“Now also finish the task, so that just as there was an eager desire, there may also be a completion…” (2 Cor. 8:11)

Zeal. Passion. Enthusiasm. Fire. Excitement. Drive. Eagerness.

Those words communicate the Christian mentality to all that is truly virtuous. They don’t necessarily mean that a person has a vibrant, outgoing personality. They do mean that when we observe behaviors like Bible study, prayer, church participation, generosity, moral purity, and teaching the lost about Christ… a person with “eager desire” will show ample evidence that those things matter to them.

I hope that each of us could say honestly and humbly that our lives demonstrate eagerness and zeal for the things of God. I hope that our preparedness and participation in Bible studies demonstrates that our zeal for those things overshadows our fear of what others will think of us because of our comments. I hope that our eagerness to bless others by hospitality outshines our concerns about messing up or looking silly in some way. I hope that our drive to help others by leading them in true worship eclipses our fears of being thought of in a negative light. I hope that our eagerness to participate in good works of the church compels us to be quick to sign up for all sorts of things when opportunities present themselves.

Holding back our enthusiasm for the things of God may be wise on a few rare occasions, but those occasions are just that: rare and few. Overall, saints are supposed to be people whose lives are defined by a fire that burns more and more brightly as time goes on. And that’s an act of will—a thing that we must decide. So are you deciding to live out genuine zeal for the things of God? If not, then it’s time to make some changes, so that where we have set our minds to becoming great Christians, we may finish what we have started and fully become who Christ calls us to be!

- Dan Lankford, minister

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

“Leaders must be aware of who they’re working with. If you have a team of people whose ability level is a 4 or 5 out of 10, you can’t just throw all the policies and doctrines at them and expect them to turn into 9’s and 10’s. But if you’re leading a group of 9’s and 10’s, you can’t treat them like 4’s and 5’s because they’ll easily become discouraged.”

So goes the wisdom from leadership teachers everywhere: that our leadership must be tailored to our followers in order to best help them. The leader must not see his followers as his servants; he must be their servant and lead in a way that is attentive, dignifying, and respectful of whatever level they are at… while still seeing the potential for what level they could be at.

This mindset is eminently Biblical, and it’s easiest to see in the shepherd model. In contrast to cowboys, who drive cattle from the rear of the herd, shepherds lead sheep from the front. But in that we have an even finer lesson: A shepherd cannot take off running at his full speed and expect the sheep to keep up. He does best to go just a touch faster than sheep-speed, so that they will move in the right direction but not be left behind.

It’s no wonder that Solomon’s wisdom was, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds” (Prv. 27:23). This wisdom will help us whether we are leaders at work, in our homes, or in our families. In order to lead well (which is really to serve and be a blessing to others), we must know who we’re leading and use wisdom to help them in the way that is most helpful for them.

- Dan Lankford, minister

A friend of mine from Florida made an interesting statement in his sermon this past Sunday as he was discussing 1 Kings 19:19-21 — the passage where Elijah literally gives his mantle (a cloak or jacket) to Elisha as a sign of the one’s ministry passing to the other. This was the quote from my friend that caught my attention: “We need to note that Elisha wasn’t a bad guy being called out a life of sin. He was a good man being called out of a life of comfort.”

My friend’s point in the sermon was that Elisha was doing good and honest work in God’s world, but he was needed for something more meaningful. In order to do what God called him to, he had to accept something beyond his well-worn groove of a comfortable life. Elisha had to leave some of the life he knew to follow a better path outlined for him by God. And you a similar thing in the callings of other prophets: Moses made excuses to God (cf. Ex. 3-4). Gideon did too (cf. Jdg. 6). Isaiah presents us with a positive example, but could have just as easily said to God, “Here I am! Send someone else?” (cf. Isa. 6:8). And then Paul presents yet another example of someone who, at one point in his life, was doing right things, and yet was called by God for something more needed (cf. Acts 16:6-10).

