Faithful Forever Love

Meditate: Acts 2:47

Typically, we go through this and while there’s some extra reading there’s no paperwork.

Today’s different. So get ready to do some writing (or at least some heavy thinking). It’s review time!

See, throughout history one of the ways we praise God is just to review our history with Him. To look back at what God has been up to in our lives, families, or nations and give Him credit, to give Him praise.

If you’ve been doing the “Digging Deeper” segments this week, you’ve already seen some of this. Today it’s your turn. But don’t worry I’m going to walk you through this.

Start simple.

Read Psalm 136 then copy verses 1-3. That’ll get you warmed up.

Now list an attribute or characteristic of God that especially strikes you, and list it.

Begin by saying “You are…” and follow this with the line: “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Next, think of something God has made that you’re particularly amazed by. Begin with “You made…” and follow it with “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Next think of something that God has rescued you from or, like Esther, a disaster that He’s prevented. Write it and follow with “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Name a tough place or time that God got you through. “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Has there been a time God provided for you? List it. “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Something that used to control you that God has freed you from or a particular way that God’s redefined you? “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Keep going. Spend some time thinking about God and let your mind and your heart race. Take your time and enjoy. Make as many lines as you want.

When you’re done you’ll have a psalm of praise, a record of God’s work in your life. Take it out from time to time as a reminder, as an argument against darkness and doubt.

Now for extra credit, get together with your family or a group you’re close to and do this together. Review God’s history with your family or your group. Make some history together and pass it along.

Let me know how it goes.

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord of Lords, the God of Gods.
Confess: You are faithful through all generations.
Thank: Your love endures forever.
Ask: Fix in my heart and mind the truth of your never-ending love.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 136

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Do… or do not. There is no try.

Meditate: Acts 2:47

We often forget that our actions speak so loudly. It’s not what we say that shows what we believe most deeply, it’s what we do. For instance, Americans say we value integrity but too often we wink when you cheat on taxes.

It’s common to say that we value worshipping God. But are we really there, ready in our hearts and minds to come before Almighty God and express His worth? (worship = worth-ship, expressing the value of someone)

Are we there as participants or spectators? Are we expressing or holding back? Does it come from my heart or just from my mouth? Some churches are in a running battle over music and form. Is our worship about God or about asserting our preferences? Is it praise or nostalgia? Is it about God or is it about me?

Speaking of battles, are we living in unity with our Christian brothers and sisters? That’s a form of praise. It shows we value God as Father enough to care about getting along with His children.

Are we trusting God with our resources? The Bible spends a lot of time talking about God as Provider. Trusting is praising.

Are we living in obedience to His Word and His Spirit? “I respect you but I won’t listen to you” doesn’t fly anywhere that matters. Why would God accept that kind of praise?

• Is my praise acceptable to God?

Pray:
Praise: You are God. How mighty are Your wonders!
Confess: I often like the idea of following more than really following You.
Thank: You made me and I am Yours.
Ask: Help me to listen to You so that I become a true Jesus follower.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 106

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Actions Speak

Meditate: Acts 2:47

Jesus tells us that God knows about our need for food, water, shelter, clothing and so forth. He points out that birds and flowers seem to be doing all right and that the same God who looks after them, is looking after us so we should just lighten up about that stuff and focus on God’s Kingdom instead of this world.

David says, “I was young and now I’m old, yet I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

Now, I’m not as young as I once was either and I know as I write this that some of y’all are already twitching with those “God help’s those who help themselves” thoughts. (It’s like there’s a button that’s pressed every time someone starts talking about trusting God.)

What’s that got to do with “praising God?” Well, we can go down through history looking at nations, individuals, families, tribes, all levels across the board.

And we’ll find history littered with the wreckage of those who thought God needed their help.

Or thought they had a better idea.

And we’ll just as consistently find that those who truly praised God, trusting Him and obeying Him (is there any higher praise?) have been kept and provided for.

See, “God helps those who help themselves” isn’t in the Bible, not even as a general principle. But “Sanctify yourselves-tomorrow the Lord will do great things among you” is. “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken” is.

“Helping” ourselves distracts us - it makes us compromise - but seeking God’s kingdom enables us to stand before kings and say, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, praise God for what He’s doing right now, and don’t get wound up about what may or may not happen.

God, our God, the one worthy to receive all praise, glory, and honor, has it covered.

• How do my actions praise God?
• Am I trusting and obeying or am I “helping?”

Pray:
Praise: You are my Light and my Salvation. No other God can save.
Confess: I have trusted in my own hands more than Your love.
Thank: You will never leave me or forsake me.
Ask: I believe in You, help my unbelief. Fix my mind on You.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 107

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Reasons for Praise

Meditate: Acts 2:47

Ever heard of George Leile?

There’s a guy who knew something about praising God. See, I don’t know about you but sometimes I can let my circumstances determine how much I feel I have to praise God about. I think “This is just too much.” But not George.

George Leile was born a slave in Virginia in 1750.  As a young man, he was sold to a man in Georgia and in 1773, he became a Christian. Almost at once he began to preach and had a great ministry to his fellow slaves.

His “owner” saw what God was doing and gave him liberty to go from plantation to plantation taking the Gospel to the slaves. Eventually, he was ordained and in 1777 he became the founding pastor of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, the oldest Black church in North America. The church is still going, by the way.

But his story doesn’t end there.

In 1783 as the war was ending, (read this carefully) Rev. Leile sold himself back into slavery (indentured service, in this case) in order to travel to Jamaica and preach and plant churches and build schools there.

By the time the first British missionary showed up, he had been there 31 years! Today over 300 churches with over 40,000 members have grown out of his work.

Praise God!

• Do my circumstances determine my praise for God?
• What am I willing to do to obey God’s calling?

Pray:
Praise: You know the end from the beginning and You’re always working for the good of those who love You.
Confess: My own past suggests I’d have just become bitter and angry in Rev. Leile’s circumstances instead of responding in faith.
Thank: You fulfill Your purpose for me and save me.
Ask: Help me to focus on You and look beyond my circumstances.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 138

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About Me

Meditate: Acts 2:47

While on this run about ancient history, here’s my own two cents: over 30 years ago I became a Christian. Time sure flies…

So to build on praising God for sending people to us with the Gospel, and for God’s faithfulness in watching over us, I would add my thanks for God’s love.

