Dr H Reflections

Trust is learned, not earned ∙

We give you only what you first gave us! – 1 Chronicles 29:14

1 Chronicles 29:14-16

 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!

 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.

 16 O LORD our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you!

What is trust? Trust may be defined as the firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing. Synonyms or near-equivalents of trust are confidence, assurance, faith, reliance, or freedom from suspicion.

How is trust developed? Many believe that trust must be earned. People often begin with the idea that I will trust you if . . .. Yet in the Scriptures, the Father chooses to trust us without consideration of our performance. He freely gives His trust without preconditions.

It seems unnatural and even dangerous for someone to trust another person without first “checking them out.” The Father creates and nurtures our trust in Him by allowing us to know about Him through His Word. He reveals His unfailing love, commitment, power, and strength. As we get to know Him, we can confidently trust Him. For children of the King, faith grows out of their trust in the Father’s character and integrity. It is the natural byproduct.

Near the end of David’s reign, he prepared the way for the nation of Israel to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. David himself was prohibited from building the Temple (1 Chronicles 22:8-10). That task would fall to his son, Solomon. Everything that was needed was gathered together in advance. This required the people of Israel to chip in and part with whatever was required. They gave and gave generously for its construction.

Why did they give freely and generously? They realized that all that they had, came from the Father. David said, “We give you only what you first gave us”! (1 Chronicles 29:14) David and the people were only returning to the Father what they had already received from Him.

Giving back what we have received provides a guideline for cultivating trust. As we are trusted, we are enabled to trust back.

The Father has a remarkable way of developing our trust in Him. He begins by first trusting us.

The Father entrusts us with abilities, talents, gifts, possessions, and for a few, wealth and power. And then He waits to see what we do with them. If we are trustworthy, we attempt to do what we believe is right with what He has given us. Now we may not always do what is right, but the important thing is that we want to do what is right. Our trustworthiness is demonstrated by our actions.

It is easy to trust someone who first trusted me. When we trust, we give. “We give nothing to God that He has not first given to us” (Stanley).

Eventually, we figure out how to become more trusting. We leave behind our immature, natural thinking in exchange for a better way. The reasoning is quite simple.

If the Father trusts me, then I can trust Him.

REFLECT & PRAY

Because the Father first trusted me, my ability to trust was awakened. Now I can fully trust Him.

Father, what a hard lesson to learn. Thank you for teaching me and showing me how to trust. How I long to trust You fully and completely.

INSIGHT

Trust is learned, not earned. Upon reflection, David is reminded that everything good comes from the Father. He learns more about the Father’s nature and purpose. Several questions are asked and answered. What is my relationship with the Father? Who am I? Who are the people of Israel? The Father decided to love David and the nation of Israel. Nothing was done by the people to elicit the Father’s love. It was His sovereign choice.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

 7 The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!

 8 Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors.

David meditates upon Who the Father is, what He is like, and His trustworthiness

1 Chronicles 9:11-13

 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.

 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion, people are made great and given strength.

 13 O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!

If the first part of David’s prayer sounds familiar to many. It is part of the liturgy of many churches: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory.”

David elevates his thoughts to the highest strata of theological grandeur. David is awestruck by a vision of the Father’s glory. David sees and acknowledges the Father’s unequivocal sovereignty, vast power, authority, and regal majesty. David’s acknowledgment is extraordinary. He exudes devotion, awe, and appreciation of the Father’s magnificence and splendor.

For David, the mere sound of the Father’s name was glorious. The Hebrew word translated glorious is tipharah. It connotes an intrinsic sense of beauty, being magnificent and splendid. It is frequently translated as beautiful, magnificent, or adornment.

There is something about the Father’s name that touches and resonates within David’s soul. His name is wonderful. Imagine the scene of David worshiping the Father in prayer. Can we see visualize David spontaneously weeping tears of joy?

How about your eyes?

