Let’s get to it…

There are 3 parables about stewards and masters that Randy Alcorn references.  They are the parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-13), the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), and the parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27).

From these, he draws out lessons concerning the Master & the Steward.

Today let’s chat about lessons concerning the Master:

1.  His ownership – the Master is the true owner of all assets.  He has the right to do with everything as he wishes.

2.  His power – the Master’s will is authoritative, his decisions determinative.  Behind his words there is ultimate power.

3.  His trust – [The Master’s delegation of significant assets and authority] indicates a level of trust in [his servants’] ability to manage them.

4.  His expectations – He has every right to expect his stewards to do what he’s told them.

5.  His absence – [There is] delayed accountability.  It’s a test of each servant to see if the master’s standards are maintained even though he isn’t there to give immediate reward or correction.

6.  His return – the master will come back…likely when least expected.

7.  His generosity – Although he has a right to expect the servant to do what he commanded without a reward, the master graciously promises reward and promotion to the steward who has been faithful.

8.  His strictness – The master’s instructions were reasonable, and he’s not one to accept excuses. 

(Money, Possessions and Eternity, pg. 147)

I think all these points can reference back to the question posed last time: 

What do you think are the tasks delegated to us as New Testament Believers according to the Word?

If we are the stewards and He is the Master, we need to know what He expects!

I can think of so many things referenced in the New Testament:

Love your enemies, pray without ceasing, care for orphans and widows, give freely, keep in step with the Spirit, go and make disciples of all nations, run your race, keep yourself from idols, persevere under trial, put off the old self, let your light shine, deny self and take up cross, renew your mind, ask for wisdom, practice hospitality, submit to authority, throw off the sin that so easily entangles.

But, as our Brilliant Master pointed out, the Main Thing is to Love God and Love People.

Is this the lens through which you see your spending?  Loving God and loving people? 

More next time!

I just read a beautiful blog post from my beautiful Sissy.

No more words necessary:

http://www.agirlinprogress.com/the-reasons/

Romans 12: 1-5, 9-21

I need to tell you something.

I slipped and fell and bought a t-shirt today.

At Watermark Books.

Hello.

Local.

Books.

T-shirt.

All my favs.

So about that spending fast…

No, seriously, I haven’t chatted with my man about details (such as, when to start…).  But I felt the need to say this on here.

Also, I had this thought. 

If I know you in real life or if you know about our group’s outreach, there’s a chance you might think I’m doing all this money talk because, deep down, I really want you to give the ministry some money.  I just want to make sure and say this: He has absolutely and completely provided for all needs from Day One.  We have had generous givers, bakers, pray-ers and helpers.  People excited to help, asking for the opportunity to be part of what He’s doing. 

There is no hidden agenda here from me!  I’m not needing anything or angry or judging anyone on how their money is spent.  Just sharing of lessons as He daily shows me what He has for me.

So about money.  And the “why?” behind it all.  Let’s hear a little from Randy Alcorn about stewardship:

“God is the owner of all things, and we are simply His stewards…’A steward is someone entrusted with another’s wealth or property and charged with the responsibility of managing it in the owner’s best interest.’  A steward’s primary goal is to be found faithful by his master as the steward uses the master’s resources to accomplish the tasks delegated to him.”  (Money, Possessions and Eternity, pgs. 139, 140)

What do you think are the tasks delegated to us as New Testament Believers according to the Word? 

Do you think of the money you make in this way?  As The Master’s resources to accomplish the tasks He gives us?

What did your family of origin teach you about money? 

Today’s thoughts.  It’s a start!

Interested in a spending fast with me?  Let’s hear the rest of Jen’s intro and chat:

“If you have ever wondered what God really cares about, let Isaiah 58 be your guidepost. 

If our lives are marked by gossip and slander and apathy and neglect of the poor, we can just skip all the outward disciplines and save God the energy.

He is stunningly concerned with the marginalized, and He is always, always burrowing deeply into our hearts, our motives, the way we think, the reasons we move…

Jesus had three sentences to say about fasting in Matthew 6:16-18. 

‘When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’

Jesus did not throw out fasting.  He assumes we are fasting.  He called for reform and got at the heart of the matter…

There is something valuable about fasting.  Jesus knew it. 

This is for us. 

This matters. 

This is worth keeping…

A fast creates margin for God to move.

If we can set our defensiveness aside and take Jesus at His word, He is pointing out our blind spot.

We’re a double-edged sword, privileged believers, because we are so incredibly resourced with the potential to battle disparity, but those same resources trap and entangle us…

Meanwhile the suffering happening on our watch is a tragedy while we hold all the cards. 

