Basil of Caesarea: Much

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

“The rich man is not one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much.”

Basil of Caesarea (339-370) in Homily II, Concerning the Statues.

We observed Easter in Ukraine. It was a rich time with a young couple from the seminary where Jenni taught. The blessed us with hospitality.

Each of us — Jenni, Milan, and me — has received enthusiastic and strategic invitations to return to Ukraine. We pray God will open the door for continued service to receptive people here.

We pray for God to guide us in discerning what to do with these invitations as our lives and our schedules are not our own. They belong to the one who redeemed us with His blood.

After church and lunch yesterday afternoon, we rode a bus from Lviv, Ukraine, to Košice, Slovakia. That was hard. The border crossing took 5.5 hours. We got to Košice at 3:15am.

Today, we connect by train to Bratislava at 11:30am, then to Mikulov, Czech Republic, from 2-4 April 2024, to activate working group to form a peer accountability group here (like ECFA in USA).

In life after Lent, our mindset toward everything should shift. Regarding possessions, instead of focusing on getting we focus on giving. In this light, rich is the person, like Jesus, who gave much.

What does giving “much” look like for you in your life after Lent. Everything has changed with Easter. Now it’s go time! What do you have that you can give to God?

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2020%3A1-16&version=NRSVUE

“If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!

And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry.
Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!”

John Chrysostom (c. 247-407) in his Easter Sermon (c. 400)

I love this parable and I love this short sermon which celebrates the implications of the resurrection. Whether we have served God all our lives, or a few days, because of the resurrection we can anticipate the Table richly laden.

Three aspects of this parable stand out to me from Ukraine.

Firstly, many have come to faith from the streets. I think of Andrey Kratsev in Kharkiv. He proclaims the gospel despite great of danger. His joy is contagious. Oleg joined him and now runs one of the Hope Relief Centers.

Secondly, the idle have been mobilized. On the front lines, many now build tiny homes, prepare food bags, make trench candles, and more. They have joined God’s team, are growing in faith, and will soon reap their reward.

Thirdly, there is no place for grumbling. God’s generosity toward us in Jesus does not entitle us to anything but a seat at the eternal table. And it should motivate us to fill the empty chairs and be thankful we have a seat.

The punchline of the parable is the best part. It drives this last point home — “the last will be first, and the first will be last” — It means we are all the same before God, sinners saved by His grace and mercy.

Speaking of a richly laden table. I love the food in Ukraine. It has the flavor of love and gratitude.

Wherever you are, invite people to meet Jesus. Mobilize them to serve. And don’t ever grumble because Jesus paid for your ticket with his blood. His victory assures your place. Enjoy the riches of His goodness.

And pray for peace from conflict here and everyone, and for peace on earth only found in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

Basil of Caesarea (339-370).

Milan and I wrapped up our meetings in Kyiv yesterday with top agricultural officials. Seriously, Milan is a leading agricultural expert in Czech Republic.

He helped explain to them the source of some of their challenges in millions of hectares of crops. They will translate one of his books and invite him back to shape the future of agriculture here. Not a small opportunity.

And we said a warm goodbye to Sasha Volyanyk (GTP Country Coordinator) and Mykola Semenov (a pastor and our driver logging thousands of kilometers behind the wheel).

Today, we travel by train to Lviv to reunite with Jenni who had a great week of teaching. She told me yesterday that the are begging her to return as well. We have done what we could on this trip.

Though war escalates all around us, with sirens sounding on every turn, and the occasional explosion that shakes the ground, we can be tempted to wonder. What difference have I made?

Why serve workers at war? The truth is, we made a huge difference in the lives of those we served. Our role is not to solve all of Ukraine’s problems but to do what we can with what we have.

That’s true for you, reading this wherever you are on Easter Saturday. Don’t focus on what you can’t do or how big the problems are around you. Focus on what you can do. Your efforts are never lost.

I read the Scripture above in the bomb shelter below a church in Kherson. Just as I did, a sound shook the earth and the power went out. No one despaired. In minutes, a generator restored power.

Then we drank coffee together. How? God led them to drill a well only days before the dam was destroyed causing all their water supply to dry up. That well supplied “living water” to the city.

For a short time it was the only water thousands of people could access. They have dispensed over 2,000,000 liters of water from that well. They are doing what they can with what they have. God has used them.

That got me thinking some more. We did make a difference! We sowed love and encouragement in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Iprin, and hope in some really hard places like Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, and Kharkiv.

The people thanked us for coming, saying, “No one visits us.” By “no one” they implied no international visitors. They said our presence brought them hope they were not forgotten. So what have we done?

We did something bigger than strategize a sustainable model for schools and churches or than lift up tiny home builders in hard places or supply paraffin for church workers creating candle stoves for soldiers in the trenches.

