Make no mistake: the world is set against Christianity. There is a version of Christianity which it likes, but it lacks the core elements of the one true faith—namely, Jesus Christ and his word. “The world”—that term which the apostles used to describe people living under the slavery of sin—is set against Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

So what are we to do? Since they are against us, does that mean that Christians should be against the people who are in the world?

No. In fact, if we follow Jesus, we are not against the world, but we are in fact for those same people—we want what is truly good for them.

Like our God, who loved the world enough to send his son to give them everlasting life (John 3:16), we are to show love to evil people toward the goal of teaching them about everlasting life. Like our Lord Jesus, who opened not his mouth when he was reviled, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered (Psa. 44:22, Rom. 8:36) because we do not return blow for blow when the world attacks. And like our ancestors in this faith, we remember the words of the apostle Peter, who told persecuted Christians, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” (1 Pet. 3:9)

The world is working to bring death to us, but we are working to bring good news to them. They are against us, but God is for the salvation of all (2 Pet. 3:9), and so we are too.

- Dan Lankford, minister

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."
(1 Cor. 13:12)  

"...for we walk by faith, not by sight."
(2 Cor. 5:7)  

"And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight."
(Horatio Spafford, from the hymn It Is Well With My Soul)

In this life, we must believe in things that we have not seen. We have not seen Jesus (1 Pet. 4:8), but we believe in him and we love him. And Jesus said that we are very blessed indeed when we believe in him without seeing him (John 20:29).

But won't it truly be a wonderful thing when we will see the things that we have previously only had faith in? Won't it be wonderful to see heaven—the great city that he has told us about and we have believed in? Won't it be wonderful to see the host of those whom God promised to save and we believed that he would?  Won't it be wonderful to see God in all of his glory? The God whom we have believed in through this life in spite of the fact that our eyes have not and will not behold him?

As our hearts long for eternity, we gladly echo Mr. Spafford's prayer: "Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight."

- Dan Lankford, minister

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31b)

The sentence above is made up of two clauses, and each one of them contains an important reminder—one to drive us on to diligent faithful living; the other to assure us that living like that is worth it.

"If God is for us..." means we must be in a proper relationship with him—one in which we are for him and he is for us. If we are against him, why should we demand that he should be for us? When we live as we should, we demonstrate that we are living for him. So as long as we are trying to do that, we can know with certainty that he is for us.

"...who can be against us?" There are obviously some people who will be against us; persecution is an eternal problem for God's people. But the rhetorical question (and the rest of the context at the end of Romans) shows us very clearly that their efforts will not stand. Jesus said that the gates of Hell will not prevail against his church (Mt. 16:18), and Peter said these words: "Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed." (1 Pet. 3:13-14)

So today, give your best effort to live for God as you should, and as you do that, find peace and assurance in his promise that he is for you and no one else can stand against you.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In the aftermath of last week’s shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, one news agency played a soundbite of a victim’s mother who said, “I don’t want prayers. I don’t want thoughts. I want gun control and I hope to God nobody else sends me any more prayers.”

In the aftermath of a natural disaster from a few years ago, one Christian tweeted: “When things like this happen, don’t pray. DO something.” Perhaps even more disheartening was the number of enthusiastic responses he received from other Christians.

Biblically-minded Christians are right to be saddened when we hear these things. We see the inconsistency in directing our hope to God and also refusing prayer. We see the inconsistency in another Christian’s thinking that prayer and action are contrasts when prayer is a most important first action in response to a major event. It hurts us to hear anyone—whether believer or not—belittle something so sacred and so wonderful as a prayer to the God of Heaven.

Because we know that it is more than a magic incantation to distance us from suffering. And we see that, even in moments of deep pain and deep outrage, rejecting prayer is not just a rejection of people who pray; it is a rejection of God to whom we pray. My hope for all of us is that we live and speak in such a way that the world becomes aware of how powerful prayer really is because they see how powerful God really is.

Far from being a simplistic distraction from one’s own pain or a heartless dismissal of someone else’s, prayer is how we approach God in our pain. It is a place to build and enjoy a relationship with God Almighty. It is—and it must always be—faithful Christians’ first response to wickedness and suffering in this world.

