Camping Trip

In the middle of Francis and Lisa Chan’s book on marriage, You and Me Forever, Lisa describes missional living in a way that’s stuck with me since I first read it.

Reflecting on her beloved childhood family camping trips, Lisa noticed the connection of the glorious feeling of returning home to that of the Christian gloriously reaching eternity. If finally getting home to sleep in your own bed is as great a feeling as it is, how much greater will our entrance into heaven be? Our home now is temporary. It can’t hold a candle to what our lives will be like in eternity. In Lisa’s words, “We are on a camping trip! It might be a 70 or 80 year camping trip, but that’s all it is” (126).

She continues, “It would have been laughable to see people rolling up into our campsite with their luxury vehicles, pre-built homes, pristine clothing, potted plants, and their personal gourmet chefs. That’s not camping. When you’re on a temporary camping trip, you are more than content with the basics. You don’t need to set up a well decorated, cushy home, because you already know that the majority of your time will be spent pursuing the adventure” (127).

Here’s a question: How are you treating your camping trip?

Are you making your campsite as nice as possible, spending all your time and energy on the potted plants and decorations? Or are you pursuing the adventure, trusting that the basics are all you need until you get home from this temporary camping trip of life?

Our God is trustworthy.

He has promised his provision. Look at Matthew 6:25-34:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

He has promised us an inheritance. Look at 1 Peter 1:3-5:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The best piece of advice I can give you is this: trust God, and steward your (His) resources in light of eternity, not for this temporary camping trip.

Christian, do you look forward to Eternity? Really, do you look forward to it?

I worry that many Christians have Huckleberry Finn’s attitude about the whole thing. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character, Huck Finn, has a hard time behaving. His teacher, Miss Watson, made sure to warn him that good boys who do their school work get to go to Heaven while the boys who didn’t do their homework went to the “bad place”  (Which isn’t how it works by the way.) 

Here’s how Huck Finn tells the story:

“Now she had got started, and she went on and told me all about the good place. She said all a body would have to do there was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever. So I didn’t think much of it. But I never said so. I asked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together.”

When Huck heard about Heaven he “didn’t think much of it”. How many Christians would say the same? 

I spent much of my life not looking forward to Heaven. Maybe you have too. But the truth is, if you’re a Christian who is not excited about eternity then you don’t really understand what the Bible says about it. 

Revelation 21:1-3 says this, 

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

Did you notice the two words there in the middle, coming down? These two words changed my understanding of Heaven when I first noticed them around 10 years ago. Really, it changed how I view Christianity. Heaven is coming down. Ultimately, we’re not going to Heaven, it’s coming to us. Heaven is coming to earth. And there is a lot to look forward to. 

We get glimpses of the New Earth when we stand at the top of the Smoky Mountains or at the edge of the Grand Canyon. We get glimpses when we eat a great meal or spend a day of fun with a friend. The wonderful gifts of this earth are appetizers before the feast of Heaven. And there’s no way that feast can be adequately described in a 800-word blog post.

To even get a glimpse of the wonders of the New Earth we have to take the appetizers of earth and amplify them a million times. Revelation 21 continues like this, 

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Sin has distorted this world that God made and called “good” but all things will be made new. The sin will be removed, the evil parts of this world will be gone, and the earth will be renewed.

There’s a lot the Bible doesn’t say about eternity. But it tells us enough that we should be excited.

But do you know the best part of the whole thing? Let’s look back to Revelation 21:3, 

“Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” 

God himself will be there. His home will be among us. We will spend eternity with Him!

At this point, you may be asking: “Jake, did you misunderstand your assignment? This is supposed to be a blog post about generosity. What does generosity have to do with eternity?”

Well, Concerned Reader… My answer to your well-timed question would be “Everything!” Generosity has everything to do with eternity. 

If this is all there is then why would we be generous? We can follow the example of the Rich man in Jesus’ parable who stored up all of his stuff and said to himself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”

But if our hope is eternal, if we look forward to eternity where all of the sad things will come untrue and everything will be made right, then we are freed to be generous now! The rich man in Jesus’ parable is called the “Rich Fool!” Why? Because he didn’t view his stuff through  an eternal perspective. 

