The University of Alabama won the national football championship last night in a riveting matchup with Clemson University. As the game ended, commentary abounded about Coach Saban's one-word mantra for his team this year: FINISH.

That one word of motivation is posted all around Alabama's football facilities as a constant reminder for his plays of the need for perseverance. And the team did that yesterday. They finished. They stayed strong, stayed diligent, and kept pushing all the way to the end. And they won.

Paul described the ending of his life in overwhelmingly positive terms. He finished the course of this life and trusted fully in the grace of God that there would be a crown of righteousness laid up for him. Paul had done what the Lord tells us all to do in Luke 9. He had put his hand to the plow and never looked back. He had stayed faithful. He had FINISHED.

Christians everywhere would do well to make this our mantra for the new year and for all our lives. Finish. Set yourself up to finish right now, especially as we're all just getting started with a new year! Let's be determined. Let's be dependent on God. Let's be disciples of Jesus.

Let's FINISH.

- Dan Lankford, minister

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.

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus instructs us on proper judgment of other people. More specifically, he instructs us on improper judgment of others and the consequences of it. Often, when Jesus's facetious example of a man with a log in his eye trying to remove a speck from his brother's eye is being discussed, we end the discussion at a prohibition on removing the speck from others' eyes because we are sinners ourselves. But we should not end the discussion there because Jesus doesn't.

He continues, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:5). In all of our study of these verses, we need to see the one crucial truth that Jesus does intend for us to help others see their sin and remove it from their lives. He does intend for us to remove the speck from someone else's eye, but he does not intend for us to do so from a hypocritically judgmental viewpoint of the heart.

As Christians, this tell us two things:

1) We must take an honest look at our own hearts. If there is sin, it must be removed. Period.
2) When we see a brother in sin, it is important that we are willing to HELP. Not simply to judge, but to save a brother from sin (Jas. 5:19-20).

- 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

During a holiday week—even one that is specifically devoted to thanking God for our blessings—it can be very easy to let time slip away from us and forget to pray to God. House cleaning, food prep, family time, and Black Friday shopping add up to a very fun time. But let's be sure that we don't let the time slip away from us and forget to spend some quality time with God.

This week, make a deliberate effort to get away and pray. Give thanks to God. Tell him how much you appreciate both what he's done and who he is. And tell him how much you need him.

Pray. Pray out loud. Don't get too busy to pray. The reality is that we're too busy NOT to stop and pray whenever we can.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

"Do not love the world or the things in the world... the world is passing away..." (1 John 2:15, 17)

This past Sunday night, we talked about idols and the danger they pose to God's people. Idols are just broken wells—empty pits which only serve to trap and ensnare us. All idols are creations of this world. The idols of ancient cultures were made of wood or carved stone—elements which are shaped from the minds of men and which pass away with time. The idols of our modern culture are things like money, achievement, entertainment—things which are shaped from the minds of men and which pass away with time.

John's reminder that we should not love the world makes perfect sense when we think about the temporary nature of the world. It is incapable of providing lasting security, lasting joy, or lasting hope because the world itself is not lasting.

The same writer who penned the words above also wrote about Jesus as "the Word" who was with God and who was God. The same writer who tells us that the world is passing away also tells the story of the Word which is not passing away.

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

One thing that I love about Eastland is that we all worship together. I realize that might seem like an obvious thing to some, but here's why I think it's worth talking about:

In many churches, it is the common practice to remove the children from the main worship service and put them into a special "children's church" where they do things that are considered more "age appropriate" for them. This obviously creates less distraction for the adults in worship, but it means removing the children from where they can worship with their parents and the other members of the church.

Here's why we all worship together at Eastland.

Children need to be challenged with the word of God just like adults do. If the worship is challenging for our children, we parents must teach them to rise to the occasion—not lower the occasion so they are comfortable. If we remove the challenges of life and spirituality, how will they learn to rise to those challenges and overcome them?

Children need to be shown how to take worship seriously. I don't mean that they need to be shown how to be stoic in worship; I mean that they need to see what it looks like when people open their hearts and bow their heads to God. They need to see what it looks like when people sing about the gospel of the Lord because they accept and live by that gospel. They need to see what it looks like when we give something of value (and let's be honest, our money is valuable when we have a family to feed) to God because we love him.

Children need to see their parents' faith in action. Regardless of how hard we try, there will always be interruptions that mean we are not able to share our faith with our kids as fully as we want to in the home. If, when we go to worship, our children are isolated from their parents and again lose an opportunity to see our faith in action, when will they see it? Above all other causes, the main reason children leave the faith of their parents when they grow up is because they have never seen it in action. Children should see us worship, pray, give, read the Bible, help the poor, cry with a brother or sister, celebrate someone's repentance, and say "amen" when God is praised! Moms and dads, our kids desperately need that from us!

One thing I love about Eastland is that even with the potential for distractions and difficulties associated with having children in the worship with us, we still worship together. We share in the singing of praise together. We humbly bow in prayer together. We remember Jesus' cross together. We learn about his Good News together. It's an integral part of who we are.

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'"  (Matt. 19:14)

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

"The truth is most great men in history have become great because they aggressively pursued knowledge. They overcame gaps in their early education... They took responsibility for their education and did not wait for the knowledge they needed to come to them." (from Mansfield's Book of Manly Men, by Stephen Mansfield)

I read that this morning, and I was struck by how well it applies to the need for Bible learning. And I thought about it especially in terms of Paul's life.

Mansfield: "...they aggressively pursued knowledge."
Paul: Educated under the best rabbis, a Pharisee who considered himself blameless in respect to the law (Phil. 3:6).

Mansfield: "...overcame gaps in their early education."
Paul:  Met Jesus on the way to Damascus, learned the new and better way to serve God with zeal.

Mansfield: "...did not wait for the knowledge they needed to come to them." 
Paul:  Upon his conversion, immediately sought to be part of the church—an environment where people who knew Jesus would be.

My prayer for you today is that you will recognize what a great source of education—of the highest learning—is available to you in the pages of God's word. Don't wait for a Sunday or Wednesday night to roll around so someone else can be responsible for your education. Pursue the knowledge of God! Make Bible reading a priority today! Get into God's word so that God's word can get into your life!

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

The pope's very recent visit to America was covered by multiple news outlets. One that caught my attention was the email headline I received from USA Today on Saturday. It read, "Pope Francis urges church to break down walls in Philly Mass; The city is the final stop in a pontifical happening that has lured millions of exhilerated fans." The last line is the most intriguing to me as it talks about the pope's millions of fans.

I thought it was an interesting and revealing choice of words. Because the Catholic religion considers the pope to be the cornerstone of the church, and his words are to be considered as carrying the authority of God. And yet his followers are not called "disciples" — they are called "fans."

I want to just encourage you to think about that difference today. Because while the pope can have "fans" (he is, after all, just a man), it is not okay for us to just be "fans" of Jesus. One writer asked the question, "Have you made a decision for Jesus or have you committed to Jesus?" There is a difference.

We are not called to just be fans of our favorite ancient teacher, but disciples of our Lord and Savior. Devoted. Driven. And defined by Christ in our hearts. How are you doing with that?

"...in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy..."  (1 Pet. 3:15)

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."  (John 14:1-3)