Every summer we get the opportunity to take the Youth Group on a summer retreat. This trip is normally just a few days where we try to get out of town and get the kids out of their normal routine. As Tim and I prepared content and schedule for the retreat there was a unique time that arose in the schedule. This time was a pre-breakfast devotional time that we made optional as it did entail having to get up earlier to attend. We decided I would lead this time for whoever decided to come.
As I began preparing for what I was going to talk about in this devotional, the Lord really put on my heart just to be real and upfront with the youth on what my devotionals have looked like here recently. I shared what the Lord had been speaking into my life: living to a biblical standard in all aspects of life. The big emphasis has been on living my life to a standard with the Bible being my ultimate standard; making sure the activities of my daily life reflect my standards as a follower of Christ! It was a perfect time to communicate with the kids how having a daily devotional or quiet time with the Lord can be a very practical way to set a biblical standard in their lives. As seasons of life change, as the world around you changes, if your daily standard is having a time set aside with the Lord, all the other things can be hectic, but that time is set apart and different.
As I was able to share this with the kids who attended, many responded to it with much eagerness and intrigue as to how they could map out their own daily time with the Lord. It’s my prayer that we all would set that standard of having daily time with the Lord in our lives as we look to Jesus who initially set the standard we read about in Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
~~ Collin Sherrill