Generosity: The best of God’s spiritual fruit all rolled into one!

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Heart of the Matter

Generosity—the epitome of godly character. It is, at once: love, kindness, faithfulness and selflessness—a spring bouquet of spiritual fruit.

Generosity comes in many forms. For instance, there is the act of giving one’s time to help another human being in need. Perhaps you give up a Saturday to help someone move, give someone a ride, or counsel a hurting friend. Many of us are so possessive of our free time and obsessive about our personal routine that we won’t stop what we’re doing to help people. Or, we think to ourselves, “I’m sure someone else will do it.”

Sometimes generosity means sharing our material blessings. Perhaps a friend is temporarily in need of a car and you just happen to have an extra parked in your driveway. Or a visiting pastor or missionary needs a place to lay their head and you have a spare bedroom now that your kids are out of the house. Maybe you have an area large enough to host your church Life Group for a fellowship. These are all wonderful ways in which you can exhibit generosity and at the same time, show that you are not holding on too tightly to the things of this world.

The act most often associated with generosity is giving our actual money to worthy causes and needy people. It is through the generosity of God’s people that Christian ministries are funded and missionaries are sent. In 2 Corinthians 9:7 it says, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Always remember: your money and possessions are God’s anyway! You have nothing that He has not allowed you to have.

Luke 12:48 says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Generosity not only has a powerful impact for the Kingdom of God, but it has a tremendous impact on the giver himself. When we give, expecting nothing in return, purely out of love and selflessness, we are rewarded with joy, peace and a sense of fulfillment and purpose. Why? Because we are walking in obedience to God’s Word and reaping the reward for it. Make no mistake, giving that is done grudgingly or pridefully is an unworthy sacrifice. It’s useless. God knows your heart, dear friend. You may as well keep your money in your wallet if your motivation is impure. We can find many, many examples of well-known philanthropists in the world today who give for their own edification. This is not the type of generosity espoused in the Bible.

Generosity is displayed through love, kindness, faithfulness and selflessness.

So, how can we show love to our neighbor when they are hurting? Make them a meal, pay them a visit, send them a card. How can we show kindness to the homeless man beside the road? Give him your spare change, buy him a fast food meal, give him a blanket or a coat. How can we exhibit faithfulness to God’s mission in the world? Tithe above and beyond and support your church’s ministries. Give faithfully to missions and ministries in your area—of your time, money and resources. How can we demonstrate selflessness  in our families and communities? Put your own needs aside, be willing to disrupt your routine and put others’ needs before your own. Learn to act in a self-sacrificial way. If you have rarely or never given up your own desires for another then you probably do not have a spirit of generosity. Pray that God will work in that area of your life.

And remember—anonymous giving is the very best kind of giving!

My mother recently passed away at 95 years old. If you have ever experienced the loss of an elderly loved one then you have seen the amount of “stuff” that can accumulate in a lifetime—stuff that certainly won’t fit on the chariot as they are carried off to glory (my mom was a believer and is currently at the feet of Jesus)! That experience, as well as the death of my father several years before that, brought home to me the need to give, serve and love while we are here—not knowing when our last day will be. I have come to see money and material things as objects to hold loosely in this life. The material things under our care were given to us, by God, to bless others and to further His kingdom (period). The “stuff” we accumulate year after year will not go with us to heaven but will be burned up as hay and stubble when Jesus takes us home. The only thing that will matter is our contribution (time, money and resources) to His people and His kingdom.

Here is some wisdom from God’s Word regarding generosity:

“Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given.” Proverbs 19:17

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

“But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Hebrews 13:16

“Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly.” Matthew 6:1-4

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Faith: What is it and How do I Obtain it?

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Heart of the Matter

I’ve ridden this spaceship called earth for quite a few rotations around the sun. (How did you like that colorful tactic for not telling you how old I am?) In that time, I’ve experienced great loss, family health crises, divorce, natural consequences of sinful choices and many other things we humans experience in a lifetime. At this point, there are some things I know beyond a shadow of a doubt: God is who he says he is, he will do what His Word says he will do, he loves me with an unconditional love, he created me and wants his very best for me (always!), and he is in control of this universe he created.

