Martin Luther: Are you rich or poor in spirit?

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

“To be spiritually poor means, that we do not attach our hearts to worldly possessions, whether God has given us worldly goods or not. And again, to be rich in spirit means to be attached in our hearts to worldly possessions, whether God has given us worldly goods or not. Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Psalm 62:10

Those are spiritually poor who are not self-confident, who keep God before their eyes, and do not live at random, like the world; but who are careful of what they do, and do not do; who honestly compare their lives with the Word of God, and see how our nature is so corrupted by sin that the proper obedience is sadly lacking, and they appear to themselves as the greatest sinners.”

Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Luther’s Explanatory Notes on the Gospels, compiled from his works by Rev. E. Mueller and translated by Rev. P. Anstadt (York, PA: P. Anstadt, 1899) 25.

What are you attached to in your heart?

Are you living “at random like the world” or honestly comparing your life with the Word of God?

“When you practice the spiritual discipline of simplicity, you stop complicating your life with your pace and your possessions…Simplicity’s target, much like that of the other disciplines, is to help us seek God first. It’s so easy to lose sight of how strongly our material possessions control us and how much we actually look to our possessions as sources of emotional comfort. It’s an incredibly strong bond, but you may not even be able to see it.”

George Ohlschlager in Attachments: Why you Love, Feel, and Act the Way You Do ed. by Tim Clinton & Gary Sibcy (Brentwood: Integrity, 2002) 170.

Is your life complicated with your pace and your possessions? Has life gotten so crazy that you find yourself seeking after lots of things leaving little time for God?

“Giving is not what you do after you straighten out your finances. Giving is what you do when you straighten out your heart.”

Jeff Anderson in Divine Applause: Secrets and Rewards of Walking with an Invisible God (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2015) 82. He also authored a great book called Plastic Donuts.

My son, Sammy, and I are fly fishing with Jeff Anderson and his son, Cade. I love Jeff and his writings because they cut to the heart of the matter.

What does your giving reveal about your heart?

“When our possessions are attached to our hearts, if the tempest, or the thief, or the pettifogger take away some portion of them from us, what complaints we make, how troubled we are and how impatient! But if our possessions are only attached to the care which God wishes us to have for them, and not to our hearts, if they are taken away from us, we do not lose our good sense or peace of soul.”

Francis de Sales (1567-1622) in Introduction to the Devout Life, ed. and trans. by Allan Ross (Mineola: Dover, 2009) 154.

Today I celebrate the birth of my favorite spiritual director (and the love of my life), Jenni Hoag. She introduced me to this classic work back when she read it in her “Christian Spiritual Formation and Soul Care” certificate program at Denver Seminary. Read it to strengthen your inner person (cf. Ephesians 3:14-21).

Twice a day (when we are both home) we take our dog on a one mile walk together. This photo was taken on our walk a few days ago.

Yesterday was Faith Day at Coors Field.

Jenni, Sammy, Sophie, and I enjoyed a Colorado Rockies victory over the Cincinnati Reds (17-7) with friends William Jones, and his son, Philip, and Tim Dittloff of Stewardship Innovations and his daughter, Kelsey. After the game we heard two great evangelistic testimonies, one from from pitching coach Steve Foster, and the other from the Rockies catcher, Mike McKenry. Those two shared passionately about their love for Jesus while the stage was set for Michael W. Smith to sing.

Smith sang “This Is Your Time” (among other songs) and one phrase stuck with me as it relates to the stewardship of our material goods, spiritual gifts, and most importantly, the eternal gospel: “Embrace the mystery of all you can be.” Will we deploy ourselves and the resources in our stewardship in service to Jesus?

This phrase comes from a classic song written in honor of Cassie Bernall, a 17-year old Christ-follower who lost her life in the Columbine High School Massacre in Littleton, CO. Click to watch the YouTube video of “This Is Your Time” by Michael W. Smith which includes some rare footage of Bernall that illustrates her zeal. And enjoy the lyrics below.

“It was a test we could all hope to pass
But none of us would want to take
Faced with the choice to deny God and live
For her there was one choice to make

This was her time
This was her dance
She lived every moment
Left nothing to chance
She swam in the sea
Drank of the deep
Embraced the mystery
Of all she could be
This was her time

Though you are mourning, and grieving your loss,
Death died a long time ago
Swallowed in life, so her life carries on
Still, it’s so hard to let go

This was her time
This was her dance
She lived every moment
Left nothing to chance
She swam in the sea
Drank of the deep
Embraced the mystery
Of all she could be
What if tomorrow
What if today
Faced with the question
Oh, what would you say

This is your time
This is your dance
Live every moment
Leave nothing to chance
Swim in the sea
Drink of the deep
And fall on the mercy
And hear yourself praying
Won’t you save me
Won’t you save me

This is your time
This is your dance
Live every moment
Leave nothing to chance
Swim in the sea
Drink of the deep
Embrace the mystery of all you can be
[Repeat] This is your time

“God has given us His resources, and we are stewards…Whatever we have, we are to share with others around us, so that the gospel can be proclaimed. We must be zealous in our giving, and we must also receive knowing that we receive to give. We work under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is a gift from God.”

