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