There is one attribute of God that is rarely discussed. Yet it is foundational to understanding what kind of God we serve. This is the generosity of God. While it is sometimes discussed under the kindness of God or the love of God in most theological textbooks, it is rarely given much attention. But I think the generosity of God is one aspect of God’s character that that is crucial to understanding what an amazing God we serve!
What a person thinks about God affects the way he serves God. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable that we have come to call the “Parable of the Talents.” He tells about a master who gives 3 servants “talents” (a monetary value equal to about 20 years wages) before he goes away. He gives 5 to one, 2 to another and 1 to the last. When the master returns, the first two joyfully give back to the master double the amount he had given to them. The last one returns his one talent says, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” He condemned the servant saying that he should have at least invested the money so he could have gotten some interest from it. But the third servant’s problem was that he viewed his master as stingy instead of generous. Our service of God will never exceed our view of God!
The Bible if full of passages showing the generosity of God in so many ways. Even Genesis shows the generosity of God. In Genesis 2:16, God’s first words to man are full of generosity: “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may freely eat….’” The creation of man begins with God’s generosity to mankind! The generosity of God is why Abraham feels free to ask God for more and more mercy for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). He believed that God was a generous God!
The New Testament is also full of examples of the generosity of God. In Luke 15:23-24, after the prodigal son returns, the father (like God) says to his servants, “bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let’s eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” In Matthew 22:4, the king sends his servants out with a generous invitation: “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!” And when the invited guests don’t respond, he orders his servants out to bring any that they can find: “So go to the main roads and invite whomever you find there to the wedding feast.” These are just a few examples of the amazing generosity of God!
Paul’s letters are also filled with statements and promises about the generosity of God. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul tells us about our generous God “who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 2:9, he reminds us that God’s generosity even exceeds our imagination. He tells us that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man—the things which God has prepared for those who love him.” One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” That’s generosity!
We could go on and on with examples and verses that show us the generosity of God. The Bible tells us about the “exceeding riches of His grace” (Ephesians 2:7) which has “abounded to many” (Romans 5:15). It tells us about His generous love “which He shed on us abundantly” (Titus 3:6) and “the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe Him” (Ephesians 1:19).
But how should His generosity affect us!
First, it should bring us to worship. 2 Cor. 4:15 tells us that His “abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many resound to the glory of God.” His generosity to us ought to make us generous in our expression of worship toward Him!
Second, it should cause us to enjoy all that He gives us as coming from His generous hand. 1 Timothy 6:17 says that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
Third, it should lead us to be bold in our praying. In Matthew 7:11, after teaching His disciples about prayer, Jesus reminds them about the overwhelming generosity of our Heavenly Father: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” And in Ephesians 3:20, Paul teaches us to pray remembering just how generous God is when we pray: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
Finally, God’s generosity should lead us to be generous in our giving! In 2 Corinthians, Paul spends two chapters (8 and 9) encouraging the Corinthians to be generous in their giving because they have a generous God. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul lays the foundation for our generosity – the example of Jesus: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” In 2 Corinthians 9, he tells them to “prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.” God’s generosity in giving to us makes us generous in giving to others. In verses 6-15, Paul explains why our giving should be generous. In verse 6, he reminds us of a biblical principle about giving: “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” In verse 7, he says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” We give generously, not because we have to but because we have experienced the joy of knowing God’s generosity to us! In verses 8-9, he reminds us that we can’t out-give our generous God! “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” Finally, in verses 10-15, Paul reminds us that “this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.” In other word, our generosity not only models God’s generosity; it causes many others to glorify God because they realize that people have given generously to them only because of God’s generosity!
What a joy to serve a generous God! He gives us all we need and often more than we need! He is our supply, and His generosity works in us making us generous toward others too! Along with the Apostle Paul, we proclaim: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Teaching Ministry … God’s Generosity!
We are currently working every day to get translations ready for my Theology 1 class (online) coming up in February. I’m currently working on notes and answering questions for students online. Preparing for this class involves a number of people and a lot of work. We have one translator converting notes into Ukrainian. Another translator working on PowerPoint presentations and correcting all errors and overseeing the whole project. We have also two readers reading the translations into an audio format. Then an American friend is merging the audios and the PowerPoints together into a YouTube video. Finally, I will be uploading the finished projects to Moodle so the students can access the lectures each class day. I am grateful for Oksana Pros, Sergei Tereschenko, Katya Ehrhard, Katya Lichman and Joe Miller for all their help in getting this class ready!
Be praying for us as we work on this. We need to get everything finished before next week. Then we will be working with the students daily and grading papers from the class. I am hoping to have a break after the class mid-February so I can spend some uninterrupted time with family. This is a lot of work, and it will probably cost us quite a bit. Already I paid $570 for just the initial translation of the notes. It will cost at least another $500-600 for the other translations and reading and other work. I do not know those exact costs yet, but we project that the total costs will be over $1000 for everything. If you want to help with translation costs, just send us a note with your gift to Teaching Resources.
