Jesus gives us lots of reasons to be thankful

By Barrett Vanlandingham
November 1, 2011

Psalm 136:1 (ESV) says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

If you’ve never read the 136th Psalm, do yourself a favor and read it. The author skillfully lists 26 things for which mankind can be thankful, and reminds us in each phrase that God’s love endures forever. As with all biblical prophecy, that also turned out to be true since Christ who was the ultimate example of love lives forever.

There is a song we sing in worship that goes “For all that You’ve done I will thank you, for all that you’re going to do. For all that you’ve promised and all that you are is all that has carried me through. My Jesus I thank you… Thank you for loving and setting me free. Thank you for giving your life just for me. How I thank you. My Jesus I thank you. I gratefully thank you. Thank you.”

There are a lot of things I thank God for when I pray. We’ve all been so blessed. It’s easy for me to get caught up in spending the majority of my prayer time either asking God for more blessings, or thanking him for all the things he has blessed me with. How about you? But when I stop to think about it, the most important thing to thank God for is the gift of his son, Jesus. Without him, we would all be lost. He not only created us (John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:16), he also died for us, and rose for us. That is why we have hope. We serve a risen Savior who conquered death and who went back to heaven to prepare a place for Christians found to be faithful in the end (John 14:1-4, Revelation 2:10, Matthew 10:22).

So here we are in the month of November… again! Can you believe it? It’s the time when we as a nation turn more of our attention than usual towards taking notice of things to be thankful for. It’s also a time when we seem to put a little extra effort into making a difference in someone else’s life, especially someone who is less fortunate, or just struggling maybe temporarily in some way. It can also be rewarding to do a kind deed for a friend or family member to give them something to be thankful for. Thank God for selfless people who look for ways to bless others’ lives all year long! Remember, when we do a kind deed to honor God (not self), no matter how small, our Creator can, has, and will bless our efforts (Hebrews 11:6), and more importantly God is glorified. Have a great week!

New Construction & Reduced Camper Fees for Burnt Cabin Are Coming Our Way!


by Barrett Vanlandingham

There are things we look back at and know without a doubt, it was a turning point, a watershed moment, a life-changing event.

For an estimated 39-thousand children, plus staffers and campers’ families, Burnt Cabin Christian Camp has been exactly that. It’s been over fifty years since the camp opened its doors to young people to experience God in a very unique and personal way. Many of you have no doubt been campers, staffers, or both!

It probably made no sense in the beginning years that people’s lives would be touched in such a powerful way. After all, the camp was built on the side of a rocky hill. Old Army barracks from Fort Chaffee were the first dorms and are still there! But over the years, with God’s blessing and much help from selfless volunteers and generous contributors, the camp has been transformed into a place that campers look forward to coming back to year after year.

Wouldn’t it be nice to mark our spot in Burnt Cabin’s history by helping the camp march into the next generation better equipped than ever to handle the growing spiritual needs of families with children?

Here’s How You Can Help

Please pray for a three-year, $2.7 million fundraiser that will begin next month. Please make plans to attend a presentation here at the building by BCCC caretaker Sam Yaws on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 5pm. He will speak on the much needed addition, and show a video that takes a look at the past, present, and future of the camp.

Here’s the scoop:

The Burnt Cabin Board of Directors will be paying cash for the new construction with donations received.

The project includes a new 160 bed dorm on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor has a kitchen and a 450 seat cafeteria with a stone fireplace. Drop-down indoor basketball goals are also planned. The cafeteria and wrap-around sheltered balcony will also be used for Bible classes.

Interest from a million dollars of the $2.7 will help cut camper fees by up to half!

3333 families are needed to give $270 per year for three years to accomplish this. Tell anyone you know who has moved away and might be willing to help. And finally, prayerfully consider how your family can help make these plans for Burnt Cabin and future generations become reality.

Unity Is Still Christ’s Plea
by Barrett Vanlandingham
October 25, 2011

            Last week, my article focused on why the writers of the New Testament felt it was necessary to encourage new Christians and remind them of God’s will for them.  I wanted to write just a little more on that topic this week.

In review, all but six books (Matthew, Mark, Luke John, Acts, and Revelation) of the New Testament were considered letters, also known as Epistles, written to specific Christians, the church or Christians in general, or to specific congregations of the Lord’s church.  The Epistles were vitally important since first century Christians were undergoing tremendous persecution from those who did not believe that Jesus was actually the Christ, the son of God, the Messiah.  The Epistles were written to address specific concerns, problems, or questions that the recipients of those letters were dealing with.

            The writers made frequent mention of false teachers (2 John 1:7) and false gospels that were throwing the early Christians into confusion (ref: Galatians 1:6-10).  Ancient history from outside of the Bible agrees that even in the first century there were many philosophies on the nature of God and even the identity and nature of Jesus Christ, and on the specifics of salvation.

            That’s why passages such as 1 Peter 1:3, Colossians 1-2, 1 & 2 John, and Romans 6:1-11 were so important in reminding new Christians that the One they were following was indeed worthy of their dedication and commitment.

            Jesus died for only one church. Christians are symbolically the body of Christ. The New Testament never mentions there being more than one body (ref: Eph. 4:1-6).   Unfortunately, now there are thousands of denominations of Christ’s body. Such a tragedy that not only Christ’s hands, feet, and side were pierced, but His body (the Church), has been pulled and torn in thousands of different directions over nothing but selfish disputes. 

