O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways." Therefore in my anger I swore, "They shall not enter my rest."

Psalm 95:1-11

We are not owners of things God made. We are caretakers. Keeping the environment clean is our responsibility. God gave us many wonderful things. Our job is to preserve and protect what He has given us.

By right of creation, God holds the deed to all that exists, including what we possess. He allows us to use the resources of His world for a time. But in the end it all reverts back to Him. Are we being wise and generous caretakers of what belongs to God?

All we own is on loan from God.

Our Daily Bread - December 18, 2004