God is the source of our blessings. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” God usually blesses us so we can serve Him with what He has given to us. God’s blessings were never intended for us to hoard or lock away in a secure vault. Not at all. Jesus told a story in Matthew 25 that helps us to understand why God blesses us. The story is commonly called “The Parable of The Talents.” You may recall it. A wealthy man who was going on a long journey left three of his servants in charge of his property. He gave them five, two and one talent(s) respectively. After the journey ended, the owner came back to see how well his servants had done in caring for and managing his property. The first servant doubled his five talents into ten. The second servant turned his two talents into four. But the third servant had nothing to show. He hid his one talent in the ground and had only one talent to return to the owner. The owner was disappointed that this third servant had nothing to show for what had been entrusted to him.
The owner concluded the accounting in this way. “Take the talent from him [the third servant] and give it to the one who has ten talents. 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” (Matthew 25:28-29). The Lord’s message was simple—get busy using what God has given you for His glory! There is no greater or better time than now. There will never be a more urgent time that this day. Today, we all possess some sort of blessings. God may bless you with wealth, money, resources and assets that you can use to honor Him, assist others and to support the work of the gospel. God may have blessed with you with talents, skills, abilities and passions in life. Whatever you are good at doing is certainly a way that you can glorify God and advance the cause of the gospel message.
One thing we can clearly conclude is that God does not want us to sit on our blessings. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are given what we have so that we may show God what we can do. The Bible points to a time when we will all give an accounting for how we have lived our lives. The basis for that accounting is simply a review of what we have done with all that we have been given. How faithful have we been as stewards of God’s gifts and blessings? Paul put it this way, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). We want to be able to present to the Lord a good and faithful reporting of how we have used the blessings He has provided over the span of a lifetime. We want to show a lifetime of faithfulness where we have joyfully and gladly served Him through the doorways He opened for us.
If we have been unfaithful or even unsuccessful in using what we have been given, we can ask for the Lord’s forgiveness. Repent of your failures, indifference or even laziness. And going forward, we can seek to do much better. We can aspire to be like the first two servants in Jesus’ story and not like the third one. God offers us the chance to lean eagerly and joyfully into what He would like us to do with the blessings He has given to us. How wonderful would it be to sit down with the Lord one day to learn that the blessings you used brought people to salvation, members to our church family and children to know the Lord in a personal way? Faithfully use what you have been given. The Lord plainly teaches that good and faithful service leads to more opportunity and greater ways to serve Him. May we not be sidelined by inactivity or bad habits. May we serve for the joy that it brings and for the glory of God to be known throughout our community. Have a great Wednesday!
The owner concluded the accounting in this way. “Take the talent from him [the third servant] and give it to the one who has ten talents. 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” (Matthew 25:28-29). The Lord’s message was simple—get busy using what God has given you for His glory! There is no greater or better time than now. There will never be a more urgent time that this day. Today, we all possess some sort of blessings. God may bless you with wealth, money, resources and assets that you can use to honor Him, assist others and to support the work of the gospel. God may have blessed with you with talents, skills, abilities and passions in life. Whatever you are good at doing is certainly a way that you can glorify God and advance the cause of the gospel message.
One thing we can clearly conclude is that God does not want us to sit on our blessings. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are given what we have so that we may show God what we can do. The Bible points to a time when we will all give an accounting for how we have lived our lives. The basis for that accounting is simply a review of what we have done with all that we have been given. How faithful have we been as stewards of God’s gifts and blessings? Paul put it this way, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). We want to be able to present to the Lord a good and faithful reporting of how we have used the blessings He has provided over the span of a lifetime. We want to show a lifetime of faithfulness where we have joyfully and gladly served Him through the doorways He opened for us.
If we have been unfaithful or even unsuccessful in using what we have been given, we can ask for the Lord’s forgiveness. Repent of your failures, indifference or even laziness. And going forward, we can seek to do much better. We can aspire to be like the first two servants in Jesus’ story and not like the third one. God offers us the chance to lean eagerly and joyfully into what He would like us to do with the blessings He has given to us. How wonderful would it be to sit down with the Lord one day to learn that the blessings you used brought people to salvation, members to our church family and children to know the Lord in a personal way? Faithfully use what you have been given. The Lord plainly teaches that good and faithful service leads to more opportunity and greater ways to serve Him. May we not be sidelined by inactivity or bad habits. May we serve for the joy that it brings and for the glory of God to be known throughout our community. Have a great Wednesday!
