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Faithful (Loved) or Lazy (Selfish)

Matthew 25:21 (AMP) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

This is one of my daily prayers: ‘Lord, let me be a good steward today with everything that you have placed in my hands.’ I want to honor God with everything that I do and say. Most of that has to do with the value I put on the people and things that are presented before me. Do I love them more or less than God? I have to love God more. One of the things I have learned is that we have misunderstood what the love of God means, and we become selfish. One such story of not understanding the love of God is found in the parable of the talents. The man that received the one talent in this parable buried it.

Matthew 25:24-25 (AMP) “The one who had received one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a harsh and demanding man, reaping [the harvest] where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. So I was afraid [to lose the talent], and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is your own.’

From what we know about Jesus, does this match His nature? Did this servant know the true heart of who He was serving? Would the Master have put it in the servant’s care if He did not trust him?

Matthew 25:26-30 (AMP) “But his master answered him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap [the harvest] where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed. Then you ought to have put my money with the bankers, and at my return I would have received my money back with interest. So take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ “For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away. And throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place [of grief and torment] there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].

There were two responses:1) “You were faithful.” 2) “You were lazy.” The Greek word for lazy is okneros, defined as to delay, slow, tardy, slothful, lazy. Another terminology defines it as, “pertaining to shrinking from or hesitating to engage in something worthwhile, possibly implying lack of ambition.” Rick Renner says about okneros, “It carries the idea of a person who has a do-nothing, lethargic, lackadaisical, apathetic, indifferent, lukewarm attitude toward life.” It is hard to be faithful when you do not know your worth. This is why it is so important that we seek God as our vital necessity. This is cultivating a relationship with Him.

Did the third servant lack anything to perform the way the others did? Their strong hold was their mind. Love is a powerful force. When you know who you are in Christ there is no holding you back from seeing your talents and gifts as valuable to what they were given to you for. You will start seeking out ways to glorify Him through them. Keeping your focus on Him and not them.

2 Peter 1:3 (AMP) For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 

Ephesians 6:10 (AMP) In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. 

Ephesians 6:10 (TPT): “Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important truths for last. Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of explosive power flowing in and through you.”

This word “strong” is an explosive power that has been deposited within us as a vessel. God is the giver, and we are the receptacles into which this power is deposited.

Ephesians 1:19 (AMP) and [so that you will begin to know] what the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His [active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. 

This is real power. A demonstrated power that raised Jesus from the dead that now lives in you. Here is the best part, it is backed by His might. It is backed by His strong hand, like He is the body builder with the great big muscles backing us up. This makes me feel wrapped in His love even more. One last thing. This will put a balance check in our why. We are backed by His power. We can do and still have pride, which will totally make it wrong. My stewardship has nothing to do with me and all to do with Him.

Philippians 2:3 (AMP) Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves.

I am deeply loved, but so are you. My gift and talent are not more important than anyone else’s. Actually, it is not mine; it is His, it was given to me to manage. I want to steward well and that means I also must love well. Good and faithful has to do with how I value what He values. The most precious gift that He gave me is my salvation, my new life in Christ. Which means I am now a minister of reconciliation (2Corinthains 5:18). My gifts and talents were meant for this ministry (ministry of reconciliation), not “MY MINISTRY”. When selfishness sets in, we have become like the person with one talent and buried it. We have buried it in self.

I know the title of this blog will get a lot of passes, but if you read through, I pray you hear my heart. I want you to be in freedom and understand the dynamic love Christ has for you. It is through that love that we have been given everything needed for this dynamic spiritual life in Christ. When we surrender to that freedom, we live bigger lives than we could have ever dreamed of for ourselves (Ephesians 3:20). It is all for His glory. I want to hear “well done good and faithful servant.”

Adonai, our Jehovah, our Rock, You are Marvelous and Wonderful. Your Glory is what we seek. Thank you for Your Son, to be our Salvation. Thank You for the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher. Thank You for Your Word to be the Light in our lives. We repent for making decisions on our talents and gifts based on how we feel or how we want to be seen. All of it is for You and should be done with You. Jesus came so that we can have a dynamic spiritual life, and that takes surrender. We choose a life of surrender. We choose faithfulness instead of laziness. We choose to give of ourselves freely instead of holding onto what cannot last forever. You are our eternity. You are our mighty fortress. You are our strength. You are Holy. We are deeply loved by You. Let all that You put in our path be for Your glory. Let us be good stewards with whatever we have been given today. We choose peace today. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Position of Salvation

Ephesians 6:17 (AMP) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

A few months ago, on Mother’s Day, I got to share a message titled “Love is a Weapon.” I had no idea of how much a controversial title that would be on social media. Whether we want to admit it or not, we have seen love used as a weapon for manipulative reasons. However, when we redeem love as God intended and put in on as our garment, the weapons of our warfare fit better. I shared about two such pieces and I would like to share them with you as well. When studying for this message I was in a verse by verse read of Ephesians. I used my Bible, google search and Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner.

