The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 25:14–30 (day five)

“Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:23)

Those are the words every believer longs to hear from Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew 24–25, Jesus teaches about His return. Instead of giving dates, He gives parables. The message is clear: live ready. Live faithful.

In the Parable of the Talents, the master entrusts his servants with resources and then departs. When he returns, he looks for faithfulness. The issue isn’t how much they were given—it’s what they did with it.

This parable isn’t ultimately about productivity. It’s about love. The faithful servants trusted and loved their master. The unfaithful servant withdrew in fear and did nothing.

We don’t serve out of guilt. Guilt is not the voice of the Spirit. We serve out of joy. Jesus invites us into His work—sowing, reaping, praying for laborers—because “the harvest is plentiful” (Matthew 9:37–38).

And we don’t do this alone. The Kingdom is a community project. We labor side by side, strengthening one another as we finish the mission God has entrusted to us.

Jesus has gone away.

He will return.

May we be found faithful.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 25:14–30 (day four)

This parable is part of a series of teachings that Jesus gives his disciples before making his final journey to the cross. He gives this teaching on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the city of Jerusalem, where he would soon be put to death. In this series of teachings, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death, resurrection, and ultimate return.

Through the analogy of investing, Jesus is encouraging his disciples to maximize the life they’ve been given in order to advance God’s Kingdom. He instructs them not to sit on their hands, hide away in fear, or ignore the world around them while they await his return. They are to invest what they’ve been given – their intimate walk with Jesus, their knowledge of God’s Kingdom, their time, their resources and connections, their money, and everything around them – into the Kingdom of God. Any investment into the Kingdom will reap a generous return.

God has given to each of us generously and uniquely. Take stock of what God has given you (no matter who you are, it will be a long list). How can you use these things to invest in the Kingdom of God?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 25:14–30 (day three)

²⁵And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.

Following God is going to cost us something. We see that here in Jesus’ parable as he describes the efforts the first two servants did to double the master’s talents. We are not sure what they did to double the talents, but I am sure that it cost them in some way, shape, and form (time, energy, personal resources, etc). On the other hand, as we see with the third servant, the money does not double if just left alone.

I am most aware of this “cost” in my parenting. God has given my kids to me and Ashley to steward well. Each day that we have with them is filled with “teachable” moments where I can show them God’s Way. Now, I can choose to be vigilant and be a good steward of that time with my kids and family, which often costs me something (time, energy, etc.), or I can choose the easy, lazy way out (and sometimes do). The lazy way is a selfish way to live. It puts “me” at the forefront instead of God. It puts “me” over whatever God has entrusted to me.

Sin leads us to choose “my way” instead of God’s way. However, following God and choosing the “cost” is worth doing over the lazy (sinful) way. As you read through this scripture during the week, ask God to search your heart for where you have chosen the lazy way out of following Him instead of the way that might cost you something. How is God calling you to steward what He has entrusted to you?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 25:14–30 (day two)

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. v. 14

Before looking at the actions of the three servants, let’s consider the gift that the master gives. What possible reason would he have for giving his wealth to people who serve him? It is a miracle of grace that he would divide his treasure to give to people who are not his family. What is even more incredible when you consider the larger context of this parable is that God, who gives us his creation to steward, knows our hearts. He knows our greed and selfishness. Why would he freely give us these things? Unlike the master in this story, God does want us to be his family. He wants us to flourish in his kingdom. This doesn’t always mean in finances, but it does mean that we share in the inheritance of God the Father. Knowing our hearts, he still gave us Jesus. Isn’t that incredible?

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–31, Romans 8:18–22 (day seven)

Creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:21

This weekend our students participated in our annual Disciple Now event called Freedom Weekend. They spent the last two days in Bible study, worship, and service. There might have been a little bit of fun to be had too! We challenged them this year to be Bold in their faith.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Cor 3:12

The hope that we find in Jesus is the reason that we can be and should be emboldened. How could we know the hope, love, and freedom found in God and not want to share that to the world? For each of our students (and you too) this boldness is going to look different. For some it will be to place their faith in Jesus as Lord for the first time. For others it will be to share with their friends and family what the Lord is doing in their life. Pray for our students as they go home today. Pray that they will know the same Spirit that they felt at Freedom Weekend will be with them as they go back into their schools and activities. That same Spirit will continue to bring Freedom, Hope, and Boldness.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–31, Romans 8:18–22 (day six)

In Married for God, Anglican theologian Christopher Ash says we are called to make “little gardeners.” I love that phrase. It captures something tender and profound about the heart of our most ancient commission: to multiply, to cultivate, and to care for the earth and all its inhabitants.

