About 5 months ago, I wrote a post in the beginning of January about New Years, how people were making goals and fueling ambitions to accomplish things. You could feel the energy around of people making a new push to get things done. In the middle of February and into March there was a different vibe. We were experiencing a long and bitter cold winter. There was something happening called the Polar Vortex, and sub freezing temperatures. And each day it seemed like a new ice or snow storm was here or predicted to arrive within the 5 day forecast. Our emotions and spirits felt burdened. When you are in the middle of something, you can’t see the beginning or the end, and it makes the mind race and work hard pondering the unknown. We can become worried or stressed. It’s important to take a step back and try to understand time as God does. It’s important to try and accept that God has a plan for the beginning and end of things. Daniel 2:21

He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.

God is sovereign and is in charge, and has a plan. It’s important to have faith that God’s plan is a good one. Without that faith in God’s goodness and his plan, we worry and become anxious. Time is a concept draws out many of these lessons that are Biblical, and when we experience the changing of seasons, we can use that as an opportunity to focus again on what the passing of time is telling us.

Today we’re about to reach the beginning of a different season. Technically summer starts on the summer solstice. But in this part of the country, summer unofficially begins on or after Memorial Day weekend. As the summer is starting up, and school is winding down, there’s a whole other vibe that can be felt. I love the summer. There’s a freedom that comes from the summer. Even though I haven’t been in school or had a 3 month long break in many years, I still associate the warm summer days with that long vacation. I remember looking at that long vacation like a big gift, which meant having more time to do the things I want to do. In this time of year, one of my favorite things to talk to kids about is what they plan to do once they are out of school on summer break. Some talk about how they might travel for vacations or to visit family, others go to camps or summer classes, and others talk about stuff they like to do at home. But they all seem ready for school to be over. I like to live vicariously or indirectly through them. Why is this important? The kingdom of God is eternal, but on this earth, we experience a brief amount of time. James 4:14

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes

Since the time is short, we need to learn how to make the most of it. Our lives are compared to a mist or a vapor. Something very brief. That can be seen either good or bad.

Remember, we live in a fallen world in which we experience imperfection, pain, and suffering. It’s a blessing from God that we don’t have to spend an eternity on this messed up planet. Here we experience the direct and indirect consequences of sin. And it’s ALSO a blessing that Heaven will last forever, and there is no time there. Because that’s the place where we fully experience God. That’s the place where he comforts us and we worship Him. That’s the place where there will be no pain or suffering. Knowing the differences between heaven and earth, and knowing which place we’re at now helps us appreciate that time is a gift from God. Seasons in life are a gift from God. Let’s read some scripture Ecclesiastes 3:

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

If you are familiar with hippie music from the 1960’s, these verses might seem very familiar to you. Pete Seeger wrote a song called “turn turn turn” that was made very popular by The Byrds. But what makes those lyrics so catchy, poignant and emotional is that they are truth. That song quotes these verses in Ecclesiastes, written by one of the most wise men in history, King Solomon. Since it is part of canon, we believe that Solomon was inspired by the Spirit of God to write the Word of God. We know the Word of God to be unchanging. The word of God is not something that expires or goes out of date. Some people believe Ecclesiastes was written around 935 BC, based on historical accounts of when Solomon was king. If that’s the case, that’s roughly 2900 years or so before Pete Seeger wrote his song, and about 2950 years before today. But even after nearly 3000 years it’s still very relevant. The verses are about the passing of time and the changing of seasons. These things affect us emotionally. Psychologists have discovered emotional and mental disorders based on seasons, and they called it Seasonal Affective Disorder. People will act or feel normally for most of the year but one season really brings out feelings of depression. The classic manifestation for SAD is a winter depression, but there are some people that feel that way during the summer. The point is, human beings are affected by their environment. Sometimes we don’t like to admit it. We like to think we are super spiritual or mentally above it, but when we’re honest with ourselves, the passage of time profoundly affects how we perceive the world. We like to think since we are spiritual Christians, the changing of our environment or the weather doesn’t change us, but that’s actually unbiblical! Only God is unchanging, and when we pretend that we are unchanging like God, we’re giving ourselves one of God’s characteristics. We are constantly changing, and we are being changed by the environment that we’re placed in.

