Ravi Zacharias: All sorts of situations

A huge crowd kept following Him wherever He went, because they saw His miraculous signs as He healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with His disciples around Him. John 6:2-3

“We need to notice something. The crowd didn’t chase down Jesus without reason. They had figured out that bread wasn’t the only thing Jesus could provide. Jesus had proven His power to work a variety of miracles:

– He had changed water into wine at a wedding feast. Jesus revealed power over the elements (John 2:1-11).

– He had healed a paralytic by the Bethesda pool and the dying son of a royal official. Jesus showed His power over sickness (John 4:43-5:14).

– Jesus had multiplied that young lad’s lunch to feed thousands. Jesus displayed His power over all provision (John 6:1-15).

– He had walked on water and met up with His disciples in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus exerted His power over natural law (John 6:16-24).

Can you see what they saw? Jesus had power over every facet of life. If we slip on the sandals of these Bible folk and ponder what they had witnessed, we can dream up all kinds of things God could provide. We could enlist Jesus to rearrange our world and to fix all sorts of situations, both major and minor.”

Ravi Zacharias in Jesus Among Other Gods, Youth Edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000) 68.

My daughter, Sophie, taught me something over the last month (that Zacharias notes above): Jesus has the power to fix all sorts of situations, both major and minor.

Long story short, she was in an auto accident about a month ago. The driver who hit her car, a 17-year old young man, claimed the light was green, though Sophie and witnesses said that their turn arrow was green, and his light was red. Consequently, the police officer gave neither person a ticket.

In this “no fault” world, what hope would Sophie have. She prayed and persisted in calling both her insurance adjuster as well as the company of the responsible party about every other day kindly asking for status reports and for the responsible party to cover the repairs.

She called the police department and asked them to look at the traffic cameras and got nowhere. She even spoke with the police officer who was so kind as to call the mother of the driver of the car that hit her. Think how horrible it would be for a 17-year old, a minor, to learn that lying is the way out of a jam!

From my vantage point, all has seemed hopeless. However, after about a month of praying and asking for assistance, Sophie’s phone rang. It was the insurance company of the other driver. Her car would be towed to a shop. They will pay to repair her car (assuming it’s not deemed totaled . . . we are still waiting for word about that).

It’s obvious why I am telling this story! We are praising God today for this blessing. Jenni and I are most thankful that Sophie knows that Jesus can solve any jam, and because of that belief, he chases after Him in prayer with perseverance. We give thanks that our generous God has the power to fix all sorts of situations.

Are you in crisis today? Call out to Jesus for help. Don’t just do it once. Chase after Him and sit with Him patiently. He does not always answer the way we like, and other times we are miraculously surprised. Regardless, when we take this posture, it changes us. We learn amazing lessons at His feet. Thanks for the lesson, Sophie!

When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”

The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. Exodus 16:15-20

“This narrative stands at the center of Israel’s imagination; it embodies and signifies YHWH’s capacity for generosity that stands in complete contrast to the nightmare of scarcity that fueled Pharoah’s rapacious policies. The Israelites were so inured to the scarcity system of Pharaoh that they could hardly take in the alternative abundance given in divine generosity, the purpose of which was to break the vicious cycle of anxiety about scarcity that in turn produced anger, fear, aggression, and finally, predatory violence.

The Israelites, in the narrative, are overwhelmed by divine abundance. They react, however, as though they were still in the old system of pharaonic scarcity. Moses warned them not to save up or to hoard the bread or to keep extra supplies on hand. Take what you need, eat and enjoy! But they did not listen. They filled their pockets and their baskets with extras because there might not be any more tomorrow. That is what one does in the face of scarcity…But such frantic surpluses will not work. Because the “bread of heaven” is not like the “bread of affliction” that the Israelites had eaten in Egyptian slavery. There you could save a crust of bread for the next day. But not here! Abundance is not for hoarding.”

Walter Brueggemann in Journey to the Common Good (Louisville: WJKP, 2010) 16-17.

Would you pray with me today, please.

Father in Heaven, help us wake up the world, and more specifically God’s Church, from the “nightmare of scarcity” that shrouds modern society by helping those around us understand that our “capacity for generosity” is rooted in Your divine abundance. May our lives show others that we have taken hold of abundant life in Jesus Christ. Teach us not to hoard, but to work diligently, and enjoy and share Your spiritual and material blessings. Make it so through our lives by your Holy Spirit we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1:22-25

“Throughout history the most universally acknowledged problem with money is that its pursuit is insatiable. As we seek money and possessions, observers note, the pursuit grows into a never-satisfied desire that fuels avarice … The insatiability touches two areas — getting what we do not have and clutching on to what we do … People in high pursuit of money think only of making money … Individuals and societies who devote themselves to money soon become devoured by it. Or as the Bible reiterates, we become what we worship. Money almost literally seems to eat people away, drying up the sap of their vitality and withering their spontaneity, generosity, and joy.”

