As we begin to turn our sights on the Christmas season – and recover from the barrage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday emails that have wreaked havoc on our inboxes – many of us find ourselves in a familiar position: behind on our Christmas shopping. Now, to be clear, at Faith Driven Consumer™ (FDC), we believe that Christmas is about the birth of the Savior of the world in the person of Jesus Christ. And we simultaneously lament the overshadowing of this sacred holiday by commercialism and an obsession with buying and receiving stuff.

Indeed, as Christians, there is much to critique and be wary of concerning our participation with America’s consumeristic culture around Christmas. However, if we keep our focus on the proverbial reason for the season, there is nothing wrong with giving and receiving gifts to and from our loved ones this Christmas. So, with that in mind, FDC wants to enable you to Purchase with Purpose™ this holiday season.

Below, you will find various gift ideas or store recommendations that may help your Christmas shopping. More importantly, we have curated these selections specifically for you in two different categories. First, you will find a selection of businesses/services that are available on the FDC Marketplace. (If you have not yet signed up to become a Marketplace Member, you can do so here.) With these offers, you will be able to save money on discounted products and services from major brands, while also making a difference. If you’d like to know more about how we/you can make an impact through using the FDC Marketplace, click here to read this blog.

Second, you will find a list of brands that are Faith Compatible. The Faith Equality Index is our database of over one-thousand different businesses and brands and includes evaluations on how compatible the brands’ corporate actions are with our values as Faith Driven Consumers. As you consider where to spend your dollars and which businesses to support this Christmas season, we hope you will check out the recommendations below. And if you want to see more, head on over to our FEI and start exploring today!

FDC Marketplace Deals

Click here to find deals below.

1. Find big savings on electronics including Samsung and Apple products
2. Save money on purchases from 1-800-Flowers
3. Get 20% off on sports apparel and fan gear from Fanatics.com
4. Save 10% on purchases from Cost Plus World Market
5. Get Free Shipping or get steep discounts in select departments at Target.com
6. Receive 15% off your order when you spend $100 at Kohl’s.

Faith Compatible Brands and Stores

Click here to find out their FEI scores.

1. 1-800-Flowers/1-800-Baskets
2. Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s
3. Cost Plus World Market
4. Hobby Lobby
5. Lowe’s Home Improvement
6. Sunglass Hut
7. A Bank and Men’s Wearhouse

… and so many more!

Don’t see your favorite store or brand listed? Search the FEI or let us know if not found. We hope the advent season is off to a wonderful start for you and your family!

Thanksgiving is officially here, and Faith Driven Consumer™ is excited to celebrate with our members and consider how we might be thankful for all the blessings we have in Christ. As Christians, we can draw from an infinite well of things to be thankful for. What God has done for us in creating, saving and adopting us as sons and daughters into the family of God is something we should be thankful for each and every day, not just during this holiday season. Furthermore, we live in a country of incredible privilege and opportunity and experience many blessings as citizens of this great nation. With that in mind, we are going to consider seven blessings we have, first and foremost, as Christians and also as Americans, and explore some ways to take full advantage of this occasion to be grateful and thankful.

Life. If you are reading this, then there is at least one thing you can be thankful for no matter what other struggles you may be enduring: life. Life is a miracle and a privilege. It comes directly from God, who the Scriptures describe as a God of life. We were made in the image of God, not to be furniture for the universe or robotic slaves to do the Creator’s bidding, but to truly live and experience nature and relationships with one another and with our Heavenly Father. Life is a blessing, but it’s a privilege we should use to turn around and praise God. As living image-bearers, we should use our lives and whatever health we’ve been blessed with, to worship God in thankfulness and gratitude for who He is and what He has done.

Family. One of the beautiful features of God’s design for creation is family. The family is the mechanism by which we fulfill the creation mandate to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. As such, we should take seriously the relationships we have with our family members and understand that we have the family we have because of God’s sovereign plan. That doesn’t mean that they are perfect or that we have to like them 24/7, but it does mean that God has placed them centrally in our lives and we should be thankful for the ways in which our families have supported us or been there for us when we needed help. This Thanksgiving we should put on a kingdom lens and see our families, not as the world does, but instead, as the blessing from the Lord that they are.

