Tag Archives: Macedonia

PAUL’S HAPPY LETTER…AND RECEIVING – 17b

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“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only…”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Giving and receiving…I wonder why Paul wrote about giving and receiving. Learning to give, we understand…but… is there something about receiving that we ought to know?

In our last post, we learned about some of the considerations Paul mentioned about the Philippians’ gifts of money to him…things like… it was not about the money but the message the money carried… about their love, care, and consideration for him when they were the only people who took care of his needs more than once. 

Their gifts were about what God thought about them…He saw their gifts as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice…an act of worship to Him. 

Why was the way these Philippians received help, if at some time they did, as important as the way they gave help to Paul? 

In a previous post, I explained that God’s economic system creates a current. Unlike the world system, which is strictly tit-for-tat…for example I sell, you buy…God teaches us to keep money circulating by giving and receiving.  Since He is generous…giving us liberally whatever we need…we must, in turn, be generous towards others. Again, giving and receiving is a faith partnership with Him. When we give, God gives back but…always through people because that’s the way He has chosen to work. 

We learned that like everything else we do, no matter how mundane it may seem, we do it first to Jesus and then to one another. In this way, we show our love for Him. 

So, He wants us to receive the generosity of others in the same way as we give…not resisting…not reluctant or protesting as some do, thinking that we are being humble or that we really don’t need help when we do. 

Receiving is as much an act of grace as giving because…first, we are part of the circulation of resources. If we are reluctant or refuse to receive… we break the cycle. 

Second, we dishonour God because He is the one who prompts the giver to be generous. 

Third…we rob the giver of the blessing that follows generosity. 

Fourth…and this one really matters…we rob God of the glory due to Him because giving and receiving reflect Him when we keep the resources circulating. God desires equality in His family. We can only experience true equality when we co-operate fully with His plan. 

“For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬-‭11‬, ‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Can you see the outcome of generosity? Both giver and receiver are righteous and blessed, and God receives the praise. 

Paul said something at the end of this teaching that is mostly taught and understood out of context. 

“Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”

What was the gift Paul referred to? Most people immediately think of God’s gift as Jesus but…let’s look at the context. Surely, Paul must have been referring to the grace of giving and receiving as God’s gift to us.  Why? 

Greed, not generosity, is the characteristic of people in the world. People don’t like parting with their money. They want more, not less. They don’t think of money as seed or “currency”, increasing as they sow it or keeping the cycle going so that everyone has enough. The world’s way doesn’t work like God’s way because God is never in the mix. 

Generosity, giving and receiving, is God’s gift to us, marvellous because it involves a change of heart. When we get in on His way, we enter the flow of what the Bible calls “righteousness”. Especially in the Old Testament, righteousness, generosity and mercy are all attributes of God and are interconnected. 

“The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously (they are full of mercy and give), …I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous (Hebrew-full of mercy), and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37‬:‭21‬, ‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Another interesting point…the word “children” in verse 25, 26 is actually translated from the Hebrew word for “seed”. 

Our children are our seed for the next generation. In the same way, our money is our seed for the next harvest. If we don’t have children, there will be no seed for the next generation. Likewise, if we don’t sow our “seed”, our money now, we will not have seed for next year…nothing to eat and nothing to sow. 

Paul likened generosity with our money to sowing seed and reaping a harvest of more seed…and righteousness in our hearts and behaviour. 

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Consider these verses…

“Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 Is Paul not issuing this warning in the context of “the law of the harvest”? What is “sowing to the flesh” here? Is he not referring to greed or stinginess if people fail to support their teachers. He has just instructed his readers to be generous to those who teach them. After all, they depend on the generosity of those who are taught for their income since teaching is their “work”. 

In this context, if they fail to sow, according to the law of the harvest, they will not reap a harvest because this is the way God works. The way we use our money is one of the clearest ways of revealing what is in our hearts. 

Jesus put it like this…

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…not “money” but “Mammon”…greed…the attitude behind money. 

Now, let’s pull this together. 

Giving and receiving are part of the same process…keeping the circulation of God’s resources going… which is the way God distributes His gifts through people, to provide for everyone’s needs. 

We are in partnership with God, both by eating what we need and sowing the seed He provides to keep the seed multiplying so that everyone has enough. This “law of the harvest” from the natural world demonstrates God’s “righteousness” at work in us, contributing  to our righteousness in response to God, and to God’s glory. 

To be continued

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ON TO TROAS – 49

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“When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece …But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One almost begins to feel weary at the thought of Paul’s travels under such difficult circumstances. After all, it took days and weeks for him to travel the distances we can travel in a few hours. If we study the map of Paul’s journeys, we see that this leg took him from Ephesus to Troas in Asia Minor…with many stops on the way. 

“From the city of Ephesus to the port city of Troas was a journey, on foot, of 349km (about 217 miles). In the spring this would have taken about 12 days of hard walking. From Troas, a boat across the Thracian Sea to Neapolis in Macedonia would have only taken 2.5 days to go the 347km (~216 miles) over water.” 

However, this was only a short stop on his way to Jerusalem, thousands of miles away. 