Trying to teach this class in the midst of a possible Russian invasion is quite a challenge, but we have been blessed with some very capable helpers who are helping me put everything together for this class. It is a joy to serve with so many of God’s servants whose generous hearts help us to serve our generous God!
Evacuation … God’s Generosity!
In light of the increasing tensions with Russian troops increasing on the Ukrainian border, we made a last-minute decision to evacuate before it became too difficult to find flights out of the country. We explored many different options for staying since we have stayed during Putin’s threats every year for the last 8 years. But this one seemed different. So far, a number of Embassies (including Russia) have evacuated most of their employees due to the seriousness of the threat. Most mission organizations have also decided to evacuate their personnel from Ukraine. Since we live less than 1 km from a major airbase, we decided that is would be wise for us to evacuate also.
Little did we know that evacuation would be so difficult. We got tickets back to the states, winterized our home (drained all the water) and boarded up the windows (with polycarbonate). While that was costly and time consuming, it was nothing compared to the difficulty we would have at the airports. We did everything necessary to follow the US and EU guidelines for travel that were in place at the beginning of December. What we did not know was that the Biden administration had changed the requirements for foreigners just a couple weeks before we travelled. The new guidelines required Katya to be fully vaccinated to enter the United States. We didn’t know this … until we arrived for our flight at 2 am in the morning.
In Kyiv, the airline was not going to allow Katya to travel to Amsterdam because of these new restrictions. They repeatedly read the new guidelines to us and, clearly, since she has not been vaccinated, she was not permitted to enter. But we persisted, and so they let us fly to Amsterdam telling us that Amsterdam would definitely send us back because it was not possible for Katya to enter the US under the new guidelines. On the flight to Amsterdam, I considered every possible option and realized that it was really impossible to find a way around the new restrictions. In Amsterdam, I told Katya that it would take a really big miracle for them to allow her to travel because the new policy clearly forbids her entry into the US without being fully vaccinated.
In Amsterdam, we were required to fill out attestations about our vaccination status for every member of our family. As US citizens, the girls and I qualified with the negative test 24 hours before departure. But non-citizens (Katya) needed to be fully vaccinated. On her noncitizen form, there was a list of some exemptions to this policy, but she clearly did not fit any (e.g., a medical document showing she cannot be vaccinated, a diplomatic exemption, etc.). The last exemption read: “Persons whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees) …” We decided to check that one and explain that the “national interest” was the possible Russian invasion, and we were evacuating. However, clearly Russia had not invaded, and the US government had not “determined” that such an evacuation would be in the “national interest,” and Katya clearly would not qualify! But we thought it would be worth a try. For this exemption, she had to sign a document agreeing to retest 3-5 days after arrival, self-isolate for 7 days after arrival, and agree to be fully vaccinated within 60 days after arrival! So, we filled out the document and submitted it still expecting to have the officials ask HOW she qualified under the “national interest” exemption – knowing they would not accept our explanation. Surprisingly, they looked over the documents and said she could go! That was one really big miracle – but we needed one more!
We were still not 100% sure we had made it. We assumed we would have to go through the process again when we landed in Atlanta, and we were even more certain that the US officials would be more thorough than the Dutch ones were. But no questions were asked at customs, and we were amazed that we made it! We praise the Lord for a big miracle that got us through even though the policy was clear and the exemption we chose was really non-existent!
We are so grateful that the Lord provided for us – exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all we could ask or think! Because of this, Katya is now in the states as we wait to see what Russia will do. However, she is still limited to being able to stay only 90 days since she was already here for 90 days last summer. We might need to apply for a visa extension if a Russian invasion occurs. We are waiting and praying about what to do next.
A Place to Stay … God’s Generosity!
While we are here, we will be spending most of our time in Fayetteville, AR. Sean and Meredith found a great place for us to stay minutes from them. It is a basement apartment right across the street from the main campus at the University of Arkansas. A foreign graduate student had rented it until October but left early just a couple weeks before we arrived. The family that owns the apartment are believers and friends of Sean and Meredith and they said we can stay for free until their next rent arrives in October. We don’t plan to stay that long, but we really don’t know what will happen in the next few weeks in Ukraine. Our plans are to return in March – we will see. But this was another wonderful example of God’s amazing generosity to us!
Financial needs … God’s Generosity!
A number of people have asked if we needed some extra money for evacuation or staying in the US. We have been saving money in anticipation of extra needs for when we move back to the states in a couple of years. So, we had the cash available to buy tickets and take care of financial needs for our evacuation. However, family members and some missionary friends lovingly reminded me that I was using money that we would need later (maybe sooner than expected) to eventually move back from Ukraine. We have definitely dipped deeply into our savings to pay for the evacuation. Our tickets were over $6000, and we are not sure exactly what other expenses we might incur while staying here in the states. So, any help to replenish our savings would be appreciated.
Finally, because of the continuing unknowns about Russia’s intentions, we have decided that we need to make plans to return to the states permanently sooner than our anticipated return in the next 2 years. It has been difficult going through the struggle about staying or leaving every time Putin decides to threaten Ukraine. It seems like every threat has been greater and greater. Even if he does not invade this time, we believe that he will continue to threaten Ukraine more and more in the coming years. So, we are looking at the possibility of returning sooner, even though it will be more difficult financially for us since we will have less time to save for the return move.
Even before Putin’s threats, in December, our board set up a fund for our “repatriation” (fancy word for “returning someone to their home country”) to gather moving funds over the next two years. It looks like we might need those funds sooner. We have been told by other missionaries that we need at least $20,000 minimum for moving and resettlement. Some missionary friends have said we might need closer to $40,000! We won’t know the full costs until after we have everything packed up to ship back home. If you want to help us in gathering these funds for our eventual move, you can designate funds to “Ehrhard-Moving” and it will help us with moving and resettlement costs. This does not mean that we are moving any time soon. We still have a lot of things to complete before we can move back permanently.
Here are some things to be praying about as we move in this direction. First, Katya’s immigration paperwork. We just submitted this paperwork last week. We will have more documents to submit and interviews before she can be approved. Pray that all of this will go smoothly. Second, we will need to sell our house in Ukraine. This will be a little bit more difficult since we live in the country and most people prefer to live near the city. Be praying as we get the house ready and try to sell it. Third, pray about our finances and especially about our repatriation fund. It was a lot easier to move to Ukraine (it was just me!) than it will be to move back to the states with 4 of us and household possessions. Fourth, we have a lot of decisions to make about our return to the states. Pray that we can have wisdom as we sort through these many decisions.
Family Times …
We have a lot of family pictures posted here but we will give you just a few short updates about our family during the last month. While we are here in the US, homeschool goes on. We love how the girls are continuing to learn and grow, even though we are studying in different place.
While we are here, we also had a chance to celebrate Kristina’s 8th birthday! Actually, she got to have 2 birthdays – one in Fayetteville (with Sean and Meredith) and one in Cabot (with Joy, her girls and Todd). Last summer, Nadia got two birthday celebrations since my surgery required us to stay a couple weeks later than we planned. Kristina has been saying she wished she could have two birthdays like Nadia did. Well… our generous God provided that too!
Kristina and Nadia are loving spending time with Haven and Harley. They chat often on the computers when we are in Ukraine, but it is so much better being together physically. They play together, paint together, watch movies together, dress up and even bake together. They are having a great time together!
We also had a special visit from Joy as she came up to Fayetteville and stayed with us for a couple of days. Kristina and Nadia loved it and even got to sleep with their big sister! Being here in the states also has given us time to see Sully (Sullivan) – Meredith and Sean’s new baby boy (born in September). Being in Ukraine, we have missed most of the baby years with my grandchildren. So, God also generously provided this as another special treat for us!
One other special treat for us was having a little bit of snow in Arkansas. One thing our girls miss from Ukraine is having some snow in winter. Well, we got a surprise snow the first week we were here, and the girls loved making snowmen and snow castles – even though they were quite small compared to the one they make in Ukraine.
Finally, while we haven’t eaten out much, we have gotten to have a couple of special meals together. We had hamburgers at Five Guys and also frozen Yogurt at TCBY. And we got to go to our favorite breakfast place, The Buttered Biscuit. There God surprised us with a surprise encounter with the Benefields from Cabot who just happened to be in Fayetteville for a track competition and they too decided to have a late brunch at the Buttered Biscuit! We are grateful for all of God’s amazingly generous surprises and gifts to us!
We will be in Cabot for just one week in February and then back to Fayetteville to help babysit our grandchildren. Then we will head to Florida to visit with Joel, Ally and their children mid-February. We hope to get back to North Little and see our friends there the 2nd week of March before heading back to Ukraine – depending on the situation there.
Pray for Ukraine …
It goes without saying that Ukraine needs your prayers. We are not sure what will happen in the coming days much less the coming months. If there is an invasion, it will be a very bloody situation for both Russian and Ukrainian troops. And it will create many, many refugees. Even if there is not an invasion, we realize that Ukraine will still face some difficulties from Russia. Pray for peace for the nation of Ukraine.
Also, pray for the churches of Ukraine. When Russian forces took Crimea and eastern Ukraine, one of their first actions was to shut down all evangelical churches and told many pastors that they would be killed if they stayed. We expect the same if Russia takes more Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has greatly benefited from over 30 years of freedom from the Soviet Union and has had religious freedom since 1991. Many pastors have been trained and many new churches have been started. Pray that they will stay strong even if they are under Russian occupation.
Thank you for your prayers. We are glad to be back in the US, but our hearts are burdened for Ukraine. But we are also grateful for the generosity of God’s people. We have been blessed beyond measure even in this difficult time for our family. We are grateful that we serve a generous God who has many generous followers. We are especially grateful that He has allowed us to be partners with you all in this ministry of the gospel here in Ukraine.
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
Also, some have asked about how to support us. You can send checks to Teaching Resources International, PO Box 1025, Cabot, AR 72023 or pay through PayPal on our website. Just put “#1000 Ehrhard” in the memo so our treasurer knows where to allocate the funds.
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