“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
Now that we are “firmly ensconced” in our new digs, one of the daunting tasks in front of me is unpacking. You know how it is when you move. You end up with box after box of stuff you didn’t know you had. You know all this stuff was vitally critical to the survival of the human race at the time you put it into the box, but now as you go through it, you wonder what in the world it really is, and why anyone in their right mind would not have thrown it away. The boxes now take on a life of their own and multiply in the middle of the night when you aren’t looking. My area of weakness is with papers. I tend to save every receipt, every note to myself, every article on topics of interest, and of course, every Bible study note I have ever taken since I was saved 32 years ago. In my office right now are 16 Banker’s Boxes filled with God only knows what. There are two four-drawer filing cabinets in one of the classrooms I have yet to tackle. I have stuff at home to go through, and my desk is piled nice and full of more “important” stuff. Yet the one thing I really need right now I can’t find. Typical.
I know I am really bad with this. I am sure many of you have seen the reality TV shows on the “hoarders”. These people are way more extreme than I am. There was even a news report recently about an elderly couple of hoarders. The lady was reported missing by the husband, and after several months, she was found in the home dead under a pile of stuff. Hopefully as I sort through the mountain of boxes in my office, I won’t find a dead body.
Many people are just as bad in the opposite direction. They can’t hang on to anything. They blow all their money from paycheck to paycheck, they get in all sorts of trouble because they can’t learn a lesson and build on anything in their lives, and they begin every day as if God just spoke the Universe into existence at 6:00 that morning. It is not the issue of stuff, but the idea of keeping the word of God that causes many people such problems. Proverbs 4:4 says, “Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.” Jesus said, “Let these sayings sink down into your ears…” (Luke 9:44) I believe that with some Christians, their pastor could preach the same message every week and they would never realize it. Most of them forget the entire message before they get to the end of the parking lot. The joke is told of a man who kept coming forward to the altar every Sunday with the same prayer: “Lord, fill me with your Spirit.” Week after week, he would come and cry out audibly, “Lord, fill me!” Finally the pastor knelt down next to him and prayed, “Lord, don’t worry about filling him, just fix the leak!”
Certainly, we understand that the filling of the Spirit is an ongoing venture in life that we will never totally master. Also, we cannot expect to have such a photographic memory as to recall every word of every message we hear. But the growth of the believer cannot take place if we do not retain as much as we legitimately can. A child does not begin each school year with his colors and ABC’s. A graduate student in economics must remember that 2+2=4. (Would to God our elected officials knew that!) You don’t have to be a pack rat like me. But learn how to make the truths of the Bible build upon each other in your life. I encourage you to set up some form of system that works for you so you can refer back to notes and lessons you have learned. But keeping notes is only a very small part of building a life in Christ. To keep the word of God means to observe it and do it. The more you put into practice the truths of the Bible, the easier it becomes to remember them. When it is all over (or all beginning, depending on your viewpoint), the entire physical creation will “go up in smoke” (II Pet 3:10-12). Yet God will still have his Bible! He will “pack rat” his words longer than the current Universe will exist. When you stand before him, how much of it will you recall?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Welcome Home!?
“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15)
We just returned from another trip to our “home away from home” in Belize. There are a lot of things I could share with you in this blog, and maybe over the next few weeks I will, but one story seems to stand out as an object lesson of life in these United States. One of the lessons we all learn when we take a trip to another culture is just how different things are in many other parts of the world. We get de-sensitized to life here because we live in it all the time. Sometimes it takes a trip like this to get out of the country and see things from a different perspective. It is like being in a room with a foul odor. After a while, you don’t notice it any more.
