Monday, November 19
Theme for the week:
Disciples do righteous acts
before God rather than men
(but they do actually do them!)

Matthew 6:1-4

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
~ Jesus

In saying “when you give,” Jesus presumes that you will be giving, just like he presumes that his followers will be praying and fasting (Matthew 6:5, 16). Giving mirrors God’s own generous heart. The question at hand is how to give. This week we delve into faith-oriented giving in terms of how and to whom God wants us to perform our acts of righteousness. Initial thoughts might turn to helping the poor or “needy” – and that would be spot-on. We will also look at a few groups beside that, including one’s own family – and, of course, the family of God known as the church.

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Prayer Prompt

Lord Jesus Christ, You gave so much: Your life-giving energy, your kind heart, your healing words and touch. You gave the message of the Gospel and your own life to make that Gospel a life-saving message. Teach me to be like you, to follow you, to love and give like you. So I pray. Amen.

Micro-Meditation

Psalm 95:1-11

  1. Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
  2. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
  3. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
  4. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
  5. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
  6. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
  7. for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,
  8. “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
  9. where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
  10. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, they area people whose hearts go astray, they have not known my ways
  11. So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’

  • Read: the verses twice.

  • Mark: the words or phrases that catch your attention.

  • Meditate: talk (better yet write) with God about those words. Ask him to impress things upon your heart and mind; expect a response from the Lord.

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Pondering Point

This Psalm of David is a call to worship the Lord – together – in joy and thanksgiving. Let us sing, he cries, let us bow down in worship to our great God. Where are the various places you enact this charge with other disciples?

Tuesday, November 20
God’s Mission

Numbers 18:21

I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.
~ The Lord

Note the language in the quoted verse: God is the one giving the tithe to the Levite priests. It is God’s gift – but he is providing it through their brothers. Think about that: God is giving to his people through his people. It is still God’s stuff – always is – even in our hands. Levites, designated as life-long priests of God, had not been allotted a land inheritance like other tribes of Israel. Why? God himself is their inheritance (Joshua 13:33). But their families still had physical needs and that was where the tithe came in: God provided for his priests by means of their brothers so that they did not suffer lack as chosen workers of the Lord’s temple.

That set of laws is no longer in place with the church of today. Tithing is not required. We live under a different covenant – the new covenant (“testament”) Jesus brought about. Not everyone agrees about how the principle of tithing carries over to the church of today and her full time workers (nor will that be explained here). This devotion looks to spur thought and personal meditation. It is informative, not exhaustive. I like to think of givers in the New Testament Era as partners, a term the Apostle Paul likes to use. Are you a partner in the Gospel? Are select portions of your resources earmarked for partnering in the work in the church? God still calls such workers, even in a different era. AND God still gives such gifts for his ministry (see 1 Timothy 5:18). Ask yourself: Am I facilitating God’s gift-giving through my resources or impeding Him?

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Prayer

Lord God, forbid that I impede any gift-giving on your behalf. Expand and deepen my understanding of partnering in the Gospel. Further develop Your gift-giving through me, both in the organized church and on my own. Let me know the joy of partnering with You! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Micro-Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 95:1-3

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

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Teaching or Command of God:

Deuteronomy 32:3-4

Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. 

The Promise:

Psalm 103:10-11

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

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Pondering Point

Sing and shout out, come and extol – celebrate God, the great King with music and song. Songwriter Chris Tomlin echoes this sentiment with these lyrics: How great is our God! Sing with me How great is our God.

Wednesday, November 21
Your Identity in Christ

• In Christ, I am blessed abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that I need, I can abound in every good work, being generous on every occasion, resulting in thanksgiving to God.

While not all Christians are called to full-time church work, all are called to a full time life of discipleship. Ask yourself: Am I a worker in my field who happens to be a disciple or am I a disciple who happens to be a worker in my field? Am I a parent who happens to be a disciple or am I a disciple who happens to be a parent? How you see yourself makes a huge difference on how you live out your life.

Seeing yourself as a disciple of Jesus naturally moves into seeing all that you have and all that you experience as enhancement for your life of discipleship – of following Jesus. Everything God puts at your disposal enables you to – at all times, having all that you need – abound in every good work. “At your disposal” has the inference of intended to be disposed of. For Christians this means disposing of in a godly way. And when you dispose of things in ways that God desires, being generous on every occasion, the result from those who benefit is thanksgiving to God. So Paul tells the Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 9:10-11

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

While it is great to help all kinds of people, one of the first places discipleship and giving and is impactful is at home. The Apostle Paul teaches his protégé Timothy that anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8) and King Solomon taught that a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children (Proverbs 13:22). Easily overlooked at first, but God is pleased to see his children take care of their families. That includes physically and spiritually – now and for the future.

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Prayer

Father God, supply and increase my store of seed and enlarge the harvest of my righteousness. As you enrich me in every way, inspire my generosity across the board so as to awaken thanksgiving to You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Micro-Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 95:4-5

In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

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Teaching or Command of God:

Psalm 19:1-2

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 

The Promise:

Isaiah 41:13

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

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Pondering Point

The sea is his, for he made it surmises that creating something equates to owning it. It’s not a reach to make the claim that all people are His too. His hand formed you too – not just dry land. In fact, the first man himself was formed from dry land (Genesis 2:7).

