Wednesday

AUTUMN THOUGHTS



   How wonderful it is to realize that our Father Creator’s thoughts are about us and for us. We find in the Scriptures that we ought to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us.  Now with this in mind, how many times do we focus our thoughts upon His things?

Our thoughts take many forms:
We allow our thoughts to be about such subjects as a better job, a bigger, newer vehicle, a larger house, next week’s entertainment, and even where we will have our vacation two years from now.  Oh !  How many more thoughts clutter our minds throughout the day!!   

Many of us have been taught that our Father in Heaven, will and does provide us with all that we need. Many of us have also awakened to the fact that when we delight ourselves in Him, He calms the nervous desires of our hearts.  

How many times have we prayed in desperation in our lives? How many times did we find that what we had requested had not been granted, or when it was granted, anxiety, worry, and responsibilities were increased.   Why did this happen?  The answer to this is revealed in the Bible, both in the Old Testament, and also in the New Testament.  During the historic days of the Book of Exodus, we read that the Israelites were set free from slavery. The first days of their deliverance were filled with Joy, and Celebration. As the days of travel turned into weeks, and months, the people began to turn their attention to the new requirements of ‘free’ living. Their focus of attention became filled with thoughts of; How? Where? Why? Who ?  The more these questions filled their minds, the more they forgot about the *One* Who had set them free. Complaining about the journey became a daily routine, and Joy became a memory. The anxiety caused by their comforts not being provided for, caused them to travel in circles for years.   
 In the New Testament we can read about a married couple who also placed their material desires ahead of the spiritual needs of the community. The Book known as ‘The Acts’ tells of this husband and wife who thought that it was more important to dishonestly keep a part of their material blessing for themselves. The result of their self centered behavior had a very detrimental effect on their future plans.  

Taking just these few historic events into consideration. We can see the importance of the statement “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Way of doing things...” in our journey here on Earth. The aim of our dedication here is to be focused upon how we devote ourselves to our King Jesus Christ.
As we do this we also need to keep our desires aligned with His purpose for us. When we do this we find that we receive ‘Blessings’ and that these ‘Blessings’ are given so that we may ‘Bless’ others.  We are entering the colorful months, the months of Harvest. These months ahead are filled with many beautiful changes in Nature for us to admire. We receive these many ‘Blessings’, not to horde them only for ourselves, but to share them and allow others to be ‘Blessed’ with us. Together we can remind each other to give Adoration and Dedication to the *One* that ‘Blesses’. 
As this has been said by many of the Saints before us; “It is in Blessing, that we are Blessed.”  So, Let’s be ‘Blessed’ in this month of September!!
                                  Br. Phil Bara
 **May All Students be Blessed, In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Blesser!!** 

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