We sowed the gospel with courtesy and kindness and reaped friendship and love that will last for all eternity. I can’t wait to hear how this was the case with Jenni. And I want to hear it from you who are reading this.

Our labor is not in vain in the Lord. Our good deeds are never lost.

One more story. At our last meal, Sasha’s phone rang. Sasha heard word about a soldier from his church. Prior to the war, that man ran a good business in Poland. When the conflict broke, he came to serve.

The man was actually battling stomach cancer and feared he would not pass his physical. He enlisted in the army and served for more than a year. I saw the look on Sasha’s face.

The call reported that he died in battle on Good Friday. That man did what he could. The question is, will we? 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

“I have learned from Jesus Christ Himself what charity is, and how we ought to practise it; for He says: “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye love one another.” Never can I, therefore, please myself in the hope that I may obtain the name of a servant of Christ if I possess not a true and unfeigned charity within me.”

Basil of Caesarea (339-370).

We spent Maundy Thursday washing the proverbial feed of God’s workers in three eastern oblasts of Ukraine, where the situation is getting much more difficult. Lord have mercy and protect them from harm as they lead many to Christ.

We woke in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovska, and traveled to visit and pray with Michael Cherenkov’s mother, brother, and sister, who had been recently evacuated from Myrnohrad in Donetska and now reside to a village outside Dnipro.

From there, we traveled to Kharkivska, and Poltavska, and can report that the conflict seems to be escalating. I counted this morning that my phone had 58 air raid notifications yesterday, and we saw only one explosion.

Russia seems to be taking out infrastructure. It’s working. Many parts of Kharkiv had no power, but our visit encouraged workers creating supply packages for soldiers and ministering to hurting people. How has the church grown?

Valerii Kuzmych, pastor of Redemption Church (where I preached last July) said his church had 100 before the war, now 1,300. Most are new believers. We visited their facility making recycled can stoves for soldiers to warm themselves and cook.

They have a wick, paraffin, and filled with recycled cardboard. They last four hours, and the church makes them. It was a moving moment to hear how everyone in the church is working together. I took a picture to show the good side of war.

You need not see rubble and destruction. Imagine how these candles warm the soldiers in the trenches in the freezing cold of night. Our visit warmed them as well and showed unfeigned charity. We left money and part of our hearts there.

We also visited Hope Relief Centers, holding the line in Saltivka, despite constant shelling. Andrey Kratsev, Oleg Bratishko, and others with them have been tempted to give up, but they have persevered and seen tons of people come to faith.

These are just a few stories from the front lines. We wish we had more money to leave with these churches. In the last two days, the biggest thing that impacted us was hearing the same message two days in a row.

“Thanks for coming to encourage and help us in Kherson. No one visits Kherson” … “Thanks for coming to encourage and help us in Kharkiv. No one visits Kharkiv.”

I woke this morning to air raid sirens and an explosion in Poltava. I still have power and wifi somehow so I will post this. It’s undoubtedly the most unforgettable Good Friday of my life.

Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins. Our world is so broken and you are our only hope. May our unfeigned charity reflect your love to a lost and hurting world. And please bring peace to Ukraine. In your mercy, hear our prayers.

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

“I gave as an offering my all to Him Who had won me and saved me, my property, my fame, my health, my very words… In considering all these things, I preferred Christ. And the words of God were made sweet as honeycombs to me, and I cried after knowledge and lifted up my voice for wisdom. There was moreover the moderation of anger, the curbing of the tongue, the restraint of the eyes, the discipline of the belly, and the trampling under foot of the glory which clings to the earth.”

Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390).

Yesterday, I talked about the Tiny House project. And today I want to show you a picture.

The village of Posad-Pokrovske, just north of Kherson, had 2,800 people only a couple years ago. Today, it has about 1,000. Many were killed in this little town, and others left when their homes were damaged or absolutely destroyed.

Before the conflict, only a few people went to church in Posad-Pokrovske. Now about one tenth or around 100 of the 1,000 in the village follow Jesus. They prefer Christ and attend the local church because of the care they have witnessed.

Again, on this note, in collaboration with Sasha Volyanyk (who has served more than two decades with YWAM and also serves as GTP Country Coordinator for Ukraine), GTP has launched Ukraine: Project Tiny Houses. Click to learn more. Work with your church or small group to pool together $7,500 to build a home for an IDP (internally displaced person).

One thing I love about this project is the location and mobility of the Tiny Houses. They are situated on the person’s property, so they can rebuild their damaged home whilst having a temporary dwelling. And it can be moved easily if the conflict escalates.

And yet, seeing the temporary dwelling there reminded me of a profound truth. We are all here on this earth for a short, temporary time. Soon we will depart for our earthly home. What if we all live simply (and help others have a simple shelter) pour God’s money into building our eternal homes? What if we all did that instead of using money to pursue earthly passions?

