A cursory glance over several New Testament passages which emphasize our speech will reveal that God intends for us to choose our words deliberately.

• In the opening verses of 1 Corinthians, the apostle gives thanks that God's grace enriched their knowledge and their speech. (1 Cor. 1:4-5ff)
• In 1 Corinthians 2:4, the apostle reminds that his words were intended to convey the words of the Holy Spirit—the kind of speech with true power.
• In 2 Corinthians 8, as the Spirit pleads for those Christians to excel in generosity to needy brothers, he commends their excellence in speech, among other things (2 Cor. 8:7ff).
• In 1 Timothy 4:12, one of the antidotes for being despised for one's youth is to set an excellent example in the quality of his speech.
• To Titus, the apostle said, "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of... sound speech that cannot be condemned..." (Titus 2:7-8)
• And in Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."

It becomes very apparent that this matter matters to God. And it matters in a couple of ways.

Firstly and obviously, it is important that Christians do not speak in ungodly ways. We are not to be blasphemous nor hateful nor untrue. We are not to be judgmental or unnecessarily harsh with our words. We are not to speak curses toward other people. These regulations are evident.

Secondly, and perhaps less obviously, the New Testament perspective on our speech means that we must speak with great thoughtfulness. From the above passages, we are given the impression of someone who speaks slowly and intentionally in order to get just the right words across. This intentional nature of our speech is what leads to excellence in it (2 Cor. 8:7). It gives us the carefully filter our own ideas out of the way and speak the words of the Spirit clearly (1 Cor. 2:4). And it sets us up to speak graciously in high-pressure, high-stakes, or high-intensity circumstances because we have made it a practice to speak graciously in every circumstance (Col. 4:6).

One specific application of this idea: we must work to communicate God's will clearly. It is natural to think of this as a preacher's goal, and it absolutely must be. But it is only his responsibility because he is a Christian and ALL Christians are commissioned to communicate the will of God perfectly as we can. When we flail our way through conversations about the cosmic concepts of redemption, grace, sanctification, holiness, and theology with careless words and haphazard statements of judgment on others... we are not helping anyone see the things of God more clearly. Mark Twain famously said, "The difference between any word and the right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." It takes diligence and humility to speak the oracles of God with a clear mind and a clear conscience.

The way we talk about God matters. It matters to our fellow saints, to the lost world, and to God himself. As Christians, it's time we put in the mental work that is required to communicate God and godliness clearly.

- Dan Lankford, minister

While the Lord goes to great pains to emphasize in his Word that all believers are of equally great value in his sight, he does give particular attention in the New Testament to those who propagated the spread of the Gospel message. Those men and women—many of whom we would call “missionaries” today—willingly incurred personal risk and hardship in and effort to take history’s most worthwhile message “to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). Christians of their era knew the power of God was at work in these brothers and sisters, and so they prayed for their success.

In Acts 4, after two of the apostles—Peter and John—had been arrested for teaching the gospel, the believers gathered to pray to God. And while they acknowledge the sizable opposition they face (Acts 4:27), they also confidently express their believe that God has been in control the whole time (v. 28). Their prayer, then, is for the boldness necessary to continue to teach the lost openly in spite of the opposition they face. And God answers their prayer with astonishing church growth through the rest of Acts.

Later, in one of his letters to Christians, the apostle Paul would request prayers for himself along much the same vein. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Col. 4:2-4)  Paul believed in the power of prayer. He knew how important it was to the spread of the gospel and to his ministry to fellow Christians. His prayer is primarily for two things: opportunity and clarity of the message.

Obviously, these prayers ought to be easily echoed by believers today. Our mission has not changed despite how much our world may have seemed to change. And so we would do well to pray for those whose life’s work consists of teaching the gospel to the lost. We would do well to pray for their boldness, to celebrate their successes, and to imitate their examples of faith. The message of the cross is the power of God to those of us who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18). Let’s pray for many, many more to receive that power!

- Dan Lankford, evangelist

It seems that the best gift in any relationship is fellowship. It’s the gift of sharing something—thoughts, experiences, passions, or just time. It is one of the defining elements of Christian-to-Christians relationships that we share Christ and the Holy Spirit and thereby have fellowship with each other.

Today, remember that this is the best gift you can give to dad too: share something with him. And especially make it a point to share your time with him if there’s any way you can. Dads are often encouraged to share time with their kids (Eph. 6:4—you can’t bring children up to maturity without a serious time commitment), and the same encouragement ought to be heeded in the other direction.

So give some serious consideration to how you could spend some time with your dad in a way that he would appreciate it today. Play a game that he enjoys, watch a game that he enjoys, go somewhere he likes to be, talk about one of his favorite subjects, find one of his old favorite TV shows on YouTube and watch it with him, talk about a great book you’ve read, or ask about his favorite memories from when he was a kid.

If at all possible, do your best today to “honor your father” (Eph. 6:2) in some way. A gift that he can open is definitely a good thing, but give it a little extra thought, and you’ll probably be able to think of a way to share a little more and to instill some fellowship in your relationship.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In some places throughout Scripture the nature of God is explained in-depth. In the opening chapters of Genesis, the fact that God is in control of nature is demonstrated by the fact that He created it. In the book of Exodus, the fact that God can redeem his people is demonstrated His freeing them from the slavery of Egypt. In the book of Leviticus, the fact that God is holy is seen in the holiness He demands from his people.

But while these isolated passages exist, it is the entire Bible that reminds us of these truths. More subtle reminders of God’s character are peppered through so many other topics.

Consider a phrase from Hebrews 4:16. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace.” The phrase “throne of grace” is only used here, but the concepts are by no means unique to this verse.

The fact that God sits on a “throne” shows His kingship. He is sovereign. He has sole reign of all that He has created. He gets to make the rules, and not only because He demands to be in charge, but simply because He IS in charge. Simply by pointing out that He is on a throne, the Holy Spirit reminds us that God will always and must always have authority.

And the fact that God’s throne is one of “grace” illustrates one of the balancing aspects of His kingship. He is not just a king who demands to be respected; He is a king who deserves to be respected because he is so gracious and so generous. And while a king can only be approached by certain people—whom he chooses to allow—God the King approaches His people. He came down to our level with all of His infinite blessings. He does not remain aloof from His subjects. He is graciously willing to come for us.

It is in this simple phrase that we are reminded that our God is the perfect kind of ruler for us. A truly benevolent monarch with naught but our best interests in mind. My brethren, let us then with confidence draw near to his throne of grace!

- Dan Lankford, minister

When your job is to make a sale, your success is measured on the standard of the consumer. If the consumer doesn’t buy, you didn’t succeed. Thus, a salesman is dependent upon the perception of his consumer. And so whether by warping a perspective on its positive points, overlooking or downplaying its inevitable disappointments, or by simply changing the product, the sale must be made.

As believers, it is not our job to sell the gospel. Our job is to share the gospel. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy told the Thessalonians they were “ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.” (1 Thess. 2:8) It is simply not our job to make the gospel appealing by warping people’s perspective on its positive points, overlooking or downplaying its inevitable difficulties, or by simply trying to change the gospel. The reality is that we do not have to make a sale to be successful.

It is every Christian’s job to share the gospel—to simply speak the truth about it and let it make its own appeal to our hearers’ hearts. It is both a simple & complex message based on a compelling story of God & his people. It is a message with the power to change lives and save lives. And it doesn’t need us to infuse it with that power; it just needs to us share it with those who do not yet know it.

This means we do not have to be dependent on the consumer for success. We do not have to “make sales” to validate our efforts in the sight of God. Under this tyranny of desperation for validation, approval, or a sale, all of us have a tendency to jettison the core elements of the original greatness—the true & pure essence of the central idea (in this case, the gospel).

But because we are simply trying to share the gospel, we can do so with the knowledge that “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:14). We must still share the gospel with everyone, but we can do so without a compulsion to change it, improve it, or find more clever ways of selling it. It’s God’s message to man; just share it.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Fasting has always been portrayed in the Scriptures as a method of eliminating distractions present in the physical life in order to focus on the realities of the spiritual life. This is especially important in times when our earthly lives are plagued with distress and fear. Eliminating a concern for food—a major concern for us on any normal day—frees the mind to focus in prayer and to truly seek the Lord’s comfort and strength. There is a powerful demonstration of this as Esther puts her life on the line to save the Jewish nation. Before she enters the king’s presence, she asks the entire nation to forego eating food and to pray for her to have favor in his eyes (Esther 4:16).

And yet, even in times of great calm and peace, fasting has the ability to lend the same sort of spiritual focus. In fact, there are a few times in the New Testament when people just say “no” to something that is, in its own right, a good thing. They reject it, however, for the purpose of devoting themselves to that which is more important at the time.

In Acts 6, a need arose among the widows who were members of the massive Jerusalem church, and the apostles were approached about taking care of it. Their response: “we will devote ourselves to the ministry of the word and to prayer,” and so other men were appointed to solve the problem. They denied themselves the opportunity to do good in order to focus on an even greater good.

In 1 Corinthians 7:15, the Holy Spirit says to married couples, “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again.” Even the blessings of marriage can be foregone on occasion to achieve greater spiritual focus.

What about in your life? What are there some things that you can deny yourself for a time to devote yourself to God? It is truly helpful to occasionally challenge our own senses of self-control (one of the fruits of the spirit) to make sure that our entire lives are under God’s control.

Take a look at your life. Deny yourself some pleasure that you regularly enjoy. And in its place, give your mind and your heart to the word of God and to prayer.

- Dan Lankford, minister

The gospel calls for our obedience with a broad range of emotional and intellectual appeals. It calls us to obey out of fear (Rom. 11:22), out of love (John 14:15), out of feelings guilt (Rom. 5:6-8), and out of a sense of duty (Rom. 13:11-14, discussed below). I believe this broad appeal is partly due to God's unsurpassed understanding of the human mind and his desire to call everyone to repentance. But I believe the main reason we find so many varied types of appeals is that the gospel fulfills all of our deepest needs, and consequently, it can call to us on all of our deepest emotional and psychological levels.

