The Holy Spirit gives me confidence in my journey

by Barrett Vanlandingham

August 1, 2017

                   

          The Holy Spirit can have a great impact on the life of every Christian if we “Do not quench the Spirit“ as Paul told Christians in Thessalonica (ref: 5:19, ESV).

          So, in part two of my series on ways Jesus leads us to be confident in our spiritual journey, I would like to start with the fact that Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit.

          This is the same Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of the Bible (2 Peter 1:19-21 and 2 Timothy 3:16), and also the same Holy Spirit Jesus sent to take His place on earth after He ascended back to His Father (ref: John 16:7).

          In Ephesians 1:15-21, Paul prays that God will give Christians the “Spirit of wisdom” to know the “immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe”. This is the same power and Spirit God used to raise Christ from the dead.

          When Peter preached the first Gospel sermon at Pentecost, he responded to all of the Jews who previously did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, but were now “cut to the heart” when they realized their people had crucified the Son of God.  The people asked what they needed to do.

          Peter’s response was simple: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36-39).  Notice here Peter tells the purpose of baptism, and what those who are obedient receive in return.

           Even today we know all those who obey have been gifted with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because Peter says this gift is a promise.  And what better way is there to journey through this life than with the Holy Spirit who guides, comforts, helps us grow spiritually, and even advocates and intercedes on our behalf to God when we don’t know what to pray (ref: Romans 8:26).

          While the Holy Spirit is a gift, He also gives gifts!  1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Romans 12:3-8, and Ephesians 4:11-14 help us understand that as members of Christ’s body, we are not all the same. We are different, but equally important to the body.

          Have a great week!

Jesus leads me to be confident in my journey - Part 1 of 3

by Barrett Vanlandingham

July 25, 2017

         

          One thing I have noticed about traveling is that the trip back seems less stressful than the trip there.

          I think a big part of the reason is because there are so many unknowns it’s difficult to have complete confidence in my journey. After all, there may be detours along the way, or heavy traffic that prevents me from getting there on time. And while this may be true for those kinds of trips, Christians should not feel this kind of stress for our spiritual journey.  

          This article is the first part of a three part series on how Jesus leads be to be confident in my journey. The first reason is because of the consistency of His word. People have tried many times to discredit the Bible, but they never succeed. The Bible is accurate historically, geographically, and in every other way. It is no wonder that the apostle Paul said, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).

          That may seem like a bold statement for Paul to make, and some people may even disagree. But Paul is uniquely qualified to say those words. Even though Paul was very well educated in the Old Covenant, Acts 22:4-11 tells the story of the horrible persecutor of Christians that Paul was until after his close-up encounter with the message of Christ. He was struck blind so that he could see. Paul did an about face, obeyed Jesus, and regained his sight. Paul’s sins were washed away in baptism, and he started on a faith journey that took him in the opposite direction of where he was heading. As soon as Paul submitted to Jesus, he found out a life lived for Christ is really the only way.

          2 Peter 1:19-21 and 2 Timothy 3:16 are great reminders that the Bible is not a collection of stories originating from the mind of man, but rather God’s Holy Spirit inspired it all. The Bible is consistent from beginning to end, prophesying details of Jesus’ birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection a thousand years before Jesus was even born.

          Next week, the impact of the Holy Spirit on our faith journey.  Have a great week!

Every Christian is important in God’s family

by Barrett Vanlandingham

July 18, 2017

         

          For youth ministers like me, summertime is packed with youth camps, devotionals, ultimate Frisbee, swim parties, mission trips, you name it.

          The all-important yearly “pilgrimage” to Six Flags is always a hit with most of the teens in my youth group. But there are always some who are afraid to sign-up simply because they don’t feel like they know enough people, so they obviously do not want to spend ten hours round trip on a bus with them, or a week in the same bunkhouse.

          Of course, the conversation always involves me saying, “How do you expect to get to know more people if you don’t come to anything?”  While that is true, it is also true that kids are just like adults. If we only interact with our “church family” once or twice a week at worship times, it should really be no surprise that we don’t want to participate in trips or activities that take up more than an hour of our time.

          In Acts 2:42-47, we get an idea of what the early church was like in the first century. Christians had meals together, yes, even outside of potluck dinners held at the church building. They brought God into their conversations as they fellowshipped with each other, and they took care of anyone who had a need. It’s no wonder the chapter ends with these words:  “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

          In James 5:16 the writer reminds Christians of the importance of coming together to pray. “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

          Wouldn’t it be wonderful to get to the point where you could trust your Christian brothers and sisters that much?

          Friendships can start with a Six Flags trip or other big impressive events. But the best relationships are built on a common faith in Jesus Christ. Our Savior definitely left His comfort zone to give us the opportunity to be part of His church. But without some effort on our part, the joys of being part of God’s family may never be realized.  Have a blessed week!

Checklists are not always bad in matters of faith

by Barrett Vanlandingham

July 11, 2017

         

          I’ve taught many lessons against it. Checklist Christianity is both shallow and a works-based way to live out your faith. Just the sound of it is enough to make most people who are seeking a deeper relationship with God run away. But the fact is, there are some things we must not overlook whether we use checkmarks, sticky notes, or cell phone alarms.

          Our resident computer tech here at the church building is out of town. So as the back-up computer guy, I had to figure out why none of the office computers could access the network folder where we put the PowerPoint slides we use for worship. I dug around and noticed that the folder had apparently been affected by a power surge, and defaulted back to its original settings which will not allow access unless two little boxes are checked.  I clicked on those two boxes, and just like that our office computers once again had access to this all important folder.  It was amazing that just two little checkmarks could make that big of a difference.

          The same is true for the faith journey of every Christian. There are certain things we do simply by habit, such as: 1) waking up on Sunday mornings and going to worship or Bible class, 2) writing out a check to drop into the contribution plate, 3) participate in singing, praying, and communion on the first day of each week.  Those kinds of things are easy (with the possible exception of “giving”) because they can be easily checked off our list when we’re done.

          Unfortunately, the majority of our spiritual journey can suffer and be overlooked if we are not diligent. They are lifestyle things and matters of the heart that drastically affect our Christian walk if not tended to. In a conversation with the Pharisees, Jesus said,

          “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (Matthew 15:7-9).

          A good relationship with God is not built on mindless checklists, but sincere faith-based obedience to the One who loves us unconditionally. Have a great week!