FAITHFUL
STEWARD
BREAD
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise
servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to
give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing
so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his
possessions.” Matthew
24:45-47 (NIV)
19 “After a long time the master
of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’ 22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:19-30 (NIV)
20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’ 22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:19-30 (NIV)
23 “Woe
to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of
your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important
matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced
the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a
gnat but swallow a camel.” Matthew 23:23-24 (NIV)
35 “Be dressed ready for service
and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding
banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door
for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them
watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve,
will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be
good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the
second or third watch of the night. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at
what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at
an hour when you do not expect him.” Luke
12:35-40 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)
3 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come
and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in
the truth. 4 I have no greater
joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3
John 1:3-4 (NIV)
15 Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but
as wise, 16 making the most of
every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore
do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Ephesians
5:15-17 (NIV)
7 The law of the LORD
is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the
LORD are radiant, giving light to
the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The
ordinances of the LORD are sure and
altogether righteous. 10 They
are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than
honey from the comb. 11 By
them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11 (NIV)
BUTTER
“‘The
best memories are still to come.’
I doubt anyone who came to Ray’s funeral will forget those words. Every so
often you get to see with your own eyes the fruit of a life lived with
sacrificial faithfulness. All the life that comes from an actual,
old-fashioned dying-to-self. It’s staggering. It pulls me back to
reality. No matter how glamorized the choices and desires of one’s
individual Self and the temptation to organize your life around getting what
you think you want, that’s not how God set up the universe.
It’s just as Jesus said. The grain of wheat that falls into the ground
like a dead dream becomes a field of such bounty it stretches into the
horizon. You can hardly get a seat at the funeral. So in those moments that no one would notice
but you, when you have to die in some small way to what you’d really
rather do in order to care for your children, or your aging mother,
or when you go out of your way to strengthen someone else’s hand in
God, and you think none of it matters much and you will never turn
out to be anybody special, and the ‘sacrifice’ of something you cherish
appears a bit dumb by current standards, remember my friend, Ray. As
will I.” Paula Rinehart
“All
work is sacred work for the child of the King.
There is to be no difference between the secular and the sacred. The believer brings the glory of God and the
sweet aroma of Jesus to every job – every encounter - working wholeheartedly as
unto the Lord – not for man - through the achieving power of the indwelling
Holy Spirit. All jobs from motherhood to
medical to janitorial to legal to businessman to student to server to whatever
– makes no difference the “what” rather the motivation behind why we do what we
do which is to bring God all glory. It
is His desire for us to work and take care of His world – just as He told Adam
before the fall – and bring the Good News to others in our spheres through both
our actions and words. This is for our
ultimate good btw, satisfying both heart and soul. We live our lives for an audience of One and
our goal is to hear a ‘well done good and faithful servant.’” BHY
“Most resolutions focus on just the here and now, but the resolutions
that deserve our greatest effort, faithfulness, and attention are those that
address eternal matters. Let us not focus on strengthening our temporary
physical bodies, while neglecting our eternal soul. Let us not create a to-do
list of projects to improve our houses, but fail to prepare for our heavenly
dwelling place.” Michael Youssef
“Why was Job born? He was born for the same reason Adam was
created. He was born for the same reason the earth was created. He was born, in
part, for the same reason Christ was born and suffered and was crucified. We
all exist to glorify God. On the Day of Judgement, when the mangled, burned,
corrupted, and crucified limbs of God’s faithful are resurrected and made new,
and when voices that died crying in pain are restored singing in praise, even
Satan himself will bow in submission to the Lord who deserves all praise. This life is no simple matter of little lives
living private dramas. We are, since Eden’s loss, united in celestial warfare
with eternal consequences. We were born to stand; we are armed to fight. The good news is just that, through faith in
Christ, we were born to win.” Frances Poston Bennett
HEART SAVOR
- · I am to do what my Master wills.
- · His will is good and pleasing and perfect and always for my best.
- · Earth is not my home, heaven is, and my life should reflect that I am a child of the King.
