21 In Twenty-One Devotional
Day Eighteen
Prayer Focus: Financial Provision
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver[a] to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together![b]’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
Matthew 25:14-29 NLT
The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
Psalms 89:11 NLT
PROVISION. INVESTMENT. STEWARDSHIP.
First off, let me begin by saying how humbled I am at the opportunity to share with each of you. It is one of my greatest joys! As most of you know… financial provision, wellness, and stability are very important to me. I bet they are important to you as well, and I KNOW they are important to God. We see it all through scripture. The parable I mentioned today comes straight from the mouth of Jesus. It is literally speaking of money, but can be applied in a multitude of ways.
We live in a very consumeristic “me, me, me,” culture, and sometimes it’s a struggle to create disciplines that produce a God-like view in the area of finances. “I work for my money; therefore, I have every right to choose what “I” do with it.” For Jesus followers that quote is true, but it still comes with some responsibilities. Believe it or not, we are not the owners of our money, God is. You are the manager. Congratulations on your promotion! We do work and earn money, but it is at the job and with the body parts He gave us. Also (to reference the song we sang a few weeks ago) it’s even the Lord’s breath in our lungs. He gives so much to us freely and entrusts us to manage (steward) things wisely.
What does that look like? One might ask, “Are these scriptures talking about the stock market or my 401k?” It probably has been looked at in those ways, but I view it a little differently. God gives everyone a different place in life as far as resources, skills, and abilities to earn. What you have and what you start with does not matter. It truly is a matter of a discipline (knowledge/training) and what you do with the resources God has given you specifically. Remember, comparison will always kill contentment. None of the dudes in the parable knew what each other were doing. They just took what they had been given and did what they knew to be pleasing and acceptable to the person who gave it to them. Two of them put their resources out in the world while one was scared to let go and produce anything more. The master in the story was not happy about that. You do not see the second servant say, “Oh man, I didn’t produce as much as the first guy, master is gonna be mad at me because I failed”. He did his best to produce from what he had and it paid dividends. It PUMPS ME UP to think that if I am a good manager, then God says in His word even more will be given!
Are you able to trust God with what He entrusts you with financially?
Is producing a return on God’s investment in you a priority or is it just for provision?
Do you know that provision comes when actually implementing the promises of God in your life or do you struggle with the idea of never having enough?
An easy way God has setup a return on His investment is through the Church. We reference it as the “tithe.” There is only one place in the bible that God actually tells us to test Him and it is in the area of giving financially. When you give to the Church you are giving to God directly and it is the responsibility of the Church (any church, not just Overflow) to put it to use and produce a return for our master.
Prayer: “God, today I thank you for all that I am and all that I have. I give it all back to you. I will put forth my best efforts and trust that what you have given me will multiply as I take care of my family and give back to you. Use it all for your glory and that the name of Jesus would be the sweetest name to all that we encounter. Give me disciplines that would be healthy so I can be a blessing to more and more people daily. I love you with all that I am. Amen!”
Don’t Stop There!
I used to only think of 3 “Ts” when I thought about stewardship. Time. Talent. Treasure. This fast has really shown me that we need to add a 4th one as well. Temple. God paid a significant price for each of us through His son, Jesus. Once we realize we are not our own any longer, it really puts in perspective that we want the things we manage to be as in good of shape as they possibly can when we get to see Jesus face to face. This year in 2021, let’s examine our lives and improve in all these areas. It is a process and takes time. Don’t ever forget that we serve a master that is full of grace and truth and loves us more that we could ever imagine!
Time: Do we manage time wisely and spend intimate time with our Heavenly Father in prayer and bible reading?
Talent: Do we manage our talents, skills, and abilities for the glory of God? We should be practicing this in our daily walks through jobs, relationships, and serving in ministry.
Treasure: Do we give God our full trust as it pertains to finances? Do we understand contentment and joy?
Temple: Are we treating our bodies in a way that is pleasing to Jesus? Remember, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. We are God’s temple. Healthy lifestyles are a good way to produce longevity in the body God has given us on this Earth.
