Above the Sun: God can help you change for the better

September 8, 2019

by Barrett Vanlandingham

                      ²⁶He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29).

            This parable teaches that yes, we are involved in our own spiritual growth just like the man who scattered the seed.  But we are not alone in this process. Just like the growing process of the seed, the positive change in our lives is a mystery in which Jesus Christ is the solution (1 Timothy 3:16). I can just imagine Jesus smiling and using air quotation marks while saying “All by itself” as He was telling the story to his disciples about how the soil produces grain.

            So often, we plan things out for our lives the way we see it happening. We pray about it, press on full steam ahead, include God in everything we do, and assume or hope God feels the same about our plans as we do. But even when we have the best of intentions, God sometimes has something different in mind for us. He even has plans for us when we have no idea what to do. For that we are all grateful. It’s a thought passed down from the wisest human who ever lived, Solomon.           

            “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

            Submitting or committing to anything or anyone takes a lot of work and faith (belief).

            In Ephesians 2:8-10, the apostle Paul does not stop with saying “it is by grace you have been saved.” He continues to say that grace saves us through our faith. We are saved by our belief in God’s act of grace that accomplished what we could not do on our own, the forgiveness of sin. We obey God’s word and do the things He asks of us because we believe in Jesus’ power to save us.

            If we do not obey God’s teachings, James 2:18-19 says we are no different than the demons who believe there is one God.  Faith and deeds go hand in hand. “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).

            Here are three things to think about in regards to spiritual growth:

1. It involves a partnership between the believer and God where we keep in step with His Spirit and His attributes such as love and kindness (Galatians 5:22-25). Paul says, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

2. As we do His will, we grow a little at a time. Even Paul admitted he still had work to do in maturing as a Christian (Philippians 3:12-14). Peter would agree. He told Christians to grow spiritually by adding Christ-like qualities into their lives a step at a time (2 Peter 1:5-8). He says, “Make every effort to confirm your calling and election” (v. 10)

3. Finally, Jesus explains that spiritual growth has a purpose, to make us ready for the harvest or the end of the age when the righteous will shine like the sun, and the weeds will be burned in the fire.

            God’s word has the power to change hearts and minds, and bring the lost into a saved relationship with Him through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Romans 1:16-17).

            Have a great week!

Above the Sun: It is never too late to work in God’s kingdom

September 1, 2019

by Barrett Vanlandingham

            “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-2).

            Did you ever try to do something nice for someone, but it backfired? That’s what happened in this parable told by Jesus. The agreement between the workers and the landowner was a fair one. The problem came at the end of the day when the workers found out the landowner had also hired additional workers throughout the day, and paid them the same even though the new hires did not work as many hours in the heat of the day as those who started earlier.

            “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you” (Matthew 20:13-14).

            The point Jesus makes in this parable is that it doesn’t matter when someone turns their life over to God and begins to work for Him. A person who was dedicated to the Lord for 90-years does not get a better place in heaven than someone who becomes a Christian the hour before the trumpet of the Lord sounds! People in the first century were particularly concerned with this issue because the Jews were originally God’s chosen people. One popular Jewish Christian belief in the first century held that Gentiles who became Christians could only be saved if they obeyed Jewish law first. Paul preached against this.

            Three takeaways from this parable are that the grace of God is overwhelming, never-ending, and unbiased.

            First, there is nothing that spells grace any more than the words of Peter. He told his readers that the reason God has not already returned for the Judgment is because of His patience and unwillingness that anyone should perish, but that all people would eventually turn to Him (2 Peter 3:9). God will continue seeking those who would work in His kingdom until the final hour. And yes, they will get the same reward as those who worked their whole lives.

            Second, the supply of God’s grace will never be depleted. It is not like a jar of peanut butter that eventually has to be scraped out. God’s jar is always full and fresh no matter when you open it. The workers at the end of the day did not receive the “leftover” wages, but instead a full day’s pay in spite of their short-comings.

            Third, it is important for new Christians as well as lifetime Christians to understand that God’s grace is not limited to certain types of people. It is given to all who choose God, even if they do not look like, sound like, smell like, or dress like anyone else you know. In the parable, nobody else was willing to hire the latecomers. We do not know why they were considered rejects. The good landowner not only hired them, but gave them the same amount as the others.