Children in Belize are full of energy and life – and mischief – just like they are here. But there is a stark difference. There is a respect for authority and a courteous demeanor to the children we see in Belize that was once part of our society. Unfortunately, that respect now only resides in a small minority of children in the US. After living in Belizean culture for 10 days and getting used to it, our team arrived back last Monday. As we sat at the gate awaiting our connecting flight in the Houston airport, we observed the “family from hell”. There were two children about ages 3 and 5, who displayed some of the most rebellious and undisciplined behaviour I have seen in a long time. They were running around the gate area screaming and giggling, which in and of itself is not unusual for children of that age. They have boundless energy that if bottled, could solve the world’s energy problems. It was the parent’s attempt to corral the children that got my attention. It was, “Now, Johnny, stop that… come here, please… I’m not going to tell you again…”, and a bunch of other toothless threats that were not only ignored by the children, but responded to in a most disrespectful manner. They cried and pulled away whenever one parent finally was able to catch up with one of them. Requests to settle down were met with, “NO! You can’t make me!” The little girl actually slapped her mother once. I saw the father one time just sit in a chair and bury his face in his hands as if to say, “I give up!” I came real close to saying to him, “Sir, if you don’t know how to spank those children, I do.” I didn’t; but I wanted to. As the four of us on the team sat there and observed all that, I said to them, “Welcome home…”
God made a place on the backside of our anatomy that stings enough to get our attention, and you can’t break it. Proverbs says: “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (13:24) Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (19:18) Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. (23:13) The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. (29:15). Some might object. Certainly there is such a thing as child abuse, and it is a heinous evil. But I submit (and the Bible agrees), that no discipline is child abuse also. The object lesson is this: Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us that God disciplines his children, and as our Heavenly Father, he will discharge his duties fully, completely, and in perfect truth and righteousness. God would never think of abusing his children by being too harsh on them. His grace knows no limits, and he knows we are just children, subject to the natural things that befall us. Some parents discipline their children out of their frustration and inconvenience, instead of for their rebellion. Let kids be kids. But God also does not abuse his children by letting them run wild as holy terrors like the brats in the Houston airport. When we step out of line in our hearts in rebellion and evil, God will deal with it according to the exact measure of the “crime”. I am glad he does. Our Father loves us enough to pull out the “board of education” when it is necessary. We should discipline our children in the same manner. As Hebrews says, when proper godly discipline is employed, it produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness and makes us partakers of his holiness. May we continue to strive for the goal of his holiness.
We just returned from another trip to our “home away from home” in Belize. There are a lot of things I could share with you in this blog, and maybe over the next few weeks I will, but one story seems to stand out as an object lesson of life in these United States. One of the lessons we all learn when we take a trip to another culture is just how different things are in many other parts of the world. We get de-sensitized to life here because we live in it all the time. Sometimes it takes a trip like this to get out of the country and see things from a different perspective. It is like being in a room with a foul odor. After a while, you don’t notice it any more.
Children in Belize are full of energy and life – and mischief – just like they are here. But there is a stark difference. There is a respect for authority and a courteous demeanor to the children we see in Belize that was once part of our society. Unfortunately, that respect now only resides in a small minority of children in the US. After living in Belizean culture for 10 days and getting used to it, our team arrived back last Monday. As we sat at the gate awaiting our connecting flight in the Houston airport, we observed the “family from hell”. There were two children about ages 3 and 5, who displayed some of the most rebellious and undisciplined behaviour I have seen in a long time. They were running around the gate area screaming and giggling, which in and of itself is not unusual for children of that age. They have boundless energy that if bottled, could solve the world’s energy problems. It was the parent’s attempt to corral the children that got my attention. It was, “Now, Johnny, stop that… come here, please… I’m not going to tell you again…”, and a bunch of other toothless threats that were not only ignored by the children, but responded to in a most disrespectful manner. They cried and pulled away whenever one parent finally was able to catch up with one of them. Requests to settle down were met with, “NO! You can’t make me!” The little girl actually slapped her mother once. I saw the father one time just sit in a chair and bury his face in his hands as if to say, “I give up!” I came real close to saying to him, “Sir, if you don’t know how to spank those children, I do.” I didn’t; but I wanted to. As the four of us on the team sat there and observed all that, I said to them, “Welcome home…”