This faith that I have in God gives me peace in the midst of trials and confidence that everything that happens to me and to my loved ones will be used by God to make us more like him. Nothing anyone can say or do would make me believe that God is anything but good. Nothing that happens could make me believe that God has turned his back on me. And nothing I could read or hear would make me doubt that God is the creator of the universe or the intelligent designer of yours truly. I believe God’s Word from cover to cover and trust his plan for me. I have faith. The definition of faith is, “to give up, surrender, or commit”. When we come to Christ, we give up our own desires, surrender to his leadership and call, and commit to live our lives in honor of him.

When you and I come to Christ it is only by God’s gift of faith that we do it. We cannot work our way to God through good deeds or worldly success. Ephesians 2:8-9 says this:”For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”It is only by God’s grace that we can come to him in faith. How does God give us this faith? Well, saving faith comes packaged in the gospel message—the message of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” When the gospel message goes out and people respond in repentance, turning to God, they are receiving the gift of faith and are then regenerated and given eternal life. And we cannot please God without faith and belief in him. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.”

One of the outstanding verses on faith is Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The word, substance, is the key. In the Greek it is the word, hupostasis, which means the opposite of hypothesis or theory! Faith is substance. It is reality—and that reality is the Word of God. One person put it like this: Faith enables the believer to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.

You may be saying, “I know someone who seems to have so much faith and never seems to get rattled by life’s difficulties. I would love to have faith like that.” Well, the good news is, our faith can and does grow as we go through life. God tests our faith and as we pass the tests, our faith grows.(James 1:3) We can also pray that our faith would increase. (Luke 17:5, Luke 11:9-12) The Bible says that God continually works in us to sanctify us, making us more like him. Hebrews 12:2 calls Jesus “the author and finisher (or perfector) of our faith”

Just like with other godly traits that God builds and refines in us once we come to him, we can cooperate with him as he ripens and strengthens our faith. We do this by regularly spending time in the Word, praying to God (when God answers our prayers it strengthens our faith), and spending time in community with other believers (strong faith can be catchy!).

In addition, I believe that the spiritual incubator of a (truly) Christian home can do a lot to instill and solidify strong faith in the children raised there. I believe that God blesses godly parents who pass on their faith and who model unwavering trust in God. I am blessed to have been raised in such a home.

If you have never accepted God’s free gift of eternal life, do so today. By faith, believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that he died to pay your sin debt and rose again to prepare a place for you in heaven. Commit to turn away from your old life and towards Jesus. Give up trying to work your way to heaven. Instead, come to Jesus by faith…and witness the fruit of a life lived for him.

You, too, can have faith—an extraordinary, unshakable, confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence. All you have to do is ask.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

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Hopelessly Devoted to You

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Heart of the Matter

Back in the 1970’s, Olivia Newton John sang a song called, “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. It was a song about the depths of devotion someone had for their love interest, even after their love had been spurned. Most of you are singing it in your head right now—it’s quite a catchy tune! Well, the lyrics of that song got me thinking about that word: devotion. It’s a word with a very deep and powerful meaning. It’s defined as: a strong love or loyalty to a person or cause.

As believers we are called to be devoted to the person and cause of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'” In Mark 12:30, the word strength is added to this command. These profound words, heart, mind, soul, and strength, represent everything we are—a picture of complete devotion. And in the case of a believer’s devotion to Christ, this is not hopeless but hope-full devotion. Our devotion to Christ culminates in the reality of an eternity with Him!

In this life many things vie for our attention and devotion: our job, our church, our hobbies, our spouse, our children, etc. All of these things are a part of life, to be sure, but they can also distract us from what (who) should be our primary focus and first love, Jesus Christ.

What does it mean, practically, to be devoted to Christ? Does it means sitting in your quiet place with your Bible open 18 hours a day ruminating on scripture? Or maybe being up at the church every time the doors are open—tirelessly serving on committees and teaching Bible classes? No, in fact, much of the evidence of devotion to Christ is not even visible to others. Some of the most devoted Christians I know are: behind the scenes prayer warriors, generous (and anonymous) givers to missions and ministries, people who spend time in the Word and in prayer privately crying out to God on behalf of others. Devotion to God is not something that can be measured by the number of hours we volunteer at the local homeless shelter or by the length of our Sunday School attendance pin. (OK, I guess I showed my age there…no such thing as a Sunday School pin anymore or even the term Sunday School!)

