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

The month of January has shown us some dramatic behavior of the natural world.

Fires that started in Los Angeles on January 7 have continued to burn and to spread. Nearly 16,000 structures have been destroyed and 28 lives have been lost. Mercifully, rain was predicted for the area this weekend, but the damage that’s already done is staggering.

Then there are the winter storms which have blanketed balmy Southern states with far more snow and ice than they are used to. All-time record snowfall in some areas like coastal Alabama and southwest Texas brought dangerous road conditions that led to the deaths of at least five people and the complete halt of a lot of infrastructure.

Times like these serve to remind us that while we may applaud ourselves for great human accomplishments, we remain nowhere close to omnipotence. In fact, we can be overwhelmed by the very things that we need and enjoy. Fire is a gift that brings warmth, sanitizes, and helps us prepare food. But right now, it’s a major threat to life. Snow is a gift of moisture to the earth and a thing of pure beauty. But right now, it’s a roadblock to human movement.

We need to occasionally be reminded of all that out-powers us. We can have some dominion over the natural world, but we will never have total control. That remains solely in the hands of the one who created it and rules it with just the sound of his voice (cf. Mk. 4:41). And so when we see the great power of God’s world, we bow our heads and worship him: the creator, the sustainer, and the sovereign ruler of it all.

- Dan Lankford, minister

From the time of the prophets, to Jesus’ own lifetime, and into eternity; these are the powerful words that God uses to tell of the Messiah’s greatness. He is worthy of our adoration, celebration, and devotion EVERY DAY!

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’” (Isaiah 40:1-5)

“For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6-7)

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

“And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:9-14)

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev. 5:12)

“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child… that you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.” (1 Tim. 1:18-19a)

“…though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (1 Cor. 10:3-5)

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From time immemorial to today, a war rages between the spiritual forces of darkness and God’s power of good in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:10-12ff). Though unseen, this war touches Earth and affects the rising and falling of humanity through cycles of good and evil. The territory being fought over is each human heart, and while the final victor of eternity is already decided, our task remains to fight off the dark forces’ power within ourselves and everyone we know.

The Holy Spirit describes Christians as soldiers in that great war. And yet, it tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not swords, guns, or war machines. Nor are they organizations, political structures, or educational systems. No, our weapons are simple and powerful: hearts and minds that are truly transformed—completely renewed by the powerful truth from God. That is an arsenal unto itself, and if we have the humility and dedication to let God’s word do its work in us, we will find that though we face many conflicts with the enemy (see The Book of Acts for evidence), through the power of God it will be ours to overcome every opinion that thinks itself so lofty as to deny the truth about Christ. And, in the final assessment of all things, we will have served the great victor of eternity: Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega.

- Dan Lankford, minister

With election season now fully upon us, I think it’s important that we be reminded of a few powerful, life-shaping truths:

First, that the church’s primary tool for changing the world is not politics; it’s The Gospel. Our task is not necessarily to get Christians into high offices; it’s for us Christians to be “the salt of the earth” that makes a positive impact on the world through our relationships in everyday life. Would it be better for everyone if our country’s laws were more faithful to God’s character and the Bible’s teachings? Yes. But will we still be able to serve God faithfully if the laws are not according to his ways? Also yes. Our king is Jesus, no matter who our President is.

Second, that there is no Bible command for who we should vote for. If you have convictions about that, keep in mind that while they may be Biblically informed and dearly held, it’s not a Christian’s place to bind them upon others as a matter of their righteousness.

Third, that neither political party will do the work of God in this world—that’s the job of Jesus’ church (which is his people). When I look at the two predominating political parties in this country, I see institutionalized error and attempts at righteous things in both. And so our choice is not between one that is right and the other that is wrong; our choice is which group of flawed humans and their ideals we will entrust to lead our country for the next four years.

