Above the Sun: Life after graduation requires spiritual strategies

by Barrett Vanlandingham
May 9, 2021           

            Hello from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma!  In just a few days, 2021 high school graduations will be taking place all across the nation, marking the very first major crossroads for those walking the stage. So many decisions to make. So many directions to consider.

            It is of greatest importance that young Christian graduates understand their lives will go much smoother if the spiritual journey comes first, because when God is at the top, everything else falls into place the way it should. The option of just bringing Jesus along for the ride when it’s convenient has never worked well for anyone.

            This is true when it comes to every single decision we make: career, hobbies, relationships. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. As a young king, he asked God for the ability to discern right from wrong. God was so impressed that young Solomon’s request was not for wealth or power, He gave him all of that. His wisdom was so evident, that the people knew it had come from God (1 Kings 3:28).

The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are both great places to start if you’re looking for examples of Solomon’s wisdom and advice on which way to turn at life’s crossroads. Proverbs was actually written for the benefit of young people to make better decisions, practical tips for living. Ecclesiastes was written to teach readers the importance of respecting God and keeping His commands instead of chasing after worldly things while leaving God out of the picture.

Solomon said: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.  Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (Proverbs 4:23-27).

There are so many evil forces at work, competing for our children’s hearts to distract them from the One who loves them most of all. Everywhere they turn, our children are fed lies that glamorize sinful language, sinful lifestyles, and goals that lead to sinful outcomes. Solomon warns against all of this, and against successes that are not sinful, but can damage our relationship with God or cause someone else to stumble.

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just learn from the lessons of Solomon and avoid the consequences that come with bad decision-making? The problem is that we are human and we usually feel the need to try things out for ourselves. That seems to be especially true for young people. We’ve all been there. So please join me in prayer for our graduating seniors, that they would seek wisdom from God to make righteous decisions as they set out on their own. Have a great week!

Above the Sun: I believe in the church and its mission

by Barrett Vanlandingham
May 2, 2021           

            Hello from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma!  In my most recent articles, I have written about what I believe the Bible says about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Today, I want to spend some time on the church, what it is, and why it is important to all of us.

Here in one of about 15 Bible belt states, it is hard to imagine towns without a church on every corner. The church influences everything in our communities, from businesses and schools to politics. This does not happen by trying to force-feed our beliefs down someone’s windpipe. Positive change happens from the inside out. This is where the church comes in. We as Christians are the church, and yes there has to be teaching that goes on, and it must be done in a spirit of truth and love (Ephesians 4:15).

We know the church must be very important to Jesus because the Bible describes the church as Christ’s body (Ephesians 4:12), with Christ being the head of the church (Colossians 1:18). The church is also described as Christ’s bride, making Him the groom (Ephesians 5). The Bible tells us in at least 8 verses that Christ died for us, His church (Ephesians 5:25).

In Acts 2, Luke wrote that those who repented and were baptized would receive forgiveness of sins and also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say the Lord added three-thousand to their number that day, those who were being saved (Acts 2:41, 47). That was the beginning of the Lord’s church, His body of believers that still exists today all around the world.

Okay, so now what?

Some of Jesus’ final words before ascending back to the Father were instructions to his disciples to “Go” teach people everywhere about Christ’s commands (Matthew 28:19-20). The apostle Paul told Christians in Rome of the importance of taking the good news of Jesus Christ to others so they can hear it, believe it, and call on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:14-15).

The New Testament tells us there are many important reasons for the Lord’s body, the church, to meet together: To encourage, fellowship, sing, preach, teach, give, pray, and to remember the Lord’s death during communion. Hebrews 10:24-27 makes the connection between meeting together and staying strong in the faith through the encouragement (:25) received. The attitude of Christians who meet together becomes characterized by love and good deeds. All of this helps Christians avoid deliberate sinning so that we do not become enemies of God (:27).

So, Christ loved us, the church, enough to die for us. We should view the church as important because those who God adds to the church are among the saved. Our goal as Christians should be to tell the good news of Jesus and invite others to become members of Christ’s body, the church. This is where believers in Christ can be encouraged through fellowship and the teaching of His word, and also encourage others while honoring God with our worship. If you are not sure if God has added you to His church, I invite you to contact me so we can talk about it.

Have a great week!

Above the Sun: I believe in the Holy Spirit

by Barrett Vanlandingham
April 25, 2021           

            Hello from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma!  I pray you are having a great day. All glory to God, the Giver of all good things, the One who gives us “above the sun” hope in this life and the life to come.

             Two weeks ago, my article focused on some reasons to believe in God. Last week I centered on Jesus. Today, I want to take a look at the role of the Holy Spirit, and some reasons I believe we should obey Him the same as we obey God the Father and God the Son, all three are part of what some call the Trinity or Godhead.

            The Bible makes it clear that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, in complete unity. The Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13, Ephesians 1:13) is also referred to by several other names in scripture: Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:11), Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9), Lord (2 Corinthians 3:16-17), Spirit of his (God’s) Son (Galatians 4:6). The Bible describes the Holy Spirit’s job as our Helper, Counselor, Comforter, Guide, Advocate, Keeper, and Interceder.

            The writers of the Bible credit the Holy Spirit as well as the Father and Son for the words written down for us, not just the writers themselves (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16, John 14:26, and John 12:49). You may have heard people say they believe the words directly spoken by Jesus, but not the words of the New Testament writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, James, and Jude. This would be a misguided notion since all of the Bible’s words were inspired by the Holy Spirit and are just as important to follow as those spoken by Jesus and the Father. That is why the apostle Paul urged Christians in Ephesus to “not grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30). Simply put, Paul was giving instructions on Christian living, things to do or not do, and he wanted to remind these new Christians that purposely disobeying God’s word causes grief to God’s Spirit.

A similar instruction is given by Jesus regarding his own words: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46, John 14:15, 21, 23, 24).

            In 1 John 5:2-3, the writer says God’s will should be our priority: “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.”

            We as humans probably relate best to Jesus Christ than to God or His Holy Spirit simply because Jesus came to earth in human form, allowed himself to be tempted as we are (Hebrews 4:14-16). But it was Jesus who said, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).

            After Peter’s compelling sermon during a Jewish festival known as Pentecost, he told a large audience of new believers that they needed to “repent and be baptized” in the name of Jesus Christ in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Luke says that God added three-thousand new believers to the Lord’s church that day, those who believed Peter’s message and were baptized (Acts 2:41, 47). Upon their commitment, the seal of the Holy Spirit was placed in them as a guarantee of their inheritance of heaven (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30).

            As a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), God wants us to keep in step with His Spirit (Galatians 5:25). By living by the Spirit, we “do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). May we all strive daily to listen and do the will of God’s Spirit. He is our number one weapon in spiritual warfare, as He dwells inside and partners with every baptized believer. Have a great week!

Above the Sun: I believe in Jesus

by Barrett Vanlandingham
April 18, 2021           

            Hello from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma! I pray you are getting to enjoy some of these beautiful spring days and nights. Glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for making all good things possible. Everything becomes clearer when we view this life and our future life beyond the grave with an “above the sun” mentality.

             Last week, my article focused on some reasons to believe in God. Today, I want to think about Jesus and some of the reasons I believe in Him, and perhaps more importantly, why we should believe in Him.

            As we look through the New Testament, the word “believe” does not just mean that we acknowledge something is true (James 2:19). It means that we believe to the point that our lives are changed because of that belief. True belief calls for action and change (Luke 6:46, John 14:15, 21, 23, 24, James 2:17, 24, 26).

            For me, Matthew 1:20 is a good starting point for my belief in Jesus. An angel told Joseph that the Holy Spirit would place a baby in Mary’s womb, and his name would be Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. The virgin birth and even the location of where Jesus would be born was prophesied hundreds of years before (Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2).

So many details in Jesus’ life could not have been foretold and fulfilled if Jesus were not the Son of God. Here are a few more of them:

Jesus was betrayed by a friend, mocked, beaten, spit upon, hands and feet pierced, crucified with thieves, side pierced, no broken bones, lots were cast for his garments, buried in a rich man’s tomb, rose from the dead and ascended.

Those details are well known to anyone who has read the New Testament. But what makes them even more spectacular is the fact that these events were also written about long before any of them happened! Just read Psalm 16, 22, 34, 41:9, 68, 110, Isaiah 52, 53, Zechariah 11, 12 in the well-guarded Old Testament books if you want to be even more impressed with the New Testament.

Even ancient books from outside of the Bible agree with the words of the Bible. A good place to start is in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, verse 3, that talk about the life of Jesus, miracles, His crucifixion, resurrection, and appearances afterwards.

            Here is something more to think about: God the Father did not act alone in the creation story. New Testament writers make it clear that Jesus was there too. Yes, God said, “Let there be…” but the actual creation was done by or through the Son (1 Corinthians 8:6, John 1:1-3, John 1:18, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:1-3) who is also referred to as God (part of the Godhead consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

            In the book of John, emphasis is placed on the importance of believing Jesus is God’s Son and the Light of the world: “if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins" (John 8:12-24).

            Jesus’ #1 goal then and today is to save souls. While on earth, he was never all about trying to prove his own power, but the Father’s power working through Jesus in hopes of bringing salvation to the lost (John 10:24-38, 14:6, 20:30-31).  This is why it is so important to be clothed in Christ through baptism (Galatians 3:26-27).

            And these are just a few of the reasons I believe in Jesus. Have a great week!