Thursday, November 22
Re-Center Around God

Hebrews 13:15,16

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 

God reveals that He is aware of everyone’s situation, especially those in difficult circumstances. Through Moses we are that told that He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing (Deuteronomy 10:18).

Similar to Monday’s devotion saying that God gives to the Levites, here we see God giving food and clothing, loving the alien, and defending the cause of widows and orphans. Let’s review our lives in light of God giving to such people through us.

Review the week

Have I enabled God to give food and clothing though me? Is God able to express love to aliens through me (not UFO types, but ex-patriots and immigrants)? Do I aid the cause of widows and orphans? How am I doing good and sharing with others?

Repent (if necessary)

If these answers are “Yes” then praise God and hopefully those benefitting are thanking God as well. If the answers are “No” then apologize to God for your stingy nature.

Return (as necessary)

Either thank God for building such a generous spirit in you or ask God to help you become the generous soul He desires to see in you. A life if discipleship that lacks generosity will ring hollow. Pray for His guidance and a freely giving spirit to arise.

Micro-Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 95:6-7

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

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Teaching or Command of God:

2 Corinthians 6:16

We are the temple of the living God. As God has said “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 

The Promise:

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

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Pondering Point

The call started with come together and worship – to sing and make music. Now that call deepens to bow down and kneel before the Lord. Think of it as intensifying the worship experience with a humbled-but-grateful spirit.

Friday, November 23
Discipleship Point

Matthew 4:19

Come, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.
~ Jesus
NIV 1984

Pulled from Putman and Harrington’s DiscipleShift book, the following definition of a disciple is drawn from Matthew 4:19 above and broken into three parts: It is a great reminder that we give in relationship to Jesus, that we give from a heart being changed and prioritized by Jesus, and that we give as part of the mission of Jesus.

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Head: Jesus’ Invitation into Relationship with Him

"Come follow Me"
To “follow” Jesus means to know him and come under his authority and direction. We call him Savior and Lord; As Savior, he delivers us from sin, death, and the devil; as Lord, he has ownership of our lives, and we are to submit to his leadership, denying ourselves to do so (Luke 9:23).

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Heart: Being Changed by Jesus

"... and I will make you"
Using His Word, Spirit, and Body (other believers), Jesus’ brings change into the lives of his disciples. The result will be altered attitudes and shifting priorities. This happens as you spend time in relationship with Jesus in prayer, meditation, bible study, and with his people in small group, worship, and fellowship.

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Hands: Joining Jesus on His Mission

"... fishers of men."
In response to Jesus’ call, we are to join on his mission to the world – fishing for men, or as Jesus says in Luke, “to seek and save what was lost” (19:10). We are committed to his agenda in life even above our own, serving at His pleasure with whatever time, talents and resources he puts at our disposal.

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Discipleship Prayer

Lord Jesus, teach me to give with a compassionate and generous heart that appreciates all you have done for me. Continue to re-prioritize my heart as you see fit, and open my eyes to the harvest fields around me so that I can effectively join you in your mission.

Micro-Meditation for the Day:

Psalm 95:7b-11

Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, they are a people whose hearts go astray, they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’

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Teaching or Command of God:

Hebrews 4:14

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

The Promise:

Hebrews 4:9-10

[There remains] a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.

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Pondering Point

This Psalm’s warning is revisited and reapplied in the New Testament with a call to see that true rest comes from God through Jesus (see Hebrews 3:7-4:13).

Saturday, November 24

Luke 12:13-21

Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

While the story for this week centers around giving – it comes in a negative format. The parable is shared by Jesus after he is approached to arbitrate a disagreement over an inheritance. Instead he teaches this story. The man in story – spoiler alert – turns out to be a rich but foolish man. Though he had plenty stored up, more than he needed, he used it only on himself.

That leads us to our final teaching about giving this week. Among the various lessons Paul taught his son-in-the-faith Timothy was this one from 1 Timothy 6:17: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

There are a couple of nice, appropriate points early in the verse for those well blessed financially. Don’t be arrogant. Put your hope in God rather than wealth. But then comes the kicker. ENJOY what God has given you. Let’s keep things in a godly order: Along with learning to give for the sake and benefit of others – family, friends, and strangers – we are encouraged to enjoy what God has given us in life. Enjoy the life God has given to us. What a nice thought.

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Prayer Prompt

Teach me Father to be rich toward you, putting my hope in you and not wealth. Show me how to rightfully enjoy all you have lavished upon me, from love to forgiveness to friendship, church family and fellowship, health and home to name a few. May my generosity mirror yours in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sunday, November 25
Call to Worship God, to Gather Together

God Bless You

Psalm 95:1-2

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise.

Where God is at the center of things, worship inevitably follows. Where there is no spirit of worship, there God has been dethroned and displaced.
~ Sinclair B. Ferguson
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Prayer for Worship

Father God, I join my brothers and sisters in worship. Regardless of my quality of singing voice, let my singing heart shine through – making a joyful noise. May I bow down and kneel in spirit if not in body as well. I love you God and give You my all. Bless our worship in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sponsored by Hope Lutheran Church 

Copyright (c) 2017-2019 Paul vonWerder

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