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Men of Integrity, Nov/Dec 2000
Ewald the Obscure
This Week's Theme: Faithfulness to God
Wednesday, December 27
Key Bible Verse: "You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things" (Matthew 25:21b) Bonus Reading: Acts 9:10-19
Years ago at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis they needed a Sunday school teacher for the junior boys. No teacher had been able to control them. This class wasn't bad, just energetic.
They asked Ewald Chaldberg, a Swedish immigrant with a thick accent who worked as a masseur, to teach; he took the class. "He'll never make it," buzzed through the congregation. "Three weeks, and that'll be the end." But Ewald Chaldberg believed that God would overcome his human limitations. He stayed with the class through the years. He kept on teaching boys.
I was invited to that church to share in a service for the tenth anniversary of the death of Ewald Chaldberg. How do you like that—a church celebrating the tenth anniversary of the death of a layman!
At the celebration, they recounted that at least 40 men were in Christian service someplace in the world because Ewald Chaldberg taught boys, loved them and watched over them as they grew.
During the service, 27 lay persons stood up to say, "We're going to be like Ewald Chaldberg in a small way." Ewald found significance because he trusted the Lord who said, "My idea is bigger than your idea."
—Gordon Johnson in Preaching Today
Respond:
What is God calling you to do? Roll up your sleeves and get started.
Thought to Apply:
It is better to be faithful than famous.
—Theodore Roosevelt (26th president of the U.S.)
Adapted from: Preaching Today (82).
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Prayer for the Week |
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Father, I praise you for your faithfulness to me. Help me to remain faithful to you.
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