Stepping Up To The Plate
Stewardship
During baseball season, the phrase “Stepping up to the plate” is often heard. In the light of a baseball game, we all know what this means. However, this idiom is used in more than one way in our conversational speaking. The phrase can also mean to “take on a task with responsibility and the acceptance of a challenge”. After contemplation, I would like to add the idea of “giving our personal best” to this definition.
We are in a church season of stewardship. This is the time for us to give prayerful consideration to what we can give as our best to God. It is time to envision and imagine what our promises and plans should be in the next year in response to God‟s faithfulness and love. When we promise our best, we need to recall that God asks us to talk to Him in prayer in deciding how to use our special talents, our daily time, and our monetary gifts to glorify Him.
The stewardship committee has chosen “Stepping up to the plate” as the theme of this fall‟s commitments. We have chosen Malachi 3:10 as the guiding scripture. In paraphrasing, we would like to share these words, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse… try me in this says the Lord, see if I do not pour out such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it.”
A recent radio devotion stated the human inclination to live our busy lives in a way that God gets our leftovers. We perhaps schedule our time so tightly with what we deem important that no time remains to “work” for God. We may use up all our energy in endeavors so that when God would nudge us to give of our talents, we are just too tired. Our budgets may be a list of all the bills and necessities and at the end of the list, God gets the leftover amount because that is what can be afforded.
The devotion posed this question, “What if God asked you to buy a gift for someone?” Wouldn‟t it be such an honor that He asked you? Wouldn‟t you carve out the time immediately? Wouldn‟t you tirelessly give attention to every skill you possessed to give this task your best effort? Would you not be so concerned about the cost because it would have to be a very special gift?
God is asking for our best…. every day…. in any way we can give in praise to Him.
Please be in prayer as we make decisions about what we each can offer God in the upcoming Stewardship Sundays on October 30, Nov. 6 and Nov. 13. Please highlight Nov. 13 on your calendar because we will have a Harvest Meal (potluck) together after church service to celebrate our newly made promises. Please bring a dish to pass and your own place settings.
Items to bring:
A—D ~ Salads
E—N ~ Potatoes/Stuffing/Veggies
O—Z ~ Desserts
A recent radio devotion stated the human inclination to live our busy lives in a way that God gets our leftovers. We perhaps schedule our time so tightly with what we deem important that no time remains to “work” for God. We may use up all our energy in endeavors so that when God would nudge us to give of our talents, we are just too tired. Our budgets may be a list of all the bills and necessities and at the end of the list, God gets the leftover amount because that is what can be afforded.
The devotion posed this question, “What if God asked you to buy a gift for someone?” Wouldn‟t it be such an honor that He asked you? Wouldn‟t you carve out the time immediately? Wouldn‟t you tirelessly give attention to every skill you possessed to give this task your best effort? Would you not be so concerned about the cost because it would have to be a very special gift?
God is asking for our best…. every day…. in any way we can give in praise to Him.
Please be in prayer as we make decisions about what we each can offer God in the upcoming Stewardship Sundays on October 30, Nov. 6 and Nov. 13. Please highlight Nov. 13 on your calendar because we will have a Harvest Meal (potluck) together after church service to celebrate our newly made promises. Please bring a dish to pass and your own place settings.
Items to bring:
A—D ~ Salads
E—N ~ Potatoes/Stuffing/Veggies
O—Z ~ Desserts
