Being a Good Steward

This week I am studying God's word on being a good steward.  What does the word steward mean?

a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.  And since everything belongs to God being a good steward means:  someone who is doing the best he can with what God has given to him.

In I Corinthians 4:2 it says:  Moreover it is required in stewards that one can be found faithful.

Let's look at the Matthew 25: 14-30

A Story About Three Servants

 ¹⁴ “At that time God’s kingdom will also be like a man leaving home to travel to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. He told his servants to take care of his things while he was gone. ¹⁵ He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. The man gave one servant five bags of money. ^[a] He gave another servant two bags. And he gave a third servant one bag. Then he left. ¹⁶ The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. Those five bags of money earned five more. ¹⁷ It was the same with the servant who had two bags. That servant invested the money and earned two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then he hid his master’s money in the hole.  ¹⁹ “After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money. ²⁰ The servant who got five bags brought that amount and five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used them to earn five more.’
 ²¹ “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’
 ²² “Then the servant who got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags to earn two more.’
 ²³ “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’
 ²⁴ “Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew you were a very hard man. You harvest what you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.’
 ²⁶ “The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest what I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. ²⁷ So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.’
 ²⁸ “So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags. ²⁹ Everyone who uses what they have will get more. They will have much more than they need. But people who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them.’ ³⁰ Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain'

So, I think this lesson explains perfectly how God wants us to be.  I know when I am standing before God I hope to hear what verse 21 says:  "You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted"

I don't want to hear what was said in verse 30:   ‘Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain'

Why do you think the master was angry with the lazy servant?
What happened to the lazy servant?
What happened to the good servant who took care of the master's money?
Why do you think we should be good stewards of what we have?  Because everything that we have actually belongs to God.  We build God up by being careful with what He gave to us.

God gives everyone something different to do for Him.   To find out what we should be doing we need to stay in God's word and talk to Him everyday so He can lead us to what we need to be doing.

How do you think being a good steward effects others?
How do you think being a good steward will effect our relationship with Jesus?

We're all in different situations so I want you to think on how each of you can practice being a good steward for Jesus.

Jonah 4

Read Jonah 4: 1-5

 ¹ But Jonah was very upset. He became angry. ² He prayed to the Lord and said, "Lord, isn't this exactly what I thought would happen when I was still at home? That's why I was so quick to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are gracious. You are tender and kind. You are slow to get angry. You are full of love. You are a God who takes pity on people. You don't want to destroy them. ³ Lord, take away my life. I'd rather die than live."

 ⁴ But the Lord replied, "Do you have any right to be angry?"
 ⁵ Jonah left the city. He sat down at a place east of it. There he put some branches over his head. He sat in their shade. He waited to see what would happen to the city.

Jonah knew that if he preached a message of destruction instead of repentance that Israel would repent and Jonah really did not want them to be forgiven. 
What is wrong with Jonah?  He loves himself more than he loves God or other people.
How can a person with such a clear vision of God's character so greatly misunderstand his own purpose in life?
Jonah obviously did not believe that being like God was his goal.

Jonah thought he was better than the people of Ninevah.  Do we ever think that we are better than other people?

What do you think Jonah hoped would happen to the city?
I think he was waiting to see Ninevah destroyed.

Read Jonah 4: 5 - 11

 ⁵ Jonah left the city. He sat down at a place east of it. There he put some branches over his head. He sat in their shade. He waited to see what would happen to the city.
 ⁶ Then the Lord God sent a vine and made it grow up over Jonah. It gave him more shade for his head. It made him more comfortable. Jonah was very happy he had the vine. ⁷ But before sunrise the next day, God sent a worm. It chewed the vine so much that it dried up.
 ⁸ When the sun rose, God sent a burning east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah's head. It made him very weak. He wanted to die. So he said, "I'd rather die than live."
 ⁹ But God said to Jonah, "Do you have any right to be angry about what happened to the vine?"
   "I do," he said. "In fact, I'm angry enough to die."
 ¹⁰ But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine. But you did not take care of it. You did not make it grow. It grew up in one night and died the next. ¹¹ Nineveh has more than 120,000 people. They can't tell right from wrong. Nineveh also has a lot of cattle. So shouldn't I show concern for that great city?" 

Jonah had made a shelter why do you think God provided the vine?   The vine would actually keep Jonah cooler because the moisture would exude through the leaves.  That is why it is cooler to sit under the shade of a tree rather than the shade of a building.

Jonah built his shelter while God made the vine.  God is still pursuing Jonah.  Jonah gets mad and stomps off and waits hoping that God will change His mind and do what Jonah wants done. 

Read Jonah 4: 7 again.  Who provided the worm?  God

Read Jonah 1: 17 and 4:7 together.  What parallels do you see between the great fish and the little worm?  God provided both.  God used both to get the attention of Jonah.  The great fish was used to save Jonah from drowning.  The little worm was used to make Jonah uncomfortable.  The discomfort was meant to save Jonah's spiritual life.

Read Jonah 4:9 
When Jonah says he is angry enough to die it sounds to me like a spoiled little kid that did not get his way.  How many times do we act like that with God? 

So when we face our time when we may not have our "vine" (which can be anything that God has given us)  we need to remember that we still have God and He will never leave us.  I have seen a lot of people get mad at God when someone they love dies.   It is hard to lose a loved one but we will still have God and  He will be with us.

Jonah has the attitude of the devil.  He is selfish and upset that people are not being destroyed.  At this time Jesus was in the process of giving His life away so that we all could be saved.   Salvation is for all.

Jonah had nothing to do with the life and care of the vine but yet he was so angry that he wanted to die.  God created and sustained the Ninevites.  God tells us that he has an interest in our life and our salvation.

The book of Jonah is like a cliffhanger because we don't know if Jonah ever truly repented or if he continued living just for himself.  

I'm very thankful that God does not have Jonah's attitude. 

Homemade Bread

Making bread has always fascinated me since I was a young girl in 4-H.  So today while I was looking online I found a new recipe for bread that I had to try!

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 Tbl. active dry yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 cup vegetable oil
3 cups all purpose flour

In your kitchen aid mixer proof  your yeast in the mixing bowl and then add the oil and salt.  Add the flour slowly one cup at a time using the dough hook on low speed.  Once all of the dry ingredients are mixed in turn the mixer onto medium speed for 5 minutes.  Then take the dough out of the bowl  and make a bowl and then drizzle a little vegetable oil in the bowl.  Put the dough back into the bowl and turn the dough to evenly coat the dough with oil.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap  and then a kitchen towel.   After the dough has doubled in size shape the dough into a loaf shape and place in a well greased loaf pan.  Allow the dough to rise again for 30 more minutes and then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

And here is the final product right out of the oven:

And sliced right before dinner: