Humility

Humility

The following came from Jim Cymbala's book, The Life God Blesses, and the Scripture is Isaiah 66:2  . . . 'These are the ones I look on with favour: those who are humble and contrite in spirit . . .The short excerpt is a son's reflection about his late father, Pastor Howard Goss.

My dad really walked with God.  He was quite famous in his circle of churches, and everybody wanted him to speak, especially at those huge summer-camp meetings.
 
I'll never forget one big camp meeting up in Canada when I was a kid.  Every famous preacher was invited, and the crowds were tremendous.  Our family arrived a day early, and the leaders were making out the schedule for the speakers.  Meetings were held all day long, and the visiting preachers all wanted to speak during the night rallies when the crowds were largest.  The preachers actually jockeyed around hoping to get the biggest meetings for their preaching assignments.
 
Suddenly one of the leaders asked where my father was.  He was in the prime of his ministry and was highly respected by everyone.  They wanted to consult with him, but no one seemed to know where he was.  They finally heard that he was last seen in the kitchen and dining hall area, so I went with them to find him.
 
They could scarcely believe their eyes when they got to the kitchen.  There was my dad on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor with some of the other workers?
 
"Brother Goss," they said, "what are you doing here?  We're making out the preaching schedule and wanted to know your preference."
 
"Oh, brothers," my dad replied, "you've got so many good preachers here that you don't need to worry about me.  But I found out that they're short of help here in the kitchen so I thought I'd lend a hand."

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

The Greatest Treasure

The Greatest Treasure

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Rick Warren, and the Scripture is Colossians 3:1-2  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
 
What is the purpose of life?  In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.  One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.

God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.  We were made by God and for God, and until we figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.  Life is a series of problems: Either we are in one now, we're just coming out of one, or we're getting ready to go into another one.  The reason for this is that God is more interested in our character than our comfort.  He is more interested in making our life holy than He is in making our life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life.  The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.  Believing that our greatest need is to be happy, safe, and fulfilled is all about us, and we believe, deep down, that were entitled to whatever we think we need.   God wants to reveal Himself as the greatest treasure the human heart could ever imagine and to draw people into a relationship with Him that utterly delights our souls.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Religion vs Christianity

Religion vs Christianity

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the short excerpt is 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Religion is if I do good, then I'm accepted.  I get in to heaven!   Christianity is that because I'm accepted and already in, I do good.  In Christianity, Jesus has done it all for you. He is the sacrifice so you're completely pardoned in Him.  He is everything, which means, "It is finished," which He says on the Cross. 

 

There are a lot of ways of doing good.  The secular person says, "I'm going to live a good life.  That way I know I'm a good person and can really feel good about myself."  The religious person says, "I'm going to do good so that God will take me to heaven."  It's basically the same thing, and you're going to find it a grind.  All of  your good deeds are really about you.  You're not about the people you're helping .  You're just doing it because you need it.

 

The gospel puts a power and joy in your heart.  You're already in and accepted and loved so why are you helping people?  Because you want to be like the One who did all that in love.  Joy and gratitude result,  and you're doing it for their sake, not your sake. 

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

Good & Valuable Or Sinful & Worthless

 

Good & Valuable Or Sinful & Worthless

 

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 is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

When we are living by the law and believe that we must earn our way to heaven, this is the mindset.   "Either I'm good and I'm valuable, or I'm sinful and I'm worthless.   If I'm living up to the expectations and obeying all of the rules and doing right, then I'm good and valuable."  Then when things go wrong we are angry toward God.  "I hate you!  How can you do this to me?  God, you owe me a better life than this!"

 

But if we're not living up to our standards when living by the law, then we feel sinful and worthless.  When things go wrong we get angry at ourselves instead of at God.  We say, "What an idiot!  How did I do this?  It's all my fault!"  We just beat ourselves up!