God made a place on the backside of our anatomy that stings enough to get our attention, and you can’t break it. Proverbs says: “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (13:24) Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. (19:18) Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. (23:13) The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. (29:15). Some might object. Certainly there is such a thing as child abuse, and it is a heinous evil. But I submit (and the Bible agrees), that no discipline is child abuse also. The object lesson is this: Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us that God disciplines his children, and as our Heavenly Father, he will discharge his duties fully, completely, and in perfect truth and righteousness. God would never think of abusing his children by being too harsh on them. His grace knows no limits, and he knows we are just children, subject to the natural things that befall us. Some parents discipline their children out of their frustration and inconvenience, instead of for their rebellion. Let kids be kids. But God also does not abuse his children by letting them run wild as holy terrors like the brats in the Houston airport. When we step out of line in our hearts in rebellion and evil, God will deal with it according to the exact measure of the “crime”. I am glad he does. Our Father loves us enough to pull out the “board of education” when it is necessary. We should discipline our children in the same manner. As Hebrews says, when proper godly discipline is employed, it produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness and makes us partakers of his holiness. May we continue to strive for the goal of his holiness.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Keep Walking
Just about every Christian I know has a favorite verse in the Bible. Some site John 3:16 as their favorite, as it proclaims God’s love for all of us. Still others love the stories of the Lord’s ministry found in the four gospels of the New Testament. Many have found solace in the Book of Psalms, and wisdom from the Proverbs. Many history lovers enjoy the Old Testament, and others spend most of their time retracing Paul’s journeys through Asia. My pastor says that his favorite verse is whatever verse he happens to be reading at the time.
I too share his love for the entire word of God, yet there is a verse that has stood out from the rest, many times in my life. Most of us have had our ups and downs in life. In fact I would say that our journey through life has a “topography” similar to that of the surface of the earth. Just as God has made His creation with contrast and has given us plenty of mountains and valleys to travel, likewise life also deals us a contrast with the same highs and lows.
The verse that has guided me through many lows in my life is Psalm 23:4:
Psalm 23:4
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
The author of this verse acknowledges that he will have problems in life when he says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley…” It is a given that life will not always be care free. Some folks are shocked at the prospect of life not always being “smooth sailing.” If you realize that for every mountain top experience, there also has to be an accompanying valley, then you will not be taken by surprise when you find yourself in a valley. Since the size of the mountain top is smaller than most valleys, it stands to reason that if you are to continue in your journey, then your valley experience may last longer than the mountain top.
My favorite parts of this verse are, “…I walk through…” and, “for thou art with me;” I am able to walk through the problems of life, because God is with me every step of the way. Of course this is true for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, some believers fail to take hold of God’s hand while they are in the valley. It kind of reminds me of when I was a child. My parents would always insist on holding my hand while they escorted me across the street. There were times when I would try to pull my hand away from them so I could do it on my own. Sometimes our pride causes us to want to do everything for ourselves, which can become a deadly enterprise.
One of the parts of this verse that stands out for me is the phrase, “I walk through…” What I find interesting about this part of the verse is as David writes these words, “Yea, though I walk through the valley…,” there seems to be a temporal sense to his words. David appears to think that he is walking through this particular valley, and not camping out in it. He has a “walk through” mentality about this valley. Perhaps David is focusing on what lies ahead, just over the horizon, instead of where he presently finds himself. David looks to his future state to quell the fears of his current state.
Likewise the apostle Peter found himself in a storm on the Sea of Galilee. When he seen the Lord, he stepped out of the boat and began to walk on the water. As long as he kept his eyes on the Lord he was able to walk above “his” storm. Remember the first step in Peter’s journey across the water, was stepping out of the boat. He didn’t stay in the boat, instead he started walking.
When you find yourself in a valley, remember not to camp out there. David concludes this psalm with, “…I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” All Christians share this same promise. Grab hold of His hand, keep your eyes on your destination, and “keep walking.” - Ross Weibling
I too share his love for the entire word of God, yet there is a verse that has stood out from the rest, many times in my life. Most of us have had our ups and downs in life. In fact I would say that our journey through life has a “topography” similar to that of the surface of the earth. Just as God has made His creation with contrast and has given us plenty of mountains and valleys to travel, likewise life also deals us a contrast with the same highs and lows.
