Something’s Gotta Give

Look around. There’s somebody in the room. Or should I say something. It’s an 800 lb. gorilla of money and giving in the local church. So often, churches approach the topic at extremes. Either they never talk about it. Or they put their people on a HUGE guilt trip.

But let’s face facts. The issue of money and giving cannot and must not be avoided. It also must not be abused. You see, Jesus talked about our money more than He talked about heaven and hell combined.

Paul addressed giving in his second letter to the Corinthians. A year earlier, they had heard of the desperate financial situation of the church in Jerusalem. The early Christians in Israel’s capital were under tremendous persecution. As a result, they were broke and needed help. The much-wealthier Corinthians offered to help. In 2nd Corinthians 9, Paul let’s them know that he’ll soon be heading to Jerusalem, so they should get their money together.

In 2nd Corinthians 9:6-15, God gives us 5 principles for Grace Giving.

I. God calls us to give LAVISHLY (v6)
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2Corinthians 9:6 NIV)

Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. (2Corinthians 9:6 The Message)

God calls us to give LAVISHLY because He is a LAVISH Giver.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us… (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)

You can’t out give God!

II. God calls us to give INTENTIONALLY (v7a)
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2Corinthians 9:7 NIV)

When Paul writes “decided in his heart,” that simply means that your offering is between you and Jesus. That's why it's called Grace Giving! It's a heart issue. Remember Jesus words in the Sermon on the Mount:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 NIV)

We need to make up your mind and be intentional. Plan and purpose to give. That means planning AHEAD of time. Uh oh, there's the "b" word...BUDGET! We need to remember that under the principle of Grace Giving, the tithe is standard or guideline. It is NOT a legalistic requirement.

I invite you to take the test God describes in the book of Malachi.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10 NIV)

You see, 90% with God goes further than 100% without Him.

Let's be clear about what giving to God is NOT...
-It is NOT “Powerball for Jesus”
-God NOT some divine vending machine
-It is NOT the price of admission to church
-It is NOT a way to pay for music, the sermon, or childcare
-It is NOT tipping Jesus
You CAN’T bribe God. Remember: Jesus looks at heart

God calls us to give INTENTIONALLY because He is an INTENTIONAL Giver.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

You can’t out give God!

III. God calls us to give HILARIOUSLY (v7b)
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2Corinthians 9:7 NIV)

God calls us to give willingly...not out of guilt. He's less concerned about WHAT we give and more concerned about WHY we give.

God LOVES a cheerful giver. I mean, He's absolutely CRAZY about cheerful givers. The Greek word for cheerful is actually "hilarious". Yup, that's right. Jesus wants us to be hilarious givers.

God calls us to give HILARIOUSLY because He is a HILARIOUS Giver.

He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32 NIV)

You can’t out give God!

IV. God calls us to give RELENTLESSLY (v8)
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2Corinthians 9:8 NIV)

"God is able" doesn't sound very "Almighty" to me. Once again, our English translations don't do justice to the richness of the original text. It actually means that God is AMAZINGLY and POWERFULLY able. Let me take a stab at translating one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

And God is amazingly and powerfully able to overflow all grace and resources to you, so that in all things and at all times, and possessing all that is necessary, you may overflow in every excellent work. (2Corinthians 9:8 Jay’s Translation)

God calls us to give RELENTLESSLY, because He is a RELENTLESS Giver.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 NIV)

You can’t out give God!

V. Be a fire hose of God’s grace (v9-14)
As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." (2Corinthians 9:9 NIV)

Or as Eugene Peterson paraphrases it in The Message...

As one psalmist puts it, he throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. (2Corinthians 9:9 The Message)

Here's the scoop. God gives to us so that we can give. We're blessed to be a blessing. Jesus explains the responsibility of being the recipient of divine blessing.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48 NIV)

VI. God calls us to give SACRIFICIALLY (v15)
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2Corinthians 9:15 NIV)

God gave His one & only Son Jesus ...an AMAZING, indescribable sacrifice!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)

God calls us to give SACRIFICIALLY because He is a SACRIFICAL Giver.

You can’t out give God!

