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WE HAVE A STEWARDSHIP

2/6/2024

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February 6, 2024                   WE HAVE A STEWARDSHIP


1 Corinthians 16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will; I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”


You and I may not be called of God to preach the gospel (we are called to be witnesses), we are under a stewardship entrusted to us. Living under this stewardship has nothing to do with our ‘feelings’ or our ‘moods.’ That idea is certainly in opposition to our day and our culture where it is propagated that feelings are paramount. To me, the verses above have a message that we need to hear. God has joined us to Himself and now our identity is in Him. To be a member of His family brings with it certain blessings and certain responsibilities. It should be our heart to always do the things that are pleasing to Him; but there are times when we do not ‘feel’ like doing something we know that would be pleasing to Him; however, in those times we remain under the stewardship that has been entrusted to us. Not only are our actions under a stewardship, our responses, our motives, and our thought processes are also under this stewardship. For example; if someone does something that would cause me to be angry or irritated, I am not free to become angry or irritated, because I am under a stewardship to represent Christ in such situations. Christ lives in us and we live in Him; all of our life is to reflect His presence in us. Living under this stewardship is not burdensome, but on the contrary, we experience life to the fullest when we live according to our calling. I think you would agree that when we push through the feeling not to do something we know we should do and do it anyway, we are glad we did it. So, we may not be called to preach the gospel,  but we are called to walk in a way that pleases Him in all we do. We are most blessed to be entrusted with a stewardship from God; because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we are able to be good stewards in this life-what a blessing. 


1 Corinthians 4:2 “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.”
1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good steward of the manifold grace of God.”


Blessing, Buddy 
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NOT FLESH AND BLOOD

2/4/2024

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February 4, 2024                 NOT FLESH AND BLOOD


2 Corinthians 10:3-5,7a “For though we walk in there flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are talking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”       “You are looking at things outwardly.”


We tend to be shortsighted; and we tend to focus on the wrong target. Because we are fleshly human beings, we deal in the fleshly-unless we have come to know the truth. The truth is that the major battle taking place is a spiritual battle; spiritual forces may use ‘flesh and blood’ (people), but the real warfare is in the spiritual realm. If we are indeed focused on the fleshly, we will not see victory. We live in the midst of ‘flesh and blood’ and we constantly interact with people, and sometimes conflict arises; when it does, we must remember that spiritual forces are at work behind the scenes. We must address the conflicts and the wrongs that arise, but we do so knowing that we are in a spiritual battle. The enemy uses people, but he also tries to influence the culture through subtle lies, tempting humans to believe what is untrue. Our battle is on at least two fronts; one is flesh and blood, and the other is a false narrative the culture adopts and promotes-a narrative that is contrary to the gospel. Everything, and every philosophy that is ‘raised up against the knowledge of God’ is a lie that must be exposed. In our own minds, we must guard against any thoughts that are contrary to Christ and the kingdom of God. We must rule over our minds, having our minds subject to the Spirit of God who indwells us. The Holy Spirit in us is ‘divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses;’ the enemy wants to build fortresses made up of lies that keep individuals captive and prevent them from experiencing the life of Christ. We must understand this: the devil does not care about us personally; his motive is to get back at God through His family members (believers); his scheme is to convince people to live according to their own ways and not according to the ways of God. Let us not look at things outwardly; we can identify the real enemy. We have the Holy Spirt who not only gives us discernment in this spiritual warfare, He also gives us weapons that are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. It is crucial for us to ‘take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ;’ we must not let our thoughts drift from the truth of the gospel of God; we must monitor our minds and be continually renewing our minds. We are in a battle, (believe it or not) but victory is assured for those who know God and walk according to His ways.


Ephesians 6:11-13 “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”


Blessings, Buddy 
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HE SOLD ALL HE HAD

2/1/2024

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February 1, 2024                  HE SOLD ALL HE HAD


Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went as sold all he had, and bought it.”


Jesus often talked about the kingdom of heaven; He said the kingdom of heaven is ‘at hand.’ Jesus came, introducing and ushering in the kingdom of God on earth-and that is astounding! The kingdom of God invaded earth. Even though we lived in a fallen world, in a dark kingdom, we have been transferred to the kingdom of God if we have put our faith in Jesus as our Savior. The kingdom of this earth and the kingdom of God are far different; like light and darkness. As believers, the life we live should reflect the fact that we are living according to the kingdom that we have been transferred to-the kingdom of God. Living according to His kingdom is not a rule we must follow; living according to His kingdom is a result of knowing and understanding our new identity as sons and daughters of God. We have been made new creations; not refurbished. It is difficult to define the kingdom of God is one or two sentences; but we do know, and can recognize the fruits of living in the kingdom of God. For example; in God’s kingdom, there is love, patience, kindness, gentleness, peace, joy, hope, forgiveness, mercy, comfort, boldness, faith, compassion, a renewed mind, freedom, and the list goes on. You might think that I am delusional to think that we can live that way in the world in which we live-and I can understand why one may think that is the case. Yet-that is life in the kingdom of God-and it is for us. Remember, Jesus ushered in a NEW kingdom. Don’t misunderstand; to live in the kingdom of God does not mean a life free of trials and difficulties. It does mean that in the difficult times, we have the opportunity to respond in a kingdom of God way-and that is what it is all about. If we respond as the world responds, then obviously we are not operating in the kingdom of God-and the opportunity is lost to demonstrate His kingdom. Like the parable above, the kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure in the field-once we find it, we sell all and buy the field. This is saying that we place the ultimate high value on the kingdom of God-that we see it’s great value. When we find the treasure, everything else we have fades in value. The soul searching question is this; do we desire the kingdom of God above everything else in this life. The truth is, there is no real satisfying life outside the kingdom of God-and He has made it available to us. 


Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”


Blessings, Buddy 
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    Buddy Fitzgerald

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