Let the Christmas season unwrap your joy!

by Barrett Vanlandingham
December 2, 2014

            I might be sticking my head in the sand just a bit.  But since columnists generally like to write about holiday stress and the irony of it, I thought it might be a good time to talk about the good things associated with Christmas in hopes that it might influence someone to choose the Christ-like  joy of the holidays over anything else.

             Yes, it is true that we don’t know the day, date, or month that Christ was born.  That doesn’t matter anyway.  The fact that He came to earth at all gives us reason to celebrate year ‘round, and the holiday season gives us all a great place to start! (if you haven’t started already)

            No matter who you are, people typically don’t just open a gift, react with joy, and then put it back in the box never to be seen again.  Even if the gift was a paper weight, we use it more than just during the holidays.  Just imagine what a difference it would make if every Christian spread the joy of Christ the other eleven months as well.  Everybody would start to see Christian values here and there in everyday life, in restaurants, at sporting events, at work, and at home.  There is really no end to the possibilities.  They might even ask questions about why you always seem to be joyful, even in the midst of adversity.  Boom!  There’s your opportunity to tell someone about where your strength comes from.  Do you have an answer ready?  The psalmist David experienced many great highs and lows in his lifetime, many victories and failures.  Here is just one of many of his writings explaining how he was able to keep going.

             “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7)       

            When I first became the youth minister here at the Fort Gibson Church of Christ on May 5, 2002 one of my Elders, the late Harvey Young, told me it would be a good idea to always have a sermon in my pocket since you never know when you will be called on to preach.  That advice has proven to be true.  So, over the years it made sense to pass that advice on to my youth groups by telling them that if they will be ready to answer a question about what a difference Christ has made in your life, then God will provide even more opportunities for the light of Christ to shine through you.

            Of course, I pray that all of you will be able to experience the joy of the holidays.  But more importantly, I pray this is only the beginning of a way of life for some to look for the best in others, and to look for opportunities to serve other people even when it’s not convenient, and to tell others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and what He can do them.

            Have a great week!

God gives us reason to be thankful

by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 25, 2014

            Psalm 106:1 says, “Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

            Those words were penned about three-thousand years ago by an unnamed Jewish writer, someone very familiar with the book of Exodus, an even earlier Old Testament writing.  The author talks about the various ways in which God continued to show love for the writer’s ancestors even though they showed disrespect to God after Moses led them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea on dry land, “through the depths as through a desert.” (v. 9) 

            Often, the people would praise God for helping them out of a bad situation (not unlike today), but they “soon forgot what he had done.” (v. 13)   The author very humbly begs for mercy when the end comes, confessing wrongdoing and wickedness that were much like that of the early Jews.

             The unnamed writer seems certain of a couple of things:

1)  God was known to teach the Jews tough lessons when they turned their backs on Him. 

2)  God was known to have mercy on them when they cried out to Him.

            The author evidently wants to make it clear to God (and future readers) that there are those who still love God, and who want to be gathered “from the nations, that we may give thanks to your Holy name and glory in your praise.”  (v. 47)

            The chapter winds down with another statement of honor.  “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!”

            And then one more “Praise the Lord” tacked on to the very end, as if to make sure that both God and future readers get the message of thankfulness loud and clear.

            So here we are, three-thousand years later.  Today, Christians serve the same God that the writer of Psalm 106 served.  The only difference is that we have three-thousand more years of evidence to analyze, to be thankful, and experience God’s love even more.  To me, it is truly amazing that God can be so consistent throughout the ages.  In the greatest show of love ever, God became flesh, lived among us, and went all the way to the cross to defeat sin once and for all, providing a way for us to make it to heaven if we will just trust and obey.

             Somehow I think that if the writer of Psalm 106 would have come along a thousand years later, and would have written this chapter while knowing of Christ’s sacrifice that covers not only us, but also those ancient Jews who continually rebelled in the wilderness, it would have read much differently.  The words, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” might be the greatest understatement of all time, considering what He did for us. 

            Though the extent of God’s love was not fully known at that time, the unnamed writer seemed to know without a doubt that God’s love “endures forever.”  Even though we already know about Christ’s sacrifice, I am reasonably sure we still don’t know the extent of God’s love.  I am thankful now, but probably not nearly as thankful as I will be on the day Christ returns.  Have a happy Thanksgiving!