From the very beginning, humanity was not created merely to exist in creation, but to participate in it, to be gardeners. Even the seventh day of creation, the day of rest, is not the absence of purpose but the fulfillment of it. God’s rest reveals the goal of creation: a world where humanity co-rules with God in harmony, delight, and trust, resulting in genuine human flourishing in the land.

And yet, isn’t it striking how few of us know anything about gardening? How far removed we are from the soil beneath our feet? I’m not sure the connection is simple, but it does seem that living by our own wisdom (reaching for the fruit of the tree of knowledge) has left us less attentive to the world we were made to tend and less careful with the lives placed in our care.

Perhaps Treebeard says it best when describing Saruman in The Two Towers:

“He has a mind of metal and wheels, and he does not care for growing things.”

It’s a haunting description because it feels familiar. We know what it is to live at a pace and in a system that prizes efficiency over cultivation, productivity over patience.

But the gospel tells a different story. Jesus came not simply to rescue souls, but to restore creation—to make us gardeners again. In him, we learn once more how to tend what God has entrusted to us: relationships, communities, and the world itself.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–31, Romans 8:18–22 (day five) Did you notice the context and background in Genesis for the design of human stewardship and rule of creation?  It is part of being an image bearer. In other words, we are challenged to bear the image of God in our ruling and stewarding. We are created with the capability and capacity to steward creation as He would- with grace, love, compassion, wisdom, and creativity (to name a few). We are directed to reflect God’s glory in the way we manage and care for His creation. We are to rule and steward as God would. What kind of rule would that look like?  What kind of stewardship would that look like?  What kind of leadership would that look like? Perhaps a look at the “invisible image” in Colossians 1 would help answer. Even in this assigned task, the expectation is for God’s character and glory to be evident and visible in us.
What a responsibility!
What a privilege!

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–31, Romans 8:18–22 (day four)

Humans occupy a unique place in the created order. We are very much part of God’s creation. Adam was formed by the dust of the earth. Genesis, the creation of humans, brings God’s process of creating to a glorious finale. On the other hand, God created humans in his image – a privilege not shared by the rest of creation. We have a unique place of authority over the rest of the created world, yet we ourselves are part of that created world.

After sin entered the world, we struggled with how to handle this unique position. We have often misused our power over creation, exploiting it, squeezing the life out of it, abusing it. In our sin, we treat one another this way as well.

Our original calling as humans is to fill the earth and steward it. We are to do so as image bearers of the Creator himself. As we go about trying to steward creation as God intended, we are meant to reflect his character. What do we need to do differently in order to reflect God’s character in our stewardship of creation?

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–31, Romans 8:18–22 (day three)

²¹that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)

The Chronicles of Narnia has always been one of my favorite book series. On an almost daily basis, I am reminded of how C. S. Lewis describes heaven, or the new Narnia, in his book, The Last Battle. Lewis attempts to describe the new Narnia as if someone was looking at a beautiful scene of nature in a mirrored reflection of what was truly behind them. They could see a reflection or a copy of what was true, but not the true scene itself. He goes on to write:

The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. (The Last Battle, pg. 162)

Romans 8:21 reminds me that the nature here on this earth that I love so much to be in is not the way that God intended. God’s creation, too, was subjected to the ripple effects of sin after the Fall. As a result, we see God’s creation as a faded reflection of what He truly meant it to be.

I long for the day when we get to see God’s Creation in the way He intended. Not merely a corrupted version, but the vibrant, beautiful, and very good Creation that God made when it, too, is saved from the effects of sin. May we be found as good stewards of His Creation until we see it meaning more!