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Poor giving ∙

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. – Luke 21:1

Luke 21:1-4

 1 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box.

 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

 3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them.

 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”

Remember the “good old days” when you could take your piggy bank filled with coins to the local bank and have them counted out for paper currency? Those days are not completely gone. Enter Coinstar.

Coinstar is a company that provides coin-counting kiosks. Coins are counted and converted into cash, gift cards, or donations to charity. Many major US supermarkets have Coinstar kiosks. You can bring your coins and toss them in. Select your desired exchange option. Clink, clink, cha-ching, cha-ching, and you’re done

In the Jewish temple at the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, there was an area called the treasury. The treasury had thirteen trumpet-shaped collection containers. They were narrow at the top and wider at the bottom.

People would throw their coins into the trumpets. It does not take much imagination to visualize the coins hitting the top and ricocheting their way down making noise as they went. The bigger the offering the louder the noise. Perhaps the phrase, “blowing your own horn” is somehow distantly related to this.

Imagine the impoverished widow with her two coins. She tosses them in, and they almost imperceptibly go, clink, clink, clink. The rich man comes along and tosses in a lot of gelt. Imagine the sound, clunk, clunk, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. It would have been a proud moment indeed.

As the account plays out, the Lord Jesus Christ is watching. He is watching carefully. What does He observe? He sees one person who was extremely rich and another who was extremely poor. They are both doing the same thing, giving. Most observers would probably focus on the impressive, attention-grabbing, grand offering of the rich man. But the Lord Jesus Christ instead focuses on the poor widow. His words provide insight into the Father’s perspective regarding giving. What matters is not the size of the gift, but the size of the giver’s heart.

What is the motivation behind their giving? The why is more important than the what. The why reveals what makes giving poor or valued. What matters? It is not what we would naturally think. It is normal to be impressed with the size of a gift, with little regard to the personal sacrifice that went into it. The Father is not impressed by the size of gifts. But instead, He evaluates the attitude of the giver’s heart.

In doing so, the Father turns everything on Its head. What really matters is not how much someone gives away, but rather how much someone keeps. When we realize this, it should provoke a searching, somewhat humbling self-evaluation.

Two things determine the value of any gift. First, the spirit in which it is given. Good gifts are the inevitable outflow of a loving heart. The second is the sacrifice which it involves. That which is a mere trifle to one person may be a vast sum to another. The gifts of the rich did not really cost them much, but the gift of the widow cost her everything she had (Barclay).

Some people give because they cannot help it. There is a kind of reckless generosity at work. Others minutely calculate precise percentages to obtain their appropriate amount.

“No one has ever become poor by giving” (Anne Frank). Yet, people can become impoverished by not giving. 

REFLECT & PRAY

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness” (Martin Luther King, Jr).

Father encourage me to follow the example of the poor widow and be wise and generous in my giving.

INSIGHT

Giving is not merely about money. It is also about time, caring, listening, sharing, nurturing, and being interested in and responding to the needs of others. In the Torah, the five books of Moses, the Father laid out principles of sharing. One of His principles is the practice of gleaning.

Leviticus 19:9-10

 9 When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop.

 10 It is the same with your grape crop – do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you

Gleaning is all about sharing the harvest. It is not about giving away the farm.

Giving generously is a skill that can be learned. We can learn to give generously, yet not give away the farm. Paul lays out principles in a matter-of-fact way on how to achieve this. As the Father prospers us, we share out of our abundance. In modern terms, we generously give out of our abundance, without diminishing our principal.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

 6 Remember this – a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

“Paul’s emphasis falls on the value of advanced planning and preparation rather than last-minute scrambling and the resultant pressure” (Ciampa and Rosner). Good giving is planned giving. There was to be “No pressure, no gimmicks, no emotion” (Garland). As the Father provides success or prosperity, we are to set aside a portion of it for providing for others. The greater the abundance, the greater our ability to give. “Although he does not say as much, such a plan will also ensure a greater gift than a single collection” (Fee).

