LifePoint Church

Here’s a disturbing reality: we spend most of our lives indoors. We were meant for more than a plastic world with artificial light and re-breathed air. God can be found anywhere. But something special happens when we encounter God outside. Nature has the power to calm and quiet us. There is something restorative about an encounter with God under a canopy of stars or by the crashing waves of an ocean. He seems easily accessible from the mountain vista or in the still, dark forest. Get outside. It will help you get your life back!

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There is often enormous pressure to keep up with the non-stop noise and activity of our modern world. Jesus offers us an alternative to this frantic pace but following Him and resisting the pressure around us will require a simple act: kindness toward ourselves.

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Our immediate access to people and information through the use of technology has become a prevailing cultural norm. What has become the normal daily consumption of input can have a numbing effect on our soul and lead to our faith gradually growing thinner and thinner through neglect. Finding more of God and growing in our faith requires creating space for Him. Simple, intentional unplugging creates this space for us to experience the life-giving power of God while strengthening our ability to resist conforming to a pattern of constant attention-grabbing distractions.

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God paints on a large canvas. His creativity is seen in the grandeur of the mountains, in the wildflowers on a rolling hillside, in classic masterpieces in an art gallery, or in the curious expression on the face of a child. Beauty is all around us. But seeing it means that we look up from our cell phones long enough to notice God’s intentional design. God’s brushstrokes of beauty are everywhere. Is it any wonder that God, Himself is called beautiful? Maybe it’s time to get your life back by drinking deeply of the beauty that should never be ignored.

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So much about the pace of life conspires against us. We might even be convinced that the faster we go and the busier we become, the more we’ll get done. But what does that kind of toxicity do to our souls? Could it be that God invites us to find Him through a different rhythm? What would happen if we built pauses into our day—benevolent detachment from the siren call of the fast and furious. Maybe God is not waiting for us to catch up; instead, maybe He’s waiting for us to slow down.

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Resilience is such a powerful concept. Some of our greatest heroes and inspirational characters in stories are defined as people of resilience. But what does it look like to have a resilient faith? Spoiler alert… it doesn’t mean that things are always going to go according to plan. We will discover how we can build resilience and find joy regardless of the circumstance.

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When we fail to listen to God, it’s a hearing problem for us not a speaking problem for God. Most notably, God has spoken in His Son Jesus. In the fifth and final warning in the book of Hebrews, the author warns us that it’s a mistake to turn away from God and ignore what He is saying to us. As with the Israelites, the loss for the stubborn believer is real. And faithful listening and enduring is rewarded in the kingdom to come.

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Even Christians can behave badly. And the Bible acknowledges that a believer can walk away from Jesus all together. To treat God with this kind of contempt is a terrible act of defiance. In the fourth of five warnings in the book of Hebrews, the author tells us about the dangers of willful sin and the consequences we can expect. We must diligently seek to draw near to God to prevent our turning away.

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Salvation is guaranteed the moment one believes Jesus for it. But becoming a Christian never guarantees that we’ll live like one. Spiritual maturity is not automatic. It requires diligent engagement with Jesus if we hope to change and grow. In the third of five warnings in Hebrews, the author reminds us that if we fail to mature and if we loosen our grip on Jesus, it’s only a matter of time before we fall away. And falling away leaves us in a precarious position in our relationship with God.

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Even Christians can be people of unbelief. Given tempting circumstances, we might cave under pressure and cease to follow God wholeheartedly. This certainly was the case with the children of Israel who took a major detour of unbelief while on their journey to the land promised to them by God. Similarly, there is an inheritance that awaits the faithful Christian. God refers to this inheritance as rest, and it’s not the same as going to heaven. Our salvation is secure. But in this second of five warnings in Hebrews, we discover that unbelief can sabotage the future inheritance that could be ours.

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