Tag: Christian living

  • Mountain Time – thoughts on stewardship

    A cliff face in Manning Park near Skagit Valley Trail - some thoughts on stewardship

    Late last week, we took a road trip to Manning Park for a walk along the Skagit River Trail. We needed some fresh air, some mountain time, and a touch of snow (but not on our streets or driveway). It’s just over an hour’s drive away, so it’s relatively handy.

    I find that when I get out in nature, it often clears my head (as well as my lungs) and helps me “see and hear” God more easily. I took this shot of a nearby cliff face from where we parked. Even through the haze, it’s beautiful.

    That mountain has stood there for a long time. It looks as if it will still stand there for a long time. Yet the face is slowly changing. Erosion and rockslides are subtly recarving the face. We live in an area prone to earthquakes and with active volcanoes; either could totally transform the mountain.

    Even the things we consider rock solid don’t last forever. We live in a broken world that is destined for destruction. The day will come when even the mountains and the oceans will burn up.

    “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”  2 Peter 3:10

    If everything will be destroyed, why bother trying to preserve any of it? Humankind was put on this little blue planet, third from the sun, to steward it.

    And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 

    “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15

    We have been appointed to a God-given task to steward a part of His kingdom. Its eventual disposition is in the hands of the owner, but in the interim, we manage it until His return. 

    I’m reminded of the parable of the talents (or minas) where the master gives the servants responsibility for a certain sum, and there is an accounting when he returns. (Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 19:11–27)

    How well will we fare when the master returns and we face a review of our stewardship? Not well in general.

    I’m not suggesting we all become earth worshippers; that’s a sin. Simply that we could all make small changes to be better stewards.

    What are your thoughts? Have you ever compared our stewardship to those parables before?

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Getting older and the hope of glory

    __________________________________________ 

    Subscribe today 

    Find us on Facebook

    Find us on Instagram

    Visit our Homepage

    Find us on Pinterest

    ___________________________________________ 

    All contents, “Gleanings From the Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2026 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, “Gleanings From the Word.”

    Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living

  • Surprise Encounter – God’s Whispers

    The afternoon was shifting towards evening, one fall afternoon, as I took a shortcut through the woods on the way home and had a surprise encounter. That sounds like the beginning of a classic fairy tale, but it isn’t. I rounded a bend in the trail and came face to face with a large, healthy-looking male coyote. Not the one in the image; this was long before cell phones were invented. I was in my mid-teens.

    I’m not sure which of us was the most surprised. We stood, perhaps 10 feet apart, looking directly at one another, each with a stunned expression on our faces. I’m sure we were both thinking, “Oops. What now?’

    Before I could move, he turned and took off through the brush at a dead run. I stood there still trying to get my head around the encounter. The whole thing lasted perhaps a few seconds, but it felt like we had faced each other for a long time. I felt thoroughly blessed.

    Sometimes, God works in our lives to give us a chance to see the beauty of His love. We can miss them easily if we are not looking.

    Recently, I was chatting with a young couple at our local assembly. Their toddler came up, and when I said hello, she told me, “My tummy is empty.” While we chatted about that and possible remedies, an elementary school student I had just been chatting with interjected and told her there were some snacks in the kids’ ministry area.

    The parents politely thanked her and declined as they were about to head home for lunch. The toddler again rubbed her tummy and reminded us it was empty. The elementary school student then asked for permission and then shared the small bag of snacks she was munching on.

    A few seconds of interaction, but the beauty of the one child attempting to compassionately meet the needs of the other, even sharing her own snack, was a moment of pure and simple love, a moment of seeing God in action.

    People complain that the world is ugly, and they never see God’s hands at work. It’s true we live in a fallen, sin-filled world that can be ugly indeed. The total depravity of humankind and the results of it all stare us in the face.

    Yet. If we look around, He is there in billions of small ways, choosing to speak in whispers. He spoke to Elijah in a still small voice.

    There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9-13

    Why whispers? I can only speculate it’s because when he shows up and does the big things, we want more of the show, and not more Jesus. When he fed the crowds by the sea, most of them wanted more free meals, not their savior. When God fed the wandering Israelites in the desert, they wanted a broader menu. And so, it goes.

    Or maybe because when someone whispers, we lean in closer to hear. That act creates an intimacy of sorts. When we lean into God to hear His voice we are being drawn closer.

    God is speaking, and in the seemingly surprise encounters, we get a glimpse of how good He is and the way He is working in people’s lives. He whispers to us as well in His word as we read, illuminating Scriptures in new ways for us.

    Keep those eyes and ears open, my friends. He is whispering to you.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Check out these posts

    Why everyone knows the truth

    The gospel – the best news you will ever hear

    That Still Small Voice – Hearing God