Jesus

Jesus

The short excerpt is by an unknown author, and the Scripture is Luke 2:30-33 But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.  He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.  Then for three years He was a preacher.  He never wrote a book.  He never held an office.  He never had a family or owned a home.  He did not go to college.  He never visited a big city.  He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.  He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.  He had no credentials but Himself. 

 

He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against Him.  His friends ran away.  One of them denied Him.  He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.  He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

 

While He was dying . . . His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth.  When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.  Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.

 

All armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that ONE SOLITARY LIFE.

 

Champions, have a Merry Christmas!-David Vining

 

Authentic Evangelism-Part 2

Authentic Evangelism-Part 2

 

The short excerpt is continued from last week by former Greystone counselor Heather Brown Holleman, and the Scripture is Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

 

Does it bother you that I talk so much about Jesus?  I asked one neighbor one day.  No!  Keep talking about Jesus, she said.  I love hearing about Him.

 

Within a few months, we started asking families to join us at out church.  One family comes regularly, and the wife has become a Christian.  Her Atheist husband joins her at our church and loves it.  He has started to read his Bible daily to learn more about Christianity.  Another family comes to our church once a month because on Sunday they normally maintain a meditation schedule as part of their Yoga commitment.  But just recently, that family asked me to pray in the name of Jesus for the wife to figure out what was making her feel so sick everyday.  I prayed for that neighbor on the phone and in my living room, and that night, I was in my kitchen and I remembered something I had read in a book about thyroid imbalances.  Sure enough, that neighbor was suffering from a hormone imbalance that she could correct.  When I showed her the book, she called all her friends to tell them that Jesus supernaturally revealed the sickness to her so she could get well.

 

There are so many more stories of natural, authentic evangelism happening with our neighbors.  Everyday, the Lord is teaching us more and more about His plan to draw people to Himself.  When our goal is to love our neighbors, God enters into that space naturally.  The initial goal was not to preach the gospel.  The goal was a fitness group to love and serve the neighbors.  And in that place, God has allowed us to preach the gospel.  We have learned to listen to others stories, ask good questions, remain silent until God prompts us to speak, and to openly share with others-as if they already were believers-the great things that Jesus offers.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Authentic Evangelism-Part 1

Authentic Evangelism-Part 1

 

The short excerpt is by former Greystone counselor Heather Brown Holleman, and the Scripture is Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

 

Last August, I noticed that no children were playing outside in our neighborhood.  They were all inside, playing computer games or watching TV.  I did not want our children to grow up in a neighborhood like that, so one Saturday, I got out the phone book, found families that lived on or near our street, and picked up the phone.  I said this:  Hi, this is Heather Holleman.  You do not know me, but I have two daughters who would love to play outside with your family tonight.  If you are interested in coming to play outside, please come by my front yard after dinner.  I will have jump ropes, bikes, hula hoops, and games for them.

 

I left so many messages.  I was not sure what would happen.  Well that night, 11 children and their parents came to our front yard.  I taught our children how to play the old neighborhood games we grew up with.  We decided to invite these children and their parents to come every night after dinner for one hour.  And they came!  Families bought bikes for their children for the first time, and one Dad cut rope from his garage for the children to have a long jumping rope.

 

When it got too dark as Autumn approached, we moved our gathering time up.  And when it got too cold, we decided to mover our fitness group into our basement for dancing and exercise.  As a group, we decided to commit to healthy eating, good habits, and exercise.  We pledged to walk to school every day-a one mile walk-and we made t-shirts to celebrate the 100 miles on the 100^th day of school.  Those children were honored in the local newspaper and in a big school assembly.

 

Fitness was the goal.  Getting children to play outside was my vision.  But God did so much more.  Those families involved in the neighborhood fitness group became fast friends.  We planned monthly potlucks, the dads planned a guys night, and the women had a ladies night.  We have Atheist, Agnostic, New Age, and Buddhist families.  When you spend that much time with people who do not know Jesus, it is impossible not to share your love of Christ with them.  For the first time in our lives, we experienced what natural, authentic evangelism looks like.  We just talk to our neighbors about Jesus because He is so important to us.  We share what we are learning when we read the Bible, and we talk about ways God answers prayer.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

Deep Friendship

Deep Friendship

 

Dear Champions, 

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the scripture is John 15:12-14 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

 

If you say, I do not think that anyone should convert other people; what you are saying is, My view of God is better than your view, and your view is narrow.  You are doing the very thing at that moment that you are forbidding that person to do.  You are saying, Do not say that your view of God is better than someone else; but when you say, Do not claim that you have superior truth and all of that,  you are actually refusing to do the very thing that you are making other people do.  You are saying, I have a view of spiritual reality that is better than your view of spiritual reality. 

 

There is always a certain exclusivity in your beliefs about God because everybody has beliefs about God even if you are an agnostic.  You are betting your whole life on your belief that there is not one or that you do not need to know one.  Everybody is basing their life and their eternity on that view of God, and everybody thinks that their take on spiritual reality is better than other people.  You also think that the world would be better off if more people believed like you do.  There is nothing wrong with that. 

 

Here is what is wrong.  How do you treat people who differ from you?  If you hate bigots, do you not feel superior to them?  Then you are a bigot.  If you are deeply religious and you only love people who love or believe just like you or who are moving in that direction, why would anyone want to believe or convert to your view of God? 

