Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
Somewhere during the first part of October, Alaska
Permanent Fund Dividends will be delivered to the bank accounts of hundreds of
thousands of Alaskans. You Alaskans know
how this works. When the constitution of
Alaska was drafted in the 1950’s, it asserted that the resources of Alaska
belong to the people of Alaska. Though,
how this principle is put into practice can be sticky. When the oil fields opened up in the 1970’s,
funds flowed from oil taxes into the state budget. Through wranglings in the legislature and in
the courts the Permanent Fund became part of the Alaska constitution in 1976
under Governor Jay Hammond. Each year
since 1982 each registered Alaskan resident has received a payment. The first payment in 1982 for each Alaskan
resident was $1000.00. The lowest payment
occurred in 1984 of $331.29 per person.
The highest payment made was $2072.00 in 2015. (While I knew some of this information, I
went to Wikipedia for the details I used.
I hope it is accurate.)
Outsiders, those not living in Alaska, think Alaskans
must be flush with all these payments of oil funds. However, they don’t know of the higher cost
of living and other challenges of living in the last frontier, such as travel. Those outside Alaska also do not know how
many people have plans for the PFD of each Alaskan. How many commercials have you heard so far
suggesting you buy a vehicle, buy furniture, buy electronics, buy a new
snowmachine, or some other item with your money? How many worthwhile organizations have
suggested you donate part or all of your Permanent Fund check to their
cause? The Alaskan economy does see a
jump every year when the PFD comes out.
But, Alaskan citizens run a gauntlet around everyone else who wants part
of their checks.
So, as a child of God, how have you used your Permanent
Fund Dividends? How do you plan to use
your dividend this year? I have heard
some Alaskans say, “It’s my money, keep your hands off!” Actually, I understand that reaction with all
the appeals Alaskans face for these dividends.
Pastor Ron Martinson of Central Lutheran Church in
Anchorage used to suggest just the opposite.
I heard him say something like, “I didn’t earn this check. It’s a gift from God. I give it all to the church. You should too.”
When she was alive and attending worship, long-time St.
John member June Liebing used to stand up in worship and share her
thoughts. (June was born in Sitka in
August of 1921, and moved to the Valley with her dad in 1932, before the days
of the Matanuska Colony.) June would stand
up and encourage others in worship with words like these. “These checks come from the oil in the ground
in Alaska. God made the earth. He put the oil in the ground. These checks are gifts from God. I encourage you to tithe (give 10%) off your
PFD to the church.” June backed up her
words with her actions.
My wife and I have followed the suggestion of June and
tithed to God’s work in our congregation off our Permanent Fund Dividends each
year. When, our children were home, we
then put all their remaining dividends into an educational account to save for
college, or other future expenses. When our
children came to the time for leaving home, then there were funds available
that helped them. Kathy and I have personally
used our funds to pay bills (often medical bills), to travel, and to put into
savings.
So you might think I will have a suggestion for how you
will use your dividend this year.
Actually, I simply ask that you think and pray as you receive this
dividend, which truly is a gift. There
are some principles however, which apply to all actions of stewardship by God’s
children.
First, we are only stewards, or managers, of the all the resources
of time and talent and treasure which we have.
Psalm 24:1 says, “The
earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” God created the world and its
inhabitants. As Creator, all really
belongs to God! We are called to be
faithful managers of the resources of God
in our lives.
Second, God gives us everything we need through His
creative love and through His saving love.
Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that God takes care of the
birds of the air and the lilies of the field, and He also provides for us. Therefore, we should trust God to provide,
and not worry. (Matthew 6:25-33) But, Paul shares how, in Jesus, God has provided
grace for our lives. “For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2
Corinthians 8:9) Jesus left the riches
of heaven to take on the poverty and the suffering and death of this
world. Jesus sacrificed so that we might
receive the riches of heaven through faith in the life and death and
resurrection of Jesus. All of life is,
therefore, an opportunity to respond to the grace of God which we receive in
Jesus!
Finally, God wants us to give all the
offerings and sacrifices we make willingly and cheerfully from the heart, as people
who know the underserved love and blessings we receive from in Jesus. Perhaps the best summary of the many verses that speak about God’s
desire for how we use and manage the gifts He gives is found in 2 Corinthians
9:7, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
So, as an Alaskan, and as a child of God, how will you use this gift which HE provides?
A Child of God, Seeking to be Faithful in Responding to God’s
Grace,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. I have been
noticing the disappearance of apples and vegetable recently. On Tuesday, September 18, my daughter, Mary,
caught a picture of the culprits at 7:00 a.m. as she was going to work. https://photos.app.goo.gl/VCXe5HUaU4tLvwuu7
P.P.S. I did go
salmon fishing, probably for the last time this year, on Monday, September
24. We caught quite a few salmon, but
did not keep any. Therefore, no pictures
of that beautiful fall day.
******
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you do not want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message.
******
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