7 Bible Verses for Finding Spiritual Renewal this Summer

7 July 2023

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Spiritual Growth

Hey there! It’s Cheri Strange here, and I am excited to dive into some incredible Bible verses with you today. As summer unfolds, it’s the perfect time to experience spiritual renewal and draw closer to our Heavenly Father. So, grab your Bible and let’s discover seven powerful verses that can inspire and transform our lives during this season of renewal.

Verse 1 for Spiritual Renewal: Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

David, the author of this psalm, understood the importance of a renewed heart. He recognized that true spiritual renewal begins with God’s transforming work within us. As we surrender our hearts to Him, He creates in us a clean and steadfast spirit, paving the way for a fresh start.

Verse 2 for Spiritual Renewal: Romans 12:2 (NIV)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

In this verse, Paul encourages us to resist the pressures and conformity of the world. Instead, we are called to renew our minds through God’s truth and wisdom. By immersing ourselves in His Word, our thoughts and perspectives align with His perfect will, leading to a profound transformation.

Verse 3 for Spiritual Renewal: Acts 3:19 (NIV)

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

Peter’s words to the people in Acts remind us that true spiritual renewal requires repentance and a turning toward God. When we confess our sins and seek His forgiveness, He wipes our slates clean. And that brings times of refreshing into our lives. God’s grace renews us, lifting the weight of guilt and offering us a fresh start.

Verse 4 for Spiritual Renewal: Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

“Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Amidst the struggles and challenges we face, we can find solace in the unchanging love and faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. These verses remind us that His mercies are new every morning, providing us with the strength and hope we need. As we embrace His faithfulness, our spirits are renewed day by day.

Verse 5 for Spiritual Renewal: 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become new creations in Him. He replaces our old selves, burdened by sin and brokenness, through the transformative power of His love and grace. This is one of my favorite verses because it reminds us that in Christ, we have the opportunity for a complete spiritual renewal. We leave behind the past and embrace the new life He offers. And that’s nothing short of radical. There is no other religion that offers so great a gift.

Verse 6 for Spiritual Renewal: Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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.”

Isaiah’s prophetic words echo throughout time, reminding us to let go of the past and embrace the newness that God brings. He is constantly at work, even in the most barren and desolate areas of our lives. By trusting Him, we can find spiritual renewal and witness the marvelous ways He makes a way for us.

Verse 7 for Spiritual Renewal: Philippians 3:13 (NIV)

“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.”

In this verse, Paul leads by example. By expressing his own path from spiritual death to life, he encourages us to let go of our past mistakes, regrets, and failures. He urges us to press forward, focusing on the future and the spiritual growth that awaits us. As we release the burdens of the past, we can fully embrace the transformative work God desires to do in our lives. Now that’s good news.

As we journey through this summer season, let’s hold these verses close to our hearts. May they serve as a reminder of God’s power to bring spiritual renewal and transformation into our lives. Let’s open our hearts to His leading, allowing Him to create in us clean hearts, renew our minds, and bring refreshing to our souls.

Stay blessed and renewed, my friends!

XOXOXO

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You can meet Cheri on the She Yearns blog for more truth-saturated, Gospel-centered encouragement like this:

Refreshment for Your Soul

23 October 2019

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Podcasts

Refreshment for Your Soul

Podcast #69

Welcome to the podcast!

Believe me. Living with nine people can cause a person to be intentional about learning how to seek refreshment in all kinds of ways. Maybe you have scheduled an appointment for a pedicure, sat down for a long cup of coffee at your favorite coffee shop, or shut yourself away to spend it curled up watching Christmas movies. You know you want it. And likely you need it because you and I generally try to press our limits. Not only do we do this physically, but we don’t tend to be very calculated about caring for our spiritual lives. Eventually, you and I need some spiritual renewal. In this episode, we discuss the need for refreshment for the soul and what it can look like in your daily life.

Remember, if you are interested in The Show Notes for Refreshment for Your Soul, you can gain access right here.

Just fill out the form and today’s note will go straight to your inbox. Every episode after you sign up should show up on your device of choice. What could be better?

How Awesome are Show Notes?

If you are already a subscriber to the She Yearns Updates, you will begin receiving a link to a pdf. But this is different. By signing up here, you will ONLY RECEIVE Show Notes for the podcast. There is nothing to download unless there is some sort of bonus offered.

You can also use this resource to take with you to coffee with a friend or sit with a small group and talk about the topic together. It’s a quick low prep to no prep way to have a deep discussion about relevant Gospel-centered topics that matter to your everyday lives. So don’t wait! Sign up today!

It generally takes me a few days to get Monday’s notes out. But you should have them within the same week as the broadcast.

Taste and See is one of my favorite recent episodes. You can find it here if you are interested.

You can now check out the latest episodes from iTunes, GooglePlay, Stitcher, iHeartRADIO, or SoundCloud. Just click on the links below! As always, you can scroll down and listen right here!

