Sunday afternoon at 5:30 I walked into the church office to meet the other elders to prepare for the congregational celebration later that evening. Our stated goal was to raise $500,000 over the course of three years, an overwhelming challenge. The final tally from the morning offering was $314,123. As I entered the room, I was asked, “What do you think? How do you feel about these numbers?” With a little greater elaboration, here was my response.

I have often been asked to pray for people who are sick. Sometimes it is when they have first been diagnosed with a serious, life-altering illness. As elders of the church, we are called upon to lay hands on folks and anoint with oil and pray a prayer of faith for the healing of our brother or sister. I believe God can and does bring about instantaneous, miraculous healing for some. I always pray to that end. Nothing would please me more than to receive a report, days after prayer, that the tumor is gone, the ear has been opened, the eye can now see, the pain has vanished, or the heart is again beating in its normal rhythm. We would throw a big party, give God all the praise and glory and get on with our lives. No mess and no fuss. It often only amounts to a minor blip on the radar screen of our lives.

More often than not, God has additional things to accomplish when He brings these challenges into our lives. It is not going to be just an event for an instant, but a process or journey which may take us places we do not want to go – chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, procedures, pain and suffering. However, it is the journey that will mold us, deepen our walk, build our character, and teach us dependence on Him. Yes, God will answer our prayer! Healing will come, but it may be through a more painful process. God will come through!

What does this have to do with the capital campaign? I would loved to have seen the number come in at $500,000 plus. Then we could have jumped up and down, thrown a party, given God all the glory, pronounced the benediction and gone home. Job well done! It would have been a 5 week blip on the radar screen. Although reaching the goal coming out of the box would have been wonderful, I am not surprised that God will now have us in a process of working through this challenge. Isn’t that just His way? We will have to pray more and trust Him more. The elders will need to work harder to provide leadership as we navigate our way. He will build our character as leaders and as a church. We will be stronger when we do reach our goal.

No, I am not disappointed. I am basically lazy. I like to do things the easy way. I like slam dunks and no-brainers. I would rather have had a miraculous filling of our financial coffers, danced the jig and gone home. As usual, God has more that He wants to accomplish. I am up for that. We are only trying to move a short distance – less than a mile down the street – and yet it is a journey by faith. Let’s take in all the scenery along the way. We don’t want to miss anything because the journey is as important as our destination.

“I am excited! I am all in! I do feel that now is the time for our own building! I can’t wait for that first dedication services! Sadly though, I don’t have anything to give. I need all that I have because my outgo equals my income. How can I participate in the capital campaign?”

This may be the cry of many people who feel that they are strapped for disposable income. Times are tough, money is tight, and the future is uncertain. Most of us don’t have a pot of money sitting in an account somewhere just waiting for a good cause to come around so that we can write a big check. We may have to get creative and figure out how to free up some funds from our already strapped budget.

I remember talking to a financial planner who forced his clients to track their expenses for a month down to every detail. They were alarmed at how much money they spent for non-essential, un-budgeted items. How about you? Have you considered your ways when it comes to your spending habits?

What about that premium coffee drink at Starbucks? Three per week at $3.00 can add up to $40 per month or $1,400 over the length of the capital campaign. Lunch out is hard to do for less than $6.00, even at a fast food restaurant. Did you realize that eating lunch out three times per week amounts to $80 per month or $2,880 over the period of the capital campaign? You can take a bag lunch for a fraction of the cost. Eating your evening meal out is even more consequential. An average ticket of $25 for two once a week can add up to nearly $4,000 over the course of the next three years. Eating out or ordering in for convenience is an expensive and usually unhealthy way to eat. Save your eating out for “date nights” or celebrations, not for convenience. In what other areas do you spend money without purposing to spend?

What can be cut? How about premium cable, the sports package, or dare I say cable all together? Do you pay for a paper or magazine subscription that you seldom read or could get on line? Can you cut out unnecessary trips by planning your errands more carefully, or car pool to work or church? If you could save a couple gallons of gas per week, it would add up to nearly $800 over the next three years. Do you go to full price, first run movies or only to the dollar movie theater? But, beware of the dollar movie scam – they admit you for next to nothing and then sell you popcorn and a soda for a fortune. Don’t fall for it. What is a movie without popcorn, you say? Well, it is just that – a movie without popcorn – it is possible.

None of these may be your area of weakness. You can examine your own spending patterns and run the numbers on any of the things that may be suspect. Look at the possible savings over the life of the capital campaign. It may surprise you how much recoverable disposable income you have.

