Skip to main content

15 June 2020 - Ecclesiastes 6 and 2 Samuel 7:18-29

By

Today’s devotion is from Ecclesiastes 6 and 2 Samuel 7:18-29

General view of life would be if we are wealthy, we will find joy and happiness. In Ecclesiastes 6, the author basically saying there is more to life than our material world and even if we have wealth, it will not satisfy us (v.1-2). In v.3-6, we can live what seems to be a good life to outsiders but still feel life is meaningless. 

Heart of gratitude

The meaning of life can only be found in knowing God. God has created human beings in his image to love and honour him. Once we know our creator, we will know our purpose. Our purpose is not to pursue earthly possessions but to pursue Him. This is where our second daily scripture reading comes in where we have King David’s prayer of gratitude. Even with his power over a kingdom, David knew that all earthly pleasures can never satisfy his soul. What gives us full enjoyment in life is knowing that God has redeemed us through Jesus Christ and a day is coming when we have eternal life. More than our wealth and more than good life is the grace that we receive freely through Jesus Christ.  

David also knew that he did not deserve promises, blessings, wealth or power. Despite being popular in the nation of Israel and military success, David humbles himself and considers himself unworthy of the Lord’s blessings. David recognized this when he said “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? Unlike the struggle of the author in Ecclesiastes, David clearly saw that all the goodness of his life came because of God and knowing God.  

Rejoice always in the Lord

We should rejoice in the Lord always and continuing rejoicing no matter what our circumstances are.  This is the heart of contentment.  Being content is not dependent on receiving what we want, rather it’s being grateful for what we have.  Paul saw the prize “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”. (Philippians 3:8). We must fix our focus on Jesus and only in him and through him, we will have true wealth, peace and joy.

Prayer:

Lord, help me break free from any feelings of discontentment with life and live with a heart full of gratitude. Thank you for the life you have given me and thank you for giving us the gift of salvation which outweighs all the earthly pleasures. Where I am struggling with discontentment, may I choose gratitude for all You have done for me.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger of Spiritual Infancy (Hebrews 5:11 - 6:12)

By
Have you met people who refuse to grow up? There are some adults who prefer to remain as children because they do not want to take on adult responsibilities. Not only is immature behaviour unpleasant to observe or deal with, the consequences are often destructive. In Hebrews 5:11-14, the writer expresses his frustration that some members of the church were refusing to grow into spiritual maturity. They were no longer trying to understand God’s word (v 11). Instead of taking on the responsibility of teaching others as they themselves had been taught, they needed to be taught the basics all over again (v12). Therefore, they were unable to take on “solid food” which is for mature Christians, and they were not able to distinguish good from evil (v14) or to understand teaching about righteousness (v13). Spiritual maturity is a necessary part of our walk with God. Remaining as a spiritual infant means that you are not good at discerning right from wrong and you will have a hard time maintain
Post a Comment
Read more

22 Sep 2020 - Isaiah 54 : GOD’S PROMISE FOR FRUITFULNESS AND BLESSING

By
Daily Devotion Tuesday 22nd September  Isaiah 54 – GOD’S PROMISE FOR FRUITFULNESS AND BLESSING    This scripture is a beautiful promise of encouragement and affirmation to God’s people. If you have served God faithfully, but you feel discouraged, if you feel that your effort thus far has not borne any fruit, if you feel that you have been despised or looked down upon, this promise is for you.    God tells the “barren woman” to sing and shout for joy, because God will give her the desire of her heart and gift her with more children than she can imagine (v1). This is a prophecy for the increase and expansion of the nation of Israel through the birth of many children, and a promise that the city would be rebuilt. The barren woman could also mean a person or a church that is feeling discouraged, unfulfilled or foolish. Perhaps you feel foolish and discouraged for putting your trust in God for so long, but you have not experienced the results that you expected? If you are feeling discourage
Post a Comment
Read more

A prophet prophesies and the church fully obeys (Acts 11:27- 12:4)

By
During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. 12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. When Jewish believers from Cyprus (Europe) and Cyrene (Liby
Post a Comment
Read more