 

The gospel doesn't say that we are either good or valuable or sinful or worthless.  It says that we are very sinful and absolutely valuable in Christ.  Because we know that we are sinful, when bad things happen, we don't complain.  We know that it is not a punishment.  It must be because of some other broader and bigger plan. 

 

When we live under grace and not under the law, we understand and embrace that we are very sinful and absolutely valuable in Christ.

 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

 

Proverbs

Proverbs

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller of New York City, and the Scripture is Proverbs 1:1-3 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
 
Proverbs are not statutes or promises, but they are ways that things ordinarily work in this world.  The Bible's understanding of reality is that there is a divine order, but it is a fallen order needing to be healed.   If you don't understand both of those things, then Proverbs sometimes doesn't make sense to you. 
 
Here is an example.  Proverbs 22:6 says Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.  In general, yes, if you are consistent with your discipline of your child, then that is the best possible thing because there is a divine order.  But the order is fallen, and that means that sometimes even if you do everything right with your kid, your kids can still grow up and go off the rails.  Proverbs are God's best practices for life in a divinely ordered yet fallen world. 
 
There is a divine order, so generally, work hard, tell the truth, be sexually faithful, and generally your life will go better.  But it doesn't have to go better.  After all, Jesus Christ did all of those things, and His life didn't go so well (He got crucified).   He was confronted with the falleness of this place.  If you believe that if you do everything right in life that your life will go well, you are a fool.  You don't see the reality. 
 
The promise of the gospel is that Jesus Christ was judged for you, and He has covered you.  All of the deformities, all of the sins, everything that is wrong, it is covered and God sees an absolute beauty.  He is the only one who counts, and He is the true lover of your soul.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Goodness

Goodness

Dear Champions,

 

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller and the scripture is Matthew 21:31 Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

 

Jesus over and over again says to the Pharisees that the pimps and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before they do.  As John Girsner once put it, "The thing that really separates us from God is not so much our sins but our damnable good works." 

 

The rebellious rule breakers just decide to be their own Savior and Lord.  They say, "I don't need God or religion.  Don't tell me what's right and wrong.  I will decide what is right and wrong for me.  They know that they have kicked God out of their life.  Therefore, when their life falls apart, and there is smoke, they say that maybe they need God. 

 

Goodness may actually mask people's battle with God and the fact that they are also being their own Savior and Lord.  Because of their goodness they don't really make Jesus their Savior and Lord.  They are their own Savior and Lord and think that God owes them.  Therefore, when their life stops working and falls apart, there is smoke all over, but they can't find the fire. 

 

I don't know how many times I have heard people say, "I've tried Christianity and God, and it didn't work."  What they mean is, "I wanted something, and God didn't give it to me."   They set their heart on other things besides God, and they were just using Him.   When they weren't getting the things that they really wanted, they blamed God and assumed that Christianity didn't work. 

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining

Your Identity

Your Identity

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the verse 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.

One of the things that my wife Kathy and I have had to do over the years is reprogram people who have moved to New York from places in this country where they were living in strong Christian homes, churches and cultures.  They move to New York, and they go through a crisis.  They say, "I'm meeting atheists and agnostics and Buddhists and Jews and Hindus and Muslims.   Many of them are kinder, wiser, more decent, more respectful and better people than the Christians I know.   How could this be?"

Here's what we have to say.  You may have gotten an A on your Christian doctrine test.  You checked the right box when the question was, "Are you saved by grace alone or by your good works?"   You may have gotten your doctrine right, but you are a Pharisee functionally.   You think that you are saved by your works!   Don't you understand that in all of the religions and philosophies of the world what makes you right with God is things that you have done.  Christianity says, "No, what makes you right with God is things that He has done."  Because of this you should expect to find people who aren't Christians who are better, wiser, gentler and more generous than you. 

If that shocks you, it shows  that you really thought the reason that you were right with God is that you were kinder, gentler, wiser and more generous.  You had an identity that did not understand the doctrine of grace.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining