Pursing Wealth concludes…


In chapter 6, Solomon concludes his search for happiness through money. The rich man can only eat so much a day, he can only sleep in one bed at a time. He will live no longer then the poor man. When the rich man leaves this world he will take nothing with him. There is no pocket in a shroud, no U-Haul attached to the coffin. Look at the book of Job. Job was a rich man and he said that he came into the world with nothing and will leave this world with nothing. It is pointless giving your life to the pursuit of what does not bring happiness here, and adding no value to the hereafter…Dedicate your life to the pursuit of Jesus, that will bring happiness…John 13:17.

Let’s try Religion…


In chapter five Solomon tries something that should be of interest to us all, religion. He intends to find satisfaction in religion, and guess what, he can’t. Through out history, religion has damned more people then it has saved. You can easily research this on your own. The difference between Christianity and all other religions is the Lord Jesus Christ! A relationship, not a religion. If you have religion, kick it to the curb and get Jesus Christ.

Verses 1-8 Solomon tells how he seeks to be satisfied in religion.

Verses 10-14 Solomon now, seeks satisfaction by pursuing enjoyment and wealth. When I was young and unsaved I always believed wealth would be the greatest thing ever. It won’t. Wealth is never condemned in the Bible. Making wealth an idol, that’s wrong. So is being a cheapskate. Both are wrong. One of the things Ecclesiastes teaches us is not to hold onto anything to tightly. Greed, a modern day problem. It has only one cure, Jesus…

Amir Tsarfati…


There are three words that I want to give to you as we close out 2021 and move into 2022 – “Expect good things”. These words are not just a feel-good philosophy. There is no “name it and claim it” health and wealth promise to them. Instead, these words are all about perspective. When your eyes are on God and you are trusting Him and serving Him, then good things will happen. Now, in all honesty, they may not always feel like good things. But faith isn’t built on feelings; it is built on the character of God.

So, because God is our Father and we are His children, we can always expect good things from Him. During this year, if there is ever a point you begin to doubt that truth, just remember to tweak the definition from what you think is “good” to what God promises is “good”. It is that perfect faith in Him that will open the door to the peace that passes all understanding, and which will take us through whatever we may face in the year ahead.

Romans 8:37-39
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Expect good things from God…

Pastor Greg Laurie…


Living for God’s Glory

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NLT).

Where are you in your life today? Are you in the morning of your life? Are you in the afternoon of your life? Or, are you in the evening of your life?

Of course, I know I’m getting toward the end of my race in life. I don’t know how many more years I will live or how many more years of ministry I will have. But I do know that I’m not in the beginning of it.

Those who are young will say, “I’m in the morning of my life.”

But you never know when the Lord will call you home. My son Christopher was only 33 years old when he was unexpectedly called home to Heaven. So we don’t necessarily know where we are in the race of life.

That’s why we want to be ready to meet God. We need to realize that Jesus died on the cross for us, and we need to turn from our sins and ask Him to come into our lives. Then we will find the meaning and purpose of life that we’ve been seeking. Not only that, but we will have hope for the afterlife.

So what kind of difference is your life making? What kind of legacy are you leaving?

My prayer is that you will live a life that is worth emulating. Corrie ten Boom was a very godly woman who suffered horrible things during the Holocaust, including imprisonment at the Ravensbruck concentration camp, and she lived to tell the story. She made this statement: “The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.”

We think that success is a long life. Well, maybe success is a long life—if it is lived for the glory of God. But even if it’s a short life, if it’s lived for God’s glory, that is still a success. It is not the duration but the donation.

All is Vanity…


Chapters 1-4 of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon’s theme is vanity of vanities, all is vanity. This is a problem that he states. Solomon begins his search for the solution, by conducting experiments. In chapter 1 verses 4-11 he looks to science and finds some startling facts about our world. Evaporation and storm currents, the sun, the wind, the rivers and the seas. Wisdom and philosophy are then studied in verses 12-18. In chapter 2 Solomon begins what is very popular today, pleasure. Only to discover that pleasure ends in emptiness. Verses 12-26 he tries living for the now, materialism. Chapter 3, the weary round of life, fatalism. Take life as it comes. If you can’t fight them, join them. I see nothing wrong with… Solomon transitions into egotism, excessive love of self. Chapter 4 Solomon continues searching for satisfaction through the philosophy of egotism. Verse 7, all is wrong, any direction you go, it’s wrong. There is no way out. Sounds like today. Verse 13, Solomon was two things, a very wise child, and a very foolish king….

