Thought for November 26, 2024

•  1716: First lion exhiited in America [Boston]
• 1789: First national Thanksgiving in America
• 1825: First college fraternity [Kappa Alpha]
• 1842: University of Notre Dame established
• 1865: Lewis Carroll publishes "Alice in Wonderland"
• 1896: Amos Alonzo Stagg creates the football huddle [University of Chicago]
• 1917: National Hockey League forms
• 1922: Howard Carter opens King Tut's tomb
• 1934: Karl Barth surrenders to the Nazis
• 1942: "Casablanca" premiers
• 1948: First Polaroid camera sold--$89.75
• 1962: First recording session for the Beatles
• 1973: Rosemary Woods testifies she accidentally erased a portion of the White House tapes
• 1983: Brink's robbery at Heathrow Airport-26 million pounds of gold, plus diamonds and cash]
• 2003: Last Concorde flight
• Born: John Harvard, William Cowper, Ellen G White [Seventh-Day Adventist], Mary Edwards Walker [only female to receive Medal of Honor during War of Northern Aggression],  Bat Masterson, Willis Carrier [air conditioning], Bruno Hauptmann [Lindbergh kidnapper], Charles Schulz, Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Tina Turner, Dale Jarrett
• Died: Isabella I [patron of Columbus], John McAdam [Mcadam roads, asphalt], Sojourner Truth, Tommy Dorsey, Aberi Kakomya [born in Uganda, traveled that country, Zaire, Sudan preaching the gospel and establishing churches. Died in 1970 and received a State Funeral]

Probably never heard of William Cowper. Son of a pastor. Mother died when he was 6, brutally bullied for years at school. Studied law and received an important job in Parliament, but suffered from depression, melancholy. Committed to an asylum where prayer was part of the therapy. Reading Romans 3:25 one day, he was converted. ["whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith"] He then wrote "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins; and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stain." 

Thought:

Reading the first two verses of 1 Corinthians 4 this morning. "It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy." When I was practicing law, people would want to create a trust for spouses, children, grandchildren. Or they would want to give a power of attorney to someone to be used in the event they were disabled. Ot they would want to create a foundation to use their funds for charitable purposes during their lives or after their deaths. Then the question--who will be trustee of the trust; who will hold your power of attorney; who will manage your foundation when you are not around. Who can you trust with your wealth and resources? 

In these verses, Paul teaches several points:

• We are stewards/trustees of the mysteries of God and His resources. He created everything and owns everything. He entrusts His riches--both physical and Spirtual--into our hands. We hold these as His servants and stewards. Understanding this truth changes how we view life. I no longer have my house, my car, my bank account. I hold those in trust for Him and use them according to His directions. So when He tells me to give them away, I am not giving away my stuff, but His. I use to tell my 12th grade boys class to imagine that the pastor, Bill Wilson, instructed everyone to bring their checkbooks to service one Sunday. At the time of worship through giving, the pastor instructed everyone to sign a blank check and pass it to the next unrelated person on the pew. Then have the person holding the check fill in the amount and put it in the offering plate. Would it change how generous you were when you filled in the amount--the money is coming from someone else's resources. That is what God has done--He entrusts His riches to us and we are using it according to His wishes and desires, not ours. 
• Notice, that we are not just stewards of the riches of Jesus that are physical or monetary. We are stewards of the mystery of God--the revealed mystery of Christ. We are to steward the gospel, the message of Jesus as He instructs us. 
• Jesus is looking for a trustworthy steward. One who will handle the resources and gospel according to the owner's instructions. Think about the parables Jesus told about faithful and unfaithful stewards. Recall, He gave talents to three stewards and expected them to get a return. 

As I think about this today, I recall foundation boards that I have been on. The creator selected certain people that he trusted to serve as trustees. But over time, the trustees changed and fewer and fewer really knew the creator. Then the foundation funds began to be used for purposes that the creator would never have supported. I wonder if that is how Jesus looks at my stewardship of His riches and His story? 

Stewards must be trustworthy. And we are stewards of the Living God. 

Blessings

Larry