"Well Done Good and Faithful Servant!"

“Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys. Matthew 25:21 Amplified Bible

This is what Jesus says to us when we are good stewards of all that He has entrusted to us. I have been seriously evaluating my life and I have asked the Lord to help me properly manage all areas of it. I want to be a better mother, wife, sister, friend, and teacher. I want to manage our money properly. Sow our financial seeds when and where He says to give. I want to help harvest and labor wherever He wants me to be. My gifts and talents are His to do with as He pleases. I just want to hear Him say these words to me, or something like it, “Well done good and faithful servant. I have expanded your territory. Begin the joyous tasks that I have assigned to you”.

Well we can hear those words one day if we are responsible with everything that the Lord has entrusted to us. Remember that all that we have belongs to our Lord. We do not own anything. We are merely caretakers of our Master’s stuff. Our gifts, special abilities, money, and material possessions have been entrusted to us by Jesus. Our increase is really His increase for the kingdom.

He expects us to use what we have wisely. Each of us has received our proportion according to the ability that we have to manage what we have been given. For those of us who use well what we have been given we shall be given even more, and we shall have abundance. But for those who are unfaithful, unfruitful, and abusive with what the Lord has entrusted to them, even what little they have will be taken away from them. Then because of their own irresponsibility and self-centeredness they will be subject to punishment. (Matthew 25:29-30)

So how do we really become good caretakers of the blessings that the Lord has given us and entrusted to us?

1) First and most importantly I think we have to remember that everything that we have comes from Jehovah-Jireh-God our Provider. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him. He is the one that gives us the ability to obtain wealth. He is the one who has blessed us with wisdom to do our jobs and ministries. He is our Source and our Provider. If we will remember this always then He will always have first place in every area of our life. (James 1:17)
2) Honor the Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income. DO NOT give God your left overs!!! When you give the Lord the first 10% of your income you are showing that He truly is first priority in your life and that you trust Him to provide. Tithing is putting action to your faith. The purpose of tithing is in fact to teach us always to put God first in our lives. (Proverbs 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 14:23)
3) Become a willing and cheerful giver. Look for opportunities to give and help others. Remember that our Lord has blessed you so that you can be a blessing to others. I am not just talking about financially, although you should be willing to give above your tithe and offerings if the Lord leads you to. God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more, so that there will not only be enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others.

Give your time to help someone else move, do repairs in their homes or car, visit someone in prison, a hospital, or a retirement home. Share your house and car by inviting others over for dinner, use your home to host a bible study, drive someone to church or work. Giving is about sharing your material belongs, gifts, and talents with the body of Christ as well as the unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 9:6-15)
4) Be willing to use your spiritual gifts generously and immediately when you are prompted by the Holy Spirit. Do not hold back. The Holy Spirit has given each of us gifts and powers as a means of helping the church. Whether you have the ability to give wise advice, have the power to heal, are especially good at studying and teaching, have special faith, or the power to prophesy and preach; dedicate your gifts to God’s service not for your own personal gain. (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
5) Remember that you are the temple of God, so give yourselves to Him completely. Your body should be a living sacrifice, holy-the kind He can accept. Exercise, eat right, and do not pollute your body with drugs, alcohol, and smoke. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind by reading the Word of God. Beware of what you watch on TV, movies, and what you read. The Holy Spirit which lives in you will prompt you when He is grieved, don’t ignore Him. Be a living testimony, it is the least we can do after all our Lord has done for us. (Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4:30)

Our entire lives belong to Christ Jesus. Everything we have is His and meant to be used to advance His kingdom. We were saved to bring Him glory. He has gone to prepare a place for us and He has promised to return one day. May our Lord come back and find us diligently doing our Father’s work so that we can all hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant!”

From The Archives: Pray Much For Others

Our prayer life should not consist solely of seeking God on behalf our own needs. It is our responsibility to compassionately pray and intercede on behalf of the needs of others as well. Look at Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding interceding for others.

“Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all He is going to do for them. Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth; That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, by giving his life for all mankind. ” (1 Timothy 2:1-6)

We are called to be intercessors praying for the salvation of the lost, for those in authority over us and in positions of great responsibility, and also for other Christians. (Ephesians 6:18) Our prayers guided by the Holy Spirit and full of faith will make a difference in the lives of others and in the world.

