My wife, Jenny, has certain shows she absolutely loves to watch. And now that we got rid of our satellite service and are just doing streaming and what we get from our external antenna, she can watch these things whenever she likes. Most often it's after a long day of running around, working, getting stuff around the house done, etc. So when I get home, these shows like Survivor or The Amazing Race are on - and, honestly I get sucked into the drama that is on the screen.

But I KNOW that I drive Jenny crazy, because I haven't been tracking the progress of the show like she has. And I'll either come into the room in the middle of an episode - or even start watching an episode, but like 4 episodes into the season - and I will ask, "So what's going on? What's happening? Who is he? Why did she say that?"

And I'm sure Jenny is thinking, "Just watch and you'll figure it out!"

But it would be helpful if she clued me in a bit, right? That way I can know what's going on and can track much better. What's going on? THAT'S how I want to begin today's message, because Exodus is the second book of the Bible. And we're smack dab in the middle of a story, it seems, as we begin our reading. It would be super helpful if we knew what happened in Book 1 (Genesis), where we see the beginning of the story…and not just ONE beginning, but three.

There’s a story of a man who worked with Mother Teresa for a period of time. Every night he would go out with the Sisters of Mercy into the streets of Calcutta and pick up men and women who were on death’s door. They would then take these individuals to a hospice home called Kalighat, where these people who were actively dying would be cared for in their last days. A friend of a friend had gone out there to serve personally and said it was a HARD ministry to be involved with...

So anyway this man who was helping Mother Teresa, after spending a week at this hospice house said to her, “I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars!” And Mother Teresa said, “I wouldn’t either.”

Say what you will about Mother Teresa, she was certainly someone who came to understand that giving of one's talents and time and effort and giftedness couldn't be measure in terms of earthly treasure. What they found to be true about the Treasure Principle is that these principles we have looked at go beyond our financial lives.

This week, I want us to look at what the Bible says about what we do with our time and our talents.