The point is: Devotion to God involves more than service hours, singing in the choir, or church attendance. Devotion is measured by our heart attitude, our motive, our thoughts, our desire to spend time in His Word  communing with Him, expressing our love and adoration. It is measured by the sacrifices we are willing to make of our time, effort, money and comfort—with a joyful heart, expecting nothing in return. Devotion to God is reflected in how we treat our family and friends on a day to day basis. It is measured by how tightly we hold onto the things of this world—a telltale sign of a lack of total devotion to God. Devotion to God means loyalty to him and to His cause. We are not to be blown this way and that by “every wind of doctrine” allowing the world to determine what is right and true. Rather, we are to stand on the Word of God making it our standard of truth. That is devotion.

God, and only God, knows if you are truly devoted to Him. Although, devotion to God often shows itself in a believer’s countenance—devoted followers are often more peaceful, contented, effective, consistent (not sin-free, of course).

Step One (in being more devoted to Christ) is spending time in His Word—real quality time. Reduce distractions. Start with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word and reveal what God is trying to say to you. Praise and thank Him for who he is. Pray that God would give you a new level of devotion to Him. Don’t be surprised if he leads you to let go of some of the things—even good things—that are getting in the way of total devotion to Him. Be prepared to make some changes in the people, places, and things that are in your life.

God loves you and wants your total devotion—he wants all of you. This life is only a small blip in time. I have a magnet on my fridge that says, “This life will soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Keep that in mind this week as you reevaluate your level of devotion to the one who died for you to purchase for you an eternity in the glorious presence of God.

 

 

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Dealing with Discord in Your Extended Family

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Heart of the Matter

Family—can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em. Living peacefully in a family without experiencing any drama, disagreement or discord is nearly impossible. Instead, just when you think things are moving along smoothly, an issue crops up with a family member that smacks you in the head like a bolt of lightning out of the blue, making you think, “Where in the world did that come from?”

You wonder, “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Well, no family is perfect. Every family is made up of fallible, fragile, human beings who don’t always act right. According to scripture, we are all sinners. Every member of your family will at one time or another experience emotional swings, stress, insecurity or frustration as they navigate the peaks and valleys of life. These feelings can manifest themselves as anger, bitterness or insensitivity towards other members of the family. When this happens you may feel hurt. You may think you have been unjustly accused, misunderstood, or disrespected.

So, what are we to do when we have a disagreement with a family member?

  1. Pray. The only way we can hope to bring resolution to the situation is to handle it in a spirit of Christ-like love and humility. And the only way to do that is to pray for wisdom, guidance, and Holy Spirit power.
  2. Resist the urge to strike back. (This is so hard for some of us.) Just take the punches and turn the other cheek. If you’ve ever sent that nasty reply via text message or left that derogatory comment on a family member’s answering machine, then you know the feeling of regret that quickly comes when you wish you could take it back but can’t. Someone gave me some advice one time to write it all down in a letter, then tear it up! That was really good advice!
  3. Know who you are in Christ. Mean-spirited words only have power if you allow them to. You are not who they say you are—you are who He says you are. See those words for what they are: a feeble attempt to tear you down in order to make that person feel bigger.
  4. Expect your motives to sometimes be misunderstood or misread. Everyone doesn’t understand true sincerity or simple kindness (especially unbelievers). It doesn’t compute in today’s world. People are often jaded and assume you are being sarcastic or insincere—especially when communication is occurring via texting or email.
  5. Apologize even when you know it wasn’t your fault. “Really?”, you say, “That can’t be right.” Actually, it’s that “turn the other cheek” thing again. We are to follow the example of Christ in all things—especially relationships. Apologize. Then apologize again.
  6. Forgive the offending party even though they haven’t asked for forgiveness. Forgive them as if they have. Let it go.
  7. Try to see the offending family member through spiritual eyes. Ask yourself, “How does God see this person?” “What stresses or problems might this person be going through?” God loves this person with all their faults, quirkiness and bad attitude and we are called to love them, too. Pray for grace, to really see them and consider the issues they have that may make them act this way.
  8. Let things go—as water under the bridge. Resist the urge to go back and revisit things. It’s much better to leave the past in the past and to start fresh with that particular family member.

