Deeper Still by phil mccallum | Archive

Blaenau Ffestiniog

No Comments 26 April 2009

Press the arrow to listen to the Morriston Welsh Choir of Swansea, Wales sing “I Hear Thy Welcome Voice” as you read today’s devotion about Wales and other precious things.

Scripture
Again,the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46

Observation
In just one sentence an unspeakable story is told.

Enter a merchant. He is like a diamond merchant from Amsterdam in a blue pin stripped suit, fingering through trays of precious stones. His eye can appraise in nanoseconds.

In the tray of precious things, he finds one that takes his breath away. He staggers not at the price but at the beauty and perfection. In all of his shopping trips he has never seen a stone like this.

He returns home, empties his accounts, cashes in his life insurance and his 401k to scrape together the funds to purchase that one stone. He leaves all his money behind and leaves with greater delight at the stone he has purchased.

Who is the merchant? What is the stone? Why such joy?

The merchant is God. He is the owner of great wealth searching for precious things.

The stone is us, not you or me, but all of us together as the church. Of course, when he finds us, we don’t look like the church, we look like the world. But he knows diamonds in the rough and sees in us what we cannot see in ourselves.

The price paid is how God bankrupted heaven just to purchase a wife for his son.

Application
The point of this story is not to tell how valuable we are, but rather how we are to value others. If God can see past our limitations to see potential and then is willing to sacrifice all to develop it, then we should have eyes to see what others do not and to give what others will not give to reveal it. The Father calls us to sacrifice everything for the treasure of Christ at work in human lives.

Prayer
Father, today I’m going to Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, Wales. The story is amazing of how we all came to go to this little Welch village. But I ask that I would have eyes to see the pearl in this place and would be willing to sacrifice for it. Amen.

Giving

Feeling Full on Empty

No Comments 16 August 2008

Press the arrow to listen to “Breathe” by Michael W. Smith while reading today’s devotion about generosity.

Scripture
Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
Such people will not be overcome by evil.
Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
They do not fear bad news;
they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
They are confident and fearles
and can face their foes triumphantly.
They share freely and give generously to those in need.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
They will have influence and honor. Psalm 112:5-9

Observation
Have you felt the swell of confidence while shopping for a house or car knowing that you have pre-approved finance? Better yet, shopping for a new computer with cash in pocket. There is a security in being resourced and from that confidence we make better purchasing decisions.

There is a security even greater than that when we live out of generosity. When we give God prepares good things for us. There will be deliverance from evil, no fear of bad news, triumph, influence and honor for starters. God is generous and he catches up those who are kind like himself in the jet stream of his extravagant heart.

Application
The less we have and the more we give the greater our confidence should be. We should march confidently out of moments of sacrificial giving, for what we own, we owe and what we gave we have. There should be no down-in-the-mouth self-pity. Instead, there should be a fresh sense of anticipation of the good things God has yet to come. We must walk confidently out of our generosity.

Prayer
Father, I ask for a new mind to reinterpret my life so that I can walk with confidence out of my generous moments. Help me to feel full on empty. Amen.

Giving, Home

God’s Non-Profit Diguise

No Comments 01 May 2008

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Scripture
…The Lord declares that he will make a house for you… 2 Samuel 7:11

Observation
Oddly enough, God works under the disguise of a non-profit organization called the church. God does his work out of iron buckets swinging under the ringing bells of Salvation Army officers standing in front of Walmart and from giving buckets at church. The Lord operates his business on handouts. God, who owns everything, operates from what many consider a tip rather than a tithe.Â It is a clever camouflage for the ONE who is greater than all he has made in the universe.

But as David discovered, it is not God who needs help, rather it is we who stand in need of him. The king of the nation saw the God of the universe camping in a tent, felt sorry for him and offered to build him a house. However, the humble Lord of heaven smiled on his well intentioned servant and said, “Buddy, I don’t need help; let me show you what I can do to help you.”

Application
I wonder how many people see the church as a charity and the offering as a chance to help God out? We need to be humbled by the generosity of God so that we may know how great he is and how finite we are. We don’t help God out; it is he who is the source of everything we have.

What David offered to the Lord, God mirrored back to him. There is a principle in wholehearted service. We fear throwing our whole heart into what we do, lest we lose what we value. David learned, if he gave all, the Lord gave back more in return.

In order for us to become true givers we need to drop the notion of helping God out, and instead do the most difficult thing of all: allow the Lord to serve us. A person helped by the Lord is very wealthy and has much to give. David thought he was cashed up and ready to lend a hand. But the generosity of God back to him embarassed him.

Prayer
Father, there is something overwhelming about the words “I will build a house for you.” When we want to give to you, you give it back to us. How generous you are! Help me to receive well. Amen.

