A forgiving spirit is worth striving for

by Barrett Vanlandingham
February 4, 2014

            The notion of having to sell your spouse and children in order to repay a debt is unthinkable.  Jesus told this parable in Matthew 18:21-35 about a servant who owed his master millions of dollars, but could not pay it back. 

            “The servant fell on his knees before him (the master). ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.”

            That would be such a nice story if that were the way it ended.  However, the servant who had just received mercy went out and had someone else thrown in prison who couldn’t repay a debt to him.  This seems outrageous. But isn’t this exactly how we behave sometimes?  We all like to receive mercy, and we love it when people are patient with us.  But how many of us embrace opportunities to show mercy and have patience towards others?   And if that doesn’t step on our toes enough, how many of us are deficient at showing God the proper commitment, even as we expect Him to stay committed to us, and show us great amounts of love and patience and mercy?

            I recently watched a YouTube video in the “I Am Second” series.  Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson was reminiscing about when he caught some thieves red handed as they were attempting to steal fish from Phil’s net.  The incident took place just after Phil had become a Christian and changed his lifestyle. So, instead of running the thieves off with his shotgun, Phil told them they could have whatever was in the net.  From that point on, Phil said those thieves stopped stealing fish all up and down the river.  Phil said that God knew what would work all along.  Matthew 5:40 says, “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.”

            Some people look at forgiving others as a sign of weakness, especially if the one being forgiven gets away without being punished.  Please don’t get me wrong, the Bible does not promote thievery, laziness, or the carrying on of undisciplined lifestyles.  After all, “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat (2 Thes. 3:10).”  But there are simply times that showing mercy and patience teaches a better lesson than harsh punishment. 

            The apostle Paul urges us to “Not repay anyone evil for evil (Romans 12:17).”   Forgiveness is proactive, gives peace of mind, and makes you no longer the victim.  Forgiveness takes the burden off your shoulders and allows God to take vengeance as He sees fit in his own time.  Have a great week!   

The Bible says Jesus is the only way to heaven

by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 28, 2014

            Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).”

            The New Testament of the Bible has been questioned and doubted the majority of the time it’s been in print.  Even many of those who were alive during and right after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection doubted or even flat out denied the miraculous events that rocked the world during this first century time frame and ever since.

            Jesus did some incredible miracles such as healing a demon-possessed man who was blind and deaf (Matthew 12:22-28).  But even then, one of the highly educated Jewish sects known as the Pharisees simply chose to believe that His miracles were the result of the devil’s power, a claim that as Jesus pointed out made no sense.  But even before they verbalized their skepticism, “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then can his kingdom stand?’”  The Pharisees were not ready to concede that Satan would attack himself.  But on the other hand, they were also not ready to concede that Jesus was able to cast out a demon by God’s power, either.

            Other desperate attempts to discredit Jesus came after His resurrection.  In Matthew 28:11-15, the chief priests paid the soldiers at the tomb a “large sum of money” to spread the lie that Jesus’ disciples stole His body from the tomb in the night while the soldiers were asleep.  Can you imagine how much commotion there would have been?   Imagine enough people to unseal a giant stone from a tomb, even if they tried to be quiet, sneaking up behind two sleeping guards, without waking anyone, and then proceeding to carry away Jesus’ body?  Of course, this is presuming that both of these highly trained fighting machines known as Roman guards fell asleep on the job, at the same time, after such a high profile execution as this.  Not likely.

            Paul had many challenges in keeping new Christians on track with the Lord’s teachings, since false teachers were all too eager to lead astray those immature in the faith.  He said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned (Galatians 1:8).”

            Today, some people still try to discredit Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.  Too many are eager to lure believers away from our only hope, Jesus Christ, in exchange for a false hope based on lies.  They try to convince people that Jesus is not the only way to eternal life with God.  In the end, their success at proving Jesus wrong will not be any greater than those who came before them.  And sooner or later, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).”

            For some, that will be a day of rejoicing!  Have a great week!

Blessings can even be found in a bad day

by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 21, 2014

            Did you ever have one of those days when you seem to be a minute or two late for everything, no matter how hard you try?  I had one of those days last week. 

            First, I picked up my son from school promptly at 2:40 so we could go to the Public Safety office in Muskogee to get his driver’s permit before 3:00 when they often stop taking customers even though the office is “open” until 4:45.  But when we got there, the sign said “Closed, moved to 1806 N. York.” 

