Stewardship

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” Stewardship has been God’s perfect plan for mankind since the beginning. Genesis 1:26-28 says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Before the fall, God had made Adam and Eve stewards over creation. His expectation was that Adam and Eve would manage what was entrusted to them and make it flourish and multiply. I believe that this mandate to mankind still remains today. Unfortunately, sin entered the picture and godly stewardship turned into irresponsibiity, greed, covetousness and wastefulness. 

Managing resources wisely is important to God. It’s a reflection of His character and nature. He has unlimited resources and He has shared those resources with us. We have the responsibility to wisely manage what God has put in our hands. Luke 16:10-11 says, “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. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (wealth/possessions), who will commit to your trust the true riches?” The manner in which we manage our finances and resources says a lot about our character. How can we be a blessing to others in physical need when we are not faithful with the resources that God has entrusted to us? Many of us want God to do great things in and through our lives but we don’t understand that God cares about our heart and character. He can’t entrust us with more if we squander what He has already put in our hands. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, teach me Your principles of stewardship. Lord Jesus, cleanse my heart of greed and covetousness and the lust for worldly things. Holy Spirit fill my heart with the desire to be a good steward and servant of the Most High.

Faith Without Works

Faith is very simple, according to Jesus, but we tend to make it complicated. Jesus says we just need to believe like a child. In a nutshell, faith is believing God and believing that all He says in His Word is true. The part that complicates it for us is our own carnal nature. We struggle with faith because we all have a fleshly carnal mind to contend with, that constantly rises up against the authority of God. We may not even be consciously aware of it. We have to be vigilant about bringing our mind under the authority of Christ. We tend to go from extremes between doubt and fear to irrational requests that we call “big faith”. When we don’t receive what we asked for, questions start to run through our minds. “Did I not have enough faith?” “Did I not pray enough?” “Did I miss God?”

One thing that I have come to understand is that faith is a journey and a partnership with God. Faith is not simply asking for something and then waiting for it to plop on our laps. Faith is action. It is surrendering to the will of God. It is trusting Him with the outcome as we continue to obey and live out his principles and precepts. ‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ says, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” 

We can easily miss the obvious when we are waiting “in faith” for God to answer our petition. We can be so consumed with our specific request that we ignore the answers and directions that are already given in God’s Word. The practical application of faith is often ignored. Obeying the principles and precepts of God’s Word is actually putting faith in action. While we are waiting, we pursue godly character and integrity, so that we know God’s heart on a matter. As we put one foot in front of the other in our daily walk with the Lord, we get more clarity about our petitions. How we pray will change as we are led by the Holy Spirit. We will be better prepared to receive and be a good steward of the very thing that we are asking for. Also, our hearts are more aligned with God’s heart and His desires. We develop the fruit of faithfulness. We are less and less ruled by the carnal desires of the flesh and more and more ruled by the Holy Spirit. If our goal is simply to have our prayers answered, we develop tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture of what God is doing.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with the desires of Your heart. I want to pray according to Your will. Holy Spirit, show me where I need to put my faith in action.