Authentic Christianity

Authentic Christianity

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Bethany Haley, and the Scripture is in the excerpt.

There is a world out there of false faces where we say what we say because we are supposed to say it, and we do what we do because we are supposed to do it. We are who we are because we are supposed to be it, but it is not real. We are afraid to be our authentic selves for fear of the judgments, whispers, and opinions of others, and we try so hard to be who others think we should be that we never know who we are.

In that land of fakeness, we waste so many glances looking around to either compare our selves, families, or marriages with others.....to either seek approval or to one up someone....that we forget to look up, becoming distracted from the only One who we truly need the approval of.

In that land of supposed tos Satan hides, and we never know he is there. It is the Land of Masks, and he has the largest one. If he is able to convince us to become distracted into what we think we are supposed to be, he knows we will never find out who we are in the eyes of the Father.  He knows if we become so caught up in achieving, accomplishing, comparing ourselves with others, then we will fail to see His purpose for our lives: to love God, to be loved by God, and to love others through His example of love....and act accordingly.

The Land of Reality is when we become free to live in the real world which is overflowing in mistakes and ever-abundant with grace with giant hands that pick us up when we fall.  It is in such a World that Christ was born: to minister to the sick - not the well. A world where grace is not a license to sin, but a fuel to feed a longing to please Him -The One we love.

Matthew 6:25, 33 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Father, Free us to live lives in search of being more like you - in pleasing you and you alone. 

Champions, have a great summer!-David Vining

Grace to the Humble

Grace to the Humble

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt came from the book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, Jim Cymbala, and the Scripture is James 4:6 . . . God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

I was so depressed by what I saw-and even more by what I felt in my spirit-that I literally could not preach.  Five minutes into my sermon, I began choking on the words.  Tears filled my eyes, and gloom engulfed me.  With that, I just quit.  It was embarrassing, but I could not do anything else.

I leaned into the pulpit, my face planted in my hands, and sobbed.  Things were quiet at first, but soon the Spirit of God came down upon us.  People began to call upon the Lord – God help us, we prayed.

Suddenly a young usher came running down the center aisle and threw himself on the altar.  He began to cry as he prayed.  I am sorry!  I will not do it again!  Please forgive me!  Instantly I realized that he was apologizing for taking money from the offering plate.

That evening, when I was at my lowest, I realized that God is attracted to weakness.  He cannot resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him.  Our weakness, in fact makes room for His power.

In a parallel vein, people are not put off by honesty, either, and I did not have to keep up a ministerial front.  Jesus called fishermen, not graduates of rabbinical schools, and the main requirement was to be natural and sincere.  I had to stop trying to act ministerial – whatever that was, and what a breakthrough that was for me as I learned to trust God to use my natural personality.  God has always despised sham and pretense, and the minute I started trying to effect a posture of pose, Gods Spirit would be grieved.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Thy Will Be Done

Thy Will Be Done

 
Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Romans 1:22-24 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

To those who object to the doctrine of hell C.S. Lewis asked several questions.  What are you asking God to do?  Wipe out all past sins?  He did so on the cross. To forgive them? They will not ask for forgiveness. To leave them alone? Alas, that is what He must do
 
Lewis points out the truth of Romans 1 – God gives people what they want.  Do you want to be your own person and live without God?  He will let you. Hell is a monument to human freedom.
 
There are two kinds of people.  There are those who say to God, Thy will be done, and those to whom God says, thy will be done.  It is such hell because it is a self choice. Most people have a bad view of hell – people in a pit trying to get out and God laughs and closes the lid to keep them in. Not so. No one in hell is saying let me out because God gives them up to THEIR desires.
 
2 Peter 3:9 . . . The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  We serve a God that would rather die for us than to live without us.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

It is the Sick That Need a Doctor

It is the Sick That Need a Doctor

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by from Our Daily Bread, and the Scripture is Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

I heard about a judge who used bumper stickers to encourage better driving.  He gave two options to people guilty of driving while intoxicated.
 
The first option was to attach this message to their bumpers.  This car owned by a convicted drunk driver.  Almost all offenders preferred the second option:  Enroll in an alcohol treatment program.  The majority of people cared about what others thought of them and wanted to maintain a good image.

The fear of embarrassment applies to other kinds of unacceptable behavior as well.  For example, not many of us would be willing to walk around with a sign on our backs that read something like this:  Danger:  I am a Christian who does not spend time in prayer or Bible reading, I gossip too much, I am too often self-righteous and judgmental, and I am controlled by lust rather than love.

The bad news is that our Heavenly Father sees all of our sins and shortcomings, and we must all appear before Him and face judgment when we die..  The good news is that is why Jesus came.  Matthew 9:12-13 Jesus says, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. . . .For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.  We are all sick, but Jesus took the judgment for us on the cross when we put our trust in Him. He does not just give us fire insurance for the end; but He equips us to live now, and He changes us from the inside out to be conformed into His image. 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining