Christians often talk about the 'storms of life' when we read Jesus' admonition that:

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." (Matt. 7:24-25)

As Hurricane Matthew is making landfall in Haiti this morning, weather experts and social aid volunteers are already calling the storm a worst-case scenario for the people of that country. A large number of homes there are built on loose mud surfaces. Many of them—simply because many families are too impoverished to afford anything more—are built of mud and sticks or just stacked cinderblocks. With that being the case, their houses are in great danger from the category 4 storm.

The destruction in Haiti ought to give us a clear picture of how bad the loss of a soul really is—how bad the situation is which Jesus describes in Matthew 7. We'll be seeing people lose the little bit that this life has to offer. Many will be homeless. Many will flounder not knowing their next steps or plans for moving forward. Many will weep for themselves and their families.

Is it not the same when we think of souls lost without God? Let's continually be sure that our own lives are founded on the rock—living the Gospel. And let's continually be reaching out to others in effort to save them—sharing the Gospel.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In Jesus’ story of the lost and found son, the younger son demands his inheritance from his still-living father, he goes to a far country, and he wastes his fortune. And Jesus says, “when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.” (Luke 15:14-16).

It took a fall to the depths to make him realize the true heights he had enjoyed while still with his father. And the young man’s story of deprivation and degradation must surely remind us of our own lives.

Unfortunately, our best perspective on the heights of good comes when we fallen to the depths of evil. For us, the depths may come in the form of infidelity, financial hardship, physical sickness or disability, or any number of other strains which life places upon us.

It’s there that our minds become intuitively aware of not only the possibility but the absolute certainty that there must be something better. Our sense of the divine allows us to perceive a benevolent God’s presence through the created world and even hard-wired into our own consciousness (see Rom. 1:20, Eccl. 3:10). 
When the darkness is so thick that it can almost be felt, we long inexpressibly for light. When the emotions are so heavy we can barely stand them, we want support the most. When we are so hungry as to genuinely be starving, we need food all the more urgently.

As the son in Jesus’ story realized his dire need for his father when he bottomed out in life, we often realize the true extent of our need for God the Father when we are at our lowest points.

If that’s where you are, you should know that there is something better. There is a Father who will welcome you with open arms. And there is a whole family of His children at this place who will do the same! In the depths, look to the heights, and know that God can—and will—save!

- Dan Lankford, minister

The early-1900’s President, Woodrow Wilson, was praised in his day for making short speeches on the floor of Congress. And yet, they were still full of powerful ideas and solid leadership.

A friend asked him, “How long does it take you to prepare one of your speeches?” President Wilson—who did write his own speeches—responded: “That depends on the length of the speech. If it is a ten-minute speech it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech it takes me a week; if I can talk as long as I want… I am ready now.”

When studying the gospels, it has often struck me as odd that all the writers seem so economical in their accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In his whole 28 chapters, Matthew devotes just half of ch. 27 and half of ch. 28 to the greatest events in human history. Luke—who writes the longest account of Jesus’ life—gives less than 45 verses to the whole ordeal from crucifixion to resurrection. And even of the cross itself, in Luke 23:33, he only says, “they crucified him.”

And yet, although it might seem as though they have sort of glossed over the most powerful and important events in history, the rest of the New Testament plainly shows that they haven’t! Because the rest of the New Testament is based primarily on these succinctly recorded events. All faith, all hope, and all the best kinds of love… All of them are based in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Those three short days are God’s short, but powerful speech—they are the Gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ. And in spite of its brevity, that Gospel’s power comes largely down to the length of time it took to prepare. Just as a great, short speech will often take LOTS of preparation work and time, God’s brief execution of the Good News that can save all mankind took over two millennia to prepare.

For more than two thousand years, God moved with relentless determination toward one terminal event. He moved mountains and shook nations to make this one event happen…

…at just the perfect time.
…in just the perfect place.
…among just the perfect people.
…and with just the perfect results.

