasures. Take a few minutes to see what they do in this video. It will bless you. If you want information on taking a group there, let us know. The “personal exposure” (as Sherman puts it) has been life-changing for our family and friends.

“Let temporal things serve your use, but the eternal be the object of your desire.”

Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471) as recounted in In Light of Eternity: Perspectives on Heaven (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook, 1999) 146.

We must love God and people and use temporal things. The world tempts us to get this backwards. The Apostle Paul suggests how to avoid being tricked.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

“I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.”

John Wesley (1903-1791) as recounted by Randy Alcorn in In Light of Eternity: Perspectives on Heaven (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook, 1999) 146.

My family is learning to limit the money we pour into material possessions and adopt an eternal perspective. This has led us to deploy more money to mission (God’s work) and memories (with family and friends).

What measure are you using, and how does it shape your decisions?

“The world cannot always understand a person’s profession of faith, but it can understand service.”

Ian Maclaren was the pseudonym for Rev. John Watson (1850-1907) who is recounted by Dan Busby in Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness (Winchester: ECFA Press, 2015) 63.

Jesus always chose the posture of a servant! He instructs us as His disciples to follow His example (cf. Luke 22:24-27). Let’s do it!

God help me serve well today as I teach for Navigators at Glen Eyrie Castle. May God bless your generous service today too!

“Nothing costs so little, goes so far, and accomplishes so much as a single act of merciful service.”

Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) as recounted by Dan Busby in Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness (Winchester: ECFA Press, 2015) 62.

What I love about this quote is the adjective “merciful” linked to service. It refers to service that is contrary to that which is perceived as deserved. It’s serving unlikely recipients. I am convinced that we are never more like our Lord Jesus Christ than when we show undeserved kindness.

“Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with–better still, using us as one of the fingers on His hand.”

Charles G. Trumbell in Victory in Christ (Fort Washington: CLC, 2011) 38.

Trumbell rightly reminds us that God neither needs our help as if He has deficiencies, nor want us to work for Him, which would infer that His capacity is limited. He desires to work in and through us, so that we are His hands and feet.

Father, bless the world richly through us today by your Holy Spirit. Do this for your glory we pray in the matchless name of Jesus. Amen.

“It is up to Christians to show people that the cross, all the crosses of history, call upon us to advance from possession to sharing and offering, to discover the Giver through the gift.”

Olivier Clément in Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from Patristic Era with Commentary (New City Press, 2013) 228.

What a paradox! When we live in light of the cross we advance in generosity “we discover the Giver through the gift.” God help us shift from “possession to sharing and offering.”

The best part of this quote for me is that it was shared with me by one of my former students, Dave Rowland, who has recognized its veracity in his life.

“Anything less than a full-trust environment creates a distraction from the mind-blowing good news of the gospel–giving some the justification they seek to disbelieve the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we are trusted, we not only please Him, but we enhance His reputation and give others the right impression of Christ.”

Dan Busby in Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness (Winchester: ECFA Press, 2015) inside flap.

Busby has dedicated his life to enhancing trust. Lack of trust not only hinders generosity, it misrepresents the God we serve to the world. In this must-read book, Busby maps the pathway to preserving trust with the same clarity Paul exhibited toward Timothy: Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us. 2 Timothy 1:14