We must look to God for answers

Barrett Vanlandingham

October 3, 2017

            Even though recent hurricanes, earthquakes, and social disasters give us reason to re-evaluate life as we know it, there is One who remains faithful, loving, and able to affect change.

              God, our Creator, is amazing and still in control! Whether we turn to him before, during, and after times of crisis, or just try to fix everything ourselves in our own time is a choice. We have free will to deal with things how we choose. But the outcomes will be drastically different depending on whether we include God.

            God’s way of dealing with life’s problems is much more creative and effective than anything we could come up with. He has the power to turn things around, or even prevent them in the first place. God has answered prayers. He still answers prayers, and He will continue to answer prayers.

            The other day I read someone quoting James 2:14-26 which says that it takes both faith and works to please God. The problem is that the article took James’s words out of context to say that we must fix things ourselves without asking for help from God.

            The fact is, we have a sin problem in our country that can only be fixed with God’s help. As Christians, our job is to win as many souls as possible.

“18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Are we doing what He said? As a nation, we often look for answers to life’s problems. But even as Christians we are sometimes guilty of overlooking the Source of solutions.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Have a great week!

Some things just don't mix

by Barrett Vanlandingham

September 26, 2017

    This past week I had the great idea of conserving plastic baggies. So I put my sandwich into the same bag with my baked Lays.  A few hours later when it was time for lunch, I opened the bag, grabbed the sandwich, and discovered something I didn't expect. The previously soft bread was now dry and crusty!  I decided to take a bite anyway since I hate to waste food.

    Next, I chomped down on a couple of baked Lays that I assumed would be nice and crispy only to discover a texture similar to that of a thin damp sponge! Evidently, my crisp chips were in the process of soaking up every last drop of moisture from what I was hoping would be soft sandwich bread.

   You see, even though that arrangement seemed like an honorable thing to do at the time, it didn't turn out to be for the best. The healthy sandwich spent too much time in the same container with the potato chips and got the life sucked right out if it.

    This can also be the case in our spiritual journeys. Sometimes, we become desensitized to ungodly ways simply because we are around them so much. Spending too much time around people who have no intention of following God will likely pull a well-meaning Christian down instead of the other way around. The Bible reminds us the consequences of making this mistake come at a high price.  In writing to church members the apostle Paul said,

   “3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them”  (Ephesians 5:3-7).

     Even though we must continually strive to bring lost souls into God's family, a

Christian’s closest allies should always be those who are pulling you closer to God.

    Have a great week!

Make your worship experience count

by Barrett Vanlandingham

September 19, 2017

          You may have heard someone say, “I don’t like going to church because I just don’t get anything out of it.”

          Two things:  First, none of us actually goes to church.  We go to worship (sing, pray, give, partake in communion on the first day of the week, study, and fellowship). We ARE the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the body. Christians are the body of Christ, which is the church (Colossians 1:24,1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 3:6, and 5:23).

          For Christians to say they are going to church is worse than a football team or a player saying they are “going to the game”, as if they are thinking of the game as a spectator sport they have no involvement in.

          Second, we must remember that we are the worshipers, and God is the one and only audience member. In Revelation 5:9, we read what heaven will be like as people sing “a new song”. It is important to never become complacent in our worship, and sing with no thought as to the words we are offering to God.

          During Jesus’ ministry, he was having a conversation with a woman in Samaria at “Jacob’s well”. He had just finished explaining to her that those who drink the living water (his teachings) he provides will never thirst again. Then the topic turned to the question of where the appropriate place is to worship God.

          Jesus said, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:21). He was leading up to the idea that our relationship with God is not based on a location since God himself is not of this world.

          “…true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

          It is important to worship correctly (in truth), but it is also important to worship in spirit with your whole heart, whether with your church family (Hebrews 10:24-27), or as you live out your Christian life. This kind of worship results in blessings too numerous to count.  Have a great week!

Hold on to Jesus in life’s crossroads

by Barrett Vanlandingham

September 12, 2017

          There are times in life when we come to crossroads. These usually involve recent changes brought on by family issues, health, finances, or maybe just the next season of life. Then, we feel stress about how to restructure our life to move forward.

          In King David’s life, he not only experienced many successes and victories, he also went through many hardships and disappointments. Some of them were self-inflicted and some were just a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. And though he experienced much emotional pain, he gained great wisdom from the things he went through. He wrote many of his thoughts about life and the things he learned in the book of Psalms.

          “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:9-10).

          David’s words are reassuring even to us today, three-thousand years later!  Unfortunately, when times of trouble come, most of us lose our heads and turn in the wrong direction for answers. Some turn to alcohol or drugs, others to pornography or sex outside of marriage, and still others turn to gambling or overeating (guilty). But the psalmist David says we can find the relief we’re looking for by holding on to the Lord God. There is only one way to get to God.

          Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

          As Jesus was comforting his disciples regarding his departure, he reminded them: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18). 

          He told them that even though some of his closest friends would desert him in his final hours, he is not worried because his Father is with him. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

          He wants us to know that if we hold on to him, we will also overcome the world. Have a great week!