There is more than money involved in the story of the Widow’s Mite (Mark 12:41-44). It is a principle of life. It is the very heart of stewardship based on grace. All I am is His. As a redeemed person God owns it all. There is nothing in my life that does not first belong to Him. “For God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God because He owns it.” (1 Corinthians 6:20). If you are owned by Christ, that means your body, your mind, your time, your will, your talent and your material assets all belong to Christ. You belong to another and you own nothing. God owns it all.

The rich had given much, but it really cost them nothing for it was merely the “overflow” of their lavish accounts. The widow’s gift cost her everything––”her whole livelihood”. This lesson of Christ is vitally significant for us. God measures our giving not by how much we give, but by how much we have left over after we give! Grace giving is sacrificial giving. It is giving until it hurts.

Sacrificial giving has a kind of recklessness about it. It holds nothing back. It has learned to give as God gave to us. The greatest example is His Son (Philippians 2:5-8).

This attitude toward grace giving is at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It bids us come and surrender to Christ and trust Him with every need, every care, and every provision in life. It is total absolute trust in Him. “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Our day is no different than in Jesus’ day. Jesus warned against the craving to be somebody. The religious leaders wanted to be prominent, honored and wealthy. They lived for appearance, performance and status in life. Jesus rebuked their sham. He condemned religion for profit and gain. He was opposed to what-You-can-do-for-me, and what-can-I-get-out-of-it religion.

It has never entered most of our minds what God can do with us if we choose to surrender ourselves unreservedly to Him. Are you willing to abandon yourself to Him?

Robert Arthington of Leeds, a Cambridge graduate, lived in a single room, cooked his own meals and gave to foreign missions over approximately 2.5 million dollars. He wrote this, “Gladly would I make the floor my bed, a box my chair, and another box my table, rather than that men should perish for want of the knowledge of Christ.”

The man or woman who deeply desires to please the Lord will evidence this true spirituality by sacrificial giving, for their attitude will be the same as David’s in 2 Samuel 24:24: “. . . nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing” (WIL POUNDS)

Jesus and His disciples come to Nazareth after a series of amazing healing miracles. The disciples of Jesus must have been in a state of euphoria. What an amazing tour this was! There was the calming of the sea when they were stunned and exclaimed, “Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Then the healing of the Gerasene demoniac, the woman with the haemorrhage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. They must surely have felt that the kingdom would come swiftly. How wonderful it was to be on the winning team.

Then came Nazareth. The townspeople of Nazareth were surprised that this “local lad” was teaching and doing all that He was. “Why – isn’t this Mary’s Son? Doesn’t He work with His hands just as we do? He’s nobody special.”

Jesus is amazed at the response. Interesting statement for Mark to make. Jesus taught frequently about His ultimate rejection and crucifixion which would come at the hands of His opposition – so how is He “amazed”? This provides wonderful insight into Jesus’ humanity and His identification with us. There is a sense in which we can know something is going to take place, but when it happens, we are still amazed. It is not so much that Jesus did not expect the rejection – but it is startling when people who had been a part of His upbringing suddenly take this great offense at Him.

One of the barriers we will face when we enter our world as sent persons is the unbelief of the world. Even Jesus is amazed at the unbelief of the people in His hometown. There is more than unbelief in our world. We will also encounter resistance to the whole message of Christ. Jesus’ hometown folk not only did not believe, “…they took offense at Him.”

There has been a progression in the Western world particularly with respect to the Christian faith. We’ve moved from a culture that was friendly to Christianity, to one that is neutral to Christianity, to a time when much of the culture is unfriendly to Christianity. Have you ever noticed that it is okay to refer to God in our society, or even to Buddha or Mohammed – but often, people take offence if the name of Jesus is mentioned. If you take seriously the fact that you are one of the sent ones of Christ, you will encounter resistance.

But Jesus’ teaching mission goes on, and in some ways this event in Nazareth is a “reality check” for the disciples. Not everyone is going to be thrilled with the ministry of Christ, and ultimately with the ministry of Christ’s followers. They are commissioned and sent out into the real world where they must bring the ministry and message of Jesus Christ to everyone. Some will receive and some will not receive – but all must hear and witness the call of God to repent and believe the Good News. (JOHN JEWELL)

“I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will …say…”
(Habakkuk 2:1, GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION)

The short book of Habakkuk opens with the prophet pouring out his complaint to the Lord about wickedness and injustice in the land. He sees the godly getting ripped off and violence everywhere. God answers Habakkuk, but the answer troubles the prophet even more, for God says that He is raising up the cruel Babylonians to bring judgment on His people, who have strayed far away from Him, and that the Babylonian hordes will swoop in to devour without mercy. This sets off the prophet, as he pours out his second complaint to God, saying, “How can you, a holy God, send an unholy people to bring punishment on your people?” He doesn’t understand what God is doing; nevertheless, he ends his lament with the following words: “I will climb my watchtower and wait to see what the Lord will say.”

