Kindness is priceless

by Barrett Vanlandingham
September 16, 2014

            In the day in and day out grind of life, things can get to a point where one day is just about like all the others with minimal variation.  But last week was different for me. 

            A Christian brother called to say, “Hey, I noticed the fiberglass backboard of the basketball goal behind the church building is just about all torn to pieces.  Would you mind if I replaced it with a solid metal backboard?  I bought one the other day at an auction for about five bucks?” 

            I thought, “Wow!  What a blessing!”   My friend noticed the old backboard was in far less than stellar condition, and he made arrangements to do something about it without even being asked.  And just now, while I was writing this article one of my Christian sisters brought-in a dish of freshly baked brownies.  Now if that’s not a blessing, I don’t know what is!  I must admit, those kinds of things just make my day!  But another thing I must admit, I personally need to do a lot better at being like those two friends, noticing when others need help, and then taking care of it, or maybe just doing something nice just for fun!

            God has given each of us a passion, a gift, or a talent for something, not everything.  So, the kinds of things I notice that need to be done may not be the same things somebody else notices or has a passion for.  That’s why it takes effort from all of us, including me.  That’s the way God created everything and everyone.  He is all about teamwork and unity, from groups of people, right down to how our bodies function, and most certainly how church families operate.

            Romans 12:4-5 says, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others.”

            Paul goes on to list some of the gifts God has bestowed upon Christians who make up the church.  Serving, encouraging, showing mercy, and the ability to lead are among those gifts.  To the people we come in contact with, sharing our gifts with others is truly a God-sent.  You see, God never intended for us to behave like hoarders, but instead use our gifts to bless the lives of others.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

            Let others see by your actions that God is good.  Have a great week!

It is important to get in line with God’s will

by Barrett Vanlandingham
September 9, 2014

            God has blessed each one of us with a very special talent.  He has made each one of us just the way we are, and He loves each one of us just the way we are.  That’s a BIG deal.

            A new television commercial for “Under Armour” features a very muscular, short, stocky, non-traditional but very successful professional ballerina named Misty Copeland.  The ad’s goal is to bolster women’s self-image, and convey perseverance.  Copeland is changing the preconceived stereotypes of what a ballerina is supposed to look like.  She is one of several female athletes featured in the new “Under Armour” ads that end with the tagline “I will what I want”.

            The Christian race is similar to this mindset, with one major difference.  Instead of saying, “I will what I want”, the caption should read, “I will what God wants”.  Jesus set the ultimate example for us as He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before he was arrested, tortured, and crucified.

            “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)

            This passage is not to be confused with the idea that God does not want us to set goals and use our talents to the best of our ability, and maybe just sit around waiting for God to kick us into gear somehow. That would be an extreme position to take, and unbiblical.  But we should also not be under the misconception that God is smiling down on us when we only use our talents to bring attention to ourselves or to simply feel good about ourselves.  That would be the other extreme.

            For the Christian, our will (or those things we want) needs to be in line with God’s will.  Remember Paul’s words to the church in Galatia?  “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)   Too often we get that phrase turned around and expect God to keep in step with us.  We must remember who the Leader is, and who knows the way to heaven.

            It is good for Christians to be involved in all walks of life.  Otherwise, it would be difficult to be a good influence.  In fact, Christians are some of the most fascinating and talented people in the world because they take seriously what it means to do their best with the abilities God has blessed them with.   Remember, God can work mightily through you to accomplish His will, no matter what your opinion is of yourself.  So have a great week and remember to let your will be God’s.

Jesus understands our labors

by Barrett Vanlandingham

September 2, 2014

            I would start by saying I hope everyone had a relaxing Labor Day weekend.  But ever since my days in the restaurant business, I know that’s probably not the best assumption.  I will never forget reading a company letter from the CEO of Sonic Drive-In stating that he hoped Sonic employees would enjoy a weekend of rest and relaxation. 

            I thought to myself.  Ha!  Yeah, right.  Labor Day weekend was our busiest weekend of the entire year!  It was the weekend we all worked overtime (and lots of it) so everyone else could enjoy a burger while resting and relaxing! There seemed to be a disconnect between the guy in charge of the restaurant chain and those who actually worked in one of the franchise’s 3000 kitchens.