Love you all,
Matthew Page
16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together![b]’
22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
Matthew 25:14-29 NLT
The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
Psalms 89:11 NLT
PROVISION. INVESTMENT. STEWARDSHIP.
First off, let me begin by saying how humbled I am at the opportunity to share with each of you. It is one of my greatest joys! As most of you know… financial provision, wellness, and stability are very important to me. I bet they are important to you as well, and I KNOW they are important to God. We see it all through scripture. The parable I mentioned today comes straight from the mouth of Jesus. It is literally speaking of money, but can be applied in a multitude of ways.
We live in a very consumeristic “me, me, me,” culture, and sometimes it’s a struggle to create disciplines that produce a God-like view in the area of finances. “I work for my money; therefore, I have every right to choose what “I” do with it.” For Jesus followers that quote is true, but it still comes with some responsibilities. Believe it or not, we are not the owners of our money, God is. You are the manager. Congratulations on your promotion! We do work and earn money, but it is at the job and with the body parts He gave us. Also (to reference the song we sang a few weeks ago) it’s even the Lord’s breath in our lungs. He gives so much to us freely and entrusts us to manage (steward) things wisely.
What does that look like? One might ask, “Are these scriptures talking about the stock market or my 401k?” It probably has been looked at in those ways, but I view it a little differently. God gives everyone a different place in life as far as resources, skills, and abilities to earn. What you have and what you start with does not matter. It truly is a matter of a discipline (knowledge/training) and what you do with the resources God has given you specifically. Remember, comparison will always kill contentment. None of the dudes in the parable knew what each other were doing. They just took what they had been given and did what they knew to be pleasing and acceptable to the person who gave it to them. Two of them put their resources out in the world while one was scared to let go and produce anything more. The master in the story was not happy about that. You do not see the second servant say, “Oh man, I didn’t produce as much as the first guy, master is gonna be mad at me because I failed”. He did his best to produce from what he had and it paid dividends. It PUMPS ME UP to think that if I am a good manager, then God says in His word even more will be given!
Are you able to trust God with what He entrusts you with financially?
Is producing a return on God’s investment in you a priority or is it just for provision?
Do you know that provision comes when actually implementing the promises of God in your life or do you struggle with the idea of never having enough?
An easy way God has setup a return on His investment is through the Church. We reference it as the “tithe.” There is only one place in the bible that God actually tells us to test Him and it is in the area of giving financially. When you give to the Church you are giving to God directly and it is the responsibility of the Church (any church, not just Overflow) to put it to use and produce a return for our master.
Prayer: “God, today I thank you for all that I am and all that I have. I give it all back to you. I will put forth my best efforts and trust that what you have given me will multiply as I take care of my family and give back to you. Use it all for your glory and that the name of Jesus would be the sweetest name to all that we encounter. Give me disciplines that would be healthy so I can be a blessing to more and more people daily. I love you with all that I am. Amen!”
Don’t Stop There!
I used to only think of 3 “Ts” when I thought about stewardship. Time. Talent. Treasure. This fast has really shown me that we need to add a 4th one as well. Temple. God paid a significant price for each of us through His son, Jesus. Once we realize we are not our own any longer, it really puts in perspective that we want the things we manage to be as in good of shape as they possibly can when we get to see Jesus face to face. This year in 2021, let’s examine our lives and improve in all these areas. It is a process and takes time. Don’t ever forget that we serve a master that is full of grace and truth and loves us more that we could ever imagine!
Time: Do we manage time wisely and spend intimate time with our Heavenly Father in prayer and bible reading?
Talent: Do we manage our talents, skills, and abilities for the glory of God? We should be practicing this in our daily walks through jobs, relationships, and serving in ministry.
Treasure: Do we give God our full trust as it pertains to finances? Do we understand contentment and joy?
Temple: Are we treating our bodies in a way that is pleasing to Jesus? Remember, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. We are God’s temple. Healthy lifestyles are a good way to produce longevity in the body God has given us on this Earth.
Love you all,
Matthew Page
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