Day 7: Saturday, September 22, 2007

THE ANATOMY OF A CHRISTIAN STEWARD
II. A MIND THAT REMEMBERS

Some of us who are senior citizens get a lot of teasing about being forgetful. An older couple was watching television. When he got up to get a Coke she said, "While you are in there, bring me a dish of ice cream with chocolate syrup and Cool Whip. You had better write it down or you won't remember."

He was gone about 30 minutes and returned with a tray - two eggs sunny side up, crisp toast and jelly. She said, "I told you to write it down. You forgot the bacon."

Whether we are young, old, or in between, there are some things we should never forget:

A. We should never forget God.

We are living in a day and with a generation that has mostly forgotten God. They think they have outgrown God, or that He is indifferent and very far away. They have forgotten that God is alive and active in the here and now. He is still the almighty God - the creator of heaven and earth - the Sovereign of the universe.

Perhaps it is time for God to step in and say to us as He said to ancient Israel, "Don't forget when you have an abundance, when you have eaten and are full, when your silver and gold have multiplied, that it is the Lord your God who gives you power to get wealth. Remember that it was I who delivered you from bondage and brought you into this abundance. If you forget this you will surely perish." (a paraphrase of Deuteronomy 8:6-20)

B. We should never forget that the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us.

The Bible reminds us of this on practically every page of the New Testament. Consider this verse:
"...knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things, as silver and gold, from your futile way of life inherited by tradition from your forefathers; but with the precious blood of Christ..."(I Peter 1:18-19)
Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives. Since this is true we owe Him our obedience.

He is our Lord and when He says we are to be His witness, we witness. When He says we are to be the light of the world, we shine! When He says we are to give, we give (don't we?). When He says give an account of your stewardship, we shall.

Since this is true, we owe Him our thankfulness.

One of the most obvious ways we can show our love for Christ and express our thankfulness is in our church. The scripture tells us that, "Jesus loved the church and gave Himself for it." In fact, He so identifies Himself with His church that the way we treat the church is the way we treat our Savior.
Paul says, "I was persecuting the church." When he met Jesus he was asked, "Why are you persecuting me?" Get the point?

In our ONE TO GROW ON campaign, we all will have an opportunity to show our love and express our thanksgiving by our sacrificial commitment.

Soon we will all hold a commitment card in our hands. Our church is asking us to make a financial commitment, which represents our faith and love for our church and our God. We will do this and do it with joy.
Lord, I love you with my mind you are always in my thoughts.

A complete set of devotionals can be found at www.thebranch.org/onetogrowon.htm.