Shepherd of Hermas: Station

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. Isaiah 58:6-9a

“While fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, and giving thanks to the Lord for all His dealings with me, I see the Shepherd sitting down beside me, and saying, “Why have you come hither early in the morning?” “Because, sir,” I answered, “I have a station.” “What is a station?” he asked. “I am fasting, sir,” I replied. “What is this fasting,” he continued, “which you are observing?” “As I have been accustomed, sir,” I reply, “so I fast.” “You do not know,” he says, “how to fast unto the Lord: this useless fasting which you observe to Him is of no value.” “Why, sir,” I answered, “do you say this?” “I say to you,” he continued, “that the fasting which you think you observe is not a fasting. But I will teach you what is a full and acceptable fasting to the Lord. Listen,” he continued: “God does not desire such an empty fasting? For fasting to God in this way you will do nothing for a righteous life; but offer to God a fasting of the following kind: Do no evil in your life, and serve the Lord with a pure heart: keep His commandments, walking in His precepts, and let no evil desire arise in your heart; and believe in God. If you do these things, and fear Him, and abstain from every evil thing, you will live unto God; and if you do these things, you will keep a great fast, and one acceptable before God.”

Shepherd of Hermas (c. 100-160) in Shepherd of Hermas, Fifth Similitude, 5:1.

Don’t start 2023 with useless activity. Combine traits of a righteous life with fasting and giving thanks. Set aside your desires and with a grateful heart, pursue that which God desires.

This is not only acceptable before God. It’s the way for life. He will show up for you and hear your prayers. Do your part and He will do His. What might you need to fast from moving forward?

At GTP we have a training we replicate called Stations of Generosity. With the word ‘stations’ think seven stops along a train line. Consider that word picture as Shepherd of Hermas uses the same term.

On the road or ‘train line’ of life, setting aside our desires in fasting and giving thanks come into view as only the first two stops on the way. Those position us to make a difference.

From there, following the Prophet Isaiah echoed by the Shepherd of Hermas, we must serve others and share generously. As we do, we exhibit the righteousness God desires. At what station are you?

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:36-37

“We ought to give great thanks to the Lord that He has given us knowledge of the past, and wisdom for the present, and that we are not without understanding for the future.”

Barnabas, born Joseph of Cyprus, in the Epistle of Barnabas 5:3 (Loeb Classical Library: Kirsopp Lake, 1912)

In the early church writing that bears his name, Barnabas drips with gratitude to God. He gives thanks for knowledge in the past, wisdom in the present, and understanding for the future.

Ponder that. No wonder it led him to be an encouraging and generous character in the unfolding story of the early church! When you have knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, you have all you need.

Thanks be to God who lavishes knowledge, wisdom, and understanding on all those who seek and trust in Him. This positions us to encourage and serve others generously.

As the new year gets going, pause to give “great thanks to the Lord” for all He has taught you in the past, how He aids you in the present, and for giving you peace as you look to the future.

And consider for what purpose has He done this? Has he taught you things to lift the spirits of others? Has resourced you to play a key role in modern day Christian mission?

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

“Let us, therefore, be of those who give thanks, of those who have served God, and not of the ungodly who are judged…And let not even that trouble your mind, that we see the unjust prosperous and the servants of God in misery.

Let us have faith, my brethren and sisters. We are making trial of the living God, and contending in the present life that we may be crowned in the life to come. For none of the just receiveth a speedy reward, but waiteth for it.

For if God gave speedily the reward of the righteous, we should forthwith practice gain and not godliness; for we should seem to be righteous, not on account of what is pious, but on account of what is profitable. And on this account hath the Divine judgment overtaken a spirit that is not righteous, and hath burdened it with chains.

Now to the only God, the invisible, the father of truth, who hath sent unto us the Saviour and leader of immortality, through whom he hath made known unto us the truth and the heavenly life, to him be the glory, world without end. Amen.”

Clement of Rome (c. 90-100) in 2 Clement 18:1; 20:1-5 (Charles H. Hoole translation, 1885).

The biblical idea of “the love of money” relates to the desire for gain and the belief that money solves problems. This thinking prevails today in most of the world.

According to this mindset, everyone needs to get money to survive. This causes people to live ungodly and unjust lives in service to mammon rather than God.

