Month: August 2018

“Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself?  Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish:  Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other; for he who fears God will escape them all.” Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 ->me: OVERRIGHTEOUS = the righteousness done to draw attention to one’s self or in self-sufficiency working to earn your way into heaven [Not unlike the Pharisees].  You can get to a point where your desire to do good works and live upright become more about you than reflecting the image of a loving and divine Creator.  OVERWICKED = We are all sinners, we are all wicked at our fleshly core.  I believe the Preacher is talking about the person who knows they are doing evil and continues in it as the old creature; not the new creature who recognizes their sin, confesses, and repents by turning the other direction.  When I truly fear God and worship Him then I will come forth avoiding these extremes.  I must understand that God is the deliverer; I cannot ‘righteousness’ my way into heaven.  Heeding the nudging of the Holy Spirit in my daily life and reading the word of truth which is a divinely provided measuring stick; I can avert a provocation of the God of Wrath.

“Consider the work of God: who can make straight what He has made crooked?  In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider that God has made the one side by side with the other, so that man may not find out anything that shall be after him.” Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 ->me: I had other things I was going to write but I just now read these 2 verses backwards and really helped me see, what I believe, is the meaning.  ‘Why can’t man find anything out that comes after him? -> because God has MADE (in the Hebrew this is SET which I like better) adversity and prosperity to sit side by side with each other in this life.  We have no ability to change what God has put in place in His purposes and will…So, consider Who you should lean on in your life – God or your own devices?”.  Ok, this is a little choppy but it made the point clear to me.  When things are going great it is easy to lose sight of the One all the good things come from.  When things get challenging it is an opportunity to turn to the One Who can either change my circumstance or give me the comfort, peace, and wisdom to manage through it.  These last two days I was given the blessing of leading Bella and Sophie in an exercise of trusting God in either being spared the 24 hour Stomach Flu (that Marianne and Prim got) or “consider” what God might teach us if it was His will that we all go through it.  We prayed that first night (each of us while Prim and Marianne were down) that if we were spared we would give God all the glory and if we came down with it as well that we would use the opportunity lean into Him more for comfort and leniency.  Our trust in God will take us the distance – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

“Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yes, more excellent it is for those [the living] who see the sun.  For wisdom is a defense even as money is a defense, but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom shields and preserves the life of him who has it.” Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 ->me: Wisdom is something I pray for all the time (I did it today asking that the Lord would give me wisdom on what to do with the unsick people as the Stomach Bug runs through the house picking us off one by one – first Prim and now Marianne).  God tells us that He is the giver of wisdom and here in Ecclesiastes it is telling us that wisdom is a gift that can benefit those who live under the sun (all of us).  Money and wealth can protect you through buying protection or building a fortress, but wisdom and knowledge not only shield a person through avoiding situations that are precarious, but through decisions, relationships, and God fearing that cause the one, who possess wisdom and knowledge, to persevere through life.  Better to be poor and wise than an old and foolish king…remember that from Ecclesiastes 4:13?  Yesterday’s and today’s reflections together are very powerful.  Yes, I can gain wisdom from the Lord but I need to rely on Him to retain it.

Ben’s QTVOTD – “Do not be quick in spirit to be angry or vexed, for anger and vexation lodge in the bosom of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:9 ->me: Verses 7-9 discuss several different ways a wise man can become a fool.  1) He can use his influence and power to extort or oppress others. 2) He can become proud in spirit through a trial by not setting his sights on the outcome by asking “Why should I have to wait to see what You are going to do God?”  3) He can become so angry and exasperated that he becomes resentful.  In the bible, bosom represents the most inner part of a man.  These are great reminders for what to watch out for as I move forward in my hope for eternity.  I can see failures in my life today in each one of these warnings.  I must not only be respectful but also humble in areas of authority I am given, whether that be as a boss, husband, father, or spiritual leader.  I must remind myself that as a follower of Jesus, God works all of my trials and tribulations to an outcome of good.  I must be conscious of my tendency to become exasperated with my girls, insults that come my way, or frustrated by unmerited treatment.  Lord help me through Your Holy Spirit to be aware of these pitfalls so that I may have the opportunity to course correct.