I agree with St. Patrick that God has “guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.” As time has gone on, the reality of Jesus’ promise that He would never leave us or forsake us has become more intense. Psalm 118 says:

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and He answered by setting me free.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
I will give You thanks, for You answered me;
You have become my salvation.
You are my God, and I will give You thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt You.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.

That pretty much sums it up.

• What’s my experience of God’s love?

Pray:
Praise: Lord, You are good and Your love endures forever!
Confess: You are always more ready to hear than I am to call to You.
Thank: I was pushed back and about to fall and You saved me.
Ask: Draw me closer; keep me in Your love.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 118

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Timely

Meditate: Acts 2:47

If you’ve got a certain kind of calendar, you might have noticed the word Purim listed among the holidays. To learn the origins of this holiday you have to go back to the Bible’s Book of Esther.

The Jewish people had been conquered and forcibly resettled. Esther is a Jewish orphan who’s being raised by her cousin and finds herself the winner in a “beauty contest” to choose the replacement for a disgraced queen. She’s just settling in at the palace when the king’s right hand man sets in motion a plan to have all the Jews killed and their property seized.

Thanks to her cousin, Esther learns of the plan. She fasts and asks all the local Jews to do the same.

With time running out, Esther risks her life to expose the plot, the crisis is averted, and the evil guy gets what’s coming to him. (Makes you want to read the book, doesn’t it?)

Purim is celebrated as a reminder of how God intervened to save His people.

Esther and Mordecai, her cousin, demonstrate that God always makes a way for His people. Mordecai says it best when he points out that Esther was brought to the throne “for such a time as this.” Just in time, God brought a lowly outsider, a Jewish orphan, to the throne of the most powerful nation on earth.

Praise God for His faithfulness!

• How has God shown His faithfulness in my life?
• Have I been put anywhere “for such a time as this?”

Pray:
Praise: Your love endures. You are faithful throughout all generations.
Confess: I focus on my own plans and overlook the grace of Your will.
Thank: You keep watch over me in all my ways.
Ask: Let Your faithfulness guide my actions and comfort my fears.
Digging Deeper: Psalm 117; Esther (at least start reading it.)

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Praising God!

Originally published on March 17 — Saint Patrick’s Day!

Meditate: Acts 2:47

He grew up hearing stories of raiders who destroyed villages and hauled the people away to “the ends of the earth.” When he was 16 it happened to him.

A cruel master put him to work as a shepherd. Alone there with the sheep, he began to pray.

And God heard him. He later wrote, “There the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good and evil, and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.”

After about eight years he escaped, returned home, and entered the ministry.

Years later when he’s in his forties, established and “successful,” God calls him to return to the people who’d enslaved him.

He’s rich but he sells it all, goes back, and over the next 30 years baptizes perhaps 100,000 converts (he lost count), brings human sacrifice to an end in that country, and becomes the first Christian leader to go on record against slavery. (He throws a guy out of the Church for slave-trading.)

By the time of his death he had established over 200 churches and launched a missionary movement that many credit with keeping Christianity alive through the Dark Ages.

In fact, if you trace your Christian roots back through “the people who told the people who told the people who told you” there’s a pretty good chance you’d eventually run into this guy.

So join me in praising God for the heritage of St. Patrick and all the other people God has used to bring us the Good News about the Kingdom of Heaven.

• Who brought the Good News to me?
• Where is God calling me to take the Good News?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Merciful One. You don’t treat us as we deserve.
Confess: I ignore You in good times and cry out when times are bad.
Thank: You did not abandon me in my sins but reached out in Your love.
Ask: Turn me to You with all my heart that I might serve Your people.

Digging Deeper: Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 10:1-17

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Joy and Generosity

Meditate: Acts 2:46

I don’t know about your experience but in mine it’s no big deal to find people who can tolerate one another long enough to slurp down a meal. It’s something else altogether to find folks who can do it with “glad and sincere hearts.” (NIV)

From the different translations of this sentence, a sense of celebration comes out. Not an outright party but a “hey, we’re really glad y’all are here” kind of lightness and hospitality.

This is pretty amazing when I take into account that this Church wasn’t just your typical home group. Remember they had over 3,000 people in the Church already. There’s not really anything said about the logistics of this; whether this is two’s and three’s or 50’s and 100’s we don’t know.

Another thing that’s challenging is the image here of what the group dynamics folks call “assimilation.” Remember that “over 3,000″ number I just threw out? We know that because of the reference in the previous paragraph that “about 3,000″ were believed and were baptized on that first day. These “hearts” were “glad and sincere” enough to absorb this influx in genuine fellowship. Present company excepted of course, but if this happened in many churches we’d spend all our time sizing one another up to figure out who the “newbies” were.

In my mind, I hear the voices of pastors I heard long ago who insisted that if you truly loved God, you’d be pretty excited about His family, the Church. And, they went on, if your heart wasn’t in spending time with the family maybe it’s because you’re not a part of it.

I don’t know that I’d totally agree with that but I do know this. My wife is enough to bring my mother-in-law and I together. Any one who’s survived boot camp seems to be able to find plenty to talk about with a fellow veteran. An American can hear an American accent on a street in a foreign country and that common citizenship is often enough reason to talk on a level you’d never reach on a city bus.

And if all that’s enough, then maybe we Jesus followers, we fellow adoptees of the Lord Almighty, ought to be able to muster “glad and sincere hearts” in one another’s company.

• Tell us how you really feel. How often do glad and sincere apply to my attitude about fellowship?
• Is my “heart” generally “glad and sincere” or do I save that for certain people only?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord, the Almighty, the Everlasting Father.
Confess: I’m not always glad or sincere in the presence of Your people.
Thank: You have given us Your family to love, serve and watch over us.
Ask: Fill my heart with Your love for Your family.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 133

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Mealtime

Meditate: Acts 2:46

Always remember that this all grew out of their relationship with Jesus.

It was Jesus that brought the original disciples together in the first place. Others came in response to the Truth about Jesus. In a way, He’s the host every time they get together. “The unseen guest at every meal” they used to say. In an atmosphere focused on Jesus, He was enough to bring them together.

Whether this is a reference to taking the Lord’s Supper or not (yup, there’s a debate), at least for the first few months it’s hard to imagine sitting there with these brothers and sisters and looking around the table and not thinking about it - that “Last Supper” where Jesus transformed the significance of broken bread and passing the cup. (Keep in mind, He said they were to remember Him every time they did this.)

