 As Autumn welcomes us, we see many changes before us. The sun hangs lower in the sky, the air becomes crisp, the leaves on the trees begin to change colors, the wind picks up, swirling leaves to the ground. This is Autumn's Dance. She brings with her the winds of change and we begin to settle in for the colder months of the year.  Autumn's Dance gives us the feeling of freshness as we witness the changing of the leaves from bright greens to brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. As the wind begins blowing, we feel the chill of the air and reach for a jacket as we enter the outdoors. This change is good for us, as we have tired of the summer heat and are looking for something new. The refreshing autumn brings the opportunity to begin anew, not only with our activities but with our spiritual life.  As Autumn begins to dance, we fall in to a new dimension. A time to reflect on what life is about and to begin our check list of things we need to work on over the next several months, getting ourselves in shape for the New Year. We contemplate many things in life sometimes, but the most important one is the change that should take place in our spiritual life. Change? Some would have us believe change is bad. However, God sees change as a good thing. The Bible tells us "For I, the LORD do not change Malachi 3:6". No, the Lord does not change, if He did, He wouldn't be God. But, His children must change. It is necessary that we change; for if we do not change, we do not grow and our light for Christ will become dim.  For instance, what would our life be like if we never changed from the infant state we were born to? The answer is, we would never grow up. God in His wisdom knows we must grow physically, but He also desires for us to grow mentally, socially, and spiritually. His Son, Jesus Christ, is the perfect example of this. The Bible tells us that Jesus grew in all all these ways."And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52" So too must we grow as our Savior did, for Jesus is our example in all things. In addition to growing in the four ways Christ grew, the Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:18 we must "... grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." In order to grow in the 'grace and knowledge' of our Lord, we must know Him -- build a relationship with Him. We do this through Bible study and prayer. If you think Bible study and prayer are the hardest things in the world to keep up with, you're right. Pray and ask God to help you. Managing our spiritual life is a stewardship for the Lord. We must care for it and nurture it along as we would a delicate plant. God will be our guide. How do we implement such an important task? Begin with prayer. Ask the Lord to help you as you seek to develop your relationship with Him and make a commitment to spend time in Bible reading and study each day. Then make sure you have the following basic tools. You will need your Bible, a notebook, a pen. Additionally you will need some commentaries, a Bible dictionary, and any other study materials you think will be helpful to you, including internet resources. Begin cultivating your relationship with Jesus by having daily devotions. Choose a time of day that is best for you. Morning is the optimum time for devotions, but evening might be a better time for you. Begin with prayer to the Father. In the morning I order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." ~ Psalm 5:3 ~ This verse beautifully illustrates the sweet essence of a prayer relationship with our Lord. In the morning we speak to God and he hears our petitions and requests before His throne. We wait, anticipating His answer. God's job is to answer prayer--and He always answers. Our job is to live in expectation of that answer. Next, begin reading God's Word. A great place to start is in the Poetic Books. The book of Psalms gives us comfort and the book of Proverbs give us wisdom to do the will of God for each day. Read one chapter from the book of Proverbs each day. There are thirty one Proverbs, one for each day of the month. During some months we will have one left over, read it anyway. Then read a chapter or two in the Psalms. These words of comfort will encourage you for your daily tasks. Choose some good Christian books to read on topics you enjoy. Choose two or three books to read at a time. One book might be a Bible study guide, another might just be pleasureable reading by a favorite Christian author. The more we read, the more knowledge we have and the more we know about God and what He wants us to do, the better our service for Him. Related Resources   |