Can God Trust You With His True Riches?

Luke 16:10-11—“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.  If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?”

It has been said that America is consumed with a virulent (think virus) ethic of consumerism.  The more we have, the more we want. In western cultures, wealth is the mark of success, so from a young age we learn to measure our personal worth in terms of how much we have instead of who we are.  In this Scripture, though, Jesus reminds us that integrity is worth far more than money can buy.  He also teaches that anyone who is irresponsible or spiritually immature will not inherit true riches because that person has not been proven trustworthy.  Keep in mind that God’ true riches are not measured in dollar signs—His ways are not our ways.  His measure is love and deep intimate relationship with Him.  But if he can’t trust us with a little bit of earthly wealth, why in the world would he trust us with the true riches of His kingdom?  And if we think about it, His rationale makes complete sense—it is the same way we treat others around us.  We all have someone unreliable in our lives.  Just recently, for example, one of my students requested I place him on a competition team this fall.  This particular student, however, did not fulfill certain responsibilities I placed on him last year. So, when he came to me this year, I had to tell him that because he had been irresponsible in the less prestigious tasks I assigned him, I didn’t feel I could trust him with bigger responsibilities.  God does the same thing with us—from time to time He puts us in a position to do something we might not necessarily enjoy or that seems beneath us.  When we mishandle our earthly resources, we interfere with our ability to be in relationship God.  But if we faithfully follow and serve Him, we will prove ourselves worthy of greater responsibility. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for blessing and challenging you to be a faithful servant.  Dedicate yourself to being a good steward of the resources He has provided you.  Pray that God would find you faithful in little so that He can entrust you the true riches.

Love One Another

Romans 13:8—Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

In the ancient times, people were quite caught up in following rules.  Their concept of God was that He was easy to anger and demanding.  To disobey the law would be to incur the wrath of God.  Jesus came to Earth to show us that all God’s laws drive at one thing—for us to love one another.  When we love each other, we will treat each other well.  We will not intentionally hurt one another when we build loving relationships with one another.  Most importantly, when we love one another, we gain a better understanding of how God loves us. 

Today prayerfully consider the relationships in your life.  Is there an area where you are holding back love from someone?  Is there an area where your love has become stagnant?  Are there areas where your love for others is flourishing?  Take a moment to thank God for all the relationships in your life and pray for each of those relationships individually.  Pray that your love for others would grow and flourish.  Ask God to guide you in sharing your love with others so that your relationships might help you understand God’s love for you.  Praise Him for His unwavering love for you.

The Gift of Faith

Hebrews 11:1-3—Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

It might see simple, this gift of faith.  Two things—knowing what we hope for and believing in something we cannot see.  This Scripture reminds us that even our ancient ancestors, the first men who walked upon the Earth, had faith.  Sometimes, I think it was easier to hear God back in those days.  After all, there was no television to distract everyone.  People had to tune in to others in their communities for their very survival.  In some ways, they were better at relationships back then because they had to be.  They also better understood the land, animals, and the heavens.  They paid attention to things like the moon and stars.  They knew the extent of their human frailty.  Because of all these things, they were in a position to tune into God and live faithfully.  In our modern society, though, we have many distractions.  We have forgotten to pay attention to the cycle of the moon and most of us figure out the weather by watching the news or checking an app.  We search for answers in man-made things like the Internet or television.  We find it increasingly difficult to have conversations with each other—we’d rather text or send an email.  As Christians, it is essential for us to find that quiet space where we can nurture our faith by connecting with God.  This Scripture reminds us that God created the world with the intention of bestowing faith in us.  It is by His grace that we have faith in Him, and it is our responsibility to honor that gift.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, praise God for the gift of faith.  Thank Him for opening your heart, mind, and soul to communion with Him.  Pray for God to continue speaking to you in a powerful way, and affirm to Him your desire to grow in your faith.  Rejoice in His perfect plan.

