Stewarship Part 3~ Heather Young

Last but definitely not least, Part 3 will discuss how to be good stewards of others. This requires love, service, and sacrifice. In John chapter 3 verse 34, Jesus said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” You see, the disciples knew the Ten Commandments presented in the Old Testament to Moses, but in this passage Jesus gave them another law to add to those. He also made it clear that we are to care for “the least of these”:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.”

Psalm 82:3

It is extremely vital to care for those in need. If we don’t we will not only be sent to eternal punishment, but we also would never get to experience the joy obtained when serving others. God has given each of us gifts that He wants us to use to serve Him. By sacrificing our time for others’ needs, we are obeying one of God’s most important commandments: to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”

1 Peter 4:10

Today is Heather's birthday!!! Wish her a happy birthday!!!

Did you know that Heather rarely cries during sad movies?!

Did you know that Abby loves music?!

Photograph property of Lilies Among Thorns Magazine. Photograph taken by Abby Whear.

Stewarship Part 2~ Heather Young

Last month, I discussed how to be good stewards of our money. This month, I will explain how to be good stewards of ourselves. If you haven’t read Part 1, I would recommend doing so before reading this article.

· Ourselves

God gave us the greatest gift of all – life through His Son. The least we could do is give Him the greatest gift we can: our lives. To be good stewards of our lives, we must start by responsibly caring for our bodies, both physically and spiritually.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

1 Cor. 6:19-20

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”

Romans 6:11-13

“Keep awake, and pray that you may not enter into temptation: the spirit is right willing, but the body is frail.”

Matthew 26:41

Take care of your body. Treat it like the treasure it is. That means not filling our bodies with unhealthy substances. It also means not filling our minds with corrupt thoughts. Also, be cautious about things that tempt you. In order to honor God with our bodies, we must “flee from evil things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).

Giving of our lives requires us to love God above anything else. When we love God with all of our heart, we will have a desire to serve Him no matter what. And He has given us each gifts that can help us serve Him. Jesus told a parable about a master who gave talents to his servants:

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 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.’

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!’

The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

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!’

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. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

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? 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.

Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the 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. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 25:14-30

God has entrusted us with His creation. If we are not faithful caretakers of His property, there will be just consequences. How can we expect God to trust us with His treasures in Heaven when we are not responsible with the little we have here on earth?

“And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.’”

Luke 12:42-44

Be on the lookout for next month’s article, Part 3!

Did you know that Heather is learning to crochet?!

Stewarship Part 1~ Heather Young

Stewardship: the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.

“Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

Titus 1:7-9

All Christians are stewards. Being a steward, or guard, requires much responsibility – especially when the person you are supervising for is God. What exactly are we to be responsible for? Money? Ourselves? Others?

Answer: All of the above.

· Money

Jesus spoke about money more than almost any other subject. He knew that money both hurts and helps us. Actually, money can be quite a good thing, if generously given and not consumed greedily. In order to handle money accountably, one should follow these three S’s:

1. Spend wisely.

2. Save much.

3. Share cautiously, yet abundantly.

The first two S’s are pretty self-explanatory, so I am just going to expand on the third one. If you have ever ridden or driven past many street corners, you have probably noticed people standing there with signs asking for help, whether it be money, food, or gas. Many passers-by have trouble discerning if they are really in need of resources besides drugs or alcohol. My parents and I only give them money if we feel like the Lord is leading us to do so. Usually we only hand out granola bars, to be on the safe side. When you do feel like God is leading you to supply for a need, don’t hesitate! Being careful of whom you give money to doesn’t mean you are not a generous person, it just means that you are a good steward of the money God has given you!

“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”

Luke 16:9-11

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.”

Proverbs 3:9

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Proverbs 11:25

Do with your money what you feel God wants you to do with it. Honoring God with our wealth not only means giving to Him, but also giving to others. And not just sharing our money – giving of ourselves, as well. Next month, I will reveal how to sacrificially give of our time and resources. Brace yourself for Part 2!

Did you know that Heather was content knowing that stars were just dazzling dots in the sky, until her science teacher ruined it for her?!

Did you know that Cassie loves taking pictures of random things?!

Photographs property of Lilies Among Thorns Magazine. Photograph taken by Cassie Oscar.