It's All Pointing to Jesus

It's All Pointing To Jesus

Dear Champions, 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the scripture is 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

The Scripture isn't man's reaching up for God; It is God's reaching down to us.  When people went to John the Baptist and asked, "Are you the one," he kept saying, "I'm not the One.  I'm testifying to the One.  I'm pointing to Something beyond me.  I bear witness to the One.

Every law, rule, text, and passage as pointing beyond itself to Jesus Christ. 

Let's look at the story of Joseph.  Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers.  He's betrayed, and they basically try to kill him.  They sell him into a life of misery and suffering, but he triumphs through it because he trusts in God.  And finally in the end he's ascended to the right hand of the throne.  When his brothers are dying of a famine, he could use his power to save his family and forgive them.  If you read 90% of the commentaries, they see it pointing to Joseph and say, "If I try hard, no matter how much I'm suffering or how much people have betrayed me, I can get through.  If I just believe in God, I can do anything.  If I try hard enough I can forgive." 

If you read it that way, then you will either become smug and self-righteous, or you'll become absolutely crushed with despair.  You'll say, "I'll never be able to do that."

Every part of the Bible is saying just what John the Baptist said:  "I'm not the One!  I'm pointing to Someone else!"

The real Joseph (Jesus) was sold and betrayed by the people who should have loved Him, yet He brought about redemption through His suffering.  Now He's seated at the right hand of the Father, and He has forgiven us.  Until you see yourself as the recipient of what Jesus Christ has done (as the true Joseph) you'll never have the melted heart necessary to forgive other people.  If Joseph is an example, he'll just crush you!  But if he's pointing to Jesus Christ, then suddenly there's freedom. 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Great Paradox

The Great Paradox

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by the late Chuck Colson and is found in Joe Gibbs book Game Plan for Life. Early in his career Colson was special counsel to President Richard Nixon, and he served prison time for obstruction of justice related to the Watergate scandal.  Colson founded Prison Fellowship Ministries after he was released from prison, and the Scripture is Luke 9:23-23 Then Jesus said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
Looking back, I can now see clearly the two great lessons from my life.  The first was the paradox I discovered in prison: If you really want to find your life, you have to lose it for Christ's sake.  After years of success and power, clawing my way to the top, I ended up empty and desperate.  But when I surrendered my life to Christ, I found in prison real peace, joy and purpose.

The second great lesson is also a paradox. God did not choose to use me when I was at the top.  He used me when I was broken at the bottom.  What I did not understand was that nothing is beyond the power of God.  In fact, God chose me precisely when I was weakest and most broken.  Why? Because then my own pride was out of the way and I could never glory in anything I did in the future. And I have not. God has used my life for His much greater purpose-to spread prison ministries around the world, far beyond anything I could ever dream of.  Indeed, He uses the weak and broken to shame the wise and mighty.

This former Marine captain and powerful White House aide thought he did not need God; the convict washing socks in a prison laundry knew how wrong he was.  The great paradox is that God will use your weakness, not your strength.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

God Is Bigger Than Your Problems

God Is Bigger Than Your Problems

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Max Lucado and the Scripture is Numbers 13:30-32 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. But the men who had gone up with him said, We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are. And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.

It helps for us to see God as the one in whom all the affairs of our life fit.  For instance, when the twelve spies went up from Kadesh Barnea to check out the Promised Land, ten of them saw only the size of the giants in the land. They did not see God looming larger than the giants. David, on the other hand, when he saw the giant Goliath, was not afraid of being smaller than the giant because he saw the giant as being smaller than God. If we look hard enough in this life, we will always find a problem bigger than our current one. But if we look with spiritual eyes, we will always see that God is bigger than them all. If you are facing a problem right now that is bigger than you are, look again. That problem nests inside Gods purposes for your life. The problem is larger than you, but God is larger than the problem.

Keep stepping back until God, not your problem, fills your vision.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Mary Glenn Oliver

Mary Glenn Oliver

Dear Champions,

 

The scripture is John 16: 33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." and Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

 

Saturday morning I got an email telling me that my friend, 16-year-old Mary Glenn Oliver, had passed away.  She had taken her own life.  It was a punch to my stomach.  I cried.  I have known Mary Glenn her entire life.  She was beautiful, happy, joyful, kind, thoughtful and unselfish.  I kiddingly told her that I got married on February 15^th because it was two days after her birthday.  This would help me not to forget our anniversary.   She blessed all of us at Camp Greystone!  Her family is amazing!  I cannot imagine a better father and mother than Adrian and Sara Oliver or better siblings than Emma and Joseph.

 

So how does this happen?  I don't know.  I did find out that she had been battling depression the last couple of years.  I had no idea.

 

Here is what I do know.  Matthew 22:32 says, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."  Mary Glenn is living in heaven.  She is not dead but is alive.  Jesus is the God of the living.  My pain is only a fraction of her family's pain.  Their pain is only a fraction of God's pain.  In John 11:35 Jesus wept when Lazarus died.  He knew that He was going to raise him from the dead, yet He still wept.  Why weep for someone when you know that you are about to raise him from the dead?  The answer is perfect love!

 

Sometimes beneath the surface people that we love are hurting, and we don't even know it.  If this is you, please tell someone. 

 

Pam Thum wrote a song "Life is Hard, but God is Good."  Life is hard, but God is good.

 

From the caringbridge website.  Mary Glenn passed away this evening (Sunday, Nov. 26) after a successful organ donation. Her family is grateful that she will live on in the body of others. They appreciate all of your prayers, kind words and support during this difficult time.

 

To the Oliver family, you are an incredible family!  God could not have placed Mary Glenn into a better family on Earth.  We love you, we weep with you, and we are praying for you!

 

Champions, with tears in my eyes, have a blessed week!-David Vining

 

P.S.  You can visit the caring page at the following address: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/maryglennoliver

The Truth Hurts-The Truth Heals

The Truth Hurts-The Truth Heals

 

The short excerpt is by Tom Cnossen, and the Scripture is John 8:31-32 . . . Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

 

I am going to the doctor because my wife made an appointment for me.  I, like so many other human beings, am a classic denier of truth.  I do not want to know, so I avoid it – at least in the physical realm.  

 

I see people on Facebook living in denial.  They think they can keep up destructive addictions, and it will not affect them.  They go on and on this way and when one of theirs dies a tragic death they say, "He is in a better place, or "We will see him someday." We like to think that we can just live our lives the way we want and in the end the Lord is going to let everybody into heaven no matter what we believed and no matter how we lived out our lives.  This does not give me much comfort.  If that is true, think of all the evil men and women you will have the privilege of spending eternity with:  Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Sadaam Hussien – you name it and they will be there if this philosophy is true. The Bible tells me the truth:  If anyone's name was not found in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.   It says: Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.   Heaven is a place where truth reigns forever. No one will be there who does not come to God by the truth (Jesus) and lives by the truth (God's Word).  

 

I am a pastor and missionary.   I am kind of like a doctor in that I am responsible for telling people the truth:  You are a sinner, in this state you will go to Hell, and you need Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  Those are the hard, honest facts.  I am responsible that I present this truth in love and that my bedside manner reflects the great mercy of God, but I am not responsible for what people do with it.  The truth can only heal when it is applied by the person who needs it.  If a man was drowning and I threw him a life ring, he would have to grab it and hang on to it.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Walk On

Walk On

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Alan Williams from his book Walk On, and the Scripture is Mark 10:45  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The one glitch about the Wake Forest basketball team meeting room was that there were not enough seats on the sofas and chairs for all 16 players to sit.  Consequently, there were three or four stools directly behind the sofas-and this is where I always sat.  On days we met, I naturally passed over the sofas and sat on the steel stools.