I can’t imagine not recalling the many ways He announced that night that He was the Promised One, the fulfillment of all that the Jewish people had been waiting for. And wistfully recalling that He promised He would be coming back.

• Is Jesus enough to bring me together in fellowship with other Christians?
• How can I remember Jesus in my fellowship?
• How can I show that I expect Jesus to return?

Pray:
Praise: You alone are God; You alone are the Lord. You alone are worthy of glory and honor and power forever.
Confess: It’s hard for me to connect the Lord’s Supper with a real meal with Jesus as host. Or to see Jesus present in my fellowship.
Thank: Whenever two or three gather in His name, Jesus is there.
Ask: Make me aware of Your presence in my fellowship, in my worship, and in my life. Fill me with expectancy at the thought of Your promises.
Digging Deeper: I Thessalonians 4 - 5

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Making Time

Meditate: Acts 2:46

It’s interesting to think that the life of this fledgling Church centered around daily gathering. It’s not as if none of them worked.

Life was certainly hard enough in those times. Virtually everything had to be done by hand. Grinding your own flour to bake your own bread wasn’t just a trendy hobby.

No central heat, A/C or indoor plumbing. A horse and cart was the upper end of transportation technology.

Passing the word meant just that-messages still involved real messengers.

What passed for a “high standard of living” is something you’d have to go to the most impoverished third world country to see in our world. Crime and a lack of street lights meant that it was a really good idea to be home at a very reasonable hour.

And still, this time of Word, prayer, and community still rated daily attention. Somehow they find room in their schedules.

Now put away your sackcloth and ashes. I’m not asking you to punish yourself at how “unspiritual” we’ve become.

See, what I get out of this is that they used the methods common to their culture to express how Jesus had joined them together. Going daily to the Temple showed the place God had in their lives. In a world with no telephones or email, meeting up was the standard way to really communicate. Taking meals together was something only families (or people “like family”) did; you didn’t’ bring strangers to your table.

But the fact is that we wouldn’t dream of meeting down at the church every day or of taking over a different restaurant for lunch each day just so we can stay in touch. And it’s easy to just say that times have changed and move along without asking what this level of commitment to God and our brothers and sisters would look like in our culture.

I once heard a guy say that if you’d show him your checkbook and your calendar, he could tell you what mattered to you. Well, I often hear people say that they’re longing to see God move in our day as He has in days past. Maybe you’ve even said this so let me ask…

• Is there a place in my schedule for God?
• Who does Jesus’ join me together with?
• How can I meaningfully communicate with my Christian brothers and sisters?
• How can we show our world that we’re God’s family?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord of All, including time and culture.
Confess: Independence is a hard attitude for me to overcome.
Thank: You have given me brothers and sisters all over the world.
Ask: Teach me how to communicate the Truth of You to my world.

Digging Deeper: Philippians 2:1-18

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Putting Down Roots

Meditate: Acts 2:46

That said it also comes at me from another direction…

After I’ve been at this Christian thing a while it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I can slack off because I’ve arrived in other ways. “I’m mature, don’t you know. In all humility, I’ve reached the point where I’m a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness.” Yeah, right.

I meet people all the time who confess that their life seems to be in a downward spiral (spiritual or otherwise.) And as we talk, it comes out that they’re not reading the Word, they’re not praying, and/or they’re not in fellowship or observing any of those things I talked about yesterday (patterns, boundaries, habits, relationships, or accountability).

In other words, they’re trying to go it alone. The Word and prayer provide the foundation and fellowship provides balance and direction that you just won’t get going it alone. (This isn’t anything new. Back in 1855, Charles Spurgeon told his English congregation, “There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write ‘damnation’ with your fingers.”)

Think trees: roots, trunk, fruit. No roots, no trunk; no trunk, no fruit. No Word and prayer, no meaningful fellowship; no fellowship, no fruit.

In the time of these early Christians, people didn’t own books so for “Bible reading” you went to the temple. The temple was also the center for prayer and, as we see here, they also took advantage of these opportunities to check in with one another.

That’s the “between the lines” significance of these words: As “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity” it brought strength to their foundations, gave them balance and set this growing Church on its way.

It will work for us, as well.

• Am I “continuing” or have I been drifting?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Rock, a sure foundation for our times.
Confess: I rely on my own strength more than Your ways.
Thank: Always faithful, no one who trusts in You will be disappointed.
Ask: Set my feet on Your Rock, help me to continue in Your ways.

Digging Deeper: Ephesians 5:1-21

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They Continued

Meditate: Acts 2:46

Another “evil twin” (I know there are more than two) to this notion of being saved from Hell is that it doesn’t push me to “continue.”

“Hey, I’m in. I’m saved. What’s the big deal?”

But there’s something huge missing in this attitude: If I’m going around with this “I got my ticket so I don’t have to take any of this seriously” attitude, then do I really have my ticket?

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that God’s sitting up there in heaven watching especially close to see if I’m giving Him any excuse to bounce me out of the family.

But God’s book, the Bible, makes it plain that sin is absolutely repugnant to Him. So if I’m really in God’s family, if I’m really looking at Him and saying “Lord” then I’ll be a willing participant in His Spirit’s work in me to live the way God has in mind.

Christians used to say that doing this meant that “more and more, I’ll sin less and less.” That takes some continuing.

It’s also about really following Jesus. Jesus made it plain that nothing was more important to Him than doing His Father’s will. So being a true Jesus follower means trying to live in a way that pleases God. That’s going to mean serious, everyday, close following. The “continued” kind of following.

It means I’ll establish patterns, set boundaries, adopt habits, build relationships, and engage in accountability in the way that helps me most in serving God and my world.

“They continued…” So must I.

In my patterns, boundaries, habits, relationships, and accountability, what’s hurting and what helps?

More and more am I sinning less and less?

Pray:
Praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise Your holy name. Praise the Lord; I’ll never forget the good things You do for me. You forgive all my sins and heal all my diseases. You ransom me from death and surround me with love and tender mercies. You fill my life with good things. The Lord is merciful and gracious; You are slow to get angry and full of unfailing love. You do not deal with me as I deserve.

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 15

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Saved From...?

Meditate: Acts 2:46

And it’s not a “once in a lifetime kind of thing” either. Like we talked about yesterday, what country I was in on my birthday is no help.

But it’s also not a “once in a lifetime” thing if all I’m relying on is a once in a lifetime day when I raised my hand, or signed a card, or repeated after someone who said “Repeat after me…”

It can even be a day when I would say that “I became a Christian.” That one day can be absolutely crucial but the idea that I could have one day that doesn’t change my “every day” is offensive to genuine Jesus followers.

