Podcasts

How Blessed are You?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Take a moment and think of how blessed you are. When I ask people to share their blessings, the most common responses are family, job, house, and health. Yes of course, thank you Lord. But do you also think about God’s unconditional love for you? Do you think of His unmerited grace? His mercy and forgiveness? Do you think about His suffering on the cross, and His dying for us so that by our faith in Him, we can have eternal life with God in heaven forever!! Oh My Goodness! How blessed are we, truly?

How do we respond to God for all of His blessings? The Psalmist asks the question for us in 116:12,  How can we repay the Lord for all the great good He does for us? 

  • How about a heartfelt, humble “Thank you, Lord?”
  • How about genuine praise and thanksgiving? Yes
  • And how about by putting God first in your life? First in every area of your life – including in your financial life. 

That is what good disciples do. In imitation of Jesus, we put God first in every facet of our lives, including with our money. Giving is the first category of spending in our budgets. When we do this, we admit the truth that all is gift from God. And in all humility, we give back to God – first. 

Put God first in your life. Put God first in your spending. Give to God first in thanksgiving for all of his blessings. 

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Go and Make Disciples

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

This Holy Trinity Sunday we hear Jesus give us His great commision in Matthew 28:19, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit.” 

Being a disciple is living a life of Stewardship. We become better disciples when we embrace and practice stewardship every day. As stewards, we acknowledge that God gives us everything. Everything is gift from God: every moment of Time, every ounce of Talent, every dime of Treasure. We gratefully receive and cultivate these gifts from God. And we share them out of love for others. When we do, these gifts then come with the fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace. They manifest themselves in how we speak and act. This very way of living Stewardship evangelizes others. Our joy exudes. Peace emanates. Others see this and are attracted to us. They want to know our “secret”.  

The secret is that good stewards are so confident in God’s love that they can’t help but share His love with others. Good stewards trust God to provide and so give of their entire self – Time, Talent, and Treasure – for the good of others. Living stewardship allows us to be a part of something big, something more majestic than our own selfish drives and desires. Live stewardship and be a part of the Church’s mission to evangelize, to make disciples of everyone you encounter.

            Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Pentecost: To each the Spirit is Given for some Benefit

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Pentecost: 1 Corinthians 12:7   To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

We are all, each of us, filled with the Holy Spirit by virtue of our Baptism, and sealed with the Spirit at our Confirmation. It is given to us for some benefit for the good of others. What would your life look like if you embraced that truth and surrendered to the Holy Spirit with boldness and courage? Your life would be so filled with joy that you couldn’t help but praise God and love your neighbor.

A couple of the fruits of the Spirit are generosity and kindness (Gal 5:22). An attitude of generosity is the heart of stewardship. We gratefully receive God’s gifts. We manage them faithfully. And out of kindness, we care about what is best for our neighbor. Our trust in God to provide and our obedience to His word drives us to generously and courageously share our material resources to make sure our most vulnerable neighbors are fed, clothed, housed, educated – in other words – loved. Their lives change for the good. The health of our cities is improved. Our world becomes a better place. If all of us would respond to God’s love, heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, step out in faith and give to the needs of the poor, we would change the world. We would literally renew the face of the earth (Ps. 104:30). 

                                                                                                                                                              Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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What Does it Mean to Witness?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” How to be a witness? What does it mean, what does it take to witness? Let’s approach it this way: 

Take a moment and think about all the blessings in your life.

Family, Job, Health are cited most often, and they’re big and important blessings. But did you also think of God’s unconditional love, His grace and mercy and forgiveness, His suffering and dying on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life with God in heaven. 

Oh My Goodness. It is overwhelming. 

Acknowledging these blessings elicits a response. And how else can we respond but in all humility, give praise and thanksgiving to God. And to give back. To give courageously of our Time, Talents, and Treasure. This is how good stewardship is a witness.

Living stewardship sets a great example for others. People see you doing good which glorifies God (Mt 5:16). They see how your participation in the larger and more majestic mission of the church brings you such joy and happiness that they will want to learn more about how you get that. This is being a witness. This is evangelizing. This is how we are the very disciples who Jesus tells to be His witnesses throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Living stewardship is one of the best witnesses we can make. How does your giving bear witness to God’s love for you and all the blessings and benefits He gives to you?

 

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What Does It Mean to Love?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

John 15:17   This I command you: love one another.

What does it mean to love someone? Jesus tells us in verse 13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We are to put aside our own needs and desires, and be more concerned for the wellbeing of others. 

St. John repeats this commandment in 1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God.” As stewards, as disciples of Jesus, we want to do what God wants us to do. He wants us to love, to love others as He loves them, to be self-sacrificing and other-centered. 

How do you know that you love someone? By how much you give to him/her; by how much time you spend with them. You give to who and what you love. You want the best for them. You sacrifice for them. How does the amount of time you spend with your family illustrate your love for them? Is the amount of time you spend and the money you give to God truly reflective of your love for Him?

Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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