God’s opinion on marriage remains unchanged

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 30, 2015

            Okay folks, it does not matter what I think, or what you think as far as our opinions regarding how we live our lives.  But, it does matter what God thinks.  After all, He created us and He has given us instructions on things we should do and should not do if we want to live in accordance with His will.  After all, our eternal destiny is on the line.

            “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27).”

            Yes, I will be among the first to say how nice it is to live in a free country.  So when our elected leaders or our justice system make laws that not only go against the will of the people, or even worse, conflict with God’s law, I will admit I am more than a little frightened of what consequences will come our way.

            In the New Testament we read, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31).”

            This is not the first time these words appear in the Bible.  Paul was actually quoting the Law of Moses from the book of Genesis 2:24, written over 1400 years previous (3400 B.C.).

            The apostle Matthew quotes Jesus Himself who reaffirms the Genesis passage, adding, “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:4-6).”

            In Genesis 2:18-22, we read there was no suitable helper for Adam, and so God took a rib from Adam and made the woman.  God made His decision on the definition of marriage thousands of years ago.  Five members of the U.S. Supreme Court made their majority decision a few days ago against the vote of the people in states that still banned homosexual marriages.

            How should Christians react to one more man-made law that violates God’s word? We should react with the same attitude God expects of us in regards to all the other man-made laws that allow or even encourage people to live in opposition to God.

            In the book of Acts, officials from the highest court in the land, the Sanhedrin, had Peter and John arrested and ordered to stop speaking about Jesus.  But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19-20).”

            The truths of God’s word are just too important to keep quiet about. Paul says to obey the laws of the land (Romans 13). Jesus says, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

            So, it is clear that God’s will is for us to live peaceably with everyone (Romans 12:18). And while that is true, Christians are not exempt from speaking the truth, though it must be spoken in a spirit of love (ref: Ephesians 4:15). Paul tells Christians in Rome “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”   Again, in the end, it will be God’s decision that counts (Romans 12:19).  Please pray for our nation. Have a blessed week!

Mission trips change lives

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 23, 2015

            It’s great to be back home in Fort Gibson after spending a week with our mission team and a lot of new friends in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in Central America. This is the time of year when a lot of churches send short-term missionaries out to serve either here in the states or abroad. I pray that the Lord’s Kingdom will grow because of it.

            The 23 member Church of Christ team I served with had many wonderful experiences.  There were 13 adults and ten teenagers.  Half of our team built two small (18’ X 18’) houses for local church members who were in desperate need of housing. We purchased cement and gravel for the new homeowners to pour a floor after we left. Believe it or not, a new 18’ X 18’ house made of lumber nailed onto four corner posts is the nicest place they’ve ever lived.  As our team was leaving one of the sites, the family arrived home with smiles that told everything they were thinking even though we didn’t speak the same language.  God is good.

            The other half of the team conducted a three day Vacation Bible School for about 90 children.  I wrote three lessons about Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego. But since I do not speak Spanish, a Honduran lady named Nivian taught the classes and led songs.  Finally, the last day of VBS I got enough nerve after hours of practice and help from Nivian and our translator, Jorge, to lead all the songs that day, yes, in Spanish!  Occasionally,  I asked the children, in Spanish, if they understood what I was saying, and they all said, “Si”.  So, I figured I wasn’t too far off track.  Again, God is good.

            One of our new adult team members, Joe Hammond, brought his two teenage sons, Teddy and Timmy, along on the trip.  Joe said he enjoyed watching the interaction between our U.S. teenagers and the Honduran children. He said even though there were language and other differences, all the kids played well together, and showed Christian love towards each other.  There were lots of heartfelt hugs as the week went on.  Jeremy Koel graduated in May from Fort Gibson High School. But the education he received while helping build a house and interacting with children at VBS for just one week in Honduras was unlike anything he had ever experienced.  The Walkingstick family was also new to this trip. Robby and two of his teenage children, Nathan and Aubree, all said they experienced the love of God in the children they came to serve. Robby said this will not be his family’s last trip to Honduras.

