StewardLife Lesson 25

STORY:

Remember going away from home for a number of days and closing up the house tight—turning down the heat or shutting off the air conditioning? Remember howheavy and musty the air was when you returned?

People in office buildings have even experienced "dead air syndrome," where health problems can develop due to continuously re-circulated air. Major airlines have been conducting studies of the effect on passengers of re-circulated cabin air and are developing new guidelines. The human need for a periodic infusion of fresh air is unquestioned.

EXERCISE:

Describe how your re-circulated life can (or has!) become stale. How can the Spirit be like a fresh breeze to you? How was St. Paul trying to circulate some fresh air in Acts 28:23-29; and Peter in 2 Peter 3:1?

Look back at the collects (proper prayers) for the First, Second and Fourth Sundays in Advent. In what way are we praying for a fresh breeze?

STORY:

When an old web site closes down and a new one opens, a webmaster will often place a "re-direct" on the old site. It's an automatic forward (seamless to the user) to the new site. StewardLife ® has two domain registrations (at .com and .org) that redirectyou to the site you are on now. A redirect also provides for users to key in an old site name from an old promotional piece or advertisement and still access the main page. That's going to happen with our stewardship catalog (at cs.lcms.org/steward) soon.

Stewards who look with their hearts can see God's redirection in their lives. At the beginning of a new year, we like to think that the old year has closed down and the new year is open for us. For those who live the StewardLife God reveals that every day is a "redirect." The old is gone, the new has come—day after day (Romans 6:4; 1Corinthians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:23-24; Revelation 21:1). Scripture is filled with images of "out with the old, in with the new." Just check your concordance under the word "new" and you'll see.

For Christian stewards, this is another of God's great gifts.

INSIGHT OUT:

Everyone is born into eternity and will live forever, but where?