Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to.
Deuteronomy 15:10 (emphasis added)

Give to the poor. That’s the context of this verse. Give him what he lacks. The poor will always be with you, so open your hand to your brother, the poor, and the needy in your land. That’s what the Lord was commanding Israel. Yes, it is a command and not a suggestion (Deuteronomy 15:11). It is something the Lord has always been serious about. “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters. She also didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. They were arrogant and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away when I saw it” (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Wait, you say. I thought the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality. That was one of their sins (Mark 7:21 and 1 Timothy 1:8-11), but it was an outward expression of their inward sins. Jesus talks of branches in John 15 and tells us good branches make good fruit. Bad branches make bad fruit. The lack of generosity in Sodom enabled an atmosphere in which other sin could flourish.

The lack of hospitality in Sodom (Genesis 19:4-11) is directly contrasted with the abundance of hospitality in Abraham’s camp (Genesis 18:1-15). Generosity. Of soul. Of action. Of heart. These are key concepts that the Lord values. “Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). Generosity isn’t always money, but it is always important. Jesus said “Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free”(Luke 6:36-37).

Jesus was often moved by compassion. Compassionate because people were lost (Matthew 9:36), they were sick (Matthew 14:14), they were hungry (Matthew 15:32), they were blind (Matthew 20:34), they were unclean (Mark 1:41), they were possessed (Mark 9:22), and grieving (Mark 7:13). He taught that we should be generous in Matthew 18:27, Luke 10:33 & 15:20. Paul taught us it was tied up with a heart for Jesus “Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do” (Colossians 3:12-13). It was important to the Apostle John. “But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?” (1 John 3:17).

It was a hallmark of the early church. They carried each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). They shared (Hebrews 13:16) — and we all know sharing is caring. They were eager to give gifts to other believers (2 Corinthians 9:5-7). They cared for widows (Acts 6). And James, brother of Jesus, exhorts us all in James 1:27 to be compassionate: “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Paul further charged the church to care for others in 1 Timothy 6:17-19: “Charge those who are rich in this present age that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to share; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.” Generosity, compassion, and giving with a joyful heart were not abstract commands. And also not set apart from being good and wise stewards. They were part of their lives on a daily basis.

But I don’t have anything, you say. How can I help others when I can’t even make my own ends meet? “Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, you being enriched in everything for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us” (2 Corinthians 9:10-11). We get so that we can give. Remember the prosperity verse? “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2). This is what that means. If we are generous in spirit, if we are compassionate in spirit, and if we have a heart to give joyfully, then our spirit is prosperous. We won’t try and amass for the sake of amassing. We won’t hoard. We won’t be greedy. We will get financial bounty — and we’ll give it away.

It is better to give than receive (Acts 20:35). We don’t have to worry about our giving (Matthew 6:31-32). God provides for us (Matthew 7:11). And He provides according to His standards, not ours (Philippians 4:19). But we are still to be wise stewards of our money. We aren’t to throw it around everywhere. Jesus tells us and the Law tells us there will always be poor (Deuteronomy 5:11 and Matthew 6:11). That doesn’t let us off the hook, but it means you don’t need to give your last dollars to everyone you see who is poor unless you’re directed by God to do it. Not every type of giving is giving to the poor. But we tend to focus on the other types and neglect the poor. It isn’t about money and it isn’t about material need. Those are outward manifestations of inner compassion.

There are those in this world who are lost, lacking, and alone. They don’t have to feel that way. We aren’t to let them stay in that state. We’re called to do. To help. That can be giving money. That can be helping to feed. That can be helping to set up programs or administrate programs that both care for those in need and remove the causes that led to their reduced circumstances. If we nurture a culture of helping, giving, receiving, blessing, being blessed, and assisting those lower than us on life’s ladder, we will be nurturing an environment that allows for generosity of spirit, kindness of action, and listening. Why listening? Because it all needs to be led by the Holy Spirit, not our own hearts and minds. We can be good, kind, wise, and wealth distributors. But if it isn’t going where He knows it needs to go, when it needs to go, and how it needs to go, then it will not be as effective as it could be. Not for us and not for them. We are not to neglect alms because they are important, but alms aren’t the whole story. The people are the whole story. We are here to help people. Physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. The whole person.

Jesus was a giver. He was such a giver that in the middle of one of the three Feasts of the Jewish year — Feasts all Israelites were to participate in by ordinance of Yahweh God — Judas leaves the table to head out and the other disciples assumed Jesus sent him to give money to the poor (John 13:28-30). You have to be a generous and regular giver for that to happen. Jesus always had money on hand to give. When the crowds came and He wanted to feed them Phillip points out that their cash on hand wasn’t enough to do it (John 6:7). Thing is, their cash on hand was equal to half a year’s wages for an agricultural labourer. In today’s money and working on a VERY average VERY general scale, that’s about 18-20,000. Don’t buy into the myth Jesus was poor. He wasn’t. But He was a giver. Not a hoarder. He had a house (John 1:39, Mark 2:1 and 2:15). His needs were met. He had a LOT of followers who hung around and none of them were lacking either. Jesus took care of them and they took care of Him. He had nice clothes (Matthew 27:35). He wasn’t hurting. But He didn’t HAVE a lot. He GAVE a lot. Which means He got back a lot more (Luke 6:38). Which means He gave a lot more. It was a cycle of blessing. That is what we are called to.

If you give it will be given to you. The measure and means that you give are returned to you multiplied. We’re to care for the widows and orphans. We’re to help meet the needs of those whom the Holy Spirit points out to us. We’re to be concerned about PEOPLE, not about bills. As servants of Yahweh God, attuned to His Will in His Word, we are eligible for blessing. If we give, we get. If we bless, we’re blessed. If we forgive, we’re forgiven. If we don’t judge, we’re not judged. If we’re generous with a cheerful heart to those around us, He is generous to us. It’s a cycle. Get, give. Give, get. THAT is prosperity. THAT is generosity, THAT is compassion. THAT is Kingdom finance. THAT is what we are to do.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: 1 Corinthians 6:12-15

God made us. God wants to keep us. God doesn’t want to deny us. But there are things in this world that aren’t good for us. Not that the Lord is saying they don’t appear good, taste good, feel good, or anything of that nature. He says clearly that they aren’t expedient. Expedient means convenient and practical. When dealing with the Lord there is always a spiritual component because both God and ourselves are spiritual beings. Just because in the flesh it feels good, looks good, and seems good doesn’t mean it is spiritually convenient or practical. There are moral laws in this universe because God created this universe. It was fashioned from His thoughts. His thoughts are righteous, therefore there is a standard or a law of righteousness that exists throughout creation. Creation fell into sin. Got diseased. Twisted. It didn’t change the righteous foundation. It didn’t change that there is a standard all creation is supposed to adhere to. We can’t always see it. But when we are confronted with things in the flesh, the world, that don’t jive with what the Lord says in His Word, we need to be aware that while the things may not be sin they are still not advisable. How do we know the difference? The Love of God. How’s that? Well, God loves us too much to let us hang. He gives us the Holy Spirit to be our guide, to speak Truth to us. Yahweh God gives us wisdom (Proverbs 4:5-8). When you don’t care about someone, you let them go where they will and do what they want. When you love someone, you give them the tools they need to succeed. God loves us very, very much. Use the tools. Be spiritually convenient and practical. Be obedient. Be wise. It’s there in His hand for you. Take it and use it and expound with His Blessing.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.