Those are strong words but such living is “ungodly” as it is the opposite of God’s way and “unjust” because it causes us to hoard fearfully rather than share generously.

Clement, the bishop of Rome near the end of the first century, urged the church in Rome to live with gratitude toward God and in service toward others.

He urged them to focus on godliness and piety rather than gain or profit. He told them that God will reward the righteous but they likely will have to wait for it to come.

In short, Clement echoes the author of Hebrews calling hearers to be content with what they have and to contend in the present anticipating a crown in the life to come.

So to live with gratitude helps us grow in the area of contentment. Our living shows the world that we have everything we need in God who will never abandon us. Hallelujah!

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. Titus 3:14

“Let every one of you, brethren, give thanks to God in his own order, living in all good conscience, with becoming gravity, and not going beyond the rule of the ministry prescribed to him.”

Clement of Rome (c. 90) in 1 Clement 41:1 (Roberts-Donaldson translation).

For the coming weeks we will explore gratitude in the Apostolic Fathers and early Christian writings. Today the bishop of the church in Rome teaches us how gratitude shapes our service.

Clement and Paul were contemporaries. Paul teaches us in today’s Scripture, which he wrote to Titus, that God’s people need to learn to do what is good. Productive and generous service is part of our Christian growth.

Clement proclaims a similar message to the church in Rome. When we give thanks to God, this gratitude propels us to plays our part in the body of Christ “with becoming gravity” or with appropriate commitment.

This is doing good with gravitas. So, in plain terms, in gratitude to God for all He has done for us, let us serve God and others in 2023 with seriousness, by doing good and playing our part on the body of Christ with intentionality.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47

“Give thanks this way:

We thank you, holy Father, for your holy name which you enshrined in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality that you made known to us through Jesus your servant. To
you be the glory forever.

You, Master Almighty, have created all things for your name’s sake. You gave food and drink to all people for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to you; but to us you freely give spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Jesus, your servant. Before all things we thank you because you are mighty. To you be the glory forever.

Remember, Lord, your church. Deliver it from all evil and make it perfect in your love, and gather it from the four winds sanctified for your kingdom which you have prepared for it. For Yours is the power and the glory forever.

Let grace come, and let this world pass away!”

The Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, 10:1-6, translated by Anthony H. Jones (Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2009).

Luke writes in today’s Scripture that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.” He continues that their actions flowed from “glad and sincere hearts.”

So how did they cultivate gratitude in their hearts? It’s a good question. Thankfully we have ancient evidence that offers us a clue. It can help us cultivate gratitude in our hearts as well.

We start the year by reading an excerpt from The Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Many modern scholars call it the early church discipleship manual.

As we start the year exploring the idea of “gratitude” we find that each time they gathered, when they broke bread in communion, they read these words. And notice what surfaces in the heart of this section: gratitude.

“You gave food and drink to all people for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to you; but to us you freely give spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Jesus, your servant. Before all things we thank you…” 

Cultivating thankful hearts starts with acknowledging that God gave to us that we might return thanks to Him. He has given material and spiritual blessings freely, so before all things we thank Him and ask for His grace to come.

This runs contrary to worldly thinking which says something like this: “I got what I possess from my hard work. I earned it. It’s mine. And so I am entitled to do with it as I please.” Let’s chose a different path to start 2023.

With the early church we pray. “Remember, Lord, your church. Deliver it from all evil and make it perfect in your love, and gather it from the four winds sanctified for your kingdom which you have prepared for it.”

As we start the year with hearts filled with gratitude, may we unleash rich generosity in the four corners of the earth. And may it draw many into the church. It’s happening right now in Malawi through Palmful of Maize.

Father in Heaven, thanks for giving us so many material and spiritual blessings. By Your Holy Spirit, teach us to enjoy and share them with grateful hearts. Make it so by Your grace in 2023 we ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16

“If I am able to look at the world with the eyes of God’s love and discover that God’s vision is not that of a stereotypical landowner or patriarch but rather that of an all-giving and forgiving father who does not measure out his love to his children according to how well they behave, then I quickly see that my only true response can be deep gratitude.”

Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1996) in The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming (New York: Image Books, 1994) 105.

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming is another book from the list in 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics.

Every follower of Christ would do well to read this book. We find ourselves as the prodigal every time we seek unconditional love. And we learn to peel away the conditions we place on others.

