Yesterday's Bible reading (Num. 13-14) covered one of the most important stories in Israel's history. The story of their 40 years of wilderness wandering is a key to understanding their national identity: they are a people to whom God has promised rest, but instead of receiving his promises, they ignore his word and make a choice that keeps them in the wilderness. It's an important story about them, and it has an important lesson for us as Christians when we knowingly choose sin over God's ways. Think about it this way:

God sets us free from sin and destruction when we pass through the waters (baptism), just like he did for Israel when they passed through the waters (the Red Sea). In that, he promises peace when we live by his will, just as he promised peace to Israel if they would live by his will and just enter the land. But just like they willingly chose to reject his will and remain in the wilderness, when we willingly sin, we choose to remain in the wilderness of sin instead of entering the land of peace that God has promised us.

It's a simple object lesson, and a powerful reminder: when you know God's will, do God's will. His ways will lead us to peace with him. Sin will only leave us wandering, miserable, and empty-handed. So when it takes courage, when it's difficult, and when it's costly... do the right thing. Stay true to the will of God.

"See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God... And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it." (Hebrews 3:12, 3:18-4:1)

- Dan Lankford, minister

The title “Everybody else is” is a statement too often heard from an immature child while trying to convince their parents to allow him or her to do what everybody else is doing, sounds familiar? Well sadly this attitude or line of thinking has led to the insurmountable number of religious denominations in the world as well as the reasoning some immature Christians use to justify crossing the boundaries God has set forth in his word. 

We rationalize, “Everyone else is” going to that once in a life time party where we know sin may lurk.”  “Everyone else is” wearing revealing or immodest clothing, justification, it’s the latest fashion.   “Everyone else is” lying just a little bit on their taxes, justification, Uncle Sam won’t miss it.  God told His people long ago, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exodus 23:2). When everyone else was bowing down to the golden image king Nebuchadnezzar built and erected, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to do so. The result was they were cast into the fiery furnace, but the Lord was with them (Daniel 3). 

 We must very careful not to allow ourselves to be conformed to what everyone else in this wicked world is doing (Romans 12:1-2).  God doesn’t want us to be different just for the sake of being different.  We are to be different because we belong to a holy God whose ways are different than that of this world. My mom used to ask, “What if everyone else jumped off a bridge?” The fact of the matter is the path to destruction is paved with what “everybody else is”, doing. Only the righteous will find eternal life in heaven and everyone else is destined to eternal punishment (John 5:29).

- Kristopher Sanders, minister

A word to Christian parents who are trying to raise godly kids:

If you’re tired, you’re probably doing it right.

Parenting is a tough job. There’s a lot to do, and it’s important to do it well when you can. We shouldn’t be surprised if it tires us out sometimes. But in spite of that, there are some things that need to remain high priorities for our families. They will continue to make us tired, but they are worth it. Here are three quick reminders:

First, keep your spiritual life strong (Matt. 6:33). Don’t let the urgent demands of daily life take precedence over your walk with Christ. If you succeed in raising educated, healthy, industrious children, but your walk with Christ is sacrificed, it just won’t be worth it.

Second, prioritize your marriage. Give attention to your spouse. Go on dates. Work thru conflicts rather than avoiding them. Read the Bible and pray together. Enjoy God's gift of sex. Stay committed to each other. Your kids will grow and leave the house, but as Christians, we are committed to our marriages until death parts us. So make marriage a priority, and enjoy the blessings of godliness that can come by doing so.

Third, teach your children. Don’t just protect them, teach them (Eph. 6:4). Don’t just survive every day, teach them every day. Don’t just try to make them happy, work to make them better.

Family life is hard work. If you’re tired, you’re probably doing it right. Keep going, and God will be with you.

- Dan Lankford, minister

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
(Prov. 4:23)

"What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
(Mark 7:20-23)

In the Bible, we are whole people—soul and body. And from ancient times, the Lord has talked about our hearts as the center of both of those. The heart is the hub: what you do with your body, what you say with your mouth, what you think in your mind, and what you desire in your soul... all of them center in the heart. It is the place where decisions are made and where our deepest desires abide.

It's no wonder, then, that the Spirit talks about how important it is for us to have pure hearts. The passages referenced above could be supplemented by a myriad of others that emphasize pure thoughts, righteous desires, and clean consciences.

Work toward that today. Pray for a pure heart (cf. Psa. 51:7-12). Control your thoughts. Don't just strive for purity in actions & words; see if there is some wickedness hiding in the corners of your heart where only you and God know about it, and let him cleanse it (cf. Psa. 139:23-24). Let your heart be pure in every way, and let that bring the freedom and joy that God intends to give you.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
(Matt. 5:8)

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Matthew 6:25-34.

Can any of us change what will happen on tomorrow; that is if tomorrow comes? The answer is we cannot. I heard it said, “Don’t borrow sorrow from tomorrow because today has its own. This life no doubt has its troubles and sadly we all at some point directly or indirectly will experience them.  The good news is as believers we are not alone.  Jesus wants us to cast our cares on Him, 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you”. 

When we allow Jesus to help us as trials and anxieties come our way, we are acknowledging our dependence on Him and our inability to handle it on our own. He asks for our issues because He loves and cares for His children. This should be comforting and reassuring for every faithful child of God.  Nothing is a surprise to God for He is intimately acquainted with each of us and knows just what we need. We however must decide if we will trust Him at his word.  This world will throw many troubles our way so trust in a Savior who will never leave us alone.

