Wednesday, November 01, 2006

God’s Greatness
in our weakness
by Barrett Vanlandingham (November 2, 2006)
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." When God said those words to the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, that is probably not the response Paul was hoping for when he asked God to take away his thorn in the flesh. Nevertheless, verse 10 says that Paul learned to delight in life’s difficulties for the sake of Christ.
None of us likes to feel as though we are weak or lowly, but God can use all of us in very special ways. This was a very important message that Paul was bringing to the church at Corinth beginning in 1 Corinthians 1:26. In the 1st century when social classes were highly emphasized, Paul’s message was one of hope and comfort. You see, our God is mightier than any political leader, any warrior, any person of wealth, and any social class.
The job of being God or of having ultimate power is already taken by our Lord. There are no job openings in the Blessed Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, God does want to work in our lives, and He desires a relationship with us as we faithfully serve Him in our worship, and as we serve others to His glory. The fact that we have things wrong with us physically, emotionally, or any other way makes it possible for God to be glorified even more.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 tells us that Paul was not a good speaker (yet God spoke through him).
Exodus 4:10 tells us that Moses was not a good speaker. (but God used him to communicate with Pharaoh and to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery).
Judges 6:14-17 tells us that God used Gideon and 300 soldiers to defeat 120-thousand Midianites, even though Gideon’s clan of Manasseh was the weakest, and he was the least in the family.
2 Timothy 1:7-12 tells us that God did not give Christians a spirit of timidity when it comes to serving and testifying about our Lord.
Ephesians 4:11 tells us that we are each created with special talents that we can put to work for God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that as Christians, we are a new creation, and that the old self is put away.
May God help us to be confident that He can use us, even when we sometimes feel that our talents are not as great as others’. Remember, even though the world has all kinds of ideas about how we should gauge success and self-worth, a life of Christian service is the greatest life possible here on earth; and it will lead to the greatest life beyond imagination in the life to come. To all fellow citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), keep running the good race. God promises victory for those found faithful (Rev. 2:10). The prize will be like none other.

Don’t be Tricked by Imitations
by Barrett Vanlandingham(October 19, 2006)
As the season reveals fall colors, and costumes conceal identities of candy-seeking kiddos,
I couldn’t help but make the connection with a trick of sorts that happened to me this week.
I received an e-mail that told a very heartwarming story about the importance of spending
time with your children, and then it made a very desperate plea for each of the mail
recipients to forward the mail on to several others so that AOL (an internet company) would
send 32-cents per e-mail to the needy family to pay their daughter’s hospital bill.
As it turned out, I happened to know the family, so I called and found out that
nothing in the letter was true. It was a hoax... bogus... a TRICK... and had been
circulating for about a year. They don’t know who started it, and they can’t seem to get it stopped.
A similar thought comes to mind when I think about New Testament Christianity. It was only about 15-20 years after Jesus’ crucifixion that Paul wrote a letter to the churches in Galatia.
Galatians 1:6-7 says, "6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7. which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ."
There are all kinds of imitations out there when it comes to matters of faith. We would all do well to not get caught up in their trickery. There is one act of imitating, however, to which we are supposed to pay considerable attention. Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." The Apostle Paul also talks quite a bit about imitating him as he imitates Christ (1 Cor. 11:1; 4:16), and he also mentions that the church in Thessalonica "became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 2:14) In fact, a big part of Christian life is setting a Godly example for others to follow.
(1 Peter 2:12, 21; 1 Peter 4:4-5; Philippians 1:27; Romans 12:17; 1 Timothy 4:12) There is no room for cheap imitations in following Christ. Jesus is the "Real Deal", and our salvation was purchased at the highest price... the life of our Savior.
God’s Word makes it clear that choosing to avoid the world’s cheap imitations of a joyful lifestyle will be more than worth it in the end, even though the world will heap abuse and insults on you. But those who choose to oppose God’s plan for the Christian life "will have to give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." (1 Peter 4:1-5, 14)


Every Knee Shall Bow
by Barrett Vanlandingham (October 5, 2006)
Sometimes when life seems to be moving a little fast, a bit of re-focusing can go a long way. The world has tried (somewhat successfully) to move our hearts away from what’s really important: submitting fully to the will of our heavenly Father. Our strength, our hope, and our minds need daily renewal (ref: Isaiah 40:31; Romans 12:2).
In Isaiah 45:22-25 the Lord says this: "22. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked; Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24. They will say of me, "In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength." All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 25. But in the Lord all the descendarnts of Israel will be found righteous and will exult."
Things to Think About...
It’s so nice to be reminded that 2700 years later (since the time Isaiah was written), WE who are in the Lord ARE those descendants of Israel. But here are some questions: Do we really show by our words and our deeds that we live as one who bows before the throne of God? Are our priorities such that we can truly say, "In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength?" Do we really believe "there is no other" God? If so, then why do so many other things get in the way of our commitment to Him?
So What Now?
As the Hebrew writer said, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (12:1b) Let us lay our crowns at Jesus feet and cry holy! Then, when all is done, let us all be able to confidently kneel before the Father; let us know without a doubt that we have lived a life worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ; let us know without a doubt that God will find us righteous and will see fit to lift us up from our knees, and bring us home with all of the other faithful, where our Father will give us a crown of life (Revelation 2:10).