Posted in General Inspiration, Parables
Tagged with talents, faithfulness, repentance, purpose, stewardship
Tagged with talents, faithfulness, repentance, purpose, stewardship
Recent
Archive
2022
January
January 3, 2022Tuesday, January 4, 2022Wednesday, January 5, 2022Thursday, January 6, 2022Monday, January 10, 2022Tuesday, January 11, 2022Wednesday, January 12, 2022Thursday, January 13, 2022Monday, January 17, 2022Tuesday, January 18, 2022Wednesday, January 19, 2022Thursday, January 20, 2022Monday, January 24, 2022Tuesday, January 25, 2022Wednesday, January 26, 2022Thursday, January 27, 2022Monday, January 31, 2022
February
Tuesday, February 1, 2022Wednesday, February 2, 2022Thursday, February 3, 2022Monday, February 7, 2022Tuesday, February 8, 2022Wednesday, February 9, 2022Thursday, February 10, 2022Monday, February 14, 2022Tuesday, February 15, 2022Wednesday, February 16, 2022Thursday, February 17, 2022Monday, February 21, 2022Wednesday, February 23, 2022Thursday, February 24, 2022Monday, February 28, 2022
March
Tuesday, March 1, 2022Wednesday, March 2, 2022Thursday, March 3, 2022Monday, March 7, 2022Wednesday, March 9, 2022Thursday, March 10, 2022Monday, March 14, 2022Tuesday, March 15, 2022Wednesday, March 16, 2022Monday, March 21, 2022Tuesday, March 22, 2022Wednesday, March 23, 2022Thursday, March 24, 2022Monday, March 28, 2022Tuesday, March 29, 2022Wednesday, March 30, 2022Thursday, March 31, 2022
April
Monday, April 4, 2022Tuesday, April 5, 2022Wednesday, April 6, 2022Thursday, April 7, 2022Monday, April 11, 2022Tuesday, April 12, 2022Wednesday, April 13, 2022Maundy Thursday, April 14, 2022Monday, April 18, 2022Tuesday, April 19, 2022Wednesday, April 20, 2022Monday, April 25, 2022Tuesday, April 26, 2022Wednesday, April 27, 2022Thursday, April 28, 2022
May
June
Wednesday, June 1, 2022Thursday, June 2, 2022Monday, June 6, 2022Tuesday, June 7, 2022Wednesday, June 8, 2022Thursday, June 9, 2022Monday, June 13, 2022Tuesday, June 14, 2022Wednesday, June 15, 2022Thursday, June 16, 2022Monday, June 20, 2022Tuesday, June 21, 2022Wednesday, June 22, 2022Thursday, June 23, 2022Monday, June 27, 2022
Categories
Tags
Acts
Communion
Cross
God's will
God
Holy Spirit
Holy Week
Jesus
Lent
Reformation
Zacchaeus
accountability
action
advent
all saints
anxiety
awe
beginning
beloved
blessing
boaz
calling
change
character
chistmas
choices
christian living
christmas
comfort
commitment
compassion
confidence
contentment
control
cost
decisions
deliverance
dependence
depth
despair
determination
devote
devotion
direction
discernment
discipleship
discouragement
disobedience
eagerness
emotion
encouragement
eternal life
eternity
exodus
facing battles
faithful living
faithfulness
faith
fatigue
fear
follow
foreshadowing
forgiveness
freedom
friends
fruit of the Spirit
future
generosity
gideon
gifts
giving
glory
goodness
grace
grateful
gratitude
grit
growth
guidance
halloween
hannah
happiness
healing
heart
heaven
help
history
holiday
holiness
home
hope
humble
identity
impossible
incarnation
innkeeper
inspiration
instruction
journey
joy
kindness
kingdom
knowing God
leper
life
light
love
martin luther
maturity
memorial
memories
mercy
minor prophets
miracles
missions
mission
motives
nation
nativity
new year
new
obedience
obstacles
opportunity
overcoming
passion
path
patience
peace
perseverance
perseverence
perspective
peter
plan
ponder
power
praise
prayer
preparation
presence
pressure
pride
priorities
process
prodigal
progress
provision
psalm
purpose
redemption
refuge
rejoice
remember
remembrance
renown
repentance
resolution
restoration
rest
return
ruth
sacrifice
salvation
sanctification
scripture
second coming
seeking God
serenity
sermon
service
sincerity
sin
solitude
sorrow
sovereignty
sower
star
stewardship
storms
strength
struggle
stuck
talents
thankfulness
thankful
thanksgiving
thanksliving
the way
tithes
traditions
transfiguration
trinity
troubles
trust
unlikely
veterans
waiting
walk
wisdom
wise men
word
worship
No Comments