Os Guinness in The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003) 130-131.

One project I am working on these days with a colleague, Tim Dittloff, is a devotional called “Imago Dei Living” (Latin for “Image of God living”). When we don’t follow God’s design for our lives — formed in His image — we worship money rather than God and we become fools who chase our desires like animals. When we instead focus our worship on God, as Guinness rightly notes, we exhibit vitality, spontaneity, generosity, and joy.

The word “spontaneity” in today’s meditation particularly struck me because of something that happened in the last couple days. Last weekend while ministering in Florida, we met some wonderful couples. Jenni had a special connection with a woman from Oklahoma: Donna Hepp. When Donna learned Jenni would be ministering in Guatemala this weekend, she asked if she could come too. Then yesterday her husband, Marty, dropped by for lunch en route to a conference. Just like that, we are collaborating in the Kingdom with this couple. I’ll share more about the Guatemala trip in the next few days.

Today I head Kansas City to meet up with EFCA colleague, Garth Warren, for meetings with the leaders of Made To Flourish, a pastor’s network for the common good. This organization provides helpful resources and connects pastors and marketplace leaders in networks linked to the integration of faith, work, and economics. Getting back to the idea of today’s meditation, MTF encourages people work not for compensation or remuneration (“making money”) but for contribution and reflection (“making a difference” and “glorifying God”).

Guinness is spot on in saying: “We become what we worship.”

Tim Dittloff and Donna & Marty Hepp worship God and exhibit the vitality, spontaneity, generosity, and joy of the LORD. We hope people say that about Jenni and me as a couple too. And I am thankful for Garth Warren and my friends at Made To Flourish who are helping pastors point people to God’s design for their faith and work so that they make a difference and glorify God (which is why Garth and I hope to connect their work with EFCA pastors around the country before I fly home tonight).

But what about you? What are you becoming?

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10

“We will not wish we had made more money, acquired more stuff, lived more comfortably, taken more vacations, watched more television, pursued greater retirement, or been more successful in the eyes of this world. Instead, we will wish we had given more of ourselves to living for the day when every nation, tribe, people, and language will bow around the throne and sing the praises of the Savior who delights in radical obedience and the God who deserves eternal worship.”

David Platt in Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2010) 217.

At the CBMC president’s council weekend, one of the speakers, Bob Doll, shared a quote from David Platt’s book, Radical, so I turned my attention back to that classic book this morning.

It’s fitting to re-visit Radical at this time of year because I have watched a few MLB postseason baseball games. After each half inning (and pitching change), the TV commercials tell me to buy more stuff, store up more money, and spoil myself in luxury.

The commercials are genius! They promise people precisely what they are looking for — peace, security, love, and happiness — except the things the merchants are selling do not satisfy, so people keep looking. This strengthens our resolve that one of the most generous things we can do is live with radical obedience and point people to Jesus.

What about you? Are you living for the day?

Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

The Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596) as recounted in No Retreat, No Surrender by Dena Sherwood (Bloomington: WestBow, 2012) ix.

Drake was a famous English sea captain. He undoubtedly saw lots of amazing things in circumnavigating the world. In this famous prayer he rightly reminds us not to be too enamored with earthly things which can cause us to lose sight of that which is eternal.

Father in heaven, thank you for the unimaginable splendor you are preparing for those who love You! Fill us with strength by your Holy Spirit to serve you generously this week and live all our earthly days in light of eternity. Make it so I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.” Exodus 31:1-3

“God has called you to be a witness for Christ, bringing your expertise to bear on the needs of the world, pointing [those you work with] to Christ, and involving others in the only revolution that will truly transform a person and society, the revolution of the human heart brought by Jesus Christ.”

Paul M. Gould in The Outrageous Idea of the Missional Professor (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2014) 9-10.

At the CBMC President’s Council Weekend that wraps up in Florida today (coastline pictured above), Jenni and I are encouraging attendees to be generous with their L.I.F.E. (Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise). Today’s post corresponds to “expertise.”

