The Thursday Update

Lakeshore Friends—

On Saturday, our amazing nation turns 250 years old!  With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we had declared what turned out to be the birth certificate of the United States of America.  It was a grand experiment in a form of government and democracy that had never been tried before.

Today, our nation is in many ways, the envy of the world.  Just ask all the World Cup Soccer Tournament visitors here from Europe, Central and South America who say that our country is so much better than they thought or that they were told it was.

Think about our country this way: no country has ever done more good for more people in the world than the United States has.  No country has ever had such massive military power and not used it to take over the world.  No country has brought more innovation and inventions to benefit the entire world as we have.  And no nation has sent more missionaries to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with more people and nations than ours has.

Admittedly, we have not been a perfect nation.  Our founding was marred by slavery, but sadly so was virtually every other nation in the world at that time (and many nations today still practice some form of slavery).  And today, our nation is slipping further and further away from God in how we live, how we think, and what we believe about God and the Bible.  But nonetheless, we are still free to live out our faith and declare biblical truth without breaking the law… at least for now.

Sadly, many people in our country don’t really seem to like America.  Some of our citizens say that they hate it.  They really have no idea what living almost anywhere else is like compared to living here. 

Maybe these people can trade places with some of the visitors to the World Cup who love it here?

I hope you will thank God for our country this July 4^th and every day.  We are blessed way more than we deserve!

And I hope you will be here on Sunday as I share a special message, “Is America A Christian Nation?”  This will be a great Sunday to invite friends and family to join you!

Happy Independence Day!

Vince

Lakeshore Friends—

When it comes to love and romance, it can seem that God has lots of very specific rules.  Limiting rules.  Restrictive rules.  Rules that make it seem like He is a real kill-joy when it comes to dating and romance.

But is he really trying to make us unhappy by keeping us from experiencing things that we think will make us happy?  Of course not.

So much of romance is actually a battle between the short-term and the long-term.  And the truth is that it’s always easier for most people to choose the short-term.  Afterall, it brings quick and immediate gratification and we like that.  Well, at least for a little while.  But short-term gratification usually keeps us from long-term satisfaction.  You rarely can have both in romance.

That’s where God steps in.

God’s rules that often seem too strenuous, too specific, too limiting and too restrictive are also very protective.  God has His rules and regulations to protect us from the trouble that comes with doing things our own way.  Troubles like heart-break, broken trust, rejection, physical problems that may come our way, and even having to plan for a family when you aren’t ready for one.  There’s a lot more but I think you get the point.

So maybe it’s time we stop seeing God’s rules and standards as restrictive and joy-killing and start seeing them for what they really are— liberating, protective, freeing and joy-producing.

No matter where you are in your romance life— from single to long-time married— do things God’s way.  He made the rules because He knows what’s best for us- in the long-term!

Warmly,

Vince

Lakeshore Friends—

One of the big challenges of romance is knowing if your attraction to someone of the opposite sex is true love.  Sometimes, what we think is love is actually something else: infatuation.  True love will always last, infatuation will always fade over time.

But it isn’t always easy to determine if what we’re experiencing is love or infatuation.  How can you decide which is which in a relationship that you think could lead to marriage?

On Sunday, we will provide five biblical tests to determine if what’s happening in your relationship is true love or temporary infatuation.  We’ll use 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as our guide for making this important distinction.

If you want to better understand this difference (for yourself or for someone else you know), you’ll want to be here.

This Sunday is also Father’s Day, the day we honor our fathers for the good things that they’ve done in our lives and for the place of fatherhood in our world.  We will have a special surprise for everyone at church, just like we brought in a Lugia’s Ice Cream truck on Mother’s Day.

Warmly,

Vince