Irenaeus of Lyons: Persevere

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

“The reason why God requires service from man is this: because He is good and merciful and He desires to confer benefits on those who persevere in His service. In proportion to God’s need of nothing is man’s need for communion with God. This is the glory of man: to persevere and remain in the service of God.”

Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-202) in Against Heresies as recounted Milton Walsh in Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012) 235.

If you read yesterday’s post, you will see that at GTP we are experiencing a time of affliction. Thanks to those who have come to our aid. We are still in need of assistance. If you are able, make a gift here.

I am discerning this week in studying the lives of Nehemiah, Joseph, and Daniel that they did what God called them to do, and endured great difficulty, and grew through the process. God help us endure likewise.

I am praying that GTP grows stronger through this time of suffering and glorifies God by our perseverance. If you are facing hard times, I pray your suffering produces perseverance and hope because of the matchless love of God.

This is God’s generosity at it’s best. He gives us what we need, when we need it. He confers unfathomable benefits on those who don’t grow weary and lose heart. We’ve got this. God’s got us. Let us glory in our sufferings.

And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. Matthew 14:19

“If God is love, charity should know no limit for God cannot be confined… Let us now extend to the poor and those afflicted in different ways a more open-handed generosity, so that God may be thanked through many voices and the relief of the needy supported by our fasting.

No act of devotion on the part of the faithful givers God more pleasure than that which is lavished on the poor. Where he finds charity with its loving concern, there he recognizes the reflection of his own fatherly care. In these acts of giving do not fear lack of means.

A generous spirit is itself great wealth. There can be no shortage of material for generosity where it is Christ who feeds and Christ who is fed. In all this activity, there is present the hand of Him who multiplies the bread by breaking it, and increases it by giving it away.”

Leo the Great (c. 400-461) in Lent 10 as recounted Milton Walsh in Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012) 602.

GTP has been afflicted. Rather than express animosity toward a bank, I want to extend to them what I want to receive: charity. This is one of those, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” moments.

I am sad to share that our bank accounts, both for operations and savings, were (unjustly!) cancelled and frozen. The cancel culture is real and antagonism toward Christian causes has brought affliction to GTP. Here’s the short story.

I went to the bank to withdraw cash for GTP program work in Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, parts of the world where most everything required cash for payment. The new manager, not sympathetic to Christian work asked me probing questions about GTP and it’s operations.

It started to get uncomfortable and then to my surprise, he refused to allow me to make a withdrawal which was well under the $10,000 legal limit for notifying the government. His claimed reasoning was that it would lower their available cash for other customers. But I could tell he had an alternate agenda.

I left and called the CFO and said, “How close are we to opening an account with our new bank?” For months the GTP Finance and Audit Committee has discerned this might happen, by the grace of God, were in the final stages of opening an account. Due diligence in the current banking world takes a long time.

And it has been hard to locate a financial institution comfortable with the fact that GTP is unashamedly Christian and legally receives and sends money from all over the world. We have gotten gifts from 56 countries. We’ve sent money to far fewer countries. Mostly capacity building grants, and we do all the necessary government processes for sending money overseas.

At any rate, our account failed to pay a credit card bill on Monday and we learned the hard way that our accounts were frozen and we don’t have access to our funds for at least a few weeks. That’s hard when payroll is next week. God has supplied some checks this week, for which we praise Him.

But we may have obligations this month and have insufficient available funds. So that said, if you have resources you can deploy to GTP, please make a gift using our Square or PayPal giving portals today. Or reply to this email if you want our new bank account info to make a transfer to us.

Let Jesus multiply your bread by breaking it and sharing it. Please give generously in our time of affliction. Thank you.

So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. James 1:16-18 (The Message)

“Since God knew that man is enticed by favors, He wished to bind him to His love by means of His gifts… He gave Him a soul, made in His likeness, and endowed with memory, intellect, and will; He gave him a body equipped with the senses; it was for him that He created heaven and earth and such abundance of things. He made all the things out of love for man, so that all creation might serve man, and man in turn might love God out of gratitude for so many gifts.”

Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) in Practice as recounted Milton Walsh in Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012) 234.

Today’s post comes with a friendly warning in life after Easter. As you walk with God, don’t be surprised if He showers you with gifts. Receive them. Enjoy them. But don’t stop there!

Share them as well. Because whatever we hold onto tends to get a hold onto us. The gifts can replace the Giver in our hearts. Don’t let it happen. What’s the remedy to avoid this problem.

You guessed it. Generous giving. As God blesses you. Respond lovingly. Imitate His generosity by giving gifts from what you have. See what happens. Join me in cultivating gratitude and generosity.

Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. Nehemiah 1:11

“O God, grant that whatever good things I have, I may share generously with those who have not, and whatever good things I do not have, I may request humbly from those who do.”

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) in Bitter and Sweet: A Journey into Easter by Tsh Oxenreider (Eugene: Harvest House, 2022) 54.

Tomorrow I am teaching in the GTP Emerging and Established Stewards webinar series offering a biblical perspective on top pressing issues for CEOs. Click here to attend (or get access to the recording). One of my biblical examples is Nehemiah.

I love how he asks questions, demonstrates empathy, cries out to God with fasting, confession, and prayer, and then requests humbly what he needs from his friend, King Artaxerxes, while trusting God to grant him favor. CEO’s today need to do likewise.

With Aquinas let us share generously what God supplies. And when we have needs, teach us to request them humbly while trusting God to supply. When we follow this path, God’s work gets done in a way that brings God maximum glory.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

“Prayer is an aspiration of the heart. It is a simple glance directed to Heaven. It is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy. Finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.”

Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) as recounted by James McCaffrey in The Way of the Carmelites: A Prayer Journey Through Lent (London: SPCK, 2017) 43.

During Lent we focused on prayer to prepare us for life after Easter. Thérèse calls a cry of gratitude and love that expands our souls and unites us to Jesus.

After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned the disciples to multiply themselves, and He promised the gift of His presence. We can talk to our risen Lord anytime.

And prayer is not some lofty exercise. We abide with Him in real-time with a “simple glance” heavenward in times of trial as well as moments of joy.

This relates to generosity because in life after Easter, He will call us out of our comfort zones. He beckons us out of the grandstands of life and into the game. It’s go time!

And because His tomb is empty, we know we will be filled with whatever we need to live, give, serve, and love generously. All we need to do is ask with gratitude and love.

Don’t overcomplicate this. Remain connected with our risen Lord through prayer and sense Him with you every moment.

We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! 1 Corinthians 4:10

“Out of gratitude and love for Him, we should desire to be reckoned fools and glory in wearing His livery.”

Ignatius of Loyola in his Constitutions as recounted by Jean-Joseph Surin in Perfect Fools, ed. by John Saward (Oxford: OUP, 1980) 141.

Through church history, those who celebrate the resurrection have been reckoned as fools. We get to join those ranks in life after Easter. And I particularly like what Ignatius adds to this idea. He says to “glory in wearing His livery.”

But what does this mean? Our gratitude and love motivate us to wear His name and proverbial uniform. It basically means that because of gratitude for His work on the cross for us we will bear his name and any public shame that goes with it.

The Corinthians, it seems, had conformed to the culture instead of Christ. They wanted to look good for the world. Let’s not fall into that trap. Instead, let your love and gratitude drive you to live differently and radically generously.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

“Cheerfulness consists in not regarding things as our own, but as entrusted to us by God for the benefit of our fellow servants. It consists in scattering them abroad generously with joy and magnanimity, not reluctantly or under compulsion.”

Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022) in “Wisdom of the Saints” posted by the Greek Orthodox Community of Prince George.

Happy Easter. My word for the year is gratitude and I am learning how it connects with cheerfulness.

When our gratitude motivates us to give our lives as generous, living sacrifices like Christ gave His life for us, the motivating factor that surfaces is cheerfulness. We don’t have to do it, we get to do it.

