The Money Pot

He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep." (John 21:17)

I may not thrill a lot of people with today's blog; but, I am still trying to figure out this whole madness over the powerball lottery thing. I am amazed at how much money can be gathered from people who are willing to gamble on becoming rich beyond their dreams. When I listen to what some would do with the money, I cannot help but wonder how long it would be before they would be filing for bankruptcy. I also wonder how many really destitute that amount of money could feed or clothe or shelter. Maybe at least half of the proceeds from each of these lotteries could go toward shelters for the homeless? I mean, who really needs a billion dollars? Seems like a lot for one or two people to manage who have no experience managing even hundreds of thousands.

There are real people who are really destitute in this country. They cannot afford to buy powerball tickets. They use what pennies they have to try to feed themselves. Using the profit from lotteries for the betterment of society has been, in fact, attempted. It doesn't seem to have worked too well. Years ago, when Michigan was pushing for a lottery, funding the school system from the lottery was a priority that was being touted. The schools in Michigan are still in a pretty bad financial state and so are our roads. Gambling no matter in what form brings about many problems along with the benefits it might bring to a few.

We cannot let money manage us. It is up to us as individuals, businesses, and governments to manage money for the betterment of all. I live near the first Indian Casino that was ever opened in this country. To their credit, the tribe has learned to manage their earnings to benefit the whole community, both Native Americans and non-Native. However, not all individuals who frequent the casino have learned what it means to manage their money.

There is a lot of hope placed in the chance of winning by some who play the lotteries. It benefits a few; but, has the potential of doing great damage to others.  

Many of my friends and family members gamble. For the most part they are not extravagant in their placing their bets. Although, I have worried about at least a few of them. Personally, I do not find gambling a good stewardship model for me. I could throw the money in the pot to make someone else a million or billionaire or I could throw it in a pot and feed a hungry person.

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains." 1 Timothy 6:10

God's Peace - Pr. J

Luke 19:11-27 Stewards of God's Gifts

Luke 19:11-27 NIV
Today we have one of my favorite stewardship lessons. Those who take care of and use wisely the gifts that they have been entrusted with will be given even more responsibility regarding the gifts. Everything that we think we own does belong to God. He gives good gifts. He can multiply them or He can take them away. Use what your gifts wisely that our Father in heaven is glorified.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Mark 15:42-47 Conflict of Interest

Mark 15:42-47 NIV
There was a council member who abstained during the vote of the council of a small congregation. It was concerning the expenditure of about $100.00 for a non-essential item in the church. The budget was very small. The Pastor voted no as a similar item could be purchased for about $10.00 or less, citing poor stewardship. The rest of the council voted for the expenditure. But, this is not about stewardship. It is about why one council member would abstain. It was not a matter of conflict of interest for the council member to vote. Well, I guess there was a conflict of interest. He would not make a decision as a council member in order to stay on the good side of everyone. He simply did not want to offend the Pastor or the rest of the Council by voting against either one so he chose to do nothing. He just wanted to be a nice Lutheran and not offend anyone.

It was the hierarchy in the church that wanted Jesus out of their way. Yet, it was one council member who was willing to put his own life on the line and stand up for Jesus. Jesus was dead, so how was he going to know if Joseph of Arimathea stood by him? But, Joseph had hope in the Kingdom and it was important to Joseph that Jesus have a proper burial. He went to Pilate, knowing full well that the Council would find out, and asked for Jesus' body so that he could give Jesus' body a proper burial. Joseph was not afraid to do what he felt was right. Neither fear of Pilate or the other council members could keep him from doing what he felt he should and must do.

May God help us to do the right thing and not be afraid of what others will think of us or do to us when we stand up for Jesus.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Malachi 3 - Annual Reports; Budgets

So much I'd like to cover in such little space....

First, the prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist:
"I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty." (Mal 3:1 NIV)

Next to consider the word of God when He says: "I the LORD do not change." (Mal 3:6) I'm going to let you think about that one on your own.

Thirdly; I have been working on annual reports and budgets and benevolence comes up a lot when I do that. So the following verses kind of jumped out at me.

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 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 will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty." (Mal 3:-8-12)

It is no secret that I and many others in this community think that we live in a delightful land! It is a friendly and caring community. The people who live in this place are very generous when it comes to helping those in need. We do all that we can to help others in need. (See Mal 3:5) As a congregation reaching out to others we have grown in many ways over the years.

Back to the annual report.... Thanks be to God, our budget is also being managed quite well and even grows - slowly but surely. We have some very faithful stewards. I have to admit that I get a little antsy at times when it comes to budgets (maybe even a little cranky - especially if someone intimates that our storehouse is for us and not to help those in need). Our congregation budget, in the end, is one of those things that we (I) have to say, from year to year, that we will just have to trust the LORD to provide. He has, after all, an outstanding track record of consistently providing for us and for others, through us, in various ways. I was quite surprised to find out that almost 40% of our general fund offerings, this year, came from non-members and I want to take this opportunity to thank God, in all of you, for supporting our ministry. We are a small congregation and a small community; but, thanks be to Christ in all of you, the ministry in this place does not just exist, but thrives.

You have been good stewards of God financial gifts. How's your stewardship of the Word and word going? Are you actually reading your Bible so that you can know His word and Word? That, after all, was the intent of this blog to help you get more involved in daily Bible reading and studying. Make sure you read the rest of Malachi 3. There is much in just this one chapter to understand.

God's Peace - Pr. J
P.S. Just a little clarification for those who may be wondering why I refer to both "word" and "Word." When I speak of the word with a small "w", I am referring to the Holy Scriptures. When I use a capital "W", I am referring to the Word who is Jesus the Christ.

Ezekiel 45 - Present A Portion To The LORD

“When you allot the land as an inheritance, you are to present to the Lord a portion of the land as a sacred district..." (Ezekiel 45:1 NIV)

The apportionment of the land... The first allotment is to be for the LORD.

It is October, the month that we (Lutherans) typically set aside to focus on stewardship. I attended a meeting last week in Dearborn where the focus was greatly on stewardship. There were lots of ideas and opinions. Stewardship kind of drives me crazy. We've heard it all before. We already know it in our hearts and minds. I don't get why people just don't get that everything we have belongs to God and He gets the first and the best fruits for His glory. He is the landowner. We are allowed to use and care for His land. It still belongs to God. What is so difficult in glorifying God in the use of His property?

At Zion, we had a table talk prior to Worship this last Sunday on stewardship. Kathy Gobert gave an excellent presentation (at least in my opinion). She basically thanked everyone for using the various gifts God has given each of us in a way that reaches out to others with the love of God. She encouraged everyone to continue to use those gifts that God has given each of us to glorify God. All that we have; after all, is His.

Is it too much to ask to use the gifts that He has given us for His purpose; that His Kingdom come; that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven?

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 1 - Blessed Is He Who Meditates on God's Word

We begin a new book this morning - the book of Psalms. Psalms is a book of poems or songs, as many congregations, including my own chant/sing a different one every Sunday morning. 

Today we begin by being reminded that those who meditate on the law of the LORD will be blessed.  As we study the Word of God to know His will for us, we will be blessed with the knowledge of His great love and mercy given to us through the precious gift of Jesus the Christ.

In this month of October, we spend time focusing on stewardship at Zion.  Last week we had a "Table Talk" concerning stewardship of creation by one of our council members.  Next Sunday, we will hear a testimony on stewardship of finances by one of our "counters." This morning, I am still going over what I will discuss in regards to stewardship of Word and Sacraments. 

Oh, you've never heard of the concept of being a steward of God's Word and Sacraments.  It is simply this.  God gives you the precious gift of life - eternal life in His presence.  We receive that gift by faith through the means of grace - namely the gifts of Word and Sacraments.  We receive life, who is Jesus Christ, when we hear His word.  We receive life, who is Jesus Christ, when we are baptized into His Body.  We receive life, who is Jesus Christ, when we receive His body and His blood into our very own bodies through the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  By the power of the Spirit of Christ, we receive Him through these means of grace.  If God gives us these precious gifts freely, why would we neglect these gifts to the detriment of our own lives? To be good stewards of the Word and Sacraments is to hear the word and the Word and to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion often, that Christ may abide in you and you in Him. In that we are truly blessed!

Well, I hope I do better than that at the "Table Talk" this morning.  I hope you get the gist, though!

God's Peace - Pr. J

2 Chronicles 31 - Good and Right and Faithful Steward

"This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." (31:20-21 NIV) 

This chapter is a wonderful example of good stewardship - stewardship in many areas.  I probably think about stewardship - taking care of all that God has given us (including: His grace, forgiveness, eternal life) - at least once a day.  Lately, I've been trying to figure out what we should do for our annual stewardship program or lack of it.  I hate programs, but we do focus on stewardship during October.  I've been trying to talk one of the most faithful men that I know into doing a table talk on stewardship.  I'm not sure if he will.  I am sure he is reading this and the chapter for today; though, because he is also faithful in the stewardship of God's word.  He is faithful in many things.  (Matt 25)

I often hear people complain about how little they have.  They don't have enough money to help others.  They don't have enough time to worship.  They don't have.  The reality, I often see, is that they often have a great deal.  The harder reality is that they just manage things poorly.  They are very poor stewards of God's gifts to them.  God is the last person they take the time to think about or thank when it comes time to using up the gifts of God and consequently they lose a lot - they throw it away - instead of investing or reinvesting for the glory of God.  

Remembering that all that we have actually belongs to God and that we are simply caretakers of it helps me to keep things in perspective. 

May God help us to do what is good and right and faithful before Him.

1 Chronicles 29 - Free-will Offerings

Wow!  I know some stewardship/financial people in my congregation who would love this chapter!  David bequeaths 3000 talents of gold and 7000 thousand talents of silver to the building up of the temple.  And.. the leaders of fathers' houses, leaders of the tribe, the commanders of the troops, and officers of the king's work followed David's lead by giving very generous free-will offerings for the work, as well.  And... David and all the people were exceedingly happy because they had given willing, with whole hearts.  Therefore, David blessed the LORD and thanks Him that they are able to give so willingly.  How is it, he wonders, that they are able to give anything to the LORD? After all, isn't everything God's in the first place?  Isn't it He who gives us every good thing?

We have come to the end of 1 Chronicles.  Solomon, David's son, is made king and David dies with honor and dignity at a good age. 

David's life and his reign has had its ups and down.  Tomorrow we will begin to (maybe) understand the wisdom of Solomon and his leadership.