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| View from the podium |
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| One of several visiting choirs, wearing traditional choir garb |
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| Hot (but no, I'm not asleep) |
I've sat on many a podium in a Haitian church as Storly has preached. It's not a place I can go unnoticed. On this day, it was really hot and I was constantly fanning a sweaty 5-year-old who wriggled on my lap for 2 1/2 hours (while Hannah took pictures of us, and herself...). An old lady who was sat in the singing group next to us even lent me a photo she kept in her Bible, to reinforce the cooling power of my piece-of-paper fan.
One of the songs this singing group sang struck me as soon as I heard it (though of course, now I want to tell you about it, I can't remember the exact words).
"Si ou vle Ayiti vin pli bel,
se pou tout ayisyen ap suiv Jezi...nan plas Satan
pou chak moun nan nasyon sa a
rekonnet Bondye kom seul Met la"
"The only way for Haiti to become more beautiful
is for every Haitian to follow Jesus...instead of Satan
...for every person in this country to claim God as their only Master."
Have you ever heard a song like that sung in your church or in your country? I LOVE this about the way Haitians talk and sing out their faith.
The ONLY way for Haiti to become more beautiful. Not one of the ways.
For EVERY Haitian to follow Jesus. Not just a few, while the others go the other way.
To follow JESUS...instead of Satan. Not instead of any religion you'd like to choose or make up as you go along. It's Jesus or the enemy, no middle ground.
For every person to claim God as their ONLY Master. Not one master among many.
Powerful stuff.
Storly also preached a brilliant sermon about giving. I was wishing I had been able to take notes (though my note-taking from his animated preaching in Creole wouldn't be easy to write, or read). Brilliant because of the scope of his message (from 'who owns it all anyway', to 'condition of our hearts when we give to the Lord', from 'contributing to rebuild the Temple' to 'building ourselves, temples of the Holy Spirit'). And brilliant because he challenged us. All of us.
Now, I work in fundraising,right. So,I've spent over the years, I've spent quite a bit of time looking at what the Bible says about money, about giving, and raising funds. And I still find it mind-blowing.
Like 1 Chronicles 29: 1-20, where David (after giving about $6 billion worth of gold of his personal wealth, then a load more in silver to rebuild the Temple) challenges the church leaders to give, and then the congregation follows. Read the whole passage, and notice words like "rejoicing", "they gave freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord".
In verse 14, David gives the bottom line:
"Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."
Like Matt 6: 19-21, about treasuring the right things:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Like in the middle of giving Moses the Ten Commandments (important stuff from God to His people), God gives instructions for His people to bring Him an offering..."from each man whose heart prompts him to give." Ah, it's a heart issue. What - or Who - we love is where we'll want to give our money (and our time, our attention, and everything else).
Then when the Apostle Paul writes to the wealthy Corinthian church, he talks to them about the actions of the poor Macedonian church, (2 Corinthians 8) saying:
In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty
welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,
and even beyond their ability.
Their attitudes - Overflowing joy
Their life situation - In the middle of a very severe trial and living in extreme poverty
Their impact - Rich generosity
Wow. That's what I want. Overflowing joy in whatever my financial circumstances (perhaps not extreme poverty, but we've had moments of not knowing how we were going to pay bills, or buy food, or have somewhere to live) to result in RICH generosity.
And then the verse that really sticks in my mind from Storly's sermon. From 2 Samuel 24, where David needs to make an offering to the Lord, and is offered something for free. His response: "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God something that cost me nothing."
I will not give to the Lord my God something that cost me nothing. I don't want to give back to God - through giving to the local body of believers we're a part of, to those in ministry we're partnering with, to help those in need, giving because of the urge to show our love to God and to people - something that I'm not going to miss, our extras, the stuff, the money we can easily live without. I want to make an effort. That's part of the process. Part of the devotion.
I will not give to the Lord my God something that cost me nothing.
I'm going to keep chewing over that statement. It's a bit of a challenge, isn't it?
P.S. Here are a couple of great books if you're interested in reading more about what God says about money, how we handle our finances, giving and raising funds. The Treasure Principle is more general, lots of great principles in here.
But if fundraising is your profession, if you raise funds for your own support and ministry, if you're a leader of a group that needs to raise funds, then If God Will Provide by Rick Dunham is a must-read.
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