Dear First Pres,
I hope you were encouraged by the testimony that Ian & Charity Whitney shared in worship on Sunday. It was certainly encouraging to me, and not just because I’m the senior pastor of the church. Early in our marriage, Diane made it clear that she wanted to build a consistent, non-negotiable habit of giving at least 10% of our income to our local church. At the time I was in the “let’s give as our hearts are tugged” mode. But, by God’s grace, we followed Diane’s lead.
I’m not sure if she knew the blessing that would come from that when she pushed it some 25 years ago, but the blessing is beyond measure. No, we’re not millionaires. Yes, there are plenty of ways that we could have used that money over the years. But giving all that money away has been one of the most important spiritual disciplines of my life. God has used that discipline of giving regularly to the local church to develop generosity in my life. He’s used it to loosen my grip on “my” money. In fact, He’s used it to help me learn to recognize that everything I have belongs to the Lord. It’s His money. I want all of it to be obedient to His purposes, not just the tithe we give to church every month. And, slowly, but surely, God has used the discipline of giving to increase my trust in Him. By God’s grace, we’ve always had what we need, and more.
But, it’s important to remember that God has used that discipline of giving beyond me, as well. I’ll never know the Kingdom fruit that has come from Diane’s insistence so many years ago. There’s no way to calculate how God has used all those dollars over the years. I praise God that He has used the resources He has given us to be a blessing to others.
And now, like Ian & Charity, our estate plan is set up to give to FPC Fresno when we die. I imagine it will be the largest single contribution we ever make to the church, and I trust the Lord will give wisdom to whoever is in leadership at that time to steward it well.
Why am I saying all this now? Well, of course, the Estate Planning Workshop is happening tonight, and again at the 2nd Fridays Luncheon tomorrow. And yes, as you may have noticed, our congregation’s giving is behind budget which will impact how we budget for 2023. Each of those are simply an opportunity to raise the deeper question of stewardship.
So, Beloved, how are you doing with the resources God has given you? Are you growing in generosity? Are you loosening your grip on your material resources while the Lord increases your trust in Him? I pray the Holy Spirit used the encouraging testimony from Ian & Charity to plant a Kingdom seed in you – all so that more and more it would be in Fresno as it is in heaven.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeremy
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