It is obvious, if we trace his travels on the map, that Paul no longer had a fixed address…no permanent home…no family awaiting him…no comfortable bed or familiar food…no friends or neighbours to welcome him home.  His was a life of permanent  travel…on the road…depending on friends and acquaintances for food and a bed. What a way to live! Why did he live this way?

Paul had a calling and a commission…to take the good news of Jesus to the Gentile world. He was not called to a life of home, family, and a nine-to-five job like most of us live. Jesus said, “Go!” and Paul went. He had his eye on a reward far greater than a comfortable life on earth. 

Paul became a recipient of a far greater promise…

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In a sense, Paul did have a home, in fact, hundreds of homes scattered across the Roman world, and a far bigger and more loving family than his own blood family…hundreds of believers who owed their new life to his faithful ministry to them at great cost. He claimed family ties far deeper and stronger than a natural family.

He wrote to his Corinthian family…

“I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We cannot all live this way. Some are called to go and others to stay. Some are called to endure hardship and others to enjoy comfort. Will the reward be greater for those who have little in this life…endure hardship, persecution, and suffering? 

The answer is not in “what” but “how” we experience what God gives us in life. He creates our circumstances…but He requires our response. 

“‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’”…

‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We can become bitter in difficult circumstances. We can complain and rebel. We can become complaisant in a cushy life, forgetting others and enjoying our own comfort. 

Paul’s solution is simple but not easy…

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Did you get that?

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…”

Paul tells us, in the most trying times of his life…

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ NIV

Praise…gladness…thanksgiving…gratitude…in, not for the very things that caused him pain! Why did he rejoice?

“…so that Christ’s power may rest on me.…For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul chose to turn his attention away from himself to Jesus, to the one who provided the strength to overcome. 

So Paul could be homeless, travel many miles on foot… suffer cold, hunger, weariness…even shipwreck, imprisonment, and face death…grateful and faithful because he knew that a great reward awaited him. 

This life, for Paul, was not the reward but the preparation. 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

His attitude was…

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Dear readers, the issue is this. Whether our lives are easy or difficult…cushy or uncomfortable…God rewards faithfulness…what we do with the calling and the resources He has given us. 

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV

Our circumstances are a trust. What we do in them will determine our reward. 

To be continued 

THE BOOK OF ACTS – MURDEROUS ENVY

Bible Study, ,

CHAPTER 20

MURDEROUS ENVY

“When things were back to normal, Paul called the disciples together and encouraged them to keep up the good work in Ephesus. Then, saying his goodbyes, he left for Macedonia. Travelling through the country, passing from one gathering to another, he gave constant encouragement, lifting their spirits and charging them with fresh hope.

“Then he came to Greece and stayed on for three months. Just as he was about to sail for Syria, the Jews cooked up a plot against him. So he went the other way, by land back through Macedonia, and gave them the slip. His companions for the journey were Sopater, son of Phyrrus, from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, both Thessalonians; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and two from western Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.” Acts 20:1-4 (The Message).

Paul was a tireless and faithful servant of the Lord Jesus. He had been given a commission to take the gospel to the Roman Empire and he did it as best and as thoroughly as he knew how, not only evangelizing but also building up the followers of Jesus in the faith and encouraging them to stay on the path in the midst of persecution from many different quarters.

As we have seen through the pages of Acts, Paul was constantly the object of abuse and very often in danger of being killed by fanatical Jews and over-zealous pagans. Nothing would deter him. On his way back to Syria, via the churches in Greece where he spent three months instructing and encouraging them, he got to hear of a Jewish assassination plot and managed to slip through their fingers.

Although he had many travelling companions, faithful men who accompanied him and helped him with his load of responsibility, it was he who was the wanted man. There was a price on his head, and he had to be on the alert constantly to keep from inadvertently falling into hostile hands. It reminds us of David who got under King Saul’s skin just as Paul provoked the religious Jews to murderous envy.   .

What is it that drives one human being to hate the goodness or success of another so much that he is willing to kill for it?

Jesus told a story about a landowner who needed labourers to harvest his grapes. He engaged men from the market place in the early morning and they agreed on the wage he offered. He went back several times during the day to look for more workers. An hour before knocking-off time there were still a few who had not found work. He employed them as well, even though they only had an hour to work.

At the end of the day, they gathered around the employer to receive their pay. The last men employed were paid first. To the annoyance of the ones who had worked all day, they received the same wage as the first ones, even though the last had only worked for an hour. Thinking that they were going to receive more, the first men protested. The landowner replied, ‘Didn’t you agree to the wage I offered you? Don’t I have the right to do with my money as I choose or are you envious because I am generous?’

What has envy to do with generosity? It was the generosity of the landowner that exposed the greed of the men first employed and they didn’t like it. Likewise, it was the generosity of Jesus that showed up the greed of the religious leaders to the extent that they killed Him for it. Instead of responding to His exposure by repenting and turning to Him, their hearts were so wicked that they chose to silence the voice that was offering them a new life.