This post brings into view my word for 2023: gratitude. Too often, we have stereotypes of God that cause us to expect things we think we deserve. If we got what we deserved we’d all be toast.

Our only posture toward the all-giving and forgiving Father can be gratitude and generosity comes into view as the best response.

I plan to explore this word, gratitude, and related ideas in the biblical text and throughout church history this year. Buckle up for an amazing adventure.

Today, the Apostle Paul places gratitude in the deepest and most central part of our being, our heart. He wants us to be centered on the idea of gratitude. With gratitude there, good things will flow.

I am grateful for people all over the world who gave to GTP at year-end. It will take a few days for the totals to get sorted, but hear my gratitude to God for all those who took the step of faith to give.

Father in heaven, cause all grace abound to everyone reading this post. Fill our hearts with gratitude in 2023 and by your Spirit make us overflow with generosity. Do this in your mercy I ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

“These souls turn back at such a time if there is none who understands them; they abandon the road or lose courage; or, at the least, they are hindered from going farther by the great trouble which they take in advancing along the road of meditation and reasoning. Thus they fatigue and overwork their nature, imagining that they are failing through negligence or sin. But this trouble that they are taking is quite useless, for God is now leading them by another road, which is that of contemplation, and is very different from the first; for the one is of meditation and reasoning, and the other belongs neither to imagination nor yet to reasoning.

It is well for those who find themselves in this condition to take comfort, to persevere in patience and to be in no wise afflicted. Let them trust in God, Who abandons not those that seek Him with a simple and right heart, and will not fail to give them what is needful for the road, until He bring them into the clear and pure light of love. This last He will give them by means of that other dark night, that of the spirit, if they merit His bringing them thereto.

The way in which they are to conduct themselves in this night of sense is to devote themselves not at all to reasoning and meditation, since this is not the time for it, but to allow the soul to remain in peace and quietness, although it may seem clear to them that they are doing nothing and are wasting their time, and although it may appear to them that it is because of their weakness that they have no desire in that state to think of anything. The truth is that they will be doing quite sufficient if they have patience and persevere in prayer…”

John of the Cross (1542-1591) in Dark Night of the Soul, translated and edited by E. Allison Peers (New York: Image Books, 1959) 10.2.

Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross is another book from the list in 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics.

This classic book reminds readers that dark times provide margin for contemplation. Such times are sometimes painful but simultaneously necessary for our growth. This book really ministered to me yesterday!

When I woke, the year-end need for GTP was still about $86,179. Then I read and meditated on Chapter 10 of this book entitled, “Of the way in which these souls are to conduct themselves in this dark night.”

I was contemplating. How should I conduct myself with two days to go? Perhaps you can relate? For a project or goal, you did everything you could to help achieve a goal, and it seemed like it was not enough.

The temptation is to lose heart, to get discouraged, or to overwork. I have done each of these things in the past. But I resolved yesterday to pray, trust God, wait for Him and abide in His love. It changed me.

God graciously reminded me that He will provide “what is needful for the road” because He knows the road ahead for me. Download the ebook. Take time to contemplate and rest in His love.

And, would you wait on the Lord with me, persevere with me, pray with me for God to release “what is needful for the road” to respond to needs in these countries?

Ukraine, Poland, Czeckia, Slovakia, Romania, Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Brazil, Malawi, Argentina, Philippines, Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Zambia, and India.

Click here to make a year-end gift to GTP. The remaining need is $65,414 with one day to go. Thanks for trusting God with me to provide “what is needful for the road.”

Together we are empowering national workers to build trust and grow local giving, so they don’t need support from outsiders. Your support helps turn dependency into discipleship.

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

“What we give to our brethren in the exercise of charity is a deposit with the Lord, who, as a faithful depositary, will ultimately restore it with abundant interest. Are our duties, then, of such value with God that they are as a kind of treasure placed in his hand? Who can hesitate to say so when Scripture so often and so plainly attests it? But if any one would leap from the mere kindness of God to the merit of works, his error will receive no support from these passages. For all you can properly infer from them is the inclination on the part of God to treat us with indulgence. For, in order to animate us in well-doing, he allows no act of obedience, however unworthy of his eye, to pass unrewarded.”

