Discipleship | A Friend of the King

Our community group, consisting mainly of young people (20-30 something), is studying and discussing the classic spiritual disciplines or habits of faith in Christ as laid out by author and pastor John Mark Comer in his latest book, Practicing the Way. This week we looked at “Generosity.”

Among other things “Generosity” is said to comprise two sides of the same coin — “Giving,” and living a simple lifestyle (also called “Simplicity”). I’m beginning to see “Generosity” as an invitation to step further into God’s presence and better know His person. He is a giving God, beyond our comprehension and understanding. He’s magnanmous and as gracious to the poor as to the rich. Compared to Him, we’re all very poor, and it’s behoves us to realize it and act accordingly in His sight and walk in that light.

Concern For The Poor

In the very oldest book of our Bible, Job, we see that the ancients knew concern for the poor was a virtue and lack of concern for the poor invites God’s displeasure and discipline. The theme is continued throughout the Law of Moses, the Old Testament and into the New Testament in the teachings and examples of Jesus, His Disciples, and the Apostles. This is motivation enough: (1) To give to the poor pleases the Lord and is obedience to Him and His commands. (2) To give to the poor is to identify with the poor and acknowledge we are all poor before God. (3) To give to the poor is to experience a similar joy that God feels when He helps those in need and shows them grace so they feel His love and care.

But giving to the poor and practicing generosity in all realms of our lives as a way to know God better and experience Him more fully hasn’t been on my radar. It appeals to me as maybe the highest reason to practice generosity and simplicity. It’s a new mountain to climb and vista possibility in my spiritual journey that is exciting, new, and invigorating.

Take the Plunge — Or Baby Steps

Harvest Community Church, our community of faith, has some members who have begun a website to support some poor children in Uganda, Africa, in a church and school setting we know because we’ve been there twice and are going again this summer. It’s a bit like the Compassion International model of child sponsorship, but we know these kids and the adults that love and serve them personally. The pastor’s wife, Judith, mother of four, was a Project-Compassion child herself growing up in the slums of Kampala. Now she administers this program in their school with beautiful results we have seen and experienced.

I encourage you to pray about it, and consider helping one of these little ones to a better life, and perhaps to be a spiritual leader in their community and nation. That would be generous, pleasing to the Lord, and it might open your eyes spiritually to things you’ve been missing. His joy as you journey and lay up treasure in heaven!

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Photos from HCC in Uganda

Webpage to make donations

The Generosity Practice Session 04: Be Generous to the Poor John Mark Comer

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for his deed.” (Proverbs 19:17)

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

“Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33)

There Is Still Room

I must include one more highlight from our spring-break trip to Honduras, because it furnished our mission statement and direction for the entire trip, “There is still room” — at the King’s table. This is how we came to hear it.

Pastor Dario, learning that Tim and Lindsay had lived in China for six years, invited him to speak to the church saying, “Brother Tim, tell us about China.”

Tim read a passage of Scripture from Luke 14 about people who were invited to a fabulous banquet by a wealthy master, but many made excuses and didn’t come. The master told his servants to go out into the highways and byways and invite the lame, poor, and anyone who would come. The servants did so, and reported this to the master and that: “There is still room.”(v22) The master sent his servants out again.

“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’‘’Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet’” (Luke 14: 21:23 NIV).

Tim chose to tell the Honduran church about how the underground church in China had ignored and not evangelized the Tibetan people because they were “idol worshipers” and chose willingly to ignore God and go their own way. Tim mentioned also that a very, very small percentage of Tibetans had ever heard the name of Jesus.

Then there was a major earthquake in Tibet a few years later, and the Chinese church decided to send humanitarian and spiritual help. They were well received and many came to Christ. The Chinese church repented for exclusivity and admitted their failure in going to Tibet with the Gospel, as commanded in the Great Commission.

After hearing the story, Pastor Dario said to Tim, our team, and his own church, that this was a word for the Honduras church. He went on to say, “Everyone in Honduras has heard the name of Jesus and the Gospel message.” But the Honduran church has been like the underground Chinese church and judged that the people who haven’t responded to the Gospel or accepted Jesus were doing so because that was their choice. Therefore the church wasn’t going out into the highways and byways any longer like they had a one time.

“Now we’re hearing, ‘There’s still room,’ and we’re failing at going out again. This is a good word for us, and one we need to hear.”

“There is still room” seemed to become the main theme or word from the Lord for our team concerning our time in Honduras, and beyond.

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