Ecclesiastes 4 “Wealth, Power, Pass Away”

“Better a poor and wise youth, than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.” (v.1)

Here Solomon is speaking of himself. Like many of us, as a child Solomon sought after God, but later in life got his eyes off the LORD. He now is looking back near the end of his life and realizing the foolishness of his ways as king. Wealth, power, no longer matter, as he realizes people will soon admonish another after he is gone.

No matter how successful you are, when you step down, retire, or pass away, life will go on. Someone else will step into your position and do the work (eventually stepping down, retiring, or passing themselves). And with that; title, position, wealth, and influence, will pass as well.

The mature believer does not hold tightly to material things, but walks in the truth that, one life will soon be past, and only what’s done for Christ will last. He lives in the reality of his own mortality and adopts a biblical perspective on God and eternity. He realizes there is no eternal value in the accumulation of wealth, nice homes or expensive cars, as these are only fuel for the great fire (2 Pet. 3:10-12; Rev. 21:1). This does not mean the believer cannot enjoy wealth if God gives it; he certainly can (Eccl. 3:12-13; 5:19-20; 9:9). But the mature believer, lays up his reward in heaven.

The Truth: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Ecclesiastes 3 “Seasons of Life”

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (v.3)

The song, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” made popular by The Byrds in the 1960’s, set portions of today’s reading to music. Because I grew-up in the 60’s, its hard not to hear their chorus in my mind as I read through Solomon’s.

Solomon is obvious saying everything in life has its time and season. Just as the seasons in nature change, so do the seasons in our lives. Sometimes we welcome change in our lives, but often it is difficult, especially when it involves sorrow and loss. Yet even then, we can be thankful that God does not change. “I am the Lord,” He said through the prophet Malachi, “I do not change” (Mal. 3:6).

Therefore, because God remains the same, we can rely on Him through the shifting seasons of life. His presence is always with us (Ps. 46:1), His peace has the power to guard our hearts (Phil. 4:7), and His love provides security for our souls (Rom. 8:39).

The Truth: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.” (Psalm 49:1,11).

Ecclesiastes 2 “The Vanity of Pleasure”

“All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (vv.10-11)

Life does not have to be a futile, meaningless chasing after the wind, if we look to please God instead of ourselves. God's Word gives us a tremendous advantage in making that choice, because it shows us the results of each path. Self-indulgence is a dead-end, but living to please God produces wisdom, knowledge and happiness (v.26).

The desire for pleasure isn’t wrong, God has built us for it. Paul reminds us that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). Other passages welcome us to the healthy pleasure of food, friends, and the intimacy of a marriage relationship. But thinking that we can find lasting pleasure in people and things is ultimately an empty pursuit.

Scripture tells us that, “Our God shall supply all our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, Samuel 22:7), and that’s good enough for me.

The Truth: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27)

Ecclesiastes 1 "The Vanity of Life"

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (v.1)

For as long as people have walked the earth, they have searched for the meaning of life. What is our purpose? Why are we here? Two Old Testament books, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) pose that question—and provide two very different but complementary answers.

Ecclesiastes frames the answer by focusing on the mind. What is our reason for being? How can we understand our existence? When we study the Song of Songs, we will move from the mind to the heart. We are made to reason and think, but also to love and be loved.

Here in chapter 1 Solomon asks the question, “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun” (v.3)? He describes life “under the sun” as our earthly existence, a monotonous cycle. People are born and then die. Even nature reflects this. Life is like a vapor: it cannot be contained and finally vanishes—almost like it never existed at all.

For those who believe that our earthly existence is all there is, life’s purpose is not easily apparent. Life under the sun can feel exhausting, as many search for fulfillment in experiences or in another person. Solomon had it all, everything anyone could ever want, yet he also had a great sense of emptiness, a void that could not be filled, even with all that he had. And, the further he moved from God, the emptier he began to feel.

Life really does boil down to two basic choices. We can live either to please ourselves or to please God. LORD help us all to stay close to you, to keep our eyes on you, to desire your work in our lives and not our own, that we might not be gasping at the wind.