Each of us should set aside a portion of what we have received as a result of the Father’s blessing (1 Corinthians 16:2).

In the first century A.D., there were no paychecks or direct deposits. People that could, earned money through labor, farming, fishing, etc. Some weeks, or even seasons, there may be an abundance. At other times there may be nothing at all. Many of the children of the King were slaves and had no income.

Again, what matters is not the size of the gift, but the size of the giver’s heart.

Luke 18:27 “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

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I want to be alone

He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He began to teach them many things. – Mark 6:34

Matthew 14:13-14

 13 Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a lonely place by Himself; and when the multitudes heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
 14 And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.

Greta Garbo was perhaps most remembered for her famous quote was “I want to be alone.” In 2005, the American Film Institute voted it to be the 30th most memorable movie quote of all time. It is derived from the 1932 Hollywood film Grand Hotel.

She speaks these words, first pathetically to her maid and manager, “I want to be alone.” She then repeats herself then as a plaintive cry; and, finally, as a futile declaration to a stranger, “I just want to be alone.”  

Garbo made a practice of shunning reporters, premieres, and fan mail during her career. According to an article in LIFE magazine in 1955, she clarified, “I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’”  “I only said, ‘I want to be let alone!’ There is all the difference.”

A portrait was made by C.S. Bull to promote Garbo’s film, Mata Hari. It became one of the most recognized “Garbo” images. Her hands frame her face, hair beautifully pulled back and her eyes looking slightly down. It epitomizes her image as being in her own world, distant, dignified, a true goddess in her solitude . . .  alone.

When difficult circumstances occur, some people want to be alone and regroup. While others want to find consolation with others. At this point in the Gospel of Matthew, a disappointing and seemingly tragic event occurred. John the Baptist had been executed by Herod Antipas. Even though He knew it was destined to happen, for the Lord Jesus Christ, John’s death, humanly speaking, was a great loss. They were cousins and no doubt knew each other growing up. Before John knew that the Lord Jesus Christ was the son of God, he was reluctant to baptize Him (Matthew 3:13-17).

Matthew 14:13 Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew . . . to a remote area to be alone.

Matthew 14:13 when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him . . .
 

The Lord Jesus Christ, as the God-man, was undiminished deity and perfect humanity in one person. In this account, His humanity is clearly on display. Jesus would frequently seek to be alone and pray (Matthew 14:23). Being alone with the Father was a time of reflection, comfort, guidance, and focus. “The day’s events . . . sent Jesus to find solace in communion with his Father” (Chouinard).

“Jesus spent a good deal of His time alone with God in prayer. He made this a practice not only to make requests of His Father, but even more to stay in close fellowship with Him and enjoy His company” (Stanley).

The multitudes did the next best thing, they sought to be in the presence of the one who could comfort them, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. As a result, the solitude that He was seeking eluded Him.

The narrative provides a rare glimpse of the emotions of the Lord Jesus Christ and what motivated His actions. He observed the plight of the multitude and recognized their determined efforts to be in His presence. They were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34).

He was moved with compassion. He had compassion “his heart was filled with pity” literally means “his insides were stirred up” (UBS).

This is intended as a teachable moment for the disciples and through them, us. If we are to understand the person and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ and follow after him in service, “we must learn to see the ‘crowds’ through the eyes of Jesus, and take personal responsibility for their needs” (Chouinard).

REFLECT & PRAY

The Lord Jesus Christ often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16). Recall that Jesus had no home of His own during His public ministry as Messiah. He had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). To be alone, He had to withdraw from people.

Father, it is so easy to put off having a special time with You. Help me to reconfigure my thinking so that you are part of my daily routine.

INSIGHT

If the Lord Jesus Christ needed time alone to be a part with the Father, how much more does each child of the King?

