The Value of Forgiveness

According to wiklipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgiveness): “Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and ceasing to demand punishment or restitution…. In practical terms, it may be necessary for the offender to offer some form of acknowledgment, apology, and/or restitution, or even just ask for forgiveness, in order for the wronged person to believe himself able to forgive.[1]”
Most world religions include teachings on the nature of forgiveness, and many of these teachings provide an underlying basis for many varying modern day traditions and practices of forgiveness. The Parable of the Prodigal Son[2] is a well known instance of such teaching and practice of forgiveness. “

Here are some quotes I found online across various websites on the topic of forgiveness:

LoveNote. . . If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive. - Mother Theresa

We often think of forgiveness as something that someone who has done us wrong must ask of US. There is always another way of looking at something. My thoughts on forgiveness suggest that you focus on offering forgiveness TO the person who has wronged you. To not forgive them is like taking the poison (continuing to suffer for what they did or didn't do to you) and expecting THEM to die!

Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. It is not something you do FOR someone else. It is not complicated. It is simple. Simply identify the situation to be forgiven and ask yourself: "Am I willing to waste my energy further on this matter?" If the answer is "No," then that's it! All is forgiven.

Forgiveness is an act of the imagination. It dares you to imagine a better future, one that is based on the blessed possibility that your hurt will not be the final word on the matter. It challenges you to give up your destructive thoughts about the situation and to believe in the possibility of a better future. It builds confidence that you can survive the pain and grow from it.

Telling someone is a bonus! It is not necessary for forgiveness to begin the process that heals the hurt. Forgiveness has little or nothing to do with another person because forgiveness is an internal matter.

Choice is always present in forgiveness. You do not have to forgive AND there are consequences. Refusing to forgive by holding on to the anger, resentment and a sense of betrayal can make your own life miserable. A vindictive mind-set creates bitterness and lets the betrayer claim one more victim.

The greatest misconception about forgiveness is the belief that forgiving the offense, such as an affair, means that you condone it. Not true. In fact, we can have to reconcile with someone who badly treated you.
Forgiveness is the experience of finding peace inside and can neither be compelled nor stopped by another.
I believe that to withhold forgiveness is to choose to continue to remain the victim. Remember, you always have choice.
When you forgive you do it for you, not for the other. The person you have never forgiven. . . owns you! How about an affair? Just because you choose to forgive, does not mean you have to stay in the relationship. That is only and always your choice. The choice to forgive is only and always yours.
When you feel that forgiveness is necessary, do not forgive for "their" sake. Do it for yourself! It would be great if they would come to you and ask forgiveness but you must accept the fact that some people will never do that. That is their choice. They do not NEED to be forgiven. They did what they did and that is it - except for the consequences, which THEY must live with.



Detecting a theme here ? Forgiveness is not for the offender’s sake. It is for the victim’s (or offended party’s) sake. If the victim refuses to forgive, then they are wrapping chains around themselves (each link representing another choice to relive the offense and the pain) until the victim has truly sacrificed themselves to the crime and can now only sit and stare at hundreds of identical links of anger, pain, and resentment for something the offender has long since moved on from and likely has no idea of what you have done to yourself. Did your clinging to all that pain and resentment really punish them, or yourself in the longrun ?
Here’s a thought. Jesus taught that if we cannot forgive others for the sins against us, that we would not be forgiven for ours (because the lack of forgiveness shows a lack of appreciation for the greater forgiveness given to us) Matt. 6:15, Matt. 18:35, Mark 11:25,26,
even in the Lords’s prayer : Luke 11:4 Forgive us our debts (sins), as we forgive our debtors (those who sin against us) …

As you can clearly see, God (which includes the one saying all those cool things in the bible, Jesus) is far more concerned with the state of our own heart and mind than what little things others have done to aggravate us or even hurt us. Jesus experienced the most “excruciating” pain available when He suffered and died for us. What did He pray for while He hung there ? That’s right ! “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM” (and added a petition on our behalf, “they do not know what they do”) Why ? Because you cannot love and have unforgiveness.
1 John: clearly states across all four chapters that if He lives in us then the light produces love (agape) which enables us to forgive.

