Gift Planning Resources

If we live long enough, we will find ourselves resenting change, at least in some ways. We must adjust as loved ones are called home to Jesus, no longer by our side in this earthly life. Institutions that were dependable are long since gone. Social graces and signs of respect we learned as children may no longer be present.

Change is inevitable here on earth. Part of the reason for this is that we live in a world that bears the curse of our sin. That curse will remain until our Heavenly Father brings about the new heavens and the new earth, through His powerful Word, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some change is great! A vaccine for polio changed fear of disease to confidence to live life again. Technology gives us access to speedy information and entertainment we could never have dreamed.

But much change bears the stain of decay. That is the kind of change that causes us to hurt and grieve. Yet with all Christian grief, we do not grieve without hope.  We have our Lord Jesus Christ who is going to give us our place that He has prepared for us.

Wouldn’t it be great to put down into words that hope that resides in your soul? The Spirit has used the Word to call you to faith and now you have something very special to share. You can share that as a preamble to your Last Will and Testament, or as a family blessing apart from your legal documents. Creating this message is your way to make sure that your children or their children know exactly what you have believed, and they receive the charge from you to continue in that faith from generation to generation. This can be a great encouragement, especially in these times of rapid change. Your LCMS Gift Planning Counselor can help you get started on creating this gift to your family and friends.  Contact Craig Stirtz at 402-616-0312 or craig.stirtz@lfnd.org

Gift Planning Newsletter Article
For Gift Planning Counselors and Associates

Provisions, Protection and Providence

During life, people who care and are conscientious provide for their lives and for their children. During life, people instinctually protect those whom they love and the values they hold true. During life, all people live under the providence of a God who creates and sustains life. For people of faith, this providence extends into eternity under the saving grace of Jesus, God’s only Son.

God’s Word speaks about this inheritance that we have been given. God informs us in 1 Peter 1:4-5 that we are given “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power is being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

If we are to live in the provision, protection and providence of our faith, it is consistent with these values that we also prepare for the time when our earthly lives will transition to a new life in the presence of Christ.

Christian stewards will be intentional about making sure that their estate plans give the provisions that are appropriate to loved ones so that they will be blessed. Stewards will certainly want to protect not only the property they manage but also the people and charitable beneficiaries who will receive it. Our motivation for this planning is a recognition of the providence of God for the benefit of His children during life and beyond.

If you would like to review your own plan to make generous provision in a way that protects blessings and honors God’s providence, let us know. We would be pleased to help you develop you own lifetime plan for giving to bless the people you love and the ministries you care about.

For information on Gift Planning, call 402-643-2961, ext. 1002.

February 2017: Gift Planning Newsletter Article
For Gift Planning Counselors and Associates

Blending Family and Ministry Priorities

Personal priorities are often closely linked to family concerns. For Christians, spiritual precedence binds the importance of values we consider significant. Such unification combines the primacy of family and ministry motivations.

Throughout life, such priorities tend to show up in our actions. Whether laden with mistakes, or framed by good works, the priorities of our lives will be made known in the fruits that result from those actions.

God’s Word clearly brings family and ministry priorities together on the same road. We don’t need to look any further than the Ten Commandments to see ample evidence of this. It begins with the top priority – love for God, and moves to the second priority – love for our fellow man. All societies in history build on the foundational layer of family as the footing for humanity.

The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to encourage all parents with children to put in place or review their last will and testament that blends the spiritual priorities of family and ministry life. This is done using Christian preambles, charitable bequests and appropriate gifts to family members that will serve to bless and not curse them.

Parents with minor children will find it especially important to establish a minor’s trust to protect dependent children and to manage property or nominate Christian guardians who can be trustworthy in continuing consistent parental values.

Stewarding all of life includes managing risks that surround us during the days God gives. Preparing a Christian estate and gift plan should reflect a person’s priorities and merge family and ministry goals. If you haven’t completed your plan or updated it recently, you can give witness to your priorities for family and ministry by resolving to start, with our help, in the year of our Lord, 2017.

For information on Gift Planning, call 402-643-2961, ext. 1002.

Newness

It’s the time of year when people’s frame of mind to start again is prevalent. A new year heightens the sense of hope that things will be different, things will be new.

God established the Jubilee laws in Israel’s early history. This provided a time when all things would be made NEW again. In the Lord’s appointed time, slaves were set free, debts were forgiven and land was restored to the original family. The land was to sit fallow for a year to regenerate. All people would be amply provided for. God wanted His people to remember that freedom, liberation and abundant newness is God’s desire!

Newness encourages accomplishment and overcomes despair. Newness causes excitement. Newness is discovered when new responsibilities are given with confidence in one’s ability to handle them.

We are all born with our fists’ clenched. This grasp reflex is a first sign of vitality that doctors identify in a newborn. Sadly, natural sin causes that criterion of health to enslave us as we navigate life. Never certain if we might need it all, we gather and accumulate wealth until we die. Luther once noted that, “The desire for riches stays glued to our nature all the way to the grave.” Most don’t even think about, much less plan, to transfer these blessings.

Yet, as God brings a sense of Jubilee to His people, so He also creates an understanding that, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . .’ (2 Cor. 5:17). Faith recognizes that the Jubliee has been ours throughout our whole life . . . that “the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” For information on Gift Planning, call 402-643-2961, ext. 1002.

For Gift Planning Counselors and Associates
Generosity in Your Own Words

How did you learn about being generous? Was it your parents who taught you or did you learn it by experience? Did you know that generosity is a gift from the Holy Spirit?

The Apostle Paul references it in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 12. He dictates these words from God, starting with verse 6. “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Verse 7c informs us that “the one who contributes, should do so in generosity.”

Generosity is a gift of the Spirit of God and we are to practice it. Whether you learned from a model or not, generosity is a gift that God gives to His Church for our own good and for the good of others.

However you express your generosity, if you had to put it into words, what would you write or say? What would you tell others?

Actions of generosity often speak for themselves. There is another gift that is associated with generosity. In Romans 12:8a God’s Word tells us about the benefit of exhortation (encouragement) in generosity. Putting generosity in your own words helps accomplish this encouragement that often, if not always, precedes God’s gift of generosity in others.

Have you talked with your family or friends about generosity? This is not to suggest that you brag about it but rather that you ‘encourage’ or ‘exhort’ those under your care or influence to hear your own witness.

For additional information call 402-643-2961, ext. 1002.

Romans 12: 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: . . . 8the one who (encourages) exhorts, in his (encouragement) exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal . . .

For Gift Planning Counselors and Associates
Many Reasons to Give – Many Options for Giving

When two people fall in love and become one in the holy union of marriage, they typically share all that is to come, including material wealth. Most couples hold wealth in joint ownership. A few with considerable property might plan to separate assets in order to conserve taxes or maintain administrative protection. Yet in most cases, people commingle their property because it reflects their attachment and commitment to each other.

There also exists an emotional attachment, especially in connection with “objects of our bounty.” Generosity and giving are natural expressions that communicate the message, “I love you. You belong to me.” Giving can flow both during life and after.

Those who hear the Call of God’s Love through faith, have similar connections that often transcend human ties. For some, generosity steeps up from the conviction that all that they have is a gift. For others, the desire to share and give comes from deep within the heart. Sadly, decisions to act on such aspirations often don’t get made because of a lack of knowing how to proceed or the resolve to get started.

All of us have more options to structure gifts than is often understood. A relevant question to ask is, “What is the most effective way to give in each circumstance?” Answering this question often requires advisors who understand methods and vehicles that govern economic, tax and legal processes. But we find that many people don’t discuss this with their professional advisors. This means they may miss the best ways to match their generous intent with the optimal charitable vehicle.

Have you ever thought about seeking spiritual counsel on these gifting issues as a part of the process? Charitable advisors can help you align your hopes for blessing others with the most effective financial strategy for your particular situation.

For additional information call 402-643-2961, ext. 1002.