Church. While many of us have families we should be thankful for, we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge those who don’t have family. Whether because of death, abandonment or estrangement, many feel they have no family to cling to, rely on, enjoy or be thankful for. Fortunately, coming to faith isn’t just about going to heaven when you die; it’s also about being adopted into the family of God, becoming a son or daughter of the King, and joining with all believers as the bride of Christ. The church, as imperfect as it may be, is fundamentally a community, or, a family, of adopted sons and daughters who represent the body and bride of Christ. And whether you are a someone who has a loving and supportive family or are someone who doesn’t have a biological family, as Christians, we can be grateful for our spiritual family. We can take comfort in the fact that this family is everlasting and that our Father in Heaven will never leave us or forsake us.

Freedom. Freedom is something that we too often take for granted. But it’s something that we should understand is very rare, historically speaking. Statistically, most humans who have ever lived on earth have experienced oppression in one form or other. Living in a society where we have the freedoms outlined in our Constitution is a privilege we have grown so accustomed to, that we easily take it for granted. But we need to realize just how rare it is to live in a country that protects and defends these liberties. Most of our ancestors did not enjoy these same freedoms. But how often do we consider the freedom that we have and express our thankfulness and our gratitude for the liberty we enjoy in this country? How often do we thank those who have served or remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve it? This week let’s commit to pause and consider the blessings of freedoms we have in the U.S. and cherish it for the privilege it is, and the price paid for it.

Wealth. This one might be hard to swallow because you may be reading this article and not considered wealthy by American standards. However, chances are you live on more than ten dollars a day. And if so, then that is more than about half of the people around the world. The truth is that if you aren’t experiencing extreme poverty, then as an American, you are wealthy by global and historical standards. This Thanksgiving we should resist the temptation to give into of a commercialism that’s designed to get us to think about all the things we don’t have. Instead, we should consider our quality of life, the comforts we enjoy, and the quantity of stuff we already have and give God thanks for all that He has provided for us. How much thanksgiving would actually occur if we every time we saw a Black Friday advertisement, we stopped to thank God for all the things we already have? Let’s find out!

Food. This one’s easy. If your family is anything like mine, then you’ll all gather around a feast this Thursday that could feed an army. When you take a look around at all the turkey, stuffing, ham, biscuits, potatoes and various pies, take the time to thank God for the means to purchase the abundance of food before you. We should make sure to give thanks before the meal, but also maintain a posture of gratitude throughout the day as we try and put ourselves in the shoes of those who can’t afford such abundance or don’t have access to such nutritious and diverse foods.

Hope. But if you are someone who finds it difficult to turn your heart and your mind towards thankfulness because of the trials and struggles you are facing… And if you read the list above and don’t find many of these blessings familiar and, therefore, can’t resonate with them because life hasn’t been full of earthly blessings and comforts, then fix your eyes on the cross and the resurrection. If you can only be thankful for one thing this holiday season, let it be gratitude for the hope that we have in the Christ’s work on the cross, His victory over death in the resurrection, and His promise of restoration and redemption in eternity. We are not promised happy, healthy and comfortable lives here on earth. But we, as followers of Christ, ARE promised an inheritance and a place at the table in eternity with Him – as sons and daughters of the King. May we be thankful for all of the things God has given to us and done for us. But this Thanksgiving season, let us be thankful, above all else, for the hope that we have in Christ.

As we approach the Thanksgiving season, there is not a better psalm to have on our minds, our hearts, and our tongues than Psalm 34. We live in a crazy world full of conflict and turmoil, and it can be easy to forget that we have a God who is good and merciful and who loves us as a Father. We also live in a culture that desperately tries turn the Thanksgiving season into quite the opposite. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, we’ll be bombarded with endless advertisements and commercials designed to tell us we don’t have enough and need more stuff. As Christians, and especially as Faith Driven Consumers, we should resist this temptation and instead, turn our eyes on Him who is enough.

The words of the Psalm below can help us keep our eyes not on the craziness of this world, or the material goods and endless stuff it has to offer, but on our loving Father. He is sovereign over the entire world and everything in it, and provides us with everything we need while He works all things for our good and His glory. Be encouraged and ponder the greatness of our God this week as we read this beautiful psalm of David:

            [1] I will bless the LORD at all times;

                        his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

            [2] My soul makes its boast in the LORD;

                        let the humble hear and be glad.

            [3] Oh, magnify the LORD with me,

                        and let us exalt his name together!

            [4] I sought the LORD, and he answered me

                        and delivered me from all my fears.

