In the Bible, when good things happened, people blessed the name of the Lord! For example, when Ruth had married Boaz and had delivered their first son, the women who knew her said, "Blessed be the Lord... and may his name be renowned in Israel!" (Ruth 4:14)

Also in the Bible, when bad things happened, people of faith still blessed the name of the Lord! So when Job had lost his children and his fortune in a single day, he said, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).

The thing to learn from this is that God is good all the time. He is just as much God in our good times and in our bad times. And he is just as blessed, no matter the situation we're in. And although there are times when his goodness is seen more evidently, we need to make a special effort to know Him well enough that we can acknowledge and appreciate his goodness ALWAYS.

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

The discussion typically goes something like this: "I just feel like all... or at least most... churches are basically the same. So it doesn't really matter what we do as long as we're basically on the same page."

In spite of the various objections one might make to that statement, the thing that strikes me is the idea of just basically doing things right. I agree that there are some fundamental ideas to Christianity that are more basic than others, and I agree that those ideas are broadly similar in many churches within christendom. My consideration is not so much focused on the idea of similarities or differences, but on the problem of basically doing Christianity.

As a society, we tend to dislike complexity. We usually end up in it accidentally, but we prefer things—especially ideas—to be simple. And so we idealize boiling away the more complex elements of something to pursue it in only its most basic form. But consider a couple of questions. Will I be invited to join a professional orchestra because I can basically play the violin? Will I be recommended for continual promotions because I've basically done my job? Will I be promoted by others as a candidate for political office because I've basically understood the political system and the issues that need repair?

When we decide to be a disciple of something, we devote ourselves to learning it and practicing it with excellence. Why, then, would we choose to basically be a disciple of Jesus? Why would we not pursue him with all the care and attention and excellence that he deserves? Why would we not want to learn more than just being basically what God wants us to be?

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

When an organization or group wants to advertise their product or services, one of the first rules to follow is: "Be true to yourself." If we advertise a product in a way that is inaccurate, it can lead to lawsuits when people experience the real thing. If we advertise a group in a way that is inaccurate, people are inevitably disappointed and turned off when they experience the real thing.

When we represent something publicly, we must know what we want to represent and do it accurately.

In a way, we are called to be walking "advertisements" for Jesus. I don't mean to say that we are out to sell him to the world—most of the time, when people try to sell Jesus, they end up selling out for Jesus. But I do mean that our lives show people a picture of him in hopes they will like what they see and buy in for themselves.

The questions we need to ask ourselves are these: "Do I know Jesus well enough to give an accurate representation? Do I know what he's really like, or do I just know how I would like him to be? Will my representation of Christ leave people disappointed when they really get to know him? How can I be a better witness to his goodness today?"

"You are the light of the world... let your shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven."  (Matt. 5:14,16)

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

For the past couple of weeks, I've been listening to a history of World War I that one of our church members recommended to me. It's been fascinating to hear so much about a war that redefined Europe and redefined warfare 100 years ago.

One item of particular interest to me was the observation that for the first 2 years of the war, soldiers were sent into the battle with no helmets. And you might be thinking to yourself, "What?! No helmets?! Did anyone in a leadership role know what war is like? Why didn't anyone think the men needed some sort of armor?!" And if you are thinking that, know that you're not alone. I can hardly believe it either.

As I thought about that this morning, it occurred to me that when God talks about his people, at least in some places, he speaks of us as soldiers in a war. And when he talks about outfitting us for the conflicts we'll face, there's a good reason he says, "Put on the full armor of God" (Eph. 6:11). God intends to save his people and bring us into his presence, and he knows how to do that! So he equips us to be shielded by righteousness and faith, to attack the enemy with his word, and to be held together with the power of truth. And at the top of the whole picture, he gives us the helmet of salvation—the assurance of his grace to protect our minds.

I'm staggered by the fact that it took 2 years for someone to realize that no helmet meant the troops were vulnerable. But I'm that much more grateful that God has given us all the right tools for the fight; so that we do not have to be vulnerable.

- Dan Lankford

In Sunday morning's sermon, I made a passing reference to the Islamic faith's belief that people need to do enough good to outweigh the bad they've done so they can go to heaven. An aspect of that faith which I did not mention was that their holy book (the Quran) does not tell them how much "weight" certain good deeds have and how much "weight" certain bad deeds have. As a result, many Muslims are forced to admit that while they value their faith, it does not offer ANY assurance that they will be saved.

In stark contrast, Christianity clearly teaches that my salvation is not by my own merit, but that it is a gift from God. And as a result, when I seek him, he is for me (Rom. 8:31). I can be assured of my place in the presence of God because I have faith in his salvation, because he has chosen to have a relationship with me, and because he is a God who keeps his promises.

