{"id":3996,"date":"2026-10-15T13:45:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T17:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/?page_id=3996"},"modified":"2026-10-15T13:49:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T17:49:00","slug":"daily-devotionals-stewardship-starts-with-perspective-by-pastor-ethan-ray","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/?page_id=3996","title":{"rendered":"DAILY DEVOTIONALS &#8211; &#8220;Stewardship Starts at Perspective&#8221; by Pastor Ethan Ray"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Day 1: Who Do You Say He Is?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reading<\/strong>: Mark 8:27-38<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devotional:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before stewardship can ever be practiced, it must be preceded by a question \u2014 not about money, not about time, not about resources, but about identity. Who is Jesus to you? Peter confessed him as the Christ, yet moments later resisted the very mission that defined him. We are capable of the same contradiction. We confess his lordship on Sunday and reclaim control on Monday. Stewardship begins the moment our confession moves from our lips into our lives. Ask yourself today: Is Jesus merely someone I call on, or is he the Lord of everything I am and everything I have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Day 2: The Throne Belongs to Him<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reading:<\/strong> Mark 9:2-8<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devotional:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the mountain, Peter wanted to build three equal dwellings \u2014 one for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah. He meant well, but he misunderstood the moment. The Father&#8217;s voice corrected him immediately. Moses disappeared. Elijah disappeared. Only Jesus remained. This is the pattern of a surrendered life. Career, family, finances, ambitions \u2014 these things are not wrong to have, but they are wrong to enthrone. When we give everything a place but fail to give Jesus the throne, we have built our own version of three tabernacles. Today, examine what sits at the center of your daily decisions and ask whether Jesus truly occupies the throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Day 3: The Word Through Whom All Things Were Made<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reading: John 1:1-14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devotional:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The words John used in his gospel did not come from a quick and meaningless place. He wrote from a real encounter. Having witnessed the transfiguration and having been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, John understood that the man he walked with for 3 years was the eternal Word through whom all things were created. This changes everything about stewardship. If Jesus made it, you do not own it. Your gifts, your time, your opportunities, your breath itself \u2014 all of it originated in him. Colossians 1:16-17 affirms that all things were created through him and for him. The proper response to this truth is not anxiety about giving, but gratitude in surrendering what was never truly yours to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Day 4: Seeing Him Clearly Changes Everything<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reading:<\/strong> Colossians 1:15-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devotional:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, and the one in whom all things hold together. This is not a small Savior. This is not a helper you only call when life becomes difficult. This is the Lord of all things. When our vision of Jesus is small, our stewardship will reflect it. We give and live minimally because we see him partially. But when we encounter his glory, his supremacy, his sufficiency, his sovereignty, everything we hold begins to loosen in our hands. Faithful stewardship is not a financial discipline first. It is a spiritual vision first. Ask God today to enlarge your view of who Jesus truly is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Day 5: Surrendering the Throne, Stewarding the Gift<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reading:<\/strong> Romans 12:1-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Devotional:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul urges believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice \u2014 not a one-time transaction, but a daily, ongoing surrender. This is the heartbeat of stewardship. It is not asking how much you are willing to give. It is recognizing that your life, your resources, your future, and your very breath already belong to the one who gave them. The transformation Paul describes in Romans 12:2 begins with a renewed mind \u2014 a changed perspective. When you see Jesus as Lord, the question shifts from what must I give to how can I faithfully steward everything He has entrusted to me. Today, open your hands. Release control. Let your perspective of Him become the foundation of how you live today and everyday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide Day 1: Who Do You Say He Is? Reading: Mark 8:27-38 Devotional: Before stewardship can ever be practiced, it must be preceded by a question \u2014 not about money, not about time, not about resources, but about identity. Who is Jesus to you? Peter confessed him as the<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/?page_id=3996\" class=\"themebutton\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3996","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P4mgFO-12s","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3996"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3999,"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3996\/revisions\/3999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/darrenschalk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}