Thought for December 27

 History:

• 1831: Charles Darwin leaves England aboard the Beagle
• 1840: George Duffield ordained --wrote "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus"
• 1845: Ether first used in childbirth--Jefferson Georgia
• 1892: First college football game between black colleges---Biddle beats Livingstone 5-0 in Salisbury NC
• 1900: Carrie Nation's first public smashing of a bar
• 1903: First performance of "Sweet Adeline" 
• 1932: Radio City Music Hall opens
• 1945: International Monetary Fund established and World Bank created
• 1964: First appearance of the Supremes on Ed Sullivan Show--Sing "Come See About Me"
  
• 2002: Movie "Chicago" released
• Born: Johannes Kepler [laws of planetary motion], Louis Pasteur, Marlene Dietrich, William Masters [Masters & Johnson], John Amos [Good Times], Cokie Roberts, Bill Self [Kansas basketball], Mark Few [Gonzaga basketball], 
• Died: Stephen F Austin, Gustave Eiffel, Amy Vanderbilt, Hoagy Carmichael, Norman Schwarzkopf, Meadowlark Lemon, Carrie Fisher, 

Thought:

The writing of "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" is an example of God's miraculous planning. God took a powerful revival, a Spirit inspired sermon, a tragic accident, a loving tribute, a secular tune and a blind composer to give us this hymn. Dudley Tyng was a leader of a great revival in Philadelphia in 1858. Dudley had taken over the pastorate of the Church of the Epiphany from his father, but his preaching was so direct and his position on slavery so strong that he was forced to leave the church. He started the Church of the Covenant and preached at noon during the week at the YMCA. On March 30, 1858, he preached to 5000 men on Exodus 10:11--"Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord." 1000 men accepted Christ. During the sermon Dudley had said, "I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk that that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God's message." The following week, his right arm was caught in a corn thrasher and he died from the infection. His final statement was "Let us all stand up for Jesus." The following Sunday, George Duffield devoted his sermon to a tribute to Dudley using as his text, Ephesians 6--"Stand therefore." He ended his sermon with a six stanza poem. Copies of the poem were distributed and then published in a Baptist periodical. We sing the poem to two tunes--Webb, a secular tune by George Webb, and Geibel, composed especially for this hymn. The Baptist Hymnal uses Geibel. 

Reflecting on 2022 again today and looking at two verses in Proverbs 11:

25--The generous man will be prosperous.

28--He who trusts in his riches will fall. 

Looking back at this past year, have I been generous? 2 Corinthians tells us God loves a cheerful [hilarious] giver. Have I been generous with my time, my talents, my gifts, my attention, my love, my forgiveness, my grace and mercy? Has my patience been overflowing?  Has kindness and gentleness poured from me in abundance? Has my generosity reflected my belief about the provider, sustainer, giver of every good and perfect gift. Or have I behaved like things were MINE. I sometimes think what it would be like for me to give out of Bill Gates check book--what causes would I support, what ministries would I bless if I was writing checks on his account. Then it occurs to me that I can write checks and give out of Christ's abundance--His grace, His mercy, His patience, kindness, gentleness, joy and peace. That's why in 2 Corinthians 9:8 [the verse immediately following "God loves a cheerful giver."], we read, "God is able to make all grace abound toward me that I always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work." [personalized]. So my ability to be a cheerful giver is based on His ability to make all grace abound toward, in and through me. 

In 2022, did I trust my riches and not trust His provision/sufficiency? Did I worry about my finances, my health, my family or did I rest in the knowledge that He loves me and cares for me? Lord, in 2023 help me to trust you and then demonstrate that trust with generosity--money, resources, time, talents, gifts.

Blessings

Larry