VII. God is the ULTIMATE Giver
God is a…
-LAVISH…
-INTENTIONAL…
-HILARIOUS…
-RELENTLESS…
-SACRIFICIAL Giver

You can’t out give Him. He’s an extravagant Giver and He DARES YOU to try to out give Him. Take the 3 month tithe challenge. Pledge to give your first 10% to God for the next three months. I promise you that two things will happen. First of all, Satan will immediately try to discourage you. Secondly, God will bless you in such a way that He'll blow your socks off. Somehow. Someway.

But as my good friend John Logan says, "If you haven’t given yourself to God, He doesn’t want your money." Have you given yourself to Jesus?

God is an extravagant Giver…and He’s making us into His image! And that means He's making us into givers too. God doesn’t need your money. He wants your HEART!

From sermon at Freedom River CC on March 9, 2008.

Expel the Wind

Well, that title ought to get somebody's attention! While an ill wind may be blowing, it's not what you think. But it is about WHAT you think. Confused? Let me try to explain.

This all started when I went to see a local (Raleigh, NC) production of "Inherit the Wind," a fictionalized re-telling of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. A friend from work was in the play and my wife and I went to see her. While I'm familiar with the main idea of the play and 1960 movie, it had been YEARS since I had seen it.

The theater was wonderfully intimate, but it was soon very apparent that we were on "enemy territory." Of the 150 people in attendance, we may have been the only Christians there. Let's face it, the battle between Creation and Darwin rages hot and heavy into the 21st Century.

Once the play began, the plot took an unexpected turn...well, at least for me. While the script is clearly anti-Christian and anti-Creation, the argument for evolution is a curious one. Bertram T. Cates faces prosecution for teaching evolution in his science class. In doing so, he breaks state law that prohibits the teaching of anything except biblical creation.

His attorney, Charles Drummond, doesn't argue that Creation is necessarily wrong, but that evolution should be allowed into the marketplace of ideas. Students should be presented with more than just one theory and allowed to make up their own minds.

Note this quote from Drummond from the play, "Can't you understand? That if you take a law like evolution and you make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it. And soon you may ban books and newspapers."

Hmm. It's 83 years since the Scopes trial and everything is upside down. Now it's illegal to teach Creation/Intelligent Design in our schools. Proponents of evolution refuse to allow any idea contrary to their own into that same marketplace of ideas.

Suddenly, it hit me. Someone could rewrite the script and turn everything around. A teacher could be on trial for teaching Intelligent Design in the public schools. The town and school board would be in a uprage. This man must be punished! Yet, the defense would argue that we must be open to all valid theories. A 21st Century re-telling of the story would be most appropriate.

Apparently, someone is doing just that. That person would be Ben Stein. He's promoting a new movie called "Expelled." It's a documentary based on how evolutionists are persecuting and black-balling scientists and teachers who don't share their views. While I haven't seen the movie, I have seen the trailer. I'm curious to see what Stein has to say.

A closing thought...Christ followers must not be afraid of science. We don't have to check our brains at the door when we enter the sanctuary. While there are certainly mysteries and unanswered questions regarding our faith (hey, that's why they call it "faith!"), we worship a God who invites us to "Come, let us reason together" (Isaiah 1:18).

Let us "Expel the Wind!"

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

They say the first step in getting help is admitting that you have a problem. Hello, my name is Jay and I’m easily distracted. Do any of you any of you struggle with focus? I am a “brightest light in the room” kind of guy. It takes so little to steal my attention from the task at hand. I can devote myself to prayer and say, “Dear Lord…oh look, a bird!”

Let me give you an example of what I’m up against. My desk at home is usually a land fill, just piles of papers, books, guitar picks and paper clips. About once a month, I make the decision that for the next two hours I’m going to clean things up. I’ve resolved that today is the day. I begin by sorting through the first layer of papers, throwing some away and filing others. Then I run across a magazine that I’ve hung onto that has an article or two I want to save. I open the magazine to find the articles when an ad catches my eye. “That looks interesting,” I say to myself and notice that it has a website with more information.

