Spiritual Feasting Is the Best Meal 
by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 29, 2011

            Well, I trust that everyone used dietary self-restraint over Thanksgiving… as much as I did!  Okay, Okay!  So, maybe I was a little bit bad.  After all, who can say “no” to tables full of food and dessert cooked to perfection? 

            Let’s just put Turkey Day behind us, and hop back onto the wagon of self-discipline, at least until the dinner bell rings at Christmas!  Oh, the temptations we have during the holidays!

            There is one kind of food that doesn’t result in weight gain, though.  And believe it or not, it is comfort food at its best.  BREAD.  But this is not just any kind of bread.  It’s the bread of life!  In John 6, we read about the miraculous feeding of the five-thousand with only five loaves and two fishes.  This obviously made quite an impression on the people.  So Jesus, sensing that they were only following him because he was feeding them physically, began to try to explain to them that spiritually speaking, he could offer them much more than fish and bread.

              In John 6:51 Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

            Some were evidently confused or even offended by Jesus’ teaching.  They thought Jesus was asking them to eat his physical flesh.  And as you can imagine, most folks were not interested in that prospect! So he goes on to explain in verse 63, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

            Jesus asked the Twelve (chosen disciples) if they were going to leave him, too.  In verse 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

            So here is the question.  Do you have any friends or family who do not know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?  Do you know anyone who enjoys all of the physical blessings of God, but has somehow missed the best meal of all, the Living Bread?  Trust me, I love a tasty holiday meal as much as anyone.  But it is only when we feast on the word of God (all year long) that we receive the spiritual nutrition needed to guide us into eternity.  Have a blessed week!

Thanksgiving should be a part of everyday life

by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 22, 2011

One of the great Thanksgiving traditions my church family has is to write down the things we are thankful for on a card, and then have them read aloud during our midweek service.

What comes out of this gathering is a renewed sense of our blessings. It also helps us to better understand what is important to our Christian brothers and sisters. With so much hustle and bustle during the rest of the year, it is always nice to have the chance to sit back and listen to what others are thankful for.

Meeting with your church family is important all year long, but there’s something extra special about the holidays. One of the top things people are thankful for is always family. That holds true even for those who do not attend worship anywhere but still cherish God’s blessings. For others, it is the relationships they enjoy with friends, Christian brothers and sisters, or the fact that we live in a free country, and have the freedom to worship as we choose. I have one friend from India who doesn’t even feel free to go back home because he fears for his life. He is Christian in a nation where Christians are persecuted, some even to the point of death.

So, what are you thankful for? I usually wait til the last minute and wind up not writing much of anything on my card. So this time, I am making sure that doesn’t happen again. For me, I am thankful for Godly parents who raised me to love and honor God. I am thankful for the guidance and comfort that comes from the gift of God’s Holy Spirit that is promised to everyone who repents and is baptized (ref: Acts 2:38). I am also thankful for a Godly wife who is always there to encourage me and work side by side to raise our three children in the Lord. And finally, I am thankful that I get to live in a town like Fort Gibson. What a place!

The words of the apostle Paul from Colossians 3:16-17 are great reminders of what our attitudes should be not only during the holidays, but all the time. “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Let us all remember to tell God how grateful we are for each and every blessing we have. Let us also remember to prove our thankfulness to Him in the way we honor God with our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Faith in God Is Easier Than The Alternative by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 15, 2011

            As I was leaving the church building a few nights ago, I literally stood still in amazement at what I saw.  You may have also noticed just how incredible the full moon over Fort Gibson shone. It literally looked like it was just a few hundred yards away!  I thought to myself, “How can anyone say there is no God?”

If you happen to be an atheist, let me just say that I love you, and everything I say in this article is only meant to acknowledge God’s greatness, and give us all a few things to think about.  If you’ve heard these things before, I pray that you will at least consider them once more so that you may soon experience the joy found in a relationship with God through Jesus. (ref: Acts 2:38)

            Everything in creation has such wonderful design.  It would take a tremendous amount of faith to think there was no Designer.  The computer I am typing on could not have created itself out of a pile of plastic and metal no matter how much time it had!  It would be absurd to think otherwise. Yet, there are those who believe and teach that the humans who designed and created the computer had no Designer themselves!

            How long do you think it would take a pile of boards, nails, bricks, shingles, and cement to turn itself into a beautiful home?  I cannot imagine anyone believing that the house they live in could have created itself.  It had to be designed and built.  How about the car you drive?  Could it have created itself, given enough time?  Even for those who think the universe is much older than the six-thousand years documented in the Bible, the evidence would say a car cannot design and create itself, much less be able to start with a key and drive down the road!

            Humans are much more complex than anything mankind has created.  So, how could anyone believe that the creation of humans was just some sort of cosmic accident?

            The fact is, the devil is the greatest deceiver of all.  He has sown seeds of doubt almost from the beginning.  For some reason, God kicked Satan out of His presence.  Maybe it was because the devil wanted to be on equals with the Creator.  This would have been the same sort of temptation that tripped up Adam and Eve, courtesy of the devil (Genesis 3).

            Yes, it is mind-blowing to imagine the amount of power God must possess in order to have created our universe and everything in it.  But it would be even more difficult to imagine that everything just created itself!  The Bible’s account of God creating the heavens and the earth is the only possibility that even begins to make sense (ref: Genesis 1, John 1:1-14, Colossians 1:15-19).  A design requires a Designer.

            One quick trip to the library or the internet reveals discoveries in the fields of earth and space, archaeology, medicine, and history that the Bible had already documented thousands of years ago.  That is why so many non-believers, in their quest to disprove the Bible, wind up converting themselves to Christianity. With each new discovery, the ancient words of the Bible continue to prove reliable and accurate to this day.  God is good! 

Shaky Ground Is No Match For God
by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 9, 2011

Funny thing happened Friday. I was having writer’s block as I sat down to compose another Fort Faith column for the Fort Gibson Times. So, I went to God in prayer about this little problem of mine. I asked God to give me something obvious to write about, something that would be relevant to my readers, something that would glorify Him. I felt good about my visit with God, but I still didn’t know what I would write about.

I had to run an errand to Tahlequah that afternoon, so of course, the most obvious topic would be the beautiful colors of autumn. Who can ignore God’s presence during this season? “But I write about that every year,” I thought to myself. I was holding out for something more significant. Now, I’m not so sure I shouldn’t have just gone ahead and written about fall leaves!

I had no idea we were about to experience an EARTHQUAKE (of all things). At least at my house, it didn’t feel a whole lot different than thunder or maybe a train passing through town. But still, an earthquake? I have lived in Oklahoma all my life, ten years in Fort Gibson, and have never even seen a tornado! And now, many of us can say we’ve actually experienced a tremor! (actually three). I am reasonably certain God didn’t send us an earthquake just because I prayed for something important to write about. But, I will say that any natural disaster works wonders when it comes to reminding us of the power of God and our need for His presence in our lives.

One of my Facebook friends quoted this passage from Psalm 46:1-3, (NIV). “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

To me, there is nothing more comforting than to be reminded that we can go to our Creator anytime for peace during life’s turmoils. I am a full-time youth minister who spends a lot of time studying the Bible. And still, passages that remind me I can go to God in times of stress and worry (and He will do something about it) have such a calming effect on me.

When I think about how small the earth is in comparison to other planets and galaxies, it is humbling to think that we have a God who loves us totally and unconditionally. Our planet is barely a speck in relation to the total picture of things, and yet God continues to prove how important we are to Him. This earth can rumble and tumble all it wants, but in the end, God has a much better place awaiting those who are found faithful. Have a blessed week!