Servants and Stewards...

Hi friends,

I've been reading through Paul's letters recently in my devotional reading time and I came across this verse in 1 Corinthians 4:1 - 'This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.'

These two words, servants and stewards, struck me as a pretty good description of how we should view not only Paul and his missionary team, but also ourselves. Servants are those who know they are employed by and accountable to their master. They don't do their own thing or set their own agenda. They seek their master's instructions and aim to please him in everything they do. Their aim is to be faithful to their master in everything. This is how we are called to live our lives as followers of Christ. He is our master and lord, and the way we live should reflect our desire to please and obey him in all things.

Stewards are those who are entrusted with something for use and safekeeping. They know it is not theirs and therefore treat it with respect and faithfulness to its intended purpose. Paul knew that the message he preached about the mysteries of God that had been revealed in Christ was not his to do with as he pleased. He knew that his responsibility was to be a faithful steward and preach the gospel according to the purpose given to him by God.

The same can be said of us. We have been entrusted with a message and with gifts from God, but we are stewards of these, not owners. So as we speak and serve we need to be mindful that our aim is to be faithful to the One who entrusted us with these gifts and this message. We are servants and stewards.

I used the beautiful new In This Together stamp set on this page, which I stamped and coloured with watercolours. The text was stamped with a combination of Skinny Lowercase Alpha and Bitty Minnie Alpha. I added a Blue Morpho Butterfly printed on clear sticker paper. Here are the sets I used:

My prayer is that we would be faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and faithful stewards of that which he has entrusted to us.

Be blessed...
x Amy x

I Prayed for You Today

Good morning, sweet friends, it's such a joy and pleasure to be here with you again!


Today is a short blog post, but one that I wanted to send as an encouragement.  Every week in the Creative Worship Prayer Warriors group, a good number of us rallies together to bless the name of the Lord.  Every person there is in turn blessed by the communal support and value of being a sister in the Lord - a sister under One Heavenly Father.

Tim Keller writes something truly amazing about this connection that we have - in Christ - as we lift our voices, crying out to God in this very unique and specialized form of communion:
"When we believe in Jesus, we are united to Him.  We are "in Him" as Paul says repeatedly.  This means that what is true of Jesus is true of us.  Because He has the perfect and secure access of an obedient child to the Father, so now do we."
And more, "When we pray in Jesus' name, therefore (don't you love how Tim Keller writes so eloquently???), we do so with supreme confidence and yet humble dependence on unmerited grace." (Prayer, p. 106)
He's saying that when we pray, there is intimacy with God the Father Himself because of our connection to Christ.  Ones who are written in the Book of Life, engraved on the palms of His hands, have unique and intimate fellowship with Him who created us - Him who spent precious blood for the souls of us all - our Heavenly Father.

We are not just saying words; we are speaking a different language.  This language that can only exist in the perfect connection between us and God.
Prayer is one of the most potent and powerful methods of communication; and we should never stop praying. 

Pray for each other.
Pray for your friends.
Pray for your mailman.
Pray for your neighbor.
Pray for your spouse.
Pray for your kids.
Pray for that one who hurt you.
Pray for that missionary.
Pray for their outreach.
Pray...

"Begin Again"

"In This Together"

Pray.
And don't stop.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace," (Philippians 1:3-7)

Much love,
Deeds
IG: @mercies_journaled
Youtube: Mercies Journaled