            As members of Christ’s church, we are also to reach out to the broken, and not only to those who rise to a certain level.  Have a great week!

Above the Sun: A little kindness can make a big difference

by Barrett Vanlandingham

August 25, 2019

            “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:12-14).

            Doesn’t it feel good when someone goes out of their way to do something nice for you? Jesus wants his followers to be that kind of friend. In this parable, Jesus urges us to seek people who are living in sin or who have strayed away. He also teaches here that we are to celebrate when they are brought back into the church family or perhaps welcomed in for the first time.  Just like Jesus, the shepherd in this parable considered all of his sheep to be valuable and important enough to go great lengths to save them from harm.

            In Luke 19, Jesus went further than just telling a story about seeking the lost, He actually showed us in a real-life scenario as He entered Jericho and found himself in the middle of a crowd. It would have been easy for most of us to miss out on the opportunity to visit with Zacchaeus. After all, most people didn’t want anything to do with him because he was a wealthy tax collector. Those who held that office were known to charge taxpayers extra to pad their own bank accounts. Zacchaeus was also short, and could not see above the crowd. So, he climbed a tree ahead of the crowd in hopes of being able to see Jesus as He came by.  Not only was Zacchaeus able to see the Savior, but Jesus noticed him sitting in the tree and told him to come down so they could visit more at Zacchaeus’s house. The special attention Jesus showed this man ultimately resulted in Zacchaeus making things right with the people and with God. Jesus reached out to Zacchaeus, and in return, Zacchaeus took action to change for the better.

            In Luke 15:5-6, there are more celebratory details expressed by the shepherd at finding his sheep. “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’” The shepherd lifts up his no longer lost sheep as he declares victory!

            Jesus calls His followers to reach out to lost sinners, and to joyfully add those who repent and are saved into our fellowship. Luke writes in Acts 8:8 that “There was great joy in that city.” This was after the Samaritans, who were despised by many, became Christians.

            Of course, one important variable we do not know from the parable of the lost sheep is how long the sheep is lost. A Christian brother or sister who strays from God’s path will stay lost until they choose to come home. We all have free will. One thing we do know is that God is patient with us (2 Peter 3:9), and so we should be patient with those who continue to struggle spiritually. Our attitude as a concerned Christian can either cause someone to open the door to Jesus, or to let Jesus keep knocking (Revelation 3:20).

            Have a great week!

Above the Sun: Repentance is a good thing

by Barrett Vanlandingham

August 18, 2019

            “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’  “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go” (Matthew 21:28-30).

            There are few verses in the Bible that give us as much hope as this parable. It was told by Jesus when He was approached in the temple by the chief priests and elders who were questioning His authority. He used this illustration to explain to them the importance of repentance. Jesus basically explained that it is not so much where you start out, it is where you end up that is important. Jesus explained that it was the first son who did what his father wanted even though neither son gave the answer their father hoped for.

            There are a lot of definitions for repentance depending on whom you ask. Some common ideas back then as well as today may include being sorry, or apologizing, or asking forgiveness. Someone can be forced to do a task even though they do it grudgingly. That is not repentance. The point Jesus made to His listeners was that repentance involves changing your mind as well as your actions.

            In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees and other religious leaders were good at putting on a good religious show, but they were not genuine, and Jesus knew they were frauds. In Matthew 23, He warned the crowds and his disciples to not follow the example of the scribes and Pharisees because they did not practice what they preached. In fact, He said any deeds they did were for the purpose of impressing people. They relied on outer appearance more than on the power of God within them.

            Jesus reminded the Pharisees that prostitutes and tax collectors were turning to God to make them whole, while the self-righteous religious leaders were too busy relying on themselves and their public display of religion to make them appear holy.

            In living the Christian life, we all face those times when we need to rethink our responsibilities when it comes to being a new creation and ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). The apostle Peter had strong words for those false preachers and teachers who had strayed from presenting and living out God’s will, in exchange for man-made teachings.

            “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them” (2 Peter 2:21).

            Repentance is what keeps us pointed in the right direction, and we are all in need of that. Have a great week!