If excess is at the root of the problem, then let’s fast from it…

God did not invite me into this fast to condemn me; it was to liberate me…

Jesus was gentle, even in the midst of heavy deconstruction….

It is supremely important to get your head on right before a fast.  Take as long as you need to work this out with Jesus.  This doesn’t mean you have all your junk together…hardly!

You can come a hot mess like we all are, but come for Jesus.

Come for transformation.

Come for worship.

Come humble and honest, open and listening.

Don’t feel this way yet?  Pray for it! 

Put it all out there.

Jesus can handle every bit of your honesty.”

What are you thinking?  Are you interested in fasting from excess? 

Is it Spending for you?  Do you look at your bank statement and not like what you see? 

Or is it Media?  Do you feel enslaved to the internet?  Or your phone?  Or even good stuff like podcasts or sermons?  Do you need more quiet in your life?

How about Complaining?   He’s been talking to me lately about the source of my complaints: the rights I think I have (but don’t).  I really, really want to do some sort of word fast…hey, my people!  Help me?

What about Possessions?  If you’re like our family, we get the Purge Bug this time of year as we spring clean.  What about researching ministries in your city to give to instead of having a garage sale?  Or if you have a sale, let the proceeds go toward someone’s adoption fund or mission trip or a neighbor’s need.  Ask your friends who are far from God if they know of needs.  I would venture to guess they do.  Ask your small group if they want to join you!

Did the Food thing strike a chord in your heart?  Do you want to change one little habit?  Or overhaul a few big habits?

A while back I mentioned Waste.  Have you thought about that some?  Want to dive in there? 

If you do feel God leading you this way, you’ll probably need some accountability and encouragement.  It’s tough to do most things alone.  But especially this.

If you’re a wife like me, you should probably chat with your man first, too.  Remember we’re not their bosses.  Pray together and listen to their feedback.  They tend to know us better than we think they do and they can have such insight into our motives, pressures and fears.  For something like this my man is good at helping me stay balanced when I tend to fall into my performance issues. 

Okay, let’s do business with Jesus.  He is worth everything.

(Oh, and be prepared for a lot of money talk on here!)

“Beneath the surface of everyone’s life is an ache that will not go away…

When the fact is faced that life is profoundly disappointing, the only way to make it is to learn to love. 

And only those who are no longer consumed with finding satisfaction now are able to love.

[This kind of internal character change] frees us to groan without complaint, to love others in spite of our emptiness, and to wait for the complete satisfaction we so desperately desire.”

Inside Out, Larry Crabb

Oh my, I needed this today.  Jesus, please help me be satisfied each morning with Your unfailing love.  Help me not demand that kind of satisfaction from others.

“So what, in the situation of personal injury, is the rightness of the kingdom heart?

Here we must once again recall the point about order:

We have already heard…that anger, contempt, and absorbing desire have been dealt with so that our lives are not being run by them.  If they occasionally test us still, that is very natural.  But they do not control us and leave us unable to reliably and happily carry through with our sober intention to do what is good and avoid what is evil.

This being so, when we are personally injured our world does not suddenly become our injury.  We have a larger view of our life and our place in God’s world. 

We see God; we see ourselves in his hands.

What are characteristic ways in which one fully alive in and to The Kingdom Among Us may respond to personal affronts, injuries, and impositions? 

Jesus mentions four types of kingdom responses:

1.  They will ‘turn the other cheek.’  That is, they will remain vulnerable.  They will not take their defense into their own hands and do whatever they may regard as necessary to protect themselves…

2.  ‘Let him have your shirt.’  They will conscientiously try to help, as is appropriate, those who have won legal cases against them in court.  They are, after all, deeply interested in what the other person needs and are prepared to help that person as much as they can.

3.  ‘Go with him two miles.’  If a policeman or other responsible official exercises a right to require assistance from them, they will do more than is strictly required of them…

4.  ‘Give to him who asks of you.’  They will often give to people who have no prior claim of any kind to what they are asking for.  The request itself is the only claim required to move them…

All [fear of legalism] is changed when we realize that these are illustrations of what a certain kind of person, the kingdom person, will characteristically do in such situations.  They are not laws of ‘righteous behavior’ for those personally imposed upon or injured…

Though we are not talking about things one must do to ‘be Christian’ or ‘go to heaven when we die,’ we are looking at how people live who stand in the flow of God’s life now.  We see the interior rightness of those who are living – as a matter of course, not just in exceptional moments – beyond the rightness of the scribes and Pharisee.”

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy pgs. 176, 177, 178

Only You, Jesus, and Your Spirit empowering us. 

