March 7, 2023
Dear friends,
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love” (Micah 7:18).
Steadfast love is what moves God to give. He gave the earth to Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden. He gave daily bread to the people of Israel, and he still does it for us. He gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
But even more – he delights in steadfast love. It is a joy for God to give.
Think about the things in your life that are pure joy. What are the things you do without any compulsion? No one is making you. No one is twisting your arm. You just enjoy them so much.
You can’t wait to go fishing. You can’t wait to see the grandkids. You can’t wait to watch the next episode.
That’s how it is for God to give. All joy. It’s a delight.
We were meant to be like God in this way. But the corruption of sin has obscured our joy. It makes it so that we tend to delight in all kinds of sinful things and not to delight in what is good. Giving, which should be one of those things we cannot wait to do, tends to be something that we do haltingly, with hedging and calculating and concern for repayment.
But Jesus wants to teach us a better way. He wants to give us true joy in truly joyful things. It’s like all we’ve ever had is an appetite for dirty shoe leather, and someone comes along and says – try this prime rib instead!
“[Paul said,] ‘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).
One of the ways he teaches us is by pointing out the deceitfulness of riches. The devil is a liar, and he loves to lie about riches. Mammon is the evil spirit of lust for more and more earthly treasure. It promises all kinds of things: happiness, satisfaction, power, friendship, health, and security. But it can only ever deliver the illusion of those things. Money has no strength in itself. Just as easily as a stack of cash can go up in flames, so also can all the riches in the world disappear in the blink of an eye. Its promise is vain, and anyone who has chased money will tell you that the craving for more is never satisfied. See Luke 12:13-21 for a great parable that illustrates the point very well.
So watch out for lies about money!
It starts, really, with the lie I mentioned last week – that our money is, in fact, ours. I suggested last week that you try this exercise: every time you start thinking about my money, my stuff, my home, my family, replace that “my” with “God’s” and see what happens.
Here’s the next exercise: see if you can spot other easily-believed lies about money. “If only I had more money, then. . . I’d feel more secure. I could get what I want. I would be happy. I would have less to worry about.” “I can’t give away my money because. . .I won’t have enough. What if it gets wasted? I worked so hard for it.”
One of the keys to being a cheerful giver is sorting out our relationship with money. Put things in the right order, get your priorities straight, have first things first, and – just as in any relationship – you’ll end up with a healthier relationship. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
What a promise! God help us to believe it!
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs
COMING EVENTS:
Choir Practice – Wednesday, March 1, 15, 29 @ 6pm
Family Night – Wednesday, March 8 @ 5:30pm
Elders and Council – Thursday, March 9 @ 6 & 7pm