Timothy Stephen in “Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper” dated 29 June 2015 submitted for PT7054: Biblical Stewardship and Christian Generosity class at Torch Trinity Graduate University. To read more insights from my students, check out my recent CLA blogpost: Six Applications from Asia for all Steward Leaders.

Timothy plans to return to India to encourage Christian generosity there! I appreciated his emphasis that we know that we receive not just to consume but to give, and that our giving is guided by the greatest gift, the Holy Spirit.

Timothy, thanks for exhorting us to serve as conduits who receive to give.

“The result of living as one-kingdom stewards is freedom. You don’t have to own things. You don’t have to control them. You only have to take them as wonderful gifts that God has given and be good stewards of what you have. This is freedom.”

Sung Oh Min in “Resource Development Project” dated 9 July 2015 submitted for PT7054: Biblical Stewardship and Christian Generosity class at Torch Trinity Graduate University. To read more insights from my students, check out my recent CLA blogpost: Six Applications from Asia for all Steward Leaders.

Sung Oh desires to launch an effort to bring renewal to the Korean Church called “Transform Korea by Generosity.” A key idea from the course that resonated with him was the freedom linked to ceasing to live with one foot in the earthly kingdom and one in the eternal kingdom.

Sung Oh, thanks for your enthusiasm to call the Korean Church to the one-kingdom freedom!

“We have responsibilities as stewards of God…We are blessed to bless others but the actual Provider is God…The teachings of Old and New Testaments have taught us to be generous. I am learning to share the gospel, goods, and gifts with others and my attitude matters…Generosity is a lifestyle…”

Imran Nasir in “Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper” dated 29 June 2015 submitted for PT7054: Biblical Stewardship and Christian Generosity class at Torch Trinity Graduate University. To read more insights from my students, check out my recent CLA blogpost: Six Applications from Asia for all Steward Leaders.

Imran is a student from Pakistan. Over and over in class, he communicated the belief that generosity is a lifestyle of those who follow Jesus cheerfully. What would people say about your lifestyle?

Imran, thanks for your willingness to exhibit a generous Christian lifestyle despite the dangers in your context. You are the man!

“God knows my needs, He prepares all things, and He just asks me to follow Him. When I stayed in
Japan as a missionary the first three month I experienced God as my Provider. When I approached Osaka, Japan, I didn’t know anybody and I just had ten thousand won [about $10 US]. I asked God, “if you let me survive three months I will obey you my whole life because I want to conform to your calling. God already prepared my house to stay in and money and a friend. It was miracle time every day.”

Jongsuk Kim in “Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper” dated 29 June 2015 submitted for PT7054: Biblical Stewardship and Christian Generosity class at Torch Trinity Graduate University. To read more insights from my students, check out my recent CLA blogpost: Six Applications from Asia for all Steward Leaders.

Jongsuk recounts that until you are in a place where God is all you have, you don’t fully realize, He is all you have ever needed. Have you experienced that? For her, the class offered a rich theology to strengthen her experience of God’s faithful provision.

Jongsuk, thanks for articulating so beautifully that trusting God puts us in a place where we see miracles happen daily!

“The origin of biblical stewardship and Christian generosity is God. Firstly, God gave us the gospel. Jesus was the begotten son of God. He came to earth to save sinners…Secondly, God gave us goods and possessions to share and give. In the New Testament and the early church, the believers trusted God as their Provider. Sharing and giving possessions was very common. It was their confession for trusting God as disciples of Jesus…Thirdly, God gave us various gifts. Everyone has gifts to share…Some have the gifts of prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, administering, and showing mercy (Romans 12:3-9)…Nowadays, lots of people say that this is an era of crisis, but it is era of opportunity. Because Christians have enough stewardship and generosity to save the world: we have the gospel to recover the world, with love and compassion, beyond our goods and gifts to share.”

Min Sung Kim in “Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper” dated 29 June 2015 submitted for PT7054: Biblical Stewardship and Christian Generosity class at Torch Trinity Graduate University. To read more insights from my students, check out my recent CLA blogpost: Six Applications from Asia for all Steward Leaders.

Min Sung ministers in the area of the arts in Seoul and fervently believes people are believing the wrong media messages and that Christians must promote these times as not an “era of crisis” but an “era of opportunity” and adds: Will we take advantage of this moment or let the worldly, materialistic culture win the day?

Min Sung, thanks for opening our eyes to the opportunity these dark days offer keepers of the light. We must shine for Jesus!