The Offering of Love

 

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings.  Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them.  Here is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from them:  gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth; tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece.  “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.  You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.  Exodus 25:1-9

It strikes me as odd that some people never seem to get it just how important it is to make our offerings to God sacred.  I know there are those who have been disabused by huckster-type (so-called) preachers.  When someone spends the lion’s share of time building the bank account we ought to be suspicious at least.  But God’s own holy word tells us that God wants offerings from the heart. 

The one picture in my mind is the ring I gave to Elizabeth when we got engaged.  By any stretch that ring was not from Tiffany’s; he didn’t go to Jarod’s.  But, for an eighteen year old, whose only job prospect was the draft notice he’d recently gotten, it was way more than he could afford.  And yet, I was so excited to put this ring on her finger I could barely keep the secret long enough to get down on one knee.  It was an offering of the deepest love I knew how to express.  And that is sacred.

A brief look at the list of suitable gifts for God’s temple in today’s Scripture is all you need to understand just how seriously God takes this.

I learned a term for a non-sacred offering from a friend many years ago; missionary tea bags.  It seems there were some skinflints in the church of her youth.  Some of the ladies made a practice of saving their used tea bags to send to those poor missionaries.  Somehow it never occurred to them that, perhaps, the sacrifice of using their own tea bags two or three times, so they could afford to buy new packages of tea to send to the missionaries, would move tea bags into the sacred range.  The point is not missed here; anytime you give God second best (or worse), you’re acting like that’s what He deserves.

For You Today

Offering less than your best is no way to propose marriage, do a day’s work, or raise a child.  It certainly doesn’t come into acceptable range in Heaven, when you give less than your best to a God who gave you the very best of what He had, Jesus!  That was God’s sacred offering of love to us; should we do less?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

A Word to Those Who Preach

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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.  Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.  Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.  Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching.  Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.  1 Timothy 4:12b-16

If you have never had a weight problem you can probably skip this devotion and go on to the funny papers.  There is that moment of panic at every doctor’s appointment when you’re waiting in the waiting room, and your name is called out.  The panic arrives because the time has arrived when the intake person will say quite flatly as you’re being led down the hallway, let’s just stop here and let you get on the scale.  I want to snap back, uh…LET me get on the scale?  What makes you think I WANT to do that?  And who put you in charge of how much I weigh.  Frankly that’s none o’ yer dang business!

But I don’t say any of that.  I just get on the dreaded scale and take my lumps.  (Mind you, I was thinking it – was guilty of the rage – so I don’t get any points for moderation of my temper – only perhaps longsuffering…VERY long)!

So, what does being annoyed at my doctor’s office have to do with preaching?  In a word, EVERYTHING!  The scenario I just described also illustrates the chief element of Paul’s advice to his young preaching protégé, Timothy, namely keeping your actions in line, even when you don’t feel like it.  If someone has been preaching for more than a little while, that preacher understands the weight of being observed by the world’s critics.  The community wants to know if the living is going to live-up to the preaching.  If it doesn’t, the things you do will speak so loudly, no one will hear what you say.

Timothy was young, very young.  And Timothy was gifted with a command of the Scriptures – sufficient enough for Paul to sign his ordination certificate.  But in this passage, Paul makes sure to cover the ground rules of ethical living.  Paul knew that knowledge is a good thing, but knowing must be held in the cradle of pure motive, AND actions.  What you say and what you do must be held in close proximity. 

Now, no preacher is perfect in either heart or actions, and those of us who preach do well to stay off the pedestal that some want us to ascend; that never ends pretty!  But, says the apostle Paul, your main job, if you’re going to preach an unhindered Gospel is to work toward that perfection, even while you’re avoiding the pedestal!

For You Today

If you’re the type that preaches, or if you’re a preacher-watcher, remember to cut him or her some slack – at the bottom line a preacher is a struggling sibling of yours in Christ.  If you want to be kind, just don’t ask him to get on the scale!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of  By Johnsnow1234 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons     Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

A Baptized Wallet

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Tuesday, July 3, 2018

I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem.  For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.  2 Corinthians 9:1-5^(NLT)

Pastors have Facebook chat rooms – pages that are closed to the public, but open to the venting of frustration between the clergy.  Yup, that’s right; some clergy get pretty “venty” at times.  Sometimes it is over unreasonable expectations of church members.  Sometimes it is about trying to be in too many places at the same time.  Most times it is the frustration of wanting to be better than we think we are, so the church can grow strong and do more for the kingdom of God.  Sometimes we just think it’s up to us.

Unfortunately, sometimes those on the other side of the pulpit agree with us – if the pastor was just       (well…you just fill in this blank if you care to) then the church would be so much better off.  I’d like to say a kind word of correction about that, but time, space, and reality do not allow me to dig for bland kindness at this point – that is a blame game that won’t hunt.  Pastors may be charged with a difficult, important role of being a leader, but the success or failure of a church doesn’t rest squarely on the shoulders of any preacher…not any more, at least, than it does on those who occupy the pews.  We are all responsible for what our church is becoming day by day.