            [5] Those who look to him are radiant,

                        and their faces shall never be ashamed.

            [6] This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him

                        and saved him out of all his troubles.

            [7] The angel of the LORD encamps

                        around those who fear him, and delivers them.

            [8] Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

                        Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

            [9] Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,

                        for those who fear him have no lack!

            [10] The young lions suffer want and hunger;

                        but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

            [11] Come, O children, listen to me;

                        I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

            [12] What man is there who desires life

                        and loves many days, that he may see good?

            [13] Keep your tongue from evil

                        and your lips from speaking deceit.

            [14] Turn away from evil and do good;

                        seek peace and pursue it.

            [15] The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous

                        and his ears toward their cry.

            [16] The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

                        to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

            [17] When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears

                        and delivers them out of all their troubles.

            [18] The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

                        and saves the crushed in spirit.

            [19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

                        but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

            [20] He keeps all his bones;

                        not one of them is broken.

            [21] Affliction will slay the wicked,

                        and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

            [22] The LORD redeems the life of his servants;

                        none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (ESV)

God is there for us in our times of trouble, and He promises to never forsake us. When we are downtrodden or weary, He comforts us and lifts us up. May we enter into this Thanksgiving season with gratitude for all that we have been given and praise our Father in heaven for His great works and His everlasting kindness toward us.

Veterans Day is only a few days away, and we at Faith Driven Consumer want to make sure we highlight its importance. As Americans, we owe a great debt to those servicemen and servicewomen who have served our country faithfully and have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to maintain our freedom and defend our values. Without their service, we would not have the prosperity we’ve enjoyed in this country for so long. However, honoring Veterans is not just something we should do as Americans, but it is also something that we as Christians are compelled to do because of our love for Christ and a desire to fulfil His mission in all the world. Service, sacrifice and suffering are not just nationalistic concepts, but we should understand and appreciate them as biblical and spiritual ones as well. And we should be motivated by the power of the Gospel and the love of Jesus to serve and sacrifice for this often-neglected community, and care for those who are suffering.

With this motivation, the FDC Team has come up with five ways to give back to our nation’s military veterans:

Get to know veterans in your community. Did you know that there are over 19 million military veterans in the United States? That means that wherever you live and whatever community you inhabit, there are certainly military vets near you. But unfortunately, many vets don’t have strong communities around them. Due to the high rates of PTSD among these former servicemen and servicewomen, and because of the difficulty transitioning from military life to civilian life, one of the worst problems in the veteran community is isolation. And while some of this stems from difficult psychological burdens that can’t be undone overnight, reaching out and maintaining a relationship can be invaluable in the lives of many vets who are experiencing isolation and the loss of a community and identity like the ones they had during their service. Taking the time to consider the veterans in your community and making a point to consistently reach out and spend time with them is one of the most effective and practical ways to serve this community.

Learn more about their service and their struggles. Another way in which you can give back is by equipping yourself to become more informed and better prepared to engage with veterans. Did you know that twenty-two veterans commit suicide in the U.S. every day? It’s a staggering statistic. For most of us, this is new and game-changing information. If this is true (and it is), then we as Christians should see this for the crisis that it is and become zealous for bringing the love of Jesus and the power of the Gospel to this heartbreaking issue in our nation. Learning more about what these men and women went through during service, and what struggles they commonly experience in transitioning back to civilian life can better equip us to serve, support and care for this neglected and struggling community.

Demonstrate your gratitude for their service. This one is as easy as it is obvious. Thank a veteran for his/her service. When is the last time you have thanked the veterans in your family or your community? When you pass by a vet wearing his black and gold “Vietnam Veteran” hat, are you intentional about thanking them for their service? It’s one of easiest ways to remind veterans that who they are what they did is appreciated and not forgotten. It means a lot to any of us, but especially to members of this specific community, to be given gratitude and honor for what they did and who they are. Let’s not neglect to simply say thank you more often.