Lord, help us not to be like that and help us to be generous in light of eternity!

Live by Faith

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Galatians 2:20, and it says this, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I’d like for us to take a closer look at this verse and it’s message for our lives.

• I have been crucified with Christ- Paul is telling us that our old self, the person we were before trusting in Jesus, with our self-centered desires and sinful pursuits, died on the cross when Jesus died.

• It is no longer I who live- So the self-centered desires and sinful pursuits of our older selves are to no longer rule and direct our lives. 

• But Christ who lives in me- After the death of our old selves, the very Spirit of Christ comes to live within us, breathing a new life, a new focus, and a new power in us. He is to now rule and direct our lives.

• And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God- We are still living in the same bodies as we did before following Jesus, but our dependence and priorities are no longer set by ourselves. We are to now live in a way where we actively respond to all God is and all He has said. Faith is not just a belief in Jesus, but an active response to what we believe about Him. 

• Who loved me and gave himself for me- This line reveals the nature of His personal love for each of us, as well as the personal substitute that Jesus is for each of us. 

What a gift faith is to us.  God knows that living for ourselves leads only to death, so to sacrifice His Son in our place to forgive our sins, and give us the abilities, by faith, to live for Him, is an absolute, life-giving, eternity-impacting, God-glorifying gift to us.

As we specifically consider the money God has entrusted to each of us, I’d like for us to ask ourselves these questions- If I truly believe in the God of the Bible, are my money habits a reflection of this belief? Do I spend, save, give, and tithe in ways that are mindful responses to who God is and what He has said? Do my habits reveal that I am living according to Galatians 2:20? 

When we tithe, we are to tithe by faith in Jesus who is the Head of the church and gave His life for her. When we give, we are to give by faith in the God who gave His Son for us.  When we spend, we are to spend by faith in Him who is our true Treasure. And when we save, we are to save by faith in our Provider who has given us the means to prepare for the future. 

As I have paused to confess my failures to live by faith as I was writing this blog, I encourage you to pause and do the same if the Lord has brought a lack of faith to your attention. May our lives be proof of our faith in Jesus, and may His grace continue to keep us and strengthen us as we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Daddies fix things. That’s what they do. Especially for their little girls. But, Daddy couldn’t fix this.

Howard Gandy, a West Park deacon, received the kind of call we all dread. On the morning of October 5, 2022, Howard got a frantic call from his daughter, Ashley. Her family’s house was on fire. Howard immediately drove there to find the family safe, but the house completely engulfed in flames. When he saw the total destruction, he knew he couldn’t fix this for his little girl. Soon after, Howard confided in a friend about how he just didn’t know how to help, and the friend encouraged Howard to “Let go and let God.” Howard took those words to heart and was able to see how God orchestrated events to help.

Since the tragic loss of the house and everything in it, this family has experienced our Heavenly Father’s great love and care through the generosity of others, many of whom have never met Ashley, her husband, or the 3 children (ages 11, 7, and 4). Members of Ashley’s small group from Fellowship Church, Ashley and Ryan’s home church, gathered the night of the fire at Howard’s house to pray with the family and have stayed by their sides through this time of disaster. The day of the fire, Ashley’s brother, Richie, and his wife, Carrie, coordinated with friends on social media to help with immediate needs; the next day, Ashley’s Venmo account had over $5,000 in donations. A close friend of Carrie’s had also lost everything in a fire just nine months earlier. This friend has been invaluable to the family to help walk them through the process of insurance, paperwork, etc.

We all know how difficult it is to find places to rent. Someone from the insurance company discovered a potential place to live and was able to talk the landlord into making it available when the realtor didn’t even know of the place as a prospect. Fellowship Church, Ashley and Ryan’s home church, quickly set up ways to help the family after the fire. There has been an outpouring of love and support from the Fellowship congregation as they have participated in contributing, donating, providing three meals a day for at least four weeks, and organizing teams of volunteers to drive all over town to pick up donated items and then move all of it into the rental home. Crews of ladies from Fellowship swept in to clean the place and all of the donated items as well. Everything was cleaned, moved in, and ready to go within one day with the help of so many people loving on the family.

