A Christian’s view on alcohol consumption

by Barrett Vanlandingham
May 13, 2013

            Drinking alcoholic beverages is not condemned in the Bible as sinful.  Drunkenness is, though (1 Corinthians 6:10).  Beyond that, the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, had some really bad things to say about alcohol, “bites like a snake and poisons like a viper (Proverbs 23:29-35).”  So, why does this issue keep coming up in families, schools, and communities?  I think it’s because each generation sees the issue from a little different perspective.

            These days, it is not uncommon for Christians to openly drink at sporting events, restaurants, and during holidays or celebrations simply because they enjoy it, and they are enjoying the liberties granted them in New Testament passages such as what Paul wrote in Romans 14.  But as with any privilege, considerations must be made for how your actions are affecting other people.  Paul also said, "I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but not everything is constructive. (1 Corinthians 10:23).”

            For instance, any time I’ve ever spoken to an audience and asked whether it would affect my credibility if I were to drink a beer while teaching their Bible class, I always get strange looks of disapproval. And if I were speaking at an AA meeting, common sense would dictate it would be highly inappropriate to sip a glass of wine while leading a discussion group.  However, if I were trying to teach the Gospel in a different country or culture where I would be seen as a snob if I made a big deal out of alcoholic abstinence,  then sipping a little wine might actually help the cause of Christ. In my case, any amount of alcohol consumption would not be a good thing because it would violate my conscience.

            In Bible times, the wine was commonly watered down in households for meals.  So, it was not the kind of potent beverage we have today.  That is likely the reason the phrase drunkard and a glutton was often used together in the Bible, because in order to get drunk, a person would have to consume a LOT of wine.  That is not the case these days.

            The Mothers Against Drunk Driving website says high school students who use alcohol or other substances are five times more likely to drop out of school.  1 in 6 teens binge drink. Only 1 in 100 parents believes his or her teen binge drinks.  Kids who start drinking young are seven times more likely to be in an alcohol-related crash.  Teen alcohol use kills about 4,700 people each year, more than all illegal drugs combined.  Over all, more than ten-thousand people die in alcohol related crashes each year, averaging one death every 51 minutes.  Keep in mind that in the number of drunk driving deaths has been cut in half since MADD was founded in 1980. 

            The Barna Research Group says many younger Christians describe themselves as far more tempted by alcohol abuse (28%) than any of their predecessors.  So even if we as a culture feel empowered to drink whenever and wherever the law permits, that does not do away with our responsibility as Christians to look out for the greater good of mankind.  It’s called agape’ (love), and it is the first and greatest commandment.  Have a great week!

God's plan of creation is still at work

by Barrett Vanlandingham
May 6, 2014

            The other day I was practicing some songs to lead on Sunday morning when I suddenly heard my dad’s voice.  He was nowhere around, but at that moment my voice sounded so much like his I’m sure it could have fooled a voice identification machine!  But then again, why wouldn’t my voice sound like my dad’s?  I am his son.  You may have had similar experiences.

            Every day we see evidence of God’s power and ancient plan for the inhabitants of earth, still in effect today after six thousand years of recorded history, right down to how animals continue to reproduce after their own kinds.  It is interesting that the phrase “according to their own kinds” is mentioned at least seven times in the Genesis creation story in reference to animal reproduction (ref: Gen. 1:21-25). 

            After that (vs. 26-28), God created man and woman, and told them to be fruitful and increase in number, and to rule over all the animals God had created that were also to reproduce after their own kinds.  There is nothing to indicate God caused or even allowed one animal species to evolve from a different species.  That statement is also true of humans. Scientific proof would have to agree with that today as well since there is still no evidence, fossil or otherwise, that one species has ever evolved into another.  ALL scientific evidence is consistent with a Biblical view of how we all got here. I say this because there have been witnesses, no tests and certainly no repeatable tests that can prove the Big Bang Theory of how the universe supposedly began 13.8 billion years ago, or the Theory of Evolution (how Charles Darwin believed life began).

            The reason a “missing link” or “ape-man” set of bones or even a fossil of one has never been found is because there isn’t one.  That’s why science calls it the “missing link”.  For years, science museums have displayed fully manufactured skeletons to give the public an idea of what they think humans might have looked like millions of years ago.  According to the PBS website, man evolved from an African ape about five-million years ago, the same as gorillas and chimpanzees.   But remember, not even one old dug up bone shows evidence of a transition or “link” species. 

