Faithful Servant

Reading: Matthew 24; Psalm 21 45 “Who is a faithful, sensible servant, to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family? 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.” (Matthew 24:45-47 NLT) As Passover drew near, Jesus’ messages became even more somber and serious. His attention focused on what was about to happen to him and what his followers would face later. He talked about coming hardships and about the need to stay steady under pressure and faithful to the end. Jesus made it clear that the Father was looking for servants who didn’t serve only when the boss was looking over their shoulder, or look for opportunities to work the system for their own benefit. “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved.” (Matthew 24:13 MSG) Our stewardship is long-term and largely unsupervised. We don’t know what’s going to happen next or when the boss will check up on us. Let’s stay simply, sensibly steady, and simply, sensibly faithful. 9 So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. 10 Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters. (Galatians 6:9-10 NLT) Prayer: Father, I know that every moment I spend trying to make an impression on others is wasted time and everything I do for my own benefit is wasted effort. I don’t want to waste time or effort. I purpose to be a steady, sensible, and faithful servant. Help me to do better. Thanks for the opportunity to serve you and your people. Amen. Special Note: You can receive GraceNotes in your email inbox each morning. Go to www.resourceministries.org/devotionals/grace-notes/ to subscribe. It’s free, it’s daily and it comes directly to your email inbox. Grace to you, Jim