Summer Is Here

And... the livin' is easy, right? Ah yes, summer is here, time for vacations, grill outs, and walks in the park. Is it the most wonderful time of the year? For many it is. A long-awaited, most-anticipated, greatly enjoyed time of refreshment on the yearly calendar. What will you fill the summer we are in right now with? There are lots of activities that call out for our time as these 3 months run quickly by us. But where does our first love stand, in a list of so many options we fill our time with? Do we forget the One who has made us, redeemed us, and granted us a glorious creation to enjoy? What about the One who we live, move, and have our being in? These are all good questions to contemplate as these leisurely summer days fly by.

At Grace Community Church we provide a read through the Bible in a year plan, a good way to cover everything the Lord has to share with us in an ongoing basis. And above and beyond that, you can pick that sacred book up anytime to find insight for living, strength for the long haul, and the ability to think and act biblically in your everyday lives. With so many other things that make themselves available for us to spend our time on, we sure need to stay close to the Word of life to continue to be a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and whatever he does he prospers. In Matthew 7:17 Jesus states, “Every good tree bears good fruit." Jesus states in John 15:8,"My Father is glorified in this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."

The morning is a good place to start, before you hear anybody else’s voice, hear the voice of God heard through the reading of the Scriptures. Knowing that Psalm 119:105,"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." What could be a better way to find your way throughout the day than to have it illumined by the very words of God first thing, the One who knows the way you take, knowing that without Him you can do nothing. The Psalmist desires in Psalm 143:8,"Let me hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for I trust in you, teach me the way in which I should walk, for to you I lift up my soul." Let the glory of God fill your soul as you begin your day, practicing the presence of God, knowing such things like He is instructing you and teaching you in the way which you should go, giving counsel to you with His eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)

The Apostle Paul states in Col.3:1-2,"If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the Earth." Don't let summer make your soul shrivel, summer is just a foretaste of what the beauty of heaven will be, it shouldn't be a substitute for it. If we stray too long from the Word, we will lose interest in it, be more vulnerable to sinning, and may suffer a great loss of interest in worship and gathering to be with God's chosen ones on Sundays and other church events. So let that wonderful summer sun remind you continually of the Son of Righteousness, the Light of the World, the One who has shown you the truth, so that the truth would set you free. So, enjoy the summer, have a blast on vacations, bask in the joy of a picnic, but remember the One who is the First and the Last, the One whose understanding has no limits, the One who is the indescribable gift, the abundant giver of life, that we might have life in Him, and thus have it abundantly.
Have a blessed summer,

Elder Randy Slak
07/09/2024