Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Stewardship of God Given Talents
Anish Mammen
Long Island MTC, NY
2 Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and every
skillful one to whom the Lord had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred
to come to do the work;
Stewardship. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.
When we take a look at the journey of the Israelites, we see God’s chosen people being led across the Red Sea and into the wilderness. Shortly after being led into the wilderness, many of the Israelites begin to disobey God.
You may wonder, how is it that the Israelites sin so easily shortly after God frees them from bondage, performs a spectacular miracle and then promises them a land of their own? It almost makes no sense how they fell into sin after all the great things they witnessed God do for them.
As we move further into Exodus, we see how order is restored and then the Israelites continue their journey and then begin to erect the Tabernacle. Chapter 36 begins which Moses calling out two specific individuals along with other people with a special gift in order to help to construct the sanctuary.
The past has passed.
There are a couple of things we can learn from the Israelites. The first thing is that the people did in fact sin and they had to repent and come back to God. Once they came back to God, they had to move forward. The construction of the sanctuary began soon after.
A lot of times as Christians we tend to focus more on the faults of others instead of giving them an opportunity for redemption. We forget the fact that everyone in our church and our community plays an important role in helping the church grow and fulfilling the mission that God has given us.
Sometimes it’s not other people. Sometimes we beat ourselves up for mistakes we have made in the past. A lot of times this hinders us from moving forward and using the gifts that God has given us. We need to stop turning back so that we can look ahead and keep our eyes on the goal.
Answer the call and act.
God gave the Israelites many different talents. Some were craftsmen, some were warriors, some were good with money and some were born leaders. Each individual had a specific role they had to play in that community. And when the time came for each individual, God stirred it up in their hearts and those that answered the call acted. These were the craftsmen that were appointed to construct the sanctuary.
A lot of times God calls us, but we tend to hang up or push His calls straight to voicemail. God sees worth in each and every one of us and He entrusts us with various gifts and skills so that we can use for His kingdom. When he entrusts us with something he expects us to act as responsible stewards.
God is the master strategist and He calls on us to act at the perfect time, at the perfect place and under the perfect conditions. When we refuse to act or ignore the call, we tend to miss out on being a part of something extraordinary. Let us open our hearts and always be prepared to use our gifts and skills whenever God calls on us.
Stewardship. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.
When we take a look at the journey of the Israelites, we see God’s chosen people being led across the Red Sea and into the wilderness. Shortly after being led into the wilderness, many of the Israelites begin to disobey God.
You may wonder, how is it that the Israelites sin so easily shortly after God frees them from bondage, performs a spectacular miracle and then promises them a land of their own? It almost makes no sense how they fell into sin after all the great things they witnessed God do for them.
As we move further into Exodus, we see how order is restored and then the Israelites continue their journey and then begin to erect the Tabernacle. Chapter 36 begins which Moses calling out two specific individuals along with other people with a special gift in order to help to construct the sanctuary.
The past has passed.
There are a couple of things we can learn from the Israelites. The first thing is that the people did in fact sin and they had to repent and come back to God. Once they came back to God, they had to move forward. The construction of the sanctuary began soon after.
A lot of times as Christians we tend to focus more on the faults of others instead of giving them an opportunity for redemption. We forget the fact that everyone in our church and our community plays an important role in helping the church grow and fulfilling the mission that God has given us.
Sometimes it’s not other people. Sometimes we beat ourselves up for mistakes we have made in the past. A lot of times this hinders us from moving forward and using the gifts that God has given us. We need to stop turning back so that we can look ahead and keep our eyes on the goal.
Answer the call and act.
God gave the Israelites many different talents. Some were craftsmen, some were warriors, some were good with money and some were born leaders. Each individual had a specific role they had to play in that community. And when the time came for each individual, God stirred it up in their hearts and those that answered the call acted. These were the craftsmen that were appointed to construct the sanctuary.
A lot of times God calls us, but we tend to hang up or push His calls straight to voicemail. God sees worth in each and every one of us and He entrusts us with various gifts and skills so that we can use for His kingdom. When he entrusts us with something he expects us to act as responsible stewards.
God is the master strategist and He calls on us to act at the perfect time, at the perfect place and under the perfect conditions. When we refuse to act or ignore the call, we tend to miss out on being a part of something extraordinary. Let us open our hearts and always be prepared to use our gifts and skills whenever God calls on us.
PRAYER
Dear God, we thank you
for always for loving us and for finding worth in us. We thank you for taking
us just as we are. We are sorry for the many times we have ignored your call.
Give us the strength and the courage to act every time you call us. All of the
gifts and skills we have are blessings from you. Help us to use it to further
your kingdom and to share the love of Christ with all those who we encounter.
Everything we ask in your holy and precious name. Amen.
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
God gives each of us special gifts in order to edify the church and to glorify His name.
God gives each of us special gifts in order to edify the church and to glorify His name.