Love is an Action First That Leads to Feeling

Love is an Action First That Leads to Feeling

Dear Greystone Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Philippians 2:3-4  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
 
When people say, "Why don't we live together?  Why do we need to be married?  I love you.  Why do I need a piece of paper to show you that love?"  If you define love as feeling, that's right.  That's not what the Bible ever means when it means love.  Biblically, if somebody says," I love you, but I don't want to marry you."  What they mean is, "I don't love you that much." There's no way around that.  A person who says, "I love you, and I want to marry you," loves you more than the person who says, "I love you, but I don't want to marry you."  Love by definition biblically is a commitment.  It's the ability to make an exclusive and a permanent commitment.  When somebody says, "I don't need a piece of paper to show that I love you," yes you do!  If you love a person the way the Bible says that two people are supposed to love one another in order to share their lives together, it means that you have no problem making a legal permanent exclusive commitment to them.
 
At some point love is simply a decision to serve somebody and be committed to somebody regardless of your feelings and regardless to how that person acts.  The person attracts you, there are a lot of things that you like about them, you have fun together, but at a certain point, you simply make a decision that you are going to love this person.  Your feelings will always come and go.  The problem is that a lot of people don't get married because they're sure that if this is the one, "My feelings will never ebb."   If this is the one, then I will just know that it's the one because I'll never have any problem.  I'll never look at that person and feel," Ugh!"  I'll never look at that person and feel, Yak!  I'll never look at that person and find a problem there.  I'll always feel like giving myself to them.  You will wait until Hell freezes over if you wait for that. 
 
Love is an action first that leads to feeling, it's not a feeling that leads to an action.

Champions, have a great day and week!-David Vining

Perspective

Perspective

Dear Champions,

March Madness ended this past week, and Baylor won it all.  What stood out to me during the tournament is what Coach Paul Mills said to the press after his number 15 seeded Oral Roberts defeated the number 2 seeded Ohio State to reach the Sweet 16.  Here is what he said.

"I tell our guys this often: We need to use our God-given abilities for God-given reasons, and we need to make sure — in a hundred years, none of us will be here, and what our guys need to understand is we are really not that important. And you need to know that. As much as I admire Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there aren't three people who gather every Sunday to celebrate his greatness. We are not going to sit around and act like we're great.

Now, 120 million people gather every Sunday, 180 million on Easter, to celebrate one name, and that is the name of Jesus Christ.  There is no other name under Heaven and Earth given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). To be at an institution that honors that and we can give them something to celebrate is special."

We also really aren't that important.  At the time, we are important to God.  He knows the number of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7), and we serve a God that would rather die for us than live without us.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Someone Has to Pay the Debt!

Someone Has to Pay the Debt

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the scripture is 1 Peter 3:18  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

 

There is no one on the face of the earth that can face an evaluation of how they've lived their lives!  Some people say, "Here's the thing I don't understand.  This idea of a debt that has to be paid for.  Surely if there is a God, He can just forgive it, can't He?"  No!

 

If someone really wrongs you, what happens?  I would suggest there's a debt.  There's something between you and that person who has seriously wronged you that can't be ignored.  You can make them pay it down by hurting them.  As you see them paying it, you can sense the debt being paid down and at a certain point it's gone.  

 

The other thing you can do is forgive them.  To forgive means that when I want to hurt someone, I don't.  When I want to slice up their reputation by talking to other people, I don't.  If I refuse to do that, then I'll find as time goes on that my anger slowly subsides because I'm paying the debt down myself.  It's difficult!  When a real wrong is done, someone has to pay the debt or the barrier is there.

 

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

Our Battle is Spiritual

Our Battle is Spiritual

 

Dear Champions,

 

The scripture is Ephesians 6:12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

Tomorrow is the election.  It is possible that there may be violence after this year's election.  The more passionate that you are about who you think should win, the more angry you may get.  Our battle, however, is not against a political party or a group of people or the news media, google, facebook, twitter, etc.  Hiding in the background is Satan that is stirring the pot of anger, violence and hate.  Here are a couple of verses to help us.

