Month: September 2016

DIVINE ORDER and STEWARDSHIP… [A further look]


spiritual-blog-stewardship

Luke 16:1-13 – – R E A D

             Let’s turn our attention to the story of our text as we pick up where we left off in the last devotional.  In Chapter 16 of Luke, we find the parable of the “unjust steward” which our Lord used to challenge His followers to be faithful in Stewardship.  The word STEWARD comes from two Greek words ‘Oikos’ = house and ‘nemo’ = to distribute or dispense.  That means that a STEWARD is one who is charged with the administration of the affairs of the owner.  The STEWARD is a Manager, not an Owner.  I am reminded of Paul’s question to the Church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “And what do you have that you did not receive?”  All we have, including the very breath we have in our nostrils at this moment are a gift from God.

In the parable we find in 16:1 the steward is accused of wasting his master’s goods and squandering his master’s possessions.  That is a serious charge!  In 16:2 he is called into account and in 16:3 he is relieved of his position.  In 16:5-6 he goes to his master’s debtors and reduces their debt and in 16:8 the master commends for his shrewdness.  Some have found that part problematic but note the master DID NOT commend him necessarily for his actions but for his wisdom and shrewdness.  Jesus said, “The children of this age are wiser than the children of light.”  WHAT?  That should never be so.  This steward did a shrewd and if you will wise act after he had forfeited his position and gained friends who welcomed him into their habitations and trust because of his acts. Before we venture into a quagmire we cannot pull ourselves out of let’s focus on the relationship a believer is to have with money or finances.

The key word in addressing Stewardship is Faithfulness and that is seen in 16:9-13.  Paul tells us that a Steward must be Faithful – [1 Corinthians 4:1-2).  What was God’s declared purpose in BLESSING Abraham?  That he (Abraham) would be a blessing and through him all the families of the earth would be blessed.  We are Stewards the question is what kind?  We are charged with managing the affairs of the True Owner and this is a Divine Trust we have been charged with keeping.  If we remember that we are never owners but always stewards handing finances as God directs will be much easier.

If we consider OWNERSHIP we must realize that God owns it all.  The references to support that are too numerous to list.  The simple truth is that without heaven’s blessings the earth would perish.  We have rain, sunshine, dew, season, etc. without which we would have a planet that could not sustain life or provide what we need to survive.  We depend on God’s Blessings as individuals and as a people.  As we turn our attention to STEWARDSHIP we realize that we are Stewards and have a responsibility and accountability to God for all we have been given, what we have, and what we do with what we have.

There is a major problem that creeps into the heart of man regarding finances and that is COVETOUSNESS.  There are some fascinating revelations in scripture regarding money and money is probably one of the topics men are most sensitive about.  So, what is it about money that causes people to react that way?  In 1 Timothy 6:7-10 we discover that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.  I did not say money but the LOVE of it or for it.  We have more warnings in the Gospels against money and its misuse than any other topic.  One verse in four in Matthew, Mark and Luke deal with money.  One verse in six in the New Testament references money.  Almost half the parables of Jesus referenced money in one way or other.  The first sin in Israel which brought defeat to the entire camp was MONEY as seen in Joshua 7:20-21.  The first apostle to fall was Judas.  He sold Jesus for money but never lived to spend it.  The first sin of the Early Church concerned money as is revealed in Acts 5:1-10.  The sin of ‘simony’ concerns money and seeking to buy the gifts of God with it as seen in Acts 8:14-24.  It is also worthy of note that the two words in the New Testament that have the numerical value of “666” are Wealth and Tradition.

Hear me carefully, God will never ask us to do what He does not or has not done.  He is the Greatest Giver of all.  He gave Himself and is Love and Love’s chief characteristic is GIVING.

I want to address this a little further but will pause here and hold those thoughts until next time.  May the Lord greatly enrich you as you journey through this day in Him!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

DIVINE ORDER and STEWARDSHIP…


spiritual-blog-stewardship

Luke 16:1-13 – “He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

 3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

 5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’  6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’  7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’  8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

 9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.  10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?

 13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”  NKJV

 

Yes, that is a lot of scripture to include in a devotional that I desire to add comments or message.  In traveling throughout the nation and the world, I have become painfully aware there are some subjects few want to touch.  I truly believe that if we want God’s Divine Blessings we must get in God’s Divine Order and follow God’s Divine Principles.  What I’d like to address, as is evident in my text is STEWARDSHIP and FINANCES.  I realize that some might consider that meddling, so call me a meddler and let’s proceed.  If we want God’s Best we need to follow God’s order.