Let me pose some disturbing questions for our consideration:  1) How can we blame non-believers for not wanting to be a part of such division?   2) Do you suppose that if we knew that God were returning next week to take his faithful home to heaven, that we could manage to throw our opinions and traditions aside long enough to follow God’s word only?  3) Let’s start with Fort Gibson.  Would we be willing to tear down all of the church buildings in our town, and build one BIG building for us to worship in, using only God’s inspired word to guide us?

In John 17:20-21, Jesus prayed for himself, then for his disciples, and then for all believers.  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

            May the words of Jesus himself ring in our ears as we renew our commitment to following God’s New Testament teachings.  Just like the children’s song says, “I stand alone on the word of God, the BIBLE.”  Have a blessed day!

The Bible’s Encouraging Words Are Timeless
by Barrett Vanlandingham
October 18, 2011

            The more I read the Bible, the more it occurs to me that our generation today has a lot in common with the first century.

             It has been about two-thousand years since the writers of the New Testament sent their letters to individual Christians, specific congregations, and to Christians in general.  These letters, also referred to as Epistles, include all the New Testament except for the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Acts, and Revelation.   The Epistles were written to answer specific questions and to instruct and encourage Christians in their new way of life. 

Christianity was still in its infant stages. But already there were false doctrines and distortions of the truth that had surfaced and were being taught.  Even some of the churches Paul had helped establish were being swayed by these false teachers.

            Paul tells the churches in Galatia, “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, which is really no gospel at all.  Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6-7, NIV).

            In Acts 17:18-21 (NIV), Paul makes note of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who “…spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.”   Three philosophies were as follows: 1) The Epicureans didn’t think God created the world, and felt that humanity’s top goal should be to achieve worldly happiness.  2) The Stoics were the opposite. They taught that the world was created by God, but that all things were fixed by fate, even God. Their goal was to be in total control of every emotion.  3) Gnosticism was another philosophy of the day but was not mentioned by name. Its adherents felt that they had an inner knowledge (gnosis) that no one else had. They taught that the world and mankind was dirty and evil. They felt that only the spirit was good, so therefore, Jesus was actually a spirit-only being, and his body was only an illusion, and that the bodily resurrection of Jesus was not possible since the true Christ would not possibly want to take human form.

            These kinds of false teachings were confusing to many early Christians who were already suffering persecution for their practice of Christianity.  They needed to know their efforts in following Christ were not in vain.  That is why the writer of 1 John and 2 John, for instance, spent a lot of pen power reminding new Christians that they can “know” that Jesus really did come to earth in human form.  Other passages such as 1 Peter 1:3 (NIV) were very important in reminding Christians of their “…hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  The apostle Paul devoted much of Colossians 1-2 in describing and defining Jesus our Lord.

            These same passages are just as important today as in the first century when it comes to encouraging Christians to continue walking with Christ.  Have a blessed day!

Everyday is a blessing from God

by Barrett Vanlandingham
October 11, 2011

             This past Friday morning I was sitting on my back porch having a cup of my favorite coffee. I had just ground and brewed a portion of the beans I recently brought back from my mission trip to Honduras.  The sun was shining bright above the eastern horizon, the skies were a beautiful blue, the trees and vines in my back yard were green, and to top it off there was a nice cool breeze ushering in the day.  I was making plans for a tailgate party before the football game.

            That’s when I decided to pray to God.  But what I had to say must have sounded less than impressive to our Creator.  I actually asked God to bless this day!  You talk about feeling stupid.  I immediately apologized, laughed, and thanked God for all of the above things I mentioned, plus safety for the players.

            God gives us so many blessings everyday that we often don’t think to thank Him for.  Lately, my ankle has been very sore.  It all has to do with a sports-related back injury many years ago resulting in my central nervous system failing to communicate properly with my foot. This causes me to walk with a slight limp sometimes because my right foot won’t push down enough to support my weight which I am in the process of trying to reduce!

            Anyway, when I opened my laptop computer to write this article, I checked my e-mail first.  That’s when I saw a message from www.godtube.com regarding an inspirational video that I should watch.  So I did, and now my sore ankle doesn't seem like anything to complain about.  It was the story of a twin baby boy who was born dead.  The doctors set him aside to deliver his sister.  But when baby Cristal cried, so did baby Christopher!  He had gone without oxygen for fifteen minutes, suffered brain damage, could not walk, talk, or speak, and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.  His life would prove to be difficult.  His father left his mother and seven children shortly after the twins were delivered.

Christopher’s story of learning to read, write, talk, graduate high school in honors classes ranked 5^th out of 360 students, and be the only one in his family to graduate college is truly inspirational. His single mother’s faith in Jesus Christ encouraged Christopher to seek a relationship with God.  He says his life mirrors John 9:1-3 where Jesus heals a man born blind.

            “1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

So, in spite of his speech problems, disfigured limbs, and confinement to a wheelchair, Christopher’s faith and determination have helped him to live an unconfined life, speaking to groups all across the nation to tell his story and how God has blessed him richly. You can read more at www.christophercoleman.net .  Have a blessed day!