Stewardship

APAD DAY 87 EPILOGUE

by Daniel Owino Ogweno
05/25/17
Not For Sale
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EPILOGUE

Over to You!

Dear reader, if you have read up to this point, I would like to congratulate and thank you for taking your time to read through this book. I believe the Holy Spirit has spoken to you, either directly from what is written in this book or indirectly through prompting you to think about other important spiritual matters. It is my prayer that you have been inspired, informed, transformed, challenged and equipped for good works of stewardship.

One of my burning desire in my writings is to narrow, if not bridge, the gap between theology and practice. That is the reason I always appeal to my readers to strive to get the practical angle of what they have read. It is good to be informed, but the goal of information is transformation. The way we live will show whether we have been transformed or not. My aim has been to get my readers to be good stewards practically out there in the field and not just theoretically in their head. It is one thing to know, it is another to do according to the knowledge. In other words, what you know does not matter as much as what you do with what you know.

One of the things I like about Christianity is that it calls us to personal responsibility and accountability. In this sense, the Bible cautions us to be watchful because everyone will give his personal account before God (Rom. 14:12). It is true that there is deception in the world, but again the Bible warns us to watch so that we are not deceived (Lk. 21:8). If we allow ourselves to be deceived, the deceiver will be guilty, but we have to understand that it will not take away our personal responsibility. When we watch all around us, we see, or are part of, some popular trends that arise to bolster certain ways of doing things. If we are not watchful, we can easily deviate from the course of the cross without even being aware of it.

Sound doctrine gives healthy relationship with God. It is when we understand the purpose of our existence, the meaning and the working of faith then we will be positioned to manage the natural whims and ignore distractions that may compromise our steadfastness as stewards.

Once more may I sincerely thank you for entrusting me with your time that you may listen to what God laid in my heart for His people. I trust that you have been blessed.

Before you put this book down, I don’t want to assume that everyone who will read this book is already saved. Maybe you read this book after it was recommended or given to you by a friend or a relative but you personally are not so ‘excited’ about a relationship with the Saviour. Or perhaps you have been generally religious but cannot be sure about where you belong—whether in or out of the ‘flock.’ I would like to make an altar call—calling you to the platform of decision, if you had never made the decision before. This is nothing more than giving you an opportunity to give a careful thought about eternity. This is to provoke a reflective consideration of the destiny that faces every soul. At the end of our life here on earth, we will give an answer of our life as the starting point of accounting about our stewardship.

If you had made a decision to follow Jesus before but for some reason you let go of your relationship with Him, you can make a renewed decision today to come back to Him.

Jesus’ hand is outstretched towards you. He is willing to take your hand in His hand and guide you through life. It is only if you accept Him into your life that He will, by His Holy Spirit, give you instructions and guidance on how to be a good steward over your life and over the resources He has endowed you with. It is embarrassing to be asked to give an account when you didn’t even know what you were supposed to do with what God gave you.

If you don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, this call is for you. If you have known and followed religion more than you have known and followed Jesus, this call is for you as well. If you have paid your allegiance to the pop culture more than you have to the Scripture, this call is for you.

If you want to make a commitment to give your life to the Lord Jesus, you are welcome to do so in your own way. Nevertheless, I know from experience that there are some people who sometimes have the desire to start a walk with God but they don’t know how to begin, or what kind of prayer to make. The following prayer is meant to help such people. If you desire to call on the Lord Jesus Christ for the eternal redemption of your soul, then the prayer below is in line with this kind of desire. Pray the words from your heart, knowing that you are committing yourself to what the words are beseeching for you before the throne of grace and mercy.

The essence of the prayer below must not be construed to be the only way you can make your prayer. That means, if you can get your own words, even if they are mumbled with incoherent words, God will decipher it from your heart. You are free to express yourself to God in the way you feel reflects what is in your heart. God will definitely respond to your prayer:

Dear heavenly Father, I accept that I am a sinner and that I can’t be reconciled to You through any other way except through the atoning Blood of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Neither good works nor religion can save me.

I accept that the death and the resurrection of Jesus were meant for me—to pay for my sins and to give me the hope of everlasting life.

Today, I call You, Jesus, into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. I give You my will to have the ultimate say in my life. I pray that You fill me with the Holy Spirit so that He may become my Guide, Comforter, Teacher and Reminder of the things of life. Open Your Scripture for me that I may be instructed in Your ways.

I believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that You, Jesus, rose from the dead and that You are the Son of God who came to redeem me from the bondage and deception of sin. I am now saved and restored unto my Heavenly Father. I am now a new creation. My past is blotted out and I am given a second chance to reflect the image of my Father.

Thank You Lord Jesus for saving me. Thank You for accepting me. Thank You for promising that You’ll never leave nor forsake those who come to You.

Thank You for writing my name in the Book of Life.

I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen!

If you have prayed that prayer from your heart, you are now saved—your debt of sin is settled. It is that simple. What you need to do to feed your spirit and secure yourself in the faith are the following—to start with:

• Communicate with your Father as often as possible. In other words, let prayer be part of your daily life.

• Make a daily schedule for reading and studying the Word of God. However busy you are, make time for this. It is important—more important than bread.

• Share your new life. Don’t hide the fact that you have become a born-again believer. Share your testimony. Witness to your friends and relatives—to start with. Salvation is personal but not private.

• Get yourself into a local church—a Bible-believing church. Remember: Not every congregation that invokes the name of God necessarily comprises genuine faith. There are many false religions out there. Get yourself into a Bible-believing and preaching church. Seek to team up with other believers who confess salvation and their life is consistent with the teachings of the Bible.

• And, be cautious with relationships, transactions and acts that may quench your passion for the things of God. The way to begin is quitting anything that you know is outrightly wrong. Make friends with people who will help you grow in your faith. This, however, doesn’t mean that you disown your former friends, but that you need to draw a line of how to relate to them and what not to be drawn into. Should you find that they are a stumbling block on the way of your spiritual growth, you can ‘retreat’ and get back to them later when you have ‘matured’ enough to spiritedly shine the light of Christ in the dark corners of their life.

God bless you!!

If you can, please do share your experience with us. If you have any questions concerning what you have read in this book or a general question about faith in Christ, feel free to contact us. The e-mail contact is [email protected]

If you will, you can also visit us at www.cilmin.com and see if there is any part you’d wish to play in our ministry.

May the grace of God be multiplied in your life as His grace helps you be a good steward. If we don’t meet here on earth, I hope to meet you in Glory Land.