This Service to the Saints— Part I.

Paul begins 2 Corinthians 9 by saying, “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Saints,” v. 1.  This is the second of four times in these two chs. {8-9} where he refers to this offering for Jerusalem, this “generous gift” of grace, as a “service to the Saints.”  The first was in 8:4 where he said the Macedonians “urgently pleaded with us for the privilege [Wow ...I love this language.  It shows the glory of a gracious heart!] of sharing in this service to the Saints.”

Towards the end of ch. 9 he says, “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s People but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God,” v. 12.  See, that’s what grace does: it brings glory to God and not to self!  There is nothing of self to be glorified in an act of grace.  It is of God, from God and through God.  The one thing we supply is a willingness to be used by the Master’s hand.  Which is probably the number one reason why so many Children of God turn their hearts away from grace.  Like Pharisees of old, they lust for the approval of man rather than the reward of God; they seek “glory from one another,” but “do not seek the glory that comes from the One and Only God” {Jn. 5:44 NAS}!

Finally, in 9:13 Paul say’s, “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”  You know what the word Paul uses is in all four of these places?  Diakonia.  It’s a cognate of the term diakonos, from which we get our English ‘deacon;’ and both of them are derived from the root verb diakoneo which means- ‘wait upon as a servant, attend to others’ needs.’  Diakonos was a servant in the ancient world, not a master— he was a table-waiter, ‘one who executed the commands of another.’  Thus, inherent in all three of these terms is the root concept of ‘serving someone else.’

To look at this from another angle, diakoneo is the verb Peter uses when in 1 Peter 4:11 he appears to break the gifts of the Spirit down into two types: speaking and serving.  “When anyone faithfully communicates, he should do so as one speaking the very words of God.  When anyone faithfully and consistently serves, he should do so with the strength which God supplies...” {RR Exp}.  Anyone who’s ever stepped outside their own pain, heartache, and disillusionment long enough to serve someone else can tell you: God generously ‘supplies’ for His Servants.  God gives us the strength to complete the Service!  Here’s my point.  Since the Spirit of God has equipped you to serve, the Spirit of God will empower you to serve.  It’s not your strength, so don’t worry.  It never was and it never will be.  Trust in Him.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

One For the Critics.

The apostle Paul had his share of enemies and critics— and he knew it— especially in Corinth.  Just as any man or woman of conscience and compassion will have in a fallen world, just as any man or woman standing fast on the Word and having impact in the world will have in a faithless generation full of the self-absorbed.  Remember, though we know this Epistle as II Corinthians, this is actually the fourth letter he’s written to the Churches of Achaia.  And they deal, predominantly, with one problem after another... after another... after another— from divisions due to factious allegiances, to rampant sexual sin {deviance not even pagans indulged in}, to faulty elevation of the more visible spiritual gifts {the outwardly spectacular}, to socio-economic elitism and injustice.  He’s covering the whole ground, from A to Z.

In light of those willing to criticize his any and every move, he takes the steps necessary to ensure no charge can legitimately be leveled against him.  He wisely allows others, “praised by all the Churches for” their “service to the Gospel” and an “honor to Christ” {2 Cor. 8:18b and 23b}, to help him complete the task of carrying this offering to Jerusalem.  In fact, he goes on to say of the Saint mentioned after Titus, “What is more, he was chosen by the Churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, [notice] which we administer in order to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help,” 8:19.

The first man mentioned in v. 18, the one “praised by all the Churches for his service to the Gospel,” has traditionally been identified as Luke, the beloved physician.  The Collection for St. Luke’s Day {Oct. 18th}, observed in Roman Catholicism, the Eastern Orthodox, and even some Protestant circles, pretty much assumes this identification.  Do we know this is Luke for certain?  No.  Can we nail down the identity of the other two mentioned?  No.  And the truth is it doesn’t matter in the least.  There’s a reason these men are left unnamed.  Cause Paul obviously has no problem mentioning faithful servants of the Master by name, over and over in his Epistles.

Like many of us who serve behind the scenes: they stand unnamed but not unacknowledged.  There are, and should be, an enormous number of ‘unknowns’ serving behind the scenes in any Body of Believers.  Abba knows all the unknowns, and He blesses them richly in their ‘service to the Saints.’  You know what being unknown is all about, what Abba is trying to emphasize?  Eternal grace over temporal glory, divine power over human personality.  He’s saying, “You may be unknown by man but you are not unacknowledged by Me, nor unrewarded in My Presence!”