Donate to veterans charities/ministries or meet practical needs. Whereas the last one was pretty easy, this one is a bit harder because it hits us where it hurts: our wallet. But as Faith Driven Consumers, we have committed to placing our finances under the lordship of Christ and not our own. So, one practical way to demonstrate this commitment is to our nation’s veterans who often struggle financially. Unfortunately, many of our nation’s veterans don’t receive sufficient financial support from our government. And, many have suffered physical injuries and developed psychological illnesses that prevent them from the same kind of employment opportunities the average civilian enjoys. All these factors contribute to a real and immediate financial need in the veteran community. As Faith Driven Consumers, we should be ready and willing to support these vets financially. This could be as simple as buying coffee or a meal for a vet, or as significant as helping out with rent or a mortgage payment. Or, you could simply donate to one of the many ministries or charities that are doing life-saving work in the veteran community. However you decide to give, and however much you give, you should consider financially supporting our veterans in this country.

Get involved with a veteran’s ministry. What if you don’t have much money to give but still want to be involved in caring for and supporting our vets? You should get involved with any of a number of ministries serving our veterans. There are many great ministries for veterans that you can involve yourself with, either locally or from afar. You only to seek them out. Chances are, there is a ministry near you where you can volunteer and find ways to get involved and make a difference. One such ministry that FDC has highlighted in the past is Fairways for Warriors. If you would like to learn more about this amazing ministry that uses golf to bring vets together and establish life-giving communities, then check out episode 9 – Faith and Veterans – on FDC’s Christians You Should Know podcast.

However you choose to honor and serve our vets this Veterans Day and beyond, we simply request that you do something. Our nation owes these brave men and women an enormous debt. And while a cup of coffee, a thank you, or a donation to a charity isn’t going to come close to repaying that debt, it can go a long way in demonstrating your gratitude for their service, while also opening up doors for sharing the love of Christ and the power of the Gospel. Let’s keep this important mission on our minds as we seek to honor, serve, support and care for our veterans this Veterans Day.

Less than a year ago, our team here at Faith Driven Consumer™ initiated an ambitious project as we developed the Faith Equality Index (FEI) and graded our very first brand. Our goal was to provide a large, and eventually comprehensive, database of all major brands and businesses, as well as their grade according to our objective criteria. Our team of researchers, employing the objective criteria of the FEI, sought to enable our members to become more informed and equipped to make faith driven buying decisions, use their dollars to purchase with a purpose, and make an impact on the marketplace, workplace and culture.

Just ten months later, we are thrilled to announce that we have reached more than ONE THOUSAND BRANDS on the FEI!

If you are someone who considers the spiritual and cultural implications of your dollars and their power in the marketplace, then you will benefit greatly from the FEI. The Faith Equality Index is now a significant tool in the arsenal of Faith Driven Consumers. Whether you are making decisions about which kind of automobile to buy, which internet provider to go with, or what toothpaste to switch to, the Faith Equality Index has the information to help you make the most faith driven decision.

All you have to do is take advantage of one of the many perks of being a Faith Driven Consumer: the FEI. Head on over to faithdrivenconsumer.com/fei and start exploring the more-than-one-thousand brands featured. You will be able to search by name, category, keyword (tag), or simply scroll through and find brands alphabetically. From there, you can find out whether they are compatible, acceptable or incompatible with the criteria representing our community’s values. You can also get a more detailed grade by scrolling over the brand’s card and discovering how they scored in each criterion. These objective criteria span across three categories: Marketplace, Workplace and Culture. They indicate how compatible with faith driven values a brand’s corporate actions have been in these respective areas.

The result of all of this research and information means one thing: Faith Driven Consumers are more informed and equipped to use their dollars to support businesses and brands that are willing to demonstrate a real commitment to our community and the values and beliefs we share. And the truly impactful part of the FEI is that it creates a positive feedback loop where businesses are incentivized to continue in faith driven corporate action while our community simultaneously maintains support for these brands and their in-kind actions. Together, with tools like the Faith Equality Index, we can affect change in our communities and make an impact for a more faith driven marketplace, workplace and culture.

Head on over to the Faith Equality Index to begin exploring and making a difference today!

Modern life is full of distractions. From social media to television (or streaming services), to video games and more, most our everyday lives in 2021 are inundated with attention-grabbing and time-wasting stuff. While these may be among the most prominent distractions we face in our highly technological and entertainment-obsessed culture, other distractions remain that are far more endemic to our modern lives that can keep us from enjoying, appreciating and even worshipping our surroundings.

God has made a beautiful world. And like an artist with a blank canvas, He has filled this world with a vast array of diverse, colorful and awe-inspiring wonders. He tells us in Genesis 1 and 2 about how, in His perfect wisdom and goodness, He undertook and carried out this beautiful plan of creation, bringing forth oceans, seas, land, sky, mountains, valleys and all of the living creatures that inhabit them. But the best part of this beautiful world is what we are told at the end of the creation narrative: that God made this world and all of its beauty for us.

