Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 and 5:10-6:12

Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? Ecclesiastes 6:10-12

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 6:10-12, which covers the third part of the second division of the commentary chapter titled Money Is Meaningless without Jesus - this second division specifically is referred to in the commentary as Antidotes to Satisfaction in Money, with the third (and last) part referred to as Jesus.  The commentary for this text asserts that these last few verses of chapter 6 "are a reflection on the early chapters of Genesis and the fall of mankind (Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 317–18). It repeatedly references Adam and even the naming of things (6:10; cf. Gen 2:19). It is known what man is, and Ecclesiastes has consistently said that man is “dust” (3:20). The words Adam and dust are semantically linked because man was made from the dust and is heading back to the dust due to the fact that in Eden he tried to contend with God, who is stronger than man! Who knows what is good for Adam (6:12)? This phrase calls us back to the time before the fall when everything was pronounced good. Now, however, fallen Adam’s days pass like a shadow. Only God can tell what will happen after we pass off the scene." The commentary than uses the 3 Circles tool to further describe the text today: "[t]he first circle shows that God has a design for everything in His world. God intends the material gifts He gives us to be used in certain ways that will cause us to flourish. Thus, he has a design for sex, food, relationships, work, and yes, money. These things are not “good” or “bad” in and of themselves. They can be used in good and godly ways that benefit us or in evil and sinful ways that harm us....The second circle shows that our departure from God’s design, which the Bible calls “sin,” inevitably leads us into brokenness because we are not using things as God designed them to be used....When we do not use money as God designed—for provision, contentment, and generosity—then we become broken. Thus, love of money, hoarding, and failure to be content causes all of the harm we have seen in Ecclesiastes 5–6. It makes us miserable, lonely, insecure, and distrustful....The final circle shows that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, taking on Himself all of our sin and brokenness so that He could secure forgiveness, freedom, and a new start for us (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are called to recognize that we are broken, to repent of our sin and brokenness, and to trust in Jesus. When we do, He then makes us new creations who are filled with the Spirit and now have the ability to recover and pursue God’s original design for our lives."  Surrender to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior to find a satisfaction, peace and joy (and most importantly salvation) that cannot be found in the world.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God (the One and Only True God) who provides for all of my needs, physical, emotional, and spiritual.  You also saved me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 and 5:10-6:12

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 6:9

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 5:18-6:9, which covers the second part of second division of the commentary chapter titled Money Is Meaningless without Jesus - this second division specifically is referred to in the commentary as Antidotes to Satisfaction in Money, with the first second part referred to as Contentment and Joy in What God Has Given You. The commentary shares how "what you have, where you are in life, and the ability to enjoy those things are all from God. It is not just what you have that is a gift from God; the ability to enjoy it is also a gift. To be able rightly and fully to enjoy the things of this world is a gift of God’s grace (Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 315). God gives this ability so that you do not remember the misery of this cursed world because time flies when you are having fun. The key factor to all of this is God. One can only enjoy material blessings as rightly intended and designed in dependence on God." The commentary for 6:1-2 describes how God can withhold joy of one's wealth and possessions as a means to draw someone to Himself.  The commentary shares: "He gives some the inability to enjoy what they have because in His goodness He will not give you something that drives you away from Him. He knows there is no such thing as happiness apart from Him." The commentary then shares how regardless of whether we are rich or poor we all face the same predicament - often desiring more than what we have...and this is futile and ungodly. God wants us to focus entirely on satisfaction in Him and to bring Him glory.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - giving me joy and satisfaction in You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such rich blessings and for my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 and 5:10-6:12

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 6:9

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of Ecclesiastes 5:18-6:9, which covers the second part of second division of the commentary chapter titled Money Is Meaningless without Jesus - this second division specifically is referred to in the commentary as Antidotes to Satisfaction in Money, with the first second part referred to as Contentment and Joy in What God Has Given You.  Here, as the commentary titles describe, the text today emphasizes how, while God gives us money and possessions to enjoy, we are not to lust over more money or possessions such that they become idols.  V5:18 shares that it is "good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot."  V19 shares similarly: "[e]veryone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil--this is the gift of God." V20 is interesting and worthy of reflection because even after few reads it is less clear: "[f]or he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."  Clearly, Solomon is connecting v20 to v18-19; how he is occupied with joy in his heart is less clear.  My sense is that he is making this connection to describe how God gives humanity money and possessions to enjoy, much like he gives us the natural world to enjoy, and this joy that God gives us is consuming. Then, starting in chapter 6:1-2, Solomon describes an evil where a man is given by God wealth and possessions but then God does not give him the power to enjoy them and they are enjoyed by a stranger.  The meaning of this is not clear after reading one or two times.  Perhaps this stranger stole them, and Solomon is describing how things of this world are fleeting and we should not too much hope in them because of circumstances such as theft, etc. Continuing in vv3-6, Solomon describes how one can have much money, possessions, and children, and also live a long life, yet "his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial."  This proves the futility of life focused on money and possessions - we should enjoy them but focus on finding satisfaction in God first and foremost and see how all things are from Him (see James 1:14-17). The text for today ends with a gem from Solomon who shares how what we have and can see with our own eyes should be sufficient for our satisfaction vs what we cannot see but lust after. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who provides all that I need for my joy and satisfaction.  I am not deserving of how You bless me, most importantly for my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven[.]