Abba uses those of us who are open to His Word and available to His will as weapons in the Conflict!  Weapons of strength and love, truth and grace, courage and compassion— the only weapons evil cannot overcome.  Abba uses a vast number of ‘nobodies’ as instruments of His grace.  So, here it is.  Every gifting of the Spirit doesn’t carry a maximum amount of exposure!  Some of us are going to be required to fight in the trenches, behind the scenes, on the other side of the curtain.  You savvy?  Good... so it won’t bother you the next time you don’t get praised and applauded for some deed done in the Spirit of Jesus.  Because you know and you trust the One who sees behind the scenes.  Your Day is coming ...stand fast, my friend.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

In the Embrace of Abba— Part II.

“My son,’ the Father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours’” {Lk. 15:31}.  The Greek word Jesus uses here is teknon, an affectionate form of address from a father to his— literally translated— child: “my child.”

This final exchange leaves no doubt as to the tenderness of the father’s heart.  He is a man of incredible generosity, a man of grace and compassion, he is a man of great strength, and now we see, of great tenderness.  Those two qualities go hand in hand, by the way {and were always meant to}: great tenderness and great strength.  The harsh words of the elder son are met with neither judgment nor condemnation; his bitter reproach is not exchanged for another.  There is no recrimination nor accusation, no shame, guilt-tripping, or emotional manipulation.  None of the psychological weapons we routinely employ to control, maneuver, and manipulate the lives of those around us.  The father doesn’t defend himself because there is nothing to defend; he doesn’t even comment on his older son’s behavior.  He moves beyond it with the glorious ease of grace, beyond all evaluations and into the realm of relationship.  “You are always with me” are words of intimacy, of tenderhearted affection.

The father’s unqualified love and unconditional compassion eliminate all possibility that the younger son is more loved than the older.  Take courage and take hope, all you elder sons and daughters, for Abba say’s, “Everything I have is yours.”  The Father has given us everything, and held nothing back.  Paul said in Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”  There is no clearer statement of the Father’s unlimited love for all His Children.  It is offered equally, generously, fully and unreservedly to both his Sons and Daughters, older and younger, whichever one you are.

In v. 32 the words of the Faithful Father to the self-righteous elder son are, “But we had to celebrate and be glad,” we had to celebrate and “rejoice” {NAS}.  “We were compelled to....  Don’t you see?  There was no other option.”  Luke, skillful writer that he is, expresses this as a necessity in the father’s heart: that the joy of his son’s return justifies a celebration and the lavishness of the feast.  And why?  “Because this brother of yours....”  Notice his Father returns him to the proper perspective: not “this son of mine,” but “this brother of yours.”  He brings it back to the relational realm.  Whether the older brother likes it or not, that relationship will never cease.  “This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”

The father goes out to his elder son just as he did the Prodigal and urges him, pleads with him, to come in, to rejoice in the Return, to celebrate his brother’s safety… alive and home again, back where he belongs.  He calls him to the deeply-seated joy, the divine passion of God Himself, over the son or daughter who runs headlong into the open arms of grace.

He “was dead and is alive again;” He “was lost and has been found.”  Isn’t this an accurate statement about all of us: we once were “dead” and are “alive again,” we once were “lost” {and more than once} and now are “found”?  Found, rescued, and redeemed by the same gracious God, the same loving and merciful Father.  How many times have we been there— in our own lives and our own lost-ness— how many times have we found ourselves in this condition: a Son of God in need of his Father’s tender touch, a daughter longing for the embrace of her Abba?  You see, this is the promise of following Jesus and the consequence of His Victory: restoration from a shattered condition ...fullness of Life, freedom of soul ...Love, Light, and joyous Celebration!  Forevermore.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

In the Embrace of Abba— Part I.

Jesus’ Parable in Luke 15 is not a story which separates the two brothers into good on one hand and evil on the other.  The father alone is good, is righteous, is true.  And the most beautiful thing about him is he loves both sons the same.  His love toward either of them never wavers.  He runs to meet them both, at totally different times but with the same tenderness and desire for something deeper relationally.  You see the point?  Ours is a God who seeks out and searches for sinners, who pursues us to the end of ourselves.  He wants us, just like the faithful father of both brothers, to sit down with Him and feast at the Banquet Table of His Grace, to share in His joy and luxuriate in His provision.

Yet the contrast between the brothers stands— as it does between many of us who claim the name of Christ— the younger brother longs for and allows himself to be held in the embrace of a forgiving father.  The older brother will not.  He will not move beyond his anger and self-pity; he will not take a single step toward love and let his father heal him.  I wonder how many of us find ourselves in this dark and lonely place, day after miserable day, but will not do a thing about it.  We will not take a stand against our own misery and unhappiness, because we will not pursue the holiness of intimacy with our Abba.

The Father’s love is passionate and pursuing, it is powerful and perfect, but it will not force itself into the life of the beloved.  We must choose to respond to Abba’s initiation.  We must decide for ourselves whether to accept it or reject it.  God longs to heal us of all the darkness which resides in the sub-strata of our souls, but we are still free to stay there or step into the Light of His love.  This much we know.  Abba’s love is always there, always ready to give and forgive, independent of our response.  His love doesn’t depend on our remorse or repentance, on any change— either internal or external— we might make.  God’s love is as unchanging as it is unending.  So, whether you are the younger son or the older son, the reckless rounder or the self-righteous scoundrel, God’s only desire is to have you Home.  If that’s not the perfect image of fatherhood ...then none exists.

In his book The Heart of George MacDonald {1824-1905} the author writes,

In my own childhood and boyhood my father was the refuge from all the ills of life, even sharp pain itself.  Therefore I say to son or daughter who has no pleasure in the name Father, ‘You must interpret the word by all that you have missed in life.  All that human tenderness can give or desire in the nearness and readiness of love, all and infinitely more must be true of the perfect Father— of the maker of fatherhood.  {Italics mine.}

“My son,’ the Father said,” in Luke 15:31, “‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.’”  These are the words you must believe in, words you must allow to penetrate to the centre of your soul, to the deepest regions of your heart.  Whether you’re the younger brother or the older, God calls you His “Son,” His “Daughter.”  And this is your Eternal Identity— Abba’s Child.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

The Hope of Restoration.

Restoration means to ‘be given back what has been lost, stolen, or taken away; be brought back to a former condition; be put back in a place, position, rank, etc.; be brought back to health, strength …being and use.’

Restoration is the process whereby God is at work within us— molding, shaping, like a potter molding his clay {Jer. 18}, like a master musician shaping the skill of her apprentice— the process oftentimes of Abba forging us in the fires of adversity, conforming us to the image of our Lord {Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18}.

Restoration means there is something deeper, truer, and more fundamental to our natures as those made “in the image of God” than original sin.  I call this ‘original glory.’  It was the glory we had when the world was new …before sin crept into the Story with death on its heels.  We were made for a world so far surpassing the one we presently inhabit there’s no comparison between the two, a world of beauty, intimacy, and adventure.  Mankind’s initial mandate being to “rule” and reign alongside our Creator, as intimate allies of the Almighty {Gen. 1:26-28}.  That world is on its way.  The world for which we were truly made will be restored, a “Kingdom” of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” is coming!

The Hope of the Resurrection is the Hope of Restoration, the Hope of a New Creation of which Jesus is the “First-fruits” and Forerunner {1 Cor. 15:20b}, a “New Heavens and a New Earth” in which righteousness dwells {Rev. 21:1-4}.

One day we will dwell securely in the presence of our God, we will rule and reign alongside our King… and our hearts will be released into a Celebration of love, forgiveness and community of which the deepest intimacy in Time is barely a whisper.  So, take courage, my friends, take heart: one Day all your dreams really will come true.  One Day, in the words of our favorite fairy tales, we really will live happily ever-after… redeemed, restored, and renewed in the glorious freedom of our Savior-God.

“Then I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth, for the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away….  I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the Throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.  They will be His People, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed way.  He who was seated on the Throne said, ‘Behold, I am making everything new!,’” {Rev. 21:1-5a}.

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

The Lies of Affluence by Wayne Jacobsen— Part IV.

Lie #7:  Desperate people have choices.  We think people can better themselves by hard work and discipline, and for the most part many can.  But what if demands of daily survival are so overwhelming they don’t have the time or energy to do so?  Some people are simply victims of crime, war, famine, natural disaster, medical conditions, or psychological brokenness;” so much so “that they have incredibly few choices.  Send an immigrant home or telling a poor youth to get a job may seem easy enough from your station up the ladder, but for people trying to survive the next day, the feat may be unimaginable without some help.

People on the margins need help to find a fruitful life in our society.  Many of us got this from our parents or the slice of culture we lived in.  Many did not.  They need someone to be a champion for them, finding the space in their lives and the opportunities at hand to move away from the inheritance of their past and find a better future.

Lie #8:  Government can fix these problems with the right program.  ...My wealthy liberal friends are so certain government can fix all of this by passing laws and redistributing income, and can’t seem to admit the worst kind of entitlement doesn’t come from the poor who need help, but politicians and bureaucrats who run the programs for their own gain or convenience.  We can’t even get government to provide health-care to our veterans without huge delays, waste, and fraud by the bureaucrats themselves.

I sometimes wonder if those who push government for the poor are their way of spending other people’s money to make them feel like they are doing good, when they are not willing to invite those people into their lives and homes.  They can pat themselves on the back for doing good without ever making a personal connection among the poor and marginalized.  That’s why many of our programs are not about empowering them to a better way of living, but only making them more dependent on the government and the political party that wants their vote.  Socialism rewards laziness and dishonesty precisely because it doesn’t involve people in the solution, only dollars.  Our government programs are broken, flush with massive waste and corruption.  Washington DC is the most affluent area of our country and they produce nothing except twisted laws to reward special interests as they line their own pockets.  ...Until government officials” are “disciplined for incompetence and fraud, this won’t change.