For whatever reason, this particular day was different.  I walked into the locker room, got a Gatorade out of the cooler, and sat down in one of the big leather chairs.  It was an ambitious move, but I was tired of sitting on the stools.  As I sat down, one of the members of the basketball staff immediately confronted me and said, Come on man, let Josh and those guys sit in those chairs.

I conformingly nodded my head, got up from my seat, and made my way back to my stool.  I did not know it at the time, but Josh Howard happened to be right behind me and had heard my exchange with the coach.  He said, No, go back and sit down.  Alan is sitting there today, Coach.  I will sit on one of the stools back here.  The assistant coach, of course, could not say anything to Josh.  On that day, for the first time, I listened to the scouting report from the big leather chair.  Josh made me forget that I was a walk-on.

Josh Howard was the star of our team and probably does not even remember what he did, but I do.  He played all of the minutes and scored most of the points.  Conversely, I was the walk-on, who rarely got minutes and hardly ever scored points.  To this day, whenever I think of Josh Howard, I never think about the fact that he was the ACC player of the year or that he was a first-round NBA draft pick.  Instead, I think about the one day that he cared enough to give up his chair for a walk-on.

Josh in many ways reminds me of what Jesus did for me.  Jesus had a throne in heaven at the right hand of God, yet willingly and humbly gave up his seat to come to earth to save sinners like me.  And because of this undeserved grace, I am confident that even walk-ons like myself will one day have a seat in heaven-the greatest seat of all.R

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

A Debt That Must Be Paid

A DEBT THAT MUST BE PAID

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 can't!

If someone really wrongs you, there is a debt.  It cannot be washed away or ignored.  There are only two things you can do with a debt.  You can make them pay it down by hurting 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. At a certain point the debt 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. If I do that, I'll 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.  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

Too Busy To Notice

Too Busy To Notice

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt was sent to me by Cammy Bethea, and the scripture is Psalm 46:10  Be still and know that I am God.
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 averaged $100.  

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?

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

From Rags to Riches

From Rags to Riches

 
Dear Champions,
This short excerpt is from an old article.  It is longer than usual but worth the read.  Perhaps it was an FCA article, but I'm not sure.  The Scripture 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

 

Kurt Warner, former NFL quarterback inducted in the Hall of Fame this year (2017), became a Christian shortly after tragedy touched his life. The parents of his girlfriend Brenda, now his wife, were killed when a tornado demolished their home in Mountain View, Ark. They had planned to be baptized that night, but stayed home because Brenda's mother had a headache, USA Today said. People at the church were spared.  Warner watched as Brenda, a Christian, responded to the tragedy with poise and grace rather than self-pity. He also knew how she had dealt with a crippling accident suffered by her son, Zachary, eight years earlier, when he was dropped on his head as a baby.   Brenda sat in a rocking chair next to Zachary's hospital crib for 17 days, watching as he suffered seizures, quoting Bible verses, and asking God to perform a miracle. Although legally blind and brain-damaged, Zachary can read and gets around fairly well.
 
Warner's long road to gridiron success was filled with setbacks and bad breaks. He warmed the bench for four years at the University of Northern Iowa. Finally getting a chance as a fifth-year senior, he led the Panthers to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals and was named the Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year.  But he was passed over in the NFL draft and rejected by the Canadian Football League. Warner took a job stocking shelves for minimum wage at the Hy-Vee supermarket in Cedar Falls, Iowa, while he worked out at a college practice field during the day. A year later he was playing again, but in small-time Arena football, an indoor game using eight players on a side and 50-yard fields. He missed a tryout for the Chicago Bears in 1997 when he was bitten on the elbow by a vicious spider, leaving him unable to throw.  After three years he took a step up. He was signed by the Rams and sent to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, where in the spring of 1998 he led the league in passing yardage and touchdowns.  The Rams hired Warner for the 1998 season, but he played in only one game.  He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, but the new Cleveland Browns didn't want him either. Warner was still with the Rams in 1999, but the team signed superstar-prospect quarterback Trent Green before the season for $16.5 million, and it looked like Warner would be overlooked again.  Green got hurt, and Warner stepped up to take his place. To the surprise of almost everyone, he threw a record 41 touchdown passes, led the league in completion percentage, and took the Rams to the best record in their conference, 13-3. In five months he had gone from being an anonymous bench-sitter to a Pro Bowl selection, and was named the NFL's most valuable player.
 
