The hospitality industry. An inhospitable environment. Southern hospitality. “Thank you for your hospitality.” What’s the key to making that core concept work as it should? Plain and simple: it’s about people.

Hospitality is a Christian virtue because fellowship—a word that means sharing, participation, connection—is a Christian virtue. Hospitality’s not about a house; it’s about people. It’s not about prestige or extravagance; it’s about people. It’s not about entertainment; it’s about people. It’s not even about proper etiquette, cleanliness, dishes, serving, or recipes (cf. Martha [Lk. 10:38-42]); it’s about making genuine, sincere connections with people.

I have been around church families where it was said, “We just don’t really do hospitality. It’s not really our thing.” But there are two big problems with that: 1) That’s essentially just shrugging off one of the Spirit’s commands, essentially saying to God, “We’re simply not interested in doing the thing that you’ve asked us to.” And 2) It betrays disinterest in people—those who are God’s and therefore our siblings in faith, as well as those who are lost and who need our evangelistic guidance to be saved. If we are truly God’s children, we cannot be possessed of a casual, dismissive attitude toward those who are made in his image.

So let’s all look for opportunities to show hospitality—to ‘love strangers,’ sharing what we have with them, welcoming them into our homes, our hearts, and our lives. It’s an expected, commanded part of the Christian life.

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hb. 13:2)

- Dan Lankford, minister

I suppose it’s slightly different for everyone, but I know that for many people, the idea of some kind of ‘success’ doesn’t even call to their hearts any more. It sounds too daunting, too distant, too elusive, and frankly, too hard to be worth it. But, as the title of this article says: Succeeding at most things is easier (and easier on us) than failing at them.

Think about it: Which is easier in the long run? To put in the extra effort required to turn in assignments on time? Or to procrastinate, then still be required to finish and also to deal with your regrets?

Which is easier in the long run? To do the maintenance on the car when it’s due? Or to ignore it until it’s too late and face the larger expenses of repairs?

Which is easier? To obey your parents with a respectful attitude? Or to disobey, make excuses, mouth off… only to suffer the consequences, plus still have to obey the original command?

Which is easier in the long run? To make healthy food and exercise choices? Or to indulge day after day and eventually live with preventable-but-now-incurable health problems?

Which is easier? To train up a young child in the way he should go? Or to try and persuade him to change his wrongful ways once he is old and will not depart from them?

Many things in life—our careers, our relationships, our finances, our homes, our grades, and others—require extra effort in order to succeed. But it’s worth it. Failure forces us to work, but choosing diligence leads to success. It’s actually easier to succeed than to fail.

“The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.” (Prv. 12:24)

- Dan Lankford, minister

Recently, the world was given a great spiritual insight from a surprising source: Disney’s Mufasa. Here’s the truth that one of the songs laid out: “If you wanna go fast, go alone. But if you wanna go far, we go together!” Now, that is some surprisingly Biblical wisdom!

Throughout the Torah, God was trying to teach his people to care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the immigrant among them. But again and again, those people were neglected by the well-to-do among Israel. Why? Because, in one preacher’s words, “Kindness is inefficient.” It slows us down in life if we care for those who are needy, elderly, impaired, or weak. And yet, God didn’t guide his people to grow fast in the land they were going to possess; he guided them to “live long in the land” (Dt. 5:33, etc.). If he had wanted them to go fast on the road of life, they would have to ignore many fellow travelers. But he wanted them them to go far, so he taught them to go together.

Throughout the New Testament, the same is true: God wanted the Christians to go far in life; to become a kingdom that would never be shaken (cf. Hb. 12:28). And so, rather than filling his letters full to bursting with strategies for fast growth, hostile takeovers, and cultural transformations from the top-down… he talked to them about how crucial it was that they remain united. Their togetherness is one of the key topics in Romans, 1st Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st Thessalonians, Philemon, Hebrews, James, and 1st John.

And of course, Jesus himself is the perfect example of this. How much more could he have gotten done in his lifetime if he just 'didn’t have time for' the disciples and their foolishness? What if he had left them and gone to seek out better followers who would learn quicker, be more spiritually-minded, and have more influence? Wouldn't that seem like the more efficient use of his time? Actually, yes. But kindness is inherently inefficient, and Jesus' patience with the disciples is an important part of how he turned twelve ordinary men into the authoritative mouthpieces of his new, heavenly kingdom.