See, we’ve fallen into the trap of emphasizing “being saved.” But saved from what? If I think I’m being saved from “Hell” then once in a lifetime seems plenty. I just need to get my ticket punched so I don’t end up in the “bad place.”

But Hell isn’t really my problem. Not yet anyway. In my current state being saved from Hell is as useful to me as being preserved from the decay that comes naturally to a dead body.

The problem isn’t really decay-it’s death. Death will put me in the position where decay is inevitable. Solve death and decay isn’t an issue.

So to emphasize, our problem isn’t Hell, it’s sin. Sin puts me in the position where I end up in Hell. Take away my sin and Hell isn’t an issue. In fact, save me from sin and the Bible says that Death, Hell, and the Grave all lose their power. I’ll take that over just being saved from Hell.

And that’s why “every day” is so important. Because sin is an every day issue, being truly saved will result in an every day, continuing relationship with God. My every day will be changed.

• Am I saved?
• What am I saved from?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord, the Holy One, the King of the Universe.
Confess: My sins haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 
Ask: Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 51

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The Prayer We Don't Pray

When it comes to saying biblical prayers, we’re fond of the Lord’s Prayer.

Some pray “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” also known as “the Jesus Prayer” (See Luke 17:11-13, Luke 18:9-14, and Luke 18:35-43).

And this weekend many congregations use David’s confession, Psalm 51, in their services as a prayer to encourage folks to get right with God.

And how can we forget The Prayer of Jabez which Bruce Wilkinson taught us (although many folks went out of their way to miss his point!)

But I can’t say I’ve ever heard anyone publicly pray this:

Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD ?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

-Proverbs 30:7-9

(In fact, I keep running into folks who don’t even know that this is in the Bible.)

What are you praying?

I originally posted this at MyChurch.org as The Prayer We Don’t Pray

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From Hamas To Jesus

Have you heard that the son of a major Hamas leader has announced that he is a Christian? Check out this story about Masab Yousuf:

A moment before beginning his dinner, Masab, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, glances at the friend who has accompanied him to the restaurant where we met. They whisper a few words and then say grace, thanking God and Jesus for putting food on their plates.

It takes a few seconds to digest this sight: The son of a Hamas MP who is also the most popular figure in that extremist Islamic organization in the West Bank, a young man who assisted his father for years in his political activities, has become a rank-and-file Christian….

How were you exposed to Christianity?

“It began about eight years ago. I was in Jerusalem and I received an invitation to come and hear about Christianity. Out of curiosity I went. I was very enthusiastic about what I heard. I began to read the Bible every day and I continued with religion lessons. I did it in secret, of course. I used to travel to the Ramallah hills, to places like the Al Tira neighborhood, and to sit there quietly with the amazing landscape and read the Bible. A verse like “Love thine enemy” had a great influence on me. At this stage I was still a Muslim and I thought that I would remain one. But every day I saw the terrible things done in the name of religion by those who considered themselves ‘great believers.’ I studied Islam more thoroughly and found no answers there. I reexamined the Koran and the principals of the faith and found how it is mistaken and misleading. The Muslims borrowed rituals and traditions from all the surrounding religions.”

…”I feel that Christianity has several aspects. It’s not only a religion but a faith. I now see God through Jesus and can tell about him for days on end, whereas the Muslims won’t be able to say anything about God. I consider Islam a big lie. The people who supposedly represent the religion admired Mohammed more than God, killed innocent people in the name of Islam, beat their wives and don’t have any idea what God is. I have no doubt that they’ll go to Hell. I have a message for them: There is only one way to Paradise - the way of Jesus who sacrificed himself on the cross for all of us.”

Four years ago, he decided to convert. He says that nobody in his family knew about it. “Only those Christians with whom I met and spent time knew about my decision. For years I helped my father, the Hamas leader, and he didn’t know that I had converted, only that I had Christian friends.”

There’s much more, including some fascinating insights into Hamas.  You’ll find the whole thing here.

H/T: Get Religion

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Send Me?

Just past noon on New Year's Day 2007 I found myself standing in a locker room, surrounded by professional athletes. They were getting ready to go to work and I was to pray with them. I thanked God for another year. I asked that everyone be kept safe. And since everyone there was waiting for the call telling them to take their places, it occurred to me to pray that the Lord make us all ready for the day when His trumpet sounds and we're called to stand before Him. My host was effusive about the athletes' turnout but as we talked, he also made it clear that he was grateful that I'd even shown up.

Now you might be thinking, "How hard can it be to get a pastor to do a locker room prayer with pro athletes? I know folks that'd climb over one another for a chance like that!"

Me, too.

Except that these athletes are jockeys. And the locker room was where they were getting ready for the day's racing. And, my host explained, many church folks are so offended at the fact that there's gambling going on at the one part of the track that they forget that there are people there who need Jesus' touch.

I knew what he meant. I grew up in churches that maintained a long list of places we weren't to go. The track sure would have been one of them. It's had me thinking ever since...

In my travels I've passed through a lot of places that good church folks don't go. I've seen what happens when the redemptive power of God as expressed through the presence of His people is withdrawn. It leaves a vacuum that gets filled with un-nice things. The worst that humanity has to offer really moves in and takes over. And why not? There's nothing there to oppose evil. Worst of all, the price is usually paid quickest by those least able to afford it.

I've thought about Jonah. Not even God (at least at first) could convince Jonah to go to Ninevah. Jonah's argument was that those folks were so evil they didn't deserve the chance to repent. In fact, Jonah was afraid that the people there would repent if they were told about God. And Jonah found their behavior so repugnant that he'd rather see them condemned than changed. Look it up.

Yesterday, I was reading in Acts 9 about Saul (who became Paul) and how Jesus confronted him. And in Damascus there was a guy named Ananias whom God had to convince to go pray with Saul. As with Jonah, there was a "Lord, you don't understand what he's like..." part of the conversation. It didn't take a whale to convince Ananias, though.

And today in Acts 10 I read about Peter learning this same lesson.

So I've been asking myself, what are the places that not even God has been able to convince me to go? Who are the people that God's been asking me to reach? What else is out there waiting for someone to say, "Here am I. Send me!"

Be praying about this with me, will you?

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Where Do You Run To?

