“What do you do for a living?” It’s a standard question when getting to know someone new because our jobs have an important place in our lives. Working a job is not unique to Christians, but believers are called to work in a unique way. God wants us to do everything with excellence.

Paul instructed the Thessalonian Christians “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1 Thess. 4:11-12)  He told them in a later letter: “you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day.” (2 Thess. 3:7-8)

Our work—and the quality of it—matters to God. Whether we are employed to teach children, to prepare and serve food, to provide medical care, to build, to administrate, or to mediate justice… Christians ought to be diligent to do all things well, giving God the glory for our best efforts.

And so while it might just seem like good advice, the reality is that if we live out the good news, we will be reliable employees. We will be there when we are expected. We will not leave jobs unfinished. We will look out for the interests of others in the workplace. We will think about contributions we can make to our organization’s goals. We will be honest with our employers’ accounts (cf. Lk. 16:1-13). We will not be idle. As Christians, we will always strive to do good work.

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Do This And Your Kids Will Never Talk Back to You”

“Parents With Well-Behaved Kids Do These Three Things Every Day”

“Six Things To Do Now So You Don’t Raise Spoiled Kids”

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Parenting advice abounds in our world. We’re all looking for some kind of click bait that will make it easy, peaceful, and successful. But parenting is a process. There’s no quick path from immaturity to maturity. Period. That’s not because we fail to understand parenting; it’s because it always takes a long time to ‘bring up a child.’ And for the prime example of that, I submit, for your consideration, God’s own process of bringing up his son, Israel.

In the beginning, God treated Israel like one treats a baby. He carefully protected them, carried them, fed them, and nurtured them (cf. the Exodus and the wilderness). As they grew, he instructed them in how to behave and what ‘manners’ of life to develop (cf. the Law of Moses). He also disciplined them when they disobeyed. As they grew further, he taught them how to be wise, to make decisions based on more than black-and-white do’s and don’ts (cf. the wisdom lit.). When they became estranged from him like adult children sometimes do to parents, he hung his head and mourned, and he let them suffer the consequences of their choices (cf. the Exile). And then finally, when he was ready, he revealed himself to them as he truly is—making it possible for the relationship to reach full maturity (cf. our place in Christ).

If it took God a long time to raise a childlike nation to spiritual maturity, then we shouldn’t be discouraged that it takes a long time to raise our children. So keep going, mom and dad. Keep teaching, keep praying, and keep believing that God’s way works.

- 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

After a somewhat brief ceasefire, the conflict between the terrorist organization, Hamas, and the sovereign nation of Israel is back in full swing. The conflict, which started with a terrorism attack on a peacetime population in October of ’23, has resulted in massive loss of life and incredible unrest for the populations living closest to it. This past week, it had gotten bad enough that the residents of the Gaza Strip (Hamas’ home territory) took to the streets in mass protest of the terrorist organization. This sort of behavior is largely unprecedented in the Islamic-ruled Middle East, which shows just how bad things are on the ground there.

As believers, we ought to have extreme compassion on those who suffer under such regimes, even though they share no semblance of our faith in Jesus. The Lord himself showed great compassion to those who were ‘not of the house of Israel’ when he saw their needs in this life (cf. Mt. 15:21-28). Our job is to be the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13)—to be a source of goodness and compassion wherever we come in contact with the world. If we cannot muster even a small amount of compassion when we see suffering in another part of the world, how will we accomplish true compassion with real impact when we see suffering close to home?

I pray that this particular conflict will be resolved soon. I pray the same for the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. And I pray for the day to come when all of the leaders and the citizens of the nations will move toward Zion—the spiritual mountain of God; the seat of his power; the center of his authority and his goodness (cf. Isa. 2:1-3). I pray for the day when Christ will be enthroned as king in all men’s hearts, and all the conflicts of this world will vanish, along with the suffering they cause.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In Christian bookstores, you can often look over the new releases and get a sense of what’s happening in the broader world of all that’s called ‘Christian.' I did that recently at Focus of the Family Bookstore, and here are some of the titles:

• Take Your Life Back; How To Stop Letting the Past and Other People Control You
• I Shouldn’t Feel This Way; Name What’s Hard, Tame Your Guilt, and Transform Self-Sabotage into Brave Action
• I Declare War; 4 Keys To Winning The Battle With Yourself
• The Bondage Breaker; Overcoming Negative Thoughts, Irrational Feelings, Habitual Sins
• Neighbor, Love Yourself; Discover Your Value, Live Your Worth
• Take Back Your Life; A 40-Day Interactive Journey To Thinking Right So You Can Live Right

What’s the common factor here? They’re all promising to help re-gain control of our thoughts; to help us overcome difficult things like guilt, regret, comparison, and tension. They all promise that if we follow the steps, we’ll be free from what’s negative inside us. It says a lot about our cultural moment when this is what Christian writers and publishers know people will buy in order to find help.

What’s the real solution to a mind that is anxious, frustrated, regretful, and restless? What will all the ideas in those books boil down to if they’re correct? Ultimately, they’ll be rehearsing truths from God. Truths such as, ‘Don’t be anxious; trust God’ (cf. Mt. 6:25-34), and ‘Believe it when God says you’re forgiven’ (cf. 1 Jn. 2:12), and “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tm. 1:7).

