WELCOME TO FEBRUARY (About number 2)

The number 2 conveys the meaning of a union, division or the verification of facts by witnesses. A man and woman, though two in number, are made one in marriage (Genesis 2:23 - 24). There is also the union between Christ and the church (see 1Corinthians 12).

8 KEYS TO A MORE POWERFUL PRAYER LIFE IN 2020

I love Luke 5:16 because it shows that just like you and me, Jesus needed a break from the demands of his busy life to recharge his batteries and spend time with his Heavenly Father. The life of Christ is intended to give us examples we can follow and learn from. So, even though he was God incarnate, Jesus didn’t draw on his superpowers as the Son of God when it came to facing life’s challenges. Instead, when he was exhausted or burdened or in need of spiritual refreshment, he would “slip away” to pray — plugging into the power, perception, and purpose that can only be found in God’s presence.

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

—Luke 5:16, AMP

Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons God has given us, and looking ahead at 2020, I believe it has never been more important for God’s people to be on our knees. But knowing how to pray is not always easy. Jesus’ disciples felt the same confusion. They were familiar with the oft-repeated prayers of the Torah. But Jesus prayed with a kind of authority and power they had never seen before — as though God was listening! So when they came to Jesus, as told in Matthew 6, they didn’t say, “Teach us another prayer.” They said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is Christ’s response. It is a beautiful prayer and one that every Christian should hide in their heart — I just challenged my granddaughter to memorize it. But elegant as the words are, I do not believe Jesus intended it to become another ritualistic prayer. Rather, it was to be an example of howto pray.

This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

Here are eight keys that have helped me develop a more powerful prayer life. I hope they will encourage you to make 2020 a year of prayer.

1. Know to whom you are speaking.

Prayer is a conversation with God, and every conversation begins by addressing the person to whom you are speaking by name. Jesus begins with “Our Father in heaven.” He focuses on a distinct person — the Heavenly Father with whom he has a personal relationship. We share the same right to call God “Father,” and there are times when we need to talk with our Abba Father, Daddy God. But God is three distinct persons in One: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I find it helpful in my prayer times to focus on which of the Holy Trinity I need to talk to. Often I talk to Jesus, the friend who is closer than a brother and the Savior of my soul. Other times I cry out to the Holy Spirit, who fills and empowers me to do the tasks Father God has called me to do. Having a distinct sense of who I am speaking to helps me formulate what I want to say and how I want to say it.

2. Thank him.

A heartfelt thank you is always a great conversation starter. Like any parent, God loves to see that we have grateful hearts. But more importantly, as we take the time to praise God for all He has done in the past — the answered prayers, the impossible situations overcome, the healings and grace — our faith to believe for even greater answers to prayer grows stronger and more confident. Praise opens the gates of heaven and should always be part of our alone time with God.

3. Ask for God’s will.

The Lord’s Prayer is not the only place where Jesus role-modeled a heart of obedience and submission to the will of God over his own desires and needs. In the Garden of Gethsemane, only hours before Jesus’ crucifixion, he would once again pray, “not my will, but yours be done.” In a world where right and wrong are frequently confused and the future is so uncertain, it can be hard to know how to pray or what to ask for when difficult circumstances arise. But the one thing we can know with absolute certainty is that God’s plan for those who love him is good, and the safest place we can be is in the center of his divine will.

4. Say what you need.

In Jesus’ time, bread was a staple — one of the most basic needs of life — and he did not hesitate to ask God to provide it. But we often hesitate to bother God with the little things we need, thinking he shouldn’t be bothered. And when the big problems come, we try everything we can to solve the problem before we think to pray. The Bible says, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” So never hesitate to ask God for what you need in 2020. Your Father in heaven delights to give you good gifts.

5. Ask for forgiveness.

James 5:16 reminds us that if we want our prayers to be heard, our hearts need to be right with God and with one another. If you feel your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, take some time to check your heart.

6. Pray with a friend.

There is power in agreement when we pray in Jesus’ name.  When I have an urgent need to take before the throne of God, I will often call a friend to pray with me.  If you don’t already have one, make finding a trusted prayer partner one of your goals in 2020.