- Dan Lankford, minister

For Christian parents, one of the happiest days of the whole parenting experience must surely be when our children decide to commit their lives to Christ. Several years ago, before I had kids of my own, I was with a close Christian friend when his son was baptized. I said to him, "This must be a good day for a dad." And without missing a beat, he said, "This is the best day for a dad."

Here's something to think about in that situation: as a parent, what do you say to your kids after that momentous, eternity-shaping event? What should our first conversation with them be like?

I don't feel like I have a very complete answer to that question, but I've got a couple of ideas as I think ahead to what I will say to my own kids. It will probably involve a long and serious conversation early on. (More likely, it will involve several serious conversations when we sit in our house, and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down, and when we rise.) So as I'm thinking about that now, here are some of the things I will want them to hear from me:

• First, I want them to know that I am overjoyed at the choice they've made! I am thrilled that they have believed in Jesus enough to do something with that faith.
• Second, I want them to start thinking about the power & importance of prayer right away. It's hard to think of anything as powerful for fighting temptation, for overcoming doubt, and for truly enjoying the gift of salvation.
• Third, I want to warn them about the serious and unrelenting nature of temptation. It doesn't go away after you're baptized; in fact, your temptations will almost certainly get stronger. And you don't get to take them less seriously after you're baptized. It can become easy to downplay sin by thinking, "Now, if I sin, all I have to do is pray for forgiveness," but it's not okay to presume upon God's grace like that (Rom. 6:1).
• Fourth, I want to ask them some questions about their friends. Will those friendships help you walk with Christ? What will you be doing to light the way to Jesus for them?
• And finally (for now, anyway), I want to hear that my kids have some actionable plans for spending time with God. A commitment to Bible reading, a prayer time and journaling habit, a devotional study they're having with their Christian friends, or a tangible way to do some good works for others... something to ensure that their faith will be active.

There's probably plenty more that would be good to include in those first days of shepherding our children toward God when they become Christians. But I hope that even this helps us as parents to start thinking ahead and planning to help our kids as much as possible when they make their own choice to walk thru life & eternity with Jesus Christ.

- Dan Lankford, minster

“Virtue signaling” is a term which comes from the psychological sciences, but has worked its way into mainstream thought where it describes those among us who loudly decry an injustice in society because everyone else seems to be doing that right now. It’s what happens when a person who has little conviction on a particular subject suddenly jumps on a bandwagon of outrage to be seen as a good person. And it is easy to see this kind of behavior if one looks for it. Whenever there is a call for public outrage, there will be those who have previously shown no concern but who suddenly want to appear that they are part of the virtuous crowd.

Christians may find this especially tempting because we are right to be appalled (though not surprised) by sin and its filthiness. But while we are right to denounce sin, we do not decry its presence because we want to be seen as good people. In fact, “virtue signaling” may be the modern word for this practice, but our Bibles use a much older word for it: hypocrisy. Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:1) The desire to be seen and praised by others cannot be our motivation for spirituality. Our goal is to do the will of God just for His own sake.

Let’s do our best to just be good people. All the time. In every way. “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see... and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)

- Dan Lankford, minister

In Ephesians 5:15-17 the Bible reads, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” The King James Version reads in verse 16: “Redeeming the time, because the day are evil.” Paul here is cautioning Christians to use their time wisely because God expects the time He has given us not to be wasted.

The word for ‘redeeming’ in the Greek can mean to buy up, ransom, or rescue from loss. I heard it put this way: we need to rescue from loss the time that remains in our lives. 

James tells us in James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Once time has slipped away we no longer have it and yet many are foolishly making plans without God in their future.  What happened yesterday is gone and cannot be redeemed, and tomorrow is not promised. The time given to us should be spent glorifying God in every area of our lives. It should be manifested in our worship to God, our treatment of one another, our speech and in everything we do. When we rescue or redeem the time that God has given us, we are saying to Him, “Father your grace has not been wasted.” I personally know there are areas in my life where I could do a better job as it relates to my time. What about you? How are you redeeming the time God has given to you?