God entrusted Adam and Eve with the privilege and responsibility of enjoying this creation, not only functionally, by cultivating the earth and being sustained through its produce, but also aesthetically, by enjoying the sheer beauty of creation as the gift that it is, and the reminder of God’s love for us.

If the world around us and all of its natural beauty is a reflection of God’s beauty, power and goodness, and was given to us specifically to enjoy and cultivate as one of the central tasks of image-bearers of God, how well are we doing? As Christians in our modern, everyday lives, how well are we appreciating nature and its beauty? How often are we looking at the blue sky of day or the starlit sky of night and pondering the greatness of our God? As the leaves are changing and beginning to fall, are we stopping to consider, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, that for everything there is a season and a time? Do we allow the diversity of creation to remind us that we serve a Triune God? When hiking through a forest teeming with life, do we remember that our God is the source of all things and is a God of life?

Earlier we mentioned that modern life has more distractions than just social media and entertainment. In our hyper-developed and urbanized society, many of us live and/or work in cities and suburban areas. And while living in these developed settings is not morally wrong or sinful in the least, it can prove to be yet another distraction of which we should be mindful as Christians. When our surroundings are dominated, day-in and day-out, by buildings, streets, signs and stoplights, we can easily forget the simple yet beautiful reminder we have of God’s goodness and His greatness: nature.

If we aren’t careful, we can become victims of our surroundings and miss out on God’s creation and all the many ways it can teach us, encourage us and revitalize us. We weren’t meant to be totally isolated from creation and the benefits with which this incredible gift provides us. We were meant to enjoy it and allow it to grow in us an awe and wonder at the beauty of our God, like a man who witnesses a remarkable work of art and considers the greatness of its maker.

If our surroundings can teach us, encourage us, or distract us, how are we as Christians going to make sure we don’t neglect God’s creation and ensure that we are appreciating and being encouraged by nature? There are countless ways to incorporate this practice into our lives. But what if you don’t like hiking? Or what if you want to travel the world and see more of God’s creation, but don’t have the budget to go on expensive trips?

While it’s true that there are many of us who have real obstacles to many of these options, if you’re serious about setting aside more time to be in nature, then you can certainly find practical ways to make it happen. If you don’t love hiking, try something less strenuous like a walk in the park. If your weekdays are too busy to do nature activities, try camping on the weekend. Or, even if you don’t want to go anywhere at all, go outside on a clear night, look at the stars and praise God as Creator and Designer of the universe.

There are many ways to avoid becoming too distracted by our urban surroundings. And just taking time to pause and contemplate the beauty of a hummingbird, or the greatness of an oak tree, or the color of autumn is half the battle.

However, if you are someone who has always wanted to travel and explore God’s creation outside of your immediate surroundings, then you should consider visiting one or more of the many National Parks in this beautiful country. You could take a trip to Niagara Falls, Yellowstone, or the Great Smoky Mountains without having to spend weeks of your time or thousands of dollars to experience it. Moreover, if this is something you’re interested in, Faith Driven Consumer™ (FDC),  would love to help you accomplish it. Through our FDC Marketplace we are currently offering our Marketplace Members multiple ways to save money on trips to U.S. National Parks. Just click here and check it out if you’re interested!

Psalm 19 (ESV) says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” So, whether you’re going to Yellowstone, Niagara, the local park or simply your backyard, make a point to consider the wonder and beauty of God’s creation. Be intentional about being in nature. Allow it to encourage you, awe you, and inspire you. Let it point you back to your Creator and stir you to praise and worship Him for His glory revealed in creation.

This week, we are excited to introduce the first ever “Psalm of the Month.” The Faith Driven ConsumerÔ blog will now feature one chapter in Psalms (or, one psalm) each month for us to consider together and ask how we might be encouraged, challenged or enriched through our study of it. We hope you will join us once a month as we explore the incredible Book of Psalms and grow in our faith together.

The first Psalm we have selected is Psalm 27. This Psalm was written by King David who experienced many triumphs and many tribulations. Ultimately, it was David’s faith in God that allowed him to persevere through numerous frightening and dangerous trials. Let’s read together the words of David… 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
⁹     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

¹³ I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!”

