This is the bag I carry most days. It isn't much, but it’s usually by my side. Especially when I travel, it’s always by my side. So it makes for a good representation of what I carry with me as I go into my daily walk with other Christians, with my family, with the world, and with God.

In the bag, I am going to carry my Bible—the word of God. It represents God’s guidance and his presence with me every day. As I begin each new day of life, it’s one of the main things I want with me.

Secondly, I am going to carry my favorite reminder about prayer. It’s a book titled Too Busy Not To Pray, and just the title reminds me of my constant need to talk to God. As I begin each new day of life, it’s one of the main things I want with me.

Thirdly, I’ve got a picture of my wife and a picture of my son. They are exceedingly precious reminders to me that I belong to my family and they belong to me and we are all devoted to each other. As I begin a day of life, I remember that they are always with me.

Finally, I want to put a rock into the back—a reminder of Jesus’ words that “he who hears these words of mind and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock” (Matt. 7:24). The rock represents my faith—the solid foundation of any life truly anchored to Jesus Christ.

But then…

What if, on a very small piece of paper, I chose to write down… the name of a bar where I used to get drunk… a juicy bit of gossip fodder about someone that I know I shouldn’t share but I want to anyway… the date that someone in my church offended me so I can keep the bitterness in my heart toward them… the web address for a porn site I used to visit… a plan to cheat on an exam in a way that worked for me once before… an ex’s phone number… the basic outline of my plan to avenge myself and deliver evil for the evil that was done to me…?

What if I take that small piece of paper and try to tuck it away discreetly among the words of God, my love for my family, the foundation of faith in Jesus, and my prayer life? Does that make sense? Does packing that in there sound like a recipe for spiritual success?

The Holy Spirit said, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Rom. 13:14, emphasis added)

God knows that when we provide an opportunity for the flesh—no matter how small and no matter how much else we have done to make opportunities for the soul, we are setting ourselves up for spiritual failure.

In this New Year, I would plead with you to make no provision for the flesh! Do not give yourself an opportunity to sin. Pull closer to God than you ever have before, and plan to give your ENTIRE heart to Him.

- Dan Lankford, minister

- Thanks to brother Don Truex for illustrating this principle to me in such a powerful way.

The past week has been an emotional roller coaster for a lot of people. Christmas was this past Friday with all of its joy and frivolity. And then the next day, a massive winter storm hit the central states with snow, flooding, violent thunderstorms, and dangerous ice. There were travel hassles, car accidents, lost homes, and several lives lost in several states as a result.

As we've been studying "A Life Lost... And Found" in our Wednesday night classes, it has given me a little greater appreciation for the enormous sorrow that this week's losses will inevitably bring to many. The joy of the holidays will likely be tainted for many next year as they remember how much was lost in the same week. And as God's people, it's important that our hearts are open enough to care about those who are hurting—those who've been injured, who've lost their homes, who've lost their moms & dads or siblings or their children. It's part of who we are to be compassionate people who feel the pain of others and do our best to help them! We are called to be connected people—those who see this world's problems and respond appropriately. 

And yet, times like these also give us a chance to remember what the hymn writer said: "This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through. My [real] treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue!" The Holy Spirit made a similar point when he said, "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:6-8). This is obviously not meant to say that we just don't care about the people in our lives here on earth or that we should never celebrate a joyous time here on earth. Plenty of other Bible passages tell us to do both of things to the fullest! But when we see scenes like this week's storms and the devastation that is caused, we would do well to remember that while these things matter a great deal, they matter even more when we view them through the lens of what matters MOST — the power, the grace, and the unshakeable hope of belonging to Christ Jesus! The long view doesn't make us distant from the problems of other people in this world; it gives us the ability to walk by faith and to expect God's redeeming power at the end of all things.

When Jesus spoke about anxiety in Matthew 6:25, he spoke of two common objects of worry. Number 1: our lives—the food we will eat & drink. Number 2: our bodies—the clothing we will wear. For those who do not have these things in life, the tendency is to worry about getting them. But for those who do have these things in life (as the vast majority of Americans do), the tendency is to worry about losing them. And this kind of concern is manifested toward far more than just our food and clothing. But there is a biblical balance that can offer relief from our anxiety.