“If you wanna go fast, go alone. But if you wanna go far, we go together!” That sometimes tests our patience. It often requires us to forgive. It occasionally seems like wasted effort. But it’s one of the keys to being God’s people and ‘living long in the kingdom he has given us to possess.’

- Dan Lankford, minister

Gnosis. Knowledge. Peter says that if we want to grow in Christ we need to grow in our knowledge. Yet, if you listen too much to the echoes of our culture you might find yourself discouraged in that pursuit. Here’s why:

There are many highly respected and highly visible people in our culture who would claim that it’s not possible to know the will of God. Sure, the most basic truths are discernable, like the fact that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead; but beyond those simplest truths God’s will is just kind of muddy. Some claim that the Bible itself is not clear on most issues. Others claim that the Bible is clear, but that we’ll be forever undone by our own bias and prejudice. Still others make the case that God’s word is intentionally left open to interpretation—that God wants us to draw our own subjective conclusions.

To put it simply, we live in a culture that just doesn’t have faith in our ability to know, understand, and correctly apply the word of God. But culture is wrong.

The Holy has told us clearly that we can know the will of God. Remember that Jesus promised that those who continue in His word would know the truth and it would make us free (John 8:31-32). When writing to the Colossians, Paul prayed that church would filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that they could please Him in all respects (Colossians 1:9-12). That doesn’t sound like something you would say if it were impossible to know God’s will. 

More meaningful to me is what John states at the beginning of his Gospel: “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:18). The word translated “explained” is the Greek word, “exegeomai,” and it means to open up or unfold. That’s a beautiful idea, isn’t it? Through His life and teaching Jesus has unfolded—He has revealed—the character and the will of God. Be not discouraged in your pursuit of knowledge! You can know the will of God!

- Jonathan Banning

Most Bible readers have heard often about the importance of context when reading and studying. For some believers, that means just a verse or a sentence before and after the specific thing we’re looking at. But often, the context of a particular passage includes a whole section of the book that it’s from.

That’s what we have with this week’s daily Bible readings. All week long, we’re following Israel’s journey from the Red Sea (which they crossed in ch. 14) to Mt. Sinai (where they’ll receive the Law, starting in ch. 20). I recently heard the Exodus simply outlined in three parts: the road out [of slavery], the road between [slavery and freedom], and the road up [to God’s promised rest]. We’re with them on ‘the road between’ right now.

As we said in this week’s Reader’s Guide, this is where Israel will begin to show their true colors… which aren’t pretty. They complain about God when they find places with no water (15:22-26, 17:1-7). And they disobey his simple instructions about manna, messing up in two ways: first, by trying to gather too much and hoard it for themselves (16:19-20), and second, by expecting to gather it on the day when he told them to rest (16:27-30). And if you know the rest of the wilderness story, then you know these events are only the beginning of their problems.

What was their core problem in these events? In all of those cases, they failed to trust that God would provide for them. They complained because they didn’t trust him to provide. They hoarded because they didn’t trust him to provide. They worked rather than rested because they didn’t trust him to provide.

Do we trust him to provide for us? What does our anxiety level reveal as the answer to that? What do our giving-versus-hoarding habits reveal as the answer to that? What do our work-versus-rest habits reveal as the answer to that? How are we doing at putting our full trust in our God while we live in this life—our very own ‘road between’ salvation and promised rest?

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak…” (James 1:19)

——————

Allow me to state something obvious: Some people are good at listening, and others just aren’t. That’s not to say that it’s an unchangeable destiny for either; it’s a skill that can be acquired. But I think we all recognize the varied skill levels when we encounter them.

Some people have a seemingly innate ability to stay engaged when someone is talking to them, to ignore potential distractions, and to truly focus on another person as they speak. They ask questions to show they’re thoughtfully connected. They care sincerely about the other person’s interests (cf. Phil. 2:4). They are slow to bring up their own opinions and interests. And they take the time to listen longer because they want to learn the person, not just to gather information. As a result, they tend to be a hub of deep conversations and close relationships. They possess an aura where powerful, personal, transformative conversations are had.