To refuse to forgive is to hate another and if we hate another then we are showing that the light is not in us at all (and if we then claim that we are Christians while acting unloving, then we are liars)

2:9 ¶ Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark.
1John 2:10 It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others.
1John 2:11 But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn’t know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.

Forgiveness is serious business, not for the faint of heart. In fact , I am sure that the only lasting forgiveness is only attainable when we admit our inability to forgive and finally ask the Spirit of God to teach us and help us, and that starts with a good long look at the cross. We who have been forgiven for so much can surely look to our Hero, Jesus Christ to hold us by the hand and lead us away from the temptation to refuse forgiveness and release ourselves in the process. Then our cleaner hearts are more free to love those around us and our light will more clearly burn for others to see.
Here is a sobering set of verses that comprise a battle cry for all who battle unforgiveness in this shadowland.
2 Corinthians 10: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

Who would argue that love, expressed as forgiveness, is the strongest weapon in our arsenal to fight for our kingdom ?! We are soldiers of the cross, left behind enemy lines to recruit as many as possible back to the heavenly kingdom before the end. Forgiveness shines brighter than any enemy blade; and it breaks anger, resentment and vengeance, the weapons of power that the enemy hands to all yet to believe.

Forgive, and make a difference, now !

Tickling the Heart

Our senses have the interesting ability to become desensitized to something if exposed often enough. This often requiring starting with a small amount of the offending matter, say an allergen or even a poison, and slowly increasing the dose until a tolerance or immunity is developed. This is the manner by which desensitization to something can be achieved in many areas.
While this is normally a good thing, there is one drawback; we can also desensitize ourselves to something we are supposed to remain sensitive to (or allergic to).
A great object lesson to a child is to tickle their foot with a light touch of the fingertips. Now take the same foot and start massaging the ticklish area, and very slowly change the massage back to the light touch (until it does not tickle that foot). Then use the same light touch on the other foot and they will see that while one foot has become un-ticklish, the other foot still is ticklish. Then explain that their heart is just like that foot. The heart is ticklish to sin when it’s close to God, but if we keep touching it lightly with sin , over and over again, it won’t bother it anymore and can sin more and more without feeling bad. That bad feeling we started with was the “tickling” in our heart showing us this is not something that should be touching us.
We need to keep our hearts “ticklish” to sin as much as possible.

Matt. 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Phil. 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
1Tim. 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
2Tim. 2:22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Rom. 16:… be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
Prov. 4:23 Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.

Purity is the goal for the human heart, and gradual desensitization is the road to impurity.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. NIV
Here are the same two verses from the Message:
James 1:14 The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust.
James 1:15 Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

Keep your heart, and teach your children to stay, “ticklish” to sin. It is our key to a clear conscience and faith before God, hearing God and seeing Him at work in our hearts and lives.

Exclusive Truth

Exclusive Truth.

When a grade schooler is taught mathematics, one of the basic laws is called the law of symmetry (i.e. A=A, 2=2, and 25-1=24 as opposed to A=non A, 2=3, 25-1=19). Simple logic dictates that each side of the equal sign have to balance or actually be equal which is why the equal sign is there between the two sides to begin with. This carries over into the world of logic and clear thinking in a rule cleverly called the “law of non-contraction”. Two things that differ cannot be called equal or the same. It also means that two claims regarding a “truth” that differ cannot both be right. They can both be wrong but not both be correct regarding an absolute truth. Let’s try this in a regular conversation. Bob says he has the only key for a lock, then Sam says the exact same thing about a key in his own hand. They cannot both claim to have the only key to a lock and both be right. They may both be mistaken but not both right.