            Fort Gibson is fortunate to have many people in our town who participate in mission trips. Let’s all pray that the excitement, revival, and closeness to God brought about by our efforts elsewhere will spill over into our daily lives here at home. May each of us live mission-minded lives to bring honor and glory to our Lord all year long.  Have a blessed week!

The Bible teaches us to do our best

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 16, 2015

            I was sitting in the chair at the Derek and Jackie Gawf’s Fort Gibson Barber Shop letting my young friend and barber trainee, Uriel, fulfill some of his apprenticeship requirements. As he carefully and skillfully cut my hair, one of his supervisors, Derek, said something I thought was very interesting.  Derek said that his student, Uriel, does an excellent job cutting hair because he is thinking about what he is doing, following guidelines, and giving it his best.  Derek said sometimes an experienced barber can become lax and make mistakes if they don’t make a conscious effort to put into practice the original techniques they were trained to do. Of course, we all know the potential to coast is a reality for anyone who holds down a job in any profession for very long.

            As I thought about this, it reminded me of an old song taken from the pages of the Old Testament book of Lamentations.  It says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him (Lamentations 3:22-24).”

            Those words were written in about 586 B.C. by an eye-witness (possibly Jeremiah) to the destruction God brought upon Jerusalem and the temple because of the people’s continued idol worship. This collection of songs known as Lamentations “laments” the events that took place, and how God used the Babylonians to teach Judah and Jerusalem a tough lesson about abandoning God.

            You see, the problem with God’s chosen people, the Israelites, is that even though God chose them, they had not chosen God.  And since they were not fully committed to God, they were constantly making choices that put them at odds with the Creator, the very God who saved their life and brought them dignity over and over again.  God was steadfast, faithful, merciful, and loving to his people every single hour of every day. It was like he was trying every single day to impress his people just like we all do when we first meet someone we want to impress. The difference is that with God, his efforts were “new every morning”.  And even though the author of Lamentations could see the pain the Jews brought on themselves by their disobedience to God, the writer could also see that God was incredibly merciful and loyal to those who chose to walk with Him.

            It is the same challenge we have today.  God shows his love to us every hour of every day. He provides our needs every morning.  So, the question becomes this: What are we doing everyday to honor Him. Do we ever become weary or lax in living the Christian life?  Pray today that Christians everywhere will have a renewed commitment to following God’s commands in a manner that is “new every morning.”   Have a blessed week!

Saying one thing and doing another is never good

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 9, 2015

            As I was driving down Willey Street  Fort Gibson this week a jogger was running towards me (which is the correct side to be on, according to the Road Runners Club of America website). But in spite of the fact she was wearing bright orange colors from head to toe, she was not only running towards me, she was in my lane since there was no shoulder. Her “be cautious” colors were saying one thing, but her actions were saying something totally different. Oddly enough, in an attempt to get healthy, the jogger was putting her own life at risk and possibly the lives of others.

            I do not claim to understand how to interpret Oklahoma law with regards to runners using the same roadway that cars are using. And although I was impressed with some of the precautions the runner had taken, I could not help but wonder why anyone would knowingly put themselves in that kind of jeopardy.  I can only empathize with “street runners” because I am a motorcycle owner who loves to ride on the streets and highways in spite of the fact that every truck and car driver I meet is only a small distraction away from wiping me off the map. I would say jogging on a city street is the only thing I can think of that’s more dangerous than riding a bike on public roadways. No second chances for either.

            I did a Google search on the topic of drivers hitting pedestrians. The sheer number of news reports and articles (and a little bit of common sense) tells me it would be in my best interest to pick some place other than a public street to exercise.  We tell our children to not play in the streets, but sometimes the example we set tells them otherwise.  We tell children to not play in the streets, but adults do.  Our society says, “Stay healthy!”  But the price some are willing to pay seems a little steep to me.

            Spiritually, we can also be guilty of this. We show up for worship, and even use words like “brother” or “sister”, but our choice of actions away from worship can put us in spiritual danger. The life of the Christian needs to be consistent if we expect others to view our mission of saving souls with any sense of credibility. 

            The writer of James 3:11 asks, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?”  Let’s pray that our spiritual goals are reflected in the way we live our day to day lives.  Have a blessed week!