“It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.  For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility)!” Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 ->me: There have been some events in my life where this has hit a little too close to home lately.  The ‘song of a fool’ here represents flattering praise.  I should stop and think for a moment about what the fool is praising me for…is it something I really want to be getting praise for?  The fool’s hierarchy of priorities and judgement should give me pause.  Even when I am striving to be who I should be in the Lord, a correction by someone wise in my life can be infuriating.  1) Have I surrounded myself with wise people or have I isolated myself because I just want to live in my self-sufficient bubble?  Do I give people I consider wise permission to confront me?  2) When I am confronted with a wise rebuke am I heeding the counsel; do I stop for a moment to appreciate the courage and love of the person willing to put themselves in the possible line of fire to tell me what I need to hear?  Even if don’t immediately agree or see the truth, am I committing to pray and seek the Lord in His word on the issue?  Operating this way has shown to be very humbling but oh so powerful in allowing God to use those closest to me to be a part of my sanctification process.  Thank you Lord for these courageous and special people in my life…’people’, you know who you are.  🙂

Ben’s QTVOTD – “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth and sensual joy.” Ecclesiastes 7:4 ->me: I need to keep eternity in mind – not obsess or worry (God tells us not to worry) but to weigh my impulses and desires in light of my mortality before indulging in them.  At my age I feel like I have wasted a good portion of my possible impact for God’s Kingdom; but that should only encourage me to push hard now.  I know many “fools” -> those who expend a lot of energy to give themselves what they want – much through partying.  No sooner are they back from one bender before they are talking about prep for the next one.  I feel there is still so much I can do.  I have a lot of fun investing in people.  Our Life Group nights feel like a party -> we eat, we share, we laugh, and we are there for each other while we learn more about what God says about our relationships.  This is the focus – invest in the eternal aspects of those in my sphere of influence.  It really isn’t about what I want or being accepted by man – it’s about what God wants and showing everyone I can that God accepts them how they are IN CHRIST.

“For who [limited to human wisdom] knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow [going through the motions but accomplishing nothing]? For who can tell a man what will happen [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun after he is gone?” Ecclesiastes 6:12 ->me: The Preacher is really driving home 2 points. 

1. The ungodly have no clue what shall be after them or what will be the eternal events revealed from all the work they have done.
2. The ungodly don’t really know what is “good” during this life. 

Men have no wisdom in themselves and there is no other earthly man they can receive help from.  The Preacher is essentially slamming every door but the door of faith.  Living by faith is the only answer – In he Preacher’s time Jesus had not come, the Holy Spirit had not been sent, and there was no access to God the Father except through ceremonial cleansing and atonement through sacrifices made by High Priests every year.  The Lord has given me so much in His Son, the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and access to the Father through my Savior who sits at His right hand.  I have everything that can deliver me from the angst of the human condition!  Last but not least I have the Word of God that gives me a clear measuring stick for what is “good”.  The answer is clear – it is so obvious to me now why God included Ecclesiastes in the canon of His word.

“For what advantage has the wise man over the fool [being worldly-wise is not the secret to happiness]? What advantage has the poor man who has learned how to walk before the living [publicly, with men’s eyes upon him; being poor is not the secret to happiness either]?  Better is the sight of the eyes [the enjoyment of what is available to one] than the cravings of wandering desire. This is also vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and a striving after the wind and a feeding on it!” Ecclesiastes 6:8-9  ->me:  Today was a looonnnngg day.  First we missed our flight to SoCal this morning (10:20am departure | we tried to drop our bags at 9:35am and they said we missed the cutoff).  Ok, so now we are now on the 12:10pm flight.  Well, because the Blue Angels had taken up airspace restrictions because of the weather our 12:10pm flight was delayed until 2:50pm.  Why am I telling you all of this?…because this would normally send me through the roof.  I would have been angry, frustrated, bitter, and a total bear to be with; but not today.  The Lord brought a peace over me from the moment they said we missed our flight.  I just knew that there was some reason this needed to happen today.  We actually had a nice time and because we wore Prim out she pretty much just slept on me most of the trip.  God is good.  Through Ecclesiastes the Lord is reinforcing the need for me to depend on Him to be the all in all in my life.  Today was a great day only because I finally get that He is in control and what happened…happened because He allowed it to happen.