Tag: God’s love

Heart of Stone

“The embarrassment and the disgrace are too much to bear. What I did, what I said, what I thought and felt was just wrong. I’m disgusted with myself. I feel so ashamed and so dirty.

How did my heart ever get so hardened? Will my conscience ever again feel clear? Can my soul ever be cleansed?”

When we have fallen in a big, public way, and the ugliness and uncleanness of our horribly wrong choices are out there for everyone to see, we may feel as if we will never recover. Things will never be the same for us again.

In the process much more than our reputation may have gotten demolished. Perhaps our rebellion against the will of God has also destroyed our relationships, our home, our health, our savings, or even our faith.

Such was the case with the Old Testament people of God. After centuries of idolatry, selfishness, and greed — with few, feeble attempts to turn things around and repent — God had finally scattered his people to the nations as a discipline for their sins.

But God’s love for sinners would not allow him to leave it at that. God’s love for us will not allow him to live it at that, either. He has a way of taking our stone-cold hearts and turning them into warm hearts — beating once again with spiritual life.

Through the gospel he calls us and gathers us back to himself. Through baptism he cleanses us. Through faith in Jesus Christ he softens our hard hearts and restores our sin-shattered minds.

He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit through word and sacrament. The Spirit motivates us through the message of Jesus’ love and forgiveness to return to God and willingly follow his laws.

And the end of all that grace, mercy and forgiveness is the gift of citizenship in heaven. We’ll be God’s people. God will be our God — and we’ll never be separated again!

Yes, maybe we’ve tumbled far and fallen hard. But by God’s grace, we will recover. In his forgiveness, we rise again.

“For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness” (Ezekiel 36:24-29a, NIV).

Our Bible reading for Thursday, November 19, is Ezekiel 36:1 – 37:28, James 3:1-18 and Psalm 129:1-8.

Lord, thank you for your immense love and forgiveness. You have cleansed me from all my sins. By your blood you purified me of all transgression. By your Spirit you changed my heart and inspired me to follow your ways. Grant me the hope and peace of eternal life.

Header image based on "Ezekiel 11-19" by New Life Church Collingwood, CC By 2.0

Rend Your Heart

It’s the most unnatural thing in the world. “It” is saying we’re sorry for something wrong we’ve done.

There are so many other “better” approaches to wrongdoing — to sin. Or so it seems to us.

There’s denial. “I didn’t do it.” Or, “I didn’t know that it was wrong.” Or, “I didn’t understand what I was doing.”

There’s cover-up. Pointing the finger. Comparing yourself to someone who’s done something “much worse.”

For many of us, confession is not good for the soul. Guilt and shame don’t even make sense. Why should we pummel ourselves? Won’t that just bring us down? Isn’t it just unnecessary negativity? Won’t it destroy my self-esteem and self-confidence?

The Bible contends for another path to understanding our worth. The real way to self-esteem and self-worth is via a healthy relationship with God. And how does a relationship with God become healthy?

One word. Forgiveness.

Are you ready to recognize your need for forgiveness? In the time of Joel the prophet, that was the appeal he made to the children of Israel. Return to God. Recognize that your loving God has only created his laws to bless and protect you. He wants to see you thrive.

Be broken over your sins. They are going to wreck you if you stay on your current path. So, instead, recognize your wrong-doing, and take your guilt and shame to God so that he can forgive you. Simply turn back to your compassionate God and to his ways.

“Rend your heart,” as Joel puts it.

He is kind and merciful. You don’t need to earn his love. He loves you even though you are sinful. And he will always be patient with you. No one wants your relationship to be restored more than he does.

After all, he gave his one and only Son to make that restoration and reconciliation possible. The cross equals certain forgiveness for hurting sinners.

“‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity'” (Joel 2:12-13, NIV).

Lord, I am sinful. I have wronged you and I have sinned against my neighbor too. I have transgressed your laws in my thoughts, my words, and my actions. Please forgive me. I want to return to you. I long for your grace and compassion. I know that true peace is found in your sure love for me, a sinner.

Our Bible reading for Sunday, November 1, is Joel 1:1 – 2:17, Hebrews 3:1-19 and Psalm 119:137-144.

