It's just my junk

Taking a break from Faith… Learn from the Bible Peeps….

SCRIPTURES:

Breaks                                                                          Connects

David              2 Samuel 11:1-5                               2 Samuel 6:14-15

Joseph            Matthew 1:18-19                              Matthew 2:13-14 (Mark 14:27)

Peter               Matthew 26:33-35                           John 21:18-19

Paul/Saul       Acts 9:1-2                                           Acts 9:19-21

Main Verses   1 Peter 3:12-14

INTRO:

We are in the throws of Spring Break…

• Student and Teachers get a week off

But what kind of break do you get?

• School is out for summer
• Weekend… TGIF
• Vacations
• Retirement
• Holidays

It is through day to day activities that God gets my attention.. I am not sure about you but He uses the normal everyday life to make a subtle point here or a major slap in the spiritual face there.

People throughout the bible would take breaks from their relationship with God… lets look at a couple of them

LESSON SCRIPTURES:

DAVD:

David was King… He took sometime off from focusing on God… 2 Samuel 11 tells of him taking time off from being king to see a beautiful married woman…

David was King ….. He rescued the Ark of the Lord and danced nearly naked for the Lord

JOSEPH

Joseph was arranged to wed Marry and she got pregnant… he was planning on divorcing her… as if that didn’t benefit him….
Joseph listened to God and took Jesus and Mary to Egypt for safety.. three years

PETER

Well Peter took many risks for Jesus… not all of them I would consider breaks in focus of God (for example walking on water.. he was distracted but no one else got out of the boat) Peter told Jesus… I will not deny you ever… rooster crows..
Peter is the rock the church is built on and Peter dies a terrible death.. to honor Jesus he was crucified upside down

PAUL

Prior to conversion Saul was present at Stephens death (the first martyr) He sought approval to take out more Christians in another town
Paul converted began preaching in Jerusalem Paul was the first missionary… Paul was stranded, ship wrecked, jailed, beaten for His Faith

How do we take a break Spiritually? I am sure you can come up with a solid list but here are a few I know of:

• Skip your devotion time
• Skip church or small groups
• Complain about things, instead of being a change agent
• Only worship on Sunday Morning
• Only pray for meals or major things
• Put things in place of God.. vacations, toys, events,
• Make Scott be your only Spiritual provider
• Don’t give to God…. Or selective giving
• Holding a grudge
• Don’t allow God to forgive you
• Don’t spend time meditating on the word…
• Not serving but being served
• Not being open to Spirit promptings

So how do we keep our Spiritual From taking a break?

• Make devotion God time a priority.. calendar it if you need too
• Download a bible or devotion app to your smart phone and use it as much as facebook, twitter, email etc apps
• Instead of complaining , seek to understand and help
• Take a vacation… and visit a church, do some podcasts, watch online
• Worship in your car, worship in your home.. Download some worship music
• Schedule unique prayer times throughout the day. A friend as an alarm on his phone for each family member… it goes off he stops and prays.. he has 6 kids
• Learn to forgive… seek forgiveness from God in your own life too
• Give willingly of your funds and allow God to use them for His purpose not yours
• Seek opportunity to serve… in church, in community (TGP, PANTRY) or world.

CLOSER
Friends it is up to us to make a commitment… to God and Christ… it takes ups and downs but ultimately it is our free will to choose

1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV… D you knot know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

1 Peter 2:16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as a servant of God