This story had no value for us if we do not respond to its application. What do we do when the ungodly attitudes in us are exposed by someone else’s goodness? We will either do whatever it takes to silence the one who exposed us, often by character assassination, and keep on living the way we always did or, like Zaccheus, choose to change our ways and enjoy the blessing of a new life and freedom from the destructive ways of greed and wickedness.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – ROADBLOCKS

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ROADBLOCKS

“They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia Province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport of Troas.

“That night Paul had a dream. A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.” Acts 16:6-10 (The Message).

What a lovely lesson on guidance! The Spirit of Jesus had a plan for them and He corralled them into going where He wanted them to go; no Google map of their lives but a step-by-step unfolding of the way as they obeyed the previous pointers.

Don’t you love God’s way of doing things? He didn’t guide them like robots, mindlessly following verbal instructions, but having intelligently to discern the mind of the Spirit and following His directives in a partnership that involved trust, submission and obedience in every step they took.

Luke did not elaborate on the way the Holy Spirit blocked their way. We can only surmise that Paul interpreted whatever obstacles He put in the way as from God and not from the devil! That’s not easy to do. How do we know when God is showing us to change direction and when Satan is hindering the work of God through us?

In Paul’s case, whatever was in the way of their going in the direction he had planned must have been insurmountable. Twice he was prevented from following his own plan. When he had got the message, “Not that way!” he was open to a positive call, “Come here and help us!” His immediate response was relief and assurance that God was opening the door to a whole new field of ministry in Europe.

Not only do we see in Paul’s response a spontaneous and willing obedience to the Holy Spirit’s leading, but also his ability to discern the mind of the Spirit. This tells us that God had both Paul’s mind and his heart. There was no self-will involved in this man’s commitment to doing the will of God. Paul called himself the “slave” of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was in circumstances like these that he showed just how much of a “slave” he was.

However, Paul’s slavery was his own choice because he wholeheartedly trusted Jesus to do the best for him and through him. This is our highest calling in life – to be one with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, just as they are one in a functional unity of essence, heart and purpose. There is no greater freedom than being a slave of Jesus because His way is secure and certain and takes us unerringly to the Father.

Paul had no idea of what lay ahead for him. Had he known, he might not have been so willing to go that way. He might easily have said, “No thank you!” and gone home. But, looking back over a life of trial and suffering, he could say with absolute assurance, “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed…” 2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV).

We can only learn the love of God when we follow His leading along uncertain paths and sometimes painful ways. Even when we stubbornly choose our own way and have to face the consequences of our own foolishness, God is there to cradle us in His arms and lovingly redirect us in the right way.

How else can we learn the depth of His love than feeling it and experiencing it in the depth of our pain? Would Paul have ever wished his life to have been different, easy, uneventful, without trials? I think not! Looking back, we can say, “As tough as it was, I would not have missed for anything in the world.”

Roadblocks

Bible Study, , ,

ROADBLOCKS

“They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia Province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport of Troas.

“That night Paul had a dream. A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.” Acts 16:6-10 (The Message).

What a lovely lesson on guidance! The Spirit of Jesus had a plan for them and He corralled them into going where He wanted them to go; no Google map of their lives but a step-by-step unfolding of the way as they obeyed the previous pointers.

Don’t you love God’s way of doing things? He didn’t guide them like robots, mindlessly following verbal instructions, but having intelligently to discern the mind of the Spirit and following His directives in a partnership that involved trust, submission and obedience in every step they took.

Luke did not elaborate on the way the Holy Spirit blocked their way. We can only surmise that Paul interpreted whatever obstacles He put in the way as from God and not from the devil! That’s not easy to do. How do we know when God is showing us to change direction and when Satan is hindering the work of God through us?

In Paul’s case, whatever was in the way of their going in the direction he had planned must have been insurmountable. Twice he was prevented from following his own plan. When he had got the message, “Not that way!” he was open to a positive call, “Come here and help us!” His immediate response was relief and assurance that God was opening the door to a whole new field of ministry in Europe.

Not only do we see in Paul’s response a spontaneous and willing obedience to the Holy Spirit’s leading, but also his ability to discern the mind of the Spirit. This tells us that God has both Paul’s mind and his heart. There was no self-will involved in this man’s commitment to doing the will of God. Paul called himself the “slave” of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was in circumstances like these that he showed just how much of a “slave” he was.

However, Paul’s slavery was his own choice because he wholeheartedly trusted Jesus to do the best for him and through him. This is our highest calling in life – to be one with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, just as they are one in a functional unity of essence, heart and purpose. There is no greater freedom than being a slave of Jesus because His way is secure and certain and takes us unerringly to the Father.

Paul had no idea of what lay ahead for him. Had he known, he might not have been so willing to go that way. He might easily have said, “No thank you!” and gone home. But, looking back over a life of trial and suffering, he could say with absolute assurance, “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed…” 2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV).

We can only learn the love of God when we follow His leading along uncertain paths and sometimes painful ways. Even when we stubbornly choose our own way and have to face the consequences of our own foolishness, God is there to cradle us in His arms and lovingly redirect us in the right way.

How else can we learn the depth of His love than feeling it and experiencing it in the depth of our pain? Would Paul have ever wished his life to have been different, easy, uneventful, without trials? I think not! Looking back, we can say, “As tough as it was, I would not have missed for anything in the world.”