Archive for January 2012

Home Archive for January 2012

The Anonymous Giver: “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for what I have not seen!” quote CEC

The valleys, tunnels or mountains we passed through life experiences, we meet amazing people that are a component of our life forever and availed shape our foundational values to shine more light in the dark. This can be a life-experience walk in your past and still be a connection of dots to your future life. Sometimes what happened to you in the past is a great ingredient to keep yourself humble if not the opposite. It can be like fruits bearing its great taste to other people who have tasted it afore, still wanting to taste it again and wanting to apportion it around. Things that transpire are never a coincidence but for a reason when you look it back with discernment.

The choices I made from single to MARRIED life are connecting dots or putting pieces of a puzzle together. The “still diminutive voice” reiterates me in January 2012 about reconnecting the dots of my life visually gearing towards the choice we made as a couple that we are both tranquil about it. We will be seven years of marriage without kids yet. However, I opt to help my husband build our small start-up business and not to keep hunting job even if it is tempting when Divine’s hands shut doors to any job opportunities I applied in Australia.

Boldly got the message to stay home and avail my husband what we are ardent about even if it may take us years to carry the burden of the “less road travel” by faith in full action. An author once verbalised “ANONYMOUS sufferings are authentically the best kind --- in fact, our Lord Jesus (Yeshua) tells us otherwise, others might recognise us and compliment us and that, will be the reward but what we do in secret God will reward us - Matthew 6:16-18). What we believe becomes more vigorous like a pillar especially when the designation is not everyone on your side, but they are in fact a great springboard for us (a blessing in disguise) to respond our calling as a married couple!

We believe that everyone on earth is born for a reason especially if you pursue your dream and zealousness in life. Act on our dreams, visions or plans that have given to us. My exigent job right here is to complete my husband as Father God orchestrated it for us as a couple uniquely or not identically tantamount with other couples. Pastor J.H. affirmed “Always in the Bible the first command is to the follower. In Ephesians 5:22, for example, it says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands." Then in verse 25 it says, "Husbands, love your wives."

Who is supposed to commence it? The wife! A woman comes to an incomplete man, completes him and then receives the benefits of his completeness. Wife comes to an incomplete husband and consummates him that is her job--to be the aggressor, to lead him to become a consummate man so he can lead her, but he needs a wife to commence him! Then after a woman completes husband she receives the benefits of his completeness!”

This year 2012 commences, a prompting recollected me back afore I went to Bible College after I culminated my university degree in Education and experienced volunteer jobs, which cognate to the business industry. For those who knew me rumoured and queried, “How can I be in a job not even cognate at all to my vocation that time?” The nuggets I learned from experiences are connecting now that I am married to what-where; we are heading on as a couple! My point is prior studying in Bible College for a short-term training an "incognito financial supporter” had already paid my full-term tuition fee for the whole training course in replacement for an office work volunteer. All I needed to meet about was my allowance then, which was provided in different, unexpected ways I could testify & grateful with.

Beside my anonymous sponsor in Bible College, I recalled re-occurrences of anonymous givers when my parents were pastoring a church in the Philippines. I remembered one time an incognito giver just left a generous 100 kg sack of rice or more in front of the church pulpit when we absolutely had nothing to eat the next day and other things I could testify. (To clarify why pastoring remote churches in the Philippines could be sometimes challenging since you have to support yourself and not rely on your church members’ benevolence). That in itself is one foundational lesson I had grown up blessed anonymously. When we faithfully accommodate the one who has called us by heart; divine provision is in the CALL. It’s all our choice & inclination with patience as one fruit of the Spirit of God even if it hurts our guts out being misjudged; that fruit will bear more fruitage abundantly and exceedingly in due time.

The fact is it emanates from the Lord’s Word Himself who taught us, “When we give, do not let your left-hand knows what your right hand is doing like the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus(Yeshua) time who were very religious and proud even when they prayed and fasted in public!”

The secret thing if we are faithful to do things in minuscule ways faithfully the ONE WHO IS FAITHFUL can trust us to do things in an immensely enormous scale in due time. The pity side of it is when Christian claims and wants to promulgate what she/he done or give this or that to other people or to charity. It can be a long way to understanding the ways of God… because if a Christian does it so, the secular people in the world does not know any better.

If at my husband’s workplace who are not Christians do not even want their names scrolled on the TV screen how long they have been working there for long years’ service, why would we? My hubby explained, “It is for the company’s business marketing strategies and celebrated they are doing a favour for their employees” albeit his co-workers cannot visually perceive it that way as “they queried why”?

Art Carden, an Assistant Professor of Economics and Business, expressed “There are, of course, good reasons to be totally open about your giving–when you are trying to honour someone. For example, by naming a building or lecture series or something after them, or when you explicitly want to change people’s incentives. If you just want to give people stuff, though, then your charity is most effective when it is given in secret.”

When Christians are perpetually mentioning what they give or done to others the eleemosynary (charitable) value losses its true Biblical sense as we have aurally perceived or read in a sermon but not doers of the Word. Watch out their motives this but discern why they verbally express so with pride and tear you down like how an immature babe Christian does (Hebrews 6:1-2 verbalises of spiritual immaturity, which is another topic).

If any of you out there struggling to give/avail or intended to do it when you have something to give, stuff, or your personal time does not be daunted. When it is your turn, the door of opportunity preserved the best for last doing it in secret heartedly for a heavenly reward not from men.

I thanked God for His SHALOM that passes all understanding. The calamities, challenges, and negating words outside our marriage because of the choice we have made thriving us deeply and robustly in the Divine Creator's hand in acting our faith. The pruning is a great season to bear so that we shall bear many fruits efficaciously when that perfect season arrives because He is our Immanuel “God is with us” always. When we learned to disunite ourselves from the crowd for a season in the wilderness walk, you learn deeper things from our Creator God. Jeremiah in the Bible have himself “set-apart” to be a prophet albeit not everyone called to be a prophet but we are all unique and our uniqueness is needed in the world when we learn our Heavenly Father’s secret not only in giving!” Yeshua said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and FOLLOW ME," (Luke 9:23).