7. Pray the Word.

My mother was a spiritual prayer warrior, and much that I know about prayer I learned from her. I loved to listen to her pray because for every need or situation, she would claim a scripture of promise. “The Word of God has power and is our great spiritual weapon,” Mama would say. “Pray the Word, Marilee. Pray the Word.”

Jesus did the same when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (see Luke 4:1-12). He was the Son of God, but he did not use his divine authority. Instead, he used the authority of the Scriptures.

8. Memorize Scripture.

The most important key to a vibrant prayer life is to understand our spiritual authority in Christ as explained in the Scriptures. The only way to do that is to become intimately familiar with the Bible. Even a few minutes a day in the Word of God will add strength and authority to your prayers in 2020

Your Partner

Rev. I.D Samuel 

The Primate

4 REASONS TO FACE THE NEW YEAR WITHOUT FEAR.

God's Word brings us a comforting promise, along with an insightful command as we face a new year:

 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5-6).

We can live this coming year without fear if we apply these four incredibly wonderful truths to our lives and root them deep into our hearts.

1. The Contentment of His Provision

Contentment is not getting what you want, but it is wanting what you already have. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content." If you know Jesus Christ, you have contentment. If you've got clothes on your back, something to eat, and Jesus Christ in your heart, you're rich!

Do you know why we have fear? Because we think our needs or the needs of someone we love are not going to be met. Or we fear that the things we think are meeting our needs are going to be taken away from us. The deepest need of your heart can only be met in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. The Companionship of His Presence

I don't know what I'm going to face next year. But there's one thing I know, He will never leave me. Are you a child of God? He will never leave you either. Isn't that wonderful!

What's another reason we may fear in the coming year? Because we're afraid we're going to have to face something we don't understand, and we're going to have to face it alone.

When God's Word promises that God will never forsake you, it literally means that He will never abandon you. He will not give up on you. We need to practice the presence of the Lord this coming year. When the devil comes and knocks at you heart's door, you can simply say, "Jesus, please go answer the door."

3. The Confidence of His Promise

We're going to zero in on a little phrase in our verses in Hebrews, "He hath said." A promise is no better than the one who makes it. Who says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"? It is the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. This is the confidence of His promise.

In the coming year, when you say, "God, I just don't have the strength." The omnipotent God will answer, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." When you say, "God, I'm afraid of what is going to happen." The omnipresent God says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." And when you say, "God, I don't know what to do." The omniscient God will respond, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." He himself hath said it.

4. The Comfort of His Protection

Hebrews 13:6 promises, "So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Now, put that with verse 5, which says, "He hath said."

Like I said earlier, I don't know what you're going to go through this coming year. But I know you can boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, so I will not fear what man shall do to me." When you find your contentment, companionship, and confidence in Jesus. Then, you'll find your comfort and courage in Jesus.

Happy new year.

2020 MEGA FORTUNES

Jesus our Immanuel

JESUS, OUR IMMANUEL

REV. I.D SAMUEL

Isaiah 7:14 (written around 700 BC)

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel (Hebrew: עִמָּנוּאֵל meaning, "God with us"; also romanized Emmanuel, Imanu'el; also አማኑኤል ('Amanuel') in Geez and Amharic) is a Hebrew name which appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David.[1]

The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:22–23) interprets this as a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah and the fulfillment of Scripture in the person of Jesus.[2] Immanuel "God (El) with us" is one of the "symbolic names" used by Isaiah, alongside Shearjashub, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, or Pele-joez-el-gibbor-abi-ad-sar-shalom. It has no particular meaning in Jewish messianism.[3] By contrast, the name based on its use in Isaiah 7:14 has come to be read as a prophecy of the Christ in Christian theology following Matthew 1:23, where Immanuel (Ἐμμανουὴλ) is glossed as μεθ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός (KJV: "God with us").

This hymn by Charles Wesley goes on to describe who Jesus Christ is. 

“Christ by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord! Late in time behold Him come, offspring of the Virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity,  

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.”