            So, on our way to the new location, I caught the green arrow at the intersection of Shawnee and York. But before I could get through the light, a funeral procession went through ahead of me.  My son and I could not help but laugh hysterically, not at the fact that someone died, obviously, but at the fact that we just couldn’t seem to catch a break.  Could be worse!

            We finally arrived at the DPS at 3:01pm. They said, “Sorry, we’re not giving out any more numbers (tickets) today.”  We did catch a break, though, since I had already called on my cell phone.  We sat waiting in the lobby with ticket #59.  The lobby sign stayed on customer #49 for over 45 minutes.  Half of those ten customers left before it was their turn. Eventually, the nice, hard-working examiner (the only person working the desk at the new and more efficient location), called out our number, #59 at about 4:10.  Hooray!   

            We finished up and left at 4:20 to go to the Fort Gibson Tag Agency for part 2 of the process. But since it closes at 4:30, and we arrived at 4:32, our task then became a two-day adventure.  I didn’t mind, since the Fort Gibson Tag Agency ALWAYS does a fantastic job with speedy and courteous customer service, and is well-deserving of going home on-time.  Anyway, we went home and ate a quick bite so I could get my son to music practice 20 minutes late.

            Then, I thought I would take my mind off the day, and do something nice for my wife who teaches second grade, and was still in her classroom at 6:45 (This is normal for teachers unless they want to come in on Saturdays and Sundays to get everything done).  She needed an ink cartridge for her classroom printer (which she supplies), and some printing labels.  I hopped in the car and headed from Fort Gibson to Office Depot in Muskogee, arriving at 7:01.  Unfortunately, they closed at 7:00.  Ugh!  Thank goodness those kinds of days are the exception!

            The other day, I read a Facebook post by one of my friends and graduated youth group member, Kinsey Dortch. Her quote from Solomon put so many things into perspective for all of us.  It says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21).”

            As much stress as I allow myself to feel, ultimately it is God’s will that I am seeking to accomplish, whether things are going “my way” or not.  God has His reasons for intervening. Who knows? Maybe God blessed me and my son with a day like that to help us with our patience, or maybe so my son could see how I react to stressful situations as a Christian dad.  Whatever the case, God is still GOOD.  And at the end of the day, I still have the assurance of heaven.  Have a great week!

Ancient evidence of Bible accuracy still being uncovered

by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 14, 2014

             The thing I like the most about the Bible is that it is true!  If it were not true, then none of the stories, no matter how compelling, would be life-changing, or give us any hope of anything beyond this life.  But since new proof is always an exciting faith builder, it is encouraging when evidence from archaeology, science, astronomy, or geology agrees with Biblical history.

            You may remember the Old Testament story from Joshua 6 of how the walls of Jericho fell, after God’s people, by faith, marched around the city for seven days at the Lord’s command.  This is a God-inspired story that took place about 3400 years ago, after Joshua took over for his mentor Moses in leading the Israelites to the land God promised, one military victory after another.  It’s a story of hope and motivation to side with God, and let Him break down the walls before you as He chooses.  It has been part of the Bible, and protected by Jewish scribes since it was written as far back as 1400 B.C.  Jews from then on, accepted the story, and believed it as truth.

            But in the 1950’s, British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon meticulously excavated the ancient site of Jericho at the request of another British archaeologist named John Garstang in the 1930’s, who was hoping she would confirm his findings that the story of the Jericho wall happened just the way the Bible said.  Unfortunately, she came to the conclusion that the story “…so vividly described in the book of Joshua” did not happen.  O yes, Kenyon found a huge wall that had been destroyed, but her theory is that the Egyptians did it 150 years earlier, and that Jericho of the Bible did not exist during the time Joshua led the Israelites. 

            However, as with any statement contrary to God’s word, just because someone disagrees with the Bible, doesn’t mean their theory is true.  Kenyon based her ideas on the fact that she could not find a particular type of pottery that was very popular during that time.  The problem for her theory turned out to be that the pottery she was looking for was expensive and imported.  That is an important detail since her own evidence (and from other archaeologists) showed the area she was digging in was a poor section of the city.   

