Vacations and God

Summer, especially July, is a time of family vacations. Ever wondered what God thinks about vacations? I've been thinking about it, as our family just returned from a vacation to Kentucky. We explored an 1850's farm, got our van licked by a herd of buffalo and just had a great time together. We didn't take a vacation from God, as we had times together of reading the Bible and attended a great church last Sunday called Hope Harbor. We're glad to be back in St Louis, a little tired from all the physical activity, but refreshed.

So what does God think of vacations? In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to take a trip three times a year to Jerusalem for the joyous festivals of Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Weeks. Everybody needs a significant break from the routine of work a few times of year. Leave the laptop and email at home. Family vacations build the family bond closer. There's nothing like the nine people of our family living in a small cabin to rub off some of our rough edges. Going to a different place and changing from the city to the wilderness, opened up our eyes to see God's handiwork in creation. Worshipping in another church in a different state showed us God's family is far bigger than what we have personally experienced. If you haven't already, enjoy a vacation this summer, but don't leave God out of it.

Actually, God presecribed a mini-vacation every week in the ten commandments called the Sabbath or day of rest. It's a day to set aside to worship God, most people do that on Sunday. It's a day to spend with your family and to set aside the routine work of the week. Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV) Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Take a break, you deserve it and God commands it.

Biblical Answers for Your Family
Full Life Community Church - St Louis
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Connecting With A Church Family

The importance of connecting with a church family can hardly be over emphasized. Yet, more and more people are failing to make the connection. Recent statistics show that on any given weekend, the percentage of people in church in America is about 18%. That means that 82% are not worshiping with a church family. The consequences of the neglect of spiritual life are all around us. Broken families, damaged lives, greed, lies and a rejection of God's truth. If the trend away from the church continues, life will not continue as normal. The results of ignoring God are already being seen in America and the problems will increase in the future.

However, those who are wise, who want to be blessed and be a blessing, can buck the trend. As you get connected to God's family in the church, great things begin to happen in your life and family. Being part of a church family moves you out of self-centeredness and helps you grow spiritually. A church family will help you learn and apply God's principles to your life. You will escape much of the troubles that those around you face. Relationships that you build in a church family can be a source of encouragement and strength in trying times. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

The time is later than people think. History rushes forward to a climactic ending, the return of Jesus Christ. Only by being connected to a church family will you be able to fulfill God's purpose for your life in these trying times. Those who are really connected to the church family are seeing incredible answers to prayers. Being connected to the church family at Full Life is a whole lot more than coming on Sunday mornings. The difference between people who are connected with God and His church and those who aren't is getting more and more clear.

This coming Sunday, we will hear the story of a man who has seen a wonderful answer to prayer regarding a job promotion. In the weeks ahead, we will have another story from a lady who was promoted while 90% of her company was laid off. These people are not casual Christians. They are fully connected to the church family at Full Life and they are being blessed. You can be too.

You may listen to my in-depth audio message on Connecting With Others, as well as download the message notes and discussion questions for your personal study.

Biblical Answers for Your Family
Full Life Community Church - St Louis
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A Life of Surrender

Everyone surrenders their life to something. Some people surrender their lives to drugs or alcohol. Others surrender their lives to career or fame. Yet others surrender their lives to pursuing whatever gives them happiness. Whatever you surrender your life to is what you worship, whether you realize it or not. What you worship is what you become like. So be very careful what you surrender your life to.

Jesus said in Mark 12:30 (NIV) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Jesus is talking about surrendering all you have, mind, emotions and strength to God. To love God in this way is the only appropriate worship a created person can offer their creator. God has given you everything you have, everything you are, as a gift. When you surrender it all back into His hands, He will direct you to fulfill the purpose He created you for. Anything less than God's purpose is a waste and leads to heartbreak.

The problem for many people is that they simply do not believe that God knows what is best for their lives. So they choose not learn from God's Word about God's plan for their lives. They have it all figured out or so they think. Not surrendering to God's plan for your life leads to bondage to whatever you surrender your life to. Not surrendering to God leads to stress, tension and worry. Not surrendering to God's purpose results in a weak life that accomplishes little of value.

Make a choice to surrender your mind, your emotions and your abilities to God. Say to God, whatever you want me to do, I will do. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Surrender your life to the God who loves you more than you love yourself. Surrender = Worship. Romans 12:1 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Do you long for a life of adventure? A fulfilling life doing things that make a difference? A life that will powerfully impact people's lives for eternity? Surrender your life to Jesus and He'll make it happen.

You may listen to my in-depth audio message on Surrendering Your Life, as well as download the message notes and discussion questions for your personal study.

Biblical Answers for Your Family
Full Life Community Church - St Louis
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The Money Idol

What is the biggest idol of all time? Jesus taught that the biggest distraction to serving God was money. Matthew 6:24 (NIV) No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. If money is your master, then it is your idol, the money idol.

Now, the Bible does not teach that there is anything wrong with money persay. Money becomes an idol when you begin to serve it. Jesus taught that some people try to serve money and God, but it can't be done. If you serve money at all, money is your master, your idol. Money becomes your idol when you begin to love it. 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. When you love money, you begin to sacrifice your principles, your relationships and your common sense in order to get more of it. When you love money, you never have enough, you are never content. When you love money, you do stupid things with the money you have, like gambling or playing the lottery in order to try to get more. When you love money, you sacrifice your family relationships in order to get the highest paying job, no matter how many hours you have to work. When you love money, you sacrifice your relationship with God and His church. You cannot serve both God and money.

People who love the money idol store up money and possessions on this earth for themselves. Matthew 6:19 (NIV) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. People who love God use their money to store up treasure in heaven. Matthew 6:20 (NIV) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. If your treasure is on this earth, money is your idol. If your treasure is in heaven, God is your master.

How do you store treasures in heaven? First of all, realize that all you have including your money, is not yours to do with as you please. Everything that you have, including your money, is a gift from God to be invested for God to achieve a return for God. It's not your money, it's God's. The Bible contains over 2350 verses describing God's instructions on how to use your money for Him. To lay up treasures in heaven, follow God's instructions. Secondly, the most important principle in the Bible about money is to be generous with it. Give it back to God and bless other people with it. Give to God first and then trust Him to meet your families' needs. Luke 16:10-11 (NIV) Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? If God sees that He can trust you with the little money you have now, He will trust you with greater responsibility and resources in the future.

You may listen to my in-depth audio message on What Jesus Taught About Money, as well as download the message notes and discussion questions for your personal study.

Biblical Answers for Your Family
Full Life Community Church - St Louis
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How To Be Influential

If you're a believer, God wants you to be an influential person. He doesn't want you to be influenced by the world, but rather to be a positive influence on people around you. Romans 12:2a (NIV) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Unfortunately, many believers have not had their minds renewed by God and they think in the thought patterns of the world. You're not going to be very influential if you're just like everybody else. In this post, I want to help you renew your mind with what Jesus taught about becoming a person of influence.

Jesus taught two important ways that believers are to be influential in society. The first way is to influence others against evil. Matthew 5:13 (NIV) You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. Salt has the property of being a preservative against decay in foods. Believers are to take a stand against evil and sin in society by speaking out and acting against it. Of course, if you give in to sin yourself, you have absolutely no credibility to influence others against it. However, if you retain your saltiness, then you can warn others against the dangers of sin. If you don't take a stand against evil, you're going to get trampled upon, which is where a lot of fearful and ashamed believers are today. Wake up, be salt.

The second way to be influential is to influence others for good. Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Jesus' second metaphor of an influential believer is that of light. Jesus came as the light of the world and believers are to be the light of the world. Light illumines, light dispels the darkness and guides to the truth.

The world tries to get believers to hide their lights, saying, "It's just your private opinion, keep it to yourself." Jesus says, forget the world, listen to me. Let your light shine by doing good deeds, so that people will praise God. It's not just a matter of doing good deeds, since then people will praise you. To be influential for God, you must do good deeds and let people know that you are doing them for Jesus. Then your good deeds will serve as light, drawing others out of the darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus Christ.

Are you an influential person? Are you being salt and light to the world around you? Are you consciously influencing others against evil and toward good? If not, ask for God's help, it's a prayer He loves to answer. God make us influential believers for you.

You may listen to my in-depth audio message on How To Be An Influential Person, as well as download the message notes and discussion questions for your personal study.

Biblical Answers for Your Family
Full Life Community Church - St Louis
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