There are two applications I want you to think about from understanding this huge difference. Firstly, we can talk to our Muslim friends about that difference. We do not have to be condescending or hateful, but we can open the door to a conversation that offers them true hope and an eternal assurance by faith. We can talk to our Muslim coworkers and neighbors about how God offers what their faith cannot offer—the chance to believe in the saving grace of God. Secondly, I encourage you to stop what you're doing and PRAY — thank God for his saving power in Jesus. Thank God for the assurance of salvation. Thank God for the faith he delivered once for all who would find redemption in him.

- Dan Lankford

"...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  (1 Thess. 5:18, ESV)

I'm pretty sure that most of the times I've talked about that verse, I've thought more along the lines of, "But what about when the situation is difficult?" In doing that, I'm pretty sure I missed the main point of the teaching.

• How many times has God done something for me that he didn't have to do? And how many times have I neglected to thank him for that?
• How many times has God given an extravagant level of ease and luxury in my life? And how many times have I worried that I would lose it... rather than thanking him for it?
• How many times have other people—my parents, my church, my spouse—been unbelievably kind to me? And how many times have I taken that for granted—assumed that I had deserved that from them anyway?

How many times could I actually give thanks to God or another human being every day if I would only be humble enough to actually appreciate how blessed I am?

- Dan Lankford

This past Sunday morning, as we studied Ecclesiastes 1 in the adult class, we were confronted with some sobering realities. The realities that much of life is out of our control can be a frightening thing for us, and this is one of the great challenges of Christianity.

Part of the uniqueness of God's plan comes from the fact that it asks us to overcome by relinquishing control. Typically, we think we will gain the upper hand by controlling all the other hands. And so we look for ways to mold our lives so that they meet our wants and satisfy our cravings. And yet, it is when we acknowledge that we'll never have perfect control... when we acknowledge that only God has that much power... when we acknowledge him as a perfect God who will faithfully meet all of our needs... It is then that we are able to relinquish the reins and live by our faith in him. "This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for part from him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment?"  (Eccl. 2:24-25)

- Dan Lankford

By now, I'm sure you've heard abut the riots happening in Baltimore, Maryland. If you haven't, Google it and you'll soon see how bad things were there overnight. While there are many complicated issues at work in that whole situation which we could talk about, I just want to give this simple encouragement: let God's voice be the loudest.

The world is SCREAMING for our attention. We can very easily see manifestations of those who call evil good and call good evil. The riots in Baltimore are disheartening and tragic. And it's easy to see that and think that evil is slowly but surely overcoming God in this world. Soon there won't be any church or godliness left. That's what Satan tells us. That's what evil would try to tell us. It's in our faces, and it's easy to be distracted by that.

But for Christians, the loudest voice in our ears should be the voice of God. Jesus said his sheep know his voice and they follow him, but they don't know the voice of a stranger because they only listen to the voice of their Good Shepherd (John 10:1-5). As the church of Christ, we need to make sure that we can hear the voice of Christ above all the other voices. That we understand his ways and take confidence in his plan for us—even though the world does everything it can to broadcast evil, we do not follow the voice of strangers because we only listen to the Good Shepherd.

- Dan Lankford

We need to be reminded sometimes that life really does take its toll on humans. For all the joy that we experience in Christ, all the bliss of knowing God's promises, and all the splendor of faith in his salvation... Even for all the beauty that can be in this life—becoming a new parent, starting a new romantic relationship, seeing someone you love accomplish his dreams...
With all of that, the fact of the matter is that we still live in a world that is broken. As long as there is sin, there will be death, sadness, bitterness, remorse, loss, broken hearts, depression, fear, and many other things that we've all experienced and tried to hide from.

I think comedians sometimes make the best philosophers. One said rather jokingly that, "Life is a roller coaster. It's a hill and then a valley. A high then a low. And Jesus never promised he'd bring us all good days. He said, 'I came to bring you life... MORE ABUNDANT!' That's bigger hills, y'all, but it's bigger valleys too."

If you're in one of those valleys, don't feel like you're the first one or that you're somehow less faithful or less spiritual than all the Christians you see on Sunday who've got it all put together... Chances are some of those "put-together" people are looking at you thinking, "I wish I was as put-together as he/she is."

The important thing is to stay focused on the Lord in the valleys. Don't just wait for the next hill. Stay focused on being his completely. Stay focused on "less of self and more of Thee." Stay focused on the one who has been over higher hills and through deeper valleys than any of us, and trust in his promise of more abundant life.

- Dan Lankford