IT IS REQUIRED IN STEWARDS, THAT A MAN OR WOMAN BE FOUND FAITHFUL!!

16 ALSO [JESUS] said to the disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a manager of his estate, and accusations [against this man were brought] to him, that he was sqaundering his [master's] possesions.
2 And he called him and said to him, What is that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management [of my affairs], for you can be [my] manager no longer.
3 And the manager of the estate said to himself, What shall I do, seeing that my master is taking the management away from me? I am not able to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
4 I have come to know what I will do, so that they [my master's debtors] may accept and welcome me into their houses when I am put out of the management.
5 So he summoned his master's debtors one by one, and he said to the first, How much do you owe my master?
6 He said, A hundred measures [about nine hundred gallons] of oil. And he said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of obligation, and sit down quickly and write fifty [about four hundred fifty gallons].
7 After that he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures [about nine hundred bushels] of wheat. He said to him, Take back your written acknowledgement of obligation, and write eighty [about seven hundred bushels].
8 And [his] master praised the dishonest (unjust) manager for acting shrewdly and prudently; for the sons of this age are shrewder and more prudent and wiser in [relation to] their own generation-that is, to their own age and kind-than are the sons of light.
9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon [that is, deceitful riches, money, possessions], so that when it fails, they [those you have favored] may receive and welcome you into everlasting habitations (dwellings).
10 He who is faithful in a very little [thing], is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing], is dishonest and unjust also in much.
11 Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the [case of] the unrighteous mammon-the deceitful riches, money, possessions-who will entrust to you true riches?
12 And if you have not proved faithful in that which belongs to another [whether God or man], who will give you that which is your own [that is, the true riches]?
13 No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon-riches, that is, or anything in which you trust and on which you rely.
(Luke 16:1-13; Amplified Bible).

1-4 "Manager" is a broad term for an employee or agent who has was entrusted with the management of funds or property. Mismanagement was possible because strict accounts were not always kept. When word came from others (v.2), he had to "give an account." The manager's plight (v.3) was that he had a respectable "desk job" but could do little else. His decision, therefore, is made with a view to his personal security after his dismissal.

5-8 As already noted, the bills may have been written in terms of commodities rather than cash, perhaps in order to hide the actual amount of interest. The amounts owed were large; the wheat is said to be equal to the yield of about one hundred acres. The actual value of the reduction in each case has been computed to equal about sixteen month's wages for a day laborer. The meaning of v.8a, as noted above, is not that a manager is commended for an act of dishonesty but that a dishonest manager is commended for an act of prudence.

8b-9 The contrast between those who belong to this age and those who belong to the light (v.8b) is a familiar one (cf. Eph 5:8; 1Thess 5:5; 1John 1:5-7). Christians do not belong to this evil age, but they can nevertheless make responsible use of "worldly wealth" (v.9). The "friends" may not refer to any particular people but simply be part of the parable's imagery. Usually they have been understood as being poor people, for whom Jesus had a deep concern and to whom we are here urged to give alms (cf. Lk 12:33). "Wordly wealth" should not be stored up for oneself (cf. lk 12:21), since one day it will be "gone."

10-13 The theme of stewardship is now discussed in terms of trustworthiness as over against dishonesty. "Worldly wealth" (v.11) appears for the second time (cf. v.9). The propery here is "someone else's," presumably God's, in contrast to the parable's imagery in which the amount forgiven was the manager's own commission. Verse 13 (cf. Matt 6:24) is also appropriate to the context (the Greek word earlier translated "worldly wealth" is now translated "money"). Though one may have both God and money, we cannot serve them both.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].

[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].

JESUS IS LORD.

THE PRAYERS OF FAITH & FERVENCY PRODUCES GREAT RESULTS!

     Is any one among you afflicted-ill treated, suffering evil? He should pray. Is any one glad at heart? He should sing praise [to God].

14 Is any one among you sick? He should call in the church elders-the spiritual guides. And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord's name.

15 And the prayer [that is] of faith will save him that is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

16 Confess to one another therefore your faults-your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins; and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored-to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available-dynamic in its working.

17 Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have-with feelings, affections and constitution as ourselves; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months.

18 And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops [as usual]. (James 5:13-18). [Amplified Bible].

     This passage on prayer falls into two sections. Verses 13-16 constitute a call for prayer in every circumstance of life; vv.17-18 illustrate the effectiveness of sincere prayer.

13 One circumstance that calls for prayer is the experience of being "in trouble." When such an experience comes, Christians need patience. They are not to grumble in bitter disgust (v.9), nor are they to express themselves in oaths (v.12). Instead, they "should pray." Patience comes from God, and prayer is an effective way to obtain it. James also urges anyone who is in good spirits to "sing songs of praise." This too is prayer.

14 Sickness is another circumstance where prayer is needed, and concerning such prayer James gives detailed instructions. The sick person "should call for the elders of the church" (cf. Tit 1:5, 7; Acts 20:17, 28). In Acts 20:28 the elders are instructed to shepherd the church of God, i.e., to do the work of a pastor (cf. also 1Pet. 5:1-4). Thus, the sick person is to call the pastors of the church "to pray over him and anoint him with oil." Prayer is the more significant of the two ministries performed by the elders, for the overall emphasis of the paragraph belongs on prayer. There are a number of reasons for understanding the application of oil as medicinal rather than sacramental. The word "anoint" is not the usual word for sacramental or ritualistic anointing. Furthermore, it is a well-documented fact that oil was one of the most common medicines of biblical times (see Isa. 1:6; Lk 10:34). Josephus reports that during his last illness Herod the Great was given a bath in oil in hopes of effecting a cure. It is evident, then, that James is prescribing prayer and medicine.

