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Rich or Wealthy?

8/17/2012

This morning an interesting interview on the radio brought up the subject of wealthy people. The person responded that people may be rich, but not wealthy. He defined rich as having material means to have a lifestyle above the average population. Wealth, he described as having the ability to reproduce riches over a long period of time.

He said lottery winners and professional athletes are rich, but not always wealthy. Many have their riches consumed by maintaining a high standard of living. Professional boxers have come out of retirement because their riches are gone and their sport is viewed as the only means to earn more money. Lottery winners return to gamboling in hopes of getting lucky again. Business men and women may not appear rich, but are wealthy because they re-invest their earnings into their business or other successful businesses and generate more money.

Two kings in the Bible made statements that sound like boasts or over-exaggerations:
Esther 5:3
Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
Mark 6:23
And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

Consider their words if they were given from a position of wealth. Each king knew that if they gave away half of their riches they had the ability with the remaining half to build it back to their current wealth. These kings had the skill, ability, and leadership to generate income.

Why do you think these statements were included in the Bible?
They were part of a narrative that had implications that were not centered on their wealth. It was centered on the authority each king had to grant grand requests. Queen Esther made a request regarding the safety of her people. Herodias, through her daughter, made a request for the death of John the baptizer.

The Holy Spirit gives each believer spiritual gifts. One of the gifts is the gift of giving.
Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

God gives people the ability to be wealthy, so they have an authority to give away up to half their kingdom, their riches and be confident that they can use what remains to build it back up, so they can use their spiritual gift to give more.

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Olympic Coaches and Spiritual Mentors

8/8/2012

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The 2012 Summer Olympics held in London captures my attention and draws me in to the point that I stay up late watching the events. The stories of dedication by the athletes are inspiring. They devote hours of hard work each day honing their skills in their sports. Some have a team of athletes they practice and work out with leading up to the Olympics. Some athletes moved from their home allowing them to be trained by the best coaches in the world.

The impact and relationship the coach has with the individual athlete is evident during the competitions and when the athlete finishes well. Over the months and often years together, the coach knows what is best for the athlete when they are under pressure to perform their best. Their words and instructions are measured to propel them to their highest level. When the athlete’s performance is over, they bring stability during the anxious moments awaiting the finish time or judges scores. They celebrate and affirm their accomplishments. Then they step back and allow the athlete to fully savor the moment.

What would your performance level as a follower of Jesus Christ do if you placed yourself under the best spiritual mentor in your area? What if you had a team of highly dedicated Christians that you met with each day and spiritually worked out together? What if you spent hours of hard work each day honing your spiritual gifts?

Young Jewish boys pursued this spiritual development before and during the time of Jesus. Parent began their children’s spiritual training, but by age five or six, Jewish boys would spend at least half a day, six days each week for about five years studying in the synagogue. By age ten they would have memorized the Torah which was the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The best students would continue on and from the ages of 10-14 would memorize the remaining Hebrew Scriptures. The best of the best would present themselves to a well-known, respected Rabbi and ask to become a disciple of him. If accepted, the student would leave his home to be trained by the best spiritual mentor in the area.

It is amazing to consider the volume of spiritual knowledge they gained through die-hard dedication. It is tragic to know that many Rabbis and their students did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God written about in the Hebrew Scriptures they had memorized.

The Olympics can inspire us to pursue God more intentionally and intensely. There are benefits of pursuing Jesus Christ with a group of Christians on the same pursuit. Having a mature follower of Jesus as a spiritual mentor can cause your gifts to develop that are more effectively used to honor the Lord. The best spiritual mentor will pursue transformation rather than simply an increase of information.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

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The Toilet at the Foot of the Bed

8/3/2012

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We have a toilet at the foot of our bed. Initially, I was tripping over it and stubbing my toe on it in the early morning darkness of my stumbling around wake up mode. The toilet does not belong at the foot of the bed. It is there because the bathroom is in its final stage of “freshening up”.

My wife and I emptied out the bathroom, putting most of the items in our bedroom temporarily. I patched up the dings and sheetrock screw pops. The toilet came out last minute in order to do some repair spackling behind the water closet and make it easier to paint. The room is taped for painting and all that remains is the painting.

Five weeks later, my keen senses have learned that if I walk or stumble close to the foot of the bed I will stub my foot once again on the toilet. It does not belong at the foot of the bed. You will be invited to the party we will have when the toilet returns to the bathroom.

The Bible does not talk about toilets in bedrooms, but it does talk about the disarray that comes when people are not living out of their gifts and passion. The Bible compares it to a part of the body that quits because it feels it is not important.

1 Corinthians 12:14-27
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

Our toilet does not belong at the foot of the bed, but in the room where it can properly function. You and I do not belong on the sidelines not contributing and getting stumbled upon because we are out of place. Each of us has a vital role to perform and play in our world.

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A Powerful, Quiet Gift

7/18/2012

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There is a spiritual gift of hospitality that does not seem to get as much attention as the demonstrative gifts such as teaching, preaching, or prophesying. The gift of hospitality is a powerful gift that is amazing to see in action. I am writing this from Tremont, Illinois at the home where Rachel and the team has been the recipient of the gift of hospitality from Stan and Jeannie over the past eleven months.