But for many, that’s just not our natural way. We quick-filter what we think is the relevant highlight of a conversation and then mentally rush ahead. We give follow-up statements rather than asking follow-up questions. We think about what we’ll say next instead of what the person has just said to us. We are quick to criticize or disagree, even before we’ve heard the fullness of the other person’s perspective. And we often miss out on appreciating who the other person is because we don’t really hear them. As a result, our relationships can remain at surface-level. People keep us at arm’s length because they feel that, rather than pulling them close to us by listening well, we have kept them at arm’s length.

Obviously, one of those behavior sets is much more like Jesus’. He always put more stock in individuals than in crowds, and he frequently took time to pause everything else and give his full attention to one person. Think about the afternoon that he spent with Zacchaeus (Lk. 19:10). What was it that made Zacchaeus receive the Lord joyfully (v. 6) and ultimately repent of his sins and turn to a life of generosity (v. 8)? In that story, Jesus paid attention to him. How does one person pay attention to another in that sort of life-changing way? By being “quick to hear” and “slow to speak.”

So here’s some practical advice for all of us to grow in this skill: When someone talks to you, ignore distractions and focus on them and what they’re saying. Ask questions about what they think, what motivates them, and what’s important to them. Listen to their answers when you ask questions—to the information, the tone, and the approach they take. Listen to ideas and beliefs that are different than your own, and don’t always feel the need to correct them right away—often, it can wait. Listen to the person’s heart behind what they say, and learn to see both their good and their flaws with wisdom.

Being heard is often much more important to a relationship than being taught, advised, or even encouraged. Often, the most compassionate and authentic thing we can do is listen skillfully. People who are “quick to hear, slow to speak” are living out the wisdom of God in their relationships, and that sort of behavior always leads us into his good blessings.

- Dan Lankford, minister

How serious are you about living like a Christian? And before we go any further, let’s be clear about what that question is really asking: It’s not about how serious you feel or believe that you should be about it, but about whether your life shows real Christian living. Maybe we could put it another way: If the God of the Bible—who knows all things, even our thoughts—were to describe your life, how serious would he say that you are about living the kind of life that a Christian should?

There are two eternal temptations for people who claim that Christ is their master: 1) To be so serious about morality that they convict every weakness or imperfection as a damnable sin, whether the Bible describes it as such or not. 2) To react to that by being so lax about matters of faith that we fail to live up to the standard of godliness to which we’ve been committed.

Neither of those are what we’re called to.

But it’s that second one that I think needs to be emphasized more in our current world. More and more, we seem to live in a world that takes an exceedingly casual approach to Christianity. It’s received with joy, but, all too often, at the cost of its requisite sobriety. And if we’re guilty of that, then we need to get our priorities straight and realign ourselves with true devotion of holy living that God has always required of his faithful ones.

• Many of us need a more thorough grasp of repentance—being truly brokenhearted when we sin, and not just shrugging it off and thinking, “Oops. Good thing that’s not a big deal.”
• We need to make real changes in our behaviors—getting self-control and actually doing the right things rather than excusing ourselves by just thinking, “I guess I need to work on that” or “I’m too tired/stressed/overwhelmed/committed/distracted for that sort of thing right now, but God understands.”
• We need a more serious approach to the Bible—that it’s more than supplementary material to our lives, it is the words of eternal life and of sincere Christian living. It’s worth knowing it deeply for our own sakes and for the sake of teaching others.

So seek the truth. Read it. Understand it. Face it honestly. Accept it. Turn toward it. And live it.

What does that require of each of us? It requires prayer. Work. Dedication. Thoughtfulness. Prayer. Hard choices. Repentance. Time. Prayer. Guidance and correction from spiritual leaders. Focus. Humility. Self-control. Prayer. Lots of Bible reading. Deep christian friendships. Accountability to others. And prayer.

If the gate is narrow and the way is hard, then we had better put our all into it.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Three times in the Exodus narrative, an individual or group bows the head and worships God.

