SHAPED BY RELIGION OR THE GOSPEL

SHAPED BY RELIGION OR THE GOSPEL

 
Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is John 10:14-15 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me­ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father­and I lay down my life for the sheep.
 
Why do Christians live the way that they do?  Not how do they live because basically they live like other good people, but why do they live the way that they do?  Jesus says that all shepherds basically tell you that here is how you should live, but I am the only Shepherd who does not just tell you how you have to live, but I came to live the life that you should have lived and died the death that you should have died in your place.  So when you come to God in my name, God delights in you now.
 
Religion says that if I try real hard to live right, then God will accept me.  The gospel says that because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; you are already accepted, now live right.
 
In religion you live right out of the anxious hope that if you try hard enough to live right you will move God to bless you and take you to heaven.  It also says that you better live right, or God will reject you.  The gospel says that because of an infinite cost to Himself, God will never reject you, and it makes you want to live right to delight and please Him.
 
A person shaped by religion is shepherded by fear and a whip is what is moving that person to live right.  A person shaped by the gospel is moved to live right out of joy. 
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

A DEBT THAT MUST BE PAID FOR

A DEBT THAT MUST BE PAID FOR

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, 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.

This idea of a debt that has to be paid for, surely if there is a God, can He not just forgive it?  No, He cannot just forgive without a payment.
 
If someone really, really wrongs you, there is a debt.  There is something between you and that person who has seriously wronged you, and it cannot be washed away or ignored.  There are only 2 things you can do with a debt.  You can make them pay it down by hurting, berating or excluding them or by finding ways of making them suffer.  As you see them paying for their debt, you can sense the debt being paid down and at a certain point it is gone. 
 
The other thing you can do is forgive them.   To forgive means that when I want to hurt someone, I do not do it.  When I want to slice up their reputation by talking to other people, when I want to just think hateful thoughts about how they have done awful things I do not do it.  And if I do that, I will find as time goes on that my anger slowly subsides because I am paying the debt down myself.  It is costly and difficult, but someone has to pay the debt. 
 
There is no one on the face of the earth that can face an evaluation of how they have lived their lives.  We have wronged God and our neighbor, and there is a debt that must be paid.  There is a debt that must be paid and when Jesus Christ cried, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?  The Father paid the debt -- Jesus had to die.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

A Violinist in the Metro

A Violinist in the Metro

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt was sent to me by Cammy Bethea, and the Scripture is in the excerpt.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.  

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.  

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.  

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. 

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.  

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Romans 1:19-20 what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities­his eternal power and divine nature­have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

P.S. You can verify this story by going into Google and typing Pearls before Breakfast.