The verse that has guided me through many lows in my life is Psalm 23:4:
Psalm 23:4
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
The author of this verse acknowledges that he will have problems in life when he says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley…” It is a given that life will not always be care free. Some folks are shocked at the prospect of life not always being “smooth sailing.” If you realize that for every mountain top experience, there also has to be an accompanying valley, then you will not be taken by surprise when you find yourself in a valley. Since the size of the mountain top is smaller than most valleys, it stands to reason that if you are to continue in your journey, then your valley experience may last longer than the mountain top.
My favorite parts of this verse are, “…I walk through…” and, “for thou art with me;” I am able to walk through the problems of life, because God is with me every step of the way. Of course this is true for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, some believers fail to take hold of God’s hand while they are in the valley. It kind of reminds me of when I was a child. My parents would always insist on holding my hand while they escorted me across the street. There were times when I would try to pull my hand away from them so I could do it on my own. Sometimes our pride causes us to want to do everything for ourselves, which can become a deadly enterprise.
One of the parts of this verse that stands out for me is the phrase, “I walk through…” What I find interesting about this part of the verse is as David writes these words, “Yea, though I walk through the valley…,” there seems to be a temporal sense to his words. David appears to think that he is walking through this particular valley, and not camping out in it. He has a “walk through” mentality about this valley. Perhaps David is focusing on what lies ahead, just over the horizon, instead of where he presently finds himself. David looks to his future state to quell the fears of his current state.
Likewise the apostle Peter found himself in a storm on the Sea of Galilee. When he seen the Lord, he stepped out of the boat and began to walk on the water. As long as he kept his eyes on the Lord he was able to walk above “his” storm. Remember the first step in Peter’s journey across the water, was stepping out of the boat. He didn’t stay in the boat, instead he started walking.
When you find yourself in a valley, remember not to camp out there. David concludes this psalm with, “…I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” All Christians share this same promise. Grab hold of His hand, keep your eyes on your destination, and “keep walking.” - Ross Weibling
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Life Changing Prayer
Almost everyone that I know has had an occasion to pray to God for a particular need or want. Even theungodly or lost have rendered a prayer occasionally. Many people pray when bad things or problemsoccur in their lives. Lots of people pray for things they want. Countless people pray when they believethings in the world or the politics of the land need changing. People pray when they are worried aboutthings in life that they have no control of. I have a fellow pastor who sometimes jokes about the subjectof prayer. He says, “why pray when you can always worry.” Funny but true for some. This simplyillustrates that we tend to worry more than pray.
I also find that many of us have an ineffectual prayer life. We often pray for things that we don’t need.Some pray for things that they are envious of, that others possess.
James 4:33 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss , that ye may consumeit upon your lusts.
God has given us an avenue of communication with Him. We can use this circuit to share our concernsand desires with Him. We can use this “open line” to pray for others like family members, our nation’sleaders, church members (including church leaders), the state of our country, the impoverished and thehungry of our world, which are all good causes.
However, I find that most of us miss the mark when it comes to our prayer life with a Heavenly Father.A Father that only has our best interests at heart. God invented prayer so that we could share ourdeepest desires and concerns with Him.
Philippians 4:66 Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgivinglet your requests be made known unto God.
Still there are those that pray in an attempt to change God’s mind on a particular matter. Rarely dopeople pray to have God change their mind on an issue.
There is another purpose God had for opening a channel of communication between Him and His creation. INTIMACY!
Romans 8:2626 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should prayfor as we ought : but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings whichcannot be uttered.
As a boy, it took me a while to know how my Dad was going to respond to a particular request. Myrequests became more effectual as I learned more and more about my Dad. As I spent more intimatetime with my Dad, I learned that he always had my best interests at heart. Our conversations becamemore and more effectual. I have totally forgotten the times he said “No,” but vividly remember thetimes we spent simply as father and son.