You and I are workers for God, just like Bezalel. God has filled us with His Spirit and given us expertise to use for His glory and to point others to Him. Often this form of generosity requires great effort but can impact everyone around us. What about you? How are you generous with your expertise?

Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it. 2 Corinthians 8:24

“It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.”

Richard Braunstein in The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations, edited by Martin H. Manser (Louisville: WJKP, 2001) 122.

While at the CBMC President’s Council Weekend, Jenni and I are encouraging attendees to be generous with their L.I.F.E. (Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise). Today’s post corresponds to “finances.”

The Apostle Paul urged the Corinthians to demonstrate “proof of their love” by giving. In plain terms, he said, “Put your money where your love is.” Braunstein captures the heart of Christian love: it must be coupled with giving.

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

“Christianity for the first time made charity a rudimentary virtue…Besides its general influence in stimulating the affections, it affected a complete revolution in this sphere…For the first time in the history of mankind, [Christianity] inspired many thousands of men and women, at the sacrifice of all worldly interests…to devote their entire lives to a single object of assuaging the sufferings of humanity.”

William Edward Hartpole Lecky (1838-1903) in History of European Morals from Augustine to Charlemagne, vol. 2 (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1913) 79, 85.

While at the CBMC President’s Council Weekend, Jenni and I are encouraging attendees to be generous with their L.I.F.E. (Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise). Today’s post corresponds to “influence.”

The generous influence of early church Christians rooted in grace was unlike anything humankind had ever seen. No other influence matches it today either. There is nothing more beautiful than charity, that is, undeserved kindness. I felt it today in real time.

A service that manages my website security, Sucuri, notified me this morning that it went down. Yikes! Though we played phone tag all day, as I was speaking or in meetings all day, they just got it back online tonight. I don’t think the evil one wants these messages to get out and get shared!

My aim in my teaching today was to celebrate the influence of four NT couples to inspire attendees to live likewise. In Lecky’s words, I hoped to affect “a complete revolution” in their thinking that inspires them to “the sacrifice of all worldly interests.” Based on their feedback, God is at work!

Father in heaven, help all who read this realize that the aim of Christian charity is not to solve the problems of the world, but to reflect your grace to humankind through our otherworldly influence. Make it so by your Holy Spirit I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23

“There is no division between spiritual work and secular work, as has so often been the case in Christian thought. This is true with what has been called “God’s work,” the work that is done by “men (or women) of God.” It is not true that the work that a minister does is exclusively “God’s work,” while the work that others do is “secular work.” A spiritual leaders work is of no greater value than the most common laborer’s menial task. Leaders fulfill the functions for which they have been gifted, but their labor is not of greater value than others.”

John D. Garr in Generosity: The Righteous Path to Divine Blessing (Atlanta: Golden Key Press, 2014) 114.

Over the next four days at the CBMC President’s Council Weekend, Jenni and I will encourage attendees to be generous with their L.I.F.E. (Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise). Today’s post corresponds to “labor.”

The Apostle Paul reminds us that our work matters to God because whatever we do, we do it for Him and not for human masters. As Garr rightly notes, the work spiritual leaders “is of no greater value than the most common laborer’s menial task.”

Labor generously at whatever you do today for God!

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27

“Generosity has to do with our capacity to get caught up in this flow of something bigger than ourselves, to imagine ourselves as a portal of divine abundance. Rightly understood, divine providence frees us from our illusions of control for the sake of God’s abundant charity. In so doing we may also invite others to participate in the unhindered flow of God’s goods.

The vision of generosity I am sketching here is not simply personal or private. What we need in today’s economy are examples of people carrying this trust in abundance, the flow of generosity, into their business practices. By that I do not mean simply that businesses should make large donations to worthy causes (though that’s not a bad thing); rather, I mean businesses should build the habits and practices of generosity into the process of producing and selling goods.

We need to be able to see, describe, and imagine doing business in such a way that we refuse to make profit our highest goal, thus focusing our work on the shared good that is produced both for the workers and the buyers. Generous business…refuses to create wealth for some at the expense of others but trusts that God has given enough abundance for everyone to have what they need. The job of generous business is to participate in that flow of abundance.”

Scott Bader-Saye in Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear: The Christian Practice of Everyday Life (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2007) 143.

Jenni and I fly to Florida today to speak multiple times at the CBMC President’s Council Weekend. Today’s post reflects the general impact I pray we have in the lives of the attendees: to inspire them to trust that God has given enough abundance for everyone to have what they need and to participate as portals in that flow of divine abundance through generous business. Make it so Lord Jesus!