How do we finish our summers well? What are some practical ways that we can use the rest of this time for spiritual growth and sharing God’s love? Here are five Bible verses to wrap up summer as a family.
Summer is quickly coming to a close and school is getting ready to start back. As we conclude this season of rest and time with family, there is an anticipation for the upcoming fall.
How do we finish our summers well? What are some practical ways that we can use the rest of this time for spiritual growth and sharing God’s love? Here are five Bible verses to wrap up summer as a family.
1. Psalm 46:10 - “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'”
Have you been still this summer? If not physically, has your soul found rest in Jesus? As summer comes to a close, take out some intentional time with the Lord and spend it resting in His presence. Seek Him and ponder how there are seasons of work and seasons of harvest.
In this time that may have been slower, how have you seen God work? Reflect on what He has done in your heart, your family, and among the nations. Thank Him for His continual goodness and daily faithfulness. Confess any ways that you missed opportunities this summer and ask God’s Spirit to give you direction for the rest of this time. Ask Him to help you to find stillness each day in Him.
2. 1 John 4:7-8 - “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
How have you been able to love others this summer? Whom has God placed in your life to care for and minister to in your home and community? Jesus calls us to love others with the love that comes from God. When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can have the ability to love with the love of the Spirit. We need to show His great love to others. There is a broken and hurting world that needs to hear and know the message of eternal life in Christ.
How are living missionally this summer? It is not too late to start caring for that neighbor, serving with that organization, or befriending new people in your community. Also, it is vital that we lean on the Lord to love and minister to those in our own home. If we love outside of our family but neglect and discourage our own family members, we miss the mission God has entrusted of those who are closest to us.
3. Matthew 20:16 - “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Summer can easily put us into a selfish mode. We enjoy the freedoms and the more flexible schedules. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves making an idol out of ourselves or our comfort. In a world where everyone wants to be first, Jesus calls us to be last. He Himself came not to be served, but to serve.
How can you practice and implement service in your home and city? It is vital that we are inviting the next generation to model their lives after Christ, and one of these areas is service. Whether it is teaching siblings to share and serve one another, or serving those in need together, how can you make this part of your daily or weekly routine right now?
4. Jeremiah 17:8 - “For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit."
How have you been rooting yourself deeper in the Bible and in your faith this summer? Are there any ways in which you have been refreshed spiritually? Because Jesus is our Living Water, we never have to be spiritually thirsty again. For the remainder of this season, remember that you are rooted in Christ and fully His once you have accepted Him as Savior. You do not have to live in fear, but get to walk in confidence.
We are steady and growing in Him like a tree. If you feel stagnant in your faith, make use of these last weeks as a spiritual reset. Ask the Holy Spirit for newfound passion to spend time with Him and His Word.
5. Psalm 119:11- “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Lastly, are you learning Scripture in your home? We have been given the Word of God. We have full access to knowing His messages, but when we are not reading, we only have what we have memorized with us. Psalm 119 encourages us to hide God’s Word in our hearts; this can even prevent us from sinning. The Word of God is powerful and active. The most useful thing next to reading the Bible and applying it, is memorizing it.
The Bible is a comfort to us as believers and in seasons that are slower and different, God wants to teach us new concepts in His timeless Scriptures. Have you been listening to Him this summer? How can you be learning Bible verses on your own, with your family, or with friends? Take the next few weeks to not only soak in the Word, but to learn it and hide it in your heart.
As we all wrap up the summer, we can intentionally find time to be still, we can love others, we can serve those around us, be steady and growing in Christ, and hide God’s Word in our hearts. God cares about this space and this time, and we do not want to see it fly by without having used it well for His glory. May we embrace the rest of this beautiful season.
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Photo credit: Unsplash/Toby John Varhaugvik
