Yesterday afternoon I served at a military funeral, and it was cold. The wind chill was 20°, and beforehand we were all sitting in our cars waiting for the funeral procession to arrive. I was restless, so I put my overcoat on and got out of the car.
I was parked near a barren field on the edge of the cemetery, and the sun was starting to get low. I stood there, looking over the field, feeling the biting wind, and I started to pray.
I prayed about the things on my mind; I prayed some scripture; I prayed the Lord's Prayer. And as I stood there miserably cold and amidst the dead, I was alone with my Lord, my God, and I thought, "At this moment, there's no place I'd rather be than right here." It was a moment of pure contentment.
From Sunday's sermon notes, I have written, "People are looking for something that's real, true, and deep." That's so accurate. It seems that people are always searching for fulfillment in life, for satisfaction, enjoyment, entertainment.
We even make "bucket lists" of things to do or places to visit before we die, as if doing those things will make our lives complete and meaningful.
Or maybe it's that entertainment and fun is all a distraction that helps us forget that life is hard and we all face death. I don't know.
I do know that all the "stuff of life" pales in comparison to the Lord, to His Word, His truth, His promise to be with me, to hear my prayers, to forgive my sins...His promise of eternal life.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Psalm 84:1–2
I know this to be true. He's right there.
When I thought, “My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
Psalm 94:18–19
I often plan to spend time in prayer, in Bible reading, and I always think, "I'll get to it in a bit," only to never "get to it." But I've learned it's best to seize those moments to pray, to spend time with the Lord whenever and wherever the opportunity exists.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
Psalm 34:8–9
For a few months now, I've been working on materials for our church's upcoming Capital Campaign. And because I've been in this "stewardship" mindset, I've also been pondering my own journey in giving.
When we were newly married, my husband scheduled a meeting for us with the Navy Chaplain who was assigned to his Marine Battalion. My husband had become good friends with this Chaplain, and I thought I was just going to meet him. But it was more of a marriage counseling session.
And the only part I remember was the part about money. He said, "Now one of you is going to be the spender, and one you of is going to be the saver."
My husband and I looked at each other and laughed! We already knew that, and we knew that I'm the saver, or more appropriately, the one who's always reluctant to spend, the miser.
But through the years I've learned to start trusting the Lord in this area, and I've learned to start being generous.
When I first began working on this Campaign, my attitude was more practical - How should the Campaign be organized? and How do we best get information to church members?
When the words Stewardship and Capital Campaign are mentioned, people almost immediately think, "The church is always asking for money," or "The church always wants to build something."
I was avoiding those two topics and just doing the work that needed to be done. And I wasn't thinking about stewardship in any new way or much at all. But, as in every situation, God's Word comes into my heart and my mind and impacts my life and my thinking.
My personal Bible readings for the past few months have been in the books of First and Second Chronicles and Exodus.
In Chronicles, while reading about the various good and bad kings, I came across this note in the Lutheran Study Bible:
Building projects are characteristic of faithful kings.
Now that's interesting. I'd never made the connection that the good and faithful kings of Judah were involved in building projects.
The faithful king I immediately think of is Hezekiah, the one who built the tunnel to bring water into the city. I recall that other kings also made repairs to the temple. And the books of Ezra and Nehemiah cover the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls.
Who knew? There's actually a Biblical basis to undertake church building projects.
So onto my readings in Exodus - I was plowing through the specifications on building the tabernacle and all the items associated with the tabernacle. And then the actual building of the tabernacle repeats those same instructions, and this goes on for chapters and chapters.
And in the midst of these instructions I read this:
And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought...They [the people] still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen...came...and said to Moses, "The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do." Exodus 36:3-5
The people were joyously and generously giving to build the Lord's tabernacle. They found it a blessing to give and to keep giving to such a degree that they had to be told to stop giving.
Giving is a blessing. I know this to be true. We give knowing that everything we have is already a gift from Him.
God's Word has literally changed my thinking about this Campaign. I no longer see the undertaking as just work, or hope that someone would donate all the needed funds, or pray that we'd win the lottery.
A faithful people will repair, renovate, and enhance their buildings. A faithful people will know and continue to grow in the joy and the blessings and benefits of giving. They'll desire to give more.
My prayer is that this campaign is a positive, faith-building experience for everyone, that we learn to trust the Lord, and know the joy and blessings of giving.
That's the real "building" of the church.