While our culture tries to teach tolerance for all beliefs and creeds, a basic dignity which all humans deserve, there is a difference between tolerance to differing ideas and what we now have in our culture which is the strange notion that no one has the right to even claim that another’s ideas might actually be wrong. While this concept might work with subjective things like “do anchovies and peanut butter taste good together, it does not do justice to attempts to deal with absolutes in reality. This is where we get responses to religious ideas in the form of “whatever works for you” mentality. It is not a matter of what seems to work for someone at the moment when it comes to the existence of God or our purpose within His creation.

In an era that promotes tolerance as the highest of virtues and the idea that truth is relative (where 2=3), it is considered outrageous to claim that Jesus is the one and only, exclusive way, for people to attain eternal life. A common response to His claim would be; “What about all those in the world who don’t believe in Jesus, following Buddha or Confucius or another teacher?”. “How can you say that they won’t go to heaven?” Well two responses:

1 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Jesus made it very clear that the way to the Father and ultimately the way to eternal life in heaven is through a relationship of faith in Him. The rest of the New Testament affirms this repeatedly. Just one example comes from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans: “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 With this in mind, the only way to say that there are other ways to eternal life is to completely ignore everything that the Bible teaches on the subject. You must trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and believe that He died and rose again in order to pay the penalty for your sins.
There are some who would discard the Bible and decide that it only if you are sincere in what you believe then you will live forever. The thought is that sincerity, not truth, is the ruling law. God is now seen as a being who is merely compassionate and would never draw straws over anything to do with truth or whether someone was right or wrong.
For the most part, it is only people raised in a western philosophical mindset who take issue with the exclusivity of Jesus. It is only people raised in our post-christian culture who seem to be embarrassed by the claim of Jesus to be the only way to heaven since it means taking a moment to say” I think your idea is wrong.” That is not tolerance, it is numbness. Refusing to think because it causes differences. Refusing to say that “A” cannot possibly be equal to “non-A” does not define one as narrow minded. It merely states “I remember what I learned as a child about simple matters and how truth cannot contradict truth.” Did not Jesus say in Matt. 18: 3… “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Perhaps, just perhaps, He was thinking of us even when He said these words and how our modern tolerances would cloud reason to the point of absurdity and that we all need to remember the basic rules of non-contradiction.
Rom. 1:22 “Professing to be wise, they became fools” is the yellow flag waved at the human race in our quest for wisdom. Our modern tolerance has made it all but impossible to discuss the existence of absolute truth and even attempts to exclude God from the conversation since He, claiming to be truth is too narrow minded for such an intelligent culture as our own. We tolerate and place all beliefs on an equal plane, except of course for Christianity. There is not even tolerance allowed for exclusive truth. The old fashioned idea that 2 cannot equal 3 does not belong anymore. Next time someone tells you , as an evangelical Christian, that you are being narrow minded, ask why he has the right to believe he is correct but reserves the right to insist that you are wrong. He has, at that moment, broken his own law of tolerance. He has now claimed that you and he cannot both be right at the same time but was using that “law” to call you narrow minded just a few seconds ago. Even he, somewhere in his grade school tape recordings, knows 2=2 and cannot be 3. Do not let the “new tolerance” use the law of non-contradiction to exclude us from the culture. It is hypocritical at best and insidiously blinding at it’s worst.
There is no need for a follower of Jesus to be embarrassed by the exclusive claims of Jesus. Truth in it’s nature is exclusive. Just as light fills and destroys darkness, truth pushes away falsehood and insists that it be exposed and eliminated. Jesus is the truth who rightly demands our allegiance. Our highest command is to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is Jesus who is eternal life. He is the way without divergence, the truth without compromise and the life of eternal relationship with our Father.

Truth about Flight 297 (Atlanta to Houston)

I, Gene Hackemack, received this email from my good friend Tedd Petruna, a

diver at the NBL facility [Neutral Buoyancy Lab], at NASA Houston, whom I
used to work with. Tedd happened to be on this same Flt. 297, Atlanta to
Houston.

In my opinion, the muslims are all getting very brave now, since they have

one of their own in the white house......read Tedd's story below.



PS...can you imagine, our own news media now are so politically correct
that they are afraid to report that these were all muslims...unbelievable.
Thank God for people like Tedd Petruna.

A. Gene Hackemack
979-251-2310 cell & home
buttonbox01@gmail.com
8725 Hwy 290 W
Brenham TX 77833



One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On
Tuesday, November the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the
18th you may have seen a blurb where a AirTran flight was cancelled from
Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone
before takeoff. It was on Fox.

This was NOT what happened.

I was in 1st class coming home. 11 Muslim men got on the plane in full
attire. 2 sat in 1st class and the rest peppered themselves throughout the
plane all the way to the back. As the plane taxied to the runway the
stewardesses gave the safety spiel we are all so familiar with. At that
time, one of the men got on his cell and called one of his companions in the

back and proceeded to talk on the phone in Arabic very loudly and very
aggressively. This took the 1st stewardess out of the picture for she
repeatedly told the man that cell phones were not permitted at the time. He

ignored her as if she was not there.

The 2nd man who answered the phone did the same and this took out the 2nd
stewardess. In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger Muslims, one
in the back aisle, and one in front of him, window, began to show footage of

a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it.
Now..they are only permitted to do this prior to Jihad. If a Muslim man
goes into a strip club, he has to view the woman via mirror with his back to

her. (don't ask me..I don't make the rules, but I've studied) The 3rd
stewardess informed them that they were not to have electronic devices on at

this time. To which one of the men said "shut up infidel dog!" She went to

take the camcorder and he began to scream in her face in Arabic. At that
exact moment, all 11 of them got up and started to walk the cabin. This is
where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a
voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say "I got your back." I
grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said "you WILL go
sit down or you Will be thrown from this plane!" As I "led" him around me
to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and
his waist and headed out with him. I then grabbed the 2nd man and said,
"You WILL do the same!" He protested but adrenaline was flowing now and he
was going to go. As I escorted him forward the plane doors open and 3 TSA
agents and 4 police officers entered. Me and my new Texan friend were told
to cease and desist for they had this under control. I was happy to oblige
actually. There was some commotion in the back, but within moments, all 11
were escorted off the plane. They then unloaded their luggage.

We talked about the occurrence and were in disbelief that it had happen,
when suddenly, the door open again and on walked all 11!! Stone faced, eyes

front and robotic (the only way I can describe it). The stewardess from the

back had been in tears and when she saw this, she was having NONE of it!
Being that I was up front, I heard and saw the whole ordeal. She told the
TSA agent there was NO WAY she was staying on the plane with these men. The

agent told her they had searched them and were going to go through their
luggage with a fine tooth comb and that they were allowed to proceed to
Houston. The captain and co-captain came out and told the agent "we and our

crew will not fly this plane!" After a word or two, the entire crew,
luggage in tow, left the plane. 5 minutes later, the cabin door opened
again and a whole new crew walked on.

Again...this is where I had had enough!!! I got up and asked "What the
hell is going on!?!?" I was told to take my seat. They were sorry for the
delay and I would be home shortly. I said "I'm getting off this plane".
The stewardess sternly told me that she could not allow me to get off. (now

I'm mad!) I said "I am a grown man who bought this ticket, whose time is
mine with a family at home and I am going through that door, or I'm going
through that door with you under my arm!! But I am going through that
door!!" And I heard a voice behind me say "so am I". Then everyone behind
us started to get up and say the same. Within 2 minutes, I was walking off
that plane where I was met with more agents who asked me to write a
statement. I had 5 hours to kill at this point so why the hell not. Due to

the amount of people who got off that flight, it was cancelled. I was
supposed to be in Houston at 6pm. I got here at 12:30am.

