SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/13/2013
10:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The
Application
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Eccl. 1:1-3
Message of the
verses: “1 ¶ The words of the Preacher, the son of David,
king in Jerusalem. 2 "Vanity of
vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is
vanity." 3 What advantage does man
have in all his work Which he does under the sun?”
The Application: I suppose
that one of the things that we should be looking at every time we read the Word
of God is to find an application for our lives.
In the case of Ecclesiastes we will be taking a brief look at how this
book can be applied to our lives.
However one of the things that I have learned from my study of the Bible
is that I believe that the Holy Spirit is the One who has to show us
individually how to apply certain things from the Scripture we are studying to
our lives. It may be that He has
something different to show me than someone else.
Some may think that the book of Ecclesiastes has no
benefit for us today because it was written almost three thousand years ago,
but people have similar problems today, things like Solomon saw in his
day. How about injustice to the poor
which is seen in chapter four and verses one through three, and how about
crooked politics which we seen in (5:8), or incompetent leaders which is seen
in (10:6-7), or guilty people who commit more crimes as seen in (8:11), and
then we see materialism in (5:10), and having a desire for the good old days in
(7:10). Perhaps this book is more up to
date than we may have though it was.
Jesus
states in Mark 8:36 these words, “"For what does it profit a man to gain
the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”
Solomon shows us a lot about gaining the whole world in this book, but
he also encourages us to get our live right with the Lord, and that means that
if we are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ that we should not delay to
put our trust in Him, and His finished work He did for us on the cross. Trusting that His death will pay for all of
our sins and also that His resurrection from the dead is proof that God has
accepted His sacrifice for us. If you
have not done this then I pray that you will do it today. Just admit to the Lord that you are a sinner
and that He died in your place and then accept that truth into your life and
make Him your personal Savior and Lord.
He will hear your prayer I promise you.
When we read through the book of Ecclesiastes we will
find out that Solomon had tried many different aspects of life that left him
empty, things like possessions, pleasures, power and even prestige. None worked to bring satisfaction to him as
we will see by reading this book.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “When you belong to the family of God
through faith in the Son of God, life is not monotonous: it is a daily adventure that builds character
and enables you to serve others to the glory of God. Instead of making decisions on the basis of
the vain wisdom of this would, you will have God’s wisdom available to you
(James 1:5).”
As far as being rich in material things God will make us
rich in spiritual things, and this is seen as we read through the book of
Ephesians. When we see the words “In
Christ,” we know that we have that particular thing that is being discussed
because we are “In Christ.”
In Ecclesiastes Solomon makes the point that there is a certainty
in death, and no matter what pleasures Solomon would allow himself the shadow
of death was always lurking over his shoulder waiting for Him. Jesus states in John 11:25 the following
truth, “I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in Me will live even
if he dies.” Paul writes these encouraging
words in 1 Cor. 15:54-58 “54 But when
this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have
put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written,
"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55
"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR
STING?" 56 The sting of death is
sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57
but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” In this section Paul is talking about an
event that will take place sometime before the return of Jesus Christ to earth
to set up His 1000 year kingdom which was promised in the OT, but the length of
it is revealed in the NT book of Revelations.
The event is called the Rapture of the Church and it is best explained
in this section of 1Cor. 15 and also in 1 Thes. 4:13-18. The event is actually
Jesus Christ returning to the air above the earth and snatching all who have
believed in Him since the Church began in Acts chapter two. Now many have already passed on to be with
Him, and so their bodies will resurrected at this time, but those who are alive
at this time will be changed on the way up to meet the Lord in the air and will
have immortal bodies like Jesus’ body.
Paul writing to Titus says that this is the hope of the believer. “Tit 2:13
while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
The first message that is seen in Ecclesiastes is to turn
from your sin and turn to the Lord for salvation, and this is just as important
today as it was in Solomon’s day.
Next we see that if we are believers in Jesus Christ then
we must make sure we are living for the Lord.
Solomon was given great gifts from the Lord, gifts that he could not
handle and so he turned from the Lord, but later on in the twilight of his life
he turned back to the Lord, and so he wants to make sure that we do not make
that same mistake of turning from the Lord to pursue things that will burn up
at the judgment seat of Christ. Solomon
is telling believers not to live for the things of the world which will perish
but to live for the things of God that will not perish. John writes the following that goes along
with what we are talking about “15 Do
not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. 16 For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and
the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 The world is passing away, and also
its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” I know that Solomon would have agreed with
that statement.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “Ecclesiastes also contains a message
for the faithful believer who wants to serve the Lord and have a fulfilled life
in Jesus Christ. Solomon says, ‘Don’t bury
your head in the sand and pretend that problems don’t exist. The do!
Face life honestly, but look at life from God’s perspective. Man’s philosophies will fail you. Us your God-given wisdom, but don’t expect to
solve every problem or answer every question.
The important things is to obey God’s will and enjoy all that He give
you Remember, death is coming –so be
prepared!’”
Moses writes in Psalm 90:12 these
words that go along with our subject, “So teach us to number our days, that we
may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Dr. Wiersbe completes his commentary on the introduction
to Ecclesiastes by quoting American novelist Peter De Vries “Life is a crowded superhighway
with bewildering cloverleaf exits on which a man is liable to find himself
speeding back in the direction he came.”
I think what he seems to be saying is that we need wisdom from the Lord
so we don’t continue making the same mistakes over and over again and this does
not need to happen to us if we follow the advice of Solomon, for he has already
made these mistakes and wants us to avoid.
Dr. Wiersbe asks this question “What will life be for
you: vanity or victory?”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: My life can be
victorious if I trust the Lord and the words that Solomon wrote in Proverbs
3:5-6, “5 Trust in the LORD with all
your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will
make your paths straight.”
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Not practicing to be a know it all but
trust the Lord to give me the wisdom I need to life a life pleasing to Him.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 32:7-10
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah. 8 I will instruct you and
teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon
you. 9 Do not be as the horse or as the
mule which has no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold
them in check, otherwise they will not come near you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he
who trusts in the Lord Lovingkindness shall surround you.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “David” (Romans 4:7).
Today’s Bible
Question: “Where did the Lord confound
the language of the people?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
4/13/2013 11:35 AM
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