Archive | Finances RSS feed for this section

Tithing Rewards

 

“Only 30% of the congregation tithes.” While Jerry read the paper after Sunday services last week, I was looking through information on a capital campaign.

Jerry put the newspaper down and smiled at me. “They don’t know what they’re missing. How sad.”

Malachi 3:10 (NIV) says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” I thought of that scripture again as we went on the recount, as we have recounted before, all the ways God has honored the tithe that we began forty years ago.

We have always had all we need. We were very poor in our early days as Jerry made pottery and we sold his wares at art fairs. But we were provided for. We got to know a woman who ran a small pottery supply store in her house. We purchased a kiln one day for several hundred dollars. ”You guys always have the money you need when you need it.” She knew us well enough to know that we didn’t have a human patron supplying our raw materials.

In the next few years, Jerry got his electrician’s license and began to work for the city, a job he kept until last year. Our tithing continued. Occasionally, I wished for more money, but reminded myself of Malachi 3:10. Once, I noticed a woman wearing designer jeans while I wore Farm and Fleet. “I could have those if I wanted to. I choose, though, to invest in the Kingdom.” Through various means, God provided a mortgage payoff on the same day we took our daughter to college. We have enough money in Jerry’s retirement. Health costs have always been paid, even the tens of thousands of Jerry’s cancer treatments. We are grateful.

Finances, though, are just the beginning of blessing. We experience God’s favor in every area–From the sweetness between Jerry and me to the sense of God’s love and compassion as we navigate our journeys in this challenging world.  I know many of you could give similar testimonies.

But if you’re part of the 70%, I understand the fear of not being taken care of. I get the resentment of giving up your cash. But it’s the one place in scripture he challenges us to test him. Don’t miss out on the reward.

Father, your faithfulness is absolute. Thank you. 

 

Comments { 2 }

God’s File Cabinet

In November, I wrote that I was "Free to be Wrong," about Jerry's pathology report from prostate cancer. I'd expected clear margins and got reports of two areas of positive margin. I had so hoped for a good report.

And, yet! The first PSA report: "Undetectable." In spite of cancer cells right at the edge of the removed tissue, there are not enough cancer cells remaining to produce any prostate-specific antigen in the first blood test after the surgery. That means no radiation. That meant we were able to go to Colorado to see our little grandson and his parents. It meant Jerry went back to work in a few weeks. It meant we could push "CANCER" to the back of our minds.

There's a large file cabinet there, in the recesses of our hearts, with lots of pieces of our lives: retirement finances, job security, book sales, speaking engagements, all the dangers and uncertainties of the world.  Label: "God's Problems."  

File

The cabinet contains those parts of our lives that we have no or little control over. They have to be God's responsibility. We can save and plan for retirement, but we don't know what health challenges may drain our reserves. We don't know whether the banks might fail. We don't know what disasters may come.  By his grace, we lock up our worries into this cabinet, kept in a dark back room.  What parts of your life need to be locked up in a "God's Problems" cabinet? Ministry future? Company sales? Health worries? May we all have grace to give God what is his responsibility and keep only what he gives us.

Father. In these days of uncertainty, be our rock. In these days of fear, be our comfort. In these long days of waiting, be our hope.

 

Comments { 1 }

How the Mighty Have Fallen

Yahoo News reports on Bernie Madoff's court appearance:  "In court Thursday, Madoff — a dapper figure, dressed in a charcoal-gray
suit, with swept-back, wavy gray hair — said he began the scheme during
the last recession, when 'I felt compelled to satisfy my clients'
expectations, at any cost.' He did not put his investors' money into
the market, as he claimed. Instead, it was a Ponzi scheme, or a pyramid, in which early investors are paid off with money taken in from later ones.

'When I began the Ponzi scheme I believed it would end shortly and I
would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme,' he
said. 'However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and
as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would
inevitably come.'"

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," soon-to-be-king David proclaims three times in the first chapter of 2 Samuel, referring to King Saul's death. Mr. Madoff and Saul had some characteristics in common. Fear of people, most notably. Madoff "felt compelled" to give his clients what they demanded. Saul was "afraid of the people" (1Samual 15:24) and thereby disobeyed God's clear command to utterly destroy an enemy, including all their livestock.

Saul compounded his disobedience by insisting to the priest, Samuel, that the sheep Saul had spared were to be sacrificed to Yahweh. But Saul replied, "To obey is better than sacrifice." (1Samuel 15:22)

How often our disobedience is inspired by our fear of people. We want to please others rather than God. We step just a bit out of bounds and think we can pull ourselves back when we need to. We'll ask for forgiveness afterwards.

We may not be the "mighty," but we, too, can fall. Unlike Mr. Madoff, we may not take so many down with us. We may not impact a nation, like Saul's disobedience. But people are watching us. Our children, our church friends, our neighbors, even random people in the world. And in this age of social networking, our impact can extend farther than we might imagine.

Obedience matters. It matters that we stay inside the boundaries God has drawn. We choose to believe honesty wins over deception. We choose to believe obedience is better than asking forgiveness. We work towards faithfulness in every area. Disobedience is shaky ground. Just look at Saul or ask Mr. Madoff.

Father, we need your enabling to obey. May we see that obedience to your commands leads to a stable life.

Comments { 0 }

By the Throat?

What do you do when you get in those places where life has you by the throat? I've been in a few of those places and I've learned three important strategies:

1.  Rest. Eat Well. Take care of our bodies. Our bodies come first. Without them, we are nothing. Well, you know what I mean. We're not present in the world. If you're walking with Jesus, you would be present with him, as Paul says. "absent from the body, present with the Lord."

Unless the Lord gives us specific instructions otherwise and we are sure it's God's guidance and not crazy thinking, our first priority is safeguarding health.

2. Partialize. Break the problem that has you in its hold into small pieces. What's doable right now? If you are worried about losing your house, what can you do today that might help? Ask for wisdom in working through a step-by-step process. We want instantaneous deliverance from our problems. In thirty-five years of walking with him, God has most often walked with me through a process of problem-solving. 

3. Work on relaxing and trusting God. God is more involved in our lives that we have any idea of. "If he's so involved, then why doesn't he rescue me?" I don't know. What I know is that he is suffering with you, to accomplish his purposes, which are worth what they cost. Whatever is coming on the whole world as we endure this economic crisis, he is in it with us, by his Holy Spirit.

Papa-God, please hold us in the palm of your hand. We need wisdom, guidance, and trust. You are a good God, or we wouldn't trust you with ourselves.

Posted early this week. I'll be away from a computer as I speak at Ordinary Women, Extraordinary God, a Vineyard Women's Conference in Columbus, Ohio. As always, thanks for reading. Comments are welcome.

Comments { 2 }