Archive for month: February, 2012

I”VE  BEEN THINKING

“Proper Stewardship!”

12th February 2012

 

Luke 16:11. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (NIV)

 

lot of us make the mistake of limiting stewardship to the way in which we handle our money.  Of course it is that; but it is much more.  It actually entails the use of all our earthly possessions. It takes into account how we spend the hours of each day, the use we make of our talents and abilities, how we share our kindness and goodness, and in fact everything God has blessed us with.  Some day we will be called to give account of our use or disuse of these things, as well as the dollars we have spent.

 

God cannot force us to give up our lives to Him; however He does offer us the greatest gift possible, in hope that His sacrifice will convince us to give ourselves totally to His Kingdom. Greater that all the worldly possessions we could possibly have is the gift of eternal life and His undying love.

 

He will never abandon us or refuse to help us.  He will never stop forgiving our sins or showing His mercy toward us as long as we are remorseful and apologetic. In fact he promises to never stop loving us no matter what!  All of these blessings are ours, if we will simply accept them with willing and devoted hearts.

 

Once Jesus has captured our hearts, there will be clear evidence of it in the way that we live. In involves a life of giving out. We become notably kinder and more generous. It is about being willing to give up that which once we prided ourselves was ‘ours.’  We have an attitude of gratitude and whole hearted devotion to the Master. For example, He gives us our life and all the things that can make it worthwhile; and then we give it back to Him, so that He can mold it and make it according to His perfect plan.  If in fact we are prepared to bow before Christ and humbly seek His will, all of God’s riches can be ours.

 

Do we turn to God each day to confess our shortcomings and to gain new strength to face the temptations which surround us?  There is no more thrilling feeling than feeling the weight of our sins completely lifted from our troubled souls by the loving and ever understanding Saviour.  We are given new strength as we leave our troubles at the foot of the Cross.  We are given power to lead useful, Christian lives as we give more of ourselves than ever before to our great God who loves us. 

 

To Ponder

Review your stewardship.  Think about how you can improve it.

 

WRITTEN BY JOHN GUMMER 

I found this article here:

UCI releases details of how Italian smuggled photos and documents in his bike

Tributes have been paid to cycling great , with evidence now showing that he helped save the lives of up to 800 Jews during World War II. The Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel is looking into giving him the title “Righteous Among the Nations”, a term used by Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.

The details about the Italian’s actions in the 1940s have only just recently come to light, through a university study. His son, Andrea, has continued the research along with the Jewish community and journalist Laura Guerra.

 

“In 1943 Bartali, who had already won the Tour de France once and the Giro d’Italia twice, was assigned to the traffic police by the fascist regime, before leaving the job on 8 September,” according to the UCI.  “That was when he went underground, choosing to help persecuted Jews by smuggling identity photos to a convent that produced counterfeit papers.

 

“As far as the soldiers who guarded the road between Florence and San Quirico, near Assisi, were concerned, Bartali was merely on a 380-km training run. In fact, valuable documents were hidden inside the frame and saddle of his bicycle.”

 

Bartali remained modest about his actions, not even telling his wife. His own public comment was “Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”

 

He was imprisoned for 45 days in late 1943, officially because of his support for the Vatican, which opposed the fascist regime. However, he was never tried and was ultimately released

 

This is interesting to me as a cyclist, and I think, an example of how a simple action can save lives.