N.T. Wright: What does your church spend money on and what message does that send to the world?

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32

“What you do with money and possessions declares loudly what sort of a community you are, and the statement made by the Early Church’s practice was clear and definite. No wonder they were able to give such a powerful testimony to the resurrection of Jesus.”

N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone part one, ch. 1-12 (London: SPCK, 2008), notes on Acts 4:32 on page 76.

“Forbid it, Lord, that our roots become too firmly attached to this earth, that we should fall in love with things. Help us to understand that the pilgrimage of life is but an introduction, a preface, a training school for what is to come.

Then shall we see all of life in its true perspective. Then shall we not fall in love with the things of time, but come to love the things that endure. Then shall we be saved from the tyranny of possessions, which we have no leisure to enjoy, of property whose care becomes a burden.

Give us we pray, the courage to simplify our lives.

So we may be mature in our faith, childlike but never childish, humble but never cringing, understanding but never conceited. So help us God, to live and not merely to exist, that we may have joy in our work. In Thy name, who alone can give us moderation and balance and zest for living, we pray. Amen.

Peter Marshall in Hymns for the Family of God (Franklin: Brentwood-Benson, 1976) #464.

“This sharing was not the result of legislation; it was utterly spontaneous. It is not when the law compels us to share but when the heart moves us to share that society is really Christian.”

William Barclay The New Daily Study Bible: Acts of the Apostles on Acts 4:23-31 in the third edition (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003) 49.

“They choose to follow a handful of Old Testament texts in the Deuteronomic tradition, and ignore completely the unanimous witness of the New Testament, which portrays discipleship not in terms of worldly success, but in terms of radical obedience and service—service that involves the sharing of possessions rather than the accumulation of them. There is simply no gospel character to the claims of the prosperity gospel, no element of genuine Christian discipleship.”

Luke Timothy Johnson in Sharing Possessions: What Faith Demands second edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011) 28.

“Godly people must remember that in conscience before God, they are free from the curse of the law, sin, and death, for Christ’s sake; but as far as the body is concerned, they must serve one another in love. Each of us must try to do our duty in our own calling and help our neighbor to the utmost of our power…

Others, as soon as liberty is preached, infer that if they are free, they may do what they like. A thing is their own; why may they not sell it for as much as they can get? They do not obtain salvation by their good deeds, so why should they give anything to the poor? Thus they carelessly shake off the slavery of the flesh and turn the liberty of the Spirit into wantonness and fleshly liberty.

Such people use their bodies and their possessions as they desire, not helping the poor or lending to the needy, but bargaining, snatching, and scraping for themselves by hook or by crook whatever they can get. But even if they laugh us to scorn, we will tell them that they are not free, however much they boast of their liberty…

As for us, we have a commandment from God to preach the Gospel, which offers everyone liberty from the law, sin, death, and God’s wrath freely, for Christ’s sake, if they believe. It is not in our power to conceal or revoke this liberty now proclaimed by the Gospel, for Christ has given it to us freely and purchased it by his death. Nor can we constrain those swine who run headlong into all licentiousness to help other people with their bodies and possessions.

We do what we can; we tell them what they ought to do. If this does not work, we commit the matter to God…Meanwhile we take comfort from the fact that our labor is not lost as far as the godly are concerned.”

Alister McGrath and J.I. Packer in Galatians (Crossway Classic Commentaries): Martin Luther (Wheaton: Crossway, 1998) 262-263.

“There are 2.3 billion square feet of self-storage in America, or more than 7 square feet for every man, woman and child… It’s now “physically possible that every American could stand–all at the same time—under the total canopy of self-storage roofing,” boast the Self Storage Association. There are about 51,000 storage facilities in the country—more than four times the number of McDonalds.