What can we do to gain and maintain control of our minds? Ultimately, we gain control by surrendering control—by becoming so thoroughly indoctrinated with God’s ways that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Only that will win the battle over self.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Hypocrisy among disciples is one of the greatest detriments to the expansion of Jesus’ reign in the world. It makes the Way look fraudulent when those who claim it aren’t true to it. And just as it fails intellectually, it’s an enormous emotional problem. It’s like a noxious odor to anyone who recognizes it.

I was reminded of this recently when I pulled up behind a minivan in traffic that had a Jesus fish on one side of the rear window… and a decal with a nasty swear word on the other side. On other recent occasions, I’ve talked to some young adults at work whom I know to be active at church… who complain that their favorite local bar has closed down and they’ll have nothing to do on the weekends. On another recent occasion, an acquaintance whom I know to regularly use profanity and follow his lusts freely… told me that he “pastors” a church here in our city.

That sort of thing just stinks to the mind and heart of anyone who genuinely wants Christ to be served. Like the pungent smell of vinegar or ammonia, it shocks the senses of believers, jarring us and making us want to turn away. And it must surely stink similarly as an aroma ascending before God.

And that ought to remind us just how imperative it is that we live lives of holiness and purity. Because if we can sense it in others’ lives, then how much more will they be put off by the same stench of our hypocrisy? We are a living sacrifice to come up as a pleasing aroma before God (cf. Rm. 12:1)—without a hint of off-putting hypocrisy.

- Dan Lankford, minister

One of the main reasons (some might even say the reason) that Jesus so often ran afoul of the religious leaders of his day was this: He had total faith in God’s word and will, and they just didn’t.

When they pointed out what they saw as flaws or sins in his life, he showed them repeatedly that if they truly believed God’s word in their hearts, they would be happy to see his ways, hear his words, and accept his gracious dominion as their Messiah. But instead, they saw him as a sinner, because their faith was in their own ways rather than in what God had said.

Jesus pointed this out to them powerfully in Mark 7. When they criticized him for not living “according to the tradition of the elders” (Mk. 7:5), Jesus showed that they had more faith in that tradition than they did in God’s actual words. And their problem is always the problem when humans go beyond the word of God: we “leave the commandment” (v. 8), we “reject the commandment” (v. 9), and we “make void the word” (v. 13). He was very clear: in believing that their additions were required to make God’s word work as it should, they had rejected him. They lacked faith in him.

Hearing Jesus say that ought to be a check on our own faith. 
Are we satisfied with God’s will just as it is, or do we feel that we need to fence spirituality a little more properly than he has done? We too can fall into thinking that God’s words are sometimes not clear enough or conservative enough, so we make our own ‘traditions,’ thinking that we’re helping him. But let’s be warned: The Pharisees and scribes did that because they lacked faith in God, and we’d better be diligent not to fall into the same trap. Let’ be like Jesus and have total faith in the perfection of God’s word and his will.

- Dan Lankford, minister

“I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” (Ex. 3:19-20)

“I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you.” (Ex. 7:3)

“I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.” (Ex. 10:1-2)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.’” (Ex. 11:9)

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File this one under: "Things in the Bible that are just cool."

In the section of Exodus that talks about the plagues, I love the repeated emphasis on God’s “mighty works” and his “signs” and especially his “wonders.” That language tells me that God didn’t just want to get Israel out of their bondage; he wanted his name to be heard, known, and feared.

The plagues against Egypt may seem harsh or overbearing to modern readers. But there was always an option for Pharaoh to stop the plagues; all he had to do was care more about people than about his own glory as king. If he would do that and relent, God’s “wonders” would stop, and history would revere Pharaoh for his graciousness. But he didn’t, so God’s mighty works punished them.

His wrath is not a side note to his character; it’s part of his very nature, and it deserves our respect. And when the final judgment day comes, we can expect similar “mighty wonders” to be unleashed against all the powers of darkness and evil, as God’s final judgment makes all things right in the new heaven and new earth.

- Dan Lankford, minister

When Jesus rose from the dead, everything changed. Realities as old as Adam & Eve were suddenly rewritten. Death was defeated by life. Fear was defeated by hope. And darkness was defeated by light. And yet, it seems that God saw fit to announce this universe-altering event to only a very small audience—a few women who misunderstood it at first, and a few men who doubted it at first. And that begs the question: why would God not alert all humanity to the fact that he is bringing life? Why not give the nations an indication that fear has lost to hope? Why not at least signify to part of the world that darkness was defeated?

He did.

The sun rose!

Every time a new morning dawns, God reminds all creation that something new is being done. Every morning, he awakens life, quells fear, and banishes darkness with light!

As he created the world, each level of his life-giving work was announced by the words, “there was morning” (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). When Abraham was called to demonstrate how God would bring us life in Christ, we are told Abraham “rose early in the morning” (Gen. 22:3). When the Psalmist talked about life in God, he said, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psa. 30:5). And when Jesus rose from the dead, even those who were unaware of what God had done were experiencing God’s gift of life as the sun rose.

A sunrise may be an unsensational daily event, but its significance in Jesus’ resurrection remains. The resurrection shows the ultimate manifestation of a daily-demonstrated truth: that God has always had a plan to bring new life with the rising of the Son.

 - Dan Lankford, minister

(originally published April 1, 2018 at eastlandchristians.org)

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