C.S. Lewis once wrote:  with our thoughts and actions we are becoming every day, more a child of heaven, or more a child of hell.  That’s also true for churches.

Now, while that is a thought-provoking truth, it spawns the ugly reality:  there is no fence to sit on when it comes to whose child you’re becoming.  There is no middle ground for humans.  Just like you’re either breathing or not, alive or dead, male or female, saved or lost, you are most definitely moving in one direction or the other.

Now this is true in many areas of our lives, but it very often shows most dramatically in stewardship…how we handle that which God has placed in our hands (which is the main reason many preachers stay away from talking about it like they stay away from the plague).  Isn’t it funny how preachers/churches are condemned so often for only being interested in money when preachers really say so little about it?

A few weeks ago, in one of the preacher chat rooms the discussion was all about stewardship, and how you introduce the offering time in worship.  There were some typical responses, then one of the contributors got giddy; she wrote:  I introduce our offering by saying ‘I want you to reach forward, take the checkbook from the person in front of you and write the check to the church you’ve always wanted to’.

YES!

Another preacher chimed in – Here’s how I do it; I say:  the good news is this church already has all the money it needs.  The bad news is that it’s still in your wallets.

The Good News is that God has promised His providence to every believer:

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.  Philippians 4:19^(NLT)

The Bad News is that some (sometimes many) people haven’t gotten the rest of the memo.  The memo says, in baptism our wallets are also supposed to get wet, covered with the splashy blessing of God’s Spirit calling us to holy generosity, not just supporting the church so the light bill can be paid, but making every treasurer and finance committee in the land work three times as hard trying to figure out how to spend the tremendous blessings God gives through His church.

Consider this – God’s standard for the follower of Jesus Christ 2is the tithe – ten percent of what you receive, given back to God in thanksgiving and worship, acknowledging His Lordship over your life.  That is a given…and it has not changed.  It is expected and required.  The joy in giving is different; it begins after the 10 percent tithe!

For You Today

If your wallet somehow missed getting baptized along with the rest of you…I know where there is water!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Peace

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                                                                                                 Wednesday, October 5, 2016

I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.  Psalm 3:5^(NLT)

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.   Mark 11:22^(NLT)

They called him Brother Thad.  Reverend Thad Entzminger was the pastor who had served the church in Greenville, Florida before I arrived there in 1996.  He had come there at age 65 after his doctor warned him his heart would not survive the busy life of a pastor in South Florida.  He only lasted thirty years, until age 95, being busy, and building up lives in Florida’s panhandle. 

You don’t follow a pastor of that stature without hearing some of the stories.  One in particular was about how Brother Thad did his visiting in that old Buick, a car bigger than most Army tanks.  The huge front bench seat was always covered with morning newspaper, Bible, coffee cup and sermon notes. 

On the 20 mile drive to Madison (which he often made in 14 minutes) to visit those in the hospital, he would read, work on his sermon, drink coffee, smoke cigarettes and occasionally look at the road.  Legend had it that the State Troopers never gave him a ticket, they just radioed ahead to make sure the roads were clear of innocent bystanders!

Brother Thad’s favorite hymn (according to the grapevine) was Have Faith in God.  I would imagine you’d have to have great faith to drive like his reputation claimed! 

I’m certain the Psalmist didn’t own a Buick, but he had great faith, knowing that even in the most vulnerable position of sound-asleep the LORD was watching over him. 

In fact, the Psalmist was David, and this was written during the time his rebellious son Absalom was pursuing his father to kill him and steal his throne.  David was on the run, hiding in caves, watching his back and navigating treachery and treason around every corner.  Yet he could sleep like a baby…that’s trusting God!

And that is the point of what we see in the life of a warrior like David, enjoying perfect peace despite the evil plans and plots of enemies; David’s trust in God was the key to the door of peace.

We live in such a time as David lived, uncertain of what the day holds.  But, as with David and Brother Thad, we can have faith in God, and watch our trust fling-open the doorway to reveal peace that passes understanding.

B.B. McKinney wrote Rev. Thad’s favorite verse:

Have faith in God though all else fail about you;
Have faith in God, He provides for His own.
He cannot fail though all kingdoms shall perish;
He rules, He reigns, upon His throne.

For You Today

Got some tough stuff to handle today?

Got questions about tomorrow?

“Have Faith in God” is a good way to start any day.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i] Title Images: By _sikander (Kitten), via Wikimedia Commons

Saddlebag Sermonizing

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Friday, January 29, 2016

VIDEO

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers.  “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.  “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.  And they replied, “The baptism of John.”  Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin.  But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”

As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.  There were about twelve men in all.

Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God.  But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way.  So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him.  Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus.  This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord. Acts 19:1-10^(NLT)

A defining characteristic of 18^th century Methodism was its’ circuit-riding preachers.  John Wesley sent Francis Asbury to watch over the spread of the movement:

In 1771, Francis Asbury answered founder John Wesley’s call to bring the Gospel to America’s untamed frontier.  For 45 years, the premier bishop of American Methodism travelled the back country from Maine to Georgia.

Thousands of miles.  Through treacherous conditions.  Shunned by those who did not want to hear about God.  But, along the way, Asbury saved souls…planted parishes…and mobilized ministers. 

October 14th, 1803, Francis Asbury wrote:

“What a road we have passed!  Certainly the worst on the whole continent, even in the best weather.  Yet, bad as it was, there were four or five hundred crossing the rude hills while we were.  We must take care to send preachers after these people.”

And, Asbury sent saddlebag sermonizers across the land.[2]

Paul was a saddlebag sermonizer.  One of my favorite sayings about Paul came from a seminary professor (who probably stole it from someone else):  wherever Paul went he started a revival or a riot – sometimes both!

From the first century ministry of Paul, to the eighteenth with Wesley and Asbury, and on down to where we are today, the Word of God will produce revival and riot; it’s all up to the hearers.

Paul had the joy of seeing about a dozen men come to Christ in Ephesus (and in all likelihood their families also).  Then, for two years he stayed with them and spread the word in the surrounding communities.  With the revival came the riot of resistance in the temple, so Paul moved out. 

John Wesley did that as well.  Wesley preferred the established church buildings and all the refinement of liturgical ceremony and order.  What dashed that was the staid and stuffy resistance from his peers in clerical robes.  So, Wesley (like Paul) was forced into the streets to preach to the people, and the movement was born.

What we should never forget is that the saddlebag sermonizers, were never alone – the people went with Paul; the people welcomed the circuit-riding Methodist preachers.  And in each case, the combined efforts of preacher and people bore fruit.

Francis Asbury wrote:  “If I can only be instrumental in the conversion of one soul in travelling round the continent, I’ll travel round till I die.”[3]

This was the commitment of a movement.

For You Today

Are you involved in a movement?  Or do you put your time in going to church?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

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[1] Title image: Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons & Giovanni Paolo Panini, via Wikimedia Commons[both Public domain]

[2] Rural Roots of United Methodism

[3] Ibid.

Lessons

Wednesday – September 11, 2013

There are always some very kind folks who say to the preacher, “you are great”, or, “your preaching feeds me like no other preacher I’ve ever heard.”  And they really mean it too!  No doubts there are some preachers who absolutely live to hear words like that.  The real problem occurs when the preacher begins to believe those reports.

I’ve been thinking recently about how really dangerous “good” preaching can be.  When a congregation first gets a new pastor, and he is deemed by most in the congregation to be “good”, the doxologies at the church door are like the praise for all blessings flowing out of heaven. 

·             “Wonderful job, preacher!” 

·             “I really enjoyed that.”  (seldom spoken on stewardship Sunday)

·             “Oh….I just can’t tell you what that meant to me.” 

Now, if those reports are absolutely accurate, and the sentiments are heartfelt, where’s the foul…what’s the harm in giving a compliment?  Everyone likes a stroke, a pat on the back.

Here’s the harm

Preachers are human; if you hear those reports often and long enough, they begin to sink-in and take hold.  Preachers are prime targets for pride and self-promotion.  Most of us have sufficient ego to float a battleship; we don’t need secondary inflation.

So…what DO you say after the service?

Well….whatever is said at the door, it is best kept short (you don’t want to get trampled by a bunch of Methodists heading for the cafeteria).

And whatever is said should reflect what God’s Word meant to you.  After all, we call preaching “proclamation of the Word” (not the preacher’s nifty speech).  To reflect meaningfully on God’s Word it is imperative that you should be listening for God’s Word in the sermon, AND applying His principles to the way you live your life.  

And whatever is said should be in light of what’s at stake: 

Jesus told a story[1] of a very wealthy man and a beggar.  They lived very different lives, of course.  The rich man was very selfish, ignoring God’s opportunities to help the poor man.  In the end, he wound up in Hades, while the beggar wound up in paradise.  The rich man had a conversation across the great gulf between heaven and hell; his requests for relief were denied, and so was his request to send someone to warn his still-living brothers back on earth about this awful place.  Request denied; this way:

“…‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”  Luke 16:31b (NLT)

The point here – what’s at stake here – is whether we will listen for the voice of God.  It’s never about who’s preaching, or how cleverly or powerfully the message is delivered; it’s all about God’s message to you.

The danger of good or even great preaching is that we become so accustomed to the voice, we forget The VOICE; it is God’s will we are seeking – not entertainment from a highly-skilled, charismatic man.

Today

Make it your purpose this coming Sunday to listen for God’s voice.  Then tell the preacher what you heard.  The preacher also needs to hear how God’s speaking.

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[1] Luke 16