Many of us can resonate with words of King David in this psalm. There is no shortage of difficulty that this world throws at us, and we don’t have to look long or far to find the enemy prowling all around us. There are snares and traps all along our path as we consistently find ourselves in perilous circumstances, powerless to conquer or avoid them. But as followers of Christ, we can sing this psalm of David or take these words to heart as we remember that God is our stronghold and our defender. We can take courage because God is our shelter. Even if every evildoer comes against us or means us harm, or if every friend or family member forsakes us, God will never leave us or forsake us.

God demonstrated His trustworthiness, but also His power over sin, death and the evil one, when He defeated death on the cross and conquered the grave. And this same God who triumphed over all has promised us that He will see us through to the end if we only trust in Him and rely on His saving sacrifice on the cross. May we, together with King David, praise God as the stronghold of our lives. May we also have the faith and steadfastness to say to ourselves and to the world, “Whom shall I fear?”

Here at Faith Driven Consumer™ (FDC), we are invested in providing our Community and Marketplace members a consistent stream of new content on a weekly basis. We want FDC to be a place where conscientious and active Christian consumers regularly visit to become informed and equipped to be individuals who make an impact in their communities and culture. For this reason, we add new content to our website, update our databases, and provide you with the latest deals, all on a weekly basis. But if you are just visiting the website on occasion, or simply tuning in to read the blogs when they arrive each Tuesday (which we greatly appreciate), then you might be missing out on the various new content continuously being added to our Faith Equality Index (FEI), the website, social media platforms and more, along with the potential savings available through the FDC Marketplace.

If you are interested in staying up to date with a steady stream of offerings and content from FDC, we encourage you to sign up as a Community Member or Marketplace Member to start receiving our weekly Faith Driven Consumer Newsletter. With either membership, you’ll gain access to everything you need to know about the latest at FDC.

If you signed up, you will receive the FDC Newsletter via email every Tuesday with links and descriptions to various new content. First, we give you preview of the latest blog and the issues or questions it considers. Then, we will reveal  the latest additions to the FEI and find out which brands have been scored and how they stack up with their competitors. The Newsletter also includes a section we call the Podcast Spotlight. Here you will find specific podcasts that either the FDC Team has produced, like the Christians You Should Know podcast, or other podcasts that the team has found helpful, enriching or encouraging. It’s also a great way to discover new Christian podcasts that can deepen, bolster and grow your faith. Lastly, every Newsletter includes the latest deals on the FDC Marketplace. Here, you will find the steepest savings and discounts at top hotels and restaurants, and find ways to save on everyday purchases (things you would do anyway!) with your favorite brands.

If you’re not sold yet, then we’ve got one more reason for you to sign up… Faith Driven Consumer is just getting started. We’ve got big things on the horizon and have much more in store for our members in the future. As we grow and further build a community, we will continue to expand and offer exciting new opportunities that will benefit you. As a result, your involvement with this burgeoning community of Christian consumers accelerates our mission to make an impact in the marketplace, workplace and culture. If you want to be a part of this community and are excited about what’s in store for the future of FDC, the best place to start is by signing up here. You can join for free as a Community Member, join for free through a 7-day trial, or join for $5 per month or $25 per year as a Marketplace Member. You’ll then begin receiving our weekly Newsletter and have the opportunity to closely follow and benefit from the exciting new places we are headed together. We look forward to having you as a part of FDC!

We recognize that it’s a bit of a cliché to say that “time is flying by,” but if you’re like me, you may find yourself shocked that we have already entered the month of October. The sun is going down earlier, and the leaves are beginning to change. And although I am ready for cooler temperatures and the beautiful colors of the fall season, it seems that, in a sense, time has gotten away, and I find myself wondering where the year has gone. But the starkness of the change in seasons, and the many different things that accompany this transition, led us to consider the book of Ecclesiastes and the incredible wisdom it contains.

This week we are going to look at what may be a familiar passage from Ecclesiastes. This selection is one that considers the beautiful way in which God–in His wisdom, sovereignty and providence–guides us through different moments in our walk with Him. These moments we go through in life, which play out like scenes from a movie in which we are the main character, are characterized by all kinds of emotions and experiences that we encounter.

We’ve all gone through these times and could give countless examples of periods in our lives where we have experienced incredible joy, intense suffering, patient (or if you’re like me, impatient) waiting, loneliness, confusion, doubt or any of the countless other issues that can dominate our spiritual and emotional lives.