Jesus our Emmanuel

This is the wonder of the Incarnation. Jesus (the second person of the Trinity) became the “offspring of the Virgin’s womb.” God became man and was “veiled in flesh” even though He was the “incarnate Deity.” Jesus was our Emmanuel. The name Emmanuel means “God with us.” So even though Jesus became man, he did not lose His deity. Hallelujah!!

Jesus Our Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

One of the most blessed truths concerning Christ’s birth is expressed in the lines of Hark, the 

Herald Angels Sing: 

“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as man 

with men to appear, Jesus our Emmanuel here.”

1. What Emmanuel means.

The meaning of the word Isaiah used in this text was understood by Jews but not by Gentiles, 

so in Matthew 1:23 we are given the interpretation: “They shall call his name Emmanuel,  which being interpreted is, God with us.”

a. God with us — He was Deity manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16).

b. God with us — He lived among men revealing God the Father to them (John 14:9).

c. God with us — He is still with us today (Matthew 28:20). Weymouth’s rendering of this 

verse is: “I am with you always, day by day, even to the close of the age.”

2. What Emmanuel does for us.

a. He saves us. He became partaker of our flesh and blood that 100% might die for us (Hebrews 2:14,15). That is why He was named Jesus (Matthew 1:21).

b. He sustains us. Because He passed through the same experiences we have in this life, He is able to help and comfort us when we need it (Hebrews 2:17,18).

c. He strengthens us. The Greek word with used here (God with us) has the strongest possible force. It does not mean “in company with.” It means “together with,” “sharing with.” It implies close fellowship. God is united with us. His power is our power. His ability is our ability. Paul could say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13) for the Lord was with him.

3. What Emmanuel expects of us.

a. We must keep our eyes upon Him. “Looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2); looking at the eternal, not the temporal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

b. We must practice His presence. We may set the Lord always before us (Psalm 16:8). We may keep our minds fixed, upon Emmanuel (Isaiah 26:3).

c, We must walk His way. It does not say, “God walked with Enoch,” but “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:22). Only those who follow the path of obedience to His revealed will can have the blessing of “God with us.”

Conclusion

Joseph and Mary “supposed” Christ was with them on the return journey from Jerusalem, but “found him not” (Luke 2:44,45). Let us never grow careless about the things of Christ but be sure at all times that we have “God with us” — Jesus our Emmanuel

Hallelujah!! 

This shall be your best Christmas in Jesus name. Amen.

I am your partner.

The Primate of God's City Churches  Worldwide.

Rev.I.D Samuel

10 REASONS WHY IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECIEVE

The most unbelieved beatitude in the Bible is: “It is more blessed to give than receive” (Acts 20:35). Is the giver happier than the getter? Surely some mistake e?

1. Giving obeys God’s command

The Old Testament has way more commands about financial giving – who, when, and how much – than the New Testament. Maybe the New Testament writers just assumed that as God had given far more to us in the New Testament – giving Himself to death – that our giving should follow fairly logically and easily. But, just in case we might miss the link, there are clear New Testament commands also e.g. 1 Cor. 1:2

As all of God’s commands are given to enhance our lives, obeying this command will increase our happiness.

2. Giving submits to God’s Lordship

Every act of obedience recognizes that there is a higher authority in our lives, that there is a Lord over us who is entitled to honour and respect. Due to our temperament, personality, or circumstances, we may find some commands relatively easy to obey. Our submission is tested in the areas where our nature and situation make obedience more difficult. For most of us, money is one of those areas. Our wallet is often the last citadel to fall to God’s rule, and even when it does fall, it gets rebuilt and re-secured again all too quickly. If only we could remember that Divine Lordship is not a threat; rather it’s the place of greatest safety.

3. Giving exhibits God’s heart

God is THE giver of every good and perfect gift. James 1:17 As His image-bearers we are called to copy His giving, to be mini-pictures of His infinitely large heart. The larger our hearts (and the wider our hands), the larger the picture we paint of God’s character. What do people think of God when they think of the way you use your money?  