            In more recent years, an American archaeologist named Bryant G. Wood who specializes in Canaanite Late Bronze Age pottery has continued to lecture on this topic.  His findings have turned Kenyon’s theory upside-down. His work came about forty years after Kenyon’s research.  He visited the site and re-examined the evidence discovered by a German team in 1907, by Garstang in the 1930’s, by Kenyon in the 1950’s, and by an Italian-Palestinian team in 1997.

            Among other evidence, Dr. Wood reported these findings: 

1) large amounts of home-made pottery with red and black patterns common to the 1400 B.C. time frame.

2) large quantities of grain stored in ceramic containers. Joshua 2:6 indicates it was harvest time, as opposed to the pre-harvest time of year in which an Egyptian siege would have likely used to starve out their opponent.  Also, God commanded the Israelites to leave all valuables behind because it was to be devoted to God (Joshua 6:17).

3) Houses attached to the north section of the excavated Jericho wall were undamaged, and are close to the mountains as described in Joshua 2:15. The Bible says Rahab hid spies in her house in the wall with the assurance that she would remain unharmed. 

4) large amounts of mud brick that had fallen towards the outside, making the perfect incline for the Israelites to “go up” into the city (Joshua 6:5).

            So what do we do with this information?  I believe it is just one more thing to encourage all of us to be faithful to the Bible’s teachings, even when we don’t fully understand the details of how such amazing things happened.  Yes, being a Christian and believing in our creator God take faith.  Still, the mountains of evidence here on earth, and among the stars and planets, are more than enough to tip the scales of doubt and faith in favor of the Bible and all of its amazing accounts therein.  Have a great week!

Let Jesus Christ be your guide in 2014

by Barrett Vanlandingham
January 7, 2014

            As long as we live on earth, Christians will never be able to force morality on anyone, through more laws or any other means.  Sure, you can throw someone in jail for breaking the law.  Sometimes, that is what’s needed as a measure of public safety.  But that does not necessarily change a person’s moral stance on issues we face today.  It does not bring them salvation or even a better life. Only Jesus can.  That’s where we as Christians come in.  But even after telling someone the Good News story of Christ and what he has done for us, it is still up to the individual to believe and act on Biblical truths.

            Yes, I would love to say good-bye and good riddance to some of the immorality that saw an increase in 2013.  However, it looks like we are only in for more in the New Year.

            Morality in our country is suffering more and more as laws, policies, and rulings promoting habits, activities and lifestyles contrary to God’s word seem to be gaining steam. Here are just a few:

            1) Legalized gambling is addictive and promotes the love of money and the coveting of ill-gotten gain (Proverbs 10:2, 1 Tim. 6:9-10).  The fact is, when a gambler wins, the money comes from someone who lost.  The winnings on one end often result in tragic losses of finances, property and relationships on the other end.  So far, I haven’t found anything in the Bible that speaks well of gambling or getting rich without working for it.  In Proverbs, Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived) contrasts ill-gotten treasures with righteousness.

            2) Legalizing recreational marijuana will definitely get the drug into the hands of more people who want it for more than medicinal uses.  Common sense says legalizing marijuana will not promote sober-mindedness (1 Peter 5:8), and unlike alcohol, there is no way to tell if the driver of a vehicle has smoked too much until it’s too late.  God’s word condemns drunkenness over and over (Galatians 5:21).

            3)  Legalizing homosexual marriage conflicts with Old and New Testament teachings (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Tim. 1:10, 1 Cor. 7:2, Genesis 2:19-23).  In Romans 1:18-32, God’s word condemns the acting out of both male to male, and female to female homosexual relations. 

             We ALL fight one sin or another.  Gossip, malice, slander, gluttony, covetousness, pride, drunkenness, and sexual sin are just a few that the Bible speaks of.  But just because we are tempted by a particular sin does NOT mean we have to give in to temptation and hopelessly embrace sin.  God simply would not create someone in such a way that they would not be able to obey His will and escape hell. 

            Spiritual war is a very real thing, and we are ALL involved in it, just as people have been for thousands of years.  Over and over, mankind has embraced God, and then turned its back on Him.  In speaking of judgment day, Peter said, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).”  Christians are also called to be patient, and love every sinner, even as we hate every sin.

            If you are reading this and do not sense my sincerity and love for all people, please forgive me.  I am, like many of you, only a sinner who strives daily to obey God’s will, but in the end, saved only by grace.  Have a blessed week!