We are creatures that have been living in an ecosystem that’s part of an environment on the surface of a planet. People who believe in evolution understand this well, but sometimes we as Christians don’t acknowledge it. We should. It’s Biblical. God created the heavens and the Earth. God created us, and God placed us in this environment on this terrain with this atmosphere surrounded by these nitrogen and oxygen and carbon dioxide gases that mixed together make up the air we breathe, at the certain pressure and humidity and all sorts of characteristics and conditions that we can survive under. When I was younger, I kept an aquarium. I had to know whether I could buy fresh water fish, or salt water fish. I picked the stones and plants that could exist in the bowl. I learned what kinds of food the fish ate. I learned what temperatures and pH for the water was appropriate for the fish. If the filter broke or something happened, the environment changed and that affected the fish. It’s the same thing with us and our planet. When scientists study our planet and the ecosystem that surrounds us, they realize the delicate balance and complexity that exists. The only difference between us and atheists is they think it’s all by random chance spread across billions of years, and we think it’s planned, directed, and even maintained by a Creator. But today’s sermon isn’t about creationism versus evolution, it’s about how we experience the changing world that we live in, and how this environment affects our outlook and perception. Because whether or not you believe in God, you have to admit that we are creatures in a finely tuned environment on the surface of a spinning globe. Patterns emerge in this environment and those of us who recognize them benefit. Jesus warned people that they can tell when the summer is approaching by the twigs and leaves of the fig tree. Farmers had to acknowledge when the right time was to plant seeds. When’s the rainy season or the dry season? When does the cold come? When is it bright? There are patterns. So what do we need to know?

The first thing to know when a season changes is that to enter into a new season, you must put the prior or past season behind you. In Ecclesiastes you see that there’s a time to tear down and a time to build. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather them. When we experience change, sometimes we need to get rid of old things before putting on the new. In Matthew 9-17, Jesus said that you need to cast away old wineskins, and pour new wine into a new wineskin. We need to take off our dirty old sinful behaviors and put on or be clothed in Christ. The first thing to do is to subtract something, or remove something before building something new. When we reach a new season it’s good to ask ourselves what it’s time to get rid of or take off. Something that we need to be prepared to get rid of is the Past. People can dwell in the past, and while there are many lessons to learn from the past, we don’t want to live our lives like a person driving and only watching the rear view mirror. They will crash. Isaiah 43:18-19 warned about this

18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.

God is doing new things in all of our lives, and we need to be ready for them. The Pharisees in the time of Jesus were living in their past. They were living in their old covenant, and many of them missed the coming of the messiah. Philippians 3:13

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

When we arrive to summer, we want to make sure we aren’t bringing unnecessary baggage or burdens from the past that no longer apply. As Christians, we know that the Law can be a burden to us. And we’re pretty happy to be free from the requirements of the law. However look in hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Not only do we have to cast off the burden of the law, but we need to throw off the sin that can hinder us. That means we need to cast off the laws, but also cast off the sin that following the laws would help to protect us from. We should be working for holiness. Look at the language. Paul said he’s straining for what’s ahead. The author of Hebrews is throwing off sin so that he can run with perseverance. It sounds like hard work. Which brings me to my next lesson for summer. Look at Proverbs 6:6-8

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

The next lesson we can learn as summer approaches is to Prepare! Even the ant prepares and is not lazy. It gathers provisions and stores them up for other times. The summer is unique because the days are longer, so there’s more time of daylight to get things done. Even though have a full time job, and I don’t have that long summer break like students and teachers do, I tend to get more done in the summer months.

So what does the season of summer mean to everybody? For some farmers and gardeners, there is more produce to pick and crops to harvest. For those of us who aren’t into gardening, the summer lends itself well for practicing hospitality. There are more opportunities for cookouts, meetings with friends and family, and various social events. Be prepared to be the salt and the light in these situations. Be prepared to speak Biblical truth in a loving way. 2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

For those of you with kids, your kids will have a lot of free time coming soon. There will be plenty of time for activities. There will be plenty of things you can do now to prepare for the time ahead.