You can’t help but be impressed by the fact that God’s Gospel—for all of its eternal and universal scale—is an essentially simple and succinct idea accessible to everyone. That Jesus Christ—the son of God—came to earth in the flesh, lived a life free from sin, died as a sacrifice to atone for your sin, and was raised to defeat death forever for you. And he offers you eternal life with God in Heaven.

Do you want that?

There is more good news that he offers the way to receive it. And, like the Gospel itself, it’s a simple and succinct transaction: the act of baptism.

The time required to be baptized is very little, and the spectacle may seem underwhelming to many. But with the proper preparation done—with the heart softened by the good news of Jesus—baptism is the most powerful transaction for a person with faith in God.

Do you want to do that? Contact us, and we'll be glad to baptize you into Christ and share our walk of discipleship with you!

- Dan Lankford, minister

In Jesus' illustration using the house built on sand and the house built on solid rock (Matt. 7:24-27), both houses looked the same... until the storm came.

In his parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-8), the plants from three of the environments—the thorny soil, the rocky soil, and the good soil—looked the same... until it came time to bear fruit.

In his parable of the good seed and the tares (Matt. 13:24-30), both types of plant looked like they were going to be just fine... until the harvest.

The reality for us is that the Christian and the church-goer-only may look identical to the outside observer. Both may look morally solid. Both may look spiritually healthy. Both may look like they're going to be just fine in the long run. Until...

Until the storms of life come. Then you'll see a difference.
Until it comes time to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Then you'll see a difference.
Until the harvest—the judgment day—comes. Then you'll see a difference.

Are you going to be the church-goer-only and pray for ease and for no trials, no reckoning, and no harvest? Or are you going to be the Christian and pray for strength to endure, the faith to bear fruit, and the grace to be in His harvest?

- Dan Lankford, minister

One of my preaching mentors wrote: “I have been with my current congregation for 18 years. On my first Sunday in the pulpit, I promised the church that I would never stand before them unprepared. I believe I can say with integrity that I have kept that promise. Could I ‘wing it’ after three and a half decades of preaching? Yes, I could. But I would know, and God would know…”

How does he do that? He simply works diligently enough all the time to be prepared at any time. That perspective is one which he did his best to instill in me, and I am willing to make the same promise to my church family at Eastland. I will never stand before them unprepared.

That perspective is obviously noble when it applies to preaching. It also makes for a great perspective on living. Jesus said, “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt. 24:44). In the course of the next chapter, he went on to give five reasons why his followers must work diligently enough all the time to be ready at any time. He asks us not to stand before Him unprepared.

I think sometimes we imagine that the end of our time will come like the end of Paul’s time. We will see our end on the horizon and be able to calmly say, “I have fought the good fight… there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). But Paul’s circumstance was unique. He was a prisoner, facing the death penalty. Paul could see his end coming. We are not likely to find ourselves in that same situation, but we can live with such diligence that we are ready even today to say, “I have fought the good fight… there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.”

That same preaching mentor was wont to say, “Sunday will come every week, whether you’re ready or not.” It only took about 1 month of full-time preaching before I realized how right he was.

Take this simple reminder to heart: The final day will come once (Heb. 9:27), whether you’re ready or not.

Be diligent to be ready… today.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In an election season, it is certainly prudent for believers to be aware of our country’s political climate. This past week, many believers were sorely disappointed by Dr. Ben Carson’s surprising decision to endorse a presidential candidate who so obviously resists his political ideals and his moral standards. Since a great deal has already been said in the news this week, I will not repeat it here. But I would like to offer this piece of biblical perspective:

“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not 
turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!” (Psa. 40:4)

In any season of life, it is crucial that God’s people put their trust in God above all others. That we find our assurance in God above all others. That we seek peace and security in God above all others. Because the harsh reality is that people will let us down. It has always happened, and it will continue to happen as long as we have weaknesses.

Your spouse will let you down. Your dream car will break down. Your favorite coach will make a mistake. Your favorite TV star will fail at some point. Your perfect church family will eventually face disappointment from some source—maybe you. The greatest doctor money can buy will not save everyone. Your insurance company cannot always be there for every eventuality you face. And the leaders of the country’s government—an organization instituted by God (Rom. 13:1) but run by mankind—will let you down.

There is one hope that truly provides the “Blessed Assurance” written about long ago. That one hope is the Lord God. While people are too finite to be perfectly dependable, God is simply too big to fail. Everything else that promises absolute security—no matter how bold the claims may be—is, at best, a well-intentioned lie. “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” (Psalm 40:4)
 

- Dan Lankford, minister

The question in the title of this article was asked to me in a Bible study recently. And as soon as I heard it, I thought, “What a great question!” What is grace? Specifically, what is God’s grace? What does it mean for us? What does it tell us about God?

I find it helpful to define grace by comparing it to mercy. Mercy is God’s way of “letting us off the hook.” It is his willingness to forego the punishment we deserve for our sins—the death that sin should cause in every life (Rom. 6:23). It was God’s mercy that allowed Jesus to die as a perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins and save us from death. The cross is God’s mercy, and praise His name for its power!

Grace, then, takes God’s mercy to an even higher level. Where mercy provides a stay of execution for all of us as convicted sinners, grace gives the blessing of brand new life in Christ. Grace is the abundant richness of God’s gifts to us. And so where God’s mercy foregoes the punishment we deserve, God’s grace goes above and beyond giving us every favor that we, by all rights, should never have received! Where the cross is God’s mercy, the empty tomb is his abounding grace to give life to those who believe in his name! And praise His name for the power of that empty tomb!

Grace, then is God’s above-and-beyond generosity in action. In it, he shows the true depths of his ability to forgive.

In 2007, a man walked into an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania and killed 5 girls, aged 6-13, before turning the gun on himself. In the days that followed, the Amish community reached out to the killer’s family to offer mercy in the form of forgiveness and condolences for their own losses. In the days that followed that, the community showed immense grace when they set up a charity foundation for the killer’s family to pay for his funeral and to help his widow with whatever expenses she might incur after her husband’s death.

Of course, this is what God’s mercy and grace do for us. His mercy offers us forgiveness, and his grace gives us all riches to enjoy in Jesus Christ! Grace is not get-out-of-guilt-free card, but it is a powerful example of how good our God really is. “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)

- Dan Lankford, minister

When we talk about baptism, it is easy to approach it from an unbalanced perspective. If we are not attentive, we can easily slip into an inordinate pressure for someone to be baptized quickly without adequately informing them of Jesus' requirements of lifelong commitment (like he talks about in Luke 9:57-62). On the other side of the coin, if we are not attentive, we can easily slip into an inordinate pressure for someone to understand every level of commitment required for discipleship before they are ever baptized into Christ (like the Holy Spirit tells us in Acts 2, 8, 10, and 16).

There must be balance to these two ideas, just as there is balance in the scripture. Jesus undoubtedly meant what he said when he talked about the tenacious level of commitment which baptism requires and symbolizes (Rom. 6:1-4 says the man of sin is put to death, symbolizing a permanent change in our lives). And yet, in another place, the Holy Spirit says, "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

This balanced perspective—a perspective which includes both understandings—is important. We must be diligent to emphasize the need for salvation through baptism—encouraging people in a gentle and caring and urgent way. And we must be just as diligent to understand that some are simply not ready for the commitment that involves, and so we encourage them to take the commitment seriously and make their decision with GREAT care and LOTS of prayer about it.

I'll have more thoughts on balancing our understanding of baptism in next week's Tuesday blog post.

As a side note: this would be a good message to share with your teenagers and pre-teens, moms & dads. I'm remembering my own unbalanced perspective on this during those years of my life, and this may prove to help your kids with it, whether you simply encourage them to read it or use this as a jump-off to talk about it with them.

- Dan Lankford, minister