IT’S NOT MINE: A 5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide
Based on the Series “It’s Not Mine: A Study on Biblical Stewardship”
Day 1: Everything Belongs to God
Reading: Psalm 24:1-2; Deuteronomy 10:14
Devotional:
It’s easy to walk through life treating the things around us as though we earned them, built them, and therefore own them. But Scripture makes a sweeping and humbling declaration: the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. Not most of it. Not the parts we have not yet touched—all of it. The ground beneath your feet, the home you live in, the paycheck deposited into your account, the lungs drawing breath as you read these words — none of it originated with you. God is not a distant landlord collecting rent. He is the generous Creator who placed everything in your care and said, “Manage this for me.” The moment we begin to treat His gifts as our personal property, we have crossed a dangerous line. Begin today by surrendering the mental and emotional ownership of everything you possess. Open your hands. Let the posture of your heart say what your lips so often forget: it all belongs to You, Lord.
Reflection Questions:
- What is one thing in your life you have been treating entirely as your own?
- How can viewing yourself as a steward rather than an owner change the way you make daily decisions?
Practical Application: Take a few minutes today to walk through your home, your workspace, or simply sit quietly and mentally hand each significant area of your life back to God. Name them one by one and say aloud or in your heart, “This belongs to You.”
Day 2: The Faithful Manager
Reading: Genesis 39:1-6; Luke 16:10-12
Devotional:
Joseph did not choose the circumstances that placed him in Potiphar’s house. He arrived there as a slave, stripped of freedom, family, and the future he had once imagined. Yet within those walls, Joseph became one of the most remarkable examples of faithful stewardship in all of Scripture. He managed what was not his with the same care and integrity he would have given to his own household because he understood that how you handle what belongs to someone else reveals the true condition of your character. Jesus affirmed this same principle, teaching that the person who is faithful with small things can be trusted with greater things. God is not watching to see how much you have. He is watching to see what you do with what He has already placed in your hands. Faithfulness in the small, unseen, and unglamorous assignments is the training ground for greater responsibility. Do not despise the season you are in. Manage it well.
Reflection Questions:
- Are you managing your current responsibilities — your time, your relationships, your resources — as a good steward of what God has granted you?
- Where have you been tempted to be careless with something God has entrusted to you?
Practical Application: Identify one area of your life where your stewardship has grown lazy or careless. Commit today to approach that area with renewed intentionality, treating it as something that belongs to God and deserves your best effort.
Day 3: The Danger of Taking Ownership
Reading: Genesis 22:1-14; Matthew 6:19-21
Devotional:
Few stories in Scripture are as unsettling on the surface as the account of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But look closely at the way God phrases His command. He does not simply say “take your son.” He says take your son, your only son, whom you love. The repetition is not accidental. It is a mirror held up to Abraham’s heart, revealing how tightly he had come to grip the son God had promised and provided. When we receive something precious from God’s hand, it is almost instinctive to begin treating it as ours. We build our identity around it, we protect it fiercely, and we quietly stop asking God what He wants done with it. But the moment we begin to love a gift more than the Giver, God, in His mercy, may ask for it back. Not to be cruel, but to remind us of a truth we far too easily forget: His gifts are never transfers of ownership. They are sacred assignments. Abraham’s willingness to release Isaac proved that God still held first place in his heart — and because of that obedience, God provided the ram. What are you holding too tightly today?
Reflection Questions:
- Is there something God has given you that you have slowly begun to treat as your permanent possession rather than His gracious gift?
- How does the story of Abraham and Isaac challenge the way you hold the most important things in your life?
Practical Application: Write down the two or three things in your life you would find most difficult to surrender if God asked. Spend time in prayer today, symbolically placing each one at the feet of Jesus and telling God that He is still Lord over every one of them.
Day 4: Seek First the Kingdom
Reading: Matthew 6:25-33; Proverbs 3:5-6
Devotional:
Anxiety about material things is not a modern invention. Jesus addressed it directly because He understood the pull that food, clothing, shelter, and financial security have on the human heart. The worry is real. The needs are real. But Jesus points His listeners toward a reordering of priorities. He does not say your needs do not matter. He says your Father already knows you have them. The invitation is not to ignore your circumstances but to redirect your pursuit. When seeking the kingdom of God becomes the driving ambition of your life, you stop chasing provision and start trusting the Provider. This is the second view of material belongings described in my first sermon in this series: not “I work hard to accumulate things,” but “I work hard to accomplish God’s will, and He provides what I need.” That shift in perspective is not passive. It is an active, daily, sometimes difficult act of trust. It requires you to believe that God’s economy operates differently than the world’s, and that His promises are more reliable than your best efforts.
Reflection Questions:
- What does it look like for you to truly “seek first the kingdom” in your current season of life?
- Has anxiety over material needs caused you to lose sight of God’s faithfulness?
Practical Application: For one week, begin each morning by asking God one simple question before you check your schedule, your bank account, or your to-do list: “What do You want me to accomplish for Your kingdom today?” Notice how this reordering affects your perspective on everything that follows.
Day 5: Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice
Reading: 1 Samuel 15:20-23; Malachi 3:10-12
Devotional:
Saul made an offering to God. He was not entirely negligent. But he had substituted his own judgment for God’s clear instruction, and in doing so, he learned one of the hardest lessons in Scripture: partial obedience is disobedience. The prophet Samuel’s words cut to the heart of the matter, no matter what the gift may be that we bring, it must be exactly what God asked for, or it’s rather meaningless. This truth is not limited to the ancient story of a failed king. It lives in us every time we give God something that costs us little while quietly holding back the thing He actually asks for. Biblical stewardship is ultimately an act of obedience. Malachi 3 contains one of the most remarkable invitations in all of Scripture — God tells His people to test Him in their giving and watch what He does in return. It is the only place in the Bible where God extends that kind of challenge. The promise attached to faithful stewardship is not vague. It is specific, generous, and waiting to be experienced by anyone willing to obey fully rather than partially. Do not give God your leftovers. Do not give Him a polished version of almost-obedience. Give Him what He asks for, when He asks for it, and trust that He is faithful to do exactly what He promises.
Reflection Questions:
- Is there an area of your stewardship (financial, relational, ministerial, or otherwise) where you have been offering God partial obedience while holding something back?
- What would full obedience look like in that specific area, and what is the honest reason you have hesitated?
Practical Application: Take a concrete step this week toward full obedience in one area of stewardship where you know God has been prompting you. Whether that involves your finances, your time, a ministry role, or a relationship, do not wait for a more convenient moment. Obedience is better than sacrifice.
This reading plan is designed to accompany the sermon series “It’s Not Mine: A Study on Biblical Stewardship.” Share it with your small group, work through it as a family, or use it for personal devotion throughout the week.