When I was a kid, I remember in the summers I had more time to pursue interests and hobbies. Whether it’s sports, music, dance, reading, or something else, make sure to encourage your kids to stay busy with different things. Let them explore things their own pace, and allow them to immerse themselves in the things they love. Give them the resources they need to develop what they want to.

It’s also important to make time for them to work on the things they don’t want to work on. The things they struggle with. There’s something that’s been studied and tested called summer learning loss. School students lose their academic aptitude over the summer, and the ones who lose the most will struggle in the next school year. The good thing about summer is there’s a lot of time available to go at a more relaxed pace and make sure that your kids don’t lose or forget too much.

So now that we’ve talked about preparing. What else is there to learn from seasons? Let’s go back to ecclesiastes 3:1-4

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

We can learn from this verse that even though everyone shares the time, the time isn’t used by all the same people the same way. There’s a time to be born and a time to die. Some are being born now as we speak, while others are dying. For some people, right now is a time to build, while for another person today is the day to tear something down. Everyone is at a different stage in their journey. This is very important to think about. When we understand that, we become more compassionate. It helps us to love our neighbors. Verse 4, there’s a time to weep and laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. We can be cruel or insensitive to dance while somebody else is mourning. Even if it is a time for us with great joy, and we want to dance, we need to understand what others are going through. Read Romans 12:14-16

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another.

The Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn. When it’s someone’s time to mourn, it is actually not appropriate to rob them of that time. Our job is not to always cheer people up. Even if it is a time or season for joy in our lives, we need to adjust our demeanor in respect of others. It’s part of loving your neighbor like yourself. We shouldn’t down play people’s suffering by approaching them with joy. Just like it’s mean to laugh at a funeral, the opposite is also true. It’s rude to mourn with those who are rejoicing. I need to watch this, because I can get negative sometimes. And the worst part for me is it fuels my negativity to see others happy when I am miserable. I ask “How could they be happy when I am here going through something!” If I start mourning or moping or bringing up something bad, in order to rain on other people’s parade, I am not serving them out of love. I am being selfish because I want their attention more than I want them to be happy or rejoicing. I need to check myself sometimes to see if I really need to be ministered to, or if I am just looking for attention. That being said, if you are seriously going through a time where you are dealing with something negative, a person who isn’t that season should be willing and able to minister to you.

We need to be aware of the different seasons of the people around us for the purposes of compassion and to minister to them, and serve one another. However, if we spend too much time focusing on someone else’s season, we can lose our own focus. This is dangerous because if the other person is in a more joyful season or one that we remember fondly, we can sacrifice contentment in our own situation. Biblical contentment happens when we don’t envy or covet someone else’s season. In 1 Timothy 6:6 Paul explains that When we have Godliness together with contentment we have great gain.

Our final lesson for the day? Most of the things I’ve said are about preparing, ministering, moving forward, but another lesson is central to being a Christian. Rest. It wouldn’t be summer if we didn’t allow ourselves some time in this season for rest. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Summer can be a time for striving, Forgetting what’s behind and Straining ahead, casting off burdens and running the race, but Jesus also talks about a true rest that is being in Christ. When you look at it on the surface, it seems like they contradict, but in reality, they should be balanced. Is Jesus’ yoke easy? Is his burden light? Look at what he endured on the cross! In Gethsemane Jesus begged the father to take the cup away if it was possible. But what was endured by Jesus paid for the rest in which we now live. Jesus burden IS light, not for him, but for us. Jesus’ yoke IS easy, not for him but for us. And because of what he did on the cross, we have a freedom that nobody else of any other belief or religion has. We have the freedom to rest. To rest from our works. We have a Sabbath Rest to honor God without the fear of condemnation for our sins. I wrote about the sabbath rest, if you want to read further. We have the freedom to be dead to those sins that enslaved us for so long. When the son sets us free, we are free indeed! Enjoy that freedom this summer.