Above the Sun: Evil can be hard to spot until it’s too late

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 10, 2018

          This season of lawn care at the Vanlandingham house is going to see some changes. For years now, I have worked hard to make sure my lawn looks good. I keep it mowed, but not too low so as not to scorch. I keep it watered. I keep it fed and protected with all the right stuff.  But when July rolls around, a recurring enemy wreaks havoc on my most sincere efforts every… single… year.

          Just when I think my lawn is going to look good for an entire summer, I walk out of my house and notice a pile of dirt in the middle of my yard. I go over to check it out, and as I get closer to it, my feet sink into multiple underground tunnels. The moles have arrived. But this time, I am trying a new method to discourage the moles from taking up residence in my yard.  Someone told me, “Why don’t you just kill their food source, grubs!”  Brilliant! Why haven’t I thought of that? All along I had only been targeting what I could see, the moles themselves. I had never considered targeting the underground food source the moles were actually after.

          Judging by Paul’s letter, Christians in Ephesus may have very well made the same mistake of focusing only on what they could see, at least when it came to doing battle with Satan. As humans, we forget what is behind evil. We look at someone who does us wrong, and then use that pain as an excuse for turning away from God instead of holding more closely to Him. Or we see something we want, and somehow justify going against God to get it. Evil works quickly, quietly, and in the dark or in secret so as to inflict the most damage. Sadly, too many people try their own method of solving their problems before trusting God.

          In Paul’s closing remarks in a letter to the Ephesian church, he had this to say:

          “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

          Paul encourages these Christians to pay close attention to God’s truths, the building of their faith, and being ready at all times. Paul’s big finish focuses almost entirely on the importance of prayer, which is one of the most effective ways of strengthening our connection with God. He knows where evil lurks, and He is the only One who can defeat it. Have a great week!

Above the Sun: Jesus wants you to say yes!

by Barrett Vanlandingham

June 3, 2018

          There is not a memory that brings me more joy than when Lisa and I first met, became friends, and began a dating relationship. We dated four and a half years before I asked her to marry me.

          It was on a December family vacation in South Padre in 1988. But it feels like it was only yesterday that my sister, Jana, said, “Barrett, if you are going to ask her, you better do it because it is 10:30pm, and we’re all leaving tomorrow.” So I secretly grabbed the ring, wrapped it in a beach towel, and asked Lisa to go for a walk with me. We both still had sand and dirt on our skin and in our hair from going four-wheeling earlier in the day, and we were still wearing the same shirts and shorts. Not exactly a picture of glamourous picture.

          We sat down at a quiet thatched-roof open-air hut where we could see the waves rolling in. We had been collecting sea shells. I showed her one in my hand I wanted her to take. She grabbed the shell and saw the ring under it. I said, “Will you marry me?”  She started laughing hysterically until I finally said, “So will you?”  She nodded and laughed-out what appeared to be a “yes!”  We got married six months later on June 3, 1989.  Happy anniversary!

          Later, I asked Lisa why she was laughing to the point of not being able to answer my very important question.  She said it was because she had always imagined we would get engaged over a candlelight dinner, all dressed up. She never pictured this all-important event happening in day-old beach clothes with slightly matted and dirty hair. I told her I didn’t even notice what she was wearing or what her hair and make-up looked like. I didn’t notice she had sand and dirt on her skin. I didn’t notice anything except for how beautiful she looked and how excited I was to spend the rest of my life with her.

          That’s the way Jesus feels about each of us. He doesn’t require or expect us to be perfect or clean when we come to Him. That’s His job. When we put our faith (belief) and obedience in Jesus as the Son of God, we put Him on in baptism. His Holy Spirit makes His home with us, and our sins are forgiven. (ref: John 8:24, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 3:26-27)) In the end, this is the most important relationship of all.  Have a great week!

Above the Sun: Learning to trust God is worth the effort

by Barrett Vanlandingham

May 27, 2018

          Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. He said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

          In my professional life, I have everything scheduled out from three to nine months ahead. Sometimes more! But as I have gotten better at my job, I have stumbled more frequently into the temptation of trusting self instead of God. I teach others to trust. But when I am tested, I find it really hard to practice what I teach. Academically, I am all about trusting God. I know that trusting God and seeing how He solves problems in His time develops faith and spiritual strength. But when a crisis arises, old man worry always comes knockin’.