4. Giving illustrates God’s salvation

At the heart of the Gospel is sacrificial self-giving. John 3:16

That’s why when the Apostle Paul wanted to encourage the Corinthians to give more, he pointed them to the person and work of Christ. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. 2 Cor. 2:9

Yes, you abound in faith, love, etc., but “see that you abound in this grace also.” When we give sacrificially, painfully, for the benefit of others, we are faintly and on a small scale preaching the Gospel message.

5. Giving trusts God’s provision

The biggest deterrent to giving is fear, the fear that if I give away too much I won’t have enough for this or that. When we give sacrificially, above and beyond what is comfortable and easy, we are expressing our faith and trust in God to provide for us and our family. This is not an argument for folly, but faith. Many Christians have discovered the joy of casting their crumbs of bread upon the waters and multiple loaves returning after many days. 

Eccl. 11:1. It’s such a joy to see God fulfil His promise of provision when we obey Him.

6. Giving widens God’s smile

The Lord loves a cheerful giver. 

2 Cor. 2:7. It delights Him to see His people gladly opening their hearts and hands to provide for the needs of His Church and indeed of all His creatures. Through Paul, God repeatedly commends and praises those who gave their funds and themselves to Gospel work. 2 Cor. 8:1.

 There’s nothing that makes a Christian happier than knowing that she’s made God happy, and happy giving means a happy God.

7. Giving advances God’s kingdom

Many of us have contributed to Apple in one way or another. We have helped to grow the company from a garage operation to the worldwide empire it is today. And I’m happy about that, as it’s a company that has brought many blessings to the world. But think of what blessing results when we fund the mission of Christ’s church. We are paying the salaries of ministers and missionaries. We are funding resources for outreach, evangelism, and discipleship. But above all we are investing in the spiritual and eternal welfare of people from every nation, tribe, kindred and tongue. Our dollars are changing homes, relationships, countries, and even the eternal destiny of many souls.

8. Giving promotes God’s sanctification

Giving not only promotes God’s work through us, but also God’s work in us, our sanctification. Giving money, especially when it pains us, requires much self-denial and self-crucifixion. However, as every act of giving weakens and even breaks our sinful and selfish nature, the more God’s grace spreads in our hearts. Yes, money leaves our pockets, but sin also leaves our hearts. And that’s a great deal. Priceless actually.

9. Giving testifies to God’s power

Although we are not to let our left hand know what our right hand does, it’s pretty obvious that Christians give a lot to their churches and Christian charities. Even secular observers have noticed with amazement how generous Christians often are with their money. They may not say it but they surely must think it: “This must be the real deal for people to give away so much of their own money. They must believe this stuff. The God they worship and serve must be incredibly powerful to make people so generous.”

10. Giving praises to God’s character

Giving in the right spirit is an act of worship. It is rendering Him a tribute of praise. It is saying. “You gave me everything and here is a small expression of my gratitude and praise for all your good gifts. It’s only a token, a sample of what I feel, but you know the heart that lies behind it. As David sang: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits towards me?”. Psalms 116

Giving better than getting?

Do you now see how giving makes us more blessed than getting? We can get so much happiness when we see how God is glorified in our giving and when we see Him bless others through our giving

The 27 Parables of Jesus

List of the Parables of Jesus

The parables of Jesus are found in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and the Gospel of Thomas. We will be studying 27 of the parables found in these texts. In our examination of these stories, we'll consider their literary form and placement within each gospel and the ways scholars of the New Testament and early Christianity have analyzed these texts.

New Testament scholars believe that Mark's gospel was used as a source by both Matthew and Luke, so their versions of each parable can be usefully compared to the Markan version to see their editing [or redaction] of the Markan source (though it also possible that they had access to another source in addition to Mark). But New Testament scholars also recognize that all of the parables were shaped prior to Mark by years of oral transmission among followers of Jesus and communities of the earliest church -- from Aramaic-speaking communities of Galilee into the Greek-speaking world/s of the Mediterranean, where early Christian apostles preached the gospel message they had heard.

Their activities of preaching, studying, worshipping, and learning together radically shaped the ways the parables were heard and told. In turn, the gospel writers we refer to as Mark, Matthew, Luke, and Thomas also reshaped the ways the parables were told and interpreted. In this course, we'll examine the parables as parts of these gospel texts, but we will also consider their life as parabolic stories both before and after the writing of the gospels through which we encounter them. Most important, we shall consider our own contexts as scholars and interpreters of the parables.