It’s Passion Week Thursday, the day our Lord washed the disciples feet as an example for how He wants us to serve others. Would you join me in preferring Christ to earthly passions?

When we give to help the hurting, we show by our actions (which is all God cares about) that we prefer Christ.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

“May God preserve me from being rich while they are indigent, from enjoying robust health if I do not try to cure their diseases, from eating good food, clothing myself well and resting in my home if I do not share with them a piece of my bread and give them, in the measure of my abilities, part of my clothes and if I do not welcome them into my home.”

Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390).

Our human tendency is to distance ourselves from danger and isolate ourselves from difficulty. It’s natural. But in our journey with Jesus, we must taste the supernatural. On this note, I would like to share three supernatural benefits linked to the privilege of serving hurting people in wartime.

Firstly, today’s Scripture reveals to us that laying down our lives for others (or at least putting ourselves in mortal danger to serve them) is the greatest expression of Christian love. There is no more Christlike act, for this marks exactly what He did. He laid down his life for us. It’s both really hard and really good.

Secondly, moving toward brokenness (and not away from it) teaches us priceless lessons that cannot be learned in a classroom or by watching a Youtube video. You discover experientially that pouring yourself out results not in becoming empty but rather enriched in unspeakable ways. We experience despair and deliverance in real-time.

Thirdly, it changes our mindset about future stewardship decisions. We start to see why Jesus taught what he taught on money. We cannot fathom making materialistic decisions when people around us have insufficient food, drinking water, and/or shelter. To be indigent, refers not just to lacking basic necessities but lacking a home.

On this note, in collaboration with Sasha Volyanyk (who has served more than two decades with YWAM and also serves as GTP Country Coordinator for Ukraine), GTP has launched Ukraine: Project Tiny Houses. Click to learn more. Work with your church or small group to pool together $7,500 to build a home for an IDP (internally displaced person).

For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. 2 Corinthians 8:12

“Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.”

Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390).

When I think of the Passion Week, I picture Jesus concluding his teaching with few parables.

He last words to us would be to live in a state of readiness (like the ten virgins), to put to work the resources He has entrusted to us (like the talents), and to care for those society forgets (like the sheep and not the goats).

The Ukrainians, largely speaking, feel forgotten by the rest of the world.

I am thankful that our ministry this week reminds everyone to trust in God, regardless of the outcome of the conflict, and to urge the Christian workers we resource to position themselves as conduits of hope and love.

And I am thankful for those who have sent gifts to help us. Others have yet to give.

Please don’t consider your gift too small. The widow’s two pennies were not small to Jesus. The boy’s five loaves and two fishes were not too small to Jesus. When we give God what we have, He multiplies is.

For inspiration, watch Palmful of Maize or share it with one person this week. Also pray with me as stewards at a church in Hong Kong take up a collection to help GTP spread this vision to the last and farthest corners of Malawi.

And please ray for our safety. In the western part of Ukraine, we experience air raids daily.  Thankfully, we hear that defense intercepts most missiles before they hit their targets.

While Jenni teaches in Lviv, I am now traveling eastward. Today, I go from Ivano-Frankivsk to Ternopil to Mykoliav. Tomorrow to Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, and Kharkiv before heading west for meetings in Kyiv and Irpin.

Please make a special passion week gift to help our Ukraine: Project Structure efforts here.

No gift is too small. Your giving helps with expenses like modest lodging, petrol, a hot dog and coffee for breakfast at a petrol station, and distributions to ministries so far ranging from $500 to $1,000 to $2,500 to $7,500, so far

Thanks for sending Milan and me as gospel ambassadors of hope and love. No gift is too small.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard Him say it. Mark 11:12-14

”How grateful you should be to your own benefactor; how cheerful you should be at the honor he has conferred on you, that you do not have to make a nuisance of yourself at other people’s doors, but other people come and bother you at your own!

But at the moment you are grumpy and no one can get to you. You avoid meeting people in case you might be obliged be part with even a little of what you have. You can say only one thing: “I have nothing to give you. I am only a poor man.” Indeed you are poor and utterly destitute. Poor in love, poor in humanity, poor in faith in God, and destitute of any hope of eternal happiness.”

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) in Homily De Caritate, 3, 6: PG 31, 266-267, 275.

It’s Passion Week Monday. Before cleaning out the temple Jesus curses the fig tree. It has not produced the fruit it was supposed to produce.

I thought this fit well with the last reading from this treatise from Basil. Are we gratefully producing fruit for our Benefactor Jesus, or are we grumpy and unfruitful?

Serving workers in hard places that face poverty, corruption, affliction, and war has caused me to give my life to stir people to snap out of complacency and choose rich generosity.

Today’s Scripture serves as a wake-up call for all of us. Will we be curses for our lack of fruitfulness and labeled utterly destitute.