          I am pretty sure I am going through a season of life where God is helping me to learn to trust Him. There are just too many things going on right now that I have absolutely no control over. Watching my kids learn to adult is at the top of my worry list. Strangely enough, the very thing that gives me so much comfort and joy is also the thing that makes me worry the most: free will. It is that variable that can be affected by human weakness. As a parent, letting go while still being supportive is quite a tight rope act. Maybe you have felt this way, too.

          There is hope. The prophet Isaiah says that when God’s word goes out to someone it will not return to God empty handed, “but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). This passage gives me great comfort. But if you’re like me, you wonder just how long it takes for God’s word to circle back to Him, having accomplished its purpose. I want immediate results in my time, not His. The only problem with this way of thinking is that my timing is never as effective as God’s.

           “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).  God spoke these words to His chosen people, the Israelites, as a reminder that they needed to trust Him for their protection instead of going back to Pharaoh and Egypt. But God assured them that as soon as He hears their cry for help, he would answer (30:19) and they would see that they should have trusted Him all along.  Have a great week!

Above the Sun: Ignoring God’s word is a bad idea

by Barrett Vanlandingham

May 20, 2018

          My handyman brother, David, came up from Louisiana a few days ago. He came by the house for breakfast and just a good visit to catch up on everything. I fixed us an old family recipe of homemade biscuits (with sorghum), bacon, scrambled eggs, along with coffee and a tall glass of milk. Breakfast is kind of my thing.

          As he was leaving my house, we noticed the front door was a little crooked, which made it difficult to open and close. Lately, it had been getting worse. The screws had worked loose and fallen out of the bottom hinge. Truth is, I had been ignoring this problem, and putting up with it for a year or two. I thought I had fixed it a couple of times before, but all I did was put the screws back into holes that had been stripped out too much to hold. David immediately went to his Jeep and got his cordless drill/screwdriver. He stuffed the holes full of toothpicks so the screws would have some wood to hang onto, and had my problem fixed in about five minutes. The door hangs straight, and opens and closes effortlessly!

          It is amazing to watch someone work when they have the right knowledge, tools, and passion to accomplish what would be a frustrating task for someone else. We all know people (or have been there ourselves) who keep making the same mistakes, and keep suffering the same consequences over and over.  The Lord’s brother, James, had a passion for warning the early church to remember to pursue righteousness, and to get a handle on their anger and moral filth.

          “²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25).

          Forgetting what we look like after glancing away from the mirror would seem strange. In Matthew 14:30, Peter began to sink when “he saw the wind” instead of fixing his eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). Christians today must remember put to good use the tools Jesus provides for our spiritual journey.  Have a great week!

Above the Sun: Graduating seniors must learn to discern

by Barrett Vanlandingham

May 13, 2018

          The other day my friend Leon dropped by the church offices to say hi to our church secretary (his wife, Janet). I was trying to think of something to write about regarding graduation. So, I asked Leon for an idea. He said the only thing on his mind at the moment was the weed-eating task he was trying to complete on the church grounds.  BINGO.

          It’s a special time of year for graduates everywhere. They are not only graduating from something, they are also graduating to something, a life of endless possibilities!  The opportunities and dangers will both come quickly and when they least expect it. So, graduates must learn as soon as possible which things to cultivate, and which things to cut.

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

          In chapter five, Paul specifically mentions issues that Christians in Ephesus had dealt with: sexual immorality, sins of the mouth, greed, idolatry, and drunkenness along with the sins it promotes. He told Christians in Colossae the same thing, and added this:

          “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).

          This passage is a really good measuring stick to help graduating seniors and the rest of us decide what God wants us to keep and what to cut from our lives (John 15:2-6). If whatever we say, do, and think can be done with the blessing of Jesus, then it stays because it is good fruit growing in our lives. If not, then the limbs and the bad fruit have to be cut. Paul repeats this idea in Philippians 4:8 to Christians in Philippi, reminding them to allow their minds to be occupied only by good things.

          I wish I could tell Paul that time has made morality a priority since the first century. But one quick look at the nightly news says otherwise, and even refutes those who think the Bible is too old and outdated to be relevant today.

          God’s word is STILL right on target, a much needed silver lining to all of the hurdles and forks in the road ahead for a younger generation that needs the rock steady foundation of God’s truths more than ever. Have a great day!