God presence can improve your New Year
by Barrett Vanlandingham
December 28, 2010
In just a few days we will ring in the New Year of 2011. In the Bible, the New Testament has a lot to say about new things.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Most of us probably like the sound of becoming a new creation, especially for those of us who’ve lived long enough to experience challenges in this old life. So, how do we become a new creation? Paul says we must be in Christ to become new.
Think of it this way. In order for a seed to grow into a new plant, either the old plant has to die, or there must be a separation of the old plant from the new seed. This happens in our culture everyday as old ways and ideas make room for the new.
In John 12:24 Jesus consoles his disciples by explaining to them the importance of him dying. “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
This was a new way of looking at things for Jesus’ disciples. Up until this point, they hadn’t really thought about carrying on Jesus’ teachings and acts of service in his absence.
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He had to die, not only so he could be raised from the dead to live a new life, but also so that we could have hope of a new life in heaven. Jesus’ birth, his life, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection are the Gospel story. It has stood the test of time and continues to be the freshest, most exciting and life-changing Good News ever told! But the New Testament’s Gospel story could have never been written without Christ’s death on the cross. Only the blood of the Lamb could forgive sin. That was something the blood of bulls and goats could never accomplish.
We too must die to self, turn our back on worldly ways in the things we say and do, and be buried through baptism into Christ so that we can be raised to live a new life, clothed in Christ. These principles are taught in Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 3:26-27 and Galatians 2:20.
As each generation tries to be new and improved, mankind has also tried to improve on the Bible’s plan of salvation. This is not wise. In Mark 8:36 Jesus asks, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
God’s Word gives us everything we need to find salvation (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
2011 will bring many new opportunities for us all. May we never be ashamed of taking a stand for Jesus in the New Year and every year. God bless your efforts to live for Him and teach others the love of Christ. (end)
An Adventure in Honduras
by Barrett Vanlandingham
December 16, 2010
My trip to Central America to the mountainous region of Honduras last week was eye-opening. Our hopes were to
find mission works for our church family to get involved with since our door for taking teams into Mexico is closed for now.
But as they say, when one door is closed, God always opens another. And this trip was definitely a success!
On one day, missions deacon Glen Elliott and I visited a medical clinic funded by churches of Christ through Mission
Lazarus. It was about four blocks from the Pacific coast. The irony is that we were under the shade of beautiful coconut and
palm trees as we visited impoverished and malnourished children who were taking part in a nutrition program. Some of the
toddlers and other young children had bloated stomachs from drinking water that contains parasites which cause gas. Other
children struggled with health problems because of the germs that enter a child’s system through bare feet. And others were
in fact suffering from lack of food and from not eating the right kinds of foods.
Next, we continued down a highway that should be labeled “pothole alley.” We passed dozens of ox-drawn carts,
and hundreds of bicyclists and pedestrians on either side of the narrow roads. Our driver slowed down enough at one point
so that several young boys could give us a close-up look at live iguanas they were hoping to sell us for five-dollars apiece.
No, I didn’t even attempt to bring one back with me. Can you imagine making it through an airport pat-down with a two-foot
long Honduran iguana?
We also went to a neighborhood to check on a home-building project. As I was shooting video, a man and his herd
of livestock came around the corner towards us, not in a trailer, but on foot, or should I say on hoof! Let’s just say at one
point I pictured myself in a situation similar to the “running of the bulls” in Spain. Not nearly as extreme, but when one
huge black Brahma bull lowered its head at me and I briefly felt the power of its head and horns, I knew this was serious
business. My shirt ripped on a fence as I was making my getaway, but trust me, I wasn’t worried about the shirt.
The adventures continued. We attended the graduation of several bright young preachers from the four year Baxter
Institute. We got to know two of them very well, Siney Medina and Olvin Flores, who need support for their work in Honduras.
We also spent a couple of nights loading thousands of Christmas gifts to be hauled into some of the poorest regions
of Honduras through the “Magi Project.” And we got to eat tostadas from a street vendor just three miles from the Nicaraguan
border while purchasing a giant fallen tree from a landowner. The wood will be made into furniture for
Mission Lazarus to sell to support its orphanage and other projects.
We can all take part in telling and showing the Good News of Jesus as he commanded in Matthew 28:18-
20 and Acts 1:8. May God bless us all as we prayerfully consider how to best use our blessings and talents to go
and be a witness for Christ in foreign lands and here at home.