And if you have not already become a subscriber to the podcast, allow me to invite you to become one for the She Yearns Podcast by going to any of the providers and signing up for the RSS feed to have it automatically updated to your device! It’s basically ONE CLICK! And it doesn’t use any extra memory and really makes life easier.

If you enjoyed this episode, Refreshment for Your Soul. or found it helpful, please leave a comment or review in your hosting provider service. I also love it when you post below! It really helps us here and anyone who visits the page. We cannot do it without you! The only way the word goes out further is with your help. Please share it as you feel the leading.

Thank you for listening.

Cheri

Resting Well Day 3

27 November 2017

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Resting Well

Resting Well – Day 3

The Price of NOT Resting

Last summer, my husband took a job in another city for a year. This left me at home with eight kids and more responsibilities than I could handle. You might say, I had too many penguins on the iceberg.

My solution was to spend less time on me. Sleep less. Eat less. Do less of what I needed to give more and be stronger for them. As you can imagine, it was only a matter of time before penguins began flinging off my iceberg.

Not surprisingly, there was a price for neglecting myself.

Neither is it startling to learn Scripture warns us there is a price for NOT resting.

Consider God’s dealings with the Israelites as they settled into the Promised Land. In Joshua 21:43-44 we find God’s people entering His rest, experiencing all God promised them.

Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands.
Joshua 21:43-44

Later the Psalmist encourages the people of his day to learn from those who were not able to enter because of their unbelief, and to choose differently.

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.” Psalm 95:7-11

Isaiah does something similar in his day.

For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people, to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear. And the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Isaiah 28:11-13

What does all of this have to do with you and me today?

Hebrews clears the fog by explaining that the promise of entering His rest still stands today (Hebrews 3:7-19). Therefore, the risk of NOT entering it also remains.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12

There can be an UNBELIEVING HEART within a Believer that refuses to cleave to, trust in and rely on God.

Can you see how this could be a present reality? We believe God for our purposes in life. But the road to our particular Promised Land is wrought with impossibilities, hardships, difficult people and dysfunctional relationships. It’s easy to lose your footing in the midst of all this malarkey. Who wouldn’t be tempted NOT to cleave, trust in, or rest upon a God who makes promises blurred by all this haze?

Oh– but There is a price of NOT Resting. There are consequences for refusing to believe the God who gives rest to our souls! Constant turmoil. Anxiety and worry. Defeat.

Can we agree that this price is too great?

If this refusal remotely defines the state of your heart, then take the advice found in Psalms 106:6 and 25:11.

Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Psalm 106:6

For Your name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Psalm 25:11

Ask for forgiveness. Unbelief for the Believer is a sin. NOT resting as a Believer– not cleaving to, relying on, or trusting in Him-– is sin.

Ask, and you will be forgiven.

His rest is too good to miss!

With Much affection, for His Glory!

Today’s podcast provides a deeper look into the consequences of NOT resting and how to avoid them. Take five minutes and click on the title, “Pitfalls to Avoid.”

Resting Well Day 2

27 November 2017

Cheri Strange

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Categories: Resting Well

Resting Well – Day 2

Rest for Your Burdens

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

The invitation offered in Matthew 11:28 is generously inclusive. Most of us could admit to laboring at some point. We are invited to bring even our most grievous trouble– the ulcer-causing kind. Those of us who are overwhelmed with responsibility, as well as exhausted are welcome, too. Who isn’t glad Jesus calls us to Himself?

But if you and I were honest, do we really have any practical idea WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO with the invitation?

Am I supposed to stop doing everything?

Do I zone out of my burdened life and just quote scripture?

Does it simply mean to stop worrying?

What is Jesus calling us into out of our exhausted states–our situations and worries that are spilling into our functionality?

We need to know because these are the places we live!

Some are working ourselves dizzy.

Some of us truly are taxed emotionally. The loss has been too great this year. The financial issues are too complicated. The relationship drama is ever-present and oppressive. The emotional strains are taking a physical toll.

Or maybe what others genuinely need from you has over-extended you until you have become ill. My dear friend cared for her mother in her final months. The day after she passed away into Glory my friend suffered an illness that land her in the ICU! She had given everything she had until the very end.

Isn’t that like us? You and I have no sense! We often give beyond what is good for us, personally. Therefore, most of us are bone-weary desperate to experience the kind of rest Jesus beckons us into.

This particular rest is a temporary respite from activity, or from service or work. He knows there will be times when we give everything we’ve got to the end. And there is nothing left.

Jesus says, “Come to Me – and I will cause you to rest.”

There are no substitutions. Jesus is the only One who can give us what we need to get back in there. Nothing else will do.

I don’t know what you need. But He does.

You don’t know what I need. But He does.

God knows we need Him to cause us to rest.

For there is work to be done. And we want to be fit to do it.