Warner told his story years ago at a Billy Graham event.  Who am I? I am a devout Christian man, he told the crowd of 40,000.  I am not a football player. That is what I do. When I throw a touchdown pass now, my thoughts are on how can I use this success on the field as a platform to glorify and praise my Lord Jesus Christ.

 
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

We Get the Blessing, He Gets The Curse

We Get the Blessing, He Gets The Curse

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Him sin who knew no sin so that in Him we might the righteousness of God.
 
When you and I disobey the law we deserve the curse.  Jesus obeyed the law, and He deserved the blessing.  But you get His blessing, and He gets our curse.  He takes the curse for our life on the cross, and when you receive Him by faith you get the blessing for His. 
 
If you see that Jesus did this, then you will know that this is the love that you have been looking for your whole life.  No professional proclaim or family, friend, or spousal love could possibly satisfy you like that.  All of those other kinds of love will let you down, and this one will not. 

 
Do you feel like God is abandoning you?  If He didn't abandon you at the cross, then why would He abandon you now? 

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Courage

Courage

Dear Champions,

The scripture is Joshua 1:9.   Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Long time former director and owner of Camp Greystone, Mrs. Libby Miller, passed away earlier this week from her battle with cancer.  She was ready to be with Jesus.  Although we who knew her are sad, she is so happy.

In the summer of 2016 Bill Taylor, Jimboy Miller (her son) and I spent an afternoon visiting with her.  She spoke about the time when she changed Camp Greystone to a Christian camp.  There was opposition and criticism.  She felt firmly that this is what God wanted.  She held her convictions.

That was I believe in the early 1970s.  Fast forward now to 2017!  Imagine how many people have given their life to Jesus because of her courageous decision.  Her life influenced so many and continues to do so.  What an amazing woman!

2 Timothy 4:7 says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Libby, you ran your race so well!  Thank you!

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Greed

Greed

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Luke 12:15  Then Jesus said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

 

Greed is something that's hidden from us.  That's why Jesus has to say, "Be on your guard, and look for it!"  Adultery, for example, isn't as deceptive as greed.  Almost always you know when you're committing adultery, but nobody who's greedy feels they're greedy.  This is probably one of the reasons why Jesus speaks 10 times about money for every one time He speaks about sex!  Spiritually speaking, sex has slain its thousands, but money has slain its ten thousands.

 

When Jesus came to earth, He literally lived in poverty.  On the Cross, He lost His power and glory and His relationship with God.  He lost the ultimate treasure, so that He could pay for our sins.  When we see Him treasuring us at an infinite cost to Himself, we will start treasuring the needs of our neighbors. 

 

Every single one of you and me too has something that you treasure at the center of your heart -- something that you look at to be your security.  Every treasure (except Jesus) will demand that you die to purchase it, but Jesus Christ is the only treasure that has died to purchase YOU! Make Him your treasure, see how He treasures you, and pray that He'll free from money blindness and materialism.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

A Different Perspective

A Different Perspective

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is from Aimee Dube.  This is an excerpt that she wrote years ago when she went on a missions' trip to Peru.  The scripture is Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. 
 
Today my team got to go to the city dump to play with kids.  There are entire families that work at the dump for $5 a day per family and go through trash that has been picked through already. As we drove near to the dump the smell invaded the bus, and I thought that I was going to gag it was so intense. As I stepped off the bus, everywhere I looked was covered in trash.  There were tons of people. I talked with a lady named Rosio who grew up in the dump because her parents worked there.  She said her kids would grow up there as well.
 