But this doesn’t mean individuals can’t respond out of a generosity which is born of proximity.  The reason why so much of our nation remains calloused to these problems is because they don’t know anyone actually facing them.  Until you know people who deal with violence or hunger, or have a relationship with an undocumented worker, you can ignore their plight and stick with the political view that serves your own ends.  Proximity changes everything.  Get outside your culture group and engage firsthand the challenges others face.  Then you’ll know how you might be able to help them.

...Get to know some of them, and your heart will change.  Jesus told a story about a Good Samaritan to help us understand we are all part of a bigger family and cannot think only of ourselves.

This is where the lies of affluence come to die and some amazing acts of human compassion can begin.  When you find people hurting, help them with whatever you have.  If you don’t know any, volunteer at a soup kitchen or a ministry in the inner city.  Don’t just give them money, befriend them and you will no longer be able to hide in those lies.  You’ll join them in looking for solutions that will help empower them to better their own lives rather than remain dependent on others.  You will be a voice for a more compassionate society.  Change happens when the powerful advocate on behalf of the powerless, instead of making them fight for it themselves.

And I’m not talking only to the one-percent-ers here.  From a global perspective if you have $3,650 of net worth—including the equity in your home—you are among the top 50% of the world’s wealthiest citizens.  If you have more than $77,000, you are in the top 10%.  And if you have $798,000, you belong to the top 1%.  That’s according to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report.  This is not a merit badge to wear proudly, but an opportunity to look for ways to share with others in the world where children still go to bed hungry or wake up in fear for their lives.

Generosity emerges when we realize everything we have is a gift, and the more we have the more responsible we need to be in sharing it with others who do not have the same advantages we do.  It seeks to help them not only by the charity of things, but also by empowering them with the tools to better their own lives.

I know no system that can change the world.  I know the generosity that can change one life or one family, one neighborhood at a time.  If enough of us buy into that, then the world will change too.

{Editing and Italics Mine}

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously

The Lies of Affluence by Wayne Jacobsen— Part III.

Lie #5:  Illegal immigrants deserve the hardships they endure for breaking our law.  They should just go home and get in line like everyone else.

What if they can’t go home because home has been here for so long there’s nothing to go back to?  For decades our society has exploited this group both in hiring them at lower wages and denying them access to the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.  I realize this is a failure of government to secure the border, and that appropriate measures must be taken to regulate immigration so it won’t overwhelm the culture.  Not every child born here should automatically become a U.S. citizen, especially when the parents are nonresidents.  We can argue those issues in other venues, but we let them come here, exploited their labor, and shown no will to make them return for multiple decades.  It is unjust to let them live in limbo while both political parties use their plight to garner votes when no one is actually serious about resolving the problem.

And those who are not willing to consider a pathway for legality for those who are living in the shadows of American society can’t possibly know anyone who came here in fear of their lives or simply to try and find a way to feed their children.  Let me tell you about the ‘illegal alien’ I know.  He came here twenty-five years ago because as young man he faced certain death if he didn’t join the drug cartel.  He works far harder than I do, and is constantly exploited by employers who increase his work while decreasing his pay, knowing he can’t complain.  He pays taxes and has never sought welfare or free medical care.  He keeps the laws more than I do because the consequences of being caught are so devastating.

His two daughters are U.S. citizens.  A few years ago, he sold everything he had to pay $18,000 to an attorney who promised him a way to get a green card, only to see the lawyer arrested a few years later for selling fraudulent documents.  No human being deserves to be treated like this and our society should no longer ignore his presence or how we have exploited him.  There is enough in America to absorb these extra people.  They are already here.  They are already contributing, and if they haven’t broken the law in other ways we should fight for their inclusion in our society at some level.  Even the Old Testament encourages kindness and compassion for the stranger or alien.  Oh, this may mean some of us will have to wait an extra six months before upgrading our iPhone, but is that too high a price to pay?

Lie #6:  I did something deserving to be born in a developed country with a comfortable lifestyle.  No one actually says this one out loud, but you can tell they believe it by how they look at others ‘less fortunate’ than them.  Born part way up the ladder of success, they can’t understand the challenges of those who struggle to even find the ladder or have access to its lowest rungs.

If where we were born, and what abilities and talents we have is a gift, wouldn’t we be more mindful of those who have less to start with and greater challenges to overcome to find a stable place in society?

{Editing and Italics Mine}  To be continued....

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
hjcommunity.org
Heart’s Journey – Live Generously and Love Graciously