- Kristopher Sanders, minister

Today is September 2. That means that two-thirds of 2018 is already gone. This is the time of the year that most of us start asking, “Where did the time go?” With that in mind, maybe this is a good occasion to take stock of what you’re doing with your time right now and what you intend to make of the rest of the year.

The apostle Paul said, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16) The verses around that encouragement tell us how.

• First, he says, “don’t be foolish, but understand the will of the Lord” (v. 17). This reminds us of the high priority that Bible study and prayer should have. They help us understand God’s will for our lives.
• In the next verse, he says, “don’t get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.” This, too, reminds us that the best use of our time involves filling our minds with the things of God. And one good way to do that: sing songs of the faith (v. 19).
• In verse 20, he says, “give thanks always and for everything in Jesus’ name.” While it might not sound like what we typically think of as time management, it is hard to imagine something more valuable to the mind and heart than a period of introspective gratitude.

You can make the most of your days by putting these practices of the soul to work in your life. They will sharpen your mind, soften your heart, and enhance your time in some truly powerful ways.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Yesterday, USA Today reported that Chris Watts—a 33-yr-old man from Colorado who has confessed to killing his wife and two children—had been having an affair with a coworker and was planning to leave his wife. It was in the course of telling his wife about this that the situation turned extremely emotional, then lethal. Obviously, most people would never assume that a situation like that could turn so violent, but no one argues that his unholy sexual activity made the stakes incredibly high at that moment.

On the same day, it was revealed that one of the most outspoken proponents of the #MeToo movement is also being accused of sexual assault. Asia Argento—a woman who publicly and strongly criticized Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein for the disgraceful conduct of which he was accused—has been ousted for her own unholy sexual behavior with a minor back in 2013. One major player in the whole ordeal called out Argento for "a stunning display of hypocrisy."

On the same day, the organization Planned Parenthood tweeted: "Students deserve sex education that is medically-accurate, comprehensive, and inclusive. This is not a radical idea!" If you were to familiarize yourself with their stance on a huge number of issues relating to sexuality and reproduction, you would find that their idea here is a very radical one. (You can click here to view my response to their tweet.)

These stories and that tweet capture the spirit of an ever-increasing problem in our society—one that most people have yet to realize is a problem. It is the problem of thinking that sexual fulfillment equates to happiness, and that sex somehow brings more happiness when it has been "liberated" from its classically-enforced bond to marriage. But liberating the idea of sex in this way is like "liberating" a fire from the fireplace into the rest of your house. In its place, it is a wonderful thing: it provides warmth, comfort, and serene joy in the home. But out of its place, it only brings destruction.

The apostle Paul said, "Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body" (1 Cor. 6:18). Christians, we must not only believe this for others; we must live it for ourselves. No matter how tempting it sounds to give in to our sexual urges outside of monogamous and heterosexual marriage, we must believe that God's way is always the best way. "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled" (Heb. 13:4).

- Dan Lankford, minister

In our daily Bible reading program, we're marching through the Psalms. this past week’s group of psalms reminded us of the Israelites’ story with God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called these “Psalms of Holy History,” and with good reason. The reminders about God’s deliverance from Egypt, about all the times he answered their cries during Judges, and about his marvelous abundance poured out in Solomon’s time should have reminded the people of their dependence on the one true and holy God—Yahweh. Indeed, “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction” (Rom. 15:4)

All Christians need a working knowledge of Bible stories, because we need the same reminders. One of God’s frequent criticisms of his people during the time of the prophets was, “You have forgotten me” (Isa. 17:10, Isa. 51:13, Jer. 13:25, Jer. 44:9, Ezek. 22:12, Ezek. 22:35, Hosea 4:6). It wasn’t that they had forgotten that God exists, but that they had forgotten the many stories that manifest his goodness and faithfulness to them in the past. And since they forgot the stories of the past, they neglected to trust him in the present.

On one occasion when the disciples forgot to bring any bread on a journey with Jesus, they were afraid that he would be angry with them. But Jesus asked, “Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand…?” (Matt. 16:9)  They and all generations of believers need to remember that God has shown himself trustworthy and good. We must remember our Bible stories because they remind us that we can trust God today with anything and everything that matters.

- Dan Lankford, minister