Howard and his wife, Wanda, are members of the HeartWise Equipping Class here at West Park, and that class has rallied support in this time of need. Wanda is in the West Park choir, and many of the members of the choir, orchestra, and worship band have shown great generosity. A registry was created at Target for others to use to purchase items that would help provide basics for the family, and all of the items were purchased. Donations and prayers also poured in from all over the country, including family friends from South Carolina, where Howard lived for 60 years.

One family friend offered a ticket to the memorable UT/Alabama game as a kind gesture to Ryan to help him get his mind off of the fire. Of course, it was certainly an amazing game; but at the end of it all, while the multitude of UT fans were delirious with the incredible win, Ryan went to his knees, not in response to the game’s outcome but in prayer to God about his family’s needs. A stranger saw this and asked him if he was ok, and Ryan told him about the fire. Without hesitation, the stranger’s friend opened his wallet and gave Ryan $600 in cash!

Ryan’s boss rallied the employees at his work to collect $4,500 to use on Christmas. Ashley’s small group also had a Christmas decorations shower for them. When so many items of clothing for the kids were donated, some were not the right sizes for them. Howard took those that did not fit to KARM to donate. While there, a woman who worked there asked about the clothes, and Howard was able to share how others had donated to his daughter’s family and about the devastating fire. The woman pulled out a Ziploc bag of cash and handed it to Howard, telling him to give that to his daughter. Howard said, “I can’t take that.” The woman replied, “You can’t NOT take it. God put us here to help each other.”

Generosity. Trusting God. The importance of sharing life with others. All of this has been clearly displayed through these events. As Wanda said, “We have seen God turn ashes into beauty. God in His mercy moved in the hearts of His people to bring about the miracle our family experienced, all giving not to bring anything to themselves but for the love and concern for a family in need. We are in awe of how God has orchestrated each step of this journey so far and know for certain this is just the beginning. We give God all the glory and stand in awe and wonder of all He has done and will do… TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!”

Sabbath as Fuel for Generosity

During Jesus’ ministry, someone in a crowd approached him hoping to get Jesus to force his brother to divide their father’s inheritance with them (Luke 12:13). We don’t have many details, so we aren’t sure if the inheritance was deserved or not, but we see in the text that there was greed in the inquirer’s heart.

Jesus refused to step in to settle this personal dispute, then used the moment to teach against greed. He followed with this parable, found in Luke 12:16-21:

“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’”

There’s a lot of great stuff here, but I want to focus specifically on the statement the rich fool made to his soul. After he had acquired himself large barns worth of crops– in the moment where he felt he had “made it”– he could finally allow himself to relax and enjoy life.

This mindset is about as anti-Sabbath as you can get. In Sabbath living, God tells you to regularly stop working to enjoy Him and the gifts of life, knowing that we are not defined by our productivity and success. In contrast, this man lived as though he had to get to the top of the ladder before he could ever rest. In doing so, he missed living a life of real value, foolishly building his stockpile while ignoring the real riches of a relationship with God.

Today, I’d like to suggest that the practice of Sabbath is deeply connected with our generosity.

See, when we live as the rich fool, resting only when we think we’ve attained enough success and safety, we become servants to our stockpiles. Instead of becoming generous people, our focus becomes the ruthless pursuit of obtaining more. Our generosity, if it ever comes, becomes predicated on the lack of sacrifice we have to make for it. According to Jesus, though, our generosity isn’t always going to be easy. It’s good, and it forms us toward Christlikeness, but we’re missing the mark if we decide to only be generous once we’re rich. Generosity starts with the small things.

However, when we practice Sabbath we build a habit of rejecting greed. We stop our pursuit of getting more and choose to be content in Christ with all we have. This, inevitably, will cause us to be more generous people. The more we reject our greed, the more we will want to be generous toward others with our resources, understanding that knowing Christ is our ultimate goal.