We lived for a while near Brechin, Scotland. It's what the British folks call a "cathedral city." If you have a cathedral then you're a city; otherwise, you're just a town! Brechin is small enough that if it weren't for their cathedral you'd debate whether they had crossed from village to town let alone reached city. What makes their cathedral unique is that it incorporates an 11th century round tower into it's construction. Standing there looking at it really brought home to me the meaning of Proverbs 18:10, which says:

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.

While this particular tower came rather late in the game we were told that the original idea behind a castle was simply as a place of refuge to flee to when a threat presented itself. You went inside and locked the door behind you and hopefully you had stored enough supplies to hold you until the threat got bored and went away.

But a "strong tower" has another side to it... In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul writes:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Stonghold is another name for one of these towers of refuge. Paul's highlighting our tendency to find places to go besides turning to God. Old habits die hard and when there's trouble it's so easy to turn to old (inadequate) solutions-those places that we're used to turning before we turned to God. Paul's point is that those things (arguments and pretensions, he calls them) stand between us and realizing who God really is and just what He's able to do.

What would happen if instead of reacting--doing that first thing that comes to mind--we'd pause long enough to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ? That is, what if we'd go to a real place of safety and peace?

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Every Day

Meditate: Acts 2:46

Growing up in small Midwestern towns, in a time and place where the culture expected “good people” to attend church services, it was common to hear folks differentiate between “church goers” and “real Christians”…

Maybe you’ve heard the term “Sunday Christian?” It means someone who goes to church but who doesn’t seem to be living any differently from those who don’t attend church.

What about “carnal Christian?” Ever heard someone called that? That refers to someone who claims (claimed) to be a Christian but, as far as how they live, doesn’t even pretend anymore.

There’s also what’s called a “cultural Christian.” These are the folks who check the “Christian” box on the survey form but couldn’t tell you what it means in their lives. I once met a guy in Britain who said, “Of course I’m a Christian-I’m English!” He could have just as easily been American. Bet you didn’t know that you’ll need your passport on Judgment Day.

Do I really need to say it? Being a Jesus follower-being a Christian-is an every day thing. It’s not a “Christmas and Easter” thing. It’s not an “every now and then” thing. It’s not a “Sunday thing.”

“Every day they continued…”

So must I.

• Am I a Christian “every day?”
• What would it take to make me an “every day” Christian?

Pray:
Praise: My soul proclaims the Lord’s greatness; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Confess: The Almighty has done great things for me: Holy is His Name.
Thank: He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation.
Ask: Teach me, Lord, how to serve you every day.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 139

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Needs and Wants and God, oh my!

Meditate: Acts 2:45

Of course, there’s still the little matter of that word “need” that’s causing all the trouble. Forget asking what the meaning of “is” is, what’s really a need?

I need air-take it away and you can measure my life expectancy in seconds.
I need water-turn off the tap and I’ll only last a few days.
Food’s a need, right? A person will starve to death in 6 weeks or so.
Deny me sleep and my physical and mental health will quickly deteriorate.
And depending on where I live there’s shelter and clothing to keep off the wind, rain and snow, or to protect me from the sun.

These are all basic human needs. By the strictest standard, everything else is frosting on the cake.

Now calm down-I’m not saying it’s all that simple…

Where I live there aren’t enough roots and berries to sustain life, hunting’s not an option, and you really don’t want to drink the creek water. Plus, the county has this thing about wanting people to live indoors…

So most of us need jobs. (Know anyone who’s hiring? No, seriously-do you?)

Of course, you’ll need the right clothes, education, tools/equipment…

And to have any job around here, you’re really going to need transportation. There are very few places you can walk to in this area. In fact, if you want to have one of the better paying jobs, you’ll need your own car just to plug into public transportation.

Come to think of it, when all’s said and done, this adds up to what the rest of the world considers a pretty high standard of living. The poor in America have indoor plumbing, air conditioning, color television. Most of our poor are even car owners. Go to India and try explaining how that leaves someone poor.

Now put aside the defensiveness and guilt for a moment and look at this from God’s perspective.

The way we often think about this, it’s like we draw a line with “give” on one end and “need” on the other and we think that we’ll be okay if we just balance ourselves in the right spot along that line.

But it’s not like that at all. It’s not really about giving or needing. I mean, God owns the entire universe, so it’s not like He needs your stuff. He can do anything so it’s not like He can only deliver help through my hands. And God said He’d meet our needs so even that’s covered.

So if it’s not about giving and it’s not about needs, then what’s the big deal?

Jesus said that since God already knows our needs we should make pursuing God’s kingdom our first priority. That means giving freely knowing that it’s only passing through my hands anyway. It’s not going with me.

And it means realizing that need is an opportunity to see God at work instead of some kind of judgment. After all, I’m only passing through. What really counts is being stacked up for me in heaven. Whether this world thinks I “have” or I “need,” it’s all only temporary.

My trust isn’t in my stuff and my God is so much greater than my need.

So… Chase after gold? Dude, where I’m going they dump that stuff on the streets.

• Am I truly pursuing God’s kingdom?

Pray:
Praise: You alone are worthy to receive all praise and honor.
Confess: Your kingdom is only one of many things that I pursue.
Thank: In Jesus, You brought Your kingdom near.
Ask: Point me toward Your kingdom and guide me in Your ways.

Digging Deeper: I Peter 1; Revelation 21:21

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Simplicity

Meditate: Acts 2:45

We’ve been hearing a lot about spiritual disciplines the last few years. You know prayer, bible reading, worship, prayer, giving, solitude, fellowship, etc.

There’s one we don’t talk about very much though. Mainly because it freaks us out. When’s the last time you heard anyone mention the spiritual discipline of simplicity?

Different people practice this in different ways so I’m not going to try to get too specific here but look around you where you’re reading this.

What’s a need and what’s a want? Purpose to keep your wants simple.  It will give you more room for God and the other things that really matter in life.

I’ve known people who were working two jobs so they could afford the vacation they’d never get the time off to take. That’s not simplicity.

I once knew a couple who were both working way too much “just to get ahead.” The only one who seemed to be getting ahead was their babysitter. It was the babysitter who heard the baby’s first words and saw the baby’s first steps but, man, they had a killer home entertainment suite to fight over in the divorce.

Simplicity.

Almost everything costs us something. Simplicity means counting the cost and making a real choice that doesn’t involve fads or greed or “keeping up with the Jones.”

It means honestly examining my wants to focus on those things that will last, those things that will take me in the direction I really want to go. Sounds difficult until you realize simplicity really means freedom.

