August 16

Luke 16:10-18 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:

Journal Entry

Scripture

15And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. 13"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth." 14Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

Observation

Being a good steward of the things entrusted to us is not a matter of how highly others would regard us. We say we serve God even with all the worldly possessions we have, and it would be easy to fool others. Pharisees scoffed at Jesus' statement about "two master", and the reaction alone reveals who their "master" was.
And there it is..."God knows your hearts."

Application

What little things has He entrusted me with? As time flies by right before my eyes, lately I have been thinking about the term, "time"... Somewhere in the book of Psalm, when I was meditating a few months ago, I came across a verse that said (paraphrasing), "...see to it that you do not waste your time throughout the day, doing worthless things..."

Time, each morning I wake up and remind myself, is something that's given equally (not quite, but for the sake of argument), and depending on how I use it, it becomes a "big" thing or a "little" thing that's been entrusted to me. Among other things, time is something I pray to be a good steward of, hoping to be affirmed by Him as such when I'm done with it...

Prayer

Dear Lord,

may my each day be filled with activities that are worthwhile in your view and for your purpose... Cause me to come before you in prayer; cause me to remember to pray for the ones in need of my prayer; cause me to remember that it is I who's standing in the need of prayer. Help me be wise in how to spend "time" with you all along... In Jesus' name, I pray...amen.

--jb