Rich Mullins: What are you doing to serve the poor?

“Jesus said [cf. Matthew 25:31-46] whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers, you’ve done it to me. And this is what I have come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my Savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong.”

Rich Mullins (1955-1997), from a concert clip quoted in The Right Church by Charles Gutenson (Nashville: Abingdon, 2012) 155.

“Above all the grace and the gift that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as quoted in St. Francis of the Woods Newsletter, Autumn 2011, 1.

“Let us never forget that the truth of “the blessedness of possessing nothing,” and all such truths, cannot be learned by rote as one would learn the facts of physical science. They must be experienced before we can really know them…If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy, we must go this way of renunciation. And if we are set upon the pursuit of God He will sooner or later bring us to this test.”

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) in The Pursuit of God, (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1982) 20-21.

“Every breath we breathe is a gift from God, every bit of food we eat is given to us from His hand, every day we live is determined by Him. He has not left us to our own devices or the whims of nature or the malevolent acts of other people. No! He constantly sustains, provides for and cares for us every moment of every day. Did your car break down when you could least afford the repairs? Did you miss an important meeting because the plane you were to fly in developed mechanical problems? The God who controls the stars in their courses also controls nuts and bolts and everything on your car and on that plane you were to fly in.”

Jerry Bridges Trusting God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988) 28.

Yesterday I learned my 16-year old son had a tire blow out. Thankfully, he managed to get through the experience safely.

The day before, my flight was delayed due to mechanical problems making a day of travel longer than planned.

This week, my wife’s two year check-ups in her recovery from cancer went well too. I just said to a faculty member who asked how she was doing that we have learned that every day is a gift from God.

So imagine my surprise this morning when I have to wake up early after teaching at Trinity in Deerfield, IL, last night, and I read this.

LOL! He constantly sustains, provides for and cares for us every moment of every day.

“It is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness. But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness. In both cases we cast aspersions upon His majesty and character. God views our distrust of Him as seriously as He views our disobedience.”

Jerry Bridges in Trusting God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988) 18.

“The thought of my unworthiness for all His gifts to me and to [His poor] gets deeper and clearer. In my meditations and prayers which are so full of distractions nowadays–there stands one thing very clear–my weakness and His Greatness. I fear all things from my weakness, but I trust blindly His Greatness.”

Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light ed. Brian Kolodiejchuk (New York: Doubleday, 2007) 139.

“Stewardship is about doing what God wants us to do so we can become who he wants us to be.”

Jim Liske, President/CEO of Prison Fellowship Ministries, in Our Great Exchange video series, part 1 of 7.

“We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to our flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.”

John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion (III.7.1) as quoted by Sung Wook Chung in “Taking Up Our Cross: Calvin’s Cross Theology of Sanctification,” in John Calvin and Evangelical Theology: Legacy and Prospect. ed. Sung Wook Chung (Louisville, KY: WJK, 2009) 165.

“Before the Lord God made man upon the earth, He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. They were made for man’s uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God, without, a thousand gifts which God had showered on him.

But sin had introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul.

Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and “things” were allowed to enter. Within the human heart, “things” have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer…This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble.”

A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) in The Pursuit of God, (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1982) 21-22.

“You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have.”

Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983) as recounted in Trusting Relationship: How to Live in Intimacy with Jesus by Joseph Gillespie (Bloomington, IN: Westbow, 2012) 16.