Cast That Bread Upon The Waters

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth." - Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 ESV

Cast your bread upon the waters. Bread is useful. Our body needs food. What a risky way to live... or is it?

I think of Moses mother putting him in a basket on the Nile.

"The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, 'This is one of the Hebrews' children.' " - Exodus 2:2-6 ESV

This isn't a story. This is an account.

Risky. Trouble is coming. The instinct is to hoard.

Giving is risky. Grace is risky.

Cast it on the water. Cast the time you could have used on yourself on someone else. Cast the resources that could have built bigger barns. Cast the money on a missionary or send some children you don't know to Christian summer camp. Cast it. Throw it. Don't just toss it down where you can reach it. Throw it over a wall into another country.

God will repay. Let your belly rumble a little. God will fill it tenfold.

Moses turned out to be a great man. I think his mother made a good choice.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 ESV

I know I quote this passage a lot. I try not to rehash ideas again and again but can you imagine it?? God cast His Son out on the harsh dark waters of this world. He didn't give something extra He had laying around. He gave the person most important and central to His eternal existence because He had confidence that His Son would lead a sinless life and because of that death would never hold Him in the grave. Jesus would return to Heaven again.

Can we live this way?

Will we?

It's a risky way to live... or is it?

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Two Things That The Gospel Of Grace Gives

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again... And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified... You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 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.' And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship." - Acts 20:24-25, 32, 34-38 ESV

Paul is sure that God's grace is able to give us two things. It is able to build us up and it is able to give us a joint inheritance. Now and Later are covered.

Paul knew He wasn't coming back but He also knew that the words He had spoken to these people had been about Christ. The Gospel of Grace had been given. He had explained thoroughly about Jesus in the Hebrew scriptures and about the cross. He had explained the free gift of salvation dozens of ways. He wasn't like other teachers that demanded tribute. He wasn't securing a following for himself for security or financial gain so that if he came back this way as he traveled some scholarly teaching circuit he would have connections in this city. He wasn't networking. He was loving God and working with his hands as he labored in the word.

There may be people who are only in your life for a short season. I feel that way on Saturdays when we talk to people about life, death, Heaven and Hell. I may never see them again but in a moment I (we) can give them something eternal. We don't offer a momentary smile like an entertainer does... smiles are great but they are like flowers that fade. We offer a Savior who saves and sticks closer than a brother long after we leave the scene.

Are people just in our lives so we can get something from them or is it an opportunity to give something eternal away?

Grace is able to build up. Grace is able to give an 'inheritance among all those who are sanctified' and that is precious beyond imagining.

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Invest With What We Have

'They gave me a chance when no one else would.' How many success stories have that pivotal point somewhere in the mix?

Trust pays great dividends but it also has great consequences if it is misplaced.

This weekend a was thinking about success stories and great tragedies. These were all things I witnessed with my own eyes. People I know or knew. Some damaged because a loved one trusted the wrong person. Some redeemed because a person made a decision not to 'know someone after the flesh' and 'give them a chance when no one else would' because of belief in a new identity even if that new identity wasn't visible yet.

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands..." - 1 Timothy 5:21-22 ESV

'Laying on of hands' speaks of trust and promotion. I have seen men promote other men as a means of investment and it rarely goes well. If authority says, 'We trust this person. They have what is needed.' but they really don't that authority just gets undermined and people get hurt.

"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." - Proverbs 22:7 ESV

I saw this passage in a new light this weekend. We give. If we lend then we are making a slave. God gave to those who could never pay Him back. No payment could ever be enough. Grace makes us givers because we have something to give. We never borrow to give. We only give what we have or we become slaves.

Trust works that way also. I can't trust if I have no trust but if I have trust I can trust. If we trust hoping to get something in return it is a counterfeit investment but if we see 'Aaron's rod' bud it means we have something. God gave life to that dead stick and it was a witness. We look for the same witness.

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

Faith in God makes us rich in trust. We have something but we are wise in how we use it. If there is nothing there throwing trust at the situation isn't going to make something happen. But if there is something there... even if it is a smoking flax looking like it is just about to die we can gently use trust to coax that flame back to life.

I marvel at what God entrusts to man. He is amazing really.

Don't we all want to be people who, 'gave someone a chance when no one else would'? I do. I'm just not going to gamble with what doesn't belong to me. I will give away some, or even all, of what does and God has promised He will repay.

Hyper-spirituality is investing what I don't own. Pragmatism is being so poor that I can only operate by my 5 senses. Sowing seeds of grace words and trusting that they won't return void is the place where miracles can happen because God is present in the investment.

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Two Angry Men

The area where I work is surrounded by a poor section. If I go to the market I often pass people asking for money. I budget what I have so I rarely give money away on the way to the market but I often give it on the way back. I plan it out that way.

I ran into two men this week that I hadn't seen before who asked me for change on the way to the market and cursed at me when I shook my head 'no' as I went. It was unusual... it was very unusual for it to happen twice in one week from two different people.

They were both gone when I came back. After breaking a big bill I had money in my hand for one of them and on the other day I bought an egg roll for the other man because he looked so strung out. After asking at the bus stop and circling the block I had to give up my search because I needed to get back to work. I ended up eating the egg roll myself because I couldn't find that angry young man and I didn't want it to go to waste.

I don't know what made each of them that angry or how many people cursed back at them or gave them a lecture because of their 'bad attitude'. I can only imagine the pain. Maybe when I shook my head they thought I didn't care about them like a long line of others that have not cared. But the truth is I had love in my heart.

I think many times God wants to give us something on the way back. He doesn't owe us help. We deserve Hell... all of us. God wants to bless us and his means is grace. 'No' today may turn into a greater blessing tomorrow. If He is shaking His head He is always doing it with love in his heart. He isn't one to ignore a request, forget a need or have a cold uncaring gaze.

I hope I see those men again. I understand that anger. It is gone from my heart but I really do understand. That anger might just get them killed. I pray it doesn't. I pray they meet the One who won't lecture them... the Savior who loves them just as they are with no excuses or regrets.

Next week I plan to buy an extra egg roll by faith just in case. A gospel tract will go in the bag and if a conversation is possible I pray it will happen and result in seed that grows into a glorious conversion.

If only they could have waited a few more minutes they would have gotten something they didn't deserve. I was prepared to give a little. I only have a little. God is prepared to give us so much more.

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Asking For The Vehicle

Not having grown up in Christianity I never experienced the idea firsthand of thinking that Church leadership wanted something from me.

Now I see the damage that has been done in people's lives by leaders who have demanded the wrong things.

"Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children." - 1 Thessalonians 2:6-7 ESV

"Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep." - Ezekiel 34:2b-3 ESV

"Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will send them at once.' This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 'Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'' The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them." - Matthew 21:1-7 ESV

There is a thing that falls into the category of, 'The Lord Has Need of This' but it isn't food... it is a vehicle. Is was a humble vehicle at that.

Men can use the office to feed their ego. They can use it to feed their belly and bank account also. They sense that there is a legitimate category of demand that an apostle (or sent one which is what that word means) can make but pride or carnality asks for the wrong things.

The Apostles knew they could ask for things within certain boundaries but they refrained. They knew it was more important that these people needed to know that God wanted to give something to them and that receiving from God was of paramount importance.

Later once a team is formed the leader can say please contribute to this humble vehicle that brings Christ into the city and it is an appropriate request. A leader should ask for those things or places might never be reached.

Christ was hailed as The King on that little colt that had never held a rider (see Mark 11:2)

"And some of those standing there said to them, 'What are you doing, untying the colt?' And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it." - Mark 11:5-7 ESV

There are places where we can go and say,'We would like to put on a concert in this park.' or 'Let's go feed the homeless on Saturdays.' or even, 'We want to start meeting here on Sundays to sings songs and teach the Bible.' and the people there who may not know God will just let us when our answer is that we are doing it in the Lord's name.

It seems to work best if the vehicle has never been ridden before. People are less likely to want to participate if they have run into the 'belly feeders' first. {{ Sigh }}

I wonder what that owner of the colt thought when He realized the prophesied Messiah was riding in on his animal? That man became a part of eternal history because he was willing to part with his donkey.

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Predators Are Attracted To The Spectacle

I have two themes ricocheting back and forth in my being as a pray for states in the Midwest and think of people living in the plains states. The importance of giving the word of God first place in worship and the unifying power of giving.

Seen in the light of grace both things are a mirror of grace

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures," - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV

Not just teaching but Christ centered teaching that focuses on redemption, salvation and resurrection.

"We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord... For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." - 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, 9 ESV

Giving is such a beautiful thing... such a unifying thing. Grace giving is at least. When people decide of their own free will to give to a cause out of love. The generosity becomes a spectacle. Paul boasts about their lives of faith

These two areas, the spiritual power of transformation that comes to a group from preaching Christ and the compassionate giving that unifies a group, are also the places where we see predators rise up inside the assembly... false teachers and false givers.

"But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, 'This man is the power of God that is called Great.' And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic... saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.' But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God." - Acts 8:9-11, 19-21 ESV

Simon the Sorcerer saw the power of preaching and teaching and wanted it.

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:5-7 KJV

Learning, learning, learning but not learning Jesus. Mimics parroting phrases that they heard but they themselves are stones flying through darkness into the void. They may talk about grace and the Bible but really they are trying to buy favor to fill their void with intellectualism. The thing is... you can't buy the Holy Spirit.

Then there are the false givers... Ananias and Sapphira are a perfect new testament example.

"But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.' " - Acts 5:1-4 ESV

True giving is only ever grace giving and true preaching is only grace preaching. These two things create a spectacle that can not be duplicated because the life of God is manifested in the midst of them.

We give by faith and listen to men who preach by faith but it isn't for us to get something. The teaching reveals what we already have. We have God and we have His love and uniquely manifested favor. Teaching shows us that. Giving happens as an outflow of that but it should never be legislated... encouraged but not legislated... individual giving uncorks us so that as we are emptied and God can fill us with freshness and corporate giving edifies those in need and propels the Gospel forward into dark places by providing a means for logistical grace. Logistical grace is much more than money of course but God uses money also.

There are false teachers and false givers but that does not discourage us or make us introspective. There always have been those elements circling the Church and looking for isolated members to prey upon. It has been that way from the beginning.  Genuine preaching and giving are still amazing things. We must use discernment and live in the real thing. The value or the real far outweighs anything else.

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