            Candidly but respectfully speaking, there is a CEO who is connected very closely to those doing the work of His company.  His name is Jesus. He has an eternal kingdom, of which He is King!  He is the head of the church. He established it, and died for it. He has been where we are, he has walked in our shoes, and he understands everything about our trials and temptations.

            In Matthew 11:28-30 the writer quotes our Savior who said, ²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  

            Jesus does not assume that everyone has a life of rest and relaxation.  He totally gets it.  He is not saying “if” you ever become weary and burdened.  He knows there’s nothing easy about day to day life in a broken world. He knows the challenges of the working man, and he is also not naïve about what it’s like to do spiritual battle with the devil.  Christ not only sympathizes, but he also empathizes because he’s been there.  That’s why he immediately follows up with a solution that he freely offers to each one of us! 

            That solution is Him!  You see, Jesus is the ONLY one who ever went toe to toe with satan and won every single time, even overcoming death.  I am not suggesting that any of us could be perfect in the sense that Jesus was perfect.  But when we walk with Jesus, and incorporate Him into all of our labors, He promises to help carry our burdens today, with the same commitment he demonstrated on the cross 2000 years ago.  Have a great week!

The evidence reveals eternal rewards

by Barrett Vanlandingham

August 26, 2014

            What a mess!   The news reports from Ferguson, Missouri are filled with some facts and lots of uninformed opinions about what the truth really is regarding the highly publicized shooting.  In the end, it will be a jury that has to weigh the evidence, and decide what is believable.
            As followers of Jesus Christ, God has called us to gather and weigh evidence regarding spiritual truths.  There are thousands of religions and Christian denominations in our world today in spite of Jesus’ plea that all His believers be one (John 17:20-23 and 1Corinthians 1:10). Our world is full of opinions on faith topics. Many of those opinions are either uninformed or ill-informed. Still others are very informed, and have chosen either to obey or disobey God’s word.  The outcome of each person’s investigation of faith-related evidence has much more riding on it than earthly guilt or innocence.  How we handle God's truths will decide our eternal destiny.
            Thankfully, God has given us all of the evidence we need to make good decisions about His will for our lives.  By using the Bible, we can know God's truths and understand how to apply them to our daily walk.       

            Some may say 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is over used, but I for one am grateful for the peace it gives me. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
            We as Christians don't even have to chase down the evidence, although, there is plenty to be had in ancient writings inside and outside of the Bible, evidence so convincing that Christians dating all the way back to the first century have been willing to die for. We can also learn much about our Creator by simply examining His creation (Romans 1:19-20).
            God has preserved His commands, truths, and examples in many ways so that we may know what God expects of His children today.   It all begins with belief in Jesus as God's Son, and being clothed with Christ through baptism (Galatians 3:26-27 and Romans 6:1-11).

            1 John 5:11-13 says, "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."

            God has given each one of us free will.  This means we have the freedom to choose to obey Him or not, based on what we believe about the evidence God has provided in His word and in His creation.  On Judgment Day, that is one verdict I want to be on the right side of.   Have a great week!

Pray for our children

by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 19, 2014

            I would like to ask each of you a favor on behalf of the children in our communities.  Please take at a moment (right now if possible) to pray for them as they start back to school.

            God blessed my youth ministry with another wonderful summer of unity building activities and spiritual growth.  It was such an encouragement for all of us who took part in any of these trips, devotionals, or camps.  You may have had similar experiences with your church.

            There is just something about getting kids together in the summer, without the stresses of school and extra-curricular activities, to just be together to play, sing praises, pray, and study from God’s word. I am always amazed at what God can do with willing and undistracted hearts and minds no matter what age.

            Unfortunately, the busy-ness of the school year is upon us, and our children will once again be under spiritual attack in many ways from many directions.  Once again, peer pressure and fleeting fads will make an attempt to sway the hearts and minds of our children.  It is almost as if the devil and his loyal allies have been waiting all summer for this time of year when kids are looking for a connection to the popular crowd or hoping for acceptance with a group that seems to understand them.  The fact is kids are going to find acceptance somehow, somewhere. 

            There’s a battle between good and evil for any spare hour a student’s mind is not engaged in something constructive.  Extremes on either end of time management can be dangerous. The apostle Paul warns Christians about being idle because of how easy it is to become a busybody or a gossip (1 Timothy 5:13).  On the other hand, being too busy is also a tool of the devil.  You may know someone who is so busy trying to serve the Lord that they themselves (or maybe their families) are suffering spiritually. You probably also know parents who think that if they keep their kids tied up in sports or other activities, they won’t have time to get into trouble.  The devil loves that style of parenting because if carried to the extreme, that child will also be too busy for God, for church youth activities, for Bible study, and for prayer.

