The United States is known for many good things, like spreading freedom, democracy, and the gospel; however, we are also known for spreading various ills worldwide. We are not a perfect nation – after all, we are full of imperfect human beings. But, as we look to celebrating our country's 246th anniversary, I encourage you to take some time to thank God for our great country.

One of the most popular book genres is “Beach Reads.” Those books you can take with you on a summer vacation or holiday and casually read while you stare at the ocean. This summer, we want to give you some beach reads that can do more than entertain you – they could change your life!

I get asked so many times in so many places, “How do I get started with turning my workplace into a workplace ministry?” The answer has five short steps, and I learned them from God directly as He taught and shaped my own heart and ministry.

Now, I’ve read many books about rest over the years, but none of them is better than the Bible. From the very beginning, as soon as God finished creating the entire universe, He took a day of rest. In fact, on their first full day on the planet, Adam and Eve had a day of rest! God put such a high priority on rest that He made Adam and Eve experience it before giving them work.

Summer is when we all take a big long break. But there is one thing that we never get to take a break from – can you guess what it is? Yep, it’s being a minister of the gospel! 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not….” So, how do we turn our summers into opportunities for ministry? Read along with me today as we explore some ways to use the dog days of summer as an opportunity to expand the influence of Jesus in your neighborhood!

When we take just one of the directions from God and ignore the others, things fall apart and what we end up with is a culture that is ignorant of Jesus, ignorant of God, self-centered, and falling apart. However, when you combine The Cultural Mandate with The Great Commandment in The Great Commission, you will see a nation humbled before God, with love flowing to all of our neighbors, flourishing in every neighborhood, and with millions hearing about Jesus because of Christ-followers living out their faith at work.

As Jesus-Followers, our calling is to teach others what we know about Jesus; sometimes, that’s other Christians and sometimes other pre-believers. The bottom line is the commission is for all of us. This doesn’t just apply to pastors and missionaries; it applies to workplace believers, the “carpenters” of today. The Great Commission is for everyone.

God created humans because of love. He caused them to multiply because of love. He gave them work because of love. In fact, 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” So, it makes sense that the way people would know that you love God is when you love people.

Right after God created Adam and Eve, he gave them The Cultural Mandate to fill, govern, and develop the earth (Genesis 1:28). God gave Adam and Eve a job before sin ever entered the world. So often, we think that work is the result of sin. But nothing could be further from the truth! God gave us work as a gift.

Romans 12:2 says DON'T copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you by CHANGING the way you think. When you change the way you think, you change the way you act. When you change the way you act, the world will be impacted because you will be loving God and loving people. In 2006, when I realized that my behavior matched the customs of this world, I knew I had a problem. How would I ever attract anyone to Jesus if I looked just like any old joe in business?