• What would simplicity look like in my life?

Pray:
Praise: You are Holy and Awesome! All power and glory are Yours.
Confess: I complicate my life by running after things that will decay.
Thank: You give me treasure where there is no decay.
Ask: Show me how to unburden my life and live in simplicity before You.

Digging Deeper: James 5

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I Have Needs

Meditate: Acts 2:45

That’s really the catch, isn’t it? So much hinges on that word “needs.” If I’m honest, it’s not really my needs I’m worried about. I’m not lying awake at night afraid that I’ll have to move into a cardboard box under a bridge or start shopping in dumpsters any time soon.

But there is the little issue of (what’s that phrase?) “maintaining the lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed” or the fear that God will ask me to forego the lifestyle I aspire to. What if (gasp!) God should want me to go through life with less stuff than my neighbors?

We think this is the challenge of 21st Century materialism but it really isn’t. One of the things Jesus told us was that we should let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” “no.” Simply put, say what you mean. Jesus warned that saying more than we mean comes from the Devil. While that may sound harsh, think about it. The Devil, a.k.a. the Father of Lies, a.k.a. the Deceiver-is it any surprise that he’d be involved in confusing language?

So when you need, don’t hesitate to say “need” but when you want, don’t say “need.” (The same thing goes for love and hate. As my girls are prone to remind me, we love God and other people. We like or prefer things. And they’ll tell you that hate’s just a really strong word that should be rarely used.)

I need shelter. It’s kind of breezy around here for a tent and a shack won’t pass code so I can even say I need something permanent. But since you’re asking, I’d prefer…Well, you get the idea.

Now, none of this makes wants or preferences evil. It’s just important that we recognize them for what they are. Wants are the bait that can lead us into places where we’re not sure how to find our way home. Wants are usually what maxes out our credit cards. It’s our wants that most often lead us into the kind of debt that feels like bond-slavery. And the idea that slavery like that really brings freedom? Now that is evil.

• Am I “needs driven,” “wants driven,” or “God driven?”
• How do my wants look to God?

Pray:
Praise: You are Truth, there is nothing false or empty about You.
Confess: I am torn between fear for my needs and greed for my wants.
Thank: You have always taken care of my needs.
Ask: May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me.

Digging Deeper: Matthew 5

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Here's a Challenge For You!

I ran across this on the Consumerist earlier…

In September the Illinois Food Bank Association challenged Illinoisans to try surviving on only $25 a week for food! According to them $25 a week is the average weekly food stamp benefit that an individual receives in Illinois. 

The economies of scale that come with our family size make this slightly less impossible but only slightly. I still wouldn’t want to have to try this for any length of time.

So how well would you be able to eat on $3.50 a day? (And if you’re going to claim that you’re doing this, please tell the rest of us how!)

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Help or Hindrance?

Meditate: Acts 2:45

But that’s not the testimony part. The testimony part is that, though we don’t have a whopping bank account, God has been faithful. He’s taken care of us and more than made up for anything He’s ever asked us to let go of. Over the long haul, giving (tithing included) has never meant needing.

Paul writes, “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” That’s a Bible promise. That’s the Word of God.

And that means that a huge part of giving is trusting. Trusting God to keep His Word and meet our needs. Just in case you’re wondering, that’s not a promise of riches but it is a promise to thrive.

Now think about this. There you are in this earliest Church and what you see around you is that God is meeting needs. So when you get the chance to give, are you going to hold out or are you going to be obedient? Will you trust God or will you trust your wallet? The answer (to me, at least) is that of course you trust God.

Why not? All around you is proof that God will do what He says. After all, I can see that if I should ever end up in need, I’ll be taken care of.

So here’s God’s challenge to us: To participate in an upward spiral of trust and blessing that spreads across the Church. As we trust God and give, He is faithful and supplies our needs. The only thing that breaks this cycle is a lack of trust; fear that God won’t meet our needs.

• Am I part of this cycle or part of breaking it?

Pray:
Praise: You are Faithful and True; in all of creation there is none like You.
Confess: I waver between fear and trust, trying to rely on myself.
Thank: You continue to pour out Your grace and overcome my fear.
Ask: Help me to rely totally on You, to know that You never fail.

Digging Deeper: Philippians 4

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But Some…

Earlier today, Leonard Sweet tweeted about a blog post from his editor John Blase and asked, “If Jesus had his “But somes,” why do I think I should be spared?” A sample (and yes, you should go check out the whole thing):

There is more than one occasion in the gospels when Jesus is speaking or teaching or doing that gospel magic on a paralytic or something, and the very next verse contains these two words: but some. Those two words are then followed by someone(s) critical response to what Jesus just said or emphasized or healed. The But Somes. Do you know these people?…

 

John 5.39-40 - You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.

This gravitas scares many folks to death. Little do they know it scares most of us dreamers as well, but we keep on sailing. We’ve no choice. They cannot imagine anything beyond the flat scripture and the tales we tell, to them, are nothing more than fiction, legend, fairy tale at best. At worst? Well, our tails are toast….

 

First of all, I’m now a John Blase fan. I’ve subscribed to his blog and highly recommend that you go check him out. 

Second? Well, one of John’s points is that we should pick our battles with the But Somes in our lives. I have to confess that I struggle with this. In my time in organized Christianity, But Somes have been my biggest sources of hurt and pain. And this has inspired some questions that caused his post to resonate with me:

• Should we really be more prone to critique than to celebration?
• Is cynicism the ultimate (and Biblically-unlisted) spiritual gift?
• Why is it our communal reflex to assume devilish backing to every good thing that comes along?
• Should we really worry that the Church’s reputation is harmed by the miraculous and the mystical?
• Is Satanic temptation so much more powerful than Holy Spirit-leading that we should trust nothing (and ignore most things)?

I say “no” to all the above but way too often I’ve felt the jabs from other Christians’ “yes.” What about you?

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A Little Perspective…

I’ve muted the news. I just can’t take the gloom and pessimism, the lack of perspective, anymore. So to shift the focus and re-frame things a little consider this from J. Lee Grady:

This week while many people in the United States were fretting over the credit crisis and its effect on their 401Ks, Christians in the Indian village of Sindhipankha were mourning the death of their friend Dushashan Majhi. A bold Christian, he was shot on Oct. 3 by a band of Hindu militants who then cut his body into pieces.