Jesus does not care if we believe (remember even the demons believe and shudder), He cares whether or not we follow Him and do what He tells us to do because of what we believe.

That’s our fruit. Strategic meetings are going well in Ukraine. The model to help schools scale and grow sustainably has been well received by two key schools.

When we strengthen stewards with standards, we can see sustainable ministry in the hardest places. Don’t give them handouts that create dependency. Work with GTP to give them a hand up.

That’s the other thing Jesus did on Passion Week Monday is his classic “Last call!”

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.” John 12:23-30

So what will you do? Will you fall into the ground and die to produce much fruit? That’s what Jesus did for you so that you and I might have life.

Will you sow the financial resources you have to reap an abundant harvest? That’s what Jesus did for you. He set aside the riches of heaven for you. He became poor so you might become rich.

Don’t be grumpy. Be grateful you get to give. And if you have not already contributed to our effort in Ukraine, please make a gift here. Still praying for another $2,000-$4,000 needed in real time.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9

“Do you not see how people throw away their wealth for a moment’s glory, for the shouts and praise of the crowds in the theatre, at sporting events, at fights with wild beasts in the arena? Where can you get that sort of glory for yourself if you hold on to your money or spend it meanly? God will give his approbation; the angels will praise you; all people who have existed since the beginning of the world will call you blessed. You will receive eternal glory and the crown of righteousness as a prize for rightly disposing of your wealth – wealth that in any case cannot last and must decay.”

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) in Homily De Caritate, 3, 6: PG 31, 266-267, 275.

Approbation is approval or praise. Imagine if today was your last day on earth.

Pause right now and picture it. You are in line waiting to meeting Jesus. The queue may be filled the Ukrainian followers of Jesus whose lives were snuffed out by enemy attacks.

I saw a funeral procession of cars yesterday in Khust that brought a tear to my eye.

Hopefully you will have made friends for yourself with earthly money, so that many will welcome you into your eternal dwellings. The time to make the choice is now.

And notice the new header photo. Look closely. What do you see at the base of the trees at this orchard in Khust? It was located next to the place we ate lunch and caught my attention.

The daffodils bring the right insects to the trees to eat pests that might harm the fruit and add nutrients to the soil. I learned this from Dr. Milan Hluchy who has joined me on this trip.

He’s been a great helper. He speaks Russian, which all Ukrainians know, and so he’s been like a helper and a translator assisting me from morning to night and helping carry my bags.

Milan is like this flower. We can all be like this flower. Plant ourselves by trees to make them fruitful.

I am thankful he has planted his life next to me. Please consider planting yourself by the tree of GTP. Click here to become a monthly giver or to make a special gift to help cover unanticipated expenses in Ukraine.

And thanks for your prayers for our strategic meetings in Khust. They could not have gone any better! Stay tuned or a full report. Now safely in Lviv for two meetings then to Ivano-Frankivsk tomorrow.

Adding a quick message to request prayer for safety and support.

Air raids both in the middle of the night and this morning (see my Facebook post) in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk damaged infrastructure.

The noise of the sirens threw Jenni and I out of bed at 3:45am. Raids continued this morning. In this somewhat tense moment when locals say conflict is escalating, just moments ago, Jenni and I said goodbye.

She will teach this week at the seminary in Lviv. I will begin my loop around the country with strategic meetings and to aid frontline workers.

This strikes make our support of Christian workers planting churches and aiding broken people more important. With more infrastructure destroyed, the workers resources to aid the hurting.

Pray for safe passage for Milan and me to Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Irpin, and back to Lviv.

As we enter the passion week, consider how Christ laid down His life for you, and join us in sacrificing financially on behalf of those in great need. God sees and “will give his approbation.”

This is rightly disposing of your wealth.

They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor. Psalm 112:9

“Why do you think nothing of the future hopes that are stored up by those who despise the cares of the present time? Come, spread your wealth around, be generous, give splendidly to those who are in need. Then it will be said of you as it is in the psalms: He gave alms and helped the poor: His righteousness will endure for ever.”

Basil of Caesarea (330-379) in Homily De Caritate, 3, 6: PG 31, 266-267, 275.

Sitting in Ukraine, which has be ripped by war and difficulty in recent years I find three things today.

Firstly, I find unmatched receptivity to the gospel. Anyone willing to come to this setting can have an audience. Secondly, I see a profound opportunity for those who have been blessed to bless others in their time of need: that may be a message for you. Thirdly, I feel myself convinced that God looks for people willing to despise the cares of this present time and live for eternity.

Give splendidly to accredited churches and ministries wherever you are around the world today. May their accountability inspire your generosity.

And may your horn be lifted high in honor by our faithful God for your sacrifice, which of course pales in comparison to what Jesus did for each of us.