Summer. It’s finally here! It’s a season we look forward to for many different reasons. For students, it means a break from school. For fans of sun and warm weather, it may mean a trip to the pool or the beach. For many families, it can be a time to travel, whether that be just across the state, across the country, or maybe even across the globe. Summer is a season we treasure, but it’s often a time when our regular schedules and daily routines are traded in for beach trips and family vacations.
Just as our other routines and disciplines can suffer over the summer, our spiritual disciplines can be tested and challenged as well. The Bible plays a critical role in our spiritual formation as followers of Jesus, and it’s important we are deliberate about staying grounded in God’s Word throughout the year. Here are five tips to help you stay connected to scripture throughout your summer.
1. Understand the power and importance of scripture.
“All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 CSB)
When we’re making important decisions in our lives, we often ask God to speak to us so that we can know His will. Here at Transformation Church, we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. If you want to hear from God, reading the Bible is one of the best ways to do that. If we want to know who God is, what God values, who God loves, and how we should live, we need to look no further than the Bible. When you understand the importance of scripture, you’ll be more inclined to read it. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how truly powerful and important His Word is.
2. Continue to worship corporately at Transformation Church and watch our sermons online when you can’t attend in person.
Our church is committed to teaching scripture as we seek to lift high the name of Jesus. The sermons preached in our church by Pastor Derwin, our teaching team, and our guest speakers will be filled with God’s Word. Our TC teaching team is deliberate and intentional in keeping God’s Word central in our corporate worship and Sunday services.
3. Commit scripture verses to memory.
“I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11 CSB)
Meditating on the Word of God is vital to our spiritual health. Let’s be real though; we can’t spend 24 hours a day with our noses in our Bibles. Committing scripture to memory can be a helpful way of hiding God’s Word in our hearts and carrying them with us as we work, play, and rest. Consider memorizing a verse or two a week and watch how the Lord will use it to transform your walk with Him. You might even consider making this a family activity. Write the verse down and post it somewhere in your house where everyone will see it. Practice the verse together each day during dinner time.
4. Be realistic in setting goals.
When it comes to reading the Bible, it can be tempting to set lofty, overly ambitious goals that sound good initially but prove tough to maintain daily. As followers of Jesus, it is great to have a hunger for the Word of God, but it can be far better for us to set smaller, reasonable goals for Bible reading that allow us to build daily consistency. This is truly a spiritual discipline where quality trumps quantity. We’ll usually benefit far more from spending time meditating on a few verses or a short passage, rather than rushing through several chapters at a time, simply to tick a box on our checklist. God’s Word is rich with His love and His plan for us. We can savor small bites rather than rushing through it. Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).
5. Pick up Transformation Church’s summer Bible study guide.
Our Spiritual Formation team has assembled a scripture reading plan called A High and Lofty View of God to aid you in staying connected with God’s Word this summer. This guide has been carefully crafted with your summer in mind. Each week we will explore a different name for God that we find in scripture and how these unique names tell us about His character. We hope you will be encouraged, challenged, and pointed towards God’s matchless love for His children.
The summer can be host to some of the best memories of our lives, but it’s important we are aware of the unique challenges it can present in our walk with Jesus. If we want to live a life that is deeply formed in Jesus and His love, we must be deliberate about spending time in the Bible. This world can make it difficult to stay connected to scripture, especially during summertime. Be encouraged though, Transformers! Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world! God loves you, and He has a plan for your summer.
