Above the Sun: Wearing Jesus is the best choice in fashion

by Barrett Vanlandingham

August 4, 2019

            It’s that time of year when families head to stores for back to school shopping. New clothes for a new school year just go hand in hand.

            The Bible talks about clothing that is of greatest importance. In fact, doing without it would be the worst possible choice anyone could make. On several occasions, the apostle Paul told anyone who would listen his thoughts on clothing.

            To the church in Rome, he said, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14).”

            To the church in Galatia, he said, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27).”

            To the church in Colossae, he said, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12).”

            Paul is among those first century Christians who would be more than qualified to speak on the topic of clothing because his spiritual journey led him into situations where he had to do without.           

            “I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked (2 Corinthians 11:27).”

            Surprisingly, with everything he went through, Paul did not write about the kind of clothing most of us are familiar with. But rather, a kind of clothing that is even more important. Spiritual clothing.

            To the church in Ephesus, Paul goes even further in explaining the importance of clothing ourselves in Christ through baptism, and applying His qualities to our lives. He likens truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, and prayer to armor that Christians need to put on in order to win our daily spiritual battles.

            “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11).”

            Yes, it’s always fun to get a new shirt or new pair of shoes. But when it comes to what really matters, it is much more important to make sure our spiritual wardrobe is well stocked for whatever challenges are certain to come our way. Earthly clothing styles come and go. Jesus and eternity are forever.  Have a great week!

Goliath’s Failure Gives Giant Lessons for Us Today

by Barrett Vanlandingham 
(Original article:  Fort Faith, September 16, 2008)

By all accounts, the fight between Goliath and David should have ended much differently than it did. 

When you read 1 Samuel 17 it is easy to see that a nine-feet tall Philistine warrior whose armor weighed 125 pounds, and whose iron spear-tip alone weighed 15 pounds should have not wound up flat on the ground with his head cut off. But that’s exactly what happened in spite of the fact that Goliath even had his own shield bearer who went out before him.

No one else besides a shepherd boy named David would even dare to fight Goliath. So, what happened? What went wrong? Well, a couple of things. Goliath was obviously in the habit of placing his confidence in none other than himself. He was arrogant, threatening, rude, and irreverent towards God’s people. 

For forty days, Goliath came out to taunt King Saul and the Israelites saying, “…Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us… This day I defy the ranks of Israel! (1 Sam. 8-10)…” After Goliath saw who was coming out to fight, he said, “:44 Come here… and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”

The whole scene sounds pretty intimidating to me. But that didn’t stop David who then said to the Philistine, “…You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head (1 Sam. 17:45-46)…”

What follows next is my favorite part of the story “:48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”

David takes five smooth stones and uses one of them in a sling to strike the giant down, and then takes Goliath’s sword and cuts off his head.

“:51 …When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.”

I’m not sure which part of the story is more pathetic, Goliath’s over-confidence, or the Philistine army’s cowardly reaction to a young shepherd boy defeating their “hero.”

Two lessons we must learn from this are 1) where to put our faith, and 2) what kind of things we should place our priorities on.
David put his confidence in God even though the odds were against him. He had to endure criticism from many including his own brothers, and being made fun of by those who were only judging David from outward appearances.

May we all pray that God gives us the confidence to trust in Him even when the world says we’re not strong enough or smart enough to win the battle against the devil. May we never be afraid to lay our pride aside, and let God’s power work within us. Have a great week!