 

The most transforming thing that facilitates an encounter with God is unconditional love in a powerful friendship.  If you love people in deep friendship regardless of what they believe, what you believe is going to look pretty credible.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Debt

The Debt

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. . . .

 

If someone really, really wrongs you; I would suggest there is a debt between you and that person, and it cannot be washed away or ignored.  One thing that you can do with a debt is to can make the other person pay the debt down by hurting them and by finding ways to make them suffer.  As you see them paying for the debt, you can sense that it is being paid down and at a certain point it is gone. 

 

The other thing you can do is to forgive them.  To forgive means that when I want to hurt someone, 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 when a real wrong is done, it does not just go away and it cannot just be just forgiven without someone paying for the debt.  Someone has to pay the debt or the barrier is there.

 

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 for us -- Jesus had to die.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Filthy Rich!

Filthy Rich

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Francis Chan from his book Crazy Love, and the scripture is James 2:5 Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

 

Ronnie, a blind boy who lives in eastern Uganda, is unique not because of his circumstances or the fact that he is blind, but because of his love for Jesus.  If you were to meet Ronnie, one of the first things you would hear him say is, I love Jesus so much, and I sing praises to Him every day!  He possesses very little of what counts in our society, but he has what matters most.  He came to God in his great need, and he has found true joy.

 

Because we do not usually have to depend on God for food, money to buy our next meal, or shelter, we do not feel needy.  In fact, we generally think of ourselves as fairly independent and capable.  Even if we are not rich, we are doing just fine.

 

If one hundred people represented the population of the world, fifty-three of those would live on less than $2 a day.  Do you realize that if you make $4000 a month, you automatically make one hundred times more than the average person on this planet?  We are rich.  Filthy rich.

 

The reality is that being rich is a serious disadvantage spiritually.  As William Wiberforce once said, Prosperity hardens the heart.

 

Jesus said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  He says that it is as hard as a camel to go through the eye of a needle-in other words, impossible.  But then Jesus offers hopeful words:  What is impossible with man is possible with God.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

P.S.  If you have 3 minutes and 12 seconds, go to crazylovebook.com and click on the awe factor of God.

Paved-Over Problems

Paved-Over Problems

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Ron Hutchcraft, and the Scripture is Ephesians 4:26-27  In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

 

The news reported that a paving crew on an interstate in Pennsylvania found a dead deer in their path and they did not remove it and just paved right over it! No one could see it now, but they sure felt it!  It may seem unbelievable that people actually paved over an obstacle in the road, but it happens all the time in human relationships. Instead of dealing with a conflict or a problem, we just pave over it. But everyone is still going to keep hitting that bump in the road, and it is going to keep causing problems until you get it out in the open and get rid of it.

 

God has never been a fan of paving over problems. Throughout the Bible, He consistently tells us to do quick repairs, to deal with things while they are small, to face issues rather than burying them. God recognizes there will be times when we get angry, but there is a way to keep that from becoming a hurtful sin. Do not pave over the disagreement or the hurt. Deal with it right away while it is small, before you stuff it and give the devil something he can turn into bitterness and resentment.

 

Confront in a building up way; not a tearing down way. First, gently explain how you feel, recognizing that your feelings might be wrong. Let them explain what they meant to say or do - often understanding eliminates the issue. Extend to that person who hurt you the same undeserved forgiveness that Jesus extended to you. Then work together on steps that can help you walk together in harmony from here.

 

The things you have tried to bury are like ticking time bombs or toxic waste dumps. The longer you wait to deal with them, the bigger and deeper they will grow. Peace at any price usually means just war postponed...and bigger than it would have been if you had dealt with it sooner.

 

Champions, have a great day!-David Vining

Blaming Others

Blaming Others

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Larry Richards, and the Scripture is Genesis 3:12 The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. 

In Mastering Personal Growth, Gordon MacDonald asks the following question:  Am I blaming others for the things that are my own fault, the result of my own choices? 

This question is important because we have a way of rationalizing our behavior. Sometimes we blame our husband or wife for our sin or unhappiness. Many blame parents, teachers, Satan, or God. But listen to Job 36:13-15 (The Message): Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance, always blaming others for their troubles. . . . But those who learn from their suffering, God delivers . . . .

Other people may complicate your life, but remember—as we stand before God, we are responsible for our own behavior. Acknowledging that, with confession and repentance, brings healing.

As long as a person blames others or God for trouble that he or she brings on him or herself, no healing can take place. The first step toward getting out of trouble is to admit that we are to blame! And the second step is to seek forgiveness.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Intimacy or Blessings From God

Intimacy or Blessings From God

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is mainly by Andy Stanley in his book, Louder Than Words, but the last paragraph is from Larry Crab.   The Scripture is Romans 11:35 Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?

 

You have probably known someone in your past who pursued a relationship with you for all the wrong reasons.  Once you got close to that person, you realized he or she had a hidden agenda.  Do you remember who that felt?

 

How do you respond, internally, to a person like that?  Do you open up and become more transparent?  Of course not.  You become cautious, and you suspect actions and motives.  You rehearse old conversations and think, So that is why he said that.

 

Think a minute.  If your interaction with God is focused primarily on getting something from Him, what does that say about your relationship?  You are not coming to Him on terms that warrant a relationship of intimacy.

 

Still, God listens to our self-centered prayers.  Sometimes He actually grants our requests.  But as long as we see Him only as a means to our ends, we will never experience intimacy, and we will never truly know Him.  For this unique depth of relationship is reserved for those who respect Him, trust Him, and are willing to communicate honestly with Him.  It is withheld from those who dishonor Him by treating Him like a mere vending machine.