And finally, that no matter who gains The White House in next month’s election, God will still reign over all the world’s kingdoms. Psalm 2 reminds us that YHWH and his Son reign above all the earth’s kings, and Psalm 1 reminds us that his righteous ones always put our total confidence in him alone!

- Dan Lankford, minister

So, now we come right down to it. With the preponderance of evidence in favor of the Gospels, and with the undeniable fact that Jesus existed, we have to face the question that everyone who dealt with him in person had to face: “Who is this man?” (Mt. 8:27, Mk. 6:1-3, Lk. 7:49, Lk. 9:9, Jn. 4:28-29ff, etc.). Especially in light of his claims to be God incarnate—the Lord of Heaven and Earth—every person in all of time must answer the question for ourselves: “Who do I believe that Jesus is?”

Josh McDowell has spent his career writing evidences materials, and he’s been saying for fifty years that, “Jesus claimed to be God. He did not leave any other options. His claim to be God must be either true or false.” Others have insisted that it is foolish to say Jesus was just a great teacher nothing more. Because with the claims that he made about being God, Messiah, and master of other’s lives; he must have been either a blatant liar, a delusional lunatic, or truly the Lord of Creation.

If he was a liar, he was one of the most dastardly liars of all time, because he claimed that others could trust him with their eternal destiny while knowing that he could do nothing for them. Does that fit the Bible and all the evidence?

If he was a lunatic, then was paradoxically the most grounded, rational, and sane lunatic to ever exist. We would need some way to explain how his teachings can be so deep and so perfectly suited to reality if his mind was so broken that he would believe a delusion. Such a paradox is too great to even be considered plausible.

If he is the Lord—God come in the flesh—then he not only demands, but deserves the devotion of our hearts and souls. Obviously, this kind of belief may be long in coming for many people, but it is the only reasonable conclusion about him. And more than that, it’s the only option for a soul-saving conclusion. Peter said that he believed Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16). What do YOU believe about him?

- Dan Lankford

Recently, while visiting a church like ours, I heard a brother speak the following prayer: “Lord, we pray that you would not hold our sins against us. Please ignore our failings of the past.”

While I’m sure that most of you immediately realize the problem with that request, I feel compelled to point it out so that we can all learn from it. The problem is this, and it’s a serious one: God forgiving a sin is not nearly the same thing as his simply ignoring it. Ignoring means just pretending that a thing never happened, while forgiveness is fully conscious of the sin that has been committed and is willing to pay the necessary cost of atoning for it. To think that God simply ignores our sins is to cheapen the high cost that Christ paid for our forgiveness—the cost of his own life.

Brothers and sisters, let’s be impressed with two important takeaways from this: First, that our choices of words in worship to God matter a great deal, and we’d better speak truth when we speak on behalf of God. And second, that we owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to God, our Father—not for simply ignoring our sins, but for paying the price to completely, truly, graciously forgive them.

- Dan Lankford, minister

“The reason that no one should believe in miracles—especially the miracle of resurrection—is because it can’t be tested by the scientific method.”

The Scientific Method is the technical term for the type of empirical measurement and testing of certain behaviors based in the natural world. Its key to success is its dependence on repeatable scenarios—testing, observing, and documenting the behaviors of substances, animals, weather patterns, etc. in the natural world. And we would do well to be magnanimous: We owe much of the modern world’s convenience and safety to the scientific method and the findings that have been wrought through it. But its dependence upon repeatable scenarios is a double-edged sword: it leads to greater reliability but is also a limitation that we must acknowledge.

The trouble for Christian apologetics is not with the Method itself, but with those who see it as a universal template for determining all knowledge and reality. When we believe that “science” is what will make humanity whole and essentially *save* us, we have put far too much faith in it. This is the problem of those who make the claim from this article’s first sentence: It is that when we approach the Bible’s events, we are dealing with historical people (which, by definition, are not repeatable) and supernatural scenarios (which, by definition, cannot be measured empirically).

As a general rule, Christians would do well to temper our faith in “science,” so far as that is defined by a naturalistic worldview. It’s certainly not always a bad thing, but we must realize its limitations. Believers ought to read with a discerning eye when anything claims that “science” has discovered the key to something which the Method cannot sufficiently explain. For some examples, consider some magazine and online article headlines: “Science discovers why we’re unhappy,” or “Science discovers why some people are good parents and others aren’t,” or any such thing. Likewise, we ought to temper our faith in its promises for the future, especially when we are told that it will make humanity whole. For some examples, consider promises like these: “Someday, science will help us stop every disease and injury from happening,” or “With enough scientific advances, we’ll be able to stop all wars, because all the resource and commerce problems will be solved.” Only when Christ is fully accepted by faith in every believing heart can we expect to see the world saved in such ways. It won’t be “science” that saves us; it will be God, through his Son Jesus of Nazareth.

At the end of the day, our acceptance or rejection of the Bible’s history comes down to faith. Do we have faith in the Scientific Method to tell us all that is real in the world? Or do we have faith in the One who created the world which the Method can only measure? The Bible’s miracles, and especially the resurrection, must be accepted by faith (see Jn. 20:30-31’s emphasis on belief). But with the preponderance of other evidence for Christianity and the Bible, we have all the reasons necessary to put our faith in them.

- Dan Lankford, minister

What gives your life purpose and fulfillment? What is your basis of meaning and joy, and what do you consider a successful life? Is that thing substantive, real, and permanent? Or is just a veneer of joyfulness that’s installed over a life of emptiness?

When we serve ourselves and seek to fulfill our own desires, we end up with treasures that waste away in one way or another. When we desire fame, money, love, influence, thrill, reputation, power, and pleasure… we may gain them, but eventually we’re left grasping for handfuls of dust as they blow away. We build what looks like a fulfilled and satisfied life, but with a little reflection, we realize that it’s phony—a flimsy veneer used to hide the emptiness that is the real story.

I recently began thinking about this as I combed thru some famous songs of yesteryear. One that caught my attention was Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell. As I listened, I realized just how ironic the song’s message is. It’s about a country singer who wants to become famous, and his obsession with that goal robs him of the good life again and again. But he he does eventually get the fame that he seeks, and when he does, he describes it this way: “Like a rhinestone cowboy, riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo… getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know.”

To me, that doesn’t sound like much of a reward for all the compromises he’s had to make along the way. A rhinestone cowboy’s life sounds like a sham, because everything in it lacks substance. Rhinestones have no value in the real-world experience of cowboys; they’re just delicate decorations—all for show. And the relationships that he celebrates aren’t actually meaningful; they’re just letters from people he doesn’t even know.

There’s no substance to a life like that. There’s nothing real in a life with shallow relationships and a lack of true, God-centered fulfillment. James said it this way: “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (Jas. 4:3-4) And Jesus told it to us this way: “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all [the things that you really need] will be added to you.” (Mt. 6:33) And there could be quoted countless other places where the Holy Spirit clearly communicates the same concept: that If our desire is for God, we can have him, and he is enough, and we will not lose him. Once that relationship is in place, our lives will have substance and we will gain fulfillment that cannot be taken away or ruined. And it will be more than a facade of satisfaction; it will be the real thing in such abundance as to make others ask about the reason for it (see 1 Pt. 3:15). Only a theistic worldview offers this. And only a worldview in which we put our faith in a God who loves us offers it so deeply.

I wonder if the songwriters behind Rhinestone Cowboy meant for it to ironically portray a life of emptiness. I’m not sure, but I’d bet that most people who’ve heard the song over the years have failed to see thru the facade. As Christians, though, we see with eyes of faith that penetrate human thinking and help us realize that all self-serving desires will ultimately leave us empty when we pursue them. But when we pursue the reign of God and his righteousness, we can be assured that everything we need will be added to our lives. And when our focus is on him, we will find real purpose and fulfillment that last through this life and through eternity.

- Dan Lankford, minister