James 5:16-18 says, “The prayers of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as completely human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and one half years! Then he prayed again, this time that it would rain, and down it poured and the grass turned green and the gardens began to grow again.” (1 Kings 17:1-7, 18:36-39)

The Lord wants to use us to intercede on behalf of others who have not yet come to know Him. Our prayer should be for God to have mercy on them and for those satanic blinders to be removed from their eyes so that they can see how much God truly loves them and wants to save them. We should pray for them to realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior and that God’s kindness to them has been meant to lead them to repentance.

It is in our best interest to pray for our president and our government. We want to be governed wisely and for God’s will to be done in our country. Praying for those directly in authority over us such as our managers, bosses, and owners is vital to the condition of our daily work environment. Your prayers for the company and its employees will help prosper everyone there spiritually and financially.

Someone right now needs us to stand in the gap for them. Maybe it’s our friend who lost faith, our boss who is going through a divorce and is losing their children, or our widowed landlady who is full of bitterness. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to use us to intercede of behalf of whoever God puts on our heart.

Lord thank you for the privilege we have to come before you not only for our own needs but on behalf of the needs of others. Fill our hearts with compassion and confidence to pray for those around us and in authority over us. We know that our faith filled prayers will help change people’s lives now and forever. Thank you for the power of prayer. In Jesus name..Amen.

Are You Ready To Fly

“So be prepared, for you don’t know what day our Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42)

Do not ignore the signs of the times. These are crucial days that our Lord warned about in Matthew 24. There is war and rumors of war. Famine and pestilence is every where. Evil men are claiming to be Christ and there are false prophets doing wonderful works and miracles deceiving many. Even some of those who claim to know our Lord and His Word believe the works of these lying spirits.

Jesus said, “Just so when you see all these things beginning to happen, you can know that my return is near, even at the doors. Then at last this age will come to a close.” (Matthew 24:34)

Brothers and sisters in the Lord there is no more time to be playing around. We have to be prepared to fly. The rapture of the church can happen at any time. We are called to be strong in our faith looking forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We all have a specific job to do here on this earth. ALL OF US that are His are called to serve. Each of us has been given a special talent and gifting so that we could bring glory to His kingdom. He saved us to help fulfill the Great Commission (spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth).

Just as a man can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, so you can avoid trouble by always being ready for our Lord’s unannounced return. Be a wise and faithful servant of our Lord by being about our Father’s business fulfilling the tasks that He has put on your heart. Allow Him to do His will in your life and use you to win others to the Lord. There will be blessings on you if He returns and finds you doing your work faithfully. (Matthew 24:43-47)

We must not allow ourselves to be entangled by this world and all of its distractions. We have to watch for his return and be on guard. We are God’s building stones which He is using to build His house/His church and Christ is our precious Cornerstone. The world and unbelievers are looking at us so we must be careful how we behave among them. Its God’s will for us to live good lives so that we silence those who have foolishly condemned the Gospel without even knowing what it could do for them; having never experienced its power. If we set the example and protect our witness they will end up praising God for our good works. (1 Peter 2: 11-17)

“Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls.” (1 Peter 2:11)

But if you say to yourself, “Jesus is not coming back soon”, and you act like the rest of the world gratifying your flesh you will produce evil results just like the world: impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasures, idolatry, spiritism, hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in your own little group-and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties, and all that sort of thing. Let me tell you that anyone living that sort of life will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)


Instead let us acknowledge that we are in the end days and that Jesus will be returning to rapture His church soon. Be ready to fly. Live as children of light and of the day staying sober, protecting ourselves with the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the happy hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8)

Repost: Giving & Stewardship-Know What The Word Says

I was so happy this past Sunday when I heard my pastor was teaching on stewardship because I was recently led to study on the biblical principles of giving and stewardship. I have had heaviness on my heart about this issue for some time. I have heard so much foolish and unbiblical talk on this subject by Christians who claim to love God and His people.

