Stewardship of Worship

"You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 "You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

Deut 14:22-23 (NASB95)

Stewardship means to manage what belongs to God. To use what has been entrusted by Him to us for His honor. This verse has an interesting interpretation and application. Verse 23 says that the tithe the were to give, at least a portion of it, was to be eaten before God. This was to be an act of worship. Now here is the application. When we use what God has entrusted to us, we do so as an act of worship. So, we must ask ourselves, "in the use of this money is it honoring to God and am I worshipping Him?" We sometimes get the idea God gets 10% and I get 90% to use however I want. No, not exactly. Am I a steward of my money, family, time and other blessing and is God honored and worshipped in how and what I do?

Our day to day living is an act of worship. Are you expressing your worship to Him today?

Stewardship of the tithe

"You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

Deut 14:22 (NASB95)

In our church culture there seems to be two dirty words: STEWARDSHIP and TITHE! Neither of these words are dirty and each has an important place in the Christ Follower's life.

Stewardship is more than just giving money to the church. Stewardship in fact encompasses much more than what, how and how much we give. The definition of stewardship describes 3 spiritual realities. Stewardship means that God owns everything, we are entrusted to manage everything entrusted to us and our goal is to honor God in how we do it. Our stewardship is more than how we handle money. It is much more than giving 10%. It is honoring God with everything He has entrusted us with.

Now in saying that the passage for today does focus on our money. Correction: His money! God expects that we tithe from our financial blessings. These blessing are entrusted to us for His usefulness. I really don't think God is as concerned about us giving 10% as much as we are. We often say I gave my tithe so I'm good. Maybe, maybe not. Remember everything we have is His and we are expected to manage it. The Bible says that God expects that we will give a tithe, but He may also lead us to give more. Don't get caught up in percentages, because a closer examination of Scripture will show us that there were several different tithes that were expected.

So the challenge for the Christ Follower is to begin to look differently at the resources entrusted them.

Jesus Loves Me

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matt 11:28-30 (NASB95)

Looking Forward

Let your eyes look forward;fix your gaze straight ahead.26 Carefully consider the path for your feet,and all your ways will be established. 27 Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil.

Prov 4:25-27 (HCSB)

When we are looking for God's direction for our life, sometimes the worst thing we can do is to look around. the Proverbs writers advise is to look straight ahead don't turn from the right or to the left. He warns that we should carefully consider the path for our feet. Sometimes to many options also mean to many temptation. Seek His path and pay attention to it alone. Don't consider what your missing out on. Because the truth is that your not missing our on anything if God is calling you .

Just Words?

Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don't let your lips talk deviously.

Prov 4:24 (HCSB)

Words are never just words. They always have deep meaning that we must consider. Words have the capacity to injure or lift up. They can bring about destruction or building up. The choice is our. How will we use our words.

The proverbs writer encourages us not to speak dishonestly or deviously. Dishonesty is to tell untruths or half truths to another. To be devious is to plan for someone Else's demise. Neither of this are a picture of what our words should be. They are never just Words.

Be on Gaurd

Guard your heart above all else for it is the source of life.

Prov 4:23 (HCSB)

How important is your heart? The Bible reminds us that what defiles a man is what is in his heart not what he puts into his body. The writer of the proverbs tells us it is the source of life. The Biblical picture of our heart, is not a blood pumping vessel but the seat of our personality, emotions and our thinking. We are instructed to guard it. We must guard our emotions and our thinking because that is what makes us who we are.

Guard your heart!