Header image based on "Red Heart" by Brandon Zierer, CC By 2.0

Is Forgiveness a “Have To” or a “Get To”?

The book of Philemon is very short — only one chapter. But it is also deep. And it is especially deep on the topic of motivating people to do the godly thing, and to do it for the godly reason.

Paul is appealing to Philemon to forgive Onesimus. Onesimus was Philemon’s slave. Onesimus had run away and according to Roman law, Philemon would have had the right to severely punish Onesimus for this.

As you read the following set of verses, take note of how Paul frames his appeal. Could he have demanded that Philemon do what he was telling him to do? Could he have pulled the authority card out, and told Philemon, “Hey, I’m an apostle. Don’t forget it. Forgive Onesimus. Don’t even think about doing anything different. I’m ordering you to do this.”

Yes, he could have. But he doesn’t do it that way.

Instead, he makes a request, and he does so in the hope that Philemon will be internally motivated by the love that’s in his heart — love for Jesus, and love for Paul, and even love for Onesimus — to extend forgiveness.

Why would he do that?

Because Philemon would recall that he had first of all been forgiven and loved. By Jesus. He would remember that without Jesus, he himself would still be a slave to sin, death and the devil. Gratitude would fill his heart and inform his actions.

Especially, in this case, gratitude would inform his actions in regard to Onesimus. Framed this way, forgiveness would not be a “have to.” It would be a “get to.”

“Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains” (Philemon 8-10, NIV).

Lord help me to love and forgive others as you have first loved and forgiven me. Not because I have to, but because my heart is so filled with gratitude that I get to.

Our Bible reading for Thursday, October 29, is Lamentations 2:7 – 3:39, Philemon 1-25 and Psalm 119:121-128.

Header image based on "Motivation in Somerset" by Sam Saunders, CC By-SA 2.0

What God Dreams About

Everyone has dreams. Dreams give us hope. Dreams keep us going. Dreams guide us to our next step, and they guide us to the goal line.

In fact, Helen Keller once said that if a person possesses no vision or dream, he is in a sad state: “The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision.”

So we know that people have dreams. But did you know that God also has dreams? He absolutely does! He has a very clear vision for his relationship with his people. I was reminded of this by a passage from the book of Jeremiah.

At an absolute low point in Israel’s history, God had banished his people to Babylon. It didn’t look as if God’s relationship with them would ever be right again. The closeness and tightness of their relationship appeared to be gone forever.

But God kept the dream alive that he would reconcile with his people. He revealed this vision through Jeremiah. Though events would have indicated that God’s relationship with the Israelites was over and done forever, God’s promises indicated that his grace and forgiveness was very much alive.

Do you believe that God still has a dream for his people today? Are you confident that his grace and forgiveness are very much alive? Do you know that he dreams about you, and about the relationship that he hopes to have with you — just as he did so many years ago in the days of Jeremiah?

As then, so now.

I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. (Jeremiah 32:37-41, NIV).

Lord, help me to understand that you have dreams for me. Help me to remain confident that your vision for me and my life are good and kind, and will bring me blessing upon blessing.

Our Bible reading for Friday, October 16, is Jeremiah 32:26 – 34:22, 1 Timothy 1:1-20 and Psalm 119:41-48.

Header image based on "Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral" by Ben Sutherland, CC By 2.0

Ambitious for a Quiet Life

Albert Einstein hit on one of the most important benefits of living a quiet life. It creates the right kind of environment for stimulating creativity: “The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”

Einstein would seem to be the best advertisement for his own dictum. One would struggle mightily to find many people who would qualify for being more creative than he was.

But Einstein, brilliant as he was, was not alone in recognizing the beauty and the benefit of the quiet life.

The apostle Paul also knew the value — before God — of the quiet life. In fact, he says, a quiet life is something to make our ambition, our life’s goal. That may come as a bit of a surprise to some who view Christianity as a “loud faith,” and Christians as a group who are bent on “shouting their way” into people’s hearts and minds.

But in today’s world, even apart from our Christian faith, it’s tough to live the quiet life. We live in a 24/7 world. So what are some of the obstacles that get in the way of you living the quiet life? Paul brings them out nicely, even as he encourages us to overcome them for the sake of reaching our goal of a quiet life.