The parables are listed below in four groups: first, those that are found in the Gospel of Mark and other gospels; second, those that are found in Matthew (and sometimes in Luke and Thomas), but not in Mark; third, those that are found in Luke (and sometimes in Thomas), but not in Mark or Matthew; fourth, those that are found only in Thomas. See also the Table of Parables and their parallels.

PARABLES OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK AND THEIR PARALLELS

1. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

• Mark 4:1–20, Matthew 13:3–23, Luke 8:5–15, Thomas 9

2. THE PARABLE OF THE SEED GROWING SECRETLY

• Mark 4:26-29 [unique to Mark]

3. THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED

• Mark 4:30-32, Matthew 13:31-32, Luke 13:18-19, Thomas 20

4. THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS

• Mark 12:1-11, Matthew 21:33-46, Luke 20:9-18, Thomas 65

5. THE PARABLE OF THE BUDDING FIG TREE

• Mark 13:28-32, Matthew 24:32-36, Luke 21:29-33

6. THE PARABLE OF THE FAITHFUL SERVANT

• Mark 13:33-37, Matthew 24:42, Luke 12:35-48, Thomas 21, 103

***************************************

PARABLES OF MATTHEW NOT FOUND IN MARK

7. THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES

• Matthew 13:24-30, Thomas 57

8. THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN

• Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:20-21, Thomas 96

9. THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE

• Matthew 13:44, Thomas 109

10. THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL

• Matthew 13:45-46, Thomas 76

11. THE PARABLE OF THE NET

• Matthew 13:47-50, Thomas 8

12. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP

• Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:3-7, Thomas 107

13. THE PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT

• Matthew 18:23-35 [unique to Matthew]

14. THE PARABLE OF THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD

• Matthew 20:1-16 [unique to Matthew]

15. THE PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS

• Matthew 21:28-31 [unique to Matthew]

16. THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING FEAST/BANQUET

• Matthew 22:1-14, Luke 14:15-24, Thomas 64

17. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS

• Matthew 25:1-12 [unique to Matthew]

17b. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

• Matthew 25:14-25:30

PARABLES OF LUKE NOT FOUND IN MARK OR MATTHEW

18. THE PARABLE OF THE TWO DEBTORS

• Luke 10:30-37 [unique to Luke]

19. THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

• Luke 10:30-37 [unique to Luke]

20. THE PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL

• Luke 12:16-21, Thomas 63

21. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN

• Luke 15:8-10 [unique to Luke]

22. THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON

• Luke 15:11-32 [unique to Luke]

23. THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD

• Luke 16:1-8 [unique to Luke]

24. THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND THE BEGGAR LAZARUS

• Luke 16:19-31 [unique to Luke]

**********************

PARABLES OF THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS WITHOUT PARALLELS

25. THE PARABLE OF THE CHILDREN IN THE FIELD

• Thomas 21a

26. THE PARABLE OF THE WOMAN WITH THE JAR OF MEAL

• Thomas 97

27. THE PARABLE OF SLAYING THE POWERFUL WITH A SWORD

THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD Luke 16:113

                               

                             

Question: "What is the meaning of the Parable of the Unjust Steward / Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-13)?"

Answer: The Parable of the Unjust Steward can be found in Luke 16:1–13. The text can be broken down into two parts: the parable (verses 1–8) and the application (verses 9–13). Luke 16:1 identifies that Jesus is speaking to His disciples, but there is a suggestion that His audience is mixed—disciples and Pharisees. Luke 16:14 states that the Pharisees “heard all these things and ridiculed [Jesus].” We also see in verse 1 that Jesus “also” said to the disciples; the “also” would suggest that this parable is connected to the previous three in Luke 15 and that the audience was a mixed crowd of disciples and Pharisees.

