God Comes to the World at Christmas Through the Unexpected

God Comes to the World at Christmas Through the Unexpected

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is 1 Corinthians 1 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

God penetrates the world through the womb of a poor, unwed, Jewish teenage girl. We know that in those days women had a very, very low status. For example, a woman?s testimony was not admissible in court because of prejudice against women.

God is deliberately working with people the world despises. The very first witnesses to his nativity and resurrection are people whom the world says you can?t trust, people the world looks down on.

You don?t despise women, but you despise somebody. (Oh, yes you do!) You may not be a racist, but you certainly despise racists. You may not be a bigot, but you have certain people about which you think, They?re the reason for the problems in the world.

There?s a place in one of Martin Luther?s nativity sermons where he asks something like, ?Do you know what a stable smells like?? Do you know what that family would have smelled like after the birth when they went out into the city? And if they were standing next to you, how would you have felt about them and regarded them? He is saying, I want you to see Christ in the neighbor and in the type of people that you tend to despise.

Jesus Christ was the judge of the earth who came not to bring judgment but to bare judgment and to go to Hell for His enemies. Jesus says, I lost my glory, I lost my Father, I lost my life, and I lost everything, so that I wouldn?t lose you. The church should be a group of people who love one another for Jesus? sake. So be patient, it? ll take time, but Jesus has the power to transform your heart to love the despised of this world.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Jesus Took the Blame

Jesus Took the Blame

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller found in Nancy Guthrie's book Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, and the Scripture is 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

In all relationships-marriage, parent-child, co-worker-at some point you get into a conversation that goes something like this:

"You're to blame!"

"No, it's your fault!"

"No, it's you."

"No it isn't. It's you."

What's happening? The relationship is falling apart because neither side will take the blame, budge an inch, or make any concessions. Neither side will admit wrong or drop defenses. And as long as defenses are up, the relationship is going awry.

But then something happens:

"You're to blame!"

"No, it's your fault!"

"No, it's you."

"No it isn't. It's you."

"Okay, it's me."

One person drops defenses. The relationship starts to come back because one person is willing to say, "Yeah, it's me. I am to blame here." One person makes himself or herself vulnerable, and the relationship is restored.

There is no way to have a real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt. And Christmas tells us that God became breakable and fragile. God became someone we could hurt, and Jesus took the blame. Why? To get us back.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

In All Your Ways Acknowledge Him

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Dabo Swinney after he was named Clemson's head football coach last Monday, and the Scripture is Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

 

I need to take this platform that I have been blessed with, and I need to thank God.  There's only one reason that this guy from Alabama is sitting in front of you today, and that's because of the grace of God.  I hope people will listen to me when I tell them what my secret to success is.  That is to put your eyes on the Lord in everything that you do, believe in yourself, and you don't quit.  If you do that; you'll know success, and you'll know true happiness.

 

Last week as I knew this thing (of being the interim coach) was coming to an end, not knowing what was going to happen, I got a little devotional that comes to me everyday.  Tuesday of last week the scripture for the day was Revelation 3:8 (I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.  I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.). 

 

I came in Thursday morning and deleted that email, and it shows up again-the same email and the same verse.  So we had our Thanksgiving service that morning, and I read it to the team.  We've opened a door that nobody can shut.  I had a great peace about it, and I pretty much knew that South Carolina was in trouble on Saturday.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

P.S.  To read Dabo Swinney's life story and how he endured an alcoholic father and losing his home while in high school and many other challenges, click on the following link. 

 

http://clemson.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=882281

 

Whatever You Did For The Least of These

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Max Lucado and the Scripture is Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast: infected by a condition he did not seek, rejected by those he knew, avoided by people he did not know, condemned to a future he could not bear. And in the memory of each outcast must have been the day he was forced to face the truth: life would never be the same.

The banishing of a leper seems harsh, unnecessary. The Ancient East hasn't been the only culture to isolate their wounded, however. We may not build colonies or cover our mouths in their presence, but we certainly build walls and duck our eyes. And a person needn't have leprosy to feel quarantined.

The divorced know this feeling. So do the handicapped. The unemployed have felt it, as have the less educated. Some shun unmarried moms. We keep our distance from the depressed and avoid the terminally ill, and the list does not end here.