That’s the same call for all of us—not always to leave a life of sin, but often to leave a life of comfort—especially in matters of church family, church life, teaching, and relationships. How many of us are uncomfortable with any number of church involvements, and yet we don’t seek the teaching or guidance or practice to improve our skill and actually accept the responsibility we’re being called to? How many of us could take on more responsibility for everything from basic organizational tasks to visiting orphans and widows to showing hospitality, and yet because we’re uncomfortable with some aspect of it, we continue to hope that ‘someone else’ will do it?

Let’s just commit to picking up the mantle of the things that matter most and giving what God asks of his people in his kingdom. That doesn’t always mean that we need to be doing more, but it does mean that we need to be giving him our best… even when that requires a step out of our comfort zones.

- Dan Lankford, minister

When God called Moses into his service, he made several excuses for why he couldn’t (or didn’t think that he should have to) serve as he’d been called. Each time that Moses made an excuse, God answered it with a clear and simple statement that showed just how flimsy it actually was. Ultimately, God persisted in calling Moses and Moses did answer the call to be the chosen deliverer of God’s people.

We often make excuses (sometimes ongoing ones) for why we can’t (or don’t think that we should have to) serve God as we’ve been called. We sometimes believe that the qualities of true disciples won’t work in the modern world, that we don’t have enough ability to do what God’s asked of us, or that we shouldn’t have to do as we’re called to do because people will reject our efforts. But again and again, the Bible answers our excuses with clear and simple statements that show us just how flimsy they actually are.

Let’s just stop ourselves from making excuses for lackluster service to God. Let’s just decide that in whatever ways he calls us into his service, we will humbly and joyfully serve him. Always.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Relevance. A handful of years ago, that was all that evangelicals seemed to talk about when it came to what they were looking for in a church. One side of the aisle were focused on “making church relevant,” by which they meant making it feel like something fun and exhilarating and definitively not church-y. On the other side were those who rebelled against that idea by refusing to preach and teach in ways that had emotional impact or met daily-life needs, because they saw the other side’s efforts toward “relevance” as frivolous and phony and therefore unspiritual.

While one of those impulses leans in a slightly more biblical direction, the reality is that neither is wholly correct. Both are reactionary—a rebellion against someone else’s problems by going in the extreme opposite direction, only to create a new problem. When we react to people like that, the pendulum just swings back and forth between opposing problems. So what’s the solution? It’s that we stop reacting to people’s problems and instead respond to God’s wisdom.

And this is where we find a solution to the challenges with “relevance” in church. God said that his word “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hb. 4:12). It doesn’t need to be made relevant. It already is. If we preach and teach it rightly, then we will easily see its impact on our lives. And the impact of true, sincere worship will be felt among any group that offers that (cf. 1 Cr. 14:24-25). Put those together, and we’ll find that we automatically have a church where the impact is truly relevant in every generation.

On the other side of the coin, it’s not wise for us to only give discourses on the Bible’s literary design, it’s ancient cultural significance, and its philosophical value while neglecting to teach how it impacts our lives, our thoughts, our speech, and our relationships. There must be a proper balance, guided by the Spirit in the fullness of the spoken word, by which we lead one another into “all the truth” (Jn. 16:13).

So we need not make the things of God relevant since they already are, and we dare not make them irrelevant and stand in the way of God’s life-giving power. In everything we do, we ought to speak “the oracles of God” in their fullness, both for information and transformation. The ways of God are eternally righteous and wise, giving guidance to us in this era as they do in every era.

- 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

Christians talk frequently about being awed by the created universe all around us. And it’s right that we would do that; the writers of the Bible often talked about the same thing (see Psa. 8, Rom. 1, Psa. 148, etc). So here’s the question: What is it that we appreciate? Is it the beauty of all that’s here? Or is it the intricacy and perfection of its workings? Is it the vast, enormous scale of it all? Is it nature’s power and the fear that causes in us? What one element of creation causes us to feel awe? It’s not one thing; it’s all of it.

When we understand God himself, we ought to be inclined toward the same kind awe. This is right, and it’s important that we have the humility to be properly wowed by him. But what is it about him that helps us with that? Is it his perfection and holiness? His goodness? His power and ability to destroy that instills fear in us? Is it his intense, burning, relentless love for us? Is it his humility and willingness to sacrifice himself for us? Is it his eternal nature—that exists outside the bounds of time? ls it the intellectual brilliance of his plan throughout all of history? What one element of God’s existence causes us to feel awe? It’s not one thing; it’s all of it.

Awe is a crucial emotion for an emotionally healthy person, and especially for a Christian. The awe that we sense upon knowing God is a powerful connection to him. It’s a bit of a struggle for us to wrap our minds around the totality of his existence and nature, but that struggle is not the problem—it’s the point. If we’re going to appreciate him as he truly is, then we’d better have our minds as open as possible to the depth and breadth of his whole nature.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Tim. 6:15-16)

This past Sunday, I attended Northeast Church of Christ’s evening service, and I heard a brother offer a beautiful prayer for the specific members of their congregation. He took to the time to mention every member by name and pray for them according to several groupings of their life situations. He prayed for…

• The children, from birth to about 12. He prayed for them to grow, to be healthy, to learn the truth, and to have hearts that desire God.
• The teenagers. He prayed for them to seek the knowledge of God and to increase in maturity and make good decisions during that formative time of their lives.
• The young adults, mostly in their 20’s. He prayed for them to have God-given wisdom as they are in college, graduating college, moving to new areas and new life pursuits, and deciding what their family lives will be like.
• The parents and middle-aged singles. He prayed for them to endure in their faith and to step up to their responsibilities of being the examples that they should be for the younger generations, including their own children when God has blessed them with such a gift.
• The older middle-agers. He prayed for them to have good health as their bodies are beginning to show signs of age, for them to have wisdom as grandparents and as the parents of adult children, and for their wisdom as they step into more and more influential places among the church family.
• The old folks. He prayed that in their twilight years, they will receive the honor that they deserve from their families and their fellow saints, that God will give them health and comfort and vitality, and that they will have peace in Christ as they face the difficulties inherent to life’s later years.

I felt very encouraged as I listened to that prayer and joined my heart to it. It reminded me of a few core principles that ought to always define us as the people of God:

• That our fellowship in Jesus is priceless. And the insights into each group’s lived experience that our brother from Northeast prayed about reminds us to think beyond ourselves and into the lives of others. It reminds us to be truly compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, and forgiving with each other.
• That “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” (Jas. 5:16) and that we ought to be praying like this brother did on a regular basis, both in public and in private.
• That I must be praying for all of you. And since Sunday night, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I’ve prayed for you all by name and asked for all of God’s best blessings on you. Because I intend to love you with the love of Christ, and it’s my hope to hear that you are walking in the truth (cf. 3 John 1:4).

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…” (1 Tim. 2:1)

- Dan Lankford, minister

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
(Psalm 78:1-4)

The rest of that Psalm goes on to give a summary of a lot of the history of God and his people. All the way from Jacob to David, the psalm puts both the good and bad decisions of their ancestors onto the voices of each generation who would sing it. And it reminded them of God’s perfect faithfulness to them all the way through that long process.

I bring this psalm up because of how it correlates to Sunday’s sermon. Then, we talked about a family who had one figure far back in their ancestry that set them on a trajectory of knowing and serving God. And in Psalm 78, we find a writer who is trying to accomplish the same thing among Israel at large. He wants them to continue to appreciate God’s faithfulness and live out their own faithfulness to him, and so he has Israel singing together: “we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”

Sunday’s message was spoken specifically to the fathers among us, but let’s all take a few minutes today to think about our personal impact in the lives of the growing generation of Christians. How will you help to remind them of God’s glorious wonders and gracious deeds? What influence will you be in the lives of younger Christians? How will you help to keep the legacy of faithfulness alive and well among God’s people?

- Dan Lankford, minister