 2 Corinthians 10:4-5  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 

 

Ephesians 6:13  Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

 

Champions, have a great week, pray for others & our own hearts, and let us remember 1 Corinthians 16:14.  Do everything in love.-David Vining

 

Trusting God

Trusting God

Dear Champions,

I wrote the short excerpt, and the scripture is 2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Yesterday I was disappointed and angry.  Camp Greystone, like many camps throughout the country, has cancelled every session this summer.  What expert in North Carolina decided that overnight camps in the state can only have campers from N.C. or from states that border N.C.?  Who decided that Staff and campers with symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, etc.) at camp should immediately be separated and sent home and referred to their healthcare provider?  The experts came up with impossible guidelines for Greystone to follow.

In life there are risks.  Every time we get in a car there is a risk that we could be in a wreck.  Every day we decide if we want to take that risk.  

I listen to the experts, but my trust is not in them.  Their opinions change, and they vary from state to state.  I do trust in God!  He is Sovereign! Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  I don't know why He has allowed this to happen, but I am going to trust Him.

Philippians 2:4 says, "Look not only to your own interest but also to the interest of others."  Imagine losing your entire income for a whole year!  That is what Camp Greystone & camps all over are facing right now.  We can show God's faithfulness to them by helping them out by praying for them and possibly by donating to them.  Here is a link to donate to Camp Greystone if you would like to help.  Please forward this link to people that you think might want to help.

https://www.cognitoforms.com/CampGreystone/SupportGreystoneDuringThePandemic

If you are receiving this and are not associated with Greystone, perhaps there is a camp that is special to you that you could help get through this challenging season.

Champions, be wise but live with power, love and self-discipline!  Have a great week!-David Vining 

Sinful & Incredibly Valuable!

Sinful & Incredibly Valuable

Dear Champions,

 

The scripture is by Tim Keller, and the scripture is Matthew 5:45   God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

Over the years I have seen people getting completely destroyed by the troubles in their lives.  And here's why.  There's a premise underneath our lives that's so deep that we don't even realize it is there.  And the premise is this: "If I live right, my life should go right."  So if your life goes wrong, you either say (1) "Something's wrong with me.  I hate myself, because I must be a failure."  Or (2)  "I hate God, because He's not treating me as I deserve."  Then, every mode of the experience is either going to lead you into self-hatred or God-hatred.  And if that becomes a sustained theme in your life, your life will be poisoned. 

 

The gospel says that you are sinful and incredibly valuable.  People who try and earn their salvations think like this.  "If I'm living up to the expectations and obeying all of the rules and doing right, then I'm good and I'm valuable." Then when things go wrong the

anger is toward God. "I hate you! How can you do this to me?" But if you're not living up to your standards, then you feel sinful and worthless. Then when things go wrong you get angry, but instead of getting mad at God you get angry with yourself.

 

The gospel doesn't say that you are either good or valuable or sinful or worthless. It says that you are very sinful and absolutely valuable in Christ. Because you know that you are sinful, when bad things happen, you don't complain. But because you know that you are valuable, when bad things happen, you know that it is not a punishment.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

50 Cents, $10,000 or More

50 Cents, $10,000 or More

 

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is Isaiah 53:7  He (Jesus) was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  

 

We need to have a sense of Jesus' love to be changed, and His suffering is tied to our value. On the cross He didn't cry out about the nails or wounds.  He cried out about being forsaken. He was cast away for us, and unless we see how much He suffered for us we'll never appreciate his love. 

 

If you come home and a guest tells you that a package came with payment due and he paid it, then you'll want to know how much it was so you'll know how thankful to be.  If it's 50 cents you're grateful, but if it's an IRS bill for $10,000 you will have a different reaction. You don't how grateful to be until you know the cost. 

 

How much does God love you? Look at what he paid. If you don't believe in hell, but that God loves everybody, will that change you?  No, it hasn't yet. If you don't believe in hell, then you'll never know how much He loves you.  Jesus took hell for us because He values us that much.

 

Pastor Barnhouse, when passing a truck on the way to his wife's funeral, saw the shadow of the truck and asked his kids, "Would you rather be hit by the truck or the shadow of the truck?"  The kids obviously said that they would rather be hit by the shadow of the truck.  Then he explained to his small children that Jesus was hit by the truck so that we only have to be hit by the shadow of the truck.

 

Champions, have a Happy Easter!-David Vining