 

From Larry Crab:  We approach Jesus the way a child approaches a weary Santa Claus in the mall, who for the hundredth time asks, What do you want for Christmas?  I wager no child has ever pressed close to Santa s chest, looked up into his eyes, and said, You!  I want only you.  No child believes having Santa join him for dinner could bring more joy than watching Santa stack presents beneath the tree.  Do we want the blessing of a better life more than we desire to draw near to Jesus?

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Love Is Willing To Wait To Give

Love is Willing To Wait To Give

 

The first part of this excerpt is from Tim Stafford, and the rest came from several sources.  The Scripture is Song of Songs 2:7   Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires, and Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure. . .

 

There is a LAW OF SEX built into your body that says:  Onward!  Couples go from holding hands to kissing to caressing to intercourse.  At every point, their bodies urge them on.  And once they have reached a certain level of intimacy, it is extremely difficult to go back.  If they want those good feelings, they have to press onward.  Going back to just kissing, once they have gone beyond, seems unexciting.  Making love for the first time breaks a psychological barrier.  And amazingly easily, if you have had sex before, sex begins again.  Surveys indicate that few people who are sexually involved with one partner, are then able to be keep sex out of the picture in the following years.  A lot of people end up with a sexual history that takes hours to tell.  They just keep going with one partner after another.  Each time, sex got easier, each time it meant less. 

 

Too many people abuse the love word in relationships and use it as manipulation or to get an ego rush by hearing those words said back to them.  Love is willing to wait to give, but lust cannot wait to get. Ultimately, love is a commitment of the will, not just a feeling.  Infatuation is a feeling that does not stand over the test of time. 

 

Jesus dealt with sexual sin very compassionately, and the sin that He dealt with most harshly was the sin of self-righteousness and pride.  None of us are getting to heaven on our own record of righteousness, but only on Jesus perfect record of righteousness when we trust in Him.  1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

The Enemy

The Enemy

 

The short excerpt is from Ron Hutchcraft, and the Scripture is Ephesians 6:11-12:  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

Several years ago, there was a blockbuster movie called Independence Day, and it was about an alien invasion of Planet Earth. As this alien force moves across the world, the American military throws its most sophisticated weapons at it, but they cannot stop it. Even the White House gets destroyed, and the President barely escapes with his life. Other countries try to resist with their military, but no one is even close to a match with this invading force. Well, something very interesting happens. The world s leaders begin to wake up to the fact that suddenly they all have a common enemy and it is not each other anymore. Allies and enemies begin to work together to defeat their enemy, and sure enough, they win big!

 

If that movie had a moral, it had something to do with uniting to beat an enemy that threatened them all; an enemy that no one of them could have ever beaten alone.

 

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.  Think of someone in your family there is a conflict with right now, or someone in your church or your ministry that is driving you crazy. Put their name in that verse. My struggle is not against ______.  Your struggle is not ultimately against them, but it is against the devil.

 

The one who is trying to drive a wedge between you and that family member or fellow believer is none other than the prince of darkness himself. But he wants you to think that they are the problem instead of him, and we play right into his hands when we allow ourselves to focus on our differences, on our wounded feelings, on our turf, on our frustrations. 

 

In that movie, until the forces of earth realized that they were up against a common enemy, they fought separately and they lost. God is calling us to wake up to our common enemy and to do whatever we have to do to remove the walls and fight together.  We have battled the enemy separately long enough, and it is time we come together to win what we could never win alone.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Hold Them Loosely

Hold Them Loosely

 

The short excerpt is by Ron Hutchcraft, and the Scripture is 1 Samuel 1:27-28 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.

 

A little boy had been trying for many days to capture one of the little birds that snacked in the family fields. He had tried over and over again to hide in the bushes and surprise one of those birds enough to get his hands on it. Finally, after many failed attempts, he captured his prize. And he could not wait to show his mommy. He wrapped his hands around that little bird and he ran all the way to his house. As soon as the little guy saw his mother, he proudly extended his cupped hands and said, Mommy, I got a bird! He is really cute! But his joy did not last long. As he slowly opened his hands for his mother to see, he noticed the bird was not moving - or breathing. It was one heartbroken boy who cried, Mommy, I was afraid I would lose him, but I held him so tight, I crushed him.

 

The story is just that - only a story. But the mistake the little boy made, well that is not just a story. It is a mistake made by many a mom or dad with a son or daughter they love very much. They held them so tightly that they lost them.

 

We tend to forget that a child is a trust from God; a gift He is given us to help care for, provide for, and develop. But they belong to Him, not to us. So a mom or dad who parent by God s design understand the power of these simple words: love them deeply, but hold them loosely.

 

In 1 Samuel 1 Hannah, the mother of Samuel, God s man to be the greatest judge who ever governed His people, had been unable to conceive for many years. But the Bible says that she kept on praying to the Lord. Ultimately, God wonderfully gave her that much-prayed-for boy, and she named him Samuel, which means heard of God. In Hannah s eyes, the sun must have risen and set on that boy; but she understood that while you love your child deeply, you hold him loosely.

 

Hannah gives Samuel over to the Lord for his whole life.  What a prayer for you to pray each new day as a mom or dad, no matter how young or how old your child is.  For his whole life or her whole life, he/she will be given over to the Lord.  Each day, you give that child back to the One who gave that child to you.

