JESUS, THE REASON FOR THE SEASON...

Today is Spiritual Sunday and it is again time to travel around and see what the Lord has been doing in the hearts of so many of His people.  Many thanks to Charlotte and Ginger for hosting this event.  You can find the others who are participating HERE.  I am so grateful for these posts and have found that I am not only greatly blessed by them all, but have learned so much as well.  I encourage you to check out as many as you can.  Have a WONDERFUL week in Him....

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. THEREFORE, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

In this verse we are being told quite plainly what our priority should be as Christians. Our focus HAS to be Him and what we are doing to futher His kingdom. All the other things that fill our life and that we worry about are just "details"....God promises us here that if we do have our priorities in line, He will take care of all the details of our lives.

Sometimes I think for all of us it is hard to remember our purpose here on this earth. It is easy to get caught up not only in the urgent day to day grind of what has to be done such as work, caring for children, school, cleaning, laundry, etc. etc., but also in the planning out of our futures for both ourselves and our children. Without really thinking about it, we can find our days totally consumed with all the "urgent" things we must care for everyday, with precious little time left over to even enjoy our lives sometimes, let alone spend anytime at all with Him.   We worry and fret over so many things (some that are truly important, and others that really aren't) that at times we can easily become overwhelmed with it all. I wonder how much time I have spent in my life worrying about things that NEVER happened anyway, or ended up being of little consequence? WAY TOO MUCH I am very sure unfornately. And how many of those days were spent agonizing over something that seemed unsolvable, only to have some cirsumstance or another change things around the very next day therfore making the day filled with worry and fear completely wasted? I can think of a few times right off the top of my head without really thinking about it much. How much better would my time have been spent focusing and TRUSTING in Him to take of all my basic needs? Our jobs as Christians is to spread the "good news" of His gospel with as many as we possibly can. To love Him above all else and to love our neighbors as ourselves...Where we live, what we eat or drink, what clothes we wear or how we look or feel are really nothing more than the "details" of life I am talking about. Whenever I live my life focused on Him it really has been amazing how the little things just don't seem to have the same impact. He DOES truly care for me, and provides me with everything I really need. How grateful I am for that.

We are about to enter the Chirstmas season.  The stores have been full of their Christmas specials, sales, and holiday decorations for weeks already.  For many this will make or break their year.  I actually noticed Christmas decorations up in our neighborhood at a few houses right after Halloween!!  Christmas music is playing and the kids are getting together their lists.  It is all upon us once again.  It is very easy for me during this time of the year to let my focus be on "details"....decorating, baking, gifts, parties, and the gathering of family and friends.  All wonderful things given to us by a loving God to enjoy.  But my focus has got to be on Him.  The REASON FOR THE SEASON....I am going to try hard to put Him FIRST not only this Christmas season, but all year long,  KNOWING the rest will be added unto me.