We have been born of a human legacy of people for whom intelligence and wisdom has been a prized trait.  The list of those who have come before — Socrates, Aristotle, DuBois, Nietzsche, Chardin and others have all added their collective wisdom to the pages of history and intellectualism.  We even live today with those who believe they are smarter, wiser, and more informed than anyone else in the world.  And yet, even with all of the accumulated wisdom and intelligence — including AI — only those whom God has called have been entrusted with the wisdom of God that comes from the Holy Spirit.  It can’t be learned in books, but the knowledge of God can be found in a book.  And it can’t be explained logically.  It requires faith — something that is as invisible as air yet has the ability to move mountains.  It’s not something that can scooped up in a moment of living but requires an ongoing relationship with the One who imparts the Holy Spirit and spiritual wisdom to those who seek it.

         The wisdom we have that comes from God has been entrusted to us as a sacred mystery.  Any act of faithfulness demands that we be true to the Christ who has claimed us as his own and given us the ministry of foolishness — to tell the story of Christ crucified — God’s wisdom to those who are wise enough to believe it.  It’s required of those of us who have been given this trust to prove ourselves faithful and be true to Christ.

• What does “Being true to Christ” mean to you as an act of faithfulness as God’s servant?
• Where do you find you need help in living out your faithfulness and being true to Christ?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Precious Lord, fill me with wisdom from on high that I may faithfully and wisely respond with the mystery to which I’ve been entrusted.

         A story is told of a man named Robert Kupferschmid, an 81-year-old with no flying experience who — because of a tragic emergency — was  forced to fly an airplane.  He and his friend — the 52-year-old pilot were flying together when the pilot suddenly slumped over and died at the controls.  Robert got on the radio and pleaded for help as the nose of the plane began to dive.  Two nearby pilots heard the call and gave Robert a steady stream of instructions of climbing, steering, and — the scariest part — landing.  Emergency vehicles were called out to the airstrip, and after a very bouncy landing, the plane ended up in a soggy patch of grass next to the runway.  Robert Kupferschmid listened to those instructions as if his life depended on them.  It did, and his faithfulness thru obedience saved his life.

         Faithfulness is a two-way street.  In many ways, it’s a call to obedience.  We desire it in our friendships.  When we have a true friend, we expect that the faithfulness to the friendship goes both ways.  And it’s no different in our relationship with Christ.  Jesus has called us his friends (John 15:13-14).  The shift in our personal relationship with Jesus doesn’t eliminate our role as servants of God.  Nor did it change Christ’s role as a servant of God.  And still, a significant part of the role of faithful stewardship is being an obedient servant or at the least, a faithful friend.  It’s in listening to God and being obedient that we can weather the storms and floods of life.

• When has there been a time when your faithfulness as a steward of God and Christ proved to be a lifesaving or life-changing experience for you?
• How can you use this experience as a witness to the mysteries that God has revealed to you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, open my heart and will to become a more obedient servant of Yours. Let my obedience become a witness to the mysteries of faithful stewardship to others as I live true to who I am in Christ.

         Christians everywhere are a unique group of people.  We share a faith that is uniquely different from every other faith on earth. Several years ago, Newsweek Magazine religion editor, Kenneth Woodward wrote: “Clearly, the cross is what separates the Christ of Christianity from every other Jesus.”  Theologian C. S. Lewis shared the same faith, saying, “The idea of God’s love coming to us free of charge goes against every instinct of humanity.  … Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.”

         This is the essential message and mystery that Christians hold against all other faiths.  It’s a message that removes the walls of separation between faiths and brings with it the power to include all people regardless of race, creed, tribe, ethnicity, color, sex, or status in the world.  And while it should be good news for everyone, there are those within the human family that refuse to believe that God would take on human form, sacrifice himself, be raised to life again to prove God’s love for all of us.  It is a mystery that is difficult to explain.  Yet it has been revealed to us by a power that comes from the Creator of all there is.

         Our obligation in being true to Christ is to witness to the truth of Jesus Christ as an act of faithfulness — to continue to act in faithfulness as those who have been entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed to us.  It’s that faithfulness that enables us to be true to Christ not just by word, but in what we do to serve the world in Jesus’ name.

• What might help us trust God more deeply as we faithfully share with others how we have experienced the truth and grace of Jesus Christ in our own lives?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving God, give me the courage to act faithfully to share the mysteries of Christ with which I’ve been entrusted.