Sometimes things resolve over time on their own. Sometimes there is no resolution but the parties involved are able to go forward and put the past behind them. If you are dealing with a non-believer, they are coming from a very different mindset. The best you can do may be to show them a picture of the unconditional love of God with humility and grace and then leave the rest up to Him. I have messed up numerous times over the years when dealing with family situations and I know many of you have, as well. Hopefully, these ideas will help us deal more mercifully and wisely with our family members when conflicts arise. Be ready! Because just when you think your family dynamic is all sunshine and flowers, your phone dings and there appears a nasty, random accusation from your family member.  And so it begins…

“A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…” Hebrews 12:14-15

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity”             Psalm 133:1-3

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

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Recognizing and Effectively Utilizing a Hidden Asset in the Church

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Heart of the Matter

Exhausted nursery workers, smocks spattered with dried formula and spit-up; elderly children’s Sunday school teachers ready to retire but alas, there’s no replacement in sight; overextended pastor’s wives heading up the understaffed women’s ministry committee; frazzled kitchen workers, needing many more hands to prepare food for the flock—any of that sound familiar?

It should. Surely you’ve noticed that there never seem to be enough volunteers to fully staff the church on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights? Just look in the bulletin or take a gander at the fancy screen mounted up front—you’re likely to see announcements for several positions or areas of need. Better yet, keep your eye out for the disheveled children’s minister or wide-eyed nursery manager darting swiftly through the aisles drumming up last minute workers. It’s a scene replayed weekly in most churches in America.

In fact, the latest statistics show that around 20% of church members do the bulk of the work within the local church. The purpose of this post is not to answer the question of why this is the case but instead, to point churches to a quiet, covert, underutilized group of people who may actually help with this urgent and persistent situation.

Tell me more, you say? What am I missing?  Well, you’re forgetting the most underutilized group in society at large—the introverts!

You’re missing them because: They will not show up for a volunteer tryout of the praise team—even though they may have a lovely voice. They will not hunt down the head of the nursery department to tell them they would love to serve. They would never knock on the pastor’s door to let him know they have extensive experience in business and would, therefore, be an asset to the finance or personnel committee.

Introverts are reluctant to put themselves out there. They often have the skills and confidence for the job at hand. They are not necessarily shy and can actually be comfortable in front of a crowd. They are often excellent leaders/speakers. A trait shared by many, if not most, introverts is humility. Therefore, seeking out a position—even though they know it’s in their wheelhouse—smacks of pride and self-promotion. That’s something that many introverts just can’t get past. 

Another issue for introverts is that extroverts are everywhere at church— busily working, leading, serving, overextending. An introvert would never push them aside. In fact, the leadership of your church loves extroverts for their enthusiasm, visibility, and willingness to serve. ( We’ll get Susie to do it, she never says ‘no’) Remember the old saying, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”? Well, your church leadership loves that saying. After all, it’s hard and time consuming to search out the introverts quietly watching from the bushes. 

How do you recognize the introverts in your church? Introverts can definitely be very faithful attenders. They love the church and treasure their deep relationships with friends and fellow Life Group members. They are often the quieter ones at a church fellowship, perhaps in a deep conversation with one or two other people, or maybe they are sitting by themselves in the church cafe, quietly drinking a cup of coffee.

When it comes to plugging introverts in at your church, think: informal counseling, committee work, kitchen help, teaching, choir opportunities, helping with ministry projects, ushering. There are introverts in your church who would love to serve in these areas and many more. Remember, however, introverts will not want to be overextended due to the fact that having time alone for quiet reflection is so important to them.

Your congregation is filled with gifted believers with willing hearts. It may just take some extra effort to find them and ask them to help. Never assume that your introverted members don’t want to help/lead/volunteer/teach. Many of them are at home thinking about how they would love to teach or to be on a particular committee. They are just waiting to be asked face-to-face or reached out to in an email or text. When extroverts are the only ones recruited to fill all the volunteer positions in the church, introverted people are robbed of the blessing of serving, and others are robbed of the joy of serving alongside these calming, caring, talented people.

Here’s one caveat: Unfortunately, a common trait of introverts is that they often let calls go through to voicemail (!), preferring to prepare themselves mentally for the issue at hand instead of giving an off the cuff response. But, hopefully, church leadership will be persistent and patient with the introverted sheep in their diverse flock and begin to mine this hidden jewel of eager volunteers. 

 

 

 

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