The Truth: Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)

Luke 24 "Hope Restored"

^"He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'" (Luke 24:6-7)

Luke 24 contains two themes throughout the chapter; 1) the fulfillment of Christ's teachings on His death, burial and resurrection and 2) the continued struggles His disciple had in seeing this truth as it was; predicted, unfolded, and completed before their every eyes.

After Jesus's death, His disciples were blinded by their grief, discouraged, lost, afraid, and did not see this event for what it was, the fulfillment of all that the prophets have spoken! They saw His death as the end of their Messiah and His kingdom here on earth, not reconciling it with what He had taught them. (Matthew 20:17-19)

It took the Lord Himself appearing to; Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, to Peter, then the twelve collectively showing them His hands and His feet, eating with them and finally opening their understanding to the scriptures, before their blindness turned to joy and their hope restored. (v.45)  

Just as it took the infallible truth of the scriptures to open the eyes of those who walked with Jesus then, so it may be with our loved ones today as well. With so much evil in our world, we need to keep praying that our Lord will bring His truth into their lives and open their understanding to His love and grace.  

The Truth

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20:17-19)

Luke 23 “Jesus Dies in Place of Barabbas”

“And he (Pilate) released to them (the chief priests) the one they requested (Barabbas), who for insurrection and murder had been thrown into prison; but delivered Jesus to their will” (v.25)

Here in chapter 23 we see Barabbas, a known insurrectionist and a murderer released by Pilate. And Jesus, a purely innocent man, delivered to a crowed who wanted to “crucify” Him. In other words Jesus was about to die in place of Barabbas or one could say, for Barabbas.

This is very interesting when you think about why Jesus had to die. According to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Jesus would become the perfect sacrifice through His death on the cross. His innocent blood would become the only sacrifice needed for the remission of sin - once and for all.

Yes Jesus died in place of Barabbas but He also died for Barabbas and all sinners. Praise the LORD!.

The Truth: “But this Man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12-14)

Luke 22 “Peter Restored”

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you return to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (v.31-32)

The strength of our faith can be judged by our ability to regroup after a defeat. Setbacks can cause us to either fall away or to return to our faith even stronger. They allow us to show our underlying commitment to Christ. Our Lord's words to Simon Peter suggest this. Jesus knew Peter was about to trip over his own self-confidence and zeal. He knew that Peter, who said he was willing to die for his Lord (v.33), would soon deny Him.

The beauty of Christ's re­sponse to Peter's denial was that He saw beyond it, to the disciple's repentance. He assured Peter that He had prayed his faith would not fail (v.32). In essence, Jesus was saying, "An attack is coming, I have prayed for you, although you will stumble, you will return to Me." This experience in Peter's life can encourage all of us. We have the advantage of Christ's work and prayers on our behalf, and this gives us the confidence that He Himself sustains us. We too can be useful again to Him, even after a hard fall.

A spiritual reversal should not cause us to give up. It's the "return" of our faith and His forgiveness that are all-important.

The Truth
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Luke 21 "The Signs of His Return"

“There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and the expectation of those things which are coming upon the earth: for the powers of the heaven will be shaken. And they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head; for your redemption is drawing close” (vv.25-28).

In our text, Jesus is giving us the signs of His return. Signs that will happen before His second coming. Then, at the end of the passage, declares when we see these things come to pass to “look up”, for our redemption (the rapture) is drawing near. If the rapture of the church is to precede His second coming (and I believe it does), then when we see these signs of the LORD’s return, we can know the rapture must be getting close.

The parable of the fig tree, given to us here in verses 29-33, is basically saying the same thing. When you see the tree begin to blossom you know summer is drawing near. Again we are being instructed to know the signs of His return, to be watchful and, “pray that we are accounted worthy to escape what is to come and stand before the Son of man” (v.36).

I for one do not want to be on earth when God’s wrath is poured out. I want to be standing before the Son of man, the Lamb who was slain, the One who is worthy to take the scroll and loose the seals, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, removed from His wrath.

The Truth: “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17)