Maybe a next step for you as you’re seeking to grow in generosity is to begin by practicing the Sabbath. Jake Bishop talks about this practice in more detail on Episode 10 of the Impact the World podcast, which you can find on West Park’s website.

Consider how the practice of Sabbath is connected to generosity. (Note: increasing your generosity is not the primary purpose of the Sabbath, just a natural side effect.) Consider how your current lifestyle rhythms shape your approach to generosity. Consider whether or not you are, as Jesus puts it, “rich toward God.”

On the day your soul is required of you, how will you have prepared it?

Exodus 35:4-5

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze.”

Exodus 35:21-22

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So, they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD.

What is the difference between a tithe and an offering? As we have seen before, a tithe is simply a tenth of our income. The Bible tells us that the tithe belongs to the Lord (Lev. 27:30). It even goes so far as to say that when we withhold the tithe, we are actually stealing from God.

Malachi 3:8 “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.”

The truth is everything belongs to the Lord (Psalm 24:1). We are only His managers, so when we dishonor Him by not returning the tithe and contributions to the One who owns it all, we are quite literally robbing God. It’s not simply money that we are taking from Him though, we are actually stealing His glory. When we trust God and put Him first in our lives, we are giving Him glory, but when we withhold from God because we do not trust Him, we are robbing Him of the glory due His name. That is far more valuable than any amount of money or possessions.

If a tithe is a tenth of our income, what is an offering or contribution? The tithe is based on a percentage, but the offering is based on a generous heart. Imagine that all of your life was spent as a slave. It was all you had ever known. As a matter of fact, it had been the state of your family and even your entire race for generations. As Americans in the 21st century, all we know is a life of freedom. This has been our culture for generations. A very oppressive bondage had been the culture of the Jews in Egypt for over 400 years. Then, in a miraculous turn of events as a Jew who grew up in this situation, you find yourself being set free and you leave all you have ever known to go into the desert of the unknown. Before you go, your captors give you valuables that you could never have imagined owning.

Weeks later, you find yourself in the wilderness living on a diet of manna and unsure of the place you will settle in. You know that the Lord has delivered you, but you are really just learning what it means to follow Him. Then you hear about it. There is a plan to worship this God who has saved you and it involves a tent that would be dedicated to His honor and glory. The call has gone out for a special offering to build the tent and all that God says is needed for proper worship. This contribution is not based on a percentage. It’s not required. The entire offering is based on love and grace. You look at the resources that your captors have given you. You had planned to use that to help get established in your new homeland, but now there is a stirring in your heart. Your love for the One who has saved you is motivating you to give. You decide to contribute as an act of love and gratitude to the Savior you adore. That is an offering!

An offering can take many forms and be given in various situations. The Jews gave offerings to build the tabernacle, the Law even provided for “freewill offerings”. In the New Testament church, many of the believers in Jerusalem sold property and gave it to be used to care for the needs of their brothers and sisters. The Gentile churches took up a collection to send to the needs of those in Jerusalem suffering as a result of a famine.

By definition, an offering is not the tithe. It is a gift given out of a generous heart that is apart from the tithe. Because of that, it would be improper to take our tithe and redirect it to an offering. If we believe the Biblical pattern that God gave in the Old Testament for the use of the tithe, then the tithe was given to the Lord, and the Lord gave it to the Levites for the support of the ministry. So then, taking our tithe and redirecting it to a special offering is not really an offering at all. It would be like taking the food given for the Levites and giving it to the craftsmen building the Tabernacle instead. If the tithe belongs to the Lord, that means that the worshipper doesn’t have the right to choose how He uses it. However, an offering is given often in response to a specific need or project. Both are given to the Lord for His purposes, but sometimes the offering might be a little more specific.

Once a year at West Park, we have the Jehovah-Jireh offering. It is typically used for a special project like our current building program. The Lord has blessed us in tremendous ways as we have seen Him provide in truly amazing ways through this offering. My prayer is that He will do great things again this year to expand the kingdom of God through the ministry of West Park. May we all be faithful to respond to the Spirit’s prompting with generous hearts filled with gratitude for all the Lord has done for us.