Look up the date. Flight #297 Atlanta to Houston.

If this wasn't a dry run, I don't know what one is. The terrorists wanted

to see how TSA would handle it, how the crew would handle it, and how the
passengers would handle it.

I'm telling this to you because I want you to know..
The threat is real. I saw it with my own eyes..

-Tedd Petruna

A. Gene Hackemack
979-251-2310 cell & home
buttonbox01@gmail.com
8725 Hwy 290 W
Brenham TX 77833

God at Work ?

Have you ever been stuck in construction? A line of cars, brake lights lit up as far as the eye can see crawling along at 5 miles per hour along an equally long line of orange cones preventing you from legally driving in a perfectly empty lane in which you could quickly accelerate to 65 mph and be home in minutes instead of hours ??!!

Yep we all have, and despite how quickly the stop and go traffic may chew away at our patience like the child in a back seat asking “are we there yet ?” we control ourselves and tap out drum solos on the steering wheel while we remind ourselves that there is something up ahead being fixed or cleared away to make our travels safer once done.

So why do we get so impatient when God sets up a few cones and nudges us over to the slow lane for a while ?

He could be:

· teaching us that extra measure of patience we have been praying for but never wanted to wait upon. Psa. 37:9, 34, Isaiah 40

· keeping us safe and stalling us to not drive into an danger until he has cleared it away for us in our near future Psa. 4:8, Hos. 2:18, Ezra 8:21

· preparing a blessing ahead that is not ready yet Hebrews 11:1, Rom 8:28, (read the story of Joseph, already sold into slavery by his own brothers as we pick up the story in Genesis 39)

teaching us to help us grow, keeping us safe from harm up ahead (physical= bodily harm to us or are family, emotional=a relationship that would leave us badly hurt or crippled in self-confidence, spiritual=something that might pull us away from our relationship with God or make bad choices affecting or future that God needs to protect on our behalf), setting up blessings ahead in our path but arranging for our arrival to be timed to the second of perfection.

God, our Father, had the power and loving right to stick His hand in anytime needed and say “thus far, but no further!” While it is often said that answers from God come in yes’s and no’s, it should also include that wonderful patience builder … “not yet, my grace is sufficient for you”. 2 Cor 12:9 if you want to read it straight from God’s heart.

So when God puts up the cones, and says “all traffic to the right hand hand, resist the urge to jump over into the left lane and floor the gas pedal just to feel like you are making progress at the speed you like. You may find yourself crashing into the very thing God was trying to fix before you got there and maybe even banging heads with God Himself since He is not fond of pride in His children. James 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5

Wait upon His timing and He will reward you according to your trust and humility in showing that you know His timing is better than your timing.

Don’t jump the cones, see the big sign ?? “God at work”

Chapter 11

In today's failing economy it's tempting to go Chapter 11. In fact, the worse things get the more important it is to go to chapter 11; Hebrews chapter 11 that is ...

the Apostle Paul, writer of the book of Hebrews, get's to the eleventh chapter of this letter and lays out what we call the "Hall of faith". Faithful individuals whom God wants showcased in His Word.

Heb. 11:1 ¶ The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

Heb. 11:2 The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

Heb. 11:3 ¶ By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

Heb. 11:4 ¶ By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.

Heb. 11:5 ¶ By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.”

Heb. 11:6 It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

Heb. 11:7 ¶ By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God.

Heb. 11:8 ¶ By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going.

Heb. 11:9 By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise.

Heb. 11:10 Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.

Heb. 11:11 ¶ By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said.

Heb. 11:12 That’s how it happened that from one man’s dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.

Heb. 11:113 ¶ Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world.

Heb. 11:14 People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home.

Heb. 11:15 If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted.

Heb. 11:16 But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.