            An Associated Press survey in March of more than a thousand adults reveals that when it comes to the theory of evolution, Americans are only somewhat confident (24%), or not too confident (16%), or not at all confident (27%).  Regarding the big bang theory, 25% are only somewhat confident, 20% not too confident, and 30% not confident at all.   72-percent of those surveyed are somewhat (18%), very (14%), or extremely confident (40%) that a supreme being guides our universe.  To this, I would add that since something cannot come from nothing, something would have always had to exist.  That “something” is God.  Have a great week!

Thunderstorms make great Bible lessons

by Barrett Vanlandingham
April 29, 2014

            This past Thursday was an incredible time to hear and watch God at work.  You may have felt the same way.  While getting some work done in my office, I began to hear raindrops on the rooftop, heavier and heavier, and then bolts of lightning and the booming thunder echoing like enormous bass drums. I walked outside under the awning where I could see and hear gushing downspouts watering the flowerbed near the entry.  Low spots all over the church yard were quickly filling up. 

            I couldn’t help but think, “Wow! God’s power is truly amazing!”   It was all very humbling as this display of nature reminded me of who is behind all of this! 

            I bet Noah was absolutely terrified the first day of the flood, especially since the Bible indicates it may not have ever rained (ref: Genesis 2:5) up until that point when “all of the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened” for forty days and forty nights (ref: Gen. 7:11-12). 

            What a faith-builder that must have been after a hundred years of building an ark!  Noah, a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5), finds himself smack dab in the middle of God making good on one of the most incredible promises of all time, as the highest mountains under the heavens would ultimately be covered “to a depth of more than twenty feet (Genesis 7:20).”  Just think, all those people who probably thought Noah was crazy for obeying God’s command to build a huge boat to God’s specifications quickly re-thought their position on the matter.  But it would be too late.  Noah and his family would be saved, and no one else.

            God has supplied us with mountains of evidence to increase our faith if we would just pay attention (Rom. 1:20).  In fact, thousands of years before science finally discovered the water cycle and ocean currents, as well as the existence of underwater mountains, valleys, and springs under the oceans, the Bible had it right all along in passages such as Job 36:27-28, Ecclesiastes 1:7, Job 38:16, 2 Samuel 22:16, and Jonah 2:6.  Based on Psalm 8:8, Matthew Maury, an officer in the United States Navy in the 1800’s, discovered there are many ocean paths or currents.

            When I see God’s power on display as it was the afternoon I wrote this article, my faith is strengthened.  Days like this not only help me appreciate what God can do with our universe, but also what he can do in the life of my family, just like He did for Noah’s.  There is no time like the present to become a member of God’s family. Give me a call or email if you would like to know more.  Have a blessed week!

Jesus never closes the door

by Barrett Vanlandingham
April 22, 2014

            In the just released movie Heaven Is For Real there is a scene where the dad tucks his children into bed and then on the way out he starts to close the door until the kids yell, “Dad, leave the door open!”  That is not a major scene or anything, but I immediately began to think about my childhood, and how I always wanted the door left open a few inches and the light left on in the hallway bathroom.  For me, it was just a feeling of security knowing the door was open and that my parents could hear me yell if I needed something.  I didn’t realize they could have heard me anyway since we lived on a quiet farm near Tahlequah, way out in the middle of nowhere, and a yelling child could have been heard fifty yards down our gravel road even if my door was shut.

            I think that’s kind of how God is for us, only even better.  It’s kind of like those hotel rooms that have the connecting wall doors I used to always be fascinated with when I was a kid.  It was always a thrill to open the door on our side of the wall just to see if the people in the other room had theirs open, too.  Thank goodness, the other door was always closed.  But that’s not how God operates.  His door is always open, whether ours is or not.  He can always hear us even though He may choose to not pay attention to our needs if we have intentionally closed Him off. 

            In the story of the man born blind (John 9), Jesus approached him, put mud on the man’s eyes, and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam.  To me, this shows Jesus’ door was open to the man, so to speak, but if the man had chosen to be closed off to the healing Jesus was offering or maybe refused to wash in the pool, then he may not have received his sight.  John quotes the man as saying, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the Godly man who does his will (John 9:31).”  This echoes thoughts from Isaiah in the Old Testament, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2).”

            God allows us to experience the natural consequences that come with choosing the world’s way over His way.  But that does not mean God cannot hear us when we truly repent and call on His name.  In Isaiah 55:7 the prophet says that our merciful God will pardon the wicked when they turn to Him. You see, Jesus’ door not only stays open for everyone (Romans 10:13), but the Bible says that Jesus IS the door (John10:9).”   All we need to do is remain open for Him to be in our lives.  Have a great week!

Remember to pray for our government

by Barrett Vanlandingham

April 15, 2014

 

            We as taxpayers shake our heads in disgust when we see evidence of governments wasting money on pet projects instead of using it where it would be most beneficial.  Tax collectors have battled image problems for thousands of years, probably because a few greedy bad apples who abused their power have rotted the reputation of the rest.

            For many of us, the April 15 tax deadline is not a big deal. Some even look forward to it, while others absolutely dread it because they know they’ll have to pay.  For me, I guess I’m somewhere in the middle, where sorting through tax information is more of an inconvenience than anything, but one I believe is well worth living in this great country.  But I do wish those we elect would respect the work it takes to generate all those taxes dollars.

            In the New Testament (Luke 19:1-9), Jesus told the story of a wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus who had the reputation of living a sinful lifestyle.  He had climbed up a sycamore tree as Jesus was coming by so he could get a better look at him.  People were appalled because as Jesus approached the tree where Zacchaeus was perched, He called the man by name and told him to come down because Jesus needed a place to stay. Evidently Jesus felt the need to spend some time at Zacchaeus’s house in spite of popular opinion which was against Jesus being the guest of a sinner.  After all, Zacchaeus was a Jew collecting taxes for the Roman government. Most of the people around Jesus probably saw Zacchaeus as a dishonest traitor who likely collected more than necessary so he could keep any extra for himself.  This would have also been the popular view of Matthew (aka: Levi), another tax collector who Jesus chose to be an apostle.

            Jesus saw something special in both of these unlikely disciples that compelled Him to offer them something much greater than money, a relationship with God the Father. Both of them repented and gladly received Jesus and continued to follow His teachings for their lives.

            I think sometimes we forget (or at least underestimate) the power of Jesus Christ to change lives and attitudes today just as He did in the first century.  The apostle Paul said that we should pray for all those in authority so that we can have a better quality life here on earth, and so all people will know the truth and be saved (ref: 1 Tim. 2:1-3).  Jesus gave His life for all sinners, even ones like Zacchaeus, and you, and me.  

            2700 years ago, the prophet Isaiah recorded some very encouraging words of God that should give today’s Christians some perspective on our efforts to spread the Gospel story of Jesus:   “As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields see for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11).” 

            Remember to pray for our government and our elected leaders, and make good use of every opportunity to tell someone about the life we’re all invited to have in Christ.  Have a blessed week!

Spiritual storms deserve our attention, too

by Barrett Vanlandingham

April 8, 2014

            My yard is still soaked from the recent rain (and hail).   What a day that was!  The wind blew so hard during Thursday’s storm that water forced its way into our garage.  Debris including limbs, leaves, and dirt was scattered around my back porch, sidewalk, and throughout the yard, and hail shattered a large light in our flowerbed. 

            At least these damages are easy fixes. But I drove through Moore and Shawnee twice last month. Their tornado devastation is still shocking to witness close-up even a year after it hit.  Entire sections of mature trees that once stood tall and strong are mangled messes.  Roofless houses still bear the scars of the killer twister.

            As a society, we pay a lot of well-deserved attention to the effects of serious weather-related storms.  People all over the region were very kind to our area when the ice storm of 2007 hit.  As a nation, volunteers from everywhere rush to help wherever and whenever natural disasters occur.  Even now, long after the May 2013 tornadoes in Oklahoma, there are still groups who travel to the affected areas just to serve in whatever way they can, and brighten someone’s day. And from what I saw last weekend, there are still plenty of ways to help.

            Spiritually, what can we learn from the urgency and attention placed on natural disasters? The first thing that comes to my mind is that if we are willing to pay so much attention to weather-related devastation (and I am glad we do this), why are we not just as urgent and deliberate when it comes to something much more important such as the salvation of souls?  What if everytime we knew someone was going through a spiritual storm, struggling with temptation, we made a deliberate effort to help them avoid falling into sin, just like we would help a vulnerable neighbor get to safety if we saw a threatening storm approaching.

            I would love to see the lead story of the nightly news convey the importance of walking with Jesus, avoiding sin, and being ready for Judgment Day.  On a personal note, I cannot adequately convey just how grateful I am to the Fort Gibson Times and the Muskogee Phoenix for allowing me to write this Fort Faith column for seven years now.  I don’t pay them, and they don’t pay me.  But so far it seems to work out for both of us. 

            Whether you agree with me or not, I always try to convey my thoughts in a way that reflects the Bible’s intent on any given subject.  The bottom line is that God’s word is complete, and it gives us everything we need to find our way to heaven if we will follow through with His plan for us.  May God grant each of you the perseverance to deal with life’s trials (ref: James 1:2-4).  Have a great week!