These periods of being alone with the Father to pray and meditate on the Scripture have come to be called quiet times. Following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to withdraw from the busyness and clutter of the world to a secluded spot to have intimate communion with the Father. Such a spot should be comfortable and without distractions. We do not have to go anywhere to do this. We simply set aside a place where we live, wherever we can be uninterrupted. What is ideal is a solitary, silent location where there would be no interruptions from family members, media, or cell phones.

This is where we meet with the Father one-on-one. Typically, it involves reading a portion of Scripture, reflection, and prayer. Often, the Father provides guidance and direction for what lies ahead. The length of the quiet time is flexible. But we should allow ourselves enough time to meditate on what we read and pray about it, along with anything else that comes to mind. A large number of us have daily routines that we follow when we wake up in the morning. Our quiet time with the Father simply becomes one more component of our daily morning activities.

Do not expect to have instant, mature quiet times or results. Like any relationship and effort worth doing, it takes repetition and practice. But once it becomes a regular habit, and we experience the delight of “face time” with the Father, it becomes something we eagerly look forward to. If we are too busy to spend time alone with the Father, we are too busy! We need to consider revising our priorities and scheduling.

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The Father shakes His children

This phrase, “Yet once more,” means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. – Hebrews 12:27

Hebrews 12:25-29

 25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”

 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken – that is, things that have been made – in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

The Richter scale, developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter, ranges from 1 to 10. It indicates the intensity of an earthquake. The vast majority of earthquakes have magnitudes between 1 and 5 and are quite minor. Earthquakes with magnitudes 5.0–5.9 are moderate, 6.0–6.9 are strong with moderate damage in populated areas, 7.0–7.9 are major with serious damage over large areas, loss of life, and 8.0 and higher are considered great, with severe destruction and loss of life over large areas. The most powerful earthquake ever recorded with a magnitude of 8.4 on the Richter scale occurred on May 22, 1960 in Valdivia, Chile.

Earthquakes have been around since the beginning of history. They seem to be getting more frequent and violent in our days.

What is now called the Ridgecrest Earthquake Sequence, began on July 5, 2019. Ridgecrest, California was struck with a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. The next day July 6, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred with over 1000 aftershocks. Ridgecrest is basically in the middle of nowhere, also known as the Mojave Desert, 123 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The amount of destruction was small due to the low population density. Some buildings collapsed. There were several water line and gas line breaks, that resulted in power outages and fires.

In California, shaking from earthquakes is a way of life. In the Scriptures, when the Father is literally present on earth, there is often shaking. The earth and even the mountains often tremble.

Exodus 19:18 Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

Psalms 68:8 The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

The Father wants to draw us close to Him and transform us from the inside out. One of the methods He uses is “shaking.” He has a way of shaking what we hold on to until we finally let go. It is much better to be drawn by the desire for the joys of a close relationship with the Father, than driven. The Father is persistent and will continue to shake. It is better to release sooner than later. He has a way of shaking His children until we let go.

Shaking as a way of changing things. Older things are shaken loose and replaced by newer ones. Things that are secure and immovable withstand the trembling going on about them. Shaking is a part of the refining process.

REFLECT & PRAY

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose!” (Jim Elliot)

Father I have certainly felt your grip upon me, it is firm but gentle. I know that You seek only my best. You are at work to conform me into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

INSIGHT

Better times are coming. After the fall of Adam and Eve, the Earth became a fallen world. One day everything will change. The author of Hebrews, quotes Haggai 2:6. It prophesies concerning that time in the future and when the Lord will return and fill His house with bright shine of the glory of His presence. At Mount Sinai, the Father shook the earth. In the future He will shake the earth and the heavens. A time of judgment and vindication is coming. The kingdom of God of which the prophets spoke, will one day become a reality on planet Earth. And the Lord Jesus Christ rule and reign peacefully for a thousand years (Revelation 20).

Haggai 2:6-9

 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.

 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.

 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.

 9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place, I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.