Some of the children wouldn't come play with us because they had to go through the new garbage with their parents.  If I was them I would tell my mom that it wasn't fair that all of the other kids got to play.  These kids, with talents, intelligence and personality just like us were born with quite a different set of circumstances, but they accept that this is life for them. They do everything without complaining because they need to survive.
 
It was quite the learning lesson for me to think about my life back in the States. How much do I have? How much did my outfit cost that I wore today, and how much is that compared to what these families make in one month?  We are so blessed, but with blessing comes responsibility. Let's do everything without complaining and without arguing, because really, when you think about it, we have nothing to complain about.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Power To Forgive

The Power To Forgive

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

 

If someone owes you a hundred dollars, either they're going to pay you, or you'll absorb it.  It's one or the other.  The debt doesn't really go away.  They pay it, or you pay it.

 

When you want to scream and shout at someone who has wronged you, don't.   Most of all, when you see them prospering and you want so much to say that's not what they deserve, you pray for them.  You pray for their awakening, for their wisdom, for them to wake up to what they're doing, and you pray for their good.  Look what happens.  Sooner or later, because you're not putting any fuel on the fire of your anger, you will find that your anger will start to go down and you'll be free.  You won't be twisted, and they won't be controlling you anymore.  You won't have to relive the pain, and you'll be free.  

 

Jesus is the Place we get our forgiveness.  Instead of you paying your debt for your sins, He paid it for you.  Put your little story about what people have done to you into the bigger story of what He did for you, and you'll have all the power you need.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Good afternoon Scripture



http://www.feroza.com.tr/sqlyogtunnel.php?isnt=2ypfk7f6ux2tmaxc3


Viningjb

For the Glory of God

For the Glory of God

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller of New York City, and the scripture is 1 Corinthians 10:31  So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
 
In 1981 the movie Chariots of Fire came out, and it was a true story about two British men, Harold Abrams and Eric Little who won gold medals for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics.  Harold Abrams and Eric Little were both setting their minds on the same thing.  They wanted to run and win, but it was for totally different reasons. 
 
When Harold Abrams was asked why he was running he described the 100 yard dash this way.  "When that gun goes off I have 10 seconds to justify my existence." He is saying that if I can only win this race, then I know that I matter and that I can face the world.  Eric Little, on the other hand, was actually praising God when he ran.  In the movie he says, "God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure."
 
One guy is running to praise His Savior, and here is the other guy who is running to become his own Savior.  One guy is running for the sheer joy of it.  It is icing on the cake and if he wins.  His life is already justified because of what Jesus has done for him on the cross.  But here is the other guy who is running in grinding anxiety and fear because he is seeking to be justified.  Even after Abrams wins, by the way, he finds it unsatisfying.  Idols never satisfy.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

It's All Grace

It's All Grace

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 faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

As you read the Bible you see the included and the excluded and the insiders and the outsiders.   The women and sick are seen as outsiders, and the Bible shows them as being embraced by Jesus.  Jesus comes for the excluded and rejects the included, right?  No, we see Joseph who is an insider and a rich man, and he gets it (Luke 23:50-56).  Even the rich, respectable, and moral insider gets it.  What is it?  It isn't your standing or performance or your goodness that merits salvation, but it is all grace.

 

In the history of the world women generally get it before men, the commoner before the elite, the poor before the rich; and the lay before the clergy.  WHY?  We see that success and accomplishment in general brings spiritual blindness.  All other religious leaders overcome enemies and call us to follow them with our strength. Jesus is the only one who is killed by His enemies and wins by defeat and invites those who know they are weak to follow Him.  Christian salvation was accomplished by weakness and repentance. This is totally different from all other religions, and it doesn't make sense to us that the failed and excluded get it faster.  Jesus doesn't favor the excluded because they are excluded, but because of how salvation is accomplished the excluded tend to get it faster or easier.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Under His Wings

Under His Wings

 

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is in the excerpt.  