The people in Sindhipankha do not have 401Ks. Many of them, in fact, no longer have homes. Across the state of Orissa, in northeast India, Hindus have ransacked and burned hundreds of Christians’ houses and churches during the last two months. Hundreds have died….

I know we are experiencing some hard times here at home, but let’s keep things in perspective. While we are complaining about high gas prices in the United States, some Indian Christians are being doused with gasoline and set on fire. While we worry about bank bailouts, Indian believers have lost everything and fear returning to their villages….

Please, go read the whole thing. Regain some perspective. And then call on the God who is still in control to focus your mind and heart on those things that will outlast your need for a retirement account.

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They Gave…

Meditate: Acts 2:45

It’s easy to overlook one little word here.

These early Christians gave. That means it was a gift. According to the dictionary that’s “something bestowed voluntarily and without compensation.” Giving means not looking to be repaid. Expecting nothing. They saw a need, they gave.

In 21st century America, we have a hard time with this. We’re willing to loan but to give is often more involvement than we want. But think about this. When someone is genuinely in need is a loan truly helpful? “Maybe…Sometimes…Hey, it’s better than not helping at all…”

Seriously, think about that word “need” and come back to this. Is it really helpful to replace need with debt? Or worse, to add debt to need? Nehemiah took his countrymen to task for charging interest to God’s people. He said, “Are we redeeming them from slavery only to enslave them again?” Should we as Christians set our fellow Christians free from the bondage of debt only to enslave them again? Not to mention, do you really want all the baggage that goes with making a loan to a brother or sister?

Well, here’s how my wife and I handle it. We don’t loan money. You want a loan the answer will be always be “no” so please don’t ask.

See, God didn’t call us as bankers so we don’t loan, we give. If we check the books and pray and we’re not clear that we can hand it over as a “no strings attached” gift then we don’t give. While this means we aren’t always able to give, from time to time God puts something right in front of us that we look at and say, “We can do something about that.”

And this isn’t just about cash. It can just as easily be time or abilities. Sometimes money isn’t the answer (that thud you heard was the treasurer fainting). Quite often these kinds of gifts have even more value to the Body. Ask a caregiver who finally gets an afternoon out or a person who just needs sound advice or a listening ear.

• What do I have to give to those in need?
• When I give, is it truly a gift?

Pray:
Praise: You are my Provider. All creation is fed by Your hand.
Confess: The fear of my own need makes me hesitant to give.
Thank: Who can understand Your matchless riches or Your endless grace.
Ask: Show me what I have to give and where I’m needed.

Digging Deeper: Deuteronomy 15:1-11

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You Have Our Attention, Lord!

Max Lucado posted an especially timely prayer today.

You told us this would happen.
You shot straight about loving stuff and worshipping money.
Greed will break your heart, you warned.
Money will love you and leave you.
Don’t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.

You can read the whole thing here.

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All the Church I Need

Meditate: Acts 2:45

Church works better when we don’t treat it like an organization and remember that it’s really just all the Christians God has gathered together in one place. The Church is the Body of Christ and we’re all members.

In fact, we’ll see later in the Book of Acts how life together as Christians gets complicated when we move away from thinking of the Church as “us.” I remember growing up in small Midwestern towns it was easy to spot the non-churchgoers: Church people would talk about what “we’re doing” at “our church” and non-churchgoers would talk about what “those folks down at the church” were up to.

Today, I hear people say that “the Church” didn’t help them in some way. Then when I ask who did help them they’ll tell me the name of someone in their congregation. Remember, the Church is the Body of Christ. If any Christian helps you, the Church has helped. (Often the real complaint is that the Christian who helped didn’t have the right title in the Church organization but then that’s not about caring, is it?).

It’s easy to confuse the help we want with the help we need. The Texas Rangers (the police force not the baseball team) tell the story of a time in the Old West when a town needed help quelling a riot. The local sheriff was shocked when he met the train and found that only one Ranger had been sent to help. The Ranger’s response? “You’ve only got one riot, you only need one Ranger.”

I’ve even heard “helping” Christians miss this one. They’ll say, “But I wasn’t doing that for the Church.” Okay, you weren’t doing that for the Church but you, a Christian, a part of Christ’s Body, took care of a fellow believer. Like it or not, if you were able to help them then in that moment you were as much “Church” as that person needed.

• Who can I “be the Church” to?
• How much “Church” am I demanding?

Pray:
Praise: You are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Confess: I want to be served more than I want to serve.
Thank: Thank You, Father, that You have given us Your Church to care for us and to serve.
Ask: Give me ears to hear what the Spirit is saying, eyes to see where You are leading, and a heart ready to serve You and Your people.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 104

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Caring Enough to Act

Meditate: Acts 2:45

As we’ve talked about before this isn’t an image of people cashing everything in and living off the proceeds. Other accounts of this kind of care make it clear that when people had stuff and saw that their stuff could be better used to meet a need then they sold it and met the need.

So I don’t think I’m reading between the lines too much if I say that most of this sharing is apparently being handled at a person-to-person level (at this point-things do get more complicated later).

Their care for one another wasn’t yet dependent on having an organization to give to that would then distribute the help. They just took care of one another. Organizations can be helpful things but people almost always do a better job of taking care of other people.

And the Church still works best that way. So if you see a need and you have the means, then you meet the need. Don’t weasel around saying “I’ll pray about it…” Take a God-sized risk and just assume that God has put these resources in your hands “for just such a time as this.”

If you don’t have the means then do what you can to get the need met.

When we get away from this idea that Christians take care of their fellow Christians and start to expect the organization we call “the Church” to take care of folks, then we really lose out. That’s why the Church does its best job of caring when individual Christians look out for one another.

• Am I looking out for my fellow Christians?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord, God our Savior who daily bears our burdens.
Confess: I’ve often failed You by only looking out for myself.
Thank: Your care is faithful; Your love never ends.
Ask: Show me how to best serve my fellow believers.

Digging Deeper: Galatians 6

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Sharing Religiously

Meditate: Acts 2:44

I read the other night that our English word “religion” comes from the same Latin word that gave us “ligament,” the tissue that holds the body together.

The author went on to say that the outward ways we express our faith, our religion, are the ligaments that hold the Body of Christ together. I thought that was kind of interesting and I vaguely remembered seeing the word “religion” a place or two in the Bible so I looked it up. In the NIV, it comes up five times. Twice it’s used as a label (their religion/our religion) but the other three times deal with behavior. Guess what kind of behavior?

