Earlier this month Mike and I experienced an annual highlight of our year: the EA Christmas party at our offices in Santo Domingo.<\/p>\n
Joined by 25 of our staff and key volunteers we engaged in a number of activities:<\/p>\n
1. Worshiping<\/strong> together<\/p>\n 2. Praising<\/strong> God for Christmas, by praying through Joel Beeke\u2019s Why Christ Came: 31 Reasons for the Incarnation<\/u><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 3. Celebrating<\/strong> 5 years of service by Jose Lorenzo, noting 2 Benefits of Longevity in Ministry from the life of Paul: You can see God\u2019s Work over time (Acts 13:15-26) and God can increase the effectiveness of your work (1 Thess. 2:10-11)<\/p>\n 4. Studying<\/strong> together 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, noting what Paul prayed for the Church of Thessalonica: Worthiness, Fulfillment and Power, and motivated by Robert Murray M\u2019Cheyne\u2019s admonition that \u201cwhat the people in our lives need most from us is our personal holiness.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. And finally thanking God for what He had graciously accomplished within and through EA in the past year, and Asking<\/strong> for His continued provision in the year to come.<\/p>\n I got quite a chuckle when I shared this picture above, explaining that the End-of-Year Feeding Frenzy in the states, at times, felt to me like a battle for survival, as non-profits, churches and charities fight for limited resources, capitalizing on charitable holiday spirit and strategic tax deductions.<\/p>\n I explained that, beginning with Giving Tuesday and culminating with 11:59pm New Year\u2019s Eve, citizens are besieged constantly with requests for year-end donations, as December alone can account for 30% of annual giving, and the last three days of December on average accounts for 10% of a non-profits income.<\/p>\n They laughed at my attempt at humor, which doesn\u2019t always translate into Spanish well.<\/p>\n But I went on to explain that, while I joke about feeling that way, there were a few core beliefs that determine my perspective on year-end giving:<\/p>\n 1. God owns a cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10)<\/strong> and does not have a limited budget<\/p>\n 2. The Lord says, \u201cHe who honors me, I will honor\u2026\u201d (1 Samuel 2:30)<\/strong>, so our focus needs to remain seeking first the advancement of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33) and trusting God to \u201csupply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.\u201d (Phil. 4:19)<\/p>\n 3. However, we want to encourage the spiritual discipline of charitable stewardship<\/strong>, as “Generosity is God\u2019s gift to all of us, rich or poor, and participating in God\u2019s work is a gift that shouldn\u2019t be denied to anybody.\u201d*<\/em><\/p>\n 4. When Jesus stated in Matthew 6:21, \u201cWhere your heart is, there your treasure will be also,\u201d<\/em> he was not merely offering us a thermometer to measure the temperature of our hearts, but also a thermostat to change the temperature of our hearts. Therefore, anything we can do to foster a biblical worldview of possessions and giving should be encouraged<\/strong>. *<\/p>\n