 

When you do that, you can avoid that unhealthy kind of love that crushes a child and often loses a child. A controlling parent, a manipulating parent, a guilt-tripping parent, a shaming parent, a dominating parent - those are parents who will ultimately produce the very results they fear by holding too tight.

 

Love them deeply - hold them loosely so they can learn to fly as God made them to.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Heart

 The Heart

The short excerpt is again from Jennifer Pharr Davis in her book, Becoming Odyssa, to be released later this Fall.  This book is from her first time of hiking all 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  The scripture is 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

 

Before I started hiking the trail, two of my biggest concerns were that I would be bored or lonely, but I think I actually experience loneliness and boredom more at home than on the trail.  Maybe the fact that I was not lonely had more to do with the quality of relationships than the quantity.  In college, I remember sitting in a packed classroom or cheering at a football game in the midst of a massive crowd, yet I would still feel alone.  I had also spent the last three years loathing social mixers.  Traveling around the room and having the same meaningless conversations with different people left me feeling empty inside.

 

The problem in college, and in life, was that there were a lot of people who knew what I was, but they did not know who I was.  No wonder there was so much pressure to look a certain way, when usually the only thing people got to know was someone s outer image.

 

One of my favorite things about the trail is that you did not see your face.  I mean, I guess you could have seen it in the reflection of the water, but there were no mirrors, no vanities, and no places to check yourself out.  I used to think that people perceived me based on how I looked but on the trail I felt like people perceived me by how I treated them, by what I said to them and how well I listened.  I felt beautiful when I made other people smile.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Truth Claims

Truth Claims

The following short excerpt is from Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Luke 23: 34 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

To say, No one should make truth claims because that leads to oppression and is just a power play is the biggest power play of all.   Everybody does make and believes truth claims, and to say that no one should say that they have the truth is itself a power trip and a way of getting on top.  It is not making a truth claim that leads to oppression, but it is what is in the claim.

Several years ago I was absolutely amazed by the reports that came from the Amish community when a man came into the school and slaughtered those little Amish school girls.   We understand that one of the little girls who was killed offered to die for the rest of them.  She said, Kill me and let the rest go.

They did not watch television or movies, so where would she have gotten that idea of dying for her friends?  When it was all over the reporters themselves were amazed that the community and the bereaved families not only forgave the man who did it, but they took up a collection and prayed for the widow and the children of the man who did it. 

Now by anyone s definition the Amish are fundamentalists, and they believe that they have the truth.  Have you ever heard anyone say, Fundamentalists think that they know the truth, and that leads to oppression?  It did not lead to oppression there, and why not?  Because it depends on what the fundamental is?  The fundamental in this case is a man dying on a cross for his enemies-a man with whose last breath blesses the people around him and prays for their forgiveness.  If you take that into the very center of your life, then you begin to see that it is not truth claims that lead to oppression and erode freedom but what is in the truth claim.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

We Reap What We Sow

We Reap What We Sow

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Andy Stanley in his book, The Best Question Ever, and the Scripture is Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

 

Nothing has stolen more dreams, dashed more hopes, broken up more families, and messed up more people psychologically than our propensity to disregard God s commands regarding sexual purity.  Their results are predictable, but most people think that their outcome will be the exception.

 

In my chiropractor s waiting room I struck up a conversation with a woman whose son was reading a book I had read, and she asked me if I was a teacher.  When I informed her that I was a pastor, she launched into a detailed account of her unfaithful husband and subsequent divorce.  When she mentioned that her husband had run off with his younger secretary, she went on to talk about how quickly he had married his mistress and how difficult it was to find a job that left her with the flexibility she needed to raise their middle-school-aged son.

 

I shook my head and said, Well, let me assure you of one thing:  Your husband is far more miserable than you will ever be. She looked confused, as did the other people in the waiting room who were pretending not to listen.  What do you mean by that? She asked.

 

Well, pretty soon your ex s new wife is going to want to start a family, but he is not going to want to do that because he already did that once.  She is going to be upset, and either way he goes, he is not going to get what he wants.  One day he is going to wake up and realize that he is stuck.

 

Immediately, the guy to my left, whose nose had been buried in his newspaper, blurted out, You got that right!  Apparently I had hit a nerve.  But since I had already opened up one can of worms, I just ignored his comment and focused on my new friend.

 

She sat up a little straighter and actually smiled at the thought of her ex suffering for a change.  You know, I did not think about that, but I bet that you are right.  And he is definitely not going to want to start another family.  Then she turned and said, But how did you know all of that?

 

I am a pastor, I said.  I have seen this played out more times than I can count.  Solomon was right.  There is nothing new under the sun.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Being Still

Being Still

 

The short excerpt is from Jennifer Pharr Davis in her book, Becoming Odyssa, to be released later this Fall.  This book is from her first time of hiking all 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  The short excerpt is Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

 

Being still was a relatively new concept for me.  I could not remember much stillness in my pre-trail life.  And the times I do remember were highly uncomfortable.  My whole life had been spent feeling like I should be doing something.  I learned that I did not need much to be entertained.  I did not need loud music, bright lights, or TV.  I just needed to be still.

 

Until now, I had not been okay just being, I had to be doing.  Everything was part of a schedule, a routine, a constantly flowing series of commitments.  I never stopped after I finished an activity, I just looked ahead and prepared for whatever came next.  I started to think about how many different things I used to do in a day.  I would schedule myself to the max, and the only free time I would leave was taken up with getting from one commitment to the next.