Ecclesiastes 3

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven[.] Ecclesiastes 3:1

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 3:1-9, which is the first division of Ecclesiastes 3 per the commentary.  The commentary broadly describes the futility of time in the sense that there is a cycle of life that we cannot predict, control, or step.  We are born, we die, there are good things that happen to us, and there are bad things that happen to us - we live in a fallen world so there will be pain and anguish.  Referencing vv5-6 the commentary discusses how this describes how relationships in our lives ebb and flow and people, outside of marriage and perhaps your most immediate family, come and go in our lives.  All of the activities described in vv2-9 have a role in our fallen world - this is the human experience. The commentary shares: "[t]he point of the poem is the inevitable sameness and monotony of life under the sun. We all go through these actions of birth, life, work, love, and then death. Nothing really changes for humanity. Meaninglessness in life and death in the end pervade our experience in this cursed world. Here today and gone tomorrow. This is just the way it is....The poem reveals the great absurdity of life because each activity cancels the other out. There are 14 pluses and 14 minuses, and that adds up to zero (Begg, “Eternity on My Mind”)! Every birth ends in death, every planted crop is pulled up, every building is eventually condemned, every celebration gives way to a funeral, and every peace gives way to another war. Nothing is gained."  The commentary for this division ends with the same conclusion we all should draw - that apart from a daily, personal and lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ we will suffer a frustrating and meaningless existence. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love, grace and compassion.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

Ecclesiastes 2

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Ecclesiastes 2:18-26, which includes both the third and fourth divisions of Ecclesiastes 2 per the commentary. The commentary highlights the folly of work apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.  We should avoid blind ambition to strive for wealth and worldly recognition, instead focusing on working for the Lord - see also Colossians 3:22-24.  The commentary shares: "Solomon will no longer live by the myth that hard work and well-earned wealth validate life (Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 295). Workaholism kills many families in America. Many people are possessed by a restless ambition to achieve, and so they put business before everything else (Greidanus, Preaching Christ, 65)."  The commentary, highlighting v23, also shares how even when we are not working we are often consumed with anxiety-related to work: "You are never “off” or “home” from work. Your mind is constantly taken up with it. You clock out and come home, and you check your e-mails on your phone all night. You toss and turn while sleep evades you because you stress about the next work project. What futility!  Vv24-26, pivot from the vanity of work apart from God to how work focused on pleasing God provides the fulfillment and joy we all seek.  On this note, the commentary shares: "In the beginning God designed the world so that we would enjoy the material blessings He gave us as a means to worship Him. As we ate, drank, enjoyed our spouse, and enjoyed our work, it would cause us to thank God for His goodness. But human sin distorted that, so now we look to the created things for the satisfaction only God can give. Not only is this a rebellion against God, but also it renders our true enjoyment of these gifts impossible. We want more, more, more, and we are never happy. We think if we just had a little bit more, then we would be happy, but if we are not happy with what we have right now, then we will not be happy no matter how much we get or experience. More will not satisfy us; only God can.  Again, the problem is not the things in and of themselves but rather the value we place in them. They cannot truly deliver. So be satisfied in the Creator, and then you can rightly enjoy the created things He gives you. As Solomon says, apart from Him there is no enjoyment (2:25). Everything is meaningless without Jesus, but with Jesus we can enjoy everything."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of compassion for me - making me one of Your elect - truly a gift of amazing grace as I am not deserving.  Thank You Jesus but again I am not deserving as my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

Ecclesiastes 2

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

I continue my study today of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my focus is an unassisted review of Ecclesiastes 2:18-26, which includes both the third and fourth divisions of Ecclesiastes 2 per the commentary.  Here, without going into detail reviewing the commentary - a quick glance of the commentary reveals that these two divisions (vv18-23 and vv24-26) are titled Work is Meaningless and Contentment in God and His Gifts Is the Meaningful Life. In writing how work is meaningless (vanity) - Solomon shares how it is frustrating that he works hard his whole life, accumulating wealth, etc. only to leave it behind to children or for others to benefit.  This becomes more frustrating for Solomon as he writes how the recipients of these benefits will be unknown to him in terms of who they are and who they evolve to be.  Solomon also shares that work produces anxiety (v23) and we know that God does not want us to worry about anything (see Matthew 6:25-34).  Solomon then moves to God's role in work (vv24-26) and how working as a means to glorify God (we exist to glorify God in all that we do) brings true enjoyment and fulfillment. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - giving me work where I find fulfillment and where my hope is that I glorify You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You bless me.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

John 17

 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:26

Once again, I pause on my studies of both Isaiah and of Proverbs to listen to today's Solid Joys daily devotion on DesiringGod.com.  John Piper's devotion today starts with Piper asking us to "[i]magine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded and increasing energy and passion forever."  This is certainly a worthy endeavor!  Piper then acknowledges how - from an earthly perspective - things get in the way of our joy, including love of the world consumes us more than love of God, our human abilities our limited, things of this world come to an end.  Piper then moves to Jesus' prayer in John 17, where specifically, in John 17:26, Jesus prayers that God's love for Jesus be in believers and Jesus in believers (as the Holy Spirit).  Piper describes God's love for His Son Jesus as totally pleasurable because Jesus is infinitely worthy of love or lovely.  In praying that this love be in us, "then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating. No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God. But add to this what Jesus prays for; namely, that our ability — our energy, our passion — to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses." Amen!  We must acknowledge this treasure that we have and not cease in our praise and gratitude of Jesus.  We must also live lives that demonstrate that we have this incredible treasure and that we share it, bringing others to Jesus.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible treasure and thank You for giving me the love that is the same love between You and the Father - incredible and eternal!  I am not deserving of such love.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

They do all their deeds to be seen by others. [T]hey...love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

Matthew 23

They do all their deeds to be seen by others. [T]hey...love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. Matthew 23:5-7

This morning, I focus on John Piper's Solid Joys devotional, where Piper seeks for us to first see the irony of the scribes and the Pharisees as described by Matthew as the proud gain their sufficiency from others or self. Believers should know of course how such pursuits in sufficiency outside of God only result in emptiness.  Piper writes about how "[w]e are in the image of God. And what makes us “like” God is not our self-sufficiency. We are shadows and echoes. So, there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self [or from others]."  He refers us to John 5:44 and John 4:14 where Jesus contrasts the emptiness of glory from others with the satisfying fullness of Himself. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and You satisfy with a fullness that only exists in You - and You freely give of Yourself for those willing to deny oneself and surrender to You as Lord and Savior.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of the blessings of fullness.  My sin is great and it is daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 5-7, Luke 6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Day 297 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as I move further into the New Testament - focusing this morning on the Sermon on the Mount. My commentary indicates that this sermon "[c]over[s] a broad spectrum of spiritual topics, [and] Jesus speaks of the nature of the kingdom, of repentance, of faith, and of worship—and particularly of prayer and humility. Always demonstrating a concern for human welfare, Jesus deals specifically with family and social relationships and discusses at length the effect of possessions on one’s faith and peace of mind. The discourse begins beautifully with the blessings in store for the righteous, and harshly with the woes which will befall those whose lives are spiritually rebellious."

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

While this sermon is rich with teachings, each of which are important and worthy of their own reflection and study unto itself, the promise of Matthew 5:6 has always been one of favorite of the entire Bible. Matthew 22:34-40 and Exodus 20 (The Ten Commandments) both refer to the greatest commandment, which is to love God. Matthew 5:6 expresses this commandment in words that drive us to God with urgency and also with a promise of satisfaction - a promise that I can personally say is true as are all of God's promises.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing and faithful God and all of Your promises come true as "no word from God ever fails".  I know this in my life.  Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness.  I am not deseving of such faithfulness and love. My sin continues...worry, etc.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

1 Samuel 28, 31, 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, and 2 Samuel 1, 4 

Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14

Day 93 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) focuses on Saul and Jonathan's death, as well as David's reaction.  1 Chronicles 10:13-14 states the reason for Saul's death.  On the other hand, we have David who is a "man after God's heart" (see 1 Samuel 13:14, and Acts 13:22).

Saul sought affirmation and satisfaction from others.  Instead, God wants us to seek Him out and to gain satisfaction from Him.

This reference includes many verses about how God cares about a heart for Him.

We are all longing for something and too often we seek satisfaction from creation, not the creator. We should hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6) as ONLY God will satisfy and fill the longing we all have. See John Piper on this.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who HAS filled me...well beyond what I deserve!  Thank You Jesus for satisfying my longing and then some!  I am not deserving of such love.  I sin...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

2 Chronicles 26

As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. v5

We must be careful drawing a direct relationship between seeking God and success.  We can say that all success is from God (James 1:17, Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Chronicles 29:11-12).  However, we cannot say that God will give us success without qualifiers - we do not have a merit-based relationship with God, instead it is grace-based.

God will provide for us what He wants us for us.

We should seek the Lord because we love Him, because He commands us to, and because it provides what nothing else can provide.

See also post yesterday regarding how God promises how we will be blessed and filled.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who is full of love and grace for me and You have blessed and filled me beyond what I deserve - thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love - I worry. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.

2 Chronicles 25

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly. v2

King Amaziah of Judah did not love the Lord wholeheartedly as commanded in Exodus 20 and elaborated further in Deuteronomy as "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul". 

We are also warned in Revelation not to be lukewarm:

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Revelation 3:14-17

Yet many of us don't love the Lord wholeheartedly either - but why?

My view is that many of us don't find joy in pursuing God in the same way we pursue perhaps earthly passions.  I know...I've been there and often find myself there.

We must lean into God - or pursue Him vigorously.  He does promise us that we will be filled:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

We are also promised fruits of the Spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who has filled me and my cup overflows - thank You for the many ways You fill and bless me Jesus.  I am not deserving of such love.  I worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.

Genesis 35

Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone. v3

In Genesis 34, Jacob's daughter Dinah is raped - Jacob's life is full of ups and downs.  Yet this is by design since The Fall when sin entered the world in Genesis 3. While God does promise that He will be with us (Immanuel/Matthew 1:23), He does not promise that our lives will free from trouble.

But we can take heart because He is with us and He will comfort us and we will all have victory in this world either here on earth but most definitely in Heaven!

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, I KNOW that You are with me - every day, all the time.  Thank You Jesus for being SO faithful!  I am not worth such love.  I am selfish.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

Proverbs 24

Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. v19-20

I often look at the world has to offer and I long for and desire what others have - a better job than me, more money, etc.   Yet when I do this, I fail to recognize how God HAS blessed me and that I have a God who loves me more than I can ever comprehend and recognize.

Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13

This morning when I feel stressed about work, this verse provides a measure of comfort:

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

 

God is great and He will never leave or forsake me.

 

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5”

 

Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

My Prayer: Lord, You are a great God that has blessed me beyond what I deserve and You will never leave or forsake me - thank You Jesus as I am not worth such love and blessings!  I need You desperately to cleanse me of my sins - for my lack of being content and for my envy of others.  Please forgive me!  Help me overcome my sin and turn towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me lead and serve my family and serve You and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.

Proverbs 11

Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing. v7

I know I too often place my satisfaction and hope in other people.  While others may provide a measure of satisfaction we must understand that we cannot place too much hope in what others can provide - otherwise we idolize people and place them in a position that only Jesus can hold.

See also:

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. Psalm 118:8-9

 

Stop trusting in mere humans,
    who have but a breath in their nostrils.
    Why hold them in esteem? Isaiah 2:22

 

You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. Psalm 59:17

 

Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save. Psalm 145:6

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, only You fully satisfy and fulfill my heart.  Thank You Jesus that You are always with me - that You provide Your Word and the Holy Spirit. Your Hand in my life protects me, encourages me, teaches me, heals me, etc.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessing.  I worry, I am lazy, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do. Help me grow in my faith. Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo. Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 11

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. v4

It is tempting to place my hope and satisfaction in wealth yet I know from experience God is in control and that whatever wealth we have does not belong to us and that we are to be good stewards of what we have and to use it for God's glory.  I also know that because all wealth belongs to God it can be taken away.  I have seen this in my own life and in the life of others, including faithful believers.  Our hope and satisfaction should be in God alone.

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:19-21

Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.  He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. Psalm 130:7-8

 

Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. Psalm 39:5

 

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure Hebrews 6:19

My Prayer: Lord, You are my hope...the anchor for my soul.  I know You will be with me until the end of the age.  You are so patient and full of compassion and mercy for me...thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and efforts.  I continue to worry.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength. Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.