Steward: (v) to manage, to care for

I Timothy 4:14, "Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by the prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership."

Hm...this is convicting. I've been in a slump of sorts this summer, transitioning out of M.I. and all. Feeling unmotivated, frustrated, overwhelmed, lost. The next verse reads as follows...

"...take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."

We can assume that if you do "this" and "that" happens, then if you don't do "this" then "that" won't happen. So, if Timothy studies the doctrine and takes heed to himself, two things will happen - he will be saved, and so will others. Let's apply this to our own lives. Myself, for instance. What is the gift inside of me? What gifts have I been given? Am I stewarding those gifts well? Am I using them? If not, why? I believe the Lord has gifted me in natural ways and also in supernatural ways. I didn't receive certain gifts until I asked God for them and had men and women of God lay hands on me in prayer. Some things only happen through prayer. Let's give an analogy.

So you want the iphone 4 really bad and you ask your parents to buy it for you multiple times. You ask and ask and they just won't give in. Your birthday roles around about a month later and they surprise you and give it to you with a blue tooth headset, a car charger, and multiple cases! You're ecstatic and you thank them over and over. Now, what if you used the phone for a day and then went back to using your old flip phone? How would your parents feel? They did you a huge favor, went above and beyond what you asked, and then you just toss it all aside because you feel like it. I think that's kind of how God feels when we ask him for things and then we don't use them. Do you think He's going to want to give us anything else after that? He probably won't be as inclined to.

So that analogy might not have made sense, but the point is that we need to use the gifts we've been given. This is really challenging me with where I'm at right now. I am learning new ways to stay motivated and hopeful. In my last blog I wrote about the flesh vs the spirit and if you allow your lower nature (let's call it our "dark side") to take over you won't be allowing the spirit to use you. We all have a dark side. Instead of getting up early so we can take care of things, we press snooze. Instead of leaving our credit card at home so we don't spend money we don't have, we leave it in our wallet.

So back to the point I was making in the beginning, if we don't steward (use, take care of) the gifts we've been given what will happen? Other people will be affected. Not always, but sometimes people will miss out on hearing about the love of Jesus because we keep silent.

What it comes down to is this: Are we going to be selfish or selfless?

I don't know about you, but I find it hard to be selfless sometimes. It's natural to want to look after our own well-being before someone else's. If you have the good news of Jesus inside of you, share it! If you have a prophetic gift, prophesy! If you are good at understanding and teaching, teach! If you love to bless others financially, give! Other people's lives and happiness could be at stake.

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God, I thank you so much for the gifts that you have bestowed upon me. Help me to be grateful and use those gifts on a daily basis. Help me to be a bold witness and ambassador for you! You are so good to me, I don't deserve it. I love you, Lord. I surrender this day to you. Use me today. Help me see opportunities to help others today. Would I abound in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control today. Above all, help me to show your love today. Your love never fails! In your Son's precious name, amen.

Faith.Hope.Love.
Chelsea Rae