I boot up my computer and as it’s spinning up, I remember that I need to send an email to a friend. I open my email and before I can send the note, I notice that I’ve received a note from another friend. Well, I’ve got to respond to that one first, don’t I? You can see where this is going. I can sit down with the best of intentions to clean my desk. And two hours later, my desk is still a mess but I’ve read two magazines, checked my email and surfed the web. Folks, I can head into the kitchen to do the dishes after supper and end up mowing the yard…and I can’t even figure out how I got there! I struggle with keeping the main thing the main thing.

I think many of us struggle with focus in our relationship with Christ. We are easily distracted and lose our focus, especially those of us who are involved in ministry. We are in a constant fight to keep the main thing, the main thing. And sadly, for many of us it’s a losing battle. Today we’re going to examine someone who fought the same frustrating fight. We’ll see what Jesus had to say about keeping the main thing the main thing.

As you turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 10, let’s set the stage. The Gospel of Luke is the story of Jesus told by Luke the Physician. Before there was Dr. Phil, there was Dr. Luke. Dr. Luke wrote this specifically as a report to person named Theophilis, which means “lover of God”. But he also wrote this to Gentiles or non-Jews in general. The Good Doctor describes this as an “orderly account”. So let’s pick up the story in Luke 10:38-42.

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a
village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home.

Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He taught.

But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to You that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it-- and I won't take it away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 NLT)

First of all, Martha chose her absence while Mary chose His presence (v 39-40a).
Mary made a choice to…
…Sit at His feet
…Listen to His word
…Take position of disciple
…Know Jesus!

Martha made a choice to…
…Stay busy
…Throw together HUGE meal
…Be “distracted” (Greek perispao)

Second, Martha chose to labor while Mary chose to listen (v 40b).

Third, Martha chose crisis while Mary chose Christ (v 41-42).
Martha created crisis where there was none
Mary kept the main thing the main thing...and knowing Christ is the main thing!

Paul’s main thing...

I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ. (Philippians 3:7-8 NLT)

David’s main thing...

Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart's desires. (Psalm 37:4NLT)

Jesus’ words...

“And this is the way to have eternal life-- to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the One You sent to earth.” (John 17:3 NLT)

Our relationship w/JC calibrates all our lives.

3 Ways to calibrate our relationship w/JC
Spend time at His feet
Spend time in His Word
Spend time in His Will

Conclusion: Am I a Mary? Or a Martha?
So each one of us should ask the question, am I Mary? Or am I Martha? Do I choose His presence or my absence? Do I choose to listen or to labor? Do I choose Christ or crisis?

Have we lost sight of the main thing? Have we forsaken time with Jesus because we are just too busy? Ministry is no excuse. We can’t give what we don’t have. John MacArthur warns that we can’t let our service to Christ degenerate into busyness devoid of Christ. I ask again, have we lost sight of the main thing?

Keep the main thing, the main thing. And the main thing is knowing Christ.

Jay

From sermon at Freedom River CC on January 27, 2008.

Mountain Tragedy

On Thursday, January 24th, three men were murdered in mountains just across the border in Virginia. Investigators found Ron Hudler, his son Fred and their friend John Miller shot to death at the Hudler family farm in Grayson County. The news floored me.

I had the pleasure of spending several days with the Hudlers at their Christmas tree operation during the height of November harvest. We were working on a documentary for WRAL called "The Perfect Tree". Ron and his sons welcomed us with open arms as we continually got in their way during their most crucial part of the year.

It was a particularly special time because my wife and I have a cabin near their operation in West Jefferson. And the people of the town had just elected Ron's son Dale as mayor.

Just two months later, Ron, Fred and John are dead.

As a result, there are wives without husbands. Children without fathers. Mothers without sons.

Please keep the Hudler and Miller families in our prayers.

Jay

Jesus & the Master of the Obvious

175,ooo. That's the number of new blogs EVERYDAY! 175,000. Makes me scratch my head about why anyone might want to read what I have to say with so much other stuff out there. Maybe no one will. Well, read on...if you dare!

For those of you that tuned in to our previous episode, you might remember that I'm currently reading 2 Corinthians. Just started it really. Chapter 1 is absolutely chock full of juicy stuff.

