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.

         It was a minor thing.  It always starts out that way.  A careless driver in a hurry cut me off with their “me first” driving attitude.  It caused me to make a defensive driving maneuver to prevent an accident from happening.  I said something in the moment that was neither faithful nor Christ-like.  And my thoughts certainly didn’t reflect an act of faithfulness to Christ.  I caught myself after the fact, but in the moment, I had some pretty shameful thoughts about the other driver.  That’s how easy it is to slip out of character being true to Christ.

         Being true to Christ can be challenging.  And it requires being born again for any who dare to undertake the challenge.  Our human spirits are corrupt and biased such that treating others with our human tendencies almost always leads to failure.  And if we are to live up to the image of Christ and be true to Christ, there are certain requirements that need to be followed.  For the most part it requires removing any sense of pretense or phoniness.  Our interactions with each other must come from a place of deep integrity where sincerity is not faked but lived into under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  It’s considered spiritually unhealthy to grumble and complain about loving and helping others when that’s the main service project we signed up for.  We have to watch our language to ensure that it’s as Godly as we hope to be and serve the world motivated by the Holy Spirit so that God might be glorified through Jesus Christ.  It’s the image of Christ that we are commanded to live up to and into, so that being true to Christ becomes our single most important act of faithfulness.  It’s how we show the world who we are and who Christ is that brings the power of transformation to broken and lost souls.

• When have you found yourself antagonized by the event of life that caused you to slip out of character as a Christian?
• What were your thoughts after you realized your un-Christian response to the incident?
• How can we move back into faithfulness to Christ after an event that challenges who we are as children of God?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, forgive me when my words or actions fall back into my sinful nature. Help me to grow in spirit and character to be more Christ-like when facing life’s challenges.