Well, there are actually three different things covered. One is controlling your tongue. If you can’t do that your “religion is worthless.”

The second thing is personal purity. No surprise there.

But the third thing, and this comes up not just when the word “religion” is used but whenever the Bible describes what true religion should look like, is…  (drum roll, please) That’s right-taking care of the helpless.

The Bible says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Now, this is just one man’s opinion, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you got a bunch of believers together, freshly filled with the Spirit, and they were exposing themselves to the Bible and Bible teaching, and they were praying, and spending time with one another celebrating their faith… And on top of that they’re watching what they say, and keeping themselves pure, and taking care of the hopeless among them. Well, I just don’t see how they wouldn’t be together, sharing everything.

But here’s the point. I’ve often heard this Acts 2:44 passage read almost wistfully, wishing for a renewal of this kind of unity in the Church. And it’s often been tried. Entire communities of believers have moved off somewhere to be together and share everything. And they’ve always failed.

It’s like the WWJD fad. You know, each time you make a decision you just ask yourself “What would Jesus do?” That only works if you’re doing the things that Jesus did. Prayer, worship, time with God and so on.

And sharing and togetherness will only hold up if we’re doing the things this early Church did. Fellowship and prayer and teaching and worship while practicing personal purity, care for one another, and keeping a watch on our tongues. And none of that’s possible unless we continue being filled with the Spirit.

• Am I doing the things Jesus and these believers did?

Pray: Father, out of Your glorious riches strengthen me with power through Your Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. Root and establish me in love, so that I may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that I may be filled to the measure of all Your fullness.

Digging Deeper: James 1

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My Provider

Meditate: Acts 2:44

See, we know how to pass the orthodoxy test so when we’re asked we all agree that God’s our Provider.

And we all know to nod piously when we hear (say it with me now) “anything we have is only by His mercy and grace.”

But what we do is a better indicator of what we believe than what we say. And what we do, all too often, is make excuses about why we’re not really in a position to be used by God to provide for His Church or His children.

And it’s a short leap from there to tut-tutting about why we can’t even really give right now… Breaks our hearts, you know. Not sure just how we’ll get by on…hmmm, on more than our all-knowing, all-wise, loving Father God saw fit to provide us… (I say “more than God saw fit to provide” because when you trust Him, He’ll show you that it wasn’t really about your resources anyway.)

But the early Church took this very seriously. Clement (a disciple of the original disciples) said, “If any one say that he has seen a just man in want of bread, I answer that it was in some place where there was no other just man.” If we’re really trusting God, if we really believe that He is our Provider, that all the resources of the universe are at His command, and that we can rely on His love and attention, then there’s no real room for doubt or fear. “The Lord will provide.“

I write all this knowing that the people most troubled by these statements will likely be the ones already striving most to trust God in this area. To you I say keep trusting. God is faithful to keep His children.

And I know others, forbidden to give by an unbelieving spouse, who will despair at this. God knows your situation. For as long as it is necessary let your prayers and faith and respect for your husband be your offering. God is faithful.

But there are some, so very thoroughly convinced of your excuses that you don’t listen to Jesus: “Put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.”

• Am I putting God’s work first?

Pray:
Praise: You are righteous. You are the Great and Awesome God.
Confess: I have not listened to Your Word, Your Spirit or Your servants.
Thank: You are merciful and forgiving, even though I have rebelled.
Ask: Fill me with the knowledge of Your will.

Digging Deeper: Matthew 6

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Sharing What I’ve Been Given

Meditate: Acts 2:44

Now imagine living in a family where the children go to the fridge, writing their name on food, saying “mine!” about things their parents provide. (Does this hit too close to home for anyone?) There may be the occasional “treat” for an individual child and in that case, ownership isn’t unfair. (Although I seem to recall that it’s a bad idea to taunt your brothers with a treat…)

The parents’ goal is just to ensure the family gets fed. Those are the family’s groceries stored in that pantry. It doesn’t matter who picked it out at the store or who carried it in from the car or who unpacked it and put it away… Just let dear little Reginald get possessive about the milk and cornflakes and someone’s going to provide him some solid insight on family life.

Two things need to be understood here.

One, any one of us only has anything because God has provided it; and

Two, while God can make manna fall out of the sky, most often He chooses to meet needs by more conventional means.

Like entrusting one or more of His children with the resources that would take care of the situation. He’s trusting that they don’t look at His gifts and say, “Mine!” and neglect the needs around them. When any of us gets possessive about what God has provided, it hurts all of us.

These believers knew that real families don’t hold out on one another. And they just assumed that it would be no different with God’s family.

• Am I holding out on God’s family?

Pray:
Father, Give me Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know You better. Open the eyes of my heart in order that I may know the hope to which You have called me, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe.

Digging Deeper: Nehemiah 5

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Sharing What’s Not Mine

Meditate: Acts 2:44

“Shared everything” was possible because these Christians had changed the way they looked at their possessions.

Ever been to a public beach and encountered those people that insisted you were in “their spot?”

Regardless of what I actually do about that, I always think, “Hey, this is here for everyone…” We get upset because we know that these things are there for all of us to enjoy and when individuals get (wrongly) possessive about them, then the whole community suffers.

So what’s this got to do with the Church?

“Shared everything”  kind of sharing is only possible when we trust that there’s going to be “enough” for all of us or when we’re so committed to one another that we’re willing to even share one another’s poverty.

The mature Christian says, “It all belongs to God anyway” and is willing to keep a loose grip on what he receives where Christian brothers and sisters are concerned.

I was talking with a friend of mine who summed it up something like this:

After I’ve written that tithe check, am I done? Is the rest of it “mine?” Or do I recognize that it all came from God and it all belongs to God. I pay Him ten percent (tithe) as an act of worship in recognition of who’s really providing for me but the other 90 percent isn’t totally mine-it’s just the part that God trusts me with.

See, what I do with that 10 percent may show my allegiance to my church or even say something about my regard for God. It may just show that I’m trying to cover all my bases. But how I treat that 90 percent shows what’s really in my heart.

Just like yelling “Hey, you’re in my spot” on an empty beach tells you pretty much all you need to know about my social skills.

• What do my attitudes and actions with money say about my trust in God?

Pray:
Praise: O Lord, You keep Your covenant of love with all who love You.
Confess: I have rebelled; I have ignored Your commands.
Thank: Your love and mercy never fail.
Ask: Give me a right attitude toward what You provide.

Digging Deeper: Haggai 1; Malachi 3

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