The fact that there are so many Christians who are not consistently giving financial support to their home churches, other ministries, and especially to other believers that they know need help is disturbing. Then there are those Christians who give only what they think is required, the tithe-10%, just to keep people and God off of their back. They don’t want to give any more because they feel that they have fulfilled their financial obligation to God and the church. I believe with all my heart the Holy Spirit is grieved with this religious attitude. I know Jesus was. (Matt. 23:23)

I know this is a touchy subject for some but it is an issue that God wants us to deal with. Money is mentioned over 800 times in the bible. That’s amazing! It is obvious to me and I pray that you see God takes this subject very seriously. How we manage money, our attitude about giving, and our financial giving shows our spiritual maturity as much as how much time we spend in prayer, reading/study the Word, and fellowship with other believers.

I plan to write more on the subject of money, giving, and stewardship but for now in an effort to keep this posting relatively short I just want to urge you to take time and search the Word of God on the subject of money for yourselves. God wants us to be educated on this subject because we have a responsibility to manage all God has given us wisely. We will one day give an account to Him of how we spent His money. It is His money. The earth belongs to God. Everything in the entire world is his! Everything we have has been given us by God. He has entrusted us with our spiritual gifts, family, and all of our earthly possessions. (Matt 25:19, 21, Corin. 3:13, Rom 14:12) We must become good stewards of what God has given us.

When we have a problem with tithing and giving we should honestly evaluate our commitment to God. We need to ask ourselves have we truly given ourselves completely to Him. We need to pray and ask God to give us a clear understanding on the subject of money and stewardship so that our perspective and attitude are aligned with His will for our life. Please study to show yourself approved so that you are not ashamed. Know what the Word of God says and means. (2 Timothy 2:15)

May the Lord give us a heart for Truth and Wisdom. May He fill us with a desire to read and meditate on His Word daily so that our way will be truly prosperous. In Jesus name.. Amen!

God's Pie

My girlfriend forwarded me this video on tithing. She thought it would be good to share with our readers. So here it is.. "God's Pie"

Pray Much For Others

Our prayer life should not consist solely of seeking God on behalf our own needs. It is our responsibility to compassionately pray and intercede on behalf of the needs of others as well. Look at Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding interceding for others.

“Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all He is going to do for them. Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth; That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, by giving his life for all mankind. ” (2 Timothy 2:1-6)

We are called to be intercessors praying for the salvation of the lost, for those in authority over us and in positions of great responsibility, and also for other Christians. (Ephesians 6:18) Our prayers guided by the Holy Spirit and full of faith will make a difference in the lives of others and in the world.

James 5:16-18 says, “The prayers of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results. Elijah was as completely human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and one half years! Then he prayed again, this time that it would rain, and down it poured and the grass turned green and the gardens began to grow again.” (1 Kings 17:1-7, 18:36-39)

The Lord wants to use us to intercede on behalf of others who have not yet come to know Him. Our prayer should be for God to have mercy on them and for those satanic blinders to be removed from their eyes so that they can see how much God truly loves them and wants to save them. We should pray for them to realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior and that God’s kindness to them has been meant to lead them to repentance.

It is in our best interest to pray for our president and our government. We want to be governed wisely and for God’s will to be done in our country. Praying for those directly in authority over us such as our managers, bosses, and owners is vital to the condition of our daily work environment. Your prayers for the company and its employees will help prosper everyone there spiritually and financially.

Someone right now needs us to stand in the gap for them. Maybe it’s our friend who lost faith, our boss who is going through a divorce and is losing their children, or our widowed landlady who is full of bitterness. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to use us to intercede of behalf of whoever God puts on our heart.

Lord thank you for the privilege we have to come before you not only for our own needs but on behalf of the needs of others. Fill our hearts with compassion and confidence to pray for those around us and in authority over us. We know that our faith filled prayers will help change people’s lives now and forever. Thank you for the power of prayer. In Jesus name..Amen.

Family Ministry First

Last night my pastor told a story of woman who lost her husband and two children in a train accident. I can only imagine the thoughts and the emotions that this woman must be experiencing. I wonder what were the last words they spoke to one another? Was there a kiss goodbye before they left each other? Are there any regrets? I can’t imagine losing my husband and children. I can’t imagine my life without them.

I lost my mother when I was just sixteen years old. It was so sudden. It devastated my life. I had so many regrets about the way I treated her and how rebellious I was. I wished that I could take back all the mean words and terrible behavior. I hurt her so much. Now all I have are some pictures and memories that I hold close to my heart. Sometimes I wish I could just hear her voice, but it’s too late.

We must never take our families for granted. We have to show them how much we love and appreciate them. Maybe we have allowed ourselves to become so busy that we don’t make time to just sit and sincerely listen to what our loved ones are saying. Maybe we are impatient, short tempered, or insensitive to their needs.

We have to stop and evaluate ourselves often. God has entrusted us with this blessing and gift called family. They are our number one responsibility. Are we building up our family or are we tearing it down? Do we say loving things or are our words harsh and critical? One day we will give an account to God for every idle word spoken. So let us be careful of what we are saying to the ones we are suppose to be showing love. (Matthew 12:36-37, Ephesians 5:2)

Often times we want to go and save the world. We want to feed the starving children in other countries, minister to lost teenagers, encourage our brothers and sisters in the congregation, or visit inmates in prisons. This is great, but we must remember that ministry begins at home. Do we have the same desire, motivation, and fire to save, serve, and love in our own home?

Since I started the WeUsed2bu Girl Advice ministry I began realizing that I could not ever allow my WeUsed2bu girls to take precedence over my own teen daughters. Sometimes I find that I am on the computer for hours counseling young girls and woman, sharing the love of Christ. One day as I was sitting there being slammed with questions my youngest daughter says, “Mom get off the computer and watch a movie with us. It’s raining outside and it’s a perfect movie day!” I began to explain to her that these girls really need me. Then I realized that my own girls are also the WeUsed2bu girls. They need me too. They need me more and they must come first! No excuses! So I finished up my last response and enjoyed movie time with the girls. I’m glad I did..Imagine the hurt and rejection that could have caused them. Perhaps that would have even caused my girls to have resentment towards the ministry thinking that the ministry is more important than them. This could have affected their own ministry in the future.

We are all called to reach out and minister the gospel, feed the poor, and visit prisoners. However our primary ministry will always be our family. If anyone does not care for his own relatives, especially his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8) Our ministry and service to our families can be a witness and testimony to others. We have to set the example out in the world, in the church and even behind close doors. We are called to be good stewards of what God has given us at all times, not just when we are in a good or ‘spiritual’ mood. We are to love and care for our family at all times. Our family ministry must come first

Giving & Stewardship-Know What The Word Says

I was so happy this past Sunday when I heard my pastor was teaching on stewardship because I was recently led to study on the biblical principles of giving and stewardship. I have had heaviness on my heart about this issue for some time. I have heard so much foolish and unbiblical talk on this subject by Christians who claim to love God and His people.

The fact that there are so many Christians who are not consistently giving financial support to their home churches, other ministries, and especially to other believers that they know need help is disturbing. Then there are those Christians who give only what they think is required, the tithe-10%, just to keep people and God off of their back. They don’t want to give any more because they feel that they have fulfilled their financial obligation to God and the church. I believe with all my heart the Holy Spirit is grieved with this religious attitude. I know Jesus was. (Matt. 23:23)

I know this is a touchy subject for some but it is an issue that God wants us to deal with. Money is mentioned over 800 times in the bible. That’s amazing! It is obvious to me and I pray that you see God takes this subject very seriously. How we manage money, our attitude about giving, and our financial giving shows our spiritual maturity as much as how much time we spend in prayer, reading/study the Word, and fellowship with other believers.

I plan to write more on the subject of money, giving, and stewardship but for now in an effort to keep this posting relatively short I just want to urge you to take time and search the Word of God on the subject of money for yourselves. God wants us to be educated on this subject because we have a responsibility to manage all God has given us wisely. We will one day give an account to Him of how we spent His money. It is His money. The earth belongs to God. Everything in the entire world is his! Everything we have has been given us by God. He has entrusted us with our spiritual gifts, family, and all of our earthly possessions. (Matt 25:19, 21, Corin. 3:13, Rom 14:12) We must become good stewards of what God has given us.

When we have a problem with tithing and giving we should honestly evaluate our commitment to God. We need to ask ourselves have we truly given ourselves completely to Him. We need to pray and ask God to give us a clear understanding on the subject of money and stewardship so that our perspective and attitude are aligned with His will for our life. Please study to show yourself approved so that you are not ashamed. Know what the Word of God says and means. (2 Timothy 2:15)

May the Lord give us a heart for Truth and Wisdom. May He fill us with a desire to read and meditate on His Word daily so that our way will be truly prosperous. In Jesus name.. Amen!