In 2 Corinthians 1:19, our man Paul writes, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy..." Paul is kinda the master of the obvious, isn't he? If a Christian is going to preach, they're certainly gonna preach Jesus, right? Right? Apparently not.

I'm sorry to say that a quick listen or gander of various preachers would seem to make this the exception rather than the rule. Some wink and smile and tell us that God wants to make us rich...very, VERY rich. And they say the Lord will be happy to do just that if we pony up with a "love gift" of $29.95. Such a deal!

Others pound the pulpit and proclaim a "do better Gospel". Sadly, it's nothing but a lethal legalism. You come away thinking that God is sitting on the edge of Heaven with a lightning bolt in His hand just waiting for us to goof up. ZZZZZAP!!!

Still others tell us that God is there like some sort of supernatural life coach. He's ready to make our lives better if we just give Him a call. Operators are standing by!

Where's Jesus? A quick check of the Bible gives us numerous examples of what preaching Jesus looks like. Over and over in the New Testament, they preach Jesus. Peter did...and thousands repented. Philip did...and he got a free chariot ride. Stephen did...and he got stoned. Paul did...and God changed lives all throughout around the Mediterranean. John did...and he got exiled to Patmos. Even Jesus preached about Jesus after His own resurrection to two guys headed home to Emmaus.

Over the past couple of years, God's provided me with the humbling opportunity to preach His Word. Paul's simple phrase in 2 Corinthians 1:19 is a powerful reminder to those of us who are God's errand boys at our local churches. When we preach, we must preach about Jesus...each and every time.

In Christ,
Jay

1st Blog & 2nd Corinthians

Well, here's my world premiere into the Blogosphere! I'm been threatening to do this for sometime now. But finally got around to it.

What's the purpose of this blog? We're going to figure that one out together as we go along. I'm sure much of it will focus on my service at church as Worship Leader and occasional Teaching Pastor. Some will be reflections on my own study of the Bible. Other topics may well include my work as a Documentary Photographer at WRAL-TV, my family, sports, music, books, movies and any other incredibly random stuff that runs through my brain.

Will you care? I'm not sure. It is rather egotistical to think someone might care the least little bit about what I have to say about anything. My wife wonders if I've finally lost it and should move back into my parents' basement and take my Star Wars sheets with me. With that in mind, I'll try to keep it short and, hopefully on some level, thought-provoking, funny and interesting.

Why the goofy name? Well, "Jelly & Jam" is a combination of two things. First of all, my nickname is "Jelly Roll." It came from a friend(?) at work about 20 pounds ago. And "Jam" comes from my love of music and my role as Worship Leader at church.

I've recently jumped into a study of 2nd Corinthians. For those who don't know, this is a letter from a guy named Paul to a church in Corinth (southern Greece) in about 55AD. He wrote several letters to them, but we only have two: the books of the Bible we call 1st and 2nd Corinthians.

In chapter one, Paul writes about how God is the source of all comfort. Not just some or even most comfort. ALL comfort. And he says that God will comfort us during our troubles. You can take it to the bank. But when you read on, it's apparent that it doesn't stop there. He comforts us SO THAT we can comfort others.

In just five verses (2 Corinthians 1:3-7), he uses some form of the Greek word "parakaleo." Most Bibles translate it as "comfort." But it can be just as easily rendered "encourage" (as a verb) or "encouragement" (as a noun). I think this may be the case in this passage. To encourage someone is to literally "put courage in" them. It's to let someone know that they can make it in the tough times.

"Parakaleo" is a brother to the Greek word "paraklete," often used to describe the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. A "paraklete" is one who comes alongside, especially in times of trouble. Putting this all together in the context of what Paul has to say, God comes alongside us in our troubles. In turn we are to come alongside others when they face hard times. Kind of a supernatural "Pay It Forward" thing.

The bottom line would seem to be that when we face hard times, God WILL comfort and encourage us...and He'll do it through other believers.

So as we head into 2008, let's not hoard God's comfort and encouragement to ourselves. Let's be ready to come alongside others who are in desperate need of a friend. Hey, God has comforted you. Now it's time to "Pay It Forward!"

Jay