In National Geographic some years ago I read the following: After a forest fire in Yellowstone, forest rangers began their trek up the mountain to survey the damage.  One ranger found a bird that was literally petrified in ash perched on the ground at the base of a tree.  Somewhat sickened by this eerie sight the

ranger knocked the bird over with a stick, and three tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mother's wings.  When the blaze had arrived the mother had remained steadfast. Instead of running she just stayed put.  She had been willing to die so that those under the cover of her wings would live.
 Jesus said , "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how I have wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing." (Matthew 23:37) Jesus did do this, and He was burned to a crisp.  On the cross you have God coming himself to love us.  The only way that you love a guilty, broken person and really change them is that you have to do it substitutionary. Jesus took our penalty upon himself and got what we deserved.  Our sins, guilt and brokenness fell upon Him.  He took it himself so that we could be forgiven.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller of New York City, and the Scripture is 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
 
All real life changing love is substitutionary sacrifice.  If you love a person whose life is all pulled together and they don't need any changes, it costs nothing.  It's wonderful and fun.  There are 4 or 5 of these people in New York City, and you ought to find them and become their friend.  But if you ever try to love somebody who has got needs or who is emotionally wounded, it's going to cost you.  Their life needs changing, and you can't love them and bring them up without you going down.  You can't do it without somehow their troubles and problems transfering to you. 
 
When an emotionally wounded person comes at you, you want to go the other way.  You know that you're going to have to listen to him or her, and it's just so draining to be their friend.  But the only way that emotionally wounded people are going to fill up emotionally is if somebody loves them, and the only way to love them is to be emotionally drained.  They aren't going to fill up unless you empty out.  If you hold onto to your emotional comfort and just stay away from those people, then they will just sink.  It is them or you, and the only way to love them is through substitutionary sacrifice.  Some of their woundedness and drain is going to have to hit you, so that some of your fullness can go to them.  That is just the way that it is. 
 
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 emptied Himself out for us and became a sacrificial lamb.  Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.  Jesus says, "I lost everything, so that I wouldn't lose you."

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Self-Denial and A Deceitful Heart

Self-Denial and A Deceitful Heart

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Jeremiah 17:9.  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?

 

At the end of WW2 a guard in a town with a concentration camp dug up bodies that were buried in order to get rid of the evidence.  The GI's found the bodies, and Patton knew that the people in the town must have known about the camp in spite of the fact that they denied knowing.  In fact, he made the people come out and dig graves for the bodies.  That night the mayor and his wife hung themselves and left a note.  "We didn't know, but we knew."  This mechanism is at work in our hearts as well.  We hide painful truths, and it is the root of great evil.  

 

Many hide behind religion to do evil, and others avoid religion because of hypocrisy.  Some cheat at work, but say, "I'm not like those Enron guys."   The Enron guys say, "I'm cheating people out of millions, but I'm not like the mafia out killing people."  The mafia guys say, "Sure I kill but not like Hitler."  What did Hitler say to himself?  We don't know, but he said something.

 

This capacity in our lives makes it possible for the nicest people to fall to the lowest depths and to live in self-denial.  If you don't recognize where this is at work in your life, then you are capable of the worst things as well.  That sin that ruins you is the sin that you don't see.

 

Only Jesus' obedience makes us holy.  He was great but became small so that we, though small, would become great in God's eyes.  

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Our Most Fundamental Problem

Our Most Fundamental Problem

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Luke 5:18-19 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

 

Jesus is in the center of the house, and there's a paralytic.  His friends want to see him healed so they bring him to the house, but it's so crowded that they can't get in the door.  They go up to the roof and lower him down, and Jesus looks at him and says, "Your sins are forgiven."

