I was reading about stewardship this morning and found a great concept. There are three main things we are to be stewards of: Time, Talent, and Resources. Indeed we are accountable to God for how we use these. We can choose to spend or to invest. When we use these as investments, we find that they advance the Kingdon of God and our investment serves others. I have the opportunity today to make this important choice each day. I have resolved to use efficiency in such a way that there is no waste in any of these areas.
"God has given us two hands--one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing." - Billy Graham
Showing posts with label Stewardship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stewardship. Show all posts
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Green thoughts
One of the great “Buzz” words of our time is “Green”. Being green is “politically correct” in today’s culture, when it has to do with our relationship to the environment. As a fundamental thinker spiritually, I find myself at odds with those who choose to worship nature. Sorting through the connections we have with things around us is helpful to keep our worship pointed toward God and not His creation. Since I blogged yesterday about inhaling, I did some more reading about photosynthesis, that process of us breathing in oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. The forests and plants breath in the carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. God is amazing !!! In his book, “The gospel according to Starbucks” Leonard Sweet writes about the closeness of our connection with nature in that we depend on that oxygen. In India there is a poetic phrase for “the forest culture” –aranyi sanskriti- where the trees are not viewed as a resource or in terms of a quantifiable commodity, but as a source of our connectedness to air, light, food, water and beauty. In Hebrew there is no word for nature because nature is not something separate from us. We are not to worship creation, all creation is to worship God. We “join” the rocks and trees.
Psalm 148:1-14 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! 2 Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! 3 Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! 4 Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! 5 Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being. 6 He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, 8 fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, 11 kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, 12 young men and young women, old men and children. 13 Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! 14 He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones-- the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the LORD!
The bottom line in my though process here is “connection”. An appreciation for the place God has provided for us involves taking care of it. Good Stewardship is required by God.
Psalm 148:1-14 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! 2 Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! 3 Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! 4 Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapors high above the clouds! 5 Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being. 6 He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, 8 fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him, 9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, 11 kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, 12 young men and young women, old men and children. 13 Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! 14 He has made his people strong, honoring his faithful ones-- the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the LORD!
The bottom line in my though process here is “connection”. An appreciation for the place God has provided for us involves taking care of it. Good Stewardship is required by God.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Inventory, the necessary task
One of my favorite quotes from Bill Johnson, Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding California:
“When we live with genuine passion for God, it creates a passion for other things. While it is possible to value other things above God, it is not possible to value God without valuing other things.”
In his book, “Dreaming with God”, he goes on to say that the way we steward the rest of life becomes the litmus test that demonstrates an authentic love for God. I am going to enjoy reading the rest of this book.
I have found good stewardship to be a required trait of successful people. That kind of stewardship needs to be in all of our resources. In order to do that, we need to know the inventory of those resources. The inventory task is time consuming, yet necessary. A business that ignores that task will soon find themselves without key material that they need to complete tasks. Uncompleted tasks are dangerous and can stop progress. The urgency of the hour demands that progress keeps moving. Taking inventory helps that to happen.
“Count your blessings, name them one by one;
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
“When we live with genuine passion for God, it creates a passion for other things. While it is possible to value other things above God, it is not possible to value God without valuing other things.”
In his book, “Dreaming with God”, he goes on to say that the way we steward the rest of life becomes the litmus test that demonstrates an authentic love for God. I am going to enjoy reading the rest of this book.
I have found good stewardship to be a required trait of successful people. That kind of stewardship needs to be in all of our resources. In order to do that, we need to know the inventory of those resources. The inventory task is time consuming, yet necessary. A business that ignores that task will soon find themselves without key material that they need to complete tasks. Uncompleted tasks are dangerous and can stop progress. The urgency of the hour demands that progress keeps moving. Taking inventory helps that to happen.
“Count your blessings, name them one by one;
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
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