Faithfully Yours Forever

More words of wisdom from Proverbs.
¹⁸ The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe,
but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.
¹⁹ Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.
²⁰ A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
²¹ To show partiality is not good—
yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.
²² The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.
²³ Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor
rather than one who has a flattering tongue.
²⁴ Whoever robs their father or mother
and says, “It’s not wrong,”
is partner to one who destroys.
²⁵ The greedy stir up conflict,
but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.
²⁶ Those who trust in themselves are fools,
but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.
²⁷ Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
²⁸ When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding;
but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.
Proverbs 28:18-28 (NIV)

Made Alive in Christ
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is
“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:8-12 (NIV)

¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Luke 16:10-13 (NIV)

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels^] of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Luke 16:1-9 (NIV)