John Calvin () in Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.18.6

Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin is another book from the list in 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics. It a lengthy important work of systematic theology that includes this section on giving.

The exercise of giving is rooted in the grace of God. His grace knows no limits, and, as Calvin notes in this classic work, every “exercise of charity is a deposit with the Lord, who, as a faithful depositary, will ultimately restore it with abundant interest.” And no act of well-doing will “pass unrewarded.”

As 2022 draw to a close, please do three things linked to your giving. Firstly, avoid year end keeping, as His eye sees everything you do. Instead, give more than your capacity because He is a faithful depositary. You’ll ultimately get it restored to you with abundant interest. Know that a reward awaits you.

I want to share a quick story on this. Yesterday, I said to my wife, “How much do we have to give at year-end?” She looked at the budget and shared a number. I replied, “How about if we give even more than that?” I suggested a number even hired. She agreed. I am thankful for a wife willing to give sacrificially.

Secondly, align your giving with Scripture and what it attests. That means show charity, or unconditional love in action, like the Good Samaritan. He did not give a handout that created a dependency; he gave a hand up and built a disciple. He helped get a hurting person on his feet with love in action.

On this note, please click here to make a year-end gift to GTP. As I stated yesterday, God has opened doors for work in a host of countries. We empower national workers to build trust and grow local giving, so they don’t need support from outsiders. This follows the pattern of the Apostle Paul.

Your year-end gift will advance GTP work in 2023 in Ukraine, Poland, Czeckia, Slovakia, Romania, Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Brazil, Malawi, Argentina, Philippines, Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Zambia, and India.

Thirdly, see giving as a duty that you perform without hesitation. Assess the needs at your church and the charities you support. GTP is praying for another $86,179 by 31 December 2022. When we each do our part, and put to work what we have, our God sees and will reward each of us, and the reward will ultimately come with interest.

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7

“Abba Anthony said, “Whoever hammers a lump of iron, first decides what he is going to make of it, a scythe, a sword, or an axe. Even so we ought to make up our minds what kind of virtue we want to forge or we labour in vain.”

Anthony the Great (251-356) in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 1984) 8

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers is another book from the list in 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics. This classic work contains a collection of wise sayings from the Desert Fathers.

Today’s Scripture reminds us to grow in many virtues and to include giving in the list. Abba Anthony takes this one steps further. He examines what he has, namely, a lump of iron, and exhorts hearers to make something of it. It’s a powerful word picture.

I want to encourage you today to see what you have. From there, consider growing your year-end giving and minimizing your year-end keeping so you make something of what you have. Don’t make the labor of earning those funds be done in vain.

In the words of Anthony the Great: Make up your mind. And please include GTP in your giving list.

God has opened doors for us to deliver program online and to deploy our global staff to do onsite program work in these countries in 2023: Ukraine, Poland, Czeckia, Slovakia, Romania, Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Brazil, Malawi, Argentina, Philippines, Bolivia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Zambia, and India.

I won’t go to all those countries but hope to deploy our staff to serve in those places. Our remaining year-end need is $91,747. Please click here to make a gift. Thanks.

You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him. Acts 10:37-38

“The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders. But for Him Who came to heal and to teach the way was not merely to dwell here, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to be manifested according as they could bear it, not vitiating the value of the Divine appearing by exceeding their capacity to receive it.”

Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 297-373) in On the Incarnation (New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1946).

On the Incarnation is another book from the list in 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics. This important work helped the early church understand the identity and deity of Jesus Christ.

Let me set the scene. It was the middle of the third century. Arius was taking the church toward mythology and polytheism in his views about Christ. So, God raised up a young and brilliant theologian,  Athanasius, who confidently refuted Arius.

In this excerpt which echoes today’s Scripture, we see that Jesus did not come to make a display. He did not aim to be a hero of mythology. He came “to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him.” He did not come to be served but to serve.

At GTP this year, our staff has grown from 5 to 10 workers. They live and serve in Australia, Egypt, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, and USA. They don’t aim to make a display but to put themselves at the disposal of those who need them.

Today the church faces similar challenges as it did in the days of Athanasius. The world needs to know who Jesus is and how He wants His workers to serve. Pray with me for resources to deploy the GTP staff in 2023 to strengthen Christian workers in 110 countries. Click here to support them.