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PARTNERS IN GIVING AND RECEIVING

Bible Study, ,

Philippians 4:10, 14-17 NLT
[10] “How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me….
[14] Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. [15] As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. [16] Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. [17] I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.”

Paul is drawing his letter to a close, tying up loose ends before he sends it to his beloved fellow believers in Philippi. He has one or two things on his mind before he signs off.

This church family was the only one that helped him financially. It was time to mention their kindness and to put it in its correct perspective, a good opportunity to teach these people the real meaning of generosity.

One thing Paul had never done in all his ministry across Asia Minor and Europe…he had never exercised his right to financial support from the churches. It was a principle he taught…

Galatians 6:6 NLT
[6] “Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.”

… but never demanded or expected. In fact, since Paul was a tent maker by trade, he spent many days and nights making and selling tents to support himself so that he would not be a drain on the churches. Like Nehemiah, he didn’t demand his right to be paid for his work in the service of the Lord.

Acts of the Apostles 18:1, 3 NLT
[1] “Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth…
[3] Paul lived and worked with them, (Priscilla and Aquila), for they were tentmakers just as he was.”

1 Thessalonians 2:9 NLT
[9] “Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.”

Acts of the Apostles 20:34 NLT
[34] “You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me.”

Why did Paul forgo his right to financial support? Was it because the believers were experiencing severe hardships? Even government policy descriminated against them by denying them access to the markets if they refused to offer sacrifice to Caesar.

Paul chose to suffer hardship himself rather than put fellow believers under pressure to support him. So, he recognised the sacrifice they made by collecting and sending money to him more than once.

However, was their gift a sacrifice just for him?

Philippians 4:18-19 NLT
[18] “At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing TO GOD. [19] And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

No, far from it! Paul recognised, in their sacrificial giving, that God, not he, was both the source and the goal of their sacrifice. As in all of life, their union with the Father through faith in Jesus was the centre of their existence. No matter what they did, it was through Him, for Him, and to Him.

Romans 11:36 NLT
[36] “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

Sacrifice of any kind, then, is not about giving up or giving away. Sacrifice is always about making an exchange, less for more, the material for the spiritual. Paul stated this principle clearly. Their sacrifice was not for him but to the Lord, and the Lord would reward them with His own abundant supply.

Unfortunately, as often happens with Scripture, many people claim part two of Paul’s teaching and ignore part one. No, God doesn’t willy-nilly supply all our needs just because we ask Him. He has promised to meet our needs as we offer Him the sacrifice of generosity, meeting the needs of others.

What a difference! God is not just a benevolent billionaire “Santa Claus” who dishes out money when we need it. He works according to His divine economic system, using currency to create a current.

Jesus set this plan in motion in the context of the New Covenant.

Matthew 6:7-8, 33 NLT
[7]“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. [8] Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!…
[33] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

The trouble is that we tend to treat God like a vending machine rather than a loving Father. If God is truly our Father, then all our interactions with Him must be as children with a perfect Father.

As the Father of a global family, God wants us to care about one another. He gives us opportunity to show our love to Him by caring in practical ways for His children. By giving to others in their need, we create a current of our currency that keeps God’s resources circulating.

2 Corinthians 8:13-14 NLT
[13] “Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. [14] Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.”

God’s economic policy does something even bigger than taking care of financial needs. It binds people together in love and unity and…God gets the glory.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8, 13-14 NLT
[7]” You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” [8] And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others…
[13] 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. [14] And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.”

This whole process is a God-idea! And it works! Paul himself expressed gratitude for this “gift”, not the gift of Jesus, which is not the context, but the gift of giving that produces such an amazing outcome. God does everything in and for Christ’s body that will result in… more love… greater unity…and worship that belongs to Him alone.

One last comment. Notice how Paul is also a grateful recipient. Some of God’s children love to give but they don’t like to receive. When we refuse to receive with the same happy attitude as we give, we rob the giver of the blessing of giving.

So, let’s enter into the flow of giving and receiving, beimg a part of the current that flows in God’s kingdom, and contributing to the strength of the love and unity in the body that glorify the Lord.

FULL STEAM AHEAD – 13

Christian Life, ,

Peter 5:10-11 NLT‬
[10] “In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. [11] All power to him forever! Amen.”

Peter concludes this gem of a letter with a vote of confidence in the Ones who occupy the theme of his writing, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

He puts everything into their correct order – ‘a little while’ of suffering now, an eternity of glory with Them. Though Peter doesn’t mention the Holy Spirit by name, he knows that He is always present because He administers to us all that God has made available by His grace.

The interim on earth is an important time for us. It is the apprenticeship we serve here for our place and function in God’s eternal kingdom.

Trouble is, we are often so caught up in the struggles of this life that we lose sight of their purpose. Learning to take the long look is the secret of navigating trouble with patience, perseverance, and hope.

‭2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT‬
[18] “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

We learn to ‘have finished with sin’ by celebrating the weaknesses that keep our feet on the ground in place of flying above in the realm of make-believe or mouthing our discontent and unbelief, and wiping off our unhappiness on others. When we trust God instead of trying to change what we don’t like, God will trust us with a future more glorious than we can imagine.