When we don’t know what’s happening around us, when we’re pouring out our hearts to God but nothing is making sense, we’ve got to get up in a watchtower and wait to see what God tells us. Because life many times does not make sense! It overruns every little formula and verse we think we’ve learned. One of the things God says in answer to Habakkuk is, “But the righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). What Habakkuk learns and teaches us is that we have to trust God even when everything around us doesn’t make sense—even when we don’t understand what God is doing! Faith comes into its full bloom and is most pleasing to God when we don’t know why whatever is happening is happening, but we say, like Job, “Though God slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

If this is a confusing time in your life though you have prayed and asked God to speak to you through His Word, do as Habakkuk did: get alone and wait for God; watch for Him and see what He will say to you. He will honor your faith and your trust in Him. (JIM CYMBALA)

We shower daily, while others bathe in dirty rivers occasionally.

We eat three meals a day, plus unneeded snacks, while others starve.

We sleep warm and soundly while others can never rest.

We have closets filled with unworn clothing, while others wear all they have each day.

We have extended families, while others live alone.

We own homes, sometimes more than one, while others are homeless.

We enjoy safety, while others live with death, war, and violence daily.

We work or change jobs, while others beg for minimal survival.

We travel extensively and freely, while others live their whole lives where they were born.

We attend schools and continuing education, while others suffer illiteracy.

We make and protect retirement plans, while others die far too early in poverty.

We have extensive medical systems, while others have no health care and die early.

Unlike millions around the world, we are inordinately blessed, tempted to assume our rights to these gifts, even to fighting for them, and frequently misusing these privileges which are on loan from God. (PETE HAMMOND)

In Matthew 25:31-46, the righteous weren’t even aware they’d been compassionate and that they were serving Jesus, because it was a natural outflow of their faith. They weren’t trying to earn their way to heaven; they were just doing what Christians do. That’s because people saved by God and changed by God start loving what God loves and doing what God does. A big part of that is responding to those in need—not to gain heaven because we have heaven; not to get saved because we are saved. The point of Matthew 25:31-46 is not to scare people into serving the poor, but that serving the poor is a significant part of what it means to love God and love others. (EAGLE BROOK CHURCH)

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Who are the least of these in your community?

• How do you serve the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned?

• Is it duty-bound, or is it a natural outflow of your faith?

It is clear from this that Christians are expected to experience suffering. Those who think that becoming a Christian will remove them from suffering have been seriously misled, for the Scriptures themselves teach that we are to expect suffering.

The Greek word for suffering is translated as “tribulation, something that causes distress.” It can range from minor annoyances that we go through every day, to major disasters that come sweeping down out of the blue and leave us stricken and smitten. These are the sufferings that we might go through, the tribulations.

According to Romans 5, the Christian response to suffering is to rejoice: “Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings.” Here is where many people balk. They say, “I can’t buy that! Do you mean to say that God is telling me that when I am hurting and in pain, I am expected to be glad and rejoice in that? That is not human, not natural!”

How do you get to the place where you can rejoice in suffering? Paul’s answer is, “We rejoice in suffering because we know…” What do we know? Paul says, “Knowing that suffering produces…” Suffering does something, accomplishes something. It is productive. We know it works, and that is what makes us rejoice. Watch a woman in labor. You can’t help but feel deeply hurt with her because she is going through such pain. And yet, there usually is joy in the midst of it because she knows that childbirth produces children. There are many women who will gladly go through childbirth because they want a child. Suffering produces something worthwhile.

Then what does suffering produce? Paul says there are three things that suffering produces: First, suffering produces perseverance. The Greek word literally means “to abide under, to stay under the pressure.” Pressure is something we want to get out from under, but suffering teaches us to stay under, to stick in there and hang with it. The best translation I can think of is the English word steadiness. Suffering produces steadiness.

Second, steadiness produces character. The Greek word for character carries with it the idea of being put to the test and approved. It is the idea of being shown to be reliable. You finally learn that you are not going to be destroyed, that things will work out. People start counting on you. They see strength in you, and you become a more reliable person.

Third, we find that reliability produces something. Reliability produces hope. The hope is that we will share the glory of God, which is God’s character. We have the hope that God is producing the image of Christ in us. This hope is a certainty, not just a possibility. We are being changed. We are becoming more like Jesus. We can see that we are more thoughtful, more compassionate, more loving. We are being mellowed. We are becoming like Christ — stronger, wiser, purer, more patient. He is transforming us into the image of His Son. (RAY STEDMAN)

In Mark 5:21-43, we have one story and two miracles. One miracle is in favour of a socially and religiously prominent official, the other for a ‘nobody’. One of our characters in the miracle story has a name (Jarius) the other is unnamed. One made a request in faith for a healing, while the other, in fear, ‘stole’ a healing in faith. Never have two narratives been married so beautifully to instill faith, and cast out fear.

The miracle stories sandwiched one into the other, give us an insight into the revolutionary social mind of Jesus which knew no boundaries. Jesus was touched by a haemorrhaging woman and He himself touched a dead girl; two ritually impure strike outs for Jesus as per Jewish law. Yet, He is least ‘afraid’ of external norms and looks for faith, and encourages faith in both seekers.