It is important to know to whom Jesus is addressing this parable. The parable is for the benefit of the disciples, but there is also a not-so-subtle critique of the Pharisees, as was evident in Luke 15. Verse 14 is Luke’s commentary on the motivation of the Pharisees, and in verse 15 we see our Lord condemn their motives. And what was the Pharisees’ motivation? They were those who were “lovers of money” and who “justify themselves before men” and who exalted that which was an “abomination before God.”

With that as a backdrop, let’s look at the parable. It’s a fairly simple, if somewhat unorthodox, parable from Jesus. The story is simple, but the setting is unusual. In most of Jesus’ parables, the protagonist is either representative of God, Christ, or some other positive character. In this parable the characters are all wicked—the steward and the man whose possessions he manages are both unsavory characters. This should alert us to the fact that Jesus is not exhorting us to emulate the behavior of the characters but is trying to expound on a larger principle.

The parable begins with a rich man calling his steward before him to inform him that he will be relieving him of his duties for mismanaging his master’s resources. A steward is a person who manages the resources of another. The steward had authority over all of the master’s resources and could transact business in his name. This requires the utmost level of trust in the steward. Now, it may not be apparent at this point in the parable (but is made more evident later on), but the master is probably not aware of steward’s dishonesty. The steward is being released for apparent mismanagement, not fraud. This explains why he is able to conduct a few more transactions before he is released and why he is not immediately tossed out on the street or executed.

The steward, realizing that he will soon be without a job, makes some shrewd deals behind his master’s back by reducing the debt owed by several of the master’s debtors in exchange for shelter when he is eventually put out. When the master becomes aware of what the wicked servant had done, he commends him for his “shrewdness.”

In His application of the story in the remaining verses, Jesus begins by saying, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8). Jesus is drawing a contrast between the “sons of the world” (i.e., unbelievers) and the “sons of light” (believers). Unbelievers are wiser in the things of this world than believers are about the things of the world to come. The unjust steward, once he knew he was about to be put out, maneuvered to put others’ debt to himself. He did so by cheating his master (who more than likely was cheating his customers). He made friends of his master’s debtors who would then be obligated to care for him once he lost his job.

What does this have to do with believers being wise about the life to come? Let’s look at verse 9: “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Jesus is encouraging His followers to be generous with their wealth in this life so that in the life to come their new friends will receive them “into eternal dwellings.” This is similar to Jesus’ teaching on wealth in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus exhorts His followers to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19–21).

The term unrighteous (or worldly) wealthseems to strike readers the wrong way. But Jesus is not saying that believers should gain wealth unrighteously and then be generous with it. “Unrighteous” in reference to wealth can refer to 1) the means in acquiring wealth; 2) the way in which one desires to use the wealth; or 3) the corrupting influence wealth can have that often leads people to commit unrighteous acts. Given the way in which Jesus employs the term, the third explanation seems the most likely. Wealth is not inherently evil, but the love of money can lead to all sorts of sin (1 Timothy 6:10).

So, the principle that Jesus is trying to convey is one of a just steward rather than an unjust one. The unjust steward saw his master’s resources as a means for his own personal enjoyment and advancement. Conversely, Jesus wants His followers to be just, righteous stewards. If we understand the principle that everything we own is a gift from God, then we realize that God is the owner of everything and that we are His stewards. As such, we are to use the Master’s resources to further the Master’s goals. In this specific case, we are to be generous with our wealth and use it for the benefit of others.

Jesus then goes on to expand in verses 10–13 the principle given in verse 9. If one is faithful in “little” (i.e., “unrighteous” wealth), then one will be faithful in much. Similarly, if one is dishonest in little, he will also be dishonest in much. If we can’t be faithful with earthly wealth, which isn’t even ours to begin with, then how can we be entrusted with “true riches”? The “true riches” here is referring to stewardship and responsibility in God’s kingdom along with all the accompanying heavenly rewards.

The climax of Jesus’ application is verse 13: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (see also Matthew 6:24). If God is our Master, then our wealth will be at His disposal. In other words, the faithful and just steward whose Master is God will employ that wealth in building up the kingdom of God.
I am your Partner. Rev. I.D Samuel. The Primate. Your faithful partner. Pls share this teaching  with others