When we are blessed with great wealth in this lifetime, it can be a real temptation to spend the most of our time worrying about losing that wealth or misusing it. However, the Bible gives us this advice: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not... to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Tim. 6:17)  Therefore, we must keep a balanced perspective and enjoy God’s good gifts!

When we are blessed to be married in this lifetime, it can be a real temptation to spend the most of our time worrying about losing that marriage or messing it up. However, the Bible gives this advice: “Enjoy life with the wife [or husband] whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.” (Eccl. 9:9) Therefore, we must keep a balanced perspective and enjoy God’s good gifts!

And, most importantly, when we are blessed to have a relationship with God in this lifetime, it can be a real temptation to spend most of our time worrying about losing God’s grace or ruining his good favor toward us. It can become a temptation to spend our lives looking over our shoulders for God—wondering what trap he might catch us in at any moment of lapsed diligence. However, the Bible gives us this encouragement: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)  If you are the kind of person whose life is spent with an anxious view of God, please be reminded that he sincerely loves you. The fact that he came to earth as a man and died as a criminal tells us that more than anyone else ever could, God has loved every one of us. Therefore, we must keep a balanced perspective and enjoy God’s awesome presence in our lives!

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

Today, I was really struck by a prayer challenge and a question about it.

The challenge: pray this prayer over your children:

“God, thank you for my child. And God I pray that they will grow up to love you and serve you exactly like I do. And God I pray that they will grow up and handle their money exactly like I do. And God I pray that this child will grow up and visit the exact same websites that I do. And God I pray that this child will grow up and treat their spouse the exact way that I do. And God I pray that this child will be as industrious and hard-working as I am.”

And the question: would you want God to answer that prayer?

The apostle Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Rom. 1:16). He knew the power of the word of God! He understood that the real power for salvation was not in himself and his ideas. He understood that the real power for salvation was not in a particular sect of Judaism or Christianity. He understood that the real power for salvation was not in the good deeds he might do.

Paul understood that the real power to save comes from God alone. And that power comes through the Bible—the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ. This is why it is so imperative that we follow only the Bible’s teachings on what we do and how we think.

This past week, I had a tremendously enjoyable Bible study with two young men from the University of Louisville. They had recently visited our services, and so they asked about why we don’t use instrumental music. They knew some other people who attend a church whose sign reads, "Church of Christ," and their congregation sings a cappella. So when we examined what the Bible says (and doesn’t say) about music in public worship, one of them said, "I didn’t realize it was a Bible thing. I thought it was a Church-of-Christ thing."

I was actually quite encouraged by this response. And there are two perspectives I would encourage us all to think about from this.

Number 1: If you are a guest with us here at Eastland, we welcome you. And we want you to know that we are an independent congregation. We are not part of any denomination. We simply do our best to follow the word of God—not to do anything just because "it’s a church-of-Christ thing." But because we, like the apostle Paul, believe that the power of God is found in the Gospel; not in ourselves. If you wonder about something we believe or practice, it's our goal to be able to show you that belief or practice clearly in what the Bible teaches.

Number 2: If you are a member of our congregation, please do not tell people that any of the things we do are done because "it’s a Church-of-Christ thing." If you do not know how a certain practice or belief is Bible-based, make it a priority to find that out! It simply won’t do for us to teach the world "Church of Christ doctrine" as though that’s what we follow anyway. The world needs to know the power of Gospel—the word of God. Because only that is the power of God for salvation.

- Dan Lankford, minister

There are plenty of times in our lives when we wonder "What can I even do?"

In our Wednesday night Bible studies, we've been talking about coping with grief and helping our families cope with grief. In last night's class, the question was asked, "What do you do when your kids are hurting and you feel powerless to take away the hurt?"

The simple answer to that question is: you live for God. Because in reality, there are times when we just can't fix a problem. You can't always take away the hurt your children are feeling. You can't always take away the hurt your spouse is feeling. You can't always take away the hurt that YOU are feeling. But in those times when you can't do anything about the hurt, you can decide to continue living by godly principles. You can continue to show your spouse your undying and unfading love & respect. You can continue to show your children that God didn't change or fail, and so we still trust him.

Paul spoke about a thorn in his flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). It was a problem that he could not fix (see vv. 8-9). And yet, in spite of the fact that he could do nothing about the problem, Paul continued to live zealously for God and do the right thing with his life. It might not have removed the problem, but it showed continuing faith in God—someone who is bigger than ALL of life's problems.

I hope you'll lean on God's strength when you can't do anything. And just keep doing the right thing.

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

Watch today's thoughts.

In 2 Chronicles 26, God tells us the true story of King Uzziah. He was a good king about whom the Bible says, "he set himself to seek God" (2 Chron. 26:5). And yet we learn in the same chapter that he was faithful to God until he became strong, and then his pride got the best of him (2 Chron. 26:15-16). In his arrogance, he presumed to go into the temple and burn incense before God—a job which the Law reserved exclusively for the priests. And when the priests withstood him, he was angry at them for daring to impugn his actions.

The odd part of this story is that God strikes Uzziah with leprosy. Just for going into the temple where he wasn't supposed to be. And I admit that when I first read this story, I thought leprosy seemed a bit cruel and unusual... a bit extreme for such a benign violation of God's law. But the violation of God's law wasn't just about Uzziah's burning incense in the temple. It was about his prideful heart. And when you look the problem of pride directly, it's easy to see why leprosy is not cruel and unusual at all.

Leprosy destrys its host from the inside out. Pride does too.

Leprosy—because it destroys nerve cells—makes its host unable to feel. Pride does too.

Leprosy drives others away from its host. Pride does too.

Leprosy makes its host withdraw from others into a place (like a leper colony) that is consumed with itself. Pride does too.

Leprosy puts a block on a person's ability to stand before God and truly worship him. Pride does too.

As Christians, we would do well for the sin of pride to sound as repulsive as the disease of leprosy. God obviously makes his choices deliberately, knowing much more than we do. Make sure you're paying attention to your heart. Keep your ego in check. Keep your pride in check. Stay humbly obedient to God in everything you do in your life.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)

- Dan Lankford, minister

Watch today's thoughts.

In the gospel of Luke, we find the story of Jesus’ healing ten lepers. He instructs them to go and show themselves to the priest, and as they are going, they realize they have been healed! Most who read this will know that only one of them returns to give thanks to Jesus for healing him, but I want to point out the nature of this man’s thanksgiving. He came back toward Jesus, “praising God with a loud voice” (Lk. 17:15). Then when he came near to Jesus, “he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks” (Lk. 17:16).

The contrast between this man’s thanksgiving and the other nine’s lack of thanksgiving becomes immediately apparent. The one man, whom Luke tells us was a Samaritan, is excited! He is shouting praise to God, and he exhibits one of the most sincere displays of gratefulness when he bows to Jesus’ feet to thank him. On the other hand, nine others who were healed just as completely as the Samaritan continue on the road of their life.

I do not imagine that the nine were trying to be ungrateful to Jesus. I do not imagine they were men whom we would see as having evil hearts. I imagine they were so happy with their newfound wellness that they could think of nothing but enjoying that wellness! Most likely, they did not intend to be mean by walking on, but they were so caught up in their own situation that they simply forgot to be grateful.

And I wonder how many times we have done the same thing. We have all seen a child who opens a very exciting toy on Christmas morning and immediately runs off to play with it; forgetting to thank the giver of that toy. I fear we must treat God the same way at times. When his blessings are so good—when God has given us exactly what we’ve asked of him like he did for the ten lepers—we may be so caught up in enjoyment that we lose sight of gratitude.

As an example of how we should rather behave, we have the Samaritan—the one who returned to give thanks. His loud voice and his falling at Jesus’ feet are not timid, restrained signs of a stoic appreciation of Jesus’ mercy. He does not send a thank you note nor give a handshake. He quite literally lays his life out before the Lord in thanksgiving for what has been given to him. It may not dignify the Samaritan, but it fully glorifies the Lord. And this is the kind of thanksgiving God deserves from us. He has healed us, freed us, and saved us. Let us never forget to fall at his feet and thank him.

- Dan Lankford, evangelist