I pray you have a blessed day of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But I hope it does not stop there. In response, let us live, give, serve, and love others with cheerfulness.

Everything we possess has been entrusted to us to be enjoyed and scattered “abroad generously with joy and magnanimity.” What will this look like for you in life after Lent?

My prayer is that our Lenten fasting, praying, and serving has prepared us for cheerful and generous living on Easter and beyond.

What does “He ascended” mean except that He also descended to the lower, earthly regions? Ephesians 4:9

“The view of the early church fathers and the consensus view through the centuries has been that it refers to a descent of Christ to the underworld. Although a difficult issue, this view appears to have the greatest amount of evidence to support it. Many theologians refer to it as the decensus ad infernos…

This passage thus has significant lines of correspondence with 1 Peter 3:19 where Peter says that Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison” following his death… the text speaks of Christ’s descending to the underworld and proclaiming a message of victory over the rebellious demonic powers.”

Clinton E. Arnold in Ephesians (ZECNT; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010) 253-254.

What did Jesus do between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday?

A few verses give us clues that come together to reveal He was working in Hades. Today’s Scripture places Jesus in the lower earthly regions. And this verse from Matthew locates Him in the heart of the earth.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40

It seems He was in Hades proclaiming good news, victory over death. This would explain why saints who had died were raised from the dead.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. Matthew 27:51-53

He also appears to have been preaching to the dead. Perhaps giving them an opportunity to find life. We don’t know exactly.

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. 1 Peter 4:6

But the cool part for us is that Jesus did not stay there.

Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did His body see decay. Acts 2:31

This relates to our generosity in this way. And don’t miss this. Between His death and the resurrection, Jesus did the proverbial “dirty work” the Father mapped out for Him. He went to Hades to do good work: decensus ad infernos.

Now I realize you and I cannot travel to Hades, but God might have us go to some difficult places to accomplish His plan and purposes. And often no one will see or know what precisely we did. That’s okay, God sees and knows.

And we can proclaim good news in those places like Jesus did. I have experienced this in my recent travels. It’s true, which is why I testify that when we do this, prepare to watch life conquer death. See the evil spirits run and help captives find freedom.

Ponder with gratitude the life you have in Jesus today and where He might want you to descend.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

“Whoso disbelieves not the Resurrection will take care to live with all heed so as to obtain eternal happiness, of which may we all be counted worthy, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) in “Wisdom of the Saints” posted by the Greek Orthodox Community of Prince George.

Jenni and I are happy to have moved into our new home. Come visit us on your next trip to Colorado. But this happiness is nothing like the joy we have because we have been counted worthy to obtain eternal life through our risen Lord.

Good Friday is “good” because of the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Generosity is sharing the opportunity for eternal happiness (made possible on this day) with as many people as possible.

I am thankful to serve with GTP. What excites me most is that when we empower national workers to build trust and grow local giving, it causes gospel ministry to grow and flourish. In short, more people learn about Jesus.

That’s how I actively spread eternal happiness. How are you helping make Christ known locally, nationally, and globally? If you want to be more involved with us at GTP, reply to this email. Happy Good Friday everyone!

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:35-36

“The merciful person is he who gives to others what he himself received from God, whether it be money, or food, or strength, a helpful word, a prayer or anything else that he has through which he can express his compassion for those in need.”

Peter of Damascus in “Wisdom of the Saints” posted by the Greek Orthodox Community of Prince George.

On Maundy Thursday we see Jesus washing the feet of the disciples and instructing us to the same kind of service. We get to be merciful conduits of compassion extending to others what Christ does for us.

He stoops to do the lowest of things for us to lift us up. He washes our sin from us and remembers it no more. He lavishes us with gifts we do not deserve. He does so much more when we pause to reflect on it.

This gives us a roadmap for our generosity. Whatever gifts God showers on us, we do well to think how we might enjoy and share them. When we live this way, we imitate the Jesus of Maundy Thursday and appear as children of the Most High.