If we would approach our time with our Heavenly Father as a time of intimacy, as a time of just “hangingout” with each other, I wonder how much more our desires would become the same as His desires.Perhaps our prayers would be less centered on us and more focused on our relationship with Him.Perhaps our prayers would be “Life Changing.”
Ross Weibling
I also find that many of us have an ineffectual prayer life. We often pray for things that we don’t need.Some pray for things that they are envious of, that others possess.
James 4:33 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss , that ye may consumeit upon your lusts.
God has given us an avenue of communication with Him. We can use this circuit to share our concernsand desires with Him. We can use this “open line” to pray for others like family members, our nation’sleaders, church members (including church leaders), the state of our country, the impoverished and thehungry of our world, which are all good causes.
However, I find that most of us miss the mark when it comes to our prayer life with a Heavenly Father.A Father that only has our best interests at heart. God invented prayer so that we could share ourdeepest desires and concerns with Him.
Philippians 4:66 Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgivinglet your requests be made known unto God.
Still there are those that pray in an attempt to change God’s mind on a particular matter. Rarely dopeople pray to have God change their mind on an issue.
There is another purpose God had for opening a channel of communication between Him and His creation. INTIMACY!
Romans 8:2626 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should prayfor as we ought : but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings whichcannot be uttered.
As a boy, it took me a while to know how my Dad was going to respond to a particular request. Myrequests became more effectual as I learned more and more about my Dad. As I spent more intimatetime with my Dad, I learned that he always had my best interests at heart. Our conversations becamemore and more effectual. I have totally forgotten the times he said “No,” but vividly remember thetimes we spent simply as father and son.
If we would approach our time with our Heavenly Father as a time of intimacy, as a time of just “hangingout” with each other, I wonder how much more our desires would become the same as His desires.Perhaps our prayers would be less centered on us and more focused on our relationship with Him.Perhaps our prayers would be “Life Changing.”
Ross Weibling
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Master of Sarcasm
“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” (Luke 16:9)
Jesus told a story in Luke chapter 16 of a man who had wasted his master’s goods and was being called in to account for it. A “steward” in the Bible is like an agent or a manager today who would be in charge of administrating all or part of the business of another person, while that person tended to other matters. Quite often professional athletes or entertainers will turn over the management of their assets to someone while they focus on their skill and profession that earns them the money. In the story in Luke 16, the administrator had mismanaged the owner’s goods, and the “jig was up”. So he concocted a plan to try to get out of the problem by giving all of the man’s customers a “deal they could not refuse”. He settled their debts for pennies on the dollar, hoping that when he got fired, one of them would hire him as a favor for cutting them a sweet deal. That looks like a pretty good strategy on the surface. In fact, Jesus even commended the man for such a shrewd decision. Then he drew the lesson at the end of the story in the verse I quoted above. The stories in the Bible are not just for grins, there is always a point. It appears that Jesus is telling us to “go ahead and make friends of money” and get all we can by whatever shrewd and cunning means we can come up with, even if it is “unrighteous”. The ends justify the means, we all have to make a living, and ethics can be sacrificed if the bottom line stays black. But if you cannot see the sarcasm dripping from this verse, you need to look closer. Jesus has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, as he does in many places in the Bible.
Jesus is saying, “So you want to make money your god? Go right ahead. When you fail at that venture (not if), you will be received into an everlasting habitation.” I am not sure you want to be in that type of “habitation”. It is described in Isaiah 34:13 and Revelation 18:2 as a habitation of dragons and devils. Any guess what place Jesus might be referring to?
Right now we are in political season again, with the main issue as always “the economy, stupid”. It seems everyone has their own ideas on how to get things rolling again, and the rancor of the ads just continues to grow. But while we are all consumed (pun intended) with the drive for wealth, we miss the point. I am not suggesting that we all sell everything and live in a tent and eat roots and berries. There is nothing wrong with an honest living, and a good one at that. But there is a much deeper issue involved that is illustrated by this story.
You have been given the goods of your master Jesus to manage. First of all, he gave you life in the first place. Just that by itself is enough to thank God for. But then he gave his life for your sins, when he didn’t have to do it. By trusting Jesus as your Saviour, you have been given eternal life, which is even more to be thankful for. Then God gave you his Spirit to live inside you and be your guide and comforter through this life. Add to that all the blessings of a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is a massive “estate” to accomplish his will for your life. In the story, the “goods” of the master were oil and wheat. Oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, and wheat is used to make bread, a picture of the word of God. The two greatest resources you have are God’s word and God’s Spirit in your life. They are not yours – they belong to your master. He has entrusted them to you to manage in a wise and prudent manner, while he continues to work his main “profession” of drawing the world to the saving knowledge of his Son. Your management of those assets works toward that same objective. God is not just off dunking basketballs while he leaves you to crunch numbers. He gives you the privilege of participating in his mission with his goods. He will call you into account some day on your management of those goods. Are you ready today to give an account?
Jesus told a story in Luke chapter 16 of a man who had wasted his master’s goods and was being called in to account for it. A “steward” in the Bible is like an agent or a manager today who would be in charge of administrating all or part of the business of another person, while that person tended to other matters. Quite often professional athletes or entertainers will turn over the management of their assets to someone while they focus on their skill and profession that earns them the money. In the story in Luke 16, the administrator had mismanaged the owner’s goods, and the “jig was up”. So he concocted a plan to try to get out of the problem by giving all of the man’s customers a “deal they could not refuse”. He settled their debts for pennies on the dollar, hoping that when he got fired, one of them would hire him as a favor for cutting them a sweet deal. That looks like a pretty good strategy on the surface. In fact, Jesus even commended the man for such a shrewd decision. Then he drew the lesson at the end of the story in the verse I quoted above. The stories in the Bible are not just for grins, there is always a point. It appears that Jesus is telling us to “go ahead and make friends of money” and get all we can by whatever shrewd and cunning means we can come up with, even if it is “unrighteous”. The ends justify the means, we all have to make a living, and ethics can be sacrificed if the bottom line stays black. But if you cannot see the sarcasm dripping from this verse, you need to look closer. Jesus has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, as he does in many places in the Bible.
Jesus is saying, “So you want to make money your god? Go right ahead. When you fail at that venture (not if), you will be received into an everlasting habitation.” I am not sure you want to be in that type of “habitation”. It is described in Isaiah 34:13 and Revelation 18:2 as a habitation of dragons and devils. Any guess what place Jesus might be referring to?
Right now we are in political season again, with the main issue as always “the economy, stupid”. It seems everyone has their own ideas on how to get things rolling again, and the rancor of the ads just continues to grow. But while we are all consumed (pun intended) with the drive for wealth, we miss the point. I am not suggesting that we all sell everything and live in a tent and eat roots and berries. There is nothing wrong with an honest living, and a good one at that. But there is a much deeper issue involved that is illustrated by this story.
You have been given the goods of your master Jesus to manage. First of all, he gave you life in the first place. Just that by itself is enough to thank God for. But then he gave his life for your sins, when he didn’t have to do it. By trusting Jesus as your Saviour, you have been given eternal life, which is even more to be thankful for. Then God gave you his Spirit to live inside you and be your guide and comforter through this life. Add to that all the blessings of a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is a massive “estate” to accomplish his will for your life. In the story, the “goods” of the master were oil and wheat. Oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, and wheat is used to make bread, a picture of the word of God. The two greatest resources you have are God’s word and God’s Spirit in your life. They are not yours – they belong to your master. He has entrusted them to you to manage in a wise and prudent manner, while he continues to work his main “profession” of drawing the world to the saving knowledge of his Son. Your management of those assets works toward that same objective. God is not just off dunking basketballs while he leaves you to crunch numbers. He gives you the privilege of participating in his mission with his goods. He will call you into account some day on your management of those goods. Are you ready today to give an account?
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