Never forget how significant one touch can be. We fear saying the wrong thing or using the wrong tone or acting the wrong way. So rather than do it incorrectly, we do nothing at all.

If your fear of doing the wrong thing prevents you from doing anything, keep in mind the perspective of the lepers of the world. They aren't picky. They aren't finicky. They're just lonely. They are yearning for a godly touch.

Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will we do the same?

Champions, have a great week and Thanksgiving!-David Vining

Do Everything Without Complaining

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Max Lucado, and the Scripture is Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

The president of the organization called Women of Faith, Mary Graham, told me about one particular weekend conference in which a shortage of space tested everyone’s patience. The floor had 150 fewer seats than needed, and the arena staff tried to solve the problem by using narrow chairs. As a result, every woman had a place to sit, but everyone was crowded. Complaints contaminated like feedlot fragrance. Mary asked Joni Eareckson Tada, a speaker for the evening, if she could calm the crowd. Joni was perfectly qualified to do so. A childhood diving accident has left her wheelchair-bound. The attendants rolled her onto the platform, and Joni addressed the unhappy crowd. I understand some of you don’t like the chair in which you are sitting. Neither do I. But I have about a thousand handicapped friends who would gladly trade places with you in an instant.

The grumbling ceased.

Yours can too.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

For God So Loved the World

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Max Lucado, and the Scripture is John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

"Free Flight: Rio de Janeiro to Miami, Florida."

I wasn't the only person to hear about the offer but one of the few to phone and request details. The courier service offered an airline ticket to anyone willing to carry a bag of mail to the States.

No company makes such offers anymore. But this was 1985- years before intense airport security. My dad was dying of ALS, and airline tickets were expensive. Free tickets? The offer sounded too good to be true.

So I walked away from it.

Many do the same with John 3:16. Millions read the verse. Only a handful trust it. Wary of a catch perhaps? Not needy enough maybe? Cautioned by guarded friends?

I was. Other Rio residents saw the same offer. Some read it and smelled a rat. "Don't risk it," one warned me. "Better to buy your own ticket."

But I couldn't afford one. Each call home to Mom brought worse news. "The doctor says it's time to call hospice."

So I revisited the flyer. Desperation heightened my interest. Doesn't it always?

When desperation typhoons into your world, God's offer of a free flight home demands a second look. John 3:16 morphs from a nice verse into a life vest.

Some of you are wearing it. You can recount the day you put it on. These words have kept you company through multiple windswept winters. I pray they warm you through the ones that remain.

Others of you are still studying the flyer. Still pondering the possibility, wrestling with the promise. One day wondering what kind of fool offer this is, the next wondering what kind of fool would turn it down.

I urge you not to. Don't walk away from this one. Who else can get you home? Take Jesus' offer. Get on board. You don't want to miss the chance to see your Father.

Thanks to the courier folks, I was present at my father's death. Thanks to God, he'll be present at yours. He cares too much not to be.  Believe in him and you will . . .not . . .perish.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Death has been swallowed up in victory

Dear Champions,

This short excerpt is from my heart, and the Scripture is 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 . . . "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saturday, October 18 I had the telephone call that you never want to hear. “Come home now because your father is dying.” The emotions and adrenalin started flowing, and I couldn’t even think straight enough to pack. I was shocked and unprepared for the news.

I spent Saturday afternoon through Monday mainly at my father’s side, and I was able to share often through tears everything that I needed to say. I shared how much that I loved him and how proud that I was that he was my father. He could not talk back, but the Hospice nurses said that he could hear me and that he could feel my touch.

On Monday afternoon he opened his eyes wide open and was trying to talk with us before he took his last breath. I was able to once again share with him how much that we loved him, I shared some Scripture, and then I kissed him on the forehead. And then it was over.

One of the emotions that I felt was anger, but why would I be angry when my father lived to be 84 years old? Because life was not meant to be this hard or this painful. Until sin entered the world through Adam and Eve we were not supposed to experience this kind of hurt and loss.

Philippians 3:20 says that our citizenship is in heaven. In other words, we were made for another world and not this one. Jesus entered our world of pain, so that we can live in eternity without any more pain. In fact Revelations 21:4 says He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

C.S. Lewis said it best. “I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country (heaven), which I shall not find till after death . . . I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help others to do the same.”

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining