God is closer than you think

by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 29, 2012

Within a few hours of writing this article for the Fort Gibson Times, I’m traveling to Neosho, Missouri with 60 teens and chaperons for a youth rally. The event is called Jumpstart because it takes place at the beginning of the school year. It gives teens one more high-octane spiritual boost before their schedules become too hectic. This weekend of praise and worship times, concerts, discussion classes, food and fellowship with about 800 young brothers and sisters in Christ is truly amazing.

One battle all youth ministers face is that of helping teens understand that even though teen events can rev us up spiritually, it is not possible to constantly stay on this kind of spiritual high. There will always be more mountaintop experiences to look forward to, but right in the middle of those “feel good” days will most certainly be life’s valleys. It is not even logical to think that in this life every day is a mountaintop, since mountaintops cannot exist without valleys which also hold great purpose for Christians.

One thing I always try to remind teens of is that God is not only alive and active at cool youth events, His Spirit is alive and active inside us! We do not have to wait until the next inspiring youth rally, Gospel meeting, retreat, or church camp to re-connect with God. The devil would like us to believe that the next spiritual boost is far, far away. But that’s only a lie.

Matthew 4:1-11 tells the story of how Jesus prepared for his ministry on earth. He fasted in the desert 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus was obviously hungry. So when the devil tempted him by telling him to turn stones into bread, that must have been extremely difficult to turn down, especially if his memories turned back to meals his mother prepared for him as a child. Just one bite of bread at satan’s request, and the story of Jesus would have taken on an entirely different flavor. But Jesus knew something the devil must have forgotten about.

The very beginning of that passage reminds us of something very important. It was God’s Holy Spirit who led Jesus into the dessert. He was with Jesus the entire time. As Christians, we need to remember that the Holy Spirit also dwells inside every baptized believer (Acts 2:38). It’s the same Spirit who descended on Jesus like a dove after his baptism in Matthew 3:16.

God is always near, willing, ready and able to pick us up when we are down. He is always listening. 1 Thes. 5:17 says, “Pray continually.” Have you talked to him today? Have a blessed week!

Back to school worries are no match for God
by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 22, 2012

            When I ask the kids in my youth group what burdens they would like to lay at the feet of Jesus this time of year, school-related stresses are always among the top.  Most parents I visit with are also a little more stressed at the beginning of the school year.

            The fact is, summer is not only great break from school, homework, and such.  It is also a great break from daily temptations that come in the form of peer pressure.  But it doesn’t take long every year for kids who are on fire for the Lord because of church camp and other youth activities, to find themselves fighting temptations.

            These spiritual battles become huge, especially for those who forget that Christians come equipped with an unlimited supply of POWER from on high (Ephesians 1:15-20), and from constant fellowship with their church family! (Hebrews 10:25)

            One of my favorite passages for young people this time of year was written by the apostle Paul to a young disciple named Timothy.  Paul wrote, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity (1 Timothy 4:12).”

            Paul is urging Timothy to persevere in his faith. This step begins with a study of God’s word (Romans 10:17 & 2 Timothy 2:15).  Even today, we must put aside our own likes and dislikes about how “religion” is done. We must get off God’s throne, and put Him back on it! Our place is not on a throne but on an altar (Romans 12:1).

Paul tells Timothy it is important to read from God’s word, and to obey it.  “Faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26).”   You see, putting our belief into action is just as necessary as having an accurate belief system to begin with, based on the Bible (Gal. 1:6-10). 

            In the first century Paul wrote letters of encouragement and instruction mostly to new bodies of believers.  The persecution they were under made these letters even more important.

Paul wrote to remind them of the power that each Christian possesses because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that takes place when we put on Christ in baptism (Acts 2:38 & Galatians 3:26-27).  God’s Spirit guides, comforts, and communicates our every need to God the Father as we earnestly seek to stay in step with God (Heb. 11:6 & Gal. 5:25).  God will always show us a way of escape when temptations come (1 Cor. 10:13).

In Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians he said, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21)

Remember the power of God’s encouragement and guidance is here for us today the same as it was generations ago.  What will you do with it today?    Have a blessed week!