The helmet, that a Roman soldier wore, was fitted to their head specifically. It was heavy, but it was ornate. Highly decorated and looked like a piece of art. Your salvation is the most gorgeous, most intricate, most elaborate, most ornate gift God had ever given you. When we walk confidently in the salvation given to us, we are a noticeable individual. If your salvation is not worn tightly around your mind like a helmet, the enemy will come to chop the multiple blessing of your salvation right out of your faith. The enemy will try to hack away at your foundation, telling you that healing, deliverance and soundness of mind were not really part of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. By the time the enemy is finished with your mind, the only blessing he will leave you with is the promise of Heaven. What all does my salvation receive?

Isaiah 61:1 (AMP) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives and freedom to prisoners

This was the very scroll that Jesus read in the temple as told in Luke. The good news is that we have been set free as spiritual captives. We are no longer prisoners of sin and death. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). One of the prisons that likes to come around again is the thoughts of rejection or not being wanted. I have recognized the cycles that the enemy likes to go through to try to trick me into being locked inside of it again. I am secure because I am rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Before I get to the Sword of the Spirit, our only offensive weapon, I want to share with you something I learned about the threshing floor. In 2 Samuel 25, King David purchased a threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord. It was located on Mount Moriah and later became the site for the Temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. What is the significance?

A threshing floor serves as a platform for separating grains from the outer husks or chaff. The process involves beating the harvested crop, typically wheat or other grains, with wooden flails or using animals such as oxen to trample over the crop. This action loosens the edible part of the grain, known as the kernel. The weight of the animals or the flailing action typically breaks the hard outer protective layer of the crop, exposing the kernels. The next step involves tossing the crop into the air, allowing the wind to carry away the lighter chaff while the heavier kernels fall back to the ground. The threshing floor grounds collect these kernels for further processing or storage. (google)

A type and shadow of what Jesus did for us is seen in the story of Boaz redeeming Ruth as she submitted herself at his feet on the threshing floor (Ruth 3:6-13). When we accept Christ as Savior that is not the end of our story. There is a refining process, and it takes as long as it takes. We are in a process of purification. We are made righteous through His righteousness, but that also takes surrender. It takes dying to ourselves (Romans 6:8).

Let’s look at the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. The sword in combat is not the same as the sword used in training. Roman soldiers practiced the art of warfare continually with daily sword practice. The two-edged sword was not used for battle but for practice. It built strength with its weight.

Hebrews 4:12 (AMP) For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The logos (written word) must become rhema (revelation word), so that you can give a heavy blow to defeat the enemy. Training is reading and meditating on the Word daily. Why wait to go to the Word when you are in the battle? Why are we not meditating on it daily knowing the battle is coming. We have mini battles every day. We have to choose what thoughts we allow to feed us daily. I have to choose whether I go down the rabbit trail of why’s or stand on the truth of God’s Word.

The sword used in close combat is called a machura – it caused the victim horrid pain. The tip was turned upward, sometimes twisted like a corkscrew, shredding the insides as it was removed. The Spirit will place a razor-sharp sword at your disposal anytime the enemy gets too close. The sword’s power will be available the moment the Spirit quickens and a specific word for the specific situation you are facing. However, it has to have a reserve to pull from. This is the weapon that Jesus used in the wilderness, it is used for close combat.

Matthew 4:1-4 (AMP) Then Jesus was led by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After He had gone without food for forty days and forty nights, He became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

What is the thing the enemy has been tempting you with lately? What is the lie that he is trying to tell you? In the garden he said, “surely, you would not die (Genesis 3:4).” One of the lies is that we have to protect ourselves and trust no one. Yes, there are those out there that will try to do us harm, but they have believed the same lie. They want to protect themselves. This will put up a wall to not let others get too close. I have been very active about not allowing this to happen. I will make that phone call instead of hiding behind text. I will have the face-to-face conversations instead of text to set a tone. I do text, it is very handy, but I do not want to hide there. I want to think the best of others. I do not want to take an offense. I do not want to repeat a suffered wrong. I do not want anything to take me from the position of living loved in Christ. I want the same for you. Stand firm in your position of salvation. Live Loved.

1 Thessalonians 5:6, 8 (AMP) So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise]. But since we [believers] belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope and confident assurance of salvation. 

Abba, Father, Jehovah Nissi, You are more precious that jewels. You are Holy and deserve all of our worship. Thank You for Your Son, the Word made flesh, our Redeemer. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, so that Your Word can become alive in us. We thank you for the Love that You gave with Your Son and that now we can dwell in on a daily basis. We repent for allowing the lies of the enemy to twist what Your salvation truly means to us. We thank You for the freedom from sin, guilt and shame. We thank You for the ability to walk in right standing before You. As we read Your Word and implant it into our hearts, bring it back to remembrance at the times the enemy wants to try to steal it away. We are root and grounded in Your love. We are victorious through Your strength. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.