Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust the He will still deliver us…

  - 2 Corinthians 1.9, 10

Begging prevents prayer and will not lead to heaven.

  - The Rule of Ailbe, Irish, 8th century

A lot of fund-raising letters sound like begging, don’t they: “We need your gift today, and even a special gift beyond your regular gift, or else we’re going to have to cut back our ministry to (fill in the blank) and lay off faithful staff.”

I don’t read the appeal letters that come to our home. And I can assure you, Susie puts them right in the trash. We have a few ministries that we give to because we know the ministries and believe in their work.

Direct mail beggars get nowhere in this household.

And yet, here I am, Principal of a ministry that depends on gifts, aligned with a tradition that forbids begging as a hindrance to prayer.

What to do?

Our approach to raising funds, we hope, mirrors what I see to have been Paul’s approach: minister all you can to as many people as you can, by every possible means; let them know your needs from time to time; at all times rely only on God. He will meet all your needs and send you help from His sanctuary and support from Zion (Ps. 20.2).

And leave the gimmicks, premiums, cruises, and President’s Very Special Best Friends Forever Clubs to others. If we ever transgress Paul’s approach, let us know, will you?

But Paul’s advice applies to more than fund-raising, doesn’t it?

How many times have we been guilty of trying to manipulate others to do or get what we want? Of launching out in some new direction in life on the strength of nothing more than a hunch or a hope? Of launching into a new day without waiting before the Lord in prayer and before His Word to discern His will and surrender ourselves anew to Him?

If in any way – fund-raising or everyday life – we are depending on our wiles, wits, gimmicks, cleverness, experience, wealth, or power, rather than on the Lord only, then how will we ever know the utter joy and surprise and unbounded delight of His delivering grace (2 Cor. 1.10)?

Our hope is that The Fellowship of Ailbe is providing spiritual nourishment for your walk with the Lord and work in His Kingdom. We’re confident that, if that is the case, you will join us in this ministry with your prayers and gifts as the Lord leads (Gal. 6.6).

We continue to trust the Lord that this will be so.

Psalm 23.1-3 (Taladh Chriosta: “Song of the Christ Child”)
The Lord my Shepherd is, and I
Shall not want; He makes me lie
In green pastures, leads me by
Refreshing waters still.

Restore my soul, Lord, day by day;
Lead me in the righteous way
For Your name’s sake, Lord, I pray,
According to Your will.

Lord, teach me to trust only in You, and to wait on You day by day.

That being said…
I’m going to try very hard not to beg here. Rather, I want to alert you, the members of The Ailbe Community, to upcoming changes in our ministry. I’ll be sending out more information next week, explaining the wide door of opportunity the Lord has opened before us, and what this means not merely for us, but for you. For now, suffice it to say that we need you to seek the Lord for the support of The Fellowship of Ailbe. Will you pray daily, for the next four weeks, as the Board of Overseers, John Nunnikhoven, Susie, and I, working with the Brothers of The Fellowship, begin the most expansive phase of our 9-year-old ministry’s life? Watch your email, because I don’t want you to miss the opportunity to join us in taking this wonderful gift and opportunity in hand, for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom. Please pray, and if the Lord leads you to give to The Fellowship at this time, let me just say, it will be timely, indeed. You can use the donate button here or at the website, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

More to come, beginning next week.

Psalms to Pray for Today and Thursday
Today
Morning: Psalm 119.105-112; Psalm 66
Evening: Psalm 142

Tuesday
Morning: Psalm 119.113-119; Psalm 67
Evening: Psalm 143

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.