I can only imagine how Noah felt!

by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 15, 2012

About 11:00pm Wednesday night as I sat in my chair watching the Olympics, I heard THUNDER. And then… almost immediately… to my amazement… raindrops… lots of them… spattering and then pouring onto my roof! I had to go outside to make sure my ears were not deceiving me! Sure enough, there it was… wet as it could be. Real, live, rain!

People on Facebook were talking about it, too. One quoted, “It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring, he went to bed and bumped his head, and he couldn't get up in the morning!”

I had told someone earlier that day I’d almost forgotten what it was like to experience rain! So, when the drops began to fall late Wednesday, I couldn’t help but wonder what Noah must have felt when the clouds opened up and began to produce rain (possibly for the first time ever, according to scripture). In an instant, everyone viewed Noah’s efforts to build an ark much differently than they had for the previous 100 years.

I think Noah must have had mixed reactions of deep sadness and redemption. After all, he had been preaching the righteousness of God for generation after generation and practically nobody believed him. But when the eight entered the ark with the animals and God closed the door, the minds of many would soon change. They would not only know about the truths Noah preached, but as the waters rose inch by inch, and the people found their lives to be in grave danger, they most certainly were very sorry they had not obeyed God’s message that had been delivered day after day by Noah. But it would be too late for those people to be saved. Noah’s neighbors and in fact an entire wicked world would be destroyed by floodwaters.

Our little rain was nothing like Noah’s experience of 40 days and nights. That magnitude of flooding will never happen again. God even gave us the rainbow to remind us of that fact. It is also a colorful reminder that God always keeps His promises. We as Christians have also made a promise to God that we will live for Him as we await our promised home in heaven.

In this life, we will all no doubt experience days of spiritual drought when we forget that true relief only comes from the living water of Jesus Christ who reigns forever, and has promised to save those who obey His word.

Please pray that our church family will drink often and deeply the Well that never runs dry. Have a blessed day!

There should be no ‘foul’ in speaking Christian truths
by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 8, 2012

             With all of the opinions and freedom of speech being exercised by Americans in every walk of life from government leaders to private citizens, how does Chic-fil-A, a single restaurant chain, become the center of so much controversy?

            It began with an interview recently published in the Baptist Press (www.bpnews.net). The company’s president, Dan Cathy, said, “We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”

Cathy continued, "We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.”

The chain of 1608 restaurants has 61-thousand employees and is closed on Sundays.

Cathy ended the article by saying, "We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

It wasn’t long before Chic-fil-A became embroiled in a firestorm of publicity, some in favor of the company, and some against.  Some politicians in Boston and Chicago reportedly even told the company it’s not welcome to do business in their towns.

An article in the Christian Chronicle has drawn a lot of responses that should serve as great reminders for Christians on how we choose to deal with these kinds of controversies.  You can read the entire article and responses at www.christianchronicle.org.

One reader noted that Christians should respond differently to hot button issues than how the world reacts.  He quoted the apostle Paul who said, “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly (1 Corinthians 12-13, NIV).”   Paul makes a similar statement in 2 Timothy 2:23-26

Others said it is important to stand up for God’s word so Christians will not lose the right to express it at all.  Daniel knew what it was like to be persecuted for siding with God.  He wrote, “The people who know their God will display strength and take action (Daniel 11:32, NASB).”

As Christians, we have a responsibility to “Do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:10, NIV).”  But we must always remember that any truth we speak, must be done in a spirit of love (Ephesians 4:15).

The fact is, biblical truths have already been inspired by God’s Spirit, and written down for us by man (2 Timothy 3:16).  Truth cannot be changed by anyone.  God is our Creator and He decided long ago how appropriate relationships are defined.  The consequences have also been set for disobedience (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). 

So, as Christians defend our faith, let’s make sure we do not do more harm than good. We must show others the joy of living the Christian life, and show that even though we hate sin, we love the sinner.  Remember, we all fall short (Romans 3:23) and depend on God’s grace and forgiveness as we model a repentant life.  Have a great week!