The storage shed is a symptom of our cluttered lives. Clutter is the cholesterol of the home; it’s clogging the hearth…We’re crowding ourselves out of our houses. And it’s not just stuff. Work has come home. Home offices are like small, overwhelmed rail yards, heaped with paper and tangled with cords for all the devices…Entertainment has come home, too. There are more TVs than people in the average home…

Somewhere in there, between the physical and virtual clutter, we are losing the ordinary qualities of home—the solitude to recollect, the time for families to talk…Clutter is choking our shelters. Is there any room left for us in our houses? … What’s keeping you from living?”

Howard Mansfield in “An American Dilemma: Your Clutter or Your Life” from the Denver Post, September 29, 2013.

I must thank my wife, Jenni, for clipping this article for me and for helping my family minimize clutter so our house is a sanctuary filled with God’s presence and plenty of space for living life!

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another…Have a heart that never hardens, a temper than never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) as recounted in Quote Junkie “Words to Live By” Edition (Hagopian Institute, 2008) 29.

Honestly it’s time for honesty

My heart is on my sleeve

Oh will you hear me out?

I’ve got nothing left to give of me
I gave up everything

So there is nothing left to lose for me now

But you forgive me somehow 

I’ve chased a million things
Bright lights and empty dreams
Now here I am
Right where I thought I wanted to be
I’ll trade it all right now
Leave it all and lay it down
To get back to where I belong
Lord all I’ve ever needed was your love.

Truth be told I made this world my home
I let it steal my soul, but now I want it back
Cause all I need is waiting
In your arms a place to hang my heart
Where I am known at last
You’re the one true thing I have

I’ve chased a million things
Bright lights and empty dreams
Now here I am
Right where I thought I wanted to be
I’ll trade it all right now
Leave it all and lay it down
To get back to where I belong
Lord all I’ve ever needed was your love.

And I know that I was meant to be
More than just a melody
I know that You had hopes for me

I hope you still believe in me…

I’ve chased a million things
Bright lights and empty dreams
Now here I am
Right where I thought I wanted to be
I’ll trade it all right now
Leave it all and lay it down
To get back to where I belong
Lord all I’ve ever needed was your love
Lord all I’ve needed was Your love

“All I’ve Ever Needed” is the hit single from the must-see movie, Grace Unplugged. Go see the movie, and check out this music video starring AJ Michalka.

“A business man invests what he has increases his business by putting into it a part of his profits. But I spend my capital and income and then wait for more! It is like the manna in the wilderness. I use what comes in today, keeping nothing for the morrow, confidently believing that our Father looks ahead and moves the hearts of His friends and ours to keep the stream moving.

I do not try to lay up money for future use. This is not consistent with the growth of faith which I desire and must have. I have found that if faith grows it must have something to do. I give mine the right of way. It is a contradiction to say a man trusts God to supply his needs when he has enough laid up to last him his whole life…

I freely admit that such an effort has its difficulties, some of which are very grave, but I am willing to give my brief life to the demonstration that a school can be run on the promises of God. If I fail, it will not be any more than many others have done. If I succeed, the whole brotherhood: schools, churches, and missionary enterprises will receive an inspiration which they will not be slow to acknowledge.”

Ashley S. Johnson (1857-1925) The Story of a Hundred Dollars: My Testimony Concerning the Faithfulness of God (Knoxville: Johnson Bible College: 1898, reprinted 1993) 9-10.

I must acknowledge Philip Eubanks, a student from my D.Min course at TEDS this summer. He gave me this book written by the founder of Johnson Bible College, now Johnson University. What a blessing!

“We’re drinking a cocktail that’s a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel. And we’ve intertwined them so completely that we can’t tell them apart anymore. Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make all your dreams come true. It’s the Oprah god. So I had to peel that apart. I realized I’m not supposed to be pursuing impact, I’m supposed to be pursuing God. And when I pursue God I will have exactly as much impact as He wants me to have.”

Phil Vischer, founder and former CEO of VeggieTales, in an interview titled, It’s Not About the Dream. Before his multi-million dollar company went bankrupt, Phil also made the mistake of making his dream more important than knowing Christ.