The writer of Ecclesiastes understands this uniquely human experience, as most certainly does the God who created all of humanity and took on human flesh Himself, which inspired this biblical writer. And if you read the entire book of Ecclesiastes, you will find it surprisingly, if not shockingly, honest. It’s a book that is not afraid to examine the human life and the human experience in a raw and transparent fashion. In the third chapter of this fascinating book, we find a passage that considers this specific feature of all our lives.

Let’s look at this passage together before we briefly consider a handful of conclusions about the text and how we can apply it to our lives as we enter into a new season…

[1] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

[2] a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

[3] a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

[4] a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

[5] a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

[6] a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

[7] a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

[8] a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV)

As we see the leaves begin to change colors and fall to the ground, and as darkness arrives sooner in the evening and the cooler temperatures make us reach for our favorite sweatshirt, let us remember that God is the one who orders our lives. He is the one that the causes the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening. He sets the planets in motion so that the earth can be nourished and sustained through the cycle of the seasons. He is in control and has given everything a time and a purpose.

But if you’re reading this and find yourself going through a difficult time that is defined by experiences and emotions far more serious than a change in weather or seasons… and if the leaves falling is the least of your concerns as you find yourself in the trenches of spiritual warfare, or relational strife, financial burden or physical suffering, remember the words of Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season, and a time…” Be encouraged that this difficult time is but one fleeting vignette in the greater story of God’s grand plan of redemption and restoration.

The nature of this life, and the brokenness that accompanies living it, is such that we will experience wild swings where rivers of joy and blessings can quickly dry up and give way to deserts of loneliness and suffering. And the writer of Ecclesiastes is brutally honest about this being an inevitable facet of the human experience, and one that we can’t just ignore or avoid because we are Christians. But just two verses later, he delivers this beautifully hopeful reminder: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Eccl. 3:11)

We can’t always know God’s reasoning for allowing us to go through difficult times. It’s often unclear how the suffering and the many trials and tribulations we encounter are for our good and for God’s glory, as the Apostle Paul says in the book of Romans. But what we can know is that we have a good God who has prescribed a proper time and place for all things and has set eternity in our hearts. And we can trust, with assurance, that one day the distant memories of the hardships we face in this life will turn to rejoicing at the revelation of the heavenly purposes God was bringing about through the struggles that we couldn’t make sense of at the time. And as we reflect on the kind of moment in which we find ourselves right now, whether it be good, bad or somewhere in between, let us draw from the wisdom of Ecclesiastes. As creatures with “eternity [in our] hearts,” let us also place eternity over our eyes as we seek to have a heavenly perspective. Then we will have the strength and wisdom to remain steadfast, content and hopeful as we encounter the many seasons life has in store for us all.

Last week, we looked at Jeremiah chapter 29 and asked what the Scriptures might tell us about how God’s people should live as “exiles.” We considered the disturbing erosion of Judeo-Christian values in our nation, the race toward complete decadence in our culture, and the very real prospect of Christians becoming marginalized and even – in 21^st century ways – “persecuted” for our beliefs in the not-too-distant future. And while we lament these social, political and cultural shifts in our nation and stand against these trends, we must face the realization that we are becoming exiles in our own land. If this is true, and if we are only facing the beginning of this rising tide of anti-Christian influence in our nation, then we must accept our impending “exiled residence” here as Christians.

So, what are we going to do about it?

As Christians, we view Scripture as the inspired Word of God, which is living and active, true in all that it teaches, and applicable in every part of our lives. In light of this, last week we considered God’s message, through the prophet Jeremiah, to the Israelites during the Babylonian exile. Like the Israelites, we were also shocked to learn the contents of this message and the instructions it entailed. In response to the exile, displacement, injustice and suffering they were experiencing, the counter-intuitive message summarized was: “Build houses. Plant gardens. Have babies. Live well and seek the welfare of the city.” (Jer. 29: 5-7, paraphrased)

After noting the bizarre nature of this message, we began to examine the main thrust of God’s command and arrived at two themes to which this message can be boiled down: 1. Trust the process. 2. Trust the Author. First, let’s look at what exactly we mean by trust the process.