In both Testaments, we are taught that God is the OWNER, POSSESSOR, and GIVER of ALL THINGS to man.  We are taught that believers, in particular, are receivers and therefore charged to be stewards of all they have within their oversight.  They are responsible to God for EVERYTHING!  That brings me to our text and the story contained therein.

STEWARDSHIP could be defined as “the practice of systematic and proportionate giving of time, abilities, and material possessions based on the conviction that these are a Trust from God to be used in His Service for the Benefit of His Kingdom.”  If we accept that definition or description we will understand that we have a “Divine-Human” Partnership in which God is recognized as the Senior Partner.  It is a WAY OF LIVING where God’s OWNERSHIP is recognized over all our possessions and our very lives.  It is our responsibility and duty to faithfully use and care for those to be used for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom in this present world.

I believe it is a fact, impossible not to recognize, that all believers are responsible and accountable to God for everything!  God desires to develop the Owner-Steward Relationship between Himself and His people.  LIFE is what we have received.  TIME is what we have been allotted.  TALENTS are what we have been given to use.  POSSESSIONS are what has been entrusted to us.  FINANCE is what we have labored for.  Please, hear me, God IS the Giver, Possessor, Owner, and Rewarder!  Man IS the receiver and steward and is responsible and accountable to God for what we do with what we have received.  Man may use, abuse, and even lose what has been entrusted to him but the Faithful will be rewarded.  In a very real sense, Man is a Trustee of what belongs to God!

Okay, that will have to serve as an introduction and foundation for what I desire to relate so with that we pause until next time.  I only ask that you carefully and prayerfully consider who you are and whose you are and as you open your hearts to Him I know His blessings will flow.  May the Lord richly bless you as you embark on today’s journey in Christ Jesus our Lord!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

THE FRUIT OF CHRISTIANITY…


spiritual-blog-souls

Proverbs – 11:30 – “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”  NKJV

The last portion of that verse should be both an encouragement and compulsion for every believer in our daily lives.  It clearly declares that it is the privilege and duty of every believer to reject the notion that evangelism or spreading the gospel is to be relegated to the “professionals” or preachers.  It is the expressed commission of every believer to “go ye therefore” and spread the news of the gospel and salvation that can only be found in Christ Jesus our Lord.  There are myriads of stories of people in history who have been powerfully used of God in evangelism and I wish to share one of those.

In the 1700’s there was a young black man named John Marrant.  He was born in New York, his father passed away when John was eleven, and his mother sent him to Charleston, South Carolina, to live with an older sister and learn a trade.  Instead of following that course, he became a skilled with both the violin and French horn.  In a couple of years, he became a child prodigy and as he recounted, “I was invited to all the balls and assemblies that were held in the town and met with general applause of the inhabitants.  I was a strange to want, being supplied with as much money as I had any occasion for.”  His talent made a place for him and provided for him amazingly.

The story is, that on his way to perform at a particular event, he and his traveling companion passed a crowded meetinghouse where they observed an incredibly large crowd and saw, “a crazy man was hallooing there.”  The “crazy man” was none other than George Whitfield and a major religious leader in what is known as the “First Great Awakening”.  Most know a little of the history of George Whitfield and know it is estimated that he preached to as many as 10 MILLION people and preached over 18 THOUSAND sermons averaging over 500 messages per year.  In his meetings, it has been reported, that up to 500 people would fall to the ground prostrate under the power of his sermons and the power of God.  Marrant’s friend dared him to disrupt the meeting by taking his French horn and sound out a loud blast.  As he raised the horn to his lips Whitefield saw him and said, “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!”  Marrant fell to the ground as though he had been struck down by some unseen force and lay there for over one-have hour.  Whitfield ministered to him as he came to and after three days John Marrant accepted Jesus as his personal savior.

Marrant returned to his family to share his experience and they rejected him.  He took a similar path as Moses and fled to the wilderness where he was befriended by a Cherokee warrior. They spent ten weeks together hunting, fishing, and becoming fast friends.  Eventually, they went to the warrior’s village and he was immediately made a prisoner because the Cherokee’s were at war with the settlers and Marrant, though black, was clearly one of the settlers.  The chief threatened his life and Marrant spoke to the tribe in their own language, sharing the gospel of Jesus and according to Marrant:  “The king [the chief] himself was awakened [converted], and the others set at [spiritual liberty]. A great change took place among the people; the king’s house became God’s house; the soldiers were ordered away, and the poor condemned prisoner [John] had perfect liberty and was treated like a prince.  Now the Lord made all my enemies become my great friends.”  The chief gave him permission to evangelize the entire tribe and he did so for nine weeks and also reached out to the Muskogees.  It was said of Marrant that he was “A Negro in America…who spread the seed of Christianity among the Native American Indians before the birth of the American Republic.”

Later Marrant worked as a carpenter on a plantation near Charleston, and his heart was broken for the spiritual condition of the slaves and as he preached to them, many were converted.  This resulted in terrible treatment for those converted but they remained true to the word of Christ and forgave those that abused them.  When the American Revolution began, Marrant was captured by the British and forced into service in the British navy.  After the war, he was ordained and continued his soul winning in England, then Canada and finally back in the United States.  He died of an illness when he was 36 but his life left an indelible mark on multitudes.  He truly lived the admonition of Proverbs 11:30, that “He who wins souls is wise.” 

I have discovered that what holds our hearts also finds its way in our conversation.  God help us to become so gripped with the joy of salvation we cannot be silent but become those who fulfill this admonition of Proverbs 11:30.   God bless you as you embark on this beautiful day in Jesus!

0 CommentsLeave a comment

LORD, WHAT IS GOING ON?


Spiritual Blog - Furnance

Proverbs 17:3 – “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests hearts.” AMPLIFIED

 

I don’t even want to think about how many times in times of difficulty or testing I have asked that question, “Lord, what is going on?”  I have heard the lament and complaints of people through the years in times of testing or difficulty asking that question, “Lord, what is going on?”  One of our problems is that we like ease, and there is nothing wrong with ease as long as it is for a time of rest and refreshing.  I wish that we could all live in ease at all times and not endure any attacks of the evil one or difficulties or times of testing in our lives but that is neither realistic or reasonable.  I have just experienced a few days of relaxation and time with family away from technology and it was refreshing, but I never want to make the pursuit of ease my objective but refreshing in the Lord.

Remember the difficult words of James1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  The Amplified renders it this way, “Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. 3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking nothing.”  THEREFORE, why are we shocked when difficulties and tests come our way?  Sometimes it is a lack of understanding the purpose and sometimes it is a false idea that if we are in God’s will there will be smooth sailing all the time.  Both are problematic and correctable.

When I say understanding the purpose I do not mean specifically understanding the full purpose, blessing or benefit of a specific incident but understand why tests and difficulties come.  James gives us vital revelation in that telling us that the trial, difficulty or test has a byproduct in our lives – ENDURANCE.  Consider the word of our LORD in Matthew 24:13, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”  Paul tells us in Hebrews 10:35, “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”  He also reminds us in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”  In Hebrews 12:1 we are encouraged, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…”  Romans 5:3 speaks of the difficulties and trials of our faith and Paul tells us to “glory” in them because they produce perseverance, and perseverance produces character and character produce hope and hope does not disappoint because it is Hope in God!

James also encourages us with the knowledge that in enduring the tests of faith and difficulties we find patience developed and patience produces spiritual maturity and completeness in Christ.  He then speaks out of the condition of our having been strengthened by those tests of life and difficulties and addresses the issue of “wisdom” and/or “knowledge” or how to handle the present.  He says (my paraphrase), “If you don’t know how to handle this and need the wisdom and guidance of God through these difficult waters, ASK and God will grant you the wisdom you need.”  Then he adds a caveat, but that asking cannot be flippant or overly casual it must be rooted in faith, without doubt, or double-mindedness.  No, it is recognizing Who God is and Believe that He is Who He says He is and will do What He says He will do!  If it is, as Jesus said in Luke 12:32 that it is the Father’s good pleasure, desire and will to “give us the kingdom” why do we have difficulty we believing He will give us the wisdom needed for the situation?  Trust and Obey for there is no better and no other way to navigate the stormy seas of life.

            God bless you as you embark on today’s journey in Jesus!

0 CommentsLeave a comment