            Please pray that our children will overcome negative peer pressure, family problems, media influences, and being too busy for God.  Please pray that our children spend more time with God, and in His word, and that they choose to be a witness for Him at school, home, and everywhere else in all they say, do, and think.  Please pray that Christians everywhere will show our children how to “Be holy” (1 Peter 1:13-16).  Have a great week!

Reality is often skewed by beliefs

August 12, 2014

by Barrett Vanlandingham           

            In the final part of my series “The Way Home” I want to tell you how John the Baptist helped prepare the way for Jesus, how our path to heaven has become distorted, how we can find our way back onto God’s righteous path, and a little about the Christian’s responsibility to help others find the way home today.

            You may have heard the story of a high school science experiment in which hundreds of fleas were placed in a glass jar with a lid on it.  The fleas hit the lid when they jumped.  Strangely, when the lid was taken off, the fleas stayed in the jar, never jumping higher than the level of the removed lid. The fleas believed something about their lack of freedom that wasn’t true. So, they adjusted their behavior and tolerance based on what they believed to be true, even though in reality, their beliefs were false.

            A 2011 Gallup Poll shows that most Americans believe that 25 percent of the U.S. population is gay or lesbian.  That belief is up from about 22 percent in 2002.  Ironically, a 2013 survey by the Centers for Disease Control says only 2.3 (two-point-three) percent of Americans actually identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual.  96.6 percent of Americans identified themselves as straight.  

            In America, we have been told over and over by the powerful big city media and by some on social media, and other liberal organizations that the Bible’s ways are antiquated and out of touch with modern times. Seems to me it’s not the majority of the people who have their head in the sand. 

            Sad to say, but our false belief system we’ve bought into as a nation is affecting just about everything including our tolerance when it comes to the content (sex, violence, language) of TV shows, movies, and music.  Unfortunately, neither our lawmakers nor our court system are immune to the effects of such lies and culture changes based on the false perception that there is no such thing as an immoral lifestyle.

            What does this all mean to Christians?  It should be a wake-up call, and a motivation for Christians to simply teach and preach the truth in a spirit of love (Ephesians 4:15), understanding that all sin is sin, but that all sins are not the same (Matthew 12:31-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:18), and that any sin can keep us from God and disqualified from heaven if it’s not covered by Jesus’ blood.

            The fact is we all struggle with temptation of one kind or another.  We all sin.  We all have “planks in our own eye” (Matthew 7:3), even as we stare into our brother’s eye looking for a speck of sawdust.  Still, some of the last instructions Jesus gave his followers before returning to heaven were to teach all nations everything He commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). This includes issues of morality, even though it is sometimes politically incorrect to speak out about such.

            John the Baptist evidently struggled with tact.  This powerful preacher prepared the way for the arrival of Jesus and His teachings.  I can only imagine the look on the Sadducees and Pharisees faces when they came out to where he was baptizing, and he told them, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee the coming wrath (Matthew 3:7)?”  After all, they were perceived as the most religious and powerful among the Jewish community.  John preached to them and others with passion about the coming of Jesus the Christ, about the life of repentance the people should be living (Luke 3:10-14), and about baptism for the forgiveness of sins (ref: Mark 1:4).

            Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson (also not known for tact) summarized his feelings based on what the Bible (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Romans 1:18-28) says on the topic of homosexuality during an interview with a New York City based magazine.  Remember that controversy?

            Now back to John. He was a pioneer with a message about a lot of things including King Herod’s morals. John was beheaded for that.  And even though the people had wondered if he might actually be the Messiah, John told them, “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie (Mark 1:7).”    Today, Christians still have the responsibility of blazing the trail, and carrying on the message of Jesus Christ in a spirit of truth and love.  God bless you and have a great week!

God can bring the pieces together

by Barrett Vanlandingham
August 5, 2014 

            A friend of mine once described himself as broken and unworthy of becoming a Christian.  He told me he had just done so many bad things in his life that there was no way God would ever accept him.  No matter what I said to assure him that God would meet him where he was and make him brand new, he insisted there was no way he could be part of God’s family.