• The first is when Aaron announces that God has heard them and has come to set them free from slavery (Ex. 4:31).
• The second is when God explains the punishment he will inflict upon Egypt on the night of the Passover (Ex. 12:27). 
• The third is Moses himself, at the moment that Yahweh reveals himself as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Ex. 34:6-8). 

These passages show us a pattern for worship. Not a pattern for corporate worship (church assemblies); rather, for personal worship. They show us the importance of worshiping God in our hearts and from our hearts. They show us worship as an act of the mind and the heart and the body, by which we laud and magnify God. At the moments in which they were truly impressed by God, the Israelites humbled themselves (“bowed their heads”) and lifted him up (“worshiped”).

Do you ever do that? Do you ever take a pause in your life to just praise God, either in your heart, through singing, by reading a psalm of praise aloud toward his throne, or by some other act of adoration? This is an important practice for his people, and it’s one that I fear (though I don’t know for sure) we neglect. Our worship assemblies are crucially important, but they are only a part of a whole life that is given in service and worship to him (cf. “spiritual worship,” Rom. 12:1).

The frequency and and depth of private worship may be a stronger indicator of our devotion to God than our attendance at worship assemblies. Like Paul and Silas praising God and singing hymns while in prison… or James’ prescription for a saint to “sing songs” when he is joyful… or the Psalmist who speaks of praising God for his wisdom “all the day”… Our daily lives ought to be defined by adoration and praise for God. It’s more than corporate religious activity; we too ought to frequently bow our heads and worship YHWH, just because he is worthy of adoration from our hearts.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Sometimes victory is the greatest enemy of excellence. That seems counterintuitive, but it’s nonetheless true. Often, our success does not lead to more success, instead it leads to complacency. I’m sure this phenomenon pops up in many different places in life, but I see it most often in athletics. 

I see it in the team who wins the championship one year but misses the playoffs in the next because they just don’t have the same drive and hunger to win it all. I see it in the phenom who finally makes it to the big leagues but stops working because they feel they have “arrived.” I see it in the player who is awarded that enormous contract and then never plays hard again. Sometimes victory is the greatest enemy of excellence. 

Might that also be true when it comes to spiritual things? I think that’s a temptation for all of us. We use our spiritual success as an excuse to slouch back into spiritual complacency. What’s that look like? Maybe a little like this…

“I conquered my temper, my worry, my lust, etc. Now I can just coast to the finish line.” 

“I built a beautiful marriage and raised good kids. My work here is done!”

“I helped convert my dear friend. I worked on them through my teaching and my example for years and they finally responded! I’ve done my duty in evangelism.” 

“For the past two decades I’ve been that person who made every visitor feel welcome, I’ve opened my home liberally, I’ve been a picture of hospitality. Time for someone else to take up the mantle.” 

These are not small things! These are tremendous spiritual victories! Yet, if we’re not careful, victory becomes complacency. Adding “arete” to our faith means that we continually press on toward excellence despite our accomplishments. It means that, like Paul, we forget the things that are behind and press on toward perfection. It means we refuse to allow what has been done to distract us from what still needs to be done (Philippians 3:12-14).

- Jonathan Banning, Minister — Temple Terrace Church of Christ

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.” (Phil. 4:11-12)

When you receive money—a gift, a paycheck, or some kind of support—what’s the first thought that goes through your head? As believers, I really believe that our first thought ought to be a prayer: “God, thank you for this gift.” As Paul was grateful for the support he received from the Christians in Philippi, we ought to be grateful for the providence of God in our lives, at whatever level of wealth he provides. Like Paul, we learn to be content with God himself first, and then we will naturally be content with whatever blessings he provides.

So here’s today’s challenge question: When you receive money, is your first thought, “I hope this is enough” or “What’s if this isn’t enough?” Or… Is it, “God, thank you for graciously providing for me/us”?

I hope that more and more of us are able to learn true contentment, whether we have little or much, and whether we live on little or much. In any and every case, the secret to contentment is to be content with God himself first. And once we’ve got that figured out, the rest of contentment will take care of itself.

- Dan Lankford, minister