C.S. Lewis called christians "spiritual amphibians because like the real amphibians of this world, we live in two worlds; a natural world and a spiritual world. Most of our existance, percentage wise will be lived in the spiritual realm and a tiny portion lived out in this physical realm of food, clothing, shelter etc.

Honestly, what is 70-80 years compared to eternal life, right ? However our Father still created us with a physical body with physical needs and promises to meet those needs. (Matt. 6:26 Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. )

Heb. 11:1 ¶ The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

Faith is our handle on what we can't see, get that, grab it, hold on to it !! You can't see God's blessing around the corner but they are coming. He promises it. (Rom. 8:28 That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.)

Hand over your life to God, if you haven't all ready. He is a much better driver than you will ever be and He can transform these trials into blessing faster than you can imagine if you allow your heart to be touched through the trial. That is what He, our God is after ... each and every one of our hearts.

So when you find yourself feeling poor, lack of money, lack of time, bankrupt mentally or emotionally ... go chapter 11; Hebrews 11 and read about all those who held strong to their faith in the one who allows the trials and transforms them into blessings just as soon as He sees the change in our hearts or minds He was trying to achieve. Remember, if God puts you in a hole it's because He wants to you look straight up, not at your own feet.

Are you looking up at the One who is mightier than your situation or trying to convince yourself that your situation is still mightier than the Creator of the universe ?

A single person siding with God is a majority in God's economy and will win. Find God, find your faith, go Chapter 11 Hebrews with God.

Learning to be Faithful

I have decided to stir up a topic that should touch the heart of every single reader (not to mention any children they may have as well). In Matthew 25 we find a parable regarding three men entrusted with money belonging to their master commonly known as the parable of the talents.

Matt. 25:14-28 ¶ “It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money. “After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner. “The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ “The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent. “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least ? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb.

While this gives strong condemnation to those who “play it safe” and never go out on a limb, there is also a great encouragement here for those who “use well” what they have been given. Stewardship is the issue here. Showing you are faithful with a little bit reveals that you have the character to be trusted with more.

Our heavenly father does this with us more often than we are often aware. I can’t remember the last (or first) time God gave me or anyone I know a complete set of beginning to end instructions. He gives us a little at a time, so we have to learn to use what we have, being faithful with our little, until He gives us a little more.

I do this with my two boys. For example, I may tell one to go down the hall and turn the light on; nothing more. Once I see them trusting what I have told them and they do it do I give them the next step, perhaps stepping through a doorway to find a new toy waiting for them. I am teaching them to trust and to be faithful with their “little” so that they can be given more. When they are older, they ought to be far more able to obey God’s day by day instructions rather than missing out on blessings by always asking “but why, when, where?

So let me pose the question: how faithful are you, my reader, with what you are currently entrusted. Your job, your friends, your spouse, children, honesty in a tax return, giving back the wrong change at the check register ? Learning to be faithful with what and whom you have been currently entrusted is the only way God is ever going to entrust you with more. Here’s a four letter word … tithing ! “Yikes” I can hear many of you shouting now. Yes, I’m going there too LOL Tithing 10% of your income is the least you can do since it all belongs to Him anyways. Your heart and trust in God are evidenced in your checkbook too! Here are two points to consider on tithing (and they apply to all other aspects of stewardship as well)

1. Leading your heart (choosing to tithe when you don’t feel ready to do so helps to teach your heart to trust more which is what God is trying to do anyways, change your heart to trust Him more)

2. No one, and I mean no one has ever regretted tithing 10% even when things were tight. You can’t outgive God.

The only way to learn to be faithful is to start doing it. In my book, faith is a verb. It’s constantly responding to whatever God entrusts to me and acting with it to the best I have to give. It starts with little steps and, as your confidence grows in Him, grows to larger steps to where you can confidently step into things that “if God doesn’t come through for me I am going to fall on my face” which is just where God wants me. Not on my face but totally relying on Him to come through for me. Learn to be faithful with what you have and watch what God can do with that trust in your life.