15 The assurance is given that prayer "will make the sick person well." In the final analysis, this is what effects the healing. In answer to "the prayer offered in faith," God uses the medicine to cure the malady. The statement "the Lord will raise him up" means that the sick man will be enabled to get up from his sick bed. If it was sin that occasioned his sickness, "he will be forgiven." This suggests that possibility that, because of persistence in sin, God sent sickness as a disciplinary agent (cf. 1 Cor. 11:30). The conditional :if he has sinned," however, makes it clear that not all sickness is the result of sin.

16 From the promise of v.15 James draws an inference. Since confession of sin and the prayer of faith bring healing, Christians should confess their "sins to each other and pray for each other." It is not merely the elders who are to pray here, but Christians in general. If a person has sinned against a fellow-Christian, he or she should confess the sin to that person. This will no doubt result in mutual confession-"to each other." Then the two believers should "pray for each other." If the sin has caused sickness, healing will follow confession and prayer. James proceeds to add the assurance that prayer "is powerful and effective." The "righteous man" here referred to is the one whose sins have been confessed and forgiven. His prayer is fully able to secure results, such as healing of the sick.

17-18 James now offers illustrative proof that a righteous man's prayer is "powerful and effective." "Elijah," he says, "was a man just like us." He had no superhuman powers; he was by nature a human being and nothing more. However, when he prayed "that it would not rain . . . it did not rain" (cf. 1 Kings 17:1; 18:42-45). The explanation of his power in prayer is twofold: he was a righteous man, and "he prayed earnestly." So James assures his readers that such answers to prayer are within the reach of any believer. It is true that 1 Kings 17-18 does not explicitly say that Elijah prayed, but this may be assumed from 17:1 and especially from 18:42. The three and one-half years is a round number based on 18:1.

[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].

[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com].

JESUS IS LORD.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR NECESSARY THINGS OR TOMORROW!

Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, and about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth more than they?
27 And which of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure [cubit] to his stature or to the life span of his life?
28 And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
29 Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you men with little faith?
31 Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek after all these things; and your heavenly Father well knows that you need them all.
33 But seek for (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom, and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right], and then all those these things taken together will be given you besides.
34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient. for each day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34). [Amplified Bible].


Uncompromised Trust (6:25-34).


25 "Therefore," in light of the alternatives set out (vv.19-24), Jesus instructs his disciples not to worry about the physical necessities, let alone the luxuries implied in the preceding verses.  Far too often our entire existence focuses on such things. The argument goes from the greater to the lesser: God has given us life and a body, both admittedly more important than food and clothing, will he not also give us the latter?


26 To worry about food and drink is to have learned nothing from the natural creation, which testifies to God's providence. The point is not that the disciples need not work-birds do not simply wait for God to drop food into their beaks-but that they need not fret. They may further strengthen their faith by remembering that God is in a special sense their Father and that they are worth far more than birds ("you" is emphatic). Here the argument is from the lesser to the greater.


27 Worry is more likely to shorten life than to prolong it, and ultimately such matters are in God's hands (cf. Luke 12:13-21). To trust him should be enough.


28-30 "Lilies of the field" (v.28) may be any of the wild flowers so abundant in Galilee. Jesus' point is a little different from the first illustration about birds: flowers neither toil nor spin. The point is not that Jesus' disciples may opt for laziness but that God's providence and care are so rich that He clothes the grass with wild flowers that are neither productive nor enduring. Even Solomon, the richest and most extravagant of Israel's monarchs, was not arrayed like one of these fields. Jesus closes with the thought that the root of anxiety is unbelief.


31-32 In the light of God's bountiful care, the questions posed in v.31 are unanswerable. Worse, they are essentially pagan. Jesus' disciples must live lives qualitatively different from those of people who have no trust in God's fatherly care and no fundamental goals beyond material things.


33 In view of vv.31-32, this verse makes it clear that Jesus' disciples are not simply to refrain from pursuing temporal things as their primary goal in order to differentiate themselves from pagans. Instead, they are to replace such pursuits with goals of far greater significance. To "seek first [God's] kingdom" (see Matthew 3:2, 4:17) is to desire above all to enter into, submit to, and participate in spreading the news of the saving reign of God. It is to pursue the things already prayed for in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-10).
     To Seek God's "righteousness" is not, in this context, to seek justification; rather, it is to pursue righteousness of life in full submission to the will of God, as prescribed by Jesus throughout this discourse (see Matthew 6:1). for any other concern to dominate one's mind is to stoop to pagan fretting. Within such framework of commitment, Jesus's disciples are assured that all the necessary things will be given them by their heavenly Father.


34 Worry over tomorrow's misfortunes is nonsensical, because today has enough to occupy our attention and because tomorrow's feared misfortunes may never happen. Furthermore, today's grace is sufficient only for today and should not be wasted on tomorrow. If tomorrow does bring new trouble, there will be new grace to meet it.
[NIV BIBL COMMENTARY Volume 2: New Testament].

[www.sowersoftheword.blogspot.com]


JESUS IS LORD.