Unfettered Faith

2 Kings 4:1-7—Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.”

 

What amazing faith this widow demonstrates in this passage of Scripture.  Upon her husband’s death, she must have felt so alone and frightened.  Under these circumstances, she might have been justified in questioning Elisha’s instructions, but she unhesitatingly did what he told her to do.  This widow didn’t have much—only one jar of oil. She had no goods or wares to sell, she had no food to cook—she had nothing else.  Yet, she demonstrated tremendous faith in God, and He rewarded her by blessing and multiplying the oil.  Just like this widow was blessed with the oil, God has blessed us with amazing gifts.  We may not recognize the value of what we have been given, but if we stop to heed God’s guidance in our lives He will multiply those blessings beyond anything we can imagine.

Today as you meditate and pray on this Scripture, praise God for the blessings He has bestowed upon you.  Give thanks for the provisions He has placed in your life, and pray for Him to open your eyes to the bounty of His blessings.  Ask God to guide you in being content with what you have so that you may be a good steward of it all.

Many Gifts, One Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:4-7—Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

God created us to be in relationship with Him and with each other.  Because of the way He has distributed spiritual gifts, He has ensured our interdependence upon each other.  With the exception of Jesus, no man has ever been individually completely whole.  So to experience the full wonder of spiritual intimacy with God, we must bond with one another, celebrate each other’s strengths, and fill in the weak spots with our own strengths.  Key to building strong relationships with one another, and in turn with God, is learning what gifts we have been given and then maturing in those gifts.   Throughout the Bible we see numerous examples of the gifts God bestows on His followers.  For example, the widow at Zeraphath had the gift of faith that sustained Elijah, who was blessed with prophesy.  The apostles were blessed with myriad gifts including healing, discernment, and wisdom, to name a few.  God continues to bless His creation with spiritual gifts intended to foster strong relational bonds.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, thank God for the spiritual gifts He has given you.  Ask Him to reveal your gifts and empower you to use them according to His will.  Pray for guidance as you mature in your gifts and develop strong, loving relationships with other believers and non-believers so that they may come to know Jesus, too.

Our Daily Bread

1 Kings 17: 12-16—But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

The story of the widow of Zarephath always fills me with wonder.  Zarephath was a town outside of Israel, which means that the people living there were not Jewish.  God sent Elijah, a Jewish prophet, there during a time of great drought in the land.  This widow who takes Elijah into her home is destitute and has resigned herself to death because she does not have enough food to feed herself and her son.  Yet, she obeys Elijah’s command to give Elijah food first before she and her son eat.  How is it that a Gentile woman in the Old Testament has such faith to selflessly give away all the food she possesses to benefit another?  She was blessed for her sacrificial faith, and the Lord provided for her and her family, just like He provides for His people now.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, look deep inside and ask yourself if you have faith like the widow of Zarephath.  Pray for a spirit willing to put others ahead of yourself, just as Christ put us ahead of Himself. Praise God for His constant provision and for the blessings he has poured over you.  Commit to using those gifts to carry forward those blessings throughout His Kingdom and beyond.

3 Christian Essentials

Micah 6:8—He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

This verse is one of my all-time favorite verses in the Bible.  This Old Testament passage stands out because it takes the complex theology and draconian rules of the Old Testament and restates them in a sophisticatedly simple way.  Through Micah, God reminds His people that He has already told them what is good.  With the various laws, like the Ten Commandments and others, He gave them concrete guidelines for knowing what is good and how to do good.  Even so, God’s people had turned their backs on Him.  Whether they were intentionally disobeying the rules, had forgotten some of them, or were blindly following them with the wrong spirit, God’s people had strayed far from Him.  Micah came to them with God’s message to stop making things so complicated.  He boiled it down to three essentials: 1. Do Justice; 2. Love Kindness; 3. Walk Humbly with God.  If we stop to think about it, every God-given rule and law falls into at least one of these three categories—He gave us the laws to guide us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with Him.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, lift up praise for our loving, merciful, and gracious Father.  Thank Him for enveloping you in His loving Spirit.  Pray for Him to nestle in your heart a faithful compass that will guide you in doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with Him.