  1. Selfishness gets in the way of the quiet life. When life becomes all about getting what we need and want, it usually heads in the opposite direction of “quiet.” Paul’s antidote to this obstacle is to put the focus on others (and for believers, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ), and to improve that focus every day. That’s what Jesus did. He focused on you in love.
  2. Being up in every one else’s business gets in the way of the quiet life. Instead of focusing on picking the tiny splinter out of our neighbor’s eye, we can focus on the “logs in our own eye”. We can recognize the repentance and forgiveness we need. Daily receiving God’s grace and forgiveness by taking time to confess our own sins will help a lot with this. Frequently looking to the cross of Christ is a great way to stop looking judgmentally into the affairs of others.
  3. Ironically, boredom gets in the way of a quiet life. Keep your hands busy. A quiet life is not a lazy life filled with boredom. Don’t equate these. You can live quietly while living actively. Paul says that working with our hands is one of the most effective ways to achieve the quiet life. You can be motivated to do this by remembering the immense love that Jesus showed you by “working with his hands” — stretching them out to be nailed to the cross.

Einstein had it right. So did Paul. One of the best ways to live creatively for the glory of God is to be ambitious to accomplish a quiet life. Such a life wins the respect of others. And such a life is the result of being fully sufficient in Christ.

“And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:10-12, NIV).

Jesus, send me your Spirit, and inspire me by your love and forgiveness to make it my ambition to lead a quiet life. Help me to mind my own business, work with my hands, and most of all, keep on loving others more and more.

Our Bible reading for Sunday, October 11, is Jeremiah 23:9 – 25:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 and Proverbs 24:23-34.

Header image based on "Quiet" by Paul Mison, CC By-SA 2.0

Near the Church, Far from God?

There’s an old French proverb that states, “He who is near the church is often far from God.”

The church can seem like a very harsh and uncaring place. Church people can seem judgmental and hypocritical. Empathy and authenticity sometimes just don’t seem to be found in great abundance.

Even 2000 years ago, the apostle Paul knew how important it was for the church to demonstrate compassion, offer encouragement, and extend care and comfort to people. He knew how critical it was for Christ-followers to meet people where they’re at.

It was pure joy for Paul to share the gospel. But as he tells the Thessalonians, he also found great joy in sharing more than the gospel — in sharing his very life with them.

He worked day and night to support himself so he could selflessly teach people about Jesus, without needing their financial support. He lived a life that showed the Thessalonians step-by-step how a life with God is lived — an unselfish, righteous and pure life.

In this way, when the Thessalonians got near to Paul, they got a good picture of who Jesus is. They got a good picture of what the church is meant to be, too.

The good news about Jesus’ forgiveness. The love of Jesus reflected in actions. The power of Jesus for life-change. Hope. Encouragement. Comfort. And the challenge to grow in faith and obedience. That’s what the Thessalonians witnessed and received.

So when they got near the church, they also drew near to God.

“Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:7b-12, NIV).

Our Bible reading for Friday, October 9, is Jeremiah 18:1 – 20:18, 1 Thessalonians 1:1 – 2:16 and Psalm 119:1-8.

Lord, help me to love others as you first loved me. I ask you to strengthen me to follow the example of the apostle Paul, to share the gospel with those around me, and to sacrificially share myself as well.

Header image based on "St. Mary's, Stamford" by DncnH, CC By 2.0

The Lord is Near

What’s your perception of God’s proximity to you? Does he seem far away? Does it appear to you that he’s distant and unengaged, uninterested in the heartaches or challenges you’re facing?

Paul says that no matter what our perception might be, there is only one truth. God is actually quite near. He’s much nearer than most of us ever realize. He’s immediately at hand.

God’s being near at hand is important, Paul writes. And there are vitally important blessings and benefits that come along with God being near to us.

  • God’s nearness helps us maintain a joyful attitude at all times — no matter what the outward circumstances might be.
  • God’s nearness allows us to be gentle in the toughest, most provocative situations.
  • God’s nearness enables us to banish anxiety whenever it threatens to destabilize our mind.
  • God’s nearness encourages us to talk to him in prayer, make requests, and say our “thank-you’s” when he helps us.
  • God’s nearness gives us a peace that transcends reason, a peace that safeguards our heart and mind.

