The Watergate Cover-Up

The Watergate Cover-Up

 

The short excerpt is by the late Chuck Colson, and the scripture is Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

 

It was ironically the Watergate cover-up that left me convinced that the biblical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ are historically reliable.  In my Watergate experience I saw the inability of men-even powerful, highly motivated professionals-to hold together a conspiracy based on a lie.  It was less than three weeks from the time that Mr. Nixon knew all the facts to the time that John Dean went to the prosecutors.  Once that happened Mr. Nixon's presidency was doomed.  The actual cover-up lasted less than a month. 

 

On the other hand, Christ's powerless followers maintained to their grim deaths by execution that they had in fact seen Jesus Christ raised from the dead.  There was no conspiracy, no Passover plot.  Men and women do not give up their comfort-and certainly not their lives-for what they know to be a lie.

 

Champions, have a great summer!-David Vining

Needing Purpose In Life

Needing Purpose In Life

 

The short excerpt is by the late Chuck Colson, and the scripture is Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

 

Hundreds of Jewish prisoners survived in disease-infested barracks on little food and gruesome, backpacking work.  Each day the prisoners were marched to the compound's giant factory, where tons of human waste and garbage were distilled into alcohol to be used as a fuel additive.  Even worse than the nauseating odor of stewing sludge was the realization that they were fueling the Nazi war machine.

 

Then one day Allied aircraft blasted the area and destroyed the hated factory.  The next morning several hundred inmates were herded to one end of its charred remains.   Expecting orders to begin rebuilding, they were startled when the Nazi officer commanded them to shovel sand into carts and drag it to the other end of the plant.

 

The next day the process was repeated in reverse; they were ordered to move the huge pile of sand back to the other end of the compound.  A mistake has been made, they thought.  They continued in this way.  Day after day they hauled the same pile of sand from one end of the camp to the other.

 

And then one old man began crying uncontrollably; the guards hauled him away.  Another screamed until he was beaten into silence.  Then a young man who had survived three years in the camp darted away from the group.  The guards shouted for him to stop as he ran toward the electrified fence.  The other prisoners cried out, but it was too late; there was a blinding flash and a terrible sizzling noise as smoke puffed from his smoldering flesh.  In the days that followed, dozens of the prisoners went mad and ran from their work, only to be shot by the guards or electrocuted by the fence. 

 

The gruesome lesson is plain:  Men will cling to life with dogged resolve while working meaningfully, even if that work supports their hated captors.   But purposeless labor soon snaps the mind.  We must do more than work just to survive; we must do work that has a purpose.  Evolution cannot explain this.  Man is a reflection of the nature of a purposeful Creator.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

Couples That Pray Together

Couples That Pray Together

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Andy Stanley, and the scripture is James 3: 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, it's peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.   

 

Considerate means, "I defer to you.  You first."   It's almost impossible to have a bad relationship with people who defer to you and are willing to be considerate. 

 

If you begin to pray together out loud as a couple on a regular basis it will almost instantly begin to surface all of the crud, arrogance, ego, and resistance to God's authority in your life and your submission to one another.  For many of us that are resistant to this, it's a pride problem. 

 

There have been several studies on couples that pray together, and only about 8 % of Christian couples pray together out loud.  Another study was done and came to the conclusion that less than 1 percent of couples that pray together ever got divorced.  Another study was done where the reported divorce rate of couples that pray together regularly is about 1 in 10,000.  Dr. Phil reported this in his book, Relationship Rescue.   The couples that pray together stay together. 

 

Your prayers do not have to be long and eloquent, and make sure that you pray with each other and not at each other.  Also, if you have children, pray together with your children and for your children.  Praying together is intimate, so don't be surprised that as you develop greater spiritual intimacy that it does not enhance your physical intimacy. 

 

Never be critical of your spouse's prayer, and don't go too long without praying together.  Pray out loud, and pray on a regular basis.  If there is something in you that resists this, ask yourself what it is that would make you think that you need to share every other area of your life with this person but this.  Would you be willing to push through the discomfort and ackwardness to pray together out loud on a regular basis?   Men in particular, praying out loud with your family sets a tone that says to your kids that Daddy and Mommy are men and women under the authority of God. 

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining