How to Drift from God

Today was another great Sunday at church. But, before I get to what I learned, I thought I'd post these pics of Lily before her very first dance class! She was SO excited and had a blast at class. :)

She's been waiting a long time for her turn to dance and I think she's going to love it!

Today at church, we started out remembering what happened on this day, 10 years ago. I remember being at work and hearing about it and my Mom calling. Madison was only a year old and I do remember wondering what kind of world she would have to grow up in. The main thing our Pastor said that stuck with me is when he said that none of those people who lost their lives that day expected that when they went to work, it would be their last. We have to remember how short this life is and make sure that our loved ones are prepared for eternity.

We are continuing in our series, 5 Easy Steps to Wreck Your Life, and today's lesson was on How to Drift from God. If there was ever a time you felt closer to God before in your life, He hasn't moved, but you may have. Satan wants to destroy your faith. He is the father of lies and it is his mission to steal, kill, and destroy. He plants seeds of doubt, like he did with Eve in the garden, and he continues to do it today.

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 13:19-23 about a farmer who throws his seeds out onto the land. Some grew and some died. It is that way with us. Some of us hear the truth and go away unchanged. Some of us hear and receive the truth, but it has no root. We get excited, but then slide away again. Some hear, but the worries of this life get the best of us and that makes us unfruitful. This is the one we hope for though: that we will hear, understand, and produce 100 fold what we have learned. God can make more happen than we ever dream or imagine. When we change in this way, everyone around us and generations to come will be changed as well. We have to fix our eyes on where we want to go or we will begin to drift. Hebrews 2:2 says to pay attention to what you've heard so you do not drift.

So, what 5 steps would we take to drift from God?

1. Neglect your time with God. (Psalm 63:1)
2. If you don't like your circumstances, blame God. (Prov 3:5)
3. Hang around bad influences.
1 Corinthians 15:33 says "bad company corrupts good character."
4. Give into temptation. (James 1:14-15)
Abuse grace, saying "God will forgive me."
5. Love the world more than you love God. (1 John 2:15)
Worry about your house, car, go into debt to impress others you don't like and that don't like
you. Consume every resource you can.

If all else fails, FAKE IT! Put on a fascade. "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Isaiah 29:13) Build a reputation of being a follower of Christ, but just go through the motions, fooling others. "I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead." (Rev 3:1)

Some of us have drifted so far away that we don't even care anymore. These things will wreck your life as you drift from God. Revelation 2:4-5, says that we must repent and return to our first love and do the things we did when we were close to God at first. Insanity is doing the same thing, but expecting a different result. We have to go back and do what we did before we drifted away. God will produce more than we could ever imagine, if we repent and give into the holy spirit. It's not about our past or what sins we've committed. If we are open and make ourselves available, God will produce. The only way that we can prevent wrecking our lives is to completely surrender and allow Him to radically transform us; to give up and quit trying to do it on our own!