- Kristopher Sanders, minister

Many have noted that if you follow the money, you’ll find out what’s most important to a person or an organization. That’s definitely an over-simplification, but it still has something valuable for us to think about. Namely, what value does your money have to you? How do you use it? How do you manage it? Or do you let it manage you?

The Lord intends for us to be grateful for what he gives us. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that it is proper for us to enjoy God’s good gifts. And when the apostle Paul gave instructions for rich Christians, he told them not to set their hope on their riches, “but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Tim. 3:17) The Lord intends for us to gratefully enjoy riches when he gives them.

But we must never depend more on our blessings than on the one who gives them. This is why, as Christians, we are to be wise with our money. As in all other aspects of life, we are to be self-controlled; always making deliberate choices, willingly denying some things for ourselves so we can instead serve God and others.

Our financial goals are to be able to provide for our own families (1 Tim. 5:8), to be able to give to others (Eph. 4:28), and to aid in sharing the gospel with the world (Phil. 4:10-19). Money is never an end in itself, but God intends it to be a tool in the hands of his people who would use it for his glory and for others’ good. That takes diligent attention, self-control, and a long view of living life God’s way. But in the end, it brings peace & contentment, and it gives glory to God.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Webster’s describes a Christian as, “one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ or one who is a disciple or follower of Christ.” It goes on to describe the word integrity as, “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles of moral uprightness, and the state of being undivided.” To sum up both words collectively, we might say that a Christian is an unwavering follower of Christ who has strong moral principles of uprightness.

 As followers of Christ, integrity should be front and center in every area of our lives. The Bible reads in Proverbs 10:9, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” The moral compass of a child of God should not go off-course just because their situation changes. And let’s face it: we live in an imperfect world where there are imperfect people. So then, how can Christian in-tegrity be found in an imperfect world? Answer: it can be found in Christ.

When we walk securely in the ways of the Lord we can stay on course and not waver. I like the word integrity because of two small words within it. The word in and the word grit. The word “in” means expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.  The word “grit” means, strength of character.  When we enclose and surround ourselves in the ways of the Lord, our strength of character will be renewed daily. And in being renewed daily, a Christian can walk securely in integrity without wavering.

- Kristopher Sanders, minister

On Sunday, news agencies everywhere learned the story from a zoo in Arizona about a woman who had been attacked and injured by a jaguar in the zoo. The jaguar had not escaped from its enclosure; rather, the woman had climbed over a barrier meant to keep people at a safe distance so that she could get close enough to take a selfie.

There is an obvious lesson for us in that: the importance of respecting boundaries. Healthy boundaries are necessary. They are not just in place to oppress us and rob us of our freedom; they are usually there for our good. This is especially true of the rules, statutes, and regulations laid down in God's word. Yes, they constrain us in some ways, but they do so in order to keep us safe and give us true freedom to enjoy life as God has intended it. (It seems especially appropriate in light of Sunday's news story to point out that the boundaries God has established will keep us safe from a big cat that intends to harm us [cf. 1 Pet. 5:9]).

So appreciate God's boundaries as outlined in the Scriptures. Appreciate that he has given us some "thou-shalt-not's" in order to keep us safe. Know the boundaries. Be grateful for them. And respect them in your daily choices.
 
- Dan Lankford, minister

[Side note: since Sunday, the woman has confessed her fault in Sunday's incident.]

"...after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them." (Matt. 25:19)

That is the turning point in Jesus' parable about a master who gave differing amounts of his money to three servants so they could manage it on his behalf (Matt. 25:14-30). He gave them a job and the resources to accomplish it, and he rightly expected them to be diligent in making the most of what he gave.

The meaning of the parable seems clear: God is the master, we are the servants, and his money is the resources of our lives. Has he given us time? Then we should use to do his work. Has he given us money? Then we should use it to bless others as he would have us do. Has he given us skills? We should use them for his glory. Has he given us influence? Then we should use it to bring others to him. Has he given us creativity? Energy? Intelligence? Friendships? Then we should be mindful & diligent to use all of it for his glory.

What will the master receive from you when he returns? Whatever the amount of return, will he know that you faithfully tried to make the most of what you were given?

- Dan Lankford, minister

This week, we're reading the story of the flood that God sent to cleanse the earth. Here are a few stand-out ideas to look for as you read that story:

• The depths of human depravity are astounding. In Romans 1, the apostle Paul described sin's deep consequences, and we can look around at pockets of our world where sin has been allowed to take a firm hold. But we ought to be thankful that we do not live in a world that is so completely engulfed in it as Noah did. There are imperfect, but good people around us, and we ought to thank God for them.
• The salvation of Noah and his family from that depraved world was a masterful plan by the Master of Heaven and Earth. When the scale of destruction was so massive, it is remarkable to think that God took notice of one man and his family and gave them the gift of new life. It reminds us that he really does love us—pitiful as we are—and that he has made salvation available to us again and again throughout time.
• God's power through water is nothing short of awesome. In the flood story, he uses it to destroy evil, to cleanse the earth, to purify humanity, to save the faithful, and to restore life. All at the same time. And that power correlates very strongly to the way that God uses water to simultaneously accomplish several things in our lives at the moment of baptism (cf. 1 Peter 3:18-21). It just reminds us again of God's amazing grace toward those who believe.

As you read the story, keep your eyes firmly fixed on what God is doing. Tremble at his power and wrath, and worship him for his glorious grace.

- Dan Lankford, minister