Do we really BELIEVE it all belongs to God?

The earth and all who live on it are God's.  That is a most significant and far reaching statement!  What we do, where we go and how we get there are all significant decisions.  What we do with our money, what we do and do not spend it on are significant life issues.  We kid ourselves if we were to think otherwise. As a follower of Jesus, I am entrusted with a significant responsibility to be a faithful steward.  Jesus story of the faithful servant tells us as much. "You have been faithful with a few things so I will put you in charge of many things"  God is the greatest steward of all - the best example and the one to emulate.  He gives exactly what is needed and he asks us to steward these resources well. 

Recently, we had need at our church to raise a small amount of money for a project.  We needed $2500.  I invited a few people to contribute to the fund.  I had no idea who in the "invited contributors" would be in a position to contribute so personally I was not sure we would get the amount that was needed from the first round of invitations.  The amount was set by the costs of the project.  I tallied up the contributions this morning as we needed to make some of the payments.  We had $10 more than was needed! Maybe God allowed for fluctuation in the Aussie dollar?  I sent an update to those who had been invited to contribute, in order to let them know that God had indeed provided through them.  I received an email immediately from one of the contributors who told me that he had just been reading todays devotion reading from Purpose Driven Life and was challenged by God's strong words on faithfulness in our stewardship of what already belongs to God.

Today we have a great opportunity to let God be God by working through us to provide for those in need, and by being a good and faithful steward of the world he has created for us to live in.  A significant question was asked in the devotion today: Is the way you manage your money preventing God from doing more in your life?  One of the greatest joys in life is to be extravagantly generous with what God provides for his people so that kingdom outcomes prevail.