            In part four of my series titled “The Way Home” I want to tell you about the important work of Ezekiel, an Old Testament prophet and priest.  He was a pioneer of unity in the sense he gave Israel a message of hope that God’s people could be made whole again, and confident that they were once again on God’s road of righteousness, the way home.

            In Ezekiel 37 we read about Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones that represented the Jewish people.  In this vision, the Lord gave these lifeless bones new flesh, tendons, and breath, and allowed them to stand up on their feet as a vast army (37:10), and eventually go back home to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple (515 B.C.).

            The children of Israel were a little like us today.  They had a hard time staying on track spiritually.  Even though God brought them out of Egyptian slavery and provided for them, they still managed to turn their back on God, and form relationships with people who worshipped idols and false gods.  They had simply lost their way, spiritually, and had no intention of turning things around.  That’s why God decided to get their attention again by letting the Babylonians take them captive for seventy years.

            You’ve probably heard it said that we tend to act like the people we hang out with.  Well, it was true back then, and it’s still true today.  When your best friends are against God, eventually you will be too.   Likewise, when your best friends embrace God’s will for our lives, both friends can be strengthened and encouraged to stay faithful. 

            Remember, I am not saying to stay away from people who intentionally sin. Otherwise, it would be hard to teach God’s word to those who need it most.  I am only saying that according to the Bible, your closest allies should be those who are pulling in the same direction spiritually (2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1).

            I believe the new life talked about in Ezekiel 37 also represents a new kingdom, Christ’s church which He shepherds and rules over forever (v. 24).  Jesus broke down all national, race, gender, and social barriers, and made it possible for ALL people, Jews and Gentiles, to be united under one King (v.22), giving everyone the opportunity to become a child of God (John 1:12, Romans 10:12-13, Galatians 3:28), no longer only the Israelites. A vast army of Christians!

            So if God could bring new life to a rebellious people who were reduced to nothing more than a valley of dry bones, then who among us could possibly say that God does not welcome each of us today on a joyful journey with Him all the way home to heaven? Have a great week!

Spiritual pioneers don’t have to be ancient

by Barrett Vanlandingham

July 29, 2014

            He was fed meat and bread by ravens in the morning and in the evening.  He successfully challenged 850 false prophets to a contest to find out whose God was real.  He also prayed for a drought, and then prayed for it to end three and a half years later.  He was sometimes a courageous and zealous prophet of God, and other times a discouraged and fearful fugitive who hid from the evil King Ahab and ruthless Queen Jezebel.  (Ref: 1 Kings 17-19)

            The Bible character I have just introduced in part three of my series titled “The Way Home” is Elijah.  Much like the characters in my previous two Fort Faith columns, Moses and David, Elijah’s life wasn’t perfect.  But he went through things that still encourage Christians today, and help point us the way home to heaven. 

            Elijah and those who honored God were severely outnumbered by those who had chosen to make idols and false gods their priority. Yet, Elijah obeyed God. And as a result of his faith, the people of Israel who had waivered from God’s will turned back toward Him.  

            One of Elijah’s most important jobs was to show the power of God to the people and remind them just who God really is.  Today, that is still one of the most important tasks facing Christians, to introduce a spiritually unconscious society to God and His son, Jesus the Christ.

            Remember God demonstrated to Elijah He was not always in the BIG things like earthquakes, fire, and wind, but in the “whisper.” (Ref: 1 Kings 19:12)  One way to demonstrate the power of God is to point out the little things in nature - babies, storms, plants, wind - and the little things in our every day life - food, breath, and shelter.

            Of course, the biggest display of God’s power was in the resurrection of His Son. People need to know about the power of the Gospel of Jesus. Society needs to hear about the power of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The story of Jesus has the power to wake those people who are stuck in neutral. Additionally, we can teach others that while God poured out fire in the time of Elijah, He now pours His Holy Spirit out on us today (Acts 2:38) and that the Spirit is a powerful force, the only way we can overcome Satan and live an “abundant life.” (ref: John 10:10, 14:15, 16:7).

            Elijah and those like him in the Bible were an important part of God’s plan to point us in the right direction.  But then again, we are also part of God’s plan to continue showing people the way home heaven.  This week, pray that our generation would turn to God and faithfully lead others to Him even in the small things we do and say.  Have a great week!