However, when I notice the seasons flying by I like to go back and reread Ecclesiastes.  Solomon gave us the original  “Seasons in the Sun” stating, “Whatever has happened before will happen again.  Whatever has been done before will be done again.  There is nothing new under the sun.  Can you say that anything is new?  It has already been here long before us. Nothing from the past is remembered.  Even in the future, nothing will be remembered by those who come after us” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11).  Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 also gives more of Solomon’s musing of the cycles of time. 

When I reread Ecclesiastes I often find that people want to take Solomon’s melancholy reference of the meaninglessness of life as what God has said.  Did you ever realize that his melancholy and sadness is because of his self-centeredness and loss of focus on God?  Solomon was given the greatest gift of wisdom from God.  Along with that wisdom came the riches, came curiosity, a constant seeking, an effort that became very futile and blocked the depth and the joy of life that God had really intended.  As we go through the changes of the seasons, not only every year but even the seasons in our lives, have we missed or lost the true purpose of enjoying God?

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

“Question: What is the chief aim of man?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

Westminster Catechism

If we are always looking at trying to find the joy of the season, the joy of the Fall (Autumn), the pumpkins, the falling leaves, and everything that Fall can bring us…the beautiful holidays, the smells of the kitchen, the desserts and the family gatherings, do we often after they’re all over feel hollow? 

I’ve made my effort over time to not be like Solomon and become disillusioned because I don’t get the same satisfaction and joy in everything I do.  Have you ever noticed that the first time you try to do anything, whether it’s to drive, whether it’s to roller skate, whether it’s to dance, or something; there’s an excitement and a newness in whatever the activity might be?  Do you notice that over time as we repeat the activity it becomes such a routine and we don’t even have to think about it?  We miss the very excitement and joy that brought us into wanting to do that activity in the first place. 

That’s why I’m encouraging all of us to make sure that our number one priority is seeking first the Kingdom of God, His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).  That was Solomon’s original seeking, the Kingdom and subsequently, God gave him all the other things.  However, all the things became a clutter in his mind and his life and it became a distraction that led him away from the number one priority, seeking God.  Let’s not fall into the trap and miss living in the presence of God.  Psalm 16:11 states, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Joy is from the heart, it’s not from the circumstances that are around us.  Let us press on to the mark of the High Calling (Philippians 3:14) of Him who set before us a plan, a purpose, a desire to know him (Jeremiah 29:11)…and in knowing Him he will provide all of the other things that we need and help our hearts stay focused so that we do not become bitter and disillusioned like Solomon.  The world around us is dark, very negative, very discouraging; but through Christ in us there is hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). 

Let us renew that childlike excitement as the seasons change and have an anticipation of a glorious season whether it’s this Fall that’s coming upon us or whether it is Winter, Spring, Summer, and then we start all over again.  Let’s make an effort to not get into a monotonous routine and forget what God has done for us.  Let’s not forget also that when we are in the cycles of life speeding by from childhood, to adolescence, to an adult, and to being in later stages of our life; to not be weary and become disillusioned.  God has a great plan and purpose for us no matter what season we are in, but we must seek Him first and He will provide for us all that we need because He’s such a loving father.  He loves to give good gifts to his children.  Things that we didn’t even expect or see coming, He wants to bless us abundantly above all we could ask or think.  Let’s anticipate this change of season, whatever it might be for you, as an opportunity to receive the presence and the gift of God into our lives for today.

The post Another Change of Season appeared first on 93.7 The Light.

September 

The breezes taste of apple peel

The air is full of smells to feel-

Ripe fruit, old footballs,

burning brush, 

new books, erasers,

chalk, and such.

The bee, his hive, 

well-honeyed hum, 

and Mother cuts

chrysanthemums. 

Like plates washed clean

with suds, the days

are polished with

a morning haze. 

-John Updike

Isn’t that beautiful? It just makes us think about all the seasons the Lord gives us. That’s one of the many cool things about being in Ohio, we have all the seasons. To think about pulling out the pumpkins and getting the cider on the stove and the trees changing- it’s just a wonderful time to know that God is such an amazing artist, isn’t He? All the beautiful things He creates for us just because He loves us so much. 

Here are a few Scriptures to meditate on as you enjoy the fall season: 

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. Ecclesiastes 3.1-14 NIV

He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.

Acts 14.17 NIV

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Romans 1.20 NIV

The post A Fall Devotion appeared first on 93.7 The Light.