Lending to the LORD

"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
     and He will repay him for his deed." (Proverbs 19:17, ESV)

This is a promise we need to remember at Christmastime, when our brains quit working spiritually and buy into the lie that more stuff will make us more happy.

Instead of getting caught up in the frenzy of consumeristic madness this season, may Solomon's words remind us of the great gospel of Jesus Christ, who, though being rich, yet for our sake became poor, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Literally, the Hebrew reads, "Lender of YHWH, gracer of poor."

The verb, "to be gracious [to someone]", "to graciously provide someone with something", "generous", is often used in contexts where one of God's people tangibly shows pity and compassion on someone in need.

Let us not miss the obvious: to show grace is to be generous to those in need. Grace's fruits are tangible, practical, physical.

This is entirely consistent with the theology of NT writer James, who says,

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you [believers] says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (2:15-16)

I also find it so intriguing that providing for the poor was a great priority of the apostle Paul. In his letter to the Galatians, a book that is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul's words in 2:10 are almost shocking, where one of the main concerns of the Jerusalem apostles was that Paul, in his great endeavour to preach the true gospel to the "uncircumcised", remember the poor saints in Jerusalem.

In a book whose one resounding note is the gospel of Jesus Christ, this almost seems out of place. And yet Paul, rather than rebuking his fellow apostles as social liberals pushing a false social gospel, says that remembering the poor was something he was "always eager to do" (NLT).

Why?

Because the Bible clearly and consistently teaches that those who have been regenerated and justified by the grace of God become people who yearn to show unmerited favor to others, especially the poor.

Those who are in Christ Jesus are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). They now bear "the image of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 5:24). They are a first-fruits of the new creation (James 1:18). Simply put, God's people are imitators of Him, people who walk in love, who give themselves up for the good of others (Ephesians 5:1-2).

Remembering the poor and being gracious and generous to them is not the gospel. But it is a beautiful picture of it. When rich Christians give up the American dream to live a comfortable and selfish life so that they can pour themselves out for the good of others, it shows that the gospel really is the power of God for salvation.

Salvation from sin, yes. But also salvation from the desires of the flesh. Salvation from the desires of the eyes. Salvation from pride in possessions. Salvation from being slaves to "the course of this world" (Ephesians 2:2) which is controlled by the prince of the power of the air (2:3). The gospel destroys the idol of finding security in the god called Money, and gives us assurance that Jesus really is enough to satisfy our deepest longings.

God's people must never be merely receptacles of God's grace, as though grace stops at us. Rather, the Bible teaches that the grace of God in Christ that sovereignly flows to us must also flow through us to others.

And so this Christmas season, rather than believing the lie that more stuff will make you more happy, believe the promises of the Bible that it is more blessed to give to those who are unable to give back.

Beloved, God is honored when we give generously to our poor brothers and sisters around the world who truly know what it means to pray, "Heavenly Father, give us this day our daily bread."

May we have the mind of the Philippian believers, who gave beyond their ability, laying up in heaven true and lasting treasures (Matthew 6:19), with an amazing return rate (Philippians 4:17), and an even more amazing fragrance (4:18).

Why? Because they actually believed that their God was more than able to supply their every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (4:19).

In the words of Solomon, they believed that God would repay them for their deed of generosity to a man in financial need.

Beloved saints, let us not fall into the materialistic snare of the Devil this Christmas. May the promises of Scripture and the glory of God be more sweet to us than all the treasures this world could ever offer us (cf. Matthew 4:1-11).

God is not a man that He should lie. He will certainly repay and reward His faithful saints. Maybe not in this life, but He will. You can count on it.

God, give us grace to remember the grace You showed us as poor, miserable, helpless beggars. Renew our minds by Your Spirit (cf. Ephesians 4:23), and transform us by Your Spirit into Christ's self-denying, others-helping image (2 Corinthians 3:18).

In Christ, the only Gift this world ever needs,
Pastor Ryan

*Recommended ministries you can give to this Christmas, that allow you to give gifts to other brothers and sisters in Christ, especially those in ministry, are:

Gospel for Asia

Compassion Ministries

Or, talk to the leadership at your local church. Perhaps you could give a special gift to one of the missionaries your church supports. There are so many needy brothers and sisters around the world. They are not hard to find. Ask the Lord to guide. He most certainly will.

