BIBLE PASSAGE:
“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun;
all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the
matter:Fear God and keep his commandments, for this
is the duty of all mankind.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:14, 12:13)
MEDITATION:
Life can be complicated at times can’t it? If you were the wisest,
wealthiest, and most powerful person, would life be better for you?
To answer this question, we can look at the book of Ecclesiastes in
God’s Word.
Solomon was exactly the person described above. He was known as
the wisest man ever, with enormous wealth and power. As a wise
man, he evaluated life on earth and found it to be very frustrating.
Solomon discovered that no matter how much a person has, or what
talents he possesses, man still continues to search for gratification.
Solomon saw the futility of seeking satisfaction in people and things.
Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects,
and marrying many wives, he said,
“All is vanity and grasping for the wind”
He surmised that wealth, wisdom and power cannot make life more
pleasing for man. Since he possessed all three, he is the most qualified
to give us advice regarding the pros and cons of having them.
Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical
answer is: we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God.
Jesus promised,
“I have come that they may have life,
and that they may have it more abundantly”
(John 10:10)
People and things come and go, but the spiritual satisfaction Christ
offers, will sustain us in this world and endure throughout all eternity.
So, what do we do? Do we just go through life trying to ‘push a rope
up a hill’ in our efforts to find satisfaction? It appears that man will
always have a yearning for something other than what is visible.
Why would God create this desire in man? Because He wants us
to seek Him above all things.
That says a lot, doesn’t it? God wants a relationship with all of His
children. How exciting is that? The omnipotent (all powerful),
omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent God of the universe
wants us as His friends.
We may trudge through life wondering if this is all there
is, until we discover that God is all there is. He is the most
important influence in our life. He is the One who can
bring joy, peace, and happiness into our lives.
What was the wisest man’s (Solomon) conclusion? He tells us that
our goal should be to, “Fear God and keep his commandments”.
If we are not striving to obey His commandments, then we will
most likely continue a life of frustration as we continue to search
for something to satisfy our yearning.
When Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus answered,
“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord
your God and serve him only.’”
(Luke 4:8)
Jesus says to us,
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
The Bible tells us in simple terms that we should
‘worship the Lord our God’, ‘serve Him’, and
‘do what He says’
(which shows our sincerity in calling Him Lord, Lord).
Serving Him and doing what He says
confirms that we truly worship Him.
Sadly, there are many who call Him Lord, but have decided that
they will not do what He says. They have selected the things He
tells us to do that best fits what they want to do, and have chosen
to ignore the ones that do not.
For instance, He tells us to meet together in His house,
but I have heard some say things like:
“Someone at church offended me, so I am not going back!”
“I don’t enjoy the music they play, so I don’t go to church.”
“The church is full of hypocrites, so why should I attend?”
“I have my reasons for not going.”
These reasons (and many others not included), may sound reasonable
to others, but are they acceptable to the Lord? According to His Own
words, they are not! When we obey His command and go to His house,
it is to meet with Him, and not to evaluate others or the music selections.
Our primary reason for being there is to obey the Lord and worship
Him. If we want to serve Him, then we must obey Him. We cannot
witness until we have worshipped. Worship prepares us to witness,
and it confirms to others that we are sincere when we share our faith
with them.
Note:
Of course there are times when we cannot meet at His house
for health reasons (flu, viruses, pandemics, immobility,etc.),
but we can still find ways to connect with others in worship
through social media. We can purposely carve out time to
worship and we can find ways to serve Him. God gave each
of us ‘spiritual gifts’ tailored just for us, and He expects us
to use them.
Others will not be interested in, or heed our advice if they
cannot see us doing what we say they should do. We can
talk until ‘the cows come home’, but we need to do what
the Lord says until ‘He comes home’ to take us with Him.
ACTION:
Are you following the instructions from God to
‘worship the Lord your God’,
‘serve Him’, and ‘do what He says’?
Do you have your own personal list of which commands you
will obey, or have you given the Lord your heart completely?
If others asked you,
“How are you serving the Lord you claim to believe in?”
how would you respond?
Do others observe you living out your faith by obeying ALL
His commands? Do you want to continue a life of frustration
and searching for happiness, or do you want the Lord to bring
joy and satisfaction into your life?
As believers, we will all be held accountable when our life on
earth has ended. That means we should be serving Him now.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things
done while in the body, whether good or bad.
(2 Corinthians 5:10)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me a yearning to
find You and give You full control of my life. I realize that
the world cannot give me what You can provide. Forgive me
if I still have areas of selfishness in my life. Your Word tells
me that in order to call You Lord, I am required to do what
You say. Others may not know it when I have decided not
to obey some of Your commands, but You and I know if that’s
the case. Forgive me and encourage me to obey all of your
commands, so that I can confidently call You Lord. I pray
that You will guide me in using the spiritual gifts You have
given me, so that I can find joy in serving You. I am tired of
struggling with the challenges of life, and my desire is to find
a new purpose that is satisfying to me and pleasing to You.”
BLOG: utvolwoody.wordpress.com
BREAD FOR BELIEVERS 
Discussion
No comments yet.