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