A Forgotten Strategy in Overcoming Anxiety

 "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down,
      but a good word makes it glad."  (Proverbs 12:25)

As a regular attender of our weekly prayer meetings, I have noticed that consistently, one of the Scriptures most often quoted in prayer - especially for those who are going through anxious times - is Philippians 4:6-7, where the apostle Paul, in light of his previous statement that the Lord Jesus is "at hand", encourages the believers:

"Do not be anxious about anything,
    but in everything by prayer and supplication,
       with thanksgiving,
           let your requests be known to God.
 And the peace of God,
    which passes all understanding
        will guard your hearts and your minds
            in Christ Jesus."

Prayer is perhaps the best known 'guard' for the Christian's heart, as he or she simply and humbly (see 1 Peter 5:6-7) casts all their cares upon their burden-bearing Savior.

But an oft-neglected means of grace, especially (and increasingly) in our independent culture is a "Word" centered, saturated, and speaking community.

Jesus promised His people that there would be trials and hardships in this life. In this fallen, sin-sick world, anxieties are part and parcel of our lives. Whether anxieties for our families, our health, our salvation, our jobs, or whatever, God has seen fit to allow a steady supply of anxiety-creating circumstances into the lives of all people, His people not excluded.

When we are tempted to become anxious over the circumstances of life, of course the first thing we need to do is cry out in prayer as God's dependent, needy, and helpless children, being mindful that those who are His children are very dear to His tender fatherly heart.

And yet, as many Christians can attest, sometimes the slough of despond and bog of despair are so thick and sludgy that even this is seemingly impossible. The anxiety in the heart is of such a kind that the believer becomes so focused inwardly that his or her neck is unable to look upwardly to Christ in supplication.

This is why a Word-centered, saturated, and speaking community is so essential in our own personal sanctification. There have been times where I have been so overwhelmingly beaten down that I almost became spiritually paralyzed. I was stuck in the muck in the castle of despair. And unlike Christian in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, the key of promise was entirely forgotten in my bosom and foreign to my lips.

And then, in God's sweet mercy, a dear brother or sister, a messenger of the Lord's deliverance, has come with a "good word" for me. In God's great providence, this has brought not only emancipation from my slavery to anxiety, but has also brought exaltation from my heart to Christ. In the words of Solomon, my heart was "made glad" by another's "good word."

Only a few verses earlier (12:18), Solomon tells us that "the tongue of the wise brings healing." And in 12:26, the very next verse, he says, "One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor." Oh how often a dear saint, one of those declared righteous by their faith in Christ, has come as a faithful physician, bringing with them the great elixir of healing to guide my wavering heart back to the old, old story of Jesus and His unwavering, steadfast love.

Indeed, with the hymn writer I must confess that through prayer the Lord has often delivered me from the tempter's snare. But, in all truthfulness, I may equally confess that a good word, spoken by another in season, has often been an effective healing balm to my soul.

And so my encouragement for the reader (myself included) is to endeavor to become an active participant in a Word centered, saturated, and speaking community: not merely to receive from others the good words of the gospel, but also to deliver them.

By active, I mean not merely 'being there,' but actually participating, actually speaking, actually and actively ministering. There may be a dear brother or sister who is so engulfed in their anxiety that their weak hands are unable to grasp, let alone wield, the sword of the Spirit. They are unable to preach the gospel to themselves. They feel too unworthy or unaccepted to dwell on the good Word. This is where Christ-centered community is needed.

In our isolated, individualistic culture, we as Christians often forget that we are not alone in this battle against the cosmic powers over this present darkness. We are in a war, and yet Christ has not left us alone. If Paul needed his "fellow workers and fellow-soldiers" to cheer him up in the rainy seasons of ministry, how much more do we need our brothers and sisters in our lives? How often when my gospel shoes don't seem to fit, do I need a brother or sister, whose feet have been shod with a readiness to proclaim the gospel, to come along side me in my weakness and speak that good and heart-gladdening word in season?

May our churches be filled with those, who being filled with the Spirit, "address one another in psalms, and hymns, and Spiritual songs." Because, as Paul tells us in the same letter, when we do speak the truth in love, the body 'grows up into its Head'. That is, the body matures together as we minister to and encourage one another with Christ's life-giving, and life-sustaining, Word (see Ephesians 4:11-16).

If your church has prayer-meetings, or Sunday school, or community groups, or college and career, or youth groups, I would heartily encourage you to prayerfully consider attending one of these corporate gatherings where you can both minister, and be ministered to, with such "good words."

Because, as Solomon, says,

"Anxiety in a person's heart weighs his heart down,
    but a good word makes their heart glad."  (Proverbs 12:25, my translation)

O Jesus, our "good Word" par excellence, please gladden the hearts of Your people even this day! May we be a community of saints who bear one another's burdens, fulfilling Your great law of love.

In Christ, and for His Father's glory to the ends of the earth, through His church,
Pastor Ryan