Honoring God can be a noteworthy experience

by Barrett Vanlandingham

April 28, 2015

            Britton played a tune on his guitar, and then I picked a song on my mandolin, and so on.  There was no audience really, just cars that passed by the town’s gazebo in the middle of Fort Gibson where we decided to have some father and son time under the guise of a jam session just before sundown last week.  By the way, our little community really does have a beautiful downtown area with its hundred year old brick buildings, old wooden doors, and decorative street lamps, all making it just perfect in the evenings for doing, well, nothing. That’s the best part (although a few more shops or vendors that stay open into the evening might make a nice addition).

            I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I spend my time, especially when I’m away from the office.  Do you ever think about that? Even with all the important goals we have before us to accomplish, life here on earth is temporary. Do we make our time count?

            The apostle Paul tells Christians in Ephesus, “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).”

            As Paul gives us examples of things we can do that do not fall into the unwise category, he suggests we should spend time understanding the Lord’s will instead of spending what little time we have on foolishness.  Next, he makes a play on words by telling us to not get drunk on wine (spirits), but to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and spend time singing, sharing Spirit-approved music with others and to the Lord.

            I suppose Paul could have written countless chapters on examples of things we as Christians should spend more time on. He told the church in Thessalonica to “rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, do not quench the Spirit, hold to what is good, and reject every kind of evil.”

            The fact is, every good gift comes from the Lord (James 1:17), and Paul says everything we do should be something for which we can thank God.

            Pickin’ n grinnin’ for nobody at the town’s gazebo may not sound like a great way to spend much time, but you couldn’t convince me of that, especially when it involves spending time with my son. It sure beat whatever I was watching on television.   And as mine and Britton’s father-son bond grows closer, I know without a doubt that God blesses our time together when we honor Him with our lives.  I pray you find ways this week to honor God by making your time count.  Have a blessed week!

Children never stop needing spiritual guidance

by Barrett Vanlandingham

April 21, 2015

            Graduation season is here, so congratulations to all high school and college graduates. It is a time of life that can either be liberating or terrifying! Sometimes a lot of both!

            My daughter, Ashton, walks the stage at Oklahoma Christian University this Friday with a bachelor’s degree that includes three minors: Spanish, Bible, and Family Studies (a lot of psychology and counseling classes).  What a thrill!!  No more school!!   But this also means it’s time for her to get a job that will pay her bills, and those school loans that come due beginning six months after graduation.  O well, she’s not the first kid to enter the real world.  I know a lot of you more experienced parents are having a good laugh right now at the scenario I have dreamed up in my head.  But hey, you can’t blame a dad for hoping their kid will be financially independent within days after graduation, right?  Yes I know, dream on, dream on.

            Of course, we all want professional and financial success for our children.  But the more important issue at hand for any parent of a soon to be graduate is what kind of plans are in the works for spiritual success in the real world.  If it’s not uncommon for grown children to still need their parents after graduation to help them with finances and advice on handling day to day responsibilities isn’t it possible, if not probable, they might also need their parents for spiritual guidance?  It’s been my experience that the answer is yes!

             Sometimes I wonder what age Solomon is referring to when he gave this advice to parents, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it (Proverbs 22:6).”

             We see the word “children” and the word “old”. But what about in between? Parents never stop being parents, and our children never stop being our children. So I tend to think Solomon is not just talking about training our kids up through the teen years.  I think he could very well have meant adult children, too.  This means parents have great responsibility in making sure we continue to teach our children, not just in the things we say, but also in how we live, our relationships with our neighbors, and how we carry on day to day business with integrity.

            May God bless children with the wisdom to listen to the advice and experiences of the older generations, and may God bless the older generations with the wisdom to model righteous living, and give appropriate advice only when needed.  Have a great week!

Pruning sin from your life is worth the effort

by Barrett Vanlandingham

April 14, 2015

            I would make a horrible barber!  I decided my Kalanchoe plant that sits by a window in the office lobby needed a trim.  If you’re not familiar with this kind of plant, it has waxy leaves, and bright flowers (mine are red). But if not trimmed, it can grow in the wrong direction, or grow too much in the wrong places, and eventually become unhealthy.

            Jesus told his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit (John 15:1-2).”

            So, I dug out a pair of scissors and got after this mess of a plant. Unfortunately, I’m not totally sure I didn’t trim too much! Nevertheless, my newly sculpted plant, which now looks more like a couple of stubs sticking out of the dirt, is soaking up sun rays, ready for new growth, without the dead stems and runaway vines attached.

            Jesus continued, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned (John 15:5-6).”

            Early spring is a good time for pruning some plants, but spiritually speaking, the Bible encourages Christians to be constantly on the lookout for unhealthy branches that need to be pruned from our lives.  It’s for the same reason as plants. One website that gives advice on pruning Kalanchoes says it is necessary to prevent the plants from toppling and risking broken branches.

            People can suffer the same consequences as plants if we are not vigilant in taking care of our souls. We can become weighed down with problems, self-inflicted or cast on us by our choice of friends, hobbies or selfishness. We can experience spiritual damage and brokenness. Likewise, we can experience great rewards if we are willing to take sort of a spiritual inventory of our lives, cut-off those branches that cast a shadow on our relationship with God. This will allow us to see the light clearly, and begin to receive nourishment from His word, apply it to our lives, and then just experience the blooms of joy, watching God give the increase.

            The Bible teaches that one way or another, unproductive branches, or those Christians who choose to plant their roots in sin, will not stay connected to Christ the True Vine, in this life or the next. Please pray today that someone special to you will choose to grow in Christ today.  Have a great week!

Spiritual lessons can be found even at a garage sale

by Barrett Vanlandingham

April 7, 2015

            This past weekend our missions team unpacked box after box, bag after bag, car trunks, and trailer loads of donations for our garage sale to raise funds for our summer mission trip to Honduras.  It’s the second poorest country in the western hemisphere next to Haiti.

            While my son Britton and I were organizing stuff, I thought to myself each shoe, shirt, pair of pants, and trinket we unpacked actually meant something important to somebody at one time. But as with everything else on earth, time marches on and causes things to become outdated and not needed anymore, at least by the original owner. So it either gets thrown away or passed on to someone else who appreciates its value. 

            This is also a fairly accurate depiction of how we treat God’s word if we’re not careful.  Most people have multiple Bibles in their house. But since not everyone has been taught by a more mature Christian about what’s inside, they may just leave their Bible sitting on a shelf.  They don’t realize just how important God’s word really is when it comes to sorting out the problems and challenges of an average day. 

            Other people grew up reading and even memorizing the Bible (like me). But because they consider themselves, their family, or their upbringing religious, they don’t really feel an urgency to work at staying armed for spiritual battle. They become lax in their daily Bible study. Their faith dwindles. That is a pretty good description of me at various times in my life. It’s easy to be slowly lulled into a state of false confidence, underestimating the value of actively growing your faith.  Then, just like those outdated items that hang on a hanger, sit in a drawer, a shelf, or in a closet, attic, or basement collecting dust, God’s word in our life can also become hard to detect if a Bible is not opened, read, allowed to increase our faith, practiced, and shared with others.

            Paul said a lot in his letter to the Roman church that today’s Christians would do well to heed.  “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16a).”

            “Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ (Romans 10:17).”

            There are countless lessons we can learn from garage sales such as knowing which things in our lives we need to get rid of, and how to simplify our schedules so we have more time for God. May the Lord bless you with the strong desire to apply God’s word to your daily walk. Our world needs it now more than ever.  Have a great week!