TODAY'S WORD FOR MONDAY APRIL 25, 2016.
STEWARDS
A manager or trustee; overseer; administrator; a chief servant; guard.
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. I Peter 4:10.
Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. I Corinthians 4:1.
As far back as we can remember our parents trained both of us to be good stewards of our time, our talents and our material possessions. Both of us, because of this training and because of our personal relationship with our Lord acknowledge the importance and the value of being good stewards.
One of the most important things we wanted to teach our children is the importance of being a steward of the finances God gives them. We have always practiced the principle of giving ten percent (a tithe) of our earnings back to God plus over and above our offerings. We tell you this not to pat ourselves on the back but as a testimony of the importance of honoring God with all that we have been given by Him. Your tithe already belongs to God. An offering is what is given over and above a tithe.
In Malachi 3:8-12 Malachi had to rebuke God’s people because they were not honoring God and were not giving their tithes and offerings. He tells them that they are robbing God when they withhold their tithes and offerings. He also tells them God will bless them if they bring their tithes and offerings to the Lord. Malachi challenges them to test God and see if it is not so.
We have tested God concerning the giving of our tithes and offerings over and over again. It is amazing to see how God blesses us when we give our tithes and offerings consistently. We have also experienced and have witnessed in others the blessing that comes from giving back to our Lord.
God has always supplied our every need. And, you should know that there have been numerous times that we just did not know how we were going to meet our commitments, but we gave in spite of this concern. We can assure you that God honors this financial stewardship.
The second area of stewardship is the talents that God has given us. One of the saddest things in life is seeing a person just loaded with talent who sits back doing nothing. Then there are people loaded with talent and abilities and they use the talents God has given them for evil purposes. We have learned through the years that God has given us different talents, and He has done this for a reason. We have learned to merge our talents together and Dottie does what she does best and Ken does what he does best. Then together we have seen God do so much more through us than what either one of us could do individually.
The third area of stewardship is our time. God expects us to give of our time to others. We have learned that nothing is more important in our lives, except for our relationship with God than to give time to our children and our grandchildren and now our great grandchild. Time given is time for bonding, listening, guiding, teaching and learning.
God also expects us to give time regularly to our spouses, to our extended families, to our neighbors and to the world we live in. Most people today spend there time on themselves. They watch TV; read the paper, magazines and books; play games on the computer, communicate on face book or just get on the internet for hours. These are not bad things necessarily, as we all need down time, but the danger is to become so consumed by them that we neglect to do what God wants us to do. God wants you to be a good steward of your time and invest it in people through your family, your church, your workplace, your neighborhood or through a mission project to a needy and hurting world.
In Luke 12:42 Jesus tells a parable about the good and bad stewards and that each one was rewarded according to his faithfulness and obedience. How good a steward we are of what God has given to us will determine our heavenly rewards. A good steward will work diligently and be obedient to his master’s commands. If our gifts and talents are limited, God does not hold us responsible for over and above what He has given us. We are responsible for how we use the talent He has given us.
We learn through this study that we need to be faithful to God as to how we use the talents, time and material blessings that God has given to us. What kind of a steward are you?
Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 37:7.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Thank You for the talent, material blessings and time that You have entrusted to me. Work in my life to mold me to be the steward You want me to be each and every day. Help me to use what I have to bring honor and glory to Your name.
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