 

On the trail, all I had to do was walk.  It was up to me how far I wanted to walk and where I wanted to end up.  I could stop when I wanted, I could eat when I wanted, I could take naps at any point during the day.  The trail allowed me to feel a strong sense of freedom, and it helped me to see the oppression of a busy schedule and the multi-tasking required by civilization.  I no longer saw what was civil about filling my life with commitments if I could not stop to watch the sunset or listen to the birds sing.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Success Screams At You

Success Screams At You

 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller of New York City, and the Scripture verses Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
 
Adversity and blessings can show you the idols of your heart.  Cynthia Hymal used to write for the Village Voice, and she lived in New York City for many years and got to know a lot of people when they were struggling artists, actors and actresses.  Afterwards some of these people would hit it big and become celebrities, so she knew a lot of people before and after.  Here is what she says about celebrities.
 
I pity celebrities, I really do.  Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Barbara Streisand were once perfectly pleasant human beings, but now their wrath is awful.  I think when God wants to play a really rotten little joke on you, He grants you your deepest wish and giggles merrily when you want to kill yourself.  Sly, Bruce and Barbara wanted fame; and the morning after each of them became famous, they wanted to take an overdose.  Why?  That giant thing that they were striving for, that famed thing that was going to make everything okay and make their lives bearable and provide them with personal fulfillment and happiness had happened, and they were still them.  The disillusionment turned them howling and insufferable.

Now Cynthia Hymal is not right about God playing a rotten, dirty trick on you.  However, unless you are delighting yourself in the Lord, certainly she is right in saying that the worst thing that God can do to you (see Romans 1:24-32) is to give you the desires of your heart.  Very few of us get the ultimate success, but the few who do are absolutely appalled.  There is an awful lot of dysfunction and unhappiness amongst the very elite, and there are all sorts of studies that prove it.  Why would that be?  The few of us who do make it to the very top suddenly see something that is appalling.  There is something so wrong with the human soul, a vacuum so big that you can put in 3 million dollars, 10 million dollars, you can become the biggest star and celebrity in the world, and you still are not going to be happy.  It still will not fulfill you and be enough. 

When you realize that you begin to ask yourself what in the world will ever satisfy me?  The Bible says that the hole is God shaped, and therefore success screams at you that you need God. 

Champions, have a great summer!-David Vining

What Makes You Right With God

What Makes You Right With God

 
Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith­and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God­ not by works, so that no one can boast.
 
One of the things that my wife Kathy and I have had to do over the years is reprogram people who have moved to New York from places in this country where they were living in strong Christian homes, churches and cultures.  They move to New York, and they go through a crisis.  They say, I am meeting atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus,  Muslims and many people who are kinder, wiser, more decent, more respectful and better people than the Christians I know.  I am having a crisis.
 
Here is what we have to say.  All of the religions and philosophies of the world and every basis of every identity says that what makes you right with God is things that you have done.  Christianity, on the other hand, says that what makes you right with God is things that He has done. What that means is that you expect to find people that are not Christians that believe very different things who are better, wiser, gentler and more generous than you.   If that shocks you, it shows that you really thought that the reason that you were right with God is that you were kinder, gentler, wiser and more generous, and you had an identity that did not understand the doctrine of grace.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
 

Doing What is Right

Doing What is Right

Dear Champions,

The excerpt is by Dr. David Cox, and the Scripture is in the excerpt.

Everyone likes to be liked, and it is biblical to be in good standing with our peers.  In fact, the Bible says about young Jesus that He grew in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52)  One sign of a good leader, however, is the willingness to make the hard decisions that you know will be unpopular and unfavorable.

Popularity is something that most people desire but not something that can be used as the guiding light when making difficult decisions.  It can be very tempting, however, to make decisions based on how others will react because of the accolades and positive cheers of those around us.

Herod ruled Galilee and imprisoned John the Baptizer for John s strong preaching and stand against adultery. Entertaining the Who s Who Crowd of Galilee at his own birthday party, Herod beheaded John even though he knew he should not do so.  He was very sorry that he had put himself in such a position.  He was king, and he could have done anything he wanted. So why did he go through with the beheading?  Because of his dinner guests. (Mark 6:26)  He had publicly promised his niece whatever... Subsequently, she had asked for John s head.  Feeling that he must save face and please his guests, Herod had it done.  He was a king but not a leader.  He pandered to the crowd in his royal workplace instead of doing what was right and sensible.  In reality, your long-term reputation and credibility take real hits when you make your decisions based on popular opinion. 

At times, you must be to be a leader at the expense of being unpopular.  It does not mean that you are rude or insensitive to those around you, but it simply means to do what is right.  It may be that in the end you really are appreciated for the tough call you made, but even if the admiration society does not show up when you have made a wise but difficult choice, doing what is right carries with it its own reward.  Making decisions based on personal popularity is like eating a bowl of banana pudding with extra marshmallows and vanilla wafers:  it tastes good at the moment but if you make a regular habit of it, you are not going to like the results! 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
 

The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd

Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is John 10:14,27-28 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me . . . My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
 
A sheep is a stupid animal, and they follow one another and lose their direction continually in a way that cats and dogs do not.  But even when they are found they are never happy to be found.  It is extremely difficult to round up a lost sheep and bring it home unless you have a dog to scare it.  The lost sheep rushes to and fro so that even when you find it, you must seize it, cast it down, tie its four legs together, put his hind legs together, put it over your shoulder and carry it home struggling.  The sheep never feels loved when it is being loved, and it never feels safe when it is being made safe.
 
