SACRIFICIAL GIVING

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
(Luke 14:33)

Johnny Li, a former colleague and current missionary trainer in China, shares about his meeting with two young pastors there.
As I entered the house, I was surprised to observe the humble existence of these two mighty men of God. They were the leaders of house churches in their provinces, which had grown over the past nine years to more than 200,000 Christians. They were both in their late twenties and, even though they have been in the ministry since they were nineteen, their enthusiasm reflected beautifully.
Everybody knew about the work of the Lord through these faithful servants. I also knew that they both spent several years in prison in extremely harsh conditions, but nothing prepared me for this humble home and modest lifestyle.
There were no furniture items, no ornaments, and no beds in the small house. Their clothes were hanging on the wall due to a lack of cupboards. The only furniture was a table and a chair to sit on. There was a blanket on the ground that was obviously used as the bed. Together we sat down and I started questioning them about their activities and work that was bearing much fruit.
“How often do you travel to neighboring villages?” I asked.
“As often as possible,” they replied.
“Where do you obtain your finances to do so?”
“We sell what we have,” they replied and supplied me with an explanation to the question about the empty house which I dared not ask.
“We sold the chairs and we sold the cupboard,” they continued. “And that supplied much-needed funds for our outreach.”
“What happens when you have nothing more to sell?”
One pastor looked sadly down to the ground and answered softly, “We find something else to sell.”
“But what?” I kept on pressuring them. “You have already sold everything and have nothing left to sell. How will you raise money now?”
Then came the startling answer. “We sell our blood on the black market. We get about five dollars but the need is so great that we have to do something to tell the people around us about Jesus.”
“How can you do this” I asked. “How can you justify selling your blood to send out missionaries?”
Without hesitation they answered, “We have no choice! The need is so great!”

RESPONSE   Today I will not complain about what I lack,
but think of what I can sacrifice for Jesus.

PRAYER   Lord, I reaffirm today my decision to follow You.
I give You everything I am and have.

This is taken from a regular Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS) A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

Rescue the perishing!

Proverbs 24:11-12 Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know— someone not impressed with weak excuses. (Message).

If we see a child falling through the ice of a frozen lake we don’t walk back home to organise a committee meeting to discuss what we might do. Even phoning the emergency services may not save the life of the child because of the delay before help comes. Action needs to be taken very quickly; a rescue attempt may have to be made immediately if there is any hope of a successful rescue. God says in his word that we are in the rescue business, it is our responsibility. We need to do all we can to reach those who face death that we might save some. Sadly they may not want help, they may refuse help and show hostility towards us but we must at least try. Of course we can and should at times plan and strategise how best we can rescue as many as possible. But we must not lose sight of the urgency of the task.

Father forgive me for failing to make the most of the opportunities you give me and understand how urgent the task is.    

Has Billy Graham lost his Integrity?

In Matthew 10:16 Jesus says, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” NIV
 

Billy Graham has been a great servant of Jesus Christ around the world. But the decision to take an article off the Billy Graham foundation website saying that Mormonism is a cult shortly after Mitt Romney visited Billy Graham seems unfortunate. Clearly Billy Graham and others associated with him believe that Mitt Romney is the preferred candidate from a Biblical point of view. Many Christians would disagree with this assessment based on Romney’s declared policy to increase the already huge US defence budget amongst a number of questionable policies. But whatever decision you come to concerning who will be the best next US president we need to be clear about Mormonism.

Billy Graham’s son says he has no problem with the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon. That seems to be a shame as endorsing Romney and voting for him would seem to risk legitimising the beliefs of Mormonism which from a biblical point of view are blasphemous (denying the deity of Jesus) and leading people away from the truth. Would it not have been better to stick with the truth that Mormonism is a cult even if you decide that Romney would make a better candidate than Obama?

It is certainly right for Christians to be involved in politics, that is part of our God given mission but we need to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves because politics can be a very dirty business.

Lord give us great wisdom as we consider political issues.   

Facing a Testing Challenge

James 1:12 (Msg) Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

We all face testing challenges from time to time but how do we respond to them? It is difficult to consider them pure joy. It is hard to face them head on, to acknowledge God in the midst of them. We normally pray for God to take away pain, suffering and difficulty. We want him to sort out the problems not develop our perseverance. We may want comfort and freedom from pain but what we actually get is plenty of opportunities to exercise faith. But our faith is not in a God who doesn’t care but one who disciplines us because he loves us and wants us to grow.

Thank you Lord for my present difficulties, I know that you are using them to make me the way you want me to be.

The Greatest Giving Verse; God so Loved...

John 3:16 God so loved the World he GAVE...

The most well known verse in the Bible is not the first verse we turn to when we are looking at the subject of giving but it is surely one of the most important. In seven words we have so much; God gave because he loved so much. Giving was a natural expression of love. If we truly love then we will want to give. 

What is our motive for giving? We may give because we feel we ought to, we may give out of a sense of guilt because we feel rich. We may give because we know it is the right thing to do. But do we give because we are moved by compassion? Do we give because we love so much that we have to act to make a difference. Of course God could have given all sorts of things, he does give us a huge variety of blessings. But God loved so much that he gave His son. His most precious one; he effectively gave himself. It was a costly gift, to allow his own son to suffer and yet he gave despite the misunderstandings, wilful rejection, hostility and betrayal to come. What greater gift has ever been given? What is our giving in comparison? God withheld nothing and yet we guard our possessions tightly, our bodies, ourselves, our loved ones as though our lives depended on these things. God asks us to give everything.
Father help us to love that we might give.

What you Give will determine the amount you Get

Luke 6:38  Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

OR in the Message Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.

This verse has been hijacked by those who teach prosperity doctrine and see in this verse a formula for getting rich but there are in fact wonderful truths for us to meditate on.

It is so easy when reading this verse to think of giving in terms of money. The Message is surely right to expand this to the whole of life. Jesus didn’t come to earth to hand out money and if we are to follow Jesus giving has to do with giving ourselves. Our lives are all about giving rather than getting, about serving rather than being served, about how we can bless others rather than be blessed. Giving has to do with choosing to actively listen rather than talk, it has to do with patiently being with those who are 'hard work' to be with. Sacrificial giving doesn’t mean working very long hours for self fulfilment but making ourselves available to God.  He has already generously given us all things and will never owe us anything. People will notice when our attitude is not selfish but life giving. It is when we are trully generous that we will receive abundantly from God, not necessarily materially but compared to possesions peace, joy and love are so much more valuable. 

Father help us to be giving people, known for being a blessing, ready to patiently serve with a pure heart.