"Don't Waste Your Summer"

"I'd like to challenge you as you enter into this summer to be intentional with your days as you continue to press into Christ. Don't give into a vacation mindset that robs you of your joy in Christ by neglecting your Bible reading and prayer. Take a vacation, by all means, but be intentional about it, recognize that rest, be it from school or work or whatever else you have going on, is but a shadow of the rest that we have in Christ. Take this summer as an opportunity to display to a lost and dying world where you joy is found, to say "knowing Christ is worth more to me than anything this world can offer," or with Paul, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."

Here are a handful of ways we can do just that this summer. If these are helpful, great, if not, God will direct you to what's best for you:
-Press into God! In every way that you can think of, press into Him!
-Set aside a day or a weekend to unplug, get away to be with God. Maybe have your Bible and a journal.
-Set a goal to memorize a large portion of Scripture.
-Pick a couple of good books to read this summer. Set a big goal, grab a some big, weighty, serious, Christ-exalting book to get through this summer with the goal to know God better.
-Serve someone. Could be the nursing home we went to last year, or a family crisis center, or serving a family in need that you're aware of.
-Serve one another. Pursue times for biblical fellowship with one another. Men, take this opportunity to lead out and serve the ladies. Strive to outdo one another in serving and in good works!
-Share the gospel with someone! I can think of no better way to spend my summer than sharing the gospel and getting to be a part of people coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ!

John Piper wrote, "Jesus Christ is refreshing, but flight from him into Christless leisure makes the soul parched. At first it may feel like freedom and fun to skimp on prayer, and neglect the Word. But then we pay: shallowness, powerlessness, vulnerability, to sin, preoccupation with trifles, superficial relationships and a frightening loss of interest in worship and the things of the Spirit."

Make the best use of your time this summer. Rest, to be sure, have fun and celebrate God's great creation with friends and family. But press into Him, the author and creator of all these things, seek to grow in your communion with our Savior and to grow in godliness. Above all else, exult in his glory and proclaim his name!