In John 10 Jesus says, I am the good shepherd.  The hired hand when he sees the wolf coming; he abandons the sheep and runs away, but I lay down my life for the sheep.  Jesus is the only shepherd who became a sacrificial lamb.  Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.  Jesus is saying that you can be sure that He will do anything for you because He lost His life and everything so that He would not lose you. There is no better way to intimacy with God than to have something horrible happen in your life that makes you really doubt God s love and go to Him anyway and say, By God s grace, Thy will be done.  When it is hard, pray anyway.  When it is hard, obey anyway.  When you feel like you are being ceased and thrown unto the ground, just say, Thy will be done, and it will push you into an intimacy that you never had because you will have to get to know Him as a shepherd.  If you have been wounded and you say, Lord, I want you to heal me, but it does not look like you are getting healed, then there is only one way through it.  You must say, Evidently God you want a wounded me in this world to do certain things and to be a certain person and to get certain things done that I could not get done unless I was wounded.  What are those things?
 
To say Thy will be done by the grace of God is a way to intimacy with God.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
 

The Encouragement Flu

The Encouragement Flu

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Dr. David Cox, and the Scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:20. We are therefore Christ s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. . .

For the first time in 15 years, I was blessed to be part of a softball team recently.  The season ended this week.  I played for PowerSecure of Wake Forest, North Carolina.  Playing on that team was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had; and an unprecedented experience in my recreational life.

The President and CEO of the company, Sidney Hinton, sent a memo to the entire team at the outset of the season, and one of the goals was to be an ambassador to the community.  This team really went overboard to ensure that they were representing Christ.  In fact, Sidney (the company President and our starting pitcher) said in a subsequent email that it was his hope that our team s play, conduct and demeanor would infect the entire league with the encouragement flu.   Here is what I will remember about this season:

1) Praying before and after every game.  2) Having a 1-9  record for the regular season and having more fun than I have ever had in any one sport.  3) Watching the disbelief of the other team when our team provided them with a cooler of Gatorade before starting play each night.  4) Observing the deep appreciation of the umpires as our team members sought to encourage them and also provided snacks and beverages for them, too!  5) Hearing about a member of another team say that everyone in the league always looks forward to playing PowerSecure because of the great attitude that they display.  6) Watching our Coach, Charles Ligon, give refreshments to the official scorekeeper before every game.  7) Being a part of team that did their best but also kept a sense of humor in the midst of losing most games and making a lot of errors...and I committed my fair share of those errors!  8)  Seeing a sports team really make an impact on the lives of everyone in the league!  I witnessed what I believe to be the early signs of transformation in the hearts of some!

Ambassadors to the community for Christ s sake: Mission accomplished, in my personal opinion!  Recently, in an email to each team member, Sidney wrote these words with regard to the kindness and Christlikeness demonstrated on and off the field this season, When they [the fans, players, umpires, and opposing team members] see the PowerSecure name around town they will have positive memories toward each of you and our company.  That is goodwill and you cannot buy it....you earn it!

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Accepted in Christ

Accepted in Christ

 
Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
Legalistic churches are always saying that you had better perform or God will get you.  Permissive churches are always stressing how loved and valued that you are without talking about the importance and seriousness of sin.  They say that God loves everybody, and He basically accepts everybody no matter how you are.  
 
The gospel instead does not create a legalistic kind of message or a permissive kind of message.  The permissive type of message promotes a person who says, Great arrangement!  God enjoys forgiving sin, and I enjoy committing it!  The legalistic mind set goes more like this:  I know I am in God s will because I am miserable.
 
The marked difference between a Christian and a legalist is that the legalist repents out of fear and anxiety while the Christian repents out of gratitude for what Christ has done for him/her.  Out of the desire to be like Christ, when you know that you are saved, accepted and loved, you have the freedom to repent.
 
If my acceptance of God is based on my performance, then I have to repress how bad I am because I cannot repent if I think that is the basis for my acceptance.  The gospel message is that you are more sinful, evil and weak than you ever dared believe, but you are more valued, accepted and loved than you ever dared hope. And when you know that you are accepted in Christ, it makes you more able to repent.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
 

Refocus

Refocus

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Ron Hutchcraft, and the Scripture is 1 Peter 5:6-7  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

It was one of those early spring days when we looked out the window and saw a bluebird hovering near a rear window on our car just fluttering back and forth running into the glass over and over again. He was obviously confused and disoriented and was going nowhere crashing into the window. My wife said, I will bet he sees himself in the glass, and that is what has got him acting crazy.

Poor bird. When he just kept looking at himself he got all confused and disoriented just like us when we get all focused on ourselves. And maybe that is where you are right now. The stress, the hurt, the load has gotten you all focusing on yourself, and maybe without you even realizing it you may actually be fluttering around emotionally feeling disoriented and discouraged and even crashing sometimes.

In 1 Kings 19 the great prophet Elijah has just come off the most powerful spiritual victory of his life - his showdown with 450 prophets of the idol Baal, where God proved who is Lord by consuming the sacrifice on the altar with fire from heaven. But now the wicked queen Jezebel has ordered a hit on the prophet, and Elijah was afraid and ran for his life and prayed that he might die.  How does such a strong spiritual leader get so low so fast? Here is a clue in what he says to God: I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have...put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. Suddenly, it is all about me.

When it is all about God I am on top of things; but when it is all about me, things are on top of me.  Refocus your eyes away from your great load and back to your great God.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Evil and Yet Loved

Evil and Yet Loved

Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Luke 11:11-13 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!  (Observation:  Jesus is calling his own disciples evil, yet He loved them).
 
Our understanding of sin is most likely breaking the rules.   If I keep the rules and do not cheat on my income taxes or kill people or steal, and if I obey the Ten Commandments, then I am not sinning.  But Jesus is showing us our need to go deeper.  Here is what sin really is.  It is self-salvation where you are trying to be your own Savior instead of letting Him be your Savior.  When you realize that, you suddenly begin to realize that everybody is sinning.  Religious and irreligious people have cornered the market on evil.  Jesus says, Until you realize that your heart is really no different than anybody else out there at all, you cannot be my disciple.  The first stage is that you have to destroy your whole old idea of sin and realize that you are a sinner and that you are evil.  Then you receive God s mercy, and that makes you evil and yet a beloved child. 
 
You are evil, and yet you are His beloved child.  Is there any other religion or any other philosophy or any other way of thinking that says, You are evil, and yet you are utterly loved?  No!  Common sense says that you are either evil; or you are His beloved child, but you cannot be both.  But Christianity says that you are both.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Made For Something Beyond This World

Made For Something Beyond This World

 
Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
 
C.S. Lewis said in his chapter on hope that most people if they really learned how to look into their own hearts would know that they want something that this world can never give them.  There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never keep their promise.  The longings that first arise in us when we first fall in love or first think of some foreign country or first pick up some subject that excites us, these are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning will ever satisfy.  I am not speaking about what would ordinarily be called unsuccessful marriages or trips and so on, but I am speaking of the very best possible ones.  There is always something that we have grasped at in that first moment of longing that just fades away into reality.  The spouse may be a good spouse, the scenery has been excellent, it has turned out to be a good job, but it, the thing that we thought was going to be in the center of it, always evades us.
 
When you finally see that nothing in this world will ever satisfy you (and you will eventually see this), there are only four ways to possibly respond.  You are going to have to choose one of them, and it will totally shape the rest of your life.  You will either blame the things that you have and say that I have got to get better ones (better woman, better man, better job), or you will blame and hate yourself, or you will blame life and harden yourself so that you will never hope for anything at all, or you can blame your theory of reality.  You can say, if there is nothing in this world that ever satisfies me, then it must mean that I am made for something beyond this world.  One response makes you a fool, one makes you a self-hater, one makes you an utterly hard cynic, and one makes you a Christian.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Why Wait

Why Wait

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Ron Hutchcraft, and the Scripture is Isaiah 55:6 ...seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

A storm that roared through our area got so intense that a tree as big around as a car came crashing down on a house in our community. It went all the way through the roof and the house, and it did not take long for the insurance adjuster to come by and give the owner a check to get the damage repaired. She called a contractor to come over for an estimate, and when he asked if she wanted him to do the work, she told him she wanted another estimate first. He warned her that there was more rain in the forecast, but she was determined. She had a similar conversation with a second contractor. Then the big rain came and, of course, poured into her house. That is when she called a third and fourth contractor; both of whom gave her much higher estimates than the first two. Finally, she called in that first contractor who gave her a new estimate as high as the others. He said, You waited so long that the rain came and did a lot more damage, so getting things fixed is going to cost a lot more.

It is amazing how we have a tendency to put off repairs that need to be made in our marriage, with our child, with our parents, in a broken relationship, or in dealing with a problem that we do not want to confront. We keep thinking about how much it is going to cost to try to fix things, and we put it off a little bit longer.

Problem: the longer you wait to repair what is broken, the more expensive it is going to be. This is the easiest and cheapest it is ever going to be to make it right, and one day it is going to get so bad that the price of repairs may be more expensive than you ever dreamed.

Postponing the Christ who died for your sin gets more and more expensive; more and more days wasted without the love and the meaning you were made for. We are far away from God because our sin has cut us off from the one person we cannot afford to live without , and I urge that you will not postpone repairing your relationship with God one more day. Getting this settled brings the greatest peace in the world.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Nothing In This World

Nothing In This World
 

Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Isaiah 55:2  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
 
In every single one of us there is a raging, unquenchable and all consuming thirst that leads us to decide that nothing is good enough and will ever satisfy us.  We all have an infinite capacity for boredom and irritability with anything, even the best things.  The more successful you are the faster you come to realize that you have a bottomless pit inside of you.  There is a black hole and an infinite vacuum in you and me, and it does not matter what I put in there.  At first it is great, she is great, or he is great.  Then, after awhile I find fault, and I want to pull away. 
 
I have a large folder filled with quotes from successful people and famous people who after they got to the top, said, I do not know what happened, but I wanted to kill myself.  Boris Becker, for example, the tennis great, looking back on his life said that when he was at the height of his power, achievement and fame, he wanted to kill himself. Why?  Because when he got all those things, he still felt empty.  He said, I had won Wimbledon twice, and once I was the youngest player to ever do so.  I was rich, and I had all the material possessions that I needed.  I guess it is like the old song about movies and pop stars who want to commit suicide.  They have everything, and yet they are so unhappy.  It is true.  I had nothing on the inside. 
 