We made it from Minnesota to Illinois with one cooler (see previous blog “Packing Light”) and four of us in a five passenger car. Rachel looked at how full the back was and gave real wonder if all her luggage would fit. I reassured her that the straps I brought would resolve any space limitations.

Stan and Jeannie made us feel very welcomed and showed us to “our rooms”. Each room was not only made up with clean sheets and towels, but had bottled water, snacks, and extra toiletries in case we forgot to bring toothpaste, toothbrush or anything else.

The couple hosted a get together yesterday evening with the parents of each of the A4 interns and some of the staff that instructed and worked with the interns. Each table had a white tablecloth, cookies and treats that made the setting special. Barbecued brats, burgers and side dishes filled our plates and stomachs.

Stan and Jeannie feel that the things they have are from the Lord and should be used for kingdom purposes. They use the extra rooms in their home to host pastors, missionaries, A4 teams, grandchildren and others who need a place to stay.

Our church has people with the wonderful gift of hospitality and they do not even know it! They make people feel at ease and welcomed the moment they step in the door. Their greatest joy is sharing the things God has given them. They do not realize the power and grace their gift of hospitality brings into the lives of the people they touch. Rachel and the team have been so saturated with Stan and Jeannie’s gift of hospitality that now it overflows from their life.

Romans 12:13
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

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Family Reunions

7/16/2012

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Yesterday I enjoyed two special family reunions. My mother’s families get together every year for the Larson family reunion. This year was a little bigger because it coincided with Aunt Carole’s 80th birthday. Uncle Burt came up from Florida and was sporting a cap with long grey locks that matched his real grey hair well. Denny and Shirley came from Los Angeles; Dorothy and Dick from Seattle; Larry and Gail from Fargo and my mother rounded out the surviving brothers and sisters of Carole.

There were first, second and third cousins that sometimes required a brief family background to connect the relationships. A smaller group of cousins who live in the area get together on a regular basis every month.

While it is enjoyable to see family and catch up with one another, the highlight of every family reunion is new faces and new births. New family members get center stage at every family reunion. Babies are passed around until they are put down for naps, need changing or feeding. Engaged couples and newly married couples are welcomed into the family with a crash course of family trees that seem to go back to the Mayflower.

Before the Larson reunion was a special family reunion that we celebrate a couple times each week. My spiritual family gets together each Sunday to celebrate God’s goodness in our lives. Smaller groups called Life Groups, meet during the week for the purpose of growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ and with one another.

While it is enjoyable to see my spiritual family and catch up with one another, the highlight of every Sunday celebration and Life Group discipleship is new faces and new births.

A couple who had been driving over 50 miles to church was looking for a church family closer to their home and was led by God to come to River of Life. God’s directing was very evident in the circumstances of their first visit and following times of joining in worship. The husband and wife made intentional steps of visiting and participating in certain activities to get to know this new family. They attended our “River Headwaters” class which lets people know our church’s history, core beliefs, and vision.

Yesterday, we celebrated their decision to become active partners at River of Life. We describe partnership as an ownership in the ministry. If a member of a golf club hears that the clubhouse is leaking, it is not his problem. However, if she or he is a partner in the business and the clubhouse is leaking, it is their concern and problem.

On Sunday, we publicly welcomed them into the church family, they signed a pledge committing to protect the unity of their church, share the responsibility of their church, serve the ministry of their church and support the testimony of their church.

The best part was the prayers of the other partners. The couple was surrounded by their church family and expressions of thanks were given to the Lord that they were led to our church. Thanks and acknowledgment of the spiritual gifts and strengths they have been given that our church family needs were expressed in prayer. Also, a responsibility that we have as a family to encourage, support and uphold them and each other as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

I know of no other organization or families that welcome, receive, and bless new family members like the local church!

Ephesians 4:15-17 (NLT)
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

How was your family reunion on Sunday?

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Softball and Spiritual Gifts

6/13/2012

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Our church has a softball team and after each practice or game a person gives a short talk that helps us grow in our relationship with God. Kendal, our coach, talked about spiritual gifts. He highlighted that a softball team needs all the players performing well at their position. Each position is valuable and dependent on one another. If a player is missing and the position is open or is playing hurt, the whole team suffers. The whole team benefits when a player performs well.

He noted that one of the players has played every softball position over the years of playing competitive softball and on various league teams. Kendal is learning a new position at short-stop this year and doing great. He said that he learns something every game and practice.

He then said that it is the same with spiritual gifts. God gives each Christian spiritual gifts for doing things well as a “team”. Each person is valuable and dependent on one another. The more you use your gift, the more you learn. The more you learn the more proficient you become. There are Christians that God has used in different roles and have functioned in different gifts.

Kendal noted that a letter written to Christians in Rome is included in the Bible, the book of Romans. In Romans chapter 12, the author Paul writes about spiritual gifts.
Romans 12:4-8
4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

What gift or gifts as God given you and what ways does He have you using them?
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Rich or Wealthy?

Olympic Coaches and Spiritual Mentors

The Toilet at the Foot of the Bed

A Powerful, Quiet Gift

Family Reunions

Softball and Spiritual Gifts

Mark Radeke

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