A future in heaven hinges on learning from the past

by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 18, 2014

            As I walked out into the blowing and freezing wind this week for the first time since last winter, I found myself doing that little ‘catch your breath’ thing that happens each year for me when I experience the first round of extreme cold weather.

            Why is it always so shocking for me?  Do I just not remember what it was like, or has it been so long that I am no longer accustomed to this kind of ‘in your face’ gusts?   I forget some things so quickly, and remember other things for years and years.

            Maybe this is why people keep making the same mistakes over and over.  We typically don’t repeat mistakes unless they have a potential benefit.  Speeding, over-eating, sexual sins, cursing, gossiping, ingesting mind-altering substances, and throwing away money to the casinos or lotteries are just a few dangerous snares.  We all know the consequences of bad decision-making. But just like a cart-pulling mule chasing a dangling carrot, people can get caught up in chasing empty promises, never gaining anything more than temporary satisfaction, if they are not committed to walking with God.

            The Israelites (the Jews) wandered in the wilderness for forty years because they simply did not trust God.  You see, even though God had chosen the Jews to be His people, they had not chosen Him. They had previously been held captive in Egypt’s pagan culture for 400 years.  And even after Moses displayed God’s power and led them out of slavery en route to the land God promised, they were still tempted to go back to the very situation that had enslaved them for so long. 

            The Jews complained to Moses, and said they would be better off back in Egypt.  Even after God performed miracle after miracle for their benefit, they foolishly believed the ten pessimistic spies who said the Promised Land was already occupied by people who were too powerful to overcome. As a result, God let the Jews wander in the wilderness until the older generation, who had not trusted God, had all died off.  This gave the younger generation a chance to witness some valuable lessons first hand, and get a fresh start in the land God promised.

            I think every generation hopes to make better decisions than those who have come before.  Sometimes I think about mistakes our generation has made.  And I just hope those who come after will learn and improve without God having to teach them some tough lessons the way He did the Israelites, and yes, the way He most certainly has taught us, if anyone’s paying attention. 

            Today, God has chosen all people, no matter what nationality, to trust and obey Him.  It’s an open invitation we would all be wise to accept.  Have a great week!

Those who paved the way for us deserve honor

by Barrett Vanlandingham
November 11, 2014

            It is important that we honor those men and women who have served in our nation’s military.  It is only because of them we continue to be a free country.  They inspire us to be better, to try harder, and to continue and improve upon the legacy they left for every American.

            The same is true for the men and women of faith we read about in the Bible.  It is because of them we are inspired to keep fighting the good fight of faith.  It is their efforts in spiritual warfare that give us confidence as we battle the temptations satan throws in our way.

            We owe a great deal of gratitude to those listed in Hebrews 11.  It is known as the Faith Chapter because verse after verse the writer lists people no different from you and me, but who allowed God to use them in very special ways to accomplish His will. 

            There are those you might expect such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.  And then there are others like King David who messed up royally by lusting after Bathsheba while his army was out fighting on the battlefield.   Another unlikely entry in the Faith Chapter is the prostitute Rahab.  In both David and Rahab’s situations, even though they sinned, they also repented and lived their lives to the glory of God.

            The Hebrew writer ends the chapter by shifting from listing names, to telling of the horrific persecution suffered by unnamed others who flogged, chained, and imprisoned.

            “They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in the deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” (Hebrews 11:37-38)

            Those are some incredible descriptions of some amazing men and women of faith who lived in the Old Testament times, and none of those people were even alive by the time God’s son arrived on the scene.  In a huge act of faith, Jesus himself walked in man’s shoes so he could understand what it’s like to live as we live, and to be tempted as we are tempted, and to be persecuted, beaten, and crucified before finally ascending back to his Father in heaven to prepare a place for His faithful.

            So on this Veteran’s Day, and every day, it is appropriate to give honor to those who have served in our nation’s military, to those who make it possible for each of us to practice our Christianity without the kind of fear of persecution so many have had to endure in the past.  Have a great week!