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