You are not alone if you are lonely

When you’re feeling frail, you’re not the only

We are all the same – in need of mercy

To be forgiven and be free

It’s all you got to lean on

But thank God it’s all you need

And all the people said Amen!

And all the people said Amen!

Give thanks to the Lord for His love never ends

And all the people said Amen!

If you’re rich or poor, well it don’t matter

Weak or strong, we know love is what we’re after

We’re all broken but we’re all in this together

God knows we stumble and fall

And He so loved the world He sent His son to save us all

And all the people said Amen!

And all the people said Amen!

Give thanks to the Lord for His love never ends

And all the people said Amen!

Blessed are

The poor in spirit who are torn apart

Blessed are

The persecuted and the pure in heart

Blessed are

The people longing for another start

For this is the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God!

And all the people said Amen!

And all the people said Amen!

Give thanks to the Lord for His love never ends

And all the people said Amen! 

– Matt Maher, All the People Said Amen

But now listen, O Jacob, my servant…

Do not be afraid…

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

And streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,

And my blessing on your descendants.

They will spring up like grass in a meadow,

Like poplar trees by flowing streams.

One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’;

Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;

Still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’S’

And…welcome back the Grace Police!

Seriously, my people are so good to me.

Conversation #1 (my man):

“Sounds good but it seems like you’re attacking rich people.”

What?!  I mean me. 

We. 

Us. 

All of us!!

Promise, promise, promise this isn’t finger pointing! 

2nd Convo:

“It is convicting and encouraging, but I know you’re heart.  I know you desire unity.”

Then we discussed the topic of how the world is watching believers fight about doctrine instead of love each other. 

It was a good discussion, but the talking wasn’t the best part.  It was what was happening off to the side.

What was happening?

Her man was on the porch corralling all four little ones. 

Playing with them.

While we were yammering about theology, he was living it.

Convo 3:

“There’s a difference between finding worth in riches and being entrusted with much.”

Right.

Good.

(This is the one who regularly helps me live in the tension.)

Yes, friends, these are my people.  The same ones who, the other day, likened the process of me buying a house to Maggie Carpenter getting married in Runaway Bride.

Just get her to closing.  Just get her to closing.

 Anyway. 

Plus, all the talk about scorning blessings could make it seem like I never spend money.

Bahahahahahahahaha!

We all have our weaknesses.  I love to eat out (convenience could quickly be an idol).  I love products.  All kinds.  I love books.  The kind you hold and smell and highlight.  It’s as if I’m collecting t-shirts.  I will sign up for anything for a t-shirt.  Colorful kitchen ware makes my knees weak.  I will trample you and your children to get to a globe or map first if it’s the last one at the store.  Or yard sale. 

See what I mean?

There are so so so many other people ahead of me in line qualified to talk about faithfulness in finances.  We lived with some once.  We gleaned so much wisdom from them about how to steward what we’re given.  And despite their money savvy I never got a legalistic feeling from them. 

Impressive combo.

But, even still, we’re pressing on.  Just know the heart and (at least somewhat) self-awareness behind the writing.

Here’s Jen:

“[These intruders in my head], aided and abetted by Jesus, staged a mutiny.  The catalyst was the week we housed 12 evacuees from Hurricane Ike…

As carloads arrived and we welcomed them in, one 10-year-old boy walked in our home, looked around with huge eyes, and hollered:

‘Dad!  This white dude is RICH!’

For years I didn’t realize this, because so many others had more…But it gets fuzzy once you spend time with people below your rung.  I started seeing my stuff with fresh eyes, realizing we had everything.

I mean everything.

We’ve never missed a meal or even skimped on one.  We have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood.  Our kids are in an exemplary Texas school.  We drive two cars.  We’ve never gone a day without health insurance.  Our closets are overflowing.  We throw away food we didn’t eat, clothes we barely wore, trash that will never disintegrate, stuff that fell out of fashion…

The day I’m unaware of my privileges and unmoved by my greed is the day something has to change…We’d done some first-tier reductions, freeing up excess to share, but still…the white dude was really rich.

How do you feel after reading the last few paragraphs?

How would you feel if God asked you to part ways with your stuff?  (Make it real: your house, your neighborhood, your cars, your comforts.)

If you’re a believer, how does it feel to have your good behavior discredited compared to how you’ve handled money and possessions?

I see a theme [in Jesus’ teachings]…a recurring condition that hinders the kingdom and stops potential Christ-followers short of actually following Christ.

Wealth.

If Jesus is serious, then far more than fearing poverty or discomfort, we should worry about our prosperity.”

Whew.  Are you okay?