Giving, Materialism

Move My Heart to Heaven

1 Comment 19 April 2008

Press the arrow to listen to Matt Redman’s Blessed Be Your Name while you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Matthew 6:20-21

Observation
There is no trailer hitch on a hearse for a UHaul. There is no luggage rack on a coffin. As Karl Barth summarized, “One day the hearse will leave the cemetery and everyone will leave except you.” Here’s another one from George Bernard Shaw: “The statistics on death are impressive; one out of one people die.”

If death is a given, why do we buy and sell as if it did not exist? At best we consider death in a nursing home or on a deathbed. Few consider death when it really matters most: during LIFE. How much more we could enjoy life if we adjusted every decision with the end in mind. We would live clean and focused.

The best example of human frugality without God is saving for retirement. That is commendable, but not enough. We should be saving for eternity. We should start by first moving our heart into heaven. If we will do that, every daily decision becomes simpler.

When Leslie and I were first married, we had as our ambition to move to Australia to pastor a church. We were 21 when we married and by age 24 we did move to Brisbane and there we pastored for 21 years. It was one of the best decisions of our lives. During that four years of waiting to go, we made every decision based on our future move. We lived light in America because we knew that our home would soon be in Australia. Many things we passed up on buying because it just wasn’t time yet.

Application
Jesus asks me to live like that today. I am not settling down on earth, I’m packing for heaven. There are works beyond this life, and the way we live and give prepare us for them. What will I have in heaven to work with if we only die with a 401K? What I own, I owe, only what I give, I have.

Prayer
Thank you Father for what I don’t have in my possession that is in your hands. It is safer there; help me to live confident of that. I chose to move my heart to heaven today. Amen.

Blessing, Giving, Kindness, Materialism, Money, Simplicity, Success, Thanks

Giving Like a King

1 Comment 09 April 2008

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong sing “Halleujah” as you read today’s devotion.

Scripture
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. 1 Corinthians 9:10-11

Observation
A truly great leader is not known by how much money he keeps but by his generosity in giving away. The word “generous” has its origin in a Latin word that means someone of noble birth. The idea is that the truly noble person is a giver, for he has a combination of power and tenderness.

When God calls us to be generous he is inviting us to act regally and royally, for to give is truly a noble thing. We think of royalty reflected in possessions, while God considers true nobility in an open heart.

There is a harvest with all of God’s financial development in our lives. When exactly does that harvest come? Does it come when we receive more financially? The answer is, no. The harvest comes when we show generosity. The produce God is looking for in what he invests into us is that characteristic of kings and queens: the ability to be generous. The money is inconsequential; the generosity that is created in us is what matters most to him.

An open, sharing heart is one of the greatest gifts we can give to the Lord, for it is then that we are most like him. When funds flow into our lives we are not to think that we have come to the finish line and arrived. The harvest has yet to come. There is no harvest until we give, then we have become like the Lord.

Prayer
Father, with or without money, I want to have an open heart of generosity. In each gift I give, make my heart like your own. Amen.

Giving

A Gift Racked for the Holidays

No Comments 22 December 2007

Scripture
Jesus replied, â€œLeave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.â€ John 12:7-8

“I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:3-4

Observation
The last week of Jesus life was book ended with two very different gifts. One was unimaginably extravagant; the other was forgettable. Both gifts were totally misunderstood by those who saw them given. But Jesus understood the gifts because he looked into the heart of the givers.

The first gift came in two copper coins. In Australia kids used to call one cent copper coins “brown money.” That suggests how worthless we think such loose change is. The lady on social security looked to be the smallest giver that day, but Jesus saw she was the greatest. While others tipped God, she signed over her whole pension check. Jesus rightly saw that her gift was the greatest because he viewed her giving not by what she gave but by what she had left. She gave the most because she gave all.

The second gift was the kind saved for when after a person had died. It was worth the total of W2 form. Again this gift was misunderstood by those who saw it. They measured the gift by the price tag, while again Jesus looked under the wrapping and saw the heart.

Application
There is a lesson here for us. What matters most to the Lord is not what is giving but the heart that gives it. Preparation of our heart is when we give is more significant to God than what we write the check out for. There needs to be a motive in giving that somehow is reflected in what we give. Jesus loves gifts with depth of meaning.

If Jesus looks for the heart of the giver, then people will always look at the gift wrapper and misjudge. Neither the brown money nor the designer perfume were understood by those who watched the gift being given. Both in their own way were sized up and criticized. When we give gifts from the heart we cannot expect others to understand them, but Jesus does and that is all that matters. Long after the criticism decrescendos, our gift will live on because it was given with heart.

Prayer
Father, I give you my gifts today out of a heart of deep love for Christ. Those gifts are not always understood, but I know they are appreciated by you. Look beyond the box and bow and see my heart that gives. Amen.