Above the Sun: Blessings are ahead

by Barrett Vanlandingham
July 5, 2020

Today was supposed to be my youth group’s session at Burnt Cabin Christian Camp. But for the first time since the camp opened in 1959, the entire summer camp schedule was canceled because of the threat of Covid-19. Right now, young people of all ages are wondering why a stupid virus had to come along and ruin their life.

            To so many of you who are reading this, a summer without church camp is unthinkable. After all, camp is where lives are changed. Young people re-commit to their faith journey. Others hear the Gospel story of Jesus and are saved for the very first time. It is where lasting friendships and special memories are made in packed cafeterias, bunkhouses, Bible classes, and worship spaces. But not this year.

On the surface, we may view all of this as nothing but a disruption to our lives. The exciting part of all this is the fact that history is dotted with adverse circumstances that God used to accomplish something positive. More than likely, you can think of bad things that have happened in your own life that later resulted in something you consider to be a blessing. As I’ve mentioned before, the apostle Paul wrote about this kind of scenario in Romans 8:28. Christians are not exempt from trials in their life, but have the assurance that God uses these bumps in the road and even tragic events to make a positive impact on someone who needs it.

At “Kids Camp” (for younger children) we play a game called First Century Christian. Teams play a sort of hide and go seek game where Roman soldiers try to find your group of Christians to take them to jail. For the kids, it is a chance to tell the soldiers about Jesus and why they should become a Christian. If the soldiers don’t buy your sales pitch, your team goes to jail where they get a second chance by telling the jailer about Jesus. Teams try so hard to not be found, but when they are found, the kids learn about the blessing of getting out of your comfort zone, telling someone the story of Jesus, and playing a part in their salvation.

We get used to things being a certain way. But trials do come, whether it is Covid-19, the 2019 flood, the ice-storm of 2007, or something else. The mountain-top peaks of life do not last forever. We all must walk through the valleys. The only question is whether we will choose to go through them alone, or with Jesus and church family. We often feel helpless when we face trials we cannot seem to solve ourselves. But that is when God does His best work. Remember what the Lord told Paul: “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). It all starts with trusting in the One who can heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

It some ways it would be nice to know what lies ahead. But whatever the case, we can know that God is with us (Romans 8:31) in this life and the life to come.  Have a great week!

Above the Sun: Freedom in Christ cost more than we realize

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 28, 2020

            Sometimes I wonder what the conversation was like for God, His son, and the Holy Spirit when they came to the conclusion that things on earth had become so messed up that only one solution could fix it.

            For instance, how did they decide which one of them would put on flesh and come to earth to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Well, in this instance, the decision must have been painfully obvious, as only one of them was able to help us best understand the true meaning of sacrifice.

Most dads I know would not even consider letting their son die in place of someone else, especially if the dad was available and willing to do the dying. That is human wisdom. The difference in this case is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all God.

Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, Ephesians 4:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2 and Revelation 1:4-5 all point to there being one Godhead shared by three. They are a three in one God. Jesus himself stated that he and the Father are one (John 10:30).

They were all willing to live as a perfect human example and die for us. But it makes sense that they chose God the Son, since it would be considerably easier for humanity to grasp God’s sorrow in allowing His only son to die for the sins of a broken and hopeless world of sinners.

It was always God the Son who played the part of the action figure. Jesus was the one who created everything at God’s command (John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:15-20, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Hebrews 1:2-3). Jesus was the one who came to earth in human form to save us. And it will be Jesus who returns in the clouds to bring His faithful home (Hebrews 9:28, Luke 21:25-28).

There are three things we need to take from this: 1) Without hope, we were enslaved by sin, and in need of a Savior. 2) As Creator, Jesus was that sinless Savior, and His blood was superior to that of bulls and goats.  3) Jesus is God. Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each felt every bit of pain and humiliation that Jesus felt during the trial, scourging, and crucifixion to free those who believe in Him from the burden of sin.

The apostle Paul summed up the believer’s response in this way: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Jesus himself gave us these words of confidence: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Have a blessed week!

Above the Sun: God gave dads important jobs to do

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 21, 2020

            When I was a kid and would get up in the middle of the night to get a drink, I would often catch my dad still up because he got off work late. He would be sitting in his chair next to a table lamp, feet propped up, studying to teach a Sunday morning Bible class a few hours later that morning. I thought to myself, “That does not look like fun.” Then, I would crawl back into bed until it was time to get up and get ready for church. Somehow, my dad still managed to be clean shaven, Brut 33 applied, dressed and ready before the rest of us. He took Paul’s words to heart in every way.

            “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).

            Years later, after I was in the working world, I often found myself up late on Saturday nights and into the early morning hours studying for a Bible class I had signed up to teach. I had intended to spread my study time out over a few days earlier in the week. But things got in the way. So, there I was, doing the same thing I remembered dad doing. I knew it was possible because I had seen him do it. And no, it was not anymore “fun” than I remembered it looked like when I saw dad staying up late.

Eventually, I figured out that dad was not studying in the middle of the night because it was fun. He was doing it because of his commitment to God and family and to those he might have the chance to influence for the cause of Christ. Dad worked hard to make a good living for us. But it was his work for the Lord that was the real treasure. Jesus spoke about this in His famed Sermon on the Mount.

            19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

            22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

            24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:19-24).

            Because my dad chose to put God first, everything else fell into place. Mom and us kids always had a roof over our head and food on the table. And no matter how tired he was from work, he always made sure we made it to church on time to be fed spiritually, and he always made sure the same lessons we learned at church were applied at home.

After I left home and even at times left God, I always knew he prayed I would not only come back home to visit him and mom, but that I would come back to God. That’s what Christian dads do. And even though not every dad is a Christian, we serve a God who sings over us (Zephaniah 3:17), prays over us (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34), and never gives up on us (2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 86:15, Revelation 3:20).  Have a great week!

Above the Sun: We must spread the love of Christ

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 14, 2020

            Jesus knew what He was doing when He gave “love your neighbor” the title of “greatest command” in Mark 12:28-34 and Matthew 22:34-39.

            There is no greater solution to the world’s problems than showing all people the sacrificial kind of love Jesus was talking about. In fact, He even placed loving your neighbor on the same level as loving God. This was an important statement for Jesus to make because for thousands of years God-respecting people have failed time and time again in demonstrating what it really means to love God. This disconnect is written about dozens of times in both in the Old and New Testaments.

            Speaking through His O.T. prophet Isaiah, God showed His disgust with the offerings, assemblies, and prayers of those who went through the motions of honoring God even as they ignored the needs of people among them who were less fortunate.

            “Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land. But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword” (Isaiah 1:16-20).

            Bad attitudes are very much like bad apples. If left alone, they can spoil the whole basketful. As with any disobedience to God, refusing to have your neighbor’s best interest at heart affects all of us in some way. We have all crossed paths with someone who took their frustration out on us based on what someone else did to them earlier that day.  Likewise, being determined to love others as Jesus showed us how to love really does have a ripple effect that has been proven to make a positive difference. It is rarely easy to be nice to someone who is not acting right. But Christians must remember that our actions and words must reflect the love of God.

            “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20).

            The job of every Christian to spread the love of God and tell the story of Jesus is more important today than ever before. There can be no bench-sitters, no one watching from the sidelines. We must all do what we can in our own little circles of influence to make a difference in the hearts of present and future generations. What a world it would be if we all heeded the words of God’s prophet Micah:

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

Have a great week!