Like I said, it goes faster if you are successful, but we are all on our way.  Unless there is a cure or a medicine or a treatment or some kind of intervention, we are all on our way to being unhappy with anything and with everything.  Nothing will ever be good enough. If there is nothing in this world that ever satisfies me, then it must mean that I am made for something beyond this world.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Your Word and Handshake

Your Word and Handshake

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by NFL commentator and former Harvard basketball player James Brown, and it was taken from his book Role Of A Lifetime. The scripture is Matthew 5:37 Simply let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

James Brown was a high school All American in basketball, and he was recruited by nearly all of the top teams in the country except for UCLA which was in the middle of their run where they won 10 national championships in 12 years. He finally narrowed his decision between Harvard and UNC. Below is from his book.

After an agonizing and long period of introspection and analysis, the process finally resulted in my selection of Harvard. They offered me early admission, because of my grades and the situation I was in with my recruitment elsewhere, to allow me to effectively end the continuing recruitment process and put it all behind me. I accepted and said that I would attend.

That is when the letter arrived that threw our house into chaos. Any thoughts of being a role model in Cambridge were put on hold when I held in my hands the envelope with UCLA written on its face in deep sky blue and sun gold.

Mom, this is from UCLA. I have to go. I have to at least visit. Pauley Pavillion. John Wooden. It is U-C-L-A. I said it slowly, carefully enunciating each letter, as if she were having trouble with my spelling. It is the mecca of college basketball. They dominate college basketball-they have won two straight national championships and four of the last five.

My mother was unmoved. My father, too, was completely unmoved. They sat me down. James, you have given your word to Harvard. Your word means more than anything, son. You shook hands and said that you were coming-you cannot change your mind now. You are going to Harvard. That was that.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

If I Live Right

If I Live Right

 
Dear Champions,
 
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Matthew 5:45   God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
 
Over the years I have seen people getting completely destroyed by the troubles in their lives, and here is why.  There is a premise underneath our lives that is so deep that we do not even realize it is there.  And the premise is this:  If I live right, my life should go right.   So if your life goes wrong, you either say something is wrong with me and I hate myself because I must be a failure, or you say I hate God because He is not treating me as I deserve.  This premise that if I live right that my life should go right is going to lead you into self-hatred or God-hatred, and your life will be poisoned.  Something has to destroy the premise, and there is only one thing that will.  Jesus Christ was a perfect man and an absolutely great person.  He was a Man anointed with the Spirit, and He was perfectly loving, godly and good.  He went into the wilderness where He was tested and tried; but He was absolutely obedient, and He did it for us because He was living the life we should have lived. 
 
Years later this perfectly loving, godly and good Man ended up on the cross.  He lived right, yet His life on Earth did not end right.  He says, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?  That is the only time in His entire life when He does not call God Father – the only time -- why?  Because on the cross, He was losing His Sonship and His relationship with His Father because He was getting the punishment that we deserved.  Jesus loses the Sonship so that we can have it and so that we can become sons and daughters of God.
 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Let Your Yes Be Yes

Let Your Yes Be Yes

 Dear Champions,

This past Sunday was Valentine s Day, so I wanted to share a few thoughts.

Last week one of my students told his girl friend that he loved her.  My 7th graders know exactly how I think about that. I expect a guy and a girl that are going out or dating that tell each other that they love each other to get engaged and get married. 

Love is a decision and a commitment, and it is not a feeling. No couple will always feel in love with each other because we all get aggravated with each other from time to time. For a married person to tell his spouse that he does not love her anymore is an incorrect statement when you know what the word love really means in relationships. If love is a decision and a commitment, then you cannot fall out of love.

Do I really expect my 7th grade guy to get a ring and marry his girlfriend?  Of course not. But what I hope is that he will stop misusing the word love.  Matthew 5:37 says Simply let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

In other words, mean what you say and say what you mean.  Let your word be true. Say that you love your dating partner only when you have made a decision to be committed to that person for the rest of your life.  You cannot fall out of love when you know what the word love really means.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
 

Have a Great Day!

Have a Great Day!

 
Dear Champions,
 
Psalm 118:24  This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
 
On Friday, January 29, 2010, Jim Daddy Miller, senior director of Camp Greystone, went home to heaven.  Attitude is the key, winners we will be was part of the Breakfast Club song that we sang every morning before he inspired us all with words or wisdom and with corny and sometimes funny jokes.  Never have I met a man that was as positive and as encouraging as this man.  He believed and taught us all that everyday was a great day and that we should make the most of it.  He made it a point to leave every person that he met feel better about him or herself after he interacted with them.
 
Once I was interacting with some students here in Chattanooga, TN, and a woman that I had never met before walked by and told me that I reminded her of a friend of hers from North Carolina named Jim Miller from Camp Greystone.  What a complement!  It was at that moment that I realized the incredible impact that he had on me and on others.  Because of his life, so many of us have been changed, blessed and impacted.  His life of enthusiasm, love and positive attitude left a mark on all of our lives. 
 
I miss my friend Jim Miller, and I am so blessed that I got to know him and become his friend.  May God help us to honor his life by helping us to make everyday a great day and to try and leave people better off after they have been around us.  And in the same way, may our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:16)
 
Thank you Jim Daddy for letting your light shine before me so that we could see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.
 
Champions, have a great day, a great week, and may you feel terrific!-David Vining