Paul concludes with the three most important words of all, “in Christ Jesus.” For us to understand and enjoy God’s nearness, we must have faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus communicates all these blessings — joy, gentleness, prayer and peace — through faith.

Jesus is the Son of God. He is our Lord and Savior. Nothing pleases him more than to grant us peace and joy. Nothing is more wonderful to him than to hear our voices in prayer. Nothing makes him happier than to see us imitate his gentle meekness.

And what makes all this possible is to know, by faith, that Jesus is near at hand.

And he is. Never forget it. Never lose sight of him. Because he’s right here at our side.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7, NIV).

Lord, help me to remember at all times how near at hand you are. And may your nearness be the source of my joy, peace, gentleness and vibrant prayer life.

Our Bible reading for Saturday, October 3, is Jeremiah 6:1 – 7:29, Philippians 4:2-23 and Proverbs 24:5-14.

Header image based on "Philippians 4:5-7" by Tyler Neyens, CC By 2.0

I Am Third

Jesus stepped into our world because he valued us more than his own life. He might have refused to get involved. He could have put his own interests ahead of ours.

But that’s just not Jesus. Jesus is the very embodiment of love. He is the incarnation of humility and service.

He laid out this servant’s mentality himself, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45, NIV).

What a different attitude from that which our culture teaches us. How often haven’t we heard, “If you’re going to do “x”, don’t do it for someone else. And certainly don’t do it for me. No, make sure you’re doing it for yourself.”

Paul gives the opposite advice. He tells us to imitate Jesus’ humility and love. Live your life not to be served, but to serve. Give your life away for others, as Jesus first gave his life away for you. Be ready to say, “God is first. Others are second. I am third.”

Many people live to get honor and respect from others, or to earn perks and privileges for themselves. Christians too — much as we know about Christ’s gracious and generous mindset — can struggle with selfishness, greed and pride. Ambition and conceit are much too frequent guests in our hearts.

But in the Spirit’s power, we have been given the gift of choice again. The apostle Paul points us in the right direction. Now we are ready to adopt the same mindset as Jesus. We begin to value others above ourselves. We choose humility over pride. We select service over selfishness.

And we do it because we remember that Jesus chose us over himself.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:3-8, NIV).

Lord, I am sorry for all the times when I have put myself ahead of others, and even ahead of you. Please forgive me. Grant me your Holy Spirit and the wisdom that comes from above so that I can have the same mindset as you, Jesus. Help me to value and serve others above myself as you first valued and served me above yourself.

Our Bible reading for Wednesday, September 30, is Jeremiah 1:1 – 2:30, Philippians 1:27 – 2:11 and Psalm 115:1-11.

Header image based on "Let Jesus Bring You Light" by Vinoth Chandar, CC By 2.0

Tough and Resilient

In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil wrote, “Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.”

But where does such endurance come from? Because it certainly doesn’t seem to come easy, does it!? Is it only through repeated exposure to adverse conditions that we can develop endurance? Or is there another — perhaps even better — way to build endurance?

The prophet Isaiah gives us his answer. Speaking around 700 years before Christ, he describes Jesus so clearly it’s astounding. In fact, in Luke chapter 4, Jesus himself told the people of his own home town that he was the fulfillment of words spoken by Isaiah, words that we find in Isaiah 61.

What a beautiful portrait Isaiah paints of Jesus! He is the Chosen One, sent to proclaim good news to the poor. He is the one sent to heal broken hearts, to release people from their captivity to sin, guilt and shame. He is on a mission to bring comfort to all who grieve and mourn. He restores hope and praise to the lips of those who are hopeless and in despair.

Then Isaiah gives us insight into his view of what creates endurance, toughness and resilience. And this is so important for us to hear. Because life can sometimes knock the stuffing right out of us. And getting back up afterwards, after a fall or a failure, is is never easy. But Isaiah tells us that it’s Jesus who helps us do that. Faith in Jesus will drastically increase our endurance capability.

Isaiah likes to put it in more picturesque terms. He says that Jesus turns us into “oak trees.” And that’s a good metaphor. Oak trees have a tap root that sinks deep into the soil. They also have an extensive root system that spreads horizontally underneath the soil in a network that goes as far as four to seven times the diameter of the tree’s crown.

This makes oak trees very durable and able to withstand strong storms. They are tough and resilient.

Even when an oak tree is cut down for lumber, the wood itself is extremely strong. The U.S.S. Constitution reportedly received its nickname “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812 because of its oak hull. The hull was so tough that the cannon balls of the British war ships literally bounced off it.

So, if you would like to be more tough and resilient, if you would like to build endurance for this very tough race we call life, going through adverse conditions can no doubt help. But true endurance builds when we, by faith, are in the hands of our everlasting (and everlastingly kind and powerful) Savior, Jesus.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor” (Isaiah 61:1-3, NIV).

Our Bible reading for Friday, September 25, is Isaiah 60:1 – 62:12, Ephesians 4:1-16 and Proverbs 23:19-28.

Lord Jesus, you are my everlasting Savior and my Lord. Send me your Holy Spirit to strengthen my heart and mind, and make me resilient, tough and enduring by faith in you.

Header image based on "Oak Tree" by Marilyn Peddle, CC By 2.0

Redefining Rituals

Rituals are nurturing practices that allow us to learn about God and be reminded of his most important attributes — his holiness, his love, his omnipotence, his mercy, his omniscience and his forgiveness.

Healthy worship rituals help us to meditate on God’s holy will expressed in the law. And they help us dwell again and again on God’s gracious promises expressed in the gospel. Rituals help us to form helpful habits that feed our faith, and do so on a consistent basis over the long haul.

All this is a good thing — a very good thing!

Yet, there is a danger inherent in rituals. If we’re not cautious about rituals, we can lose the substance of our faith in the midst of carrying out the ritual forms of our faith. Though it looks perfectly healthy and right on cursory examination from the outside, faith becomes an empty shell.

That’s what occurred with the Jews in the days of Isaiah. They were still faithfully carrying out the practices and rituals of their faith. But somewhere in the midst of carrying out their worship rituals, they had lost their love for God and their neighbor. The things most important to God were ignored, while the things most abhorrent to God were affirmed.

God — through Isaiah — suggested that his people needed to seriously evaluate themselves and redefine their rituals, such as fasting. The most important “fast” is not simply to give up eating. It’s to share our food with those who are hungry. It’s to provide travelers with shelter. It is to give clothes to those who lack clothing to wear. It is to bring justice and mercy to those who are oppressed and being treated unjustly.

Making this change was critically important to God. So as a special encouragement to the Jews to redefine their rituals, God also attached promises of grace to his command to do so. He tells the Jews that those who will redefine fasting in this way will see their influence grow. They will experience God’s protection and his blessing on their work. They will see their needs being met. He even promises that health and strength will be the hallmark of the people who “fast” in this new way.

Fast-forward to us, today, already living in a position of great influence, highly secure and protected, not to mention quite wealthy (certainly far beyond needs simply being met), with the best health and medical care in the world. That’s not to mention the even more important spiritual wealth that we possess. Jesus, God’s Son, has given us his righteousness, peace, faithful love, forgiveness, the power to experience a changed life, and the right to call ourselves the children of God with eternal life as our inherited destiny.

Every now and then it’s good for us, as well, to evaluate our hearts and examine our rituals. It’s a healthy exercise to reconsider and, if necessary, redefine. It’s important to make sure that we have not lost the substance of our gratitude and love for God, or buried our love for our neighbor somewhere beneath the ritual rubble that’s supposed to be nurturing our faith.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” (Isaiah 58:6-11, NIV). 

Lord, I thank you for your many blessings. You have graciously provided all I need for my body and life, as well as for my heart and soul. Help me to notice the needs of others and willingly seek to serve and generously give to those who need my help and assistance. Help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. Strengthen me to love sacrificially, as you have first loved me.

Our Bible reading for Thursday, September 24, is Isaiah 57:14 – 59:21, Ephesians 3:1-21 and Psalm 111:1-10.

Header image based on "Charity in the dictionary" by Howard Lake, CC By-SA 2.0