Our oldest daughter has a web site and shares ways to live well on less. She told me her top five tips for freeing up money in the family budget are:

1. Match coupons with store sales. Shop on double coupon days and make a menu plan and grocery list before you visit the store.
2. Shop at thrift stores and yard sales for clothes and household items. Clothing and toys are sold for pennies on the dollar; the deals are so great you might never buy retail again!
3. Visit your local library for books, movies, music, and magazines.
4. Switch to a cash budget. Studies show that even people who pay their credit card off every month spend 12-18% more when they use plastic. The envelope system is a great way to learn financial discipline.
5. Stay at home more and go out less. Going out usually means spending money, whether it is at the gas pump or the drive thru. Be purposeful with your time and your resources.

For more tips like this click here.

Sacrificial giving means we sacrifice something: time, convenience, personal pleasure or we just do without. God’s admonition through Haggai to consider our ways has caused Kathy and me to think through our own spending habits to be sure we are pleasing the Lord. I am already convicted by much of what I have written. You will almost never find me in the mall clothes shopping. It is not my thing (as most could easily observe), but I know every nook and cranny of the Home Depot and do my part to ensure the value of their stock. We have work to do. . . How about you?

One final thought . . . about those Gator season tickets. Perhaps God will lead some to sell them on Craig’s List or eBay and donate the proceeds to the capital campaign. Timmy is gone, so there is no reason to dwell on the past glory years. Saturday afternoons could be put to more productive use. Fear the Spear!

Those of us who have some understanding of the sovereignty of God can gain comfort and confidence that God is at work and that He has His absolute purposes in mind. The question then becomes how do we discern His purposes when we approach a tragedy such as this?  We can frequently see how God is working in our own lives when He brings difficult circumstances. Often it is only in retrospect that we see some of the purposes of God in precipitating the crisis.

But what about interpreting events that are on the world stage like natural disasters? These trials are often referred to as “Acts of God” and they are certainly that. Unfortunately, within the first few days of this crisis we had a prominent evangelical leader offer a rationale for this disaster. Certainly throughout Scripture we see how God brought various curses, plagues and oppression on the nation of Israel and other nations for their disobedience. I believe we make a big mistake when we try to explain God’s motivation for an event such as this or when we interpret for others what God is doing and what He is intending to accomplish. In the grand scheme of things, we are like a small fish swimming in a vast ocean trying to calculate it’s immeasurable dimensions. We do not know the mind of God, nor do we know the purposes of God.

Isaiah 55:8,9 says:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

If someone should ask me the Why question – “Why did God send this earthquake to victimize this poor nation?”, my answer would have to be, “I don’t have the foggiest idea.” That may not sound very prophetic but any other answer would simply be an act of presumption.  I am sure we will see many things that will give glory to God in the days ahead.

We are already seeing Christians rallying to lead the way in aid and help. I pray that God would use this crisis to change the spiritual landscape of Haiti just as He has changed the physical landscape through the earthquake. Well into the future, after we move past the immense suffering and devastation, we will have glimpses of God’s eternal purposes.

Yes, we have many ways that we can provide help for this suffering nation. We can pray, serve and give to participate in what God is doing, but when it comes to the question of “Why,” let’s not be so preposterous that we think we can explain the purposes and motives of God to others.

The majority of our days are filled with shopping, cooking, writing cards, ornaments, trees, lights, parties, carols, cookies, Christmas music, snow (well, thoughts of snow), watching It’s a Wonderful Life or maybe Christmas Vacation.  For some, it means taking in the Christmas Eve service, and for most, it means opening gifts on Christmas morning.

How about you and me? Are we only engaged in sentimentality or do we make it a priority to have real worship and thanksgiving for the immeasurable gift of grace given to us through Jesus Christ? Many non-believers and nominal Christians share with us all of the same traditions that have been passed on through the ages. There is unique emotional warmth that permeates our culture during this time of the year.

Let us set ourselves apart from those who merely view Christmas as a wonderful story about baby Jesus being born in a manger. We know the rest of the story, the story that goes from the manger to the cross and then from the cross to the Jesus who John saw in Revelation 1:12-18.

When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

Yes we know the rest of the story. It is not a sentimental story but rather the truth of our powerful and glorious redemption. Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. May we celebrate the One who holds the keys of death and the grave!  May we take time during the busyness of our days to ponder with deep reflection and gratitude the grace that assures us of life eternal! It is more that a warm feeling. It is more than traditions and childhood memories. Let us truly worship our incomparable Savior.