 

He says, "Your sins are forgiven?!!"  What are his friends going to say in response to that?  "Ah, Jesus, that's not what we came for -- that's not what we ripped this person's house up for!  Ah, you know, thank you very much!  Let's have some real power!  Say, WALK!  Jesus, say WALK -- not YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN!  Say WALK!  That's what we're here for!"

 

Here's what we learn from this incident.  Jesus says, "Your sins are forgiven."  Maybe you think the paralysis and the immobilized limbs are the real problem, but that's not the case.  Our most fundamental problem is that we're alienated from God, and we need our sins forgiven.  We need them removed because there's a barrier between us and God that needs to be removed.  

 

I don't get Jesus' salvation by being strong and accomplished but by admitting that I'm not.  I don't get His salvation by negotiating with God but by surrendering.   No matter how defiled you are, no matter how stained you are, no matter how tainted, no matter who you are or what you've done and no matter what your record is, the minute Jesus touches you, you're fit for the presence of God.  Jesus' cleanness becomes your cleanness.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Scientific Notation

Scientific Proof

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller of New York City, and the Scripture is Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
 
Keep your belief about morality and God private because the only things that we can really be sure of are the things that are scientifically proven.  But that statement can't be scientifically proven.  Therefore, on its own terms, we can't be sure of it. 
 
If you don't believe that anything in this world has a supernatural cause, that is a belief.   You've taken that by faith, and you can't prove it.  Once you've taken that by faith and your view of reality, then all of your reasoning proceeds from it.  Then you screen out things that don't fit with it.
 
People say to me all the time, "Every individual must be free to determine what is right or wrong for him or her.  Don't impose your morality on me, and don't tell me that I have to believe this or that."  That would only be the case if there is either no God, or if there is a God that does not hold you accountable for beliefs and behavior.  That may or may not be true, but the fact that we should all be free to determine what is right or wrong for us assumes a view of God that you can't prove.  How do you know that?  You don't know that and only hope that it is true.  You're betting your whole life and destiny on it, but it is a faith leap.  Once you've made that leap, then all of your reasoning proceeds from it. 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

How Big Was The Debt

How Big Was The Debt

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Luke 7:41-43,47  'Two people owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?' Simon replied, 'I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.' 'You have judged correctly,' Jesus said. . . .But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.'

David Martin Loyd Jones said, "Imagine that a friend of mine comes to see me and says, Hey, I was at your house the other day and a bill came due and you weren't there so I paid it."  Jones says, "How should I respond?"  The answer is that I have no idea how to respond until I know how big that bill was.  Was it just postage due and you pay another 20 cents or so?  What if the IRS finally found you, and you owed ten years of back taxes?  What if it was an enormous debt?  Jones says, "Until I know how much that he paid, I don't know whether to shake his hand or to fall down on the ground and kiss his feet." 
 
You do not know how much Jesus loves you unless you know how much that He suffered.  Jesus Christ spoke more about Hell than anybody else in the Bible because on the cross He lost the eternal love of the Father.   He experienced an agony and isolation infinitely greater than you and I would experience in an eternity in Hell.  He took the isolation and the disintegration that we deserve because He loves us.  Unless we see that He didn't just experience physical or emotional pain on the cross on the cross, then we will never know how much that He loves us.  
 
People getting rid of the idea of judgment and Hell try to make God more loving, but they make Him less.  If somebody says to me, "I believe in a god of love.  I don't believe in Hell or judgment."   I always say to them, "What did it cost your god to love you?"  They say, "I don't know if it cost Him anything. He just loves everybody."  If God just loves everybody and it didn't cost Him at all, I can honor and be glad for a god like that.  If I want to be transformed and sense His wild love around me, I have to believe in Hell.  Jesus Christ was the judge of the earth who came not to bring judgment but to bare judgment and go to Hell for His enemies.  If you understand and grasp that, then it's going to equip you to live at peace with yourself and other people and with God who did this for you. 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining