Meditations

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16

“The virtue of detachment helps us to stay at Jesus’ side as He goes forward on His mission at a fast and steady pace. It is not possible for us to keep up with Him if we have too much baggage. We cannot be left behind on account of a few material possessions that are not worth our excessive concern for them. At times, Jesus issues a personal call at an early age. At others, one’s vocation becomes clear in the course of one’s mature years, when we have only a short distance to go before we arrive in His presence. Such variety in the time the Lord chooses to call each of us is shown in the parable concerning the laborers who go out to work at different times of the day. Whichever our own case may be, we are called to respond with the joy the evangelists express when they recall the circumstances of their own definitive vocation. Jesus is the same now as then: He is the one who invites us to accompany Him on our way.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 7 (London: Scepter, 1993) 266-267.

Today’s Scripture brings a parable in view.

We discover the generosity of the landowner. And we also see the importance of responsiveness whether He calls us at a young age, in adulthood, or in our later years. He invites us to accompany Him.

As I attend ETS, IBR, and SBL, I see emerging scholars like my son-in-law or a doctoral student I am advising, adults that I have known for decades, and more mature workers whose lives have shaped mine.

Each one has a story. Some have labored long for the Lord and others are newer to the journey. Being here and delivering a paper, reminds me to just play my part as a worker.

That’s where the comments from Fernandez fit nicely. He challenges us to jettison any baggage that may hinder our ability to serve Him.

Can you imagine going to work in God’s field and carrying a suitcase or a large sack loaded with all your worldly wealth with you? You would never do that, right?

The key to unlocking this parable linked to having possessions as baggage is in the wage promised by the generous landowner. It implies that Jesus will take care of our daily needs.

He promises a denarius. It’s a day’s wages and all a person needs to live today.

This prompts two questions. Firstly, how long have you been working for the Lord? Have you found Him to faithfully care for your needs? If so, imitate His generosity with your own.

And secondly, what do you have? Do you have too much in your baggage? If so, put it to work, again through generosity, and yet, keep laboring. He will make sure you have a denarius a day.

Please pause. Picture all your worldly wealth in a suitcase that you have to carry to labor in the field for Him every day. If it seems heavy, then you have much to store up in heaven.

You can do this. He’s got you and a denarius for your daily service.

And [Andrew] brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). John 1:42

“After Andrew spends the entire day with Jesus, he does not keep the treasure for his personal benefit, but hastens to share it with his brothers.”

John Chrysostom (347-407) in Homilies on St. John’s Gospel 19.1.

Sometimes the most seemingly insignificant passages have the biggest messages for us.

There’s an expression that has been traced as far back as Augustine of Hippo (354-430), a contemporary of John Chrysostom. It goes like this.

“The gospel came to you on the way to someone else.”

Notice Andrew’s generosity today. He “brought” Peter to Jesus. As Chrysostom notes, “he does not keep the treasure for his personal benefit, but hastens to share it with his brothers.”

Let me illustrate this. Look at the header photo, my view of Petco Park from my hotel room in San Diego.

If I met you and I handed you 100 tickets to a baseball game at the ballpark, what would you do? Would you go to the game and sit in the section of 100 seats by yourself?

Of course not. You would invite family and friends to benefit from this gift.

That’s what Andrew did. That’s what we get to do. It relates to generosity because it shows that we understand that the gospel is like getting 100 tickets to a baseball game.

Not just for us but for us to share one hundredfold blessing.

So, as I participate in three conferences this week in San Diego as a learner and as an invited paper presenter ETS, IBR, and SBL, I am hear to gain wisdom from other biblical scholars to bless others.

Sometimes, when we steward faithfully such opportunities, God has us bless thousands and ten thousands.

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). John 1:39-41

“Jesus encourages the first disciples: Come and see! He says to them. In their personal dealings with the Lord, Andrew and John learn what is not immediately apparent to them through His words alone. Through frequent prayer, we too can grow to perceive many invitations He addresses to us. We will then have greater intimacy with Christ and thus be able to follow Him more closely.

While we are speaking to Him now, we might ask ourselves if we are striving to be attentive to the promptings of His voice. Do we fully respond to what Christ asks of us, since He has wanted to depend on our support? Let us remember that the Lord is always present in the world, just as He was twenty centuries ago.

Now more than ever Jesus is seeking men and women to collaborate in this divine venture for the salvation of souls. Responding positively to His invitation is immensely worthwhile, since it entails cooperating in an enterprise of eternal significance.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 1 (London: Scepter, 1988) 262-263

The middle part of today’s post really struck me: “Do we fully respond to what Christ asks of us, since He has wanted to depend on our support?”

I had never thought about the fact that when Christ whispers to me to come and see what He has for me, that He wants to depend on my support.

And when I think that He invites me to cooperate in “an enterprise of eternal significance” it is cool to think He is as excited about me playing my part as I am about Him playing His.

Do you hear Him calling you? “Come and see.” What enterprise of eternal significance might He be just itching for you to join Him with. Sit with Him quietly to find out.

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4

“When you open [Luke’s] Gospel, think that what is written there – the words and deeds of Christ – is something that you should not only know but live. Everything, every point that is told there, has been gathered, detail by detail, for you to make it come alive in the individual circumstances of your life. You too, like the Apostles, will burn to ask, full of love, ‘Lord what would you have me do?’ And to your soul you will hear the conclusive answer, ‘the will of God!’ Take up the Gospel every day then, and read it and live it as a definite rule. This is what the saints have done.”

Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in The Forge (Strongsville: Scepter, 2002) 754.

Luke devoted himself to research and gave us a definite rule, a Gospel that teaches us how to live, give, serve, and love generously.

I post this today for three reasons. Firstly, my Tuesday morning Bible study agreed to undertake a deep study of this Gospel over the next 6 months. So. I will study it.

Secondly, I am headed to San Diego today with my son-in-law to attend ETS, IBR, and SBL. At these conferences I will learn and also deliver a paper related to my 1 Timothy research. I deliver my paper on Friday and will make it available here later in the week.

Research is a good thing. When we give a portion of our time to we gain in abundance the investment of time. We get a great return. Is it time for you to do some deep research or study?

Thirdly, what if you make Luke’s Gospel a definite rule for your life? A definite rule or rule of life is a set of commitments that give structure to everyday living and foster spiritual growth. It comes from the Latin word for “trellis.”

As trellis helps a plant grow and bear fruit, Luke’s Gospel provides a comprehensive account of the life of Jesus giving us everything we need to know to live out the Christian faith.

And, related to generosity, Luke cites the rich man repeatedly. If you read those texts together, the rich man goes from foolish, selfish, and greedy (Luke 12:13-21) to faithful, saved, and generous (Luke 19:1-10). I hope it impacts you in that same way.

And no book in the Bible will get you in the Christmas spirit faster than Luke’s Gospel. Enjoy.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5

“The virtue of poverty is a consequence of faith. In Scripture it is the state of the person who has unconditionally placed his life in the Lord’s hands and therefore turns the reins of control over to Him without seeking any other security.

Consequently, rectitude of intention is essential for effectively resolving to be poor in spirit. A person must not place his confidence in impermanent goods though he may happen to possess them. Many Christians are tempted by the attractions of the modern cult of consumerism.

When life is given over to the accumulation of material wealth, money itself becomes a god. Such idolatry as the apostle Paul warned the first Christians against should never even be named among them.

This tendency causes people to forget the immense treasure of God’s love, the only real good that can truly fill the human heart. We should have the firm intention of serving only one master, since no one can serve two.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 1 (London: Scepter, 1988) 194-195.

Read this sentence again. “The virtue of poverty is a consequence of faith.” Do you realize the implications of this. Remember the poor in spirit get the kingdom of heaven.

It means you only get the kingdom of heaven when you show by how you handle wealth that you have let go of the kingdom of this world. It’s a consequence of faith.

Too many people, even some readers of these Daily Meditations, have material wealth and bank balances that reveal their membership in the modern cult of consumerism.

If that’s you, then it’s time for some “rectitude of intention” as Fernandez would put it. Or in plain terms, for righteous intention turn to action.

Why store up treasures in heaven and live a life dependent on God? Why abandon the world’s way of thinking and live fully for Him? You get the kingdom.

You don’t figure it out until you live it out. And you are sustained by “the immense treasure of God’s love, the only real good that can truly fill the human heart.”

What are you waiting for? Jesus would say, “Go and sell those goods, share them with those in need and find treasure in heaven.” Paul would say, “Give to your church and others in ministry.”

Right now I am praying for monthly givers to GTP. We have 37 and we need more than 100 by year end to convince foundations considering major gifts that we have regular givers.

They will give us grants if we exceed that mark. Pray with me for monthly givers to GTP. Set up monthly giving here. Also pray as we have work lined up to empower Christian workers in some needy places.

In the next 3 months, if the Lord wills, I plan to message you from places like Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, El Salvador, India, and Sri Lanka where I have open doors for ministry.

For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in His sight. Psalm 72:12-14

“Many fruit derive from the virtue of poverty. In the first place, the soul is better disposed to receive supernatural graces. A person’s heart expands so as to be sincerely concerned about other people… Jesus grants the detached soul special joy even in the absence of necessities.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 1 (London: Scepter, 1988) 193-194.

God shows up in powerful ways for those who live with an empty cup eager for Him to fill it for them to enjoy and share. I have seen this my entire life.

Those who amass resources as their help or safety net find this in so doing. They find that it to fails to give them the security they seek. They never have enough.

But those who choose the opposite path, who become poor so that others might be enriched, discover special joy. They find themselves on the way of Jesus.

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

Some by their decisions choose to look after themselves. Others by their decisions, let God look after them. Ponder this truth in light of your situation and your generosity.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

“The virtue of poverty is shown in our finishing our professional work well and in taking care of things we wear, our home and its furnishings, and the tools we use whether or not they belong to us. It shows clearly when we avoid inessential expenses even though our company pays for them.

It is also manifest if we truly never consider anything our own, and if we choose what is least attractive for ourselves provided our choice passes unnoticed. In family life, we can discover many opportunities for putting the virtue of poverty into practice.

We live the virtue well by accepting a shortage of material means with peace and calm and by avoiding capricious personal expense, vanity, luxury, and laziness. We are poor in spirit when we are consciously temperate in food and drink and always generous with others.

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 1 (London: Scepter, 1988) 192-193.

Poverty is a good virtue. Say that to yourself 10 times.

In the opening words of His famous Sermon on the Mount (also known as the Beatitudes), Jesus opens by saying the opposite of the world. That’s why we need to renew our minds with it.

The world says to possess wealth and be rich in spirit is good. Jesus says the opposite.

Later Jesus celebrated when a widow gave out of a place of poverty. Paul echoed this when the Macedonians gave out of their place of poverty.

Let’s lean into this otherworldly, heavenly idea.

Jesus modeled it, born in a manger and not having a place to lay His head. It shows that he had the one thing he needed: the kingdom or reign of God.

And he told those with wealth to give it away and grasp life 100x better than anything they could sort. Consider the implications of this for you.

I am not trying to rob you. I am trying to help you take hold of the kingdom of God.

The pathway to doing this is to pursue the virtue of poverty and Fernandez points the way in everyday work and family life for us.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:8

“Be satisfied with what is sufficient. Any more than that is burdensome and does not bring relief. It will weigh you down and not support you.”

Augustine of Hippo in Sermon 85.6

Hear Augustine’s words again: “Be satisfied with what is sufficient.” If we follow the desires of our flesh, we never have enough. But in the Spirit we realize that if we have Christ and basic needs met, we have everything we have ever needed and will ever need.

Notice he adds that having more is actually a burden and not a blessing. It does not bring the relief it promises. It only brings more worries. It weighs us down, as Augustine adds and does not support us.

So as you take inventory, approaching the season of Thanksgiving in USA, please give thanks for God’s material blessings, keep what is sufficient, and share generously lest your surplus turn from being a blessing to being burdensome.

This thinking aims not to rob readers but help them take hold of life. Avoid being unnecessarily weighed down, and rightly locate satisfaction in the only place possible.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

“A generous person knows how to be loving and understanding and how to give material help – without demanding love, understanding, or help in return. He or she gives and forgets he or she has given, and in this lies his or her riches. He or she has understood that it is better to give than to receive. He or she realizes that to love is in its essence to give oneself to others. Far from being an instinctive inclination, love is a conscious decision of the will to draw close to other people. To be able to love truly, it is important to be detached from everything and, especially from self, to give gratuitously.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 1 (London: Scepter, 1988) 192.

As I revisit the journey of the generous almsgiver, I find insight today from Fernandez to detach from things and from self. This makes so much sense when you think about it.

The generous person essentially shifts from living for self or living for things to living for God and others. This positions the person to give “free of charge” or gratuitously.

As we enter a season that has everything from materialistic shopping to pausing to give thanks, ponder with me what detachment looks like. It says, I need not things, but only one thing: God.

Others need Him too, so I make the conscious decision to show His all sufficiency by living for them and Him gratuitously. I find refreshment and joy in the journey so I stay the course.

Others may also join because it is better to give than receive. It’s the better way. Regardless of the difficulties or challenges, I make known my needs to God and stay on this path. It’s the path of generosity and love.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

As I stated yesterday, I serve as President & CEO of GTP (Global Trust Partners). We offer on demand courses to multiply faithful stewards around the world.

Right now hundreds of stewards in more than 50 countries are going through 4 courses. Today, I got this question and felt led to post it and my reply as today’s post. Happy reading.

“How do we identify and then avoid those financial decisions which reflect the prevailing cultural norms?”

Michael Cherenkov of Ukraine asked this question in the GTP on demand course entitled The Choice, based on the book, The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes, by Gary G. Hoag, R. Scott Rodin, and Wesley K. Willmer (Winchester: ECFA Press, 2014).

Here was my reply in the on demand platform.

“Hi Michael, I can think of many examples, but I will suggest two.

In church settings, the prevailing cultural mindset is “if you build it they will come” (actually a famous movie line). When that cultural thinking enters a church, the leadership thinks, “The only way we will have a large church is to borrow money and build a big building.” That leads to the prevailing cultural norm that the only way to build is with debt. The bigger is better mindset plunges a congregation into financial slavery. Alternatively, a church can be great and grow with an ordinary building or no building. That’s eternity minded thinking because ultimately the church is a body, not a building. For more on this, read this blog: “Biblical Advice for Your Church Building Project”.

​In ministry settings, the prevailing cultural mindset is a budget-driven scarcity mindset. The focus of many charities is on what they cannot do because of what they do not have. They have the worldly mindset that money makes ministry happen and rather than pray and plan and discern what God wants them to do, they say, we can only do A, B, and C, because we have limited funds. It’s sad. God lets them struggle for years with this thinking. Anyway, so the financial decisions, when guided by worldly scarcity rather than godly abundance thinking shape everything. I suggest do a discernment retreat and urge people to put to work what they have. It’s true you may want more money. First be faithful with the little you have and often God will supply more. For more on this, read this blog: “Framework for Discernment Retreats”. – https://www.gtp.org/2022/01/framework-for-discernm…

I hope this helps.”

What about you? How are prevailing cultural norms trying to shape and influence your decisions the church or ministry where you work or serve as a volunteer?