Stewardship

Stewardship

MY QUESTION for GOD

How can I be a good steward?

A MOMENT with GOD

Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah. This is a list of the items that were returned: gold basins . . . silver basins . . . silver incense burners.

Ezra 1:8-9

Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity.

Ezra 2:1

When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders made voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of God’s Temple on its original site, and each leader gave as much as he could.

Ezra 2:68-69

Stewardship is managing what God has entrusted to you. Good managers seek to protect and to increase the assets given to their care. They know what and whom God has given them responsibility for. The Jewish exiles carefully recorded not only the temple treasures and donations, but also their human resources and even their animals! Take a few minutes to make a list of your stewardship responsibilities. Include the following: your financial resources and material possessions; your talents and time; and the people who are under your care, such as your family, the Sunday school class you teach, the senior citizen you visit at the nursing home, your Little League team, or the people you lead. Then pray and ask God how you can better manage these assets from him. The goal of stewardship is to make the best possible use of what God has entrusted to you in order to make the greatest possible impact on others. Ultimately good stewardship allows God’s work to move forward as efficiently and effectively as possible.

DIVINE PROMISE

THE MASTER WAS FULL OF PRAISE. “WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL IN HANDLING THIS SMALL AMOUNT, SO NOW I WILL GIVE YOU MANY MORE RESPONSIBILITIES. LET’S CELEBRATE TOGETHER!”   Matthew 25:21