In Romans 13:11-14, the Holy Spirit calls us to get up and get ready. It is His "bugle call" rousing us from our lazy oversleeping in our tents. He calls us to put on our armor and get into the battle against the evil one! Our spiritual battle is happening now, and we must charge into the fray!

Notice the phrases he uses throughout to paint this picture:

"the hour has come for you to wake from sleep" (v. 11)
• Every soldier and every emergency responder understands that intense situations do not come at our conveniences, and so we must wake up—take action in the present—to fight for the Lord's glory and overcome.

"the night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness... Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy." (vv. 12, 13)
• When it comes time to fight the enemy (in the present), don't go AWOL and be carousing and drunk with the pleasures & ease of life or caught up in brawls caused by your own arrogance so that you can't respond to the enemy. A good soldier can enjoy himself, but he stays sober-minded & dressed for battle.

"and put on the armor of light" (v. 12)
• Again, a godly soldier is dressed for battle. Ready to defend himself against the enemy and ready to make offensive advances for the cause of his God.

"put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (v. 14)
• Our enemy is the temptations of the flesh. And while we must make some battle provisions before marching in, it simply does no good to provide the enemy an opportunity to overcome us. So we dress ourselves with the armor of light—put on the Lord Jesus Christ—and we carry the necessary tools to fight against the devil. But we carry nothing that might slow us down or give our enemy the upper hand over us.

The fight for the gospel is an urgent one. The bugle call is sounding now. Are you going to sleep lazily in your tent? Or are you going to get moving right away and do what needs to be done?!

"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4:17)

- Dan Lankford, minister

“Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’” (Gen. 11:4)

The tower of Babel—“Babylon” in the original language—was the brainchild of a people seeking their own glory. “Come and let us make a name for ourselves.”

In our efforts to Rise Up & Build in this new year, the Lord has already blessed our congregation with success. He has given a growing sense of family as new and old members have all connected more deeply. He has given growth in number through conversions and repeated guests. He has given the increase in our faith as individuals through the study of his word in our lives. And for all of this, we must remember to thank HIM for the growth.

In any effort by God's people to Rise Up & Build, the goal must be to give glory to God. God halted construction of the Tower of Babylon because mankind had already failed—they had already lost sight of whose glory they must live for.
In view of our efforts to Rise Up & Build in 2016, it is difficult to overstate the importance of this mindset. Because if we are building in hopes that Eastland will become a great name among churches, we have the wrong goals. If we are building in hopes that our methods will become noteworthy and be imitated among other groups, we have the wrong goals. Even if we are building in hopes of the excitement of new people and new facilities, we have the wrong goals.

In all of our efforts to live the gospel, share the gospel, and participate in the gospel, the goal must be to bring souls to Christ. To live for God’s glory better in our own lives, to bring others to see his glory and live for that themselves, and to participate together in bringing glory to him. If it is for our own glory, it will fail. Only when we build for God’s glory will we continue to be blessed with growth!

- Dan Lankford, minister

In Jesus' illustration using the house built on sand and the house built on solid rock (Matt. 7:24-27), both houses looked the same... until the storm came.

In his parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-8), the plants from three of the environments—the thorny soil, the rocky soil, and the good soil—looked the same... until it came time to bear fruit.

In his parable of the good seed and the tares (Matt. 13:24-30), both types of plant looked like they were going to be just fine... until the harvest.

The reality for us is that the Christian and the church-goer-only may look identical to the outside observer. Both may look morally solid. Both may look spiritually healthy. Both may look like they're going to be just fine in the long run. Until...

Until the storms of life come. Then you'll see a difference.
Until it comes time to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Then you'll see a difference.
Until the harvest—the judgment day—comes. Then you'll see a difference.

Are you going to be the church-goer-only and pray for ease and for no trials, no reckoning, and no harvest? Or are you going to be the Christian and pray for strength to endure, the faith to bear fruit, and the grace to be in His harvest?

- Dan Lankford, minister

As we talk about often as a church family, Christians need to be aware of our own need for balance. Today, I'd like to suggest a balance to our perspective on the recent moral changes taking place in our country.

It's very easy to get caught off guard when people (and organizations) of the world make morally bankrupt decisions. With the recent policy changes for large companies & government organizations regarding "gender association," many Christians are shocked (rightly so) and appalled (rightly so).

The balance I would like to offer to that perspective is this: be shocked & appalled AND be confident that God remains unchanged. It is right for us to express outrage and shock at the world's immorality. My Facebook thread is full of correctly judged assessments of the moral decay happening around us. Believers of all ages are saying things like, "I can't believe this is where our country is headed. I'm just worried for what it's going to be like for my children," and I believe their concerns are valid.

But let's make sure that in our outrage at sin and our thoughts about the country's moral future, we still speak as kingdom citizens. We belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). God's kingdom will never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44). It is ruled by a king who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). And the gates of Hell will never overtake the gates of God's kingdom (Matt. 16:18).

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Cor. 15:58)

Be sure to keep your perspective balanced in God's favor. In how you think, be sure to keep your faith in him. And in how you speak, what you teach, and what you post online; show the world your faith and hope in him!

- Dan Lankford, minister