Savior


Why God Sent a Savior
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NLT).
I heard about a couple that was going out of town for the Christmas weekend. They packed their luggage, dropped off the dog at a friend’s house, and then loaded up their SUV.
They pulled out of the driveway and were driving down the street when the woman suddenly turned to her husband and said, “We forgot the baby!” They had to go back and collect their child, whom they had left in the house.
That’s what Christmas is like for many people. How easy it is to miss the whole point. We trim our trees, hang our lights, and attend endless events, but we forget about the Baby.
Did Jesus come to this earth so that we could shop and spend too much money on Christmas presents? Of course not. He actually came with the express purpose of dying on a cross for our sins. He said that He came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NLT).
That is the whole point. He came to bring life to us, to bring the ultimate gift to us. Death finally was defeated when Jesus died on the cross and rose again. Let’s not miss this because God is offering us the most amazing gift of all: eternal life.
We are all made in the image of God, but to be theologically correct, we are not all children of God. The only way we can become children of God is by accepting the gift of eternal life that God offers us.
The Bible says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12 NKJV). There has to be a moment when you admit to God that you’re a sinner, turn from your sin, and ask Jesus to come into your life.
That is why God sent a Savior.

Receive Him today! Don’t wait. There is no better day than today!

Thanks to Pastor Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries for this devotion….

Jesus…


Jesus Never Had an Identity Crisis                   
DECEMBER 25
She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger…. Luke 2:7 “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased.” Matthew 3:17 “This is My beloved Son…hear ye Him.” Matthew 17:5
Jesus never had an identity crisis. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus never said, “I am ONE way to God.” He didn’t say, “I am A life.” Jesus said, “I am THE way, I am THE truth, I am THE life.” And God says, “He is My dear Son.” 
In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Not “I was,” but “I am.” He is the great I AM. He didn’t have His beginning at Bethlehem. He never had a beginning. He has always existed. 
The One who created the universe not only has this whole world in His hands, but He has the past, the present, and the future in His hands. 
“Sing, choirs of angels! Sing in exaltation. Sing, all ye citizens of Heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest. O come, let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him. O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!” 

Amen!!!…Thanks to Dr. Adrian Rogers and Love Worth Finding ministries for this devotion…

The Book of Ecclesiastes…


Sololmon wrote the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Ecclesiastes. The wisdom of Solomon is in Proverbs, the foolishness of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. Human philosophy apart from God. It is important to remember this as some statements contradict other statements made in scripture. Without Christ man cannot be satisfied, this is the teaching of Ecclesiastes. The world is unable to satisfy the human heart. Only Jesus Christ can fill the hole that is in the human heart.

“Vanity” is the key word, it occurs thirty-seven times. The key phrase is “under the sun,” which occurs twenty-nine times. “I said in my heart,” a man’s heart. Conclusions that men reach through their own intelligence.

Come to Jesus today…

Unto us…


Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

[Luke 2:10-11, NKJV]

“It is because the spirit of unselfish service personified by the life and the teachings of Christ makes appeal to the inner conscience and hope of every man and every woman in every part of the earth. It transcends in the ultimate all lines of race, of habitat, of nation. It lives in the midst of war, of slavery, of conquest. It survives prohibitions and decrees and force. It is an unquenchable Spring of Promise to humanity.” President Franklin Roosevelt.

[W]e remember another night long ago. Then a Child was born in a stable. A star hovered over, drawing wise men from afar. Shepherds, in a field, heard angels singing: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” That was the first Christmas and it was God’s great gift to us. This is a wonderful story. Year after year it brings peace and tranquility to troubled hearts in a troubled world. And tonight the earth seems hushed, as we turn to the old, old story of how “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” President Harry Truman.

“An angel of the Lord appeared to them [shepherds] and said: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of voices praising the Heavenly Father and singing: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations we forget that the true meaning of Christmas was given to us by the angelic host that holy night long ago. Christmas is the commemoration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, whose message would truly be one of good tidings and great joy, peace and good will.” President Ronald Reagan.

Scripture!


Hebrews 10:37-39
“For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.