Trust the Process. This phrase has recently become popular in professional sports as owners, administrators and players alike have encouraged fans who are unhappy with the current state of their favorite teams’ performances to trust the process. This means you believe there is a greater plan in the works, and you trust that it is right, good and will eventually produce favorable outcomes, even if the immediate circumstances seem to call for a different response.

So, what is this “process” that we as Christians should trust? God reveals that “process” to the Israelites through Jeremiah. And although He lists off several commands (none of which seem to make a lot sense at first glance), ultimately, they boil down to at least two principles we can identify: multiply and cultivate. Think about it… God tells them to get married and have kids. He says to build houses, in which these new families will live. He instructs them to plant and cultivate gardens that yield fruits and vegetables for nourishment and sustenance. And finally, He says to seek the welfare of the city so that the city and its inhabitants may prosper. In other words, multiply and cultivate.

Does this sound familiar? Does the idea of going forth and cultivating and multiplying sound like something you’ve heard before? That’s because you have heard it before. As bizarre as a set of instructions as it seems at first, God is not telling His people anything new. In fact, He’s giving them the same command He gave the very first humans to ever walk the earth: Adam and Eve.

In Genesis 1 and 2, God lays out what we have been calling the “process” for humans. He gives us our identity and our purpose and lays out the principles by which we should live our lives as humans. In Genesis chapter 1, after creating man in His image, God tells Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”  This is known as the “creation mandate,” and it serves as the central purpose clause in the creation narrative. But just a few verses later, in Genesis chapter 2, we learn that this creation mandate included more than just a command to have children. In these verses we learn that the first humans, Adam and Eve, were created and then placed in a very special kind of context: a garden. And with this special placement came an accompanying responsibility: to cultivate and maintain the garden.

In these verses, found in the first passages of the entire bible, we find the all-important mandate for mankind. We find our first “great commission.” We find our purpose in this life and the instructions for how to live… We are to be people of life. In everything that we do, we should be bringing life to the world around us. Whether it’s raising families, cultivating gardens, establishing order, or bringing light from darkness and providing purpose to our surroundings and circumstances, these are our standing orders. This is the process we are called to trust, embody and live-out in whatever situation we may found ourselves.

Before God began to create the universe, there was only darkness, emptiness, chaos and lifelessness. After God worked, there was light, fullness, order and life. The Israelites found themselves in a dark and broken situation. And they cried out to God to deliver them from their suffering and their exile. And while God assured them that one day He would in fact bring them out of exile, until then, He instructed them to do just as He had commanded Adam and Eve: multiply and cultivate. Just as we were made in God’s image, we are called to reflect His image by imitating His work in creation. In order to trust the process and embody that process in our everyday lives, we have to imitate God’s actions and character, which brings us to the other side of the coin…

Trust the Author. If, in order to live our lives by this process, we have to imitate God, and in order to imitate God, we have to know what He is like, then understanding God’s character and God’s behavior becomes paramount for the Christian. And it’s here that we find that not only can we trust the process, but we can also trust the Author. Since our purpose is simply (notice I didn’t say “easily”) to imitate the creative and life-bringing nature of God’s character and actions, then the “process” is truly only as good as the Author behind it. But the beauty of Genesis 1-3 (and indeed, the whole witness of Scripture), is that it reveals the incredible character of God, and the inarguable trustworthiness of God.

We learn that God is a God of life and of goodness. We learn that He brings light from darkness and order out of chaos. We learn that He is the source of all meaning, beauty, purpose and value in the world. He sustains and “upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). And not only does He do all these great things, but, in Genesis 3, we learn of His defining feature: His love. He reveals the depth of this love for His creation through the grace and mercy He shows Adam and Eve, and His promise to one day restore and repair what they had broken in their sin. Finally, we find out in the New Testament the magnitude of this promise as God’s master plan of redemption and restoration culminates in the single greatest act of love conceivable: this very God became man. He took on the frail and fallen form of man, lived the life we couldn’t live, died the death we deserved, and rose again by the power of God – all so that we could be redeemed and live forever with Him.

Though times are difficult, and every day it seems our country and our culture strays further from God and His plan for us, we don’t have to despair. Nor should we vengefully wage war against the those who would see us marginalized and impotent. Instead, let us cling to our purpose and the mandate given to us from the beginning. May we, even as exiles, trust the process because we can trust the Author. And as we do, let our every action and word be about multiplying and cultivating life in a broken, hostile and dark context. Then, we only have to do as Jesus says in the sermon on the mount… “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”