In the narrative of the haemorrhaging woman, she is declared faithful by Jesus, “your faith has made you well.” In the other case, Jairus is encouraged to retain his faith, even in the face of death, “Do not fear, only believe.” The first is descriptive, the second prescriptive. Mark, in his Gospel constantly brings out the themes of fear and faith, and fear in faith.

Jesus has just returned from driving out a legion of demons from a man in Gentile territory. The response of the people of the village was fear, even though they recognized a miracle in faith. Yet they ask Him to leave their country. The woman in this story has faith yet she fears that her touch would pollute Jesus, rendering Him impure, or perhaps the fear that her faith was not strong enough. Then there is the faltering faith of Jairus, who has just been told that his daughter has passed away and is obviously in fear, prompting Jesus to boost his fearful faith with the words, “do not fear, only believe” (faith).

The woman fears doctors whom she had to deal with for twelve long years, doctors at whose hands she ‘suffered’, and who rendered her penniless with no respite for her condition. Yet it is the fear of more suffering, that drives her to faith in this Rabbi, Jesus.

It is with fear that the woman admits her faith healing. From her, the discharge of blood had been healed, while from Him ‘power’ has been discharged. Jesus may have not known “who,” was the cause of His power being discharged, but the woman certainly knows “what” caused the power to be discharged. With her fear being replaced by faith she went from being a ‘woman’ to becoming a ‘daughter’ and while the daughter was being acclaimed for her faith, another daughter was lost, only to be raised in faith.

Today, where do you need to experience Jesus? Is there something that you are holding back in fear? Whatever it is, Jesus can bring healing to that situation if you will seek Him. Allow your fear to melt into faith. (FR WARNER D’SOUZA)

The Bible describes God as One who is sovereign. But what does that really mean? As I investigated further, I learned that God makes numerous claims about Himself in the Bible and points to Himself as the ultimate source of all power, authority, and everything that exists. God claims to be the King, not just of this planet, but also of the entire universe.

He is without equal: He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, without limitation in any way. He is outside of time. He is infinite. He had no beginning and He has no end. He is the ruler of everything.

He existed before anything else and He holds all creation together. (Colossians 1:17)

When I think of God’s sovereignty, the phrase I like best is that “God is in control.” And that’s such a comfort. Here’s why. When a loved one lies in a hospital bed, God is in control. When we think of our most difficult times with a child, God is in control. When a close friend is in ICU, God is in control. When the economy — national or personal — is on a slide, God is in control.

God’s sovereignty means that there isn’t anything that will enter your life that God does not either decree or allow. And nothing will ever enter your life that, if you are willing to trust in Him, He cannot work out for your good.

In light of this, how do you typically respond when things are out of your control, when stuff happens you don’t like but can’t do anything about?

When you’re in a jam and you need to ask God for something in prayer — are you aware of whom you’re talking to? The One to whom you pray has power over the entire universe, over every single atom, and yet He is infinitely loving and He cares about you. That’s whom you’re talking to.

That’s also why we worship Him.

God is more powerful, more loving, and more in control than we’ve ever imagined. The more we begin to see God as He longs for us to see Him, the more our prayers will change and our faith will be transformed. We will experience peace like never before. (CHIP INGRAM)

Storms do not worry Jesus. He’s right there with us during them, but He’s perfectly calm about them. He isn’t terrified; He isn’t impatient; He isn’t worried. In fact, He’s so calm, He’s asleep. To us, He seems to have failed to attend to His responsibility to protect
us. We wonder why on earth He doesn’t get up and do something. We start to wonder whether He even knows the trouble we’re in. Whether He cares. Whether He even can do anything about it. Whether He’s really all He’s cracked up to be.

Like the disciples, we believe He’s there. In the disciples’ case, they could actually see Him lying there asleep. We don’t have that luxury. We believe He’s there, but most of the time He seems just as asleep as He was during the storm that day on the Sea of Galilee. The psalmist had the same lament in Psalm 44:23-24: “Awake, Lord! Why do You sleep? Rouse Yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do You hide Your face and forget our misery and oppression?”

The not-so-obvious lesson is that Jesus was just as much in control, and the disciples were just as safe in His hands, while He was asleep as while He was awake. Most of the time, life seems like a relentless voyage from one storm to the next. At least it does for me, and I expect it’s the same for you. One thing I’ve learned about myself is that during storms I’m usually a scared rabbit just like Jesus’ disciples were.

But I’m also learning that I can take heart in knowing that Jesus isn’t scared, and He isn’t depressed. He might be asleep, or He might not be, but either way, like the song says, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” Even if He doesn’t wake up and quiet the storm, I’m safe with Him. And if He does wake up and quiet the storm, He’s probably going to say: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

And I can live with that.

Reflection:

 Does it sometimes seem that God is ignoring you when you need Him most?
 Has a trial you’ve gone through made you stronger spiritually?
 Do you feel that Jesus should keep you from going through trials?
 When was your faith most tested?
 Why does God let us suffer trials if He loves us? (J. MICHAEL FEAZELL)