As we draw ever closer to the time of the Second Coming, the shaking will increase. What the Father has predicted, He will surely bring to pass. Everything in the world, everything made belongs to the Father. He is in control.

The Father will continue to shake until all that can be shaken and removed is. What remains will be unshakable. As the Father actively shakes the world and those who are His children, we can be confident and secure. His ultimate goal is complete transformation.  

Envision for a moment, Michelangelo carefully, determinedly chipping away the large, solid piece of marble until all that is left is the magnificent statue of David. He removed what was necessary to reveal what only his genius could see locked away within the marble.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Others may be frightened by the upheavals, but it is our privilege to walk confidently in the light with our Father, buoyed up and invigorated by His grace and strength.

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What do you have that you did not receive?

What do you have that God hasn’t given you? – 1 Corinthians 4:7

1 Corinthians 4:1-7

 1 So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries.

 2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

 3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.

 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

 5 So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time – before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

 6 Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.

 7 For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

To achieve the Father’s kingdom goals on earth requires collaboration. The Father has chosen to use groups or teams of His children to accomplish His purposes. Team players with strong teamwork skills are required to make this happen. A team player is someone who cares more about helping a group or team to succeed than about his or her individual success. Team players understand that their team’s success is their own success. This is seen in team sports such as football, hockey, soccer, and basketball.

In the Father’s kingdom, team players are genuinely committed to the task that the Father assigned to them and to one another.

Paul was a great team player as well as a team builder. He did not talk down to others. He was able to put himself in their place and share their feelings and emotions. His purpose was to fulfill the Father’s game plan: to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). He shared the gospel and grounded children of the King in the faith.

Paul was always at work bringing people into a closer relationship with the living God. Paul exhorted and coached others. He primarily provided information rather than condemnation. But when necessary he was willing to confront. “Paul had a wonderfully courteous way of including himself in his own warnings and his own condemnations” (Barclay).

REFLECT & PRAY

“All gifts and advantages come from God. They are special graces from God. We do not earn or deserve them. An understanding of the grace of God puts an end to pride” (Richison).

Father, I recognize that all I have and all I am is a sheer gracious gift from You. Foster within me an attitude of gratitude.

INSIGHT

Being puffed up and arrogant have no place in the Father’s kingdom or on the Father’s team. Paul confronts the Corinthians regarding their perceived special status. Paul “punctures their inflated view of themselves with a series of questions: Who? What? Why?” (Garland).

1 Corinthians 4:7 can be translated in various ways.

For who makes you different from anyone else? (NIV)

Who regards you as superior? (NAS)

For who makes you so superior? (HCSB)

For who sees anything different in you? (ESV)

Who defines you (Thiselton)?

The sentence has two parts. The first part is the answer to the question, Who is responsible. This in turn has two answers. One is correct, the other not so much.

Ultimately, the Father is responsible, He has decided. Each child of the King is different from everyone else and He endowed them with certain unique characteristics, abilities, talents, appearance, and the like. He defined them!

Yet on the other hand, many of the Corinthians were self-identifying themselves as superior. They were filled with arrogance and pride.

Why would they think of themselves in this way? What could possibly make them superior or special? Paul’s answer is their distinguishing attributes, features, strengths, virtues, etc.

But none of these factors are things that they have done for themselves. Rather everything they have; they have received from the Father. How can they possibly boast about something that was given to them as a free gift of pure grace? “Nothing is inherently theirs, so they cannot be arrogant and boastful” (Marshall). “All is of grace; nothing is deserved, nothing earned” (Fee). That is Paul’s point.

All children of the King are very special to Him. The Father is the source of their life and forgiveness in Christ. But that does not make them superior to others. The Corinthians are guilty of being presumptuous and ungrateful. “For them to be puffed up one against another effectively denies that God is the one who has given them all things” (Garland).

“In an ultimate sense, human arrogance makes very little sense, because we never accomplish anything except by using the gifts, talent, energy, inspiration – and even breath – that God gives to us” (Stanley).

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