In 1957, a phrase appeared on all United States monies which have never been there before. A year previously, on July 30, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower approved the law which Congress passed earlier that day. In that law, “In God We Trust” was to appear on all United States monies. Because of production times, it would be the next year before the words “In God We Trust” would appear on money for the first time.
The term, “In God We Trust” had appeared before in our nation’s history, but never as an official part of Law. The fourth verse of the Star-Spangled Banner contains the words,
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
As the phrase, “In God We Trust” continues to be printed on all United States monies, in 2005 there was a slight mistake. While printing the quarters, a machine malfunction imprinted the quarters with the words, “In God We Rust.” The faint imprint of the “T” can barely be seen.
There is a significant difference between rust and trust. Rust occurs because of several factors, but we are familiar with rust because of an object not being used or not being cared for properly. As Christians, are we using what we have been given? Are we using our talents? Are we using the blessings given to us by the Creator?
Let us trust in God, not rust in a pew. Let us trust in God, knowing that He has given us today, He has given us life, He has given us our abilities, and He has given us hope.
This year, the 110th anniversary of the Titanic’s dreadful night fell on “Good Friday,” April 15th. The date of April 15th is better known as Tax Day, so the reminder of the Titanic is often overlooked. However, it is one of the great lessons of the past two hundred years.
On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic left Southampton, UK on April 10, 1912, on its maiden voyage to New York City, USA. After stopping at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland, the captain turned the ship toward New York.
As the RMS Titanic approached Newfoundland, the Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912. The ship SS Mesaba had given warning to the RMS Titanic of drifting ice along the path, but Capitan Edward Smith ignored the warnings. A little later, the Titanic stuck an iceberg, buckling the seams in the hull and creating a series of holes below the waterline.
The RMS Titanic was considered to be unsinkable. The name Titanic comes from the gods or the Titans of Greek mythology. However, the term “unsinkable,” when applied to the Titanic, referenced the watertight compartments in the hull. The compartments were designed to seal in case of a hole in the hull.
While the watertight compartments were designed to seal, the interior walls were not designed to hold all the water. As a result, when the outer seams busted, allowing water into five of the compartments. When the bow of the ship dipped forward, the water spilled from one compartment to another. The result was the ship continuing to fill with water, and finally sink to the bottom of the ocean.
What can we learn from this tragedy? Remember Proverbs 16.18, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughty spirit before a fall.” We must be aware and beware of the situations around us and heed the warnings of others, yet we fall.
In 2018, Stacy Edwards and her daughters were in a horrible accident caused by a lady running a red light at 45 MPH. While Stacy and her daughters walked away without serious injuries, the statement of the lady who ran the red light was confusing. The lady at fault made a statement, included on the police report, that she “felt like the light was green.” (Homelife, December 2018)
Can you imagine the look on Stacy’s face as she read what the lady had said? Her life was put in jeopardy because someone “felt like the light was green” instead of the fact the light was red.
While feelings matter, they do not trump facts. In the case of Stacy Edwards and her family, the facts were simple; their light was green and the cross-traffic light was red. When we rely on only our feelings, we risk putting ourselves in danger as well as others.
Take Ananias and Sapphira for example. I am sure that both felt their decision was justifiable. However, the fact was they were lying. The knew the truth, but possibly relied on feelings to guide their path to danger.
Consider these verses:
“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” (Proverbs 28.26)
“The way of a fool is right in his own eye, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverb 12.15)
Your feelings do matter, but we must remember our feelings do not trump facts. As Christians, the facts of spiritual life and given to us by God and we must live by them. (2 Peter 1.3)
John Maxwell made the statement that, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” I believe he is correct.
Leadership is going to, and already is a major topic across the globe and people are realizing it more and more every day. In a recent newsletter from a friend in another country, this statement was said,
“And everything is blamed on the same Ukraine war, even though we know the primary problem is our inept leaders.”
Leaders do not provide excuses, they provide solutions.
Who is leading you today?
The church needs spiritual leaders to rise and shepherd the flock of God. We need leaders who are actively seeking solutions to guide our congregations, by the word of God, into the future.
We need leaders/shepherds who will not shirk from their spiritual duties and becoming entrapped in the world excuses. We need those leaders to seek the solutions found in the word of God and bring that message to others.
We need leaders/shepherds to be in the front leading people. They do not need to inhabit a pew, but they need to be in leading.
Sin is vicious and it takes a toll on a person and the ramifications can be great. In this lesson, I borrowed a few points from John Maxwell's book "The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day." In this book, John Maxwell, makes the points that sin does more than what we know.
The three points John Maxwell makes became valuable points in my lesson:
(1) Sin always takes you farther than you want to go.
(2) Sin always keeps you longer than you wanted to stay.
(3) Sin always costs you more thanks were willing to pay.
As we all know, the Christian life is one of action. James writes Christians should be “doers of the word and not hearers only.” (James 1.22) James goes further in his writings be saying that faith without works is dead (James 2.14,26)
Actions matter to a because, not only is it required, but when Christians act on their belief, it keeps us going. The example of the early church is powerful because, even in the face of persecution, they never stopped meeting (Acts 5.42) and they never stopped serving and growing (Acts 6.1-7). Just as they kept moving, so should we.
During the pandemic, the Giant Dipper rollercoaster in Mission Beach, California, kept on moving, but there were no human passengers. When the pandemic happened and places were shutting down, the staff at Belmont Park determined the rollercoaster needed to run 12 times a day to keep in it good repair.
They wanted to maintain the rollercoaster so it would be ready for its centennial birthday in May 2024. To do this, they would need to keep running the rollercoaster. Instead of human passengers, the Belmont Park staff filled the rollercoaster with large stuffed animals from the nearby games. Videos of the stuffed animal filled rollercoaster circulated across the internet bringing publicity to the park, and the rollercoaster kept moving.
Christians need to keep moving as we press on toward the prize. (Philippians 3.14) Even in the hard times, like a pandemic, we need to keep moving so we do not let our spiritual lives deteriorate. (Galatians 6.9).