So, as Peter urges us throughout his letter, let’s stay within the boundaries of God’s infallible and enduring Word. Through this Word, we have been born again. Through this Word, we have the prescriptions for living holy lives.

Through this living Word, Jesus Himself, we have the model and mentor for enduring the sufferings associated with this life and the prospect of an eternity with Him. Through this Word, we have the promise of a support system that will see us through to the end, God’s Holy Spirit who dispenses all the grace and mercy we need to overcome all the obstacles on our way to glory.

It’s full steam ahead for all who have the goal in mind with no intention of not reaching it. All the negatives we experience mean we will not fail because God is determined to keep us on track. He wil do whatever it takes to get us home safely. It’s His promise!

No Enduring City

Bible Study, , , , ,

NO ENDURING CITY

For we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Heb. 13: 14-16).

There are some pretty bad things happening in the world around us. Apart from the things that irk us in our own country, what about what goes on in the rest of the world? It is easy for us to become despondent, to complain and to criticise, to judge and condemn and, worse still, to blame God for not doing anything about it.

Our writer says, “Don’t do that. You don’t belong here anyway. This present world with its greed, selfishness and injustice, is not your permanent home. This is your apprenticeship for the real life which is to come.” We forget that our citizenship is in heaven when life is tough and uncomfortable down here. When we keep our sights on where we belong – in the realm of God’s presence and rule, we can be optimistic and full of joy because what lies ahead for us is beyond our imagination.

This gives us reason to be a thankful people. It is not sacrifice in the sense of doing something painful when we offer God praise. It is an act of worship, continually remembering what He has done for us and raising our hearts to Him in gratitude and love for His mercy and goodness. This is the reason for our generosity towards others – God has been infinitely generous to us.

We no longer need to offer the sacrifices of animal flesh and blood to cover sin and to worship God since the blood of Jesus is sufficient for the forgiveness of our sin, once for all. However, that does not mean that we no longer need to offer sacrifices – tokens of our worship and gratitude to God. There are at least five different ways to express our love to Him which constitute our “spiritual” worship.

The writer to the Hebrews mentions two here:

Praise as an act of worship is an expression of our love to God, not only for who He is and what He has already done, but also as our way of trusting Him with our lives for the future. When we focus on God instead of on all the bad things that happen around us and in the world, we take our eyes off this world and fill our vision with the hope towards which we are moving.

Our gratitude to God spills over into acts of kindness towards others. It may not necessarily mean giving away material things. What about people’s need for acceptance and affirmation; expressions of gratitude and appreciation; support and comfort; or kind words instead of criticism? There are a thousand ways in which we can spread love and blessing in a heartless world. This is our way of showing our love to God.

Paul gives us at least two other ways in which we can worship God. In Romans 12:1 he urges us to respond to God’s mercy by giving Him our bodies. He is not talking about being literal sacrifices but “living sacrifices”, allowing Jesus to have complete ownership of everything we think, say and do. As he said elsewhere, “No I but Christ lives in me.”

Being generous with our money and possessions is another way of worshipping the Lord. Paul acknowledge the generosity of the Philippian church towards him for sending him money when he needed it. What was more important, however, was that they were worshipping the Lord by their giving.

I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.  They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God (Phil. 4: 18).

Jesus spoke more about money and things than He did about anything else. Why? Because He knew how big a part money plays in our lives. It either rules us or we rule it. Generosity is the way to break the power money has over us. We are to be generous with our money because God has been generous to us in every way. When He has control of what we own, we are truly free from the crippling love of money.

Above everything else, however, there is a gift God longs for us to give Him. David understood that God was not interested in animal blood. He wanted something far more valuable from us – our submissive and contrite hearts. In the midst of his guilt because of the terrible things he had done when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he said this:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise (Psa. 51: 16-17).

What is the best offering of all? A heart that is submissive and obedient to God. Without it, all our worship is worthless.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

The Purpose Of Discipline

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THE PURPOSE OF DISCIPLINE

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined – and everyone undergoes discipline – then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness (Heb. 12: 7-10).

Ignoring God’s directions for life leads to all kinds of problems. He gave us instructions and prohibitions for a very good reason. He knows that life becomes a mess when we ignore the “no entry” signs along the path. One of the huge “no entry” signs is the one about the way we handle our sex drives. This one says “sex outside of marriage is dangerous” but, of course, because we humans think we know better than God, we ignored that one and set up our own rules – which in effect are no rules. Anything goes!

The result is a world of fatherless people, either because the biological father is absent and plays no part in the child’s life or because the father has opted out of his responsibility to father his children. Divorce has ripped families apart, leaving mothers to raise their children while fathers are out hunting for another mate, or at best, absentee fathers who see their children periodically and play no part in their upbringing.

Fatherless children grow up hurt and angry because they have no identity, and insecure because they have no one to affirm them and no one to set the boundaries within which they feel safe and free. There is no strong authority figure to bring order and discipline into their lives without which their sin nature plays havoc and leads to broken and destroyed people. Our prisons are full of criminals who grew up without the loving and guiding hand of a father.

It isn’t any wonder that so many of God’s children don’t understand what He is doing when hardships come. Discipline was not part of the equation. Punishment, yes, because many of the fathers were harsh and unpredictable, disciplining according to their moods and whims without purpose.

This writer perhaps experienced a father who loved him and disciplined him as a way of guiding his life towards a productive future. If so, it was easy for him to understand the purpose of hardship and suffering. God is the perfect Father. This writer knew that His people needed to be corralled in order to stay on the path. Without discipline, we lose our way amid the many temptations that appeal to our flesh and pull us away from God’s path through life.

How does God discipline us? He allows us to experience situations that bring the flaws in us to the surface. We bump up against people who irritate us, make us angry, or jealous, or who cause us offence in some way. We blame the other person when, in actual fact, our reaction comes from within us. Unless we own our own fault instead of blaming him or her, the exercise is wasted and God will have to keep up the heat until we learn the lesson.

He also allows us to get into sticky situations that require us to trust Him in the dark. Instead of trusting, however, we often try to fix things ourselves in a worldly way when He has said, “The battle is not yours but God’s. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” We pray desperately to get out of our problems instead of being still and trusting God in it. Our faith in Him cannot become stronger if the sun shines all the time. We need the storms to teach us how to hold on to Him in trouble.

“God uses hardships to discipline us,” said the writer. He has a goal in mind. He is building a family of sons and daughters who have progressed beyond the infancy, toddler and teenage stages. Each phase has it characteristics of immaturity. He has given us the model of His Son who lived as a perfect son instead of a spoilt brat or a stubborn rebel. His family destined for unity with the Father, sharing His holiness – His separation from and abhorrence for sin.

When we submit to His discipline instead of bucking and whining, something happens inside. A calm descends and a trust grows that God is, after all, in charge, good and moving us towards a desired end. If some earthly fathers did a good job, and they are fallible after all, submitting to and trusting in our heavenly Father will eventually bring us to maturity in this life and perfection in the next.

Is that a path worth following?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

One In The Bond Of Love

Bible Study, , , ,

ONE IN THE BOND OF LOVE

“It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:7-11.

That’s quite a mouthful, Paul!

Paul made some powerful statements in his greeting to the Philippian church. He obviously had great affection for these people. They were his first converts in Greece. They loved him; they supported him in every possible way; unlike the Galatian church, they were steadfast in their faith in Jesus and they brought great joy to Paul. He could not help but tell them how much they meant to him in the midst of the trials and persecution he faced. At that very moment he was in prison for the gospel of Christ.

Paul thought about them constantly, as he did the many other small groups scattered all over Europe and Asia who had come to Christ through his preaching and teaching. In spite of his apostolic role, he didn’t lord it over them. They had an equal share in God’s grace with him. He needed grace to endure the suffering and humiliation of persecution and imprisonment for preaching the gospel. They needed grace to be faithful to Jesus in the face of opposition, accusation and misunderstanding and the ever-present danger of betrayal to the authorities, even by friends or family.

God’s grace was very real to Paul. On one occasion he was so traumatised by constant persecution that he pleaded with God to remove the “thorn” of angry persecutors that dogged him wherever he went and the hardships he faced as a travelling apostle. God’s response was not to remove the thorn but to give him strength and grace to endure. The same grace that supported him was available to every Philippian child of God for their daily struggles.

Paul’s written prayers give us deep insight into true prayer. He was more concerned about forming their godly characters than he was about their outward circumstances. As long as they were in this life they would face trouble. It was not his place to pray them out of it, since God was using the very adversities they faced to mould them into the image of Christ. In his prayers he affirmed God’s purpose to grow them in righteousness and godliness as a witness to His grace and power in the face of human wickedness in the society around them.

His greeting was “grace and peace,” his prayer for the increase of love and the fruit of righteousness so that their lives would be blameless, not sinless, and pure, not mixed with the ungodly practices of the pagans all around them. Their righteousness was the outflow of Christ’s righteousness which covered them as they lived in a sinful world, surrounded by pressure and temptation to conform in order to evade the inevitable suffering for Jesus’ sake.

Why the increase of love? Love is the very essence of who God is. His love motivates and permeates His every thought and action. Everything He does is for our good and He spares nothing, not even His own Son, to ensure our rescue and our freedom from the ravages of sin. The love of God that motivates us, heals and restores us as much as it ministers to others. The more we love, the greater our resemblance to our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus.

The more we give of ourselves and our resources to meet the needs of others, the more we grow in our understanding of what the right thing is to do in every circumstance. What better desire could Paul express for these dear people who meant so much to him? They were an oasis in the desert of idolatry and wickedness. They were a breath of fresh air in the putrid atmosphere of ungodliness. They were a fountain of living water springing up out of the barren earth.

We can learn from Paul to view life from a different perspective. God is about changing hearts, not circumstances. The very struggles we hate are the things God uses to refine our faith and purify our hearts of our fleshly and selfish appetites so that we can feast on Him and become like Him to shine in the darkness of sin and unbelief.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.