Thursday, December 12, 2013

REMEMBER YOUR CREATOR

Suggested Reading: Ecclesiastes 10-12

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

When we see the Creator's handiwork, our hearts are filled with awe. The First Nations peoples of our land refer to God as "THE GREAT CREATOR," and have done so since before the European explorers arrived on this continent.

 

Key Verses: Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13-14

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,

Before the difficult days come,

And the years draw near when you say,

“I have no pleasure in them.”

…Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,

For this is man’s all.

For God will bring every work into judgment,

Including every secret thing,

Whether good or evil.

 

“Dead flies” – Chapter 10 begins by warning us that some foolishness can destroy much of the good that wisdom has accomplished. The consistent application of our minds and hearts to wisdom, such as this daily blog encourages, will help keep us on track. As 10:4b instructs us, “Do not leave your post!”

In order to help his large family understand the Scriptures, Ken Taylor created a paraphrase called “The Living Bible.” He renders Ecclesiastes 11:4 this way: “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” Someone has called this “the paralysis of analysis.” God has given us the ability to asses a situation, make a decision, and move forward boldly.

The final chapter gives us Solomon’s conclusions. The wisdom God gave him is summed up in our key verses. Let’s take time to meditate on “the whole matter!”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, You have created me, according to the Scriptures, in Your likeness. Therefore, I ask that I will be conscious minute by minute of Your presence so that I will fulfill Your plans for my life. You expect me to make my decisions with a confidence that if I’m going wrong, You will steer me by giving me Your wisdom, so that I will make course corrections. Thank You that You give purpose and meaning to my life. I pray in the Name of the One who “set His face like a flint” to go to the Cross for me, Jesus my Messiah! Amen!!! (read of the decisions of Jesus in Isaiah 50:6-7 and Luke 9:51-53).

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I have often spoken to teens and young people in their twenties from Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, as well as from Chapter 12 verse one. “REMEMBER!” and again in verse six, “REMEMBER!” For my own life I’ve sought to “REMEMBER!” Solomon’s conclusion after trying all kinds of things is clear and concise. I realized as a teen that I don’t have to go through all the things that messed up Solomon’s life, concluding in his old age as he stated at the beginning Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of Vanities, says the preacher, all is vanity.” Instead of emptiness, I am full. Instead of a vacuum in my life, I overflow with the presence of the Lord. As Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (read Ephesians 5:15-21).

Yours for being filled with God’s presence and for keeping filled 24/7,

David

P.S. In today’s reading, we are told, “Cast your bread upon the waters…” Traditionally this has been understood to mean that we are to give, give, and give some more. My wife, Norma-Jean, did the voice for an animated character in an excellent production for children which teaches giving. During this Christmas season when most children are expecting only to receive, they can learn the joy of giving by watching this GodRocks production called “Rock-A-Bye Christmas.” It’s in our Crossroads e-Store HERE. I suggest that you also check out other items on our e-Store for some of your Christmas shopping this month.

26 thoughts on “Thursday, December 12, 2013

  1. Solomon’s words are wise indeed. We would do well to ingest His observations about life because much can be learned from his wisdom. Solomon didn’t have the whole of the story though, for the long awaited Saviour had not yet entered into the world. Yes Solomon had wisdom, he certainly walked with God for most of his life, he knew the teachings of old, but the best that he could do with what he knew was to say “fear God and keep His commands”. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t bad advice, but I think an intimate knowledge and personal relationship with Jesus brings a greater comfort.. Perhaps updated words may include, live in the peace and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, trust in Him for your salvation and rest in the assurance that with Jesus you will have eternal life with Him forevermore.

    • Amen. I agree with you Scott, for I also observed that Solomon teachings are mostly based on works, human understanding and prayers against enemies…so on and so forth. But on the other hand, Christ teaches us to love our enemies and pray for them, peace , unity, love, faith grace:)

  2. Good morning David and fellow saints .
    The paralysis of analysis….. what fine words of wisdom there is in today’s reading. My twenty year old sons ears perked up this morning when he heard me read those words. He has been working on his first CD/ Album for a while now. He commented when I read the words “The Paralysis of Analysis” It led to an interesting posative discution partly about to days reading.That was good.
    That doesn’t happen very often! Praise the Lord for small miracals .Amen!

    Peace ,love , and blessings to all
    M.

  3. Good morning, another blessing from The Lord and your input Pastor David and thank you Scott andM and J for sharing. God is so good. I am having a better day so far after my surgery on Tuesday, and just knowing I am filled with the Spirit of The Living God am spurred on to getting stronger each day.

    Thank you to those who have prayed for me, as I continue to bring you before Our Saviour.

    Blessings to my Happy Spirit Filled Saints who are blogger buddies.

    Love because of Jesus. Enjoy this day. Thanks for the link to estore Pastor.

  4. Dear blogging pals I’ve been gone for a few weeks.My husband passed away
    Dec. 4 and funeral was on the 10 of Dec. it is a bit over whelming .
    my strenghth comes from the lord. Pray He will keep sustaining meRosemarie…..

    • No need to pray about it, there is no question the Lord will keep on sustaining you, through the grief, shock, loneliness and exhaustion that are sure to come. However, I will pray the Lord of all Comfort will continue to open your eyes to His Loving Presence, that He will protect your heart from all lies or bitterness, so He can remain a source on consolation for you in all the days that remain. Peace be with you Rosemarie during this difficult time. Keeping you in my prayers. Amen.

    • My deepest sympathies; so sorry for your loss Rosemarie!!1 It must be especially difficult at this time of year. I pray that God would be your comfort and peace and that you will get strength from those of us bloggers who are holding you up in prayer. And yes, I pray that the Lord will keep sustaining you. and the loving arms of Jesus will wrap you in His care. AMEN!!!

    • So sorry Rosemarie, for your husband’s passing. That must be so very difficult for you. May you sense His Presence as you grieve. We will pray for you. The Lord our God, He is with you!!!

      • Please accept my sincere condolences Rosemarie. The Lord has a reason for everything and in His word He says,” in everything, give thanks”. He knows what You are going through and I assure you, He does have a plan for you. Stay blessed and stay strong. God bless you

    • My deepest sympathy dear Rosemarie, fellow blogger. May the Lord enfold you in His arms and give you strenghth to go through these difficult times.

    • My deepest condolences Rosemarie and may you feel the loving arms of the Father gathering you closer as you go through this time in the loss of your dear husband. Prayers and blessings to you and yours.
      God is holding you tight and we are bringing you before His great throne of mercy, love and care.

      Love because of Jesus.

  5. A great deal of teaching in Ecclesiastes! All is vanity but our utmost reverence for God and how we live out our lives in respect of this. So much said about priorities in life and the reciprocal being foolishness. Thank you for the scriptures about avoiding the dissipating our minds and reminding us how quickly wisdom can change with the petrification of a fly in our ways. Thank God for being our co-pilot when course corrections are necessary. Have a great day, to all!

  6. I will keep you in pray RoseMarie
    These scriptures remind me to as he said to keep his commandment and be
    diligent which I need to remember to do. It’s not easy but I am going to do my
    best, and thats what God wants me to do.
    Lianne Hoog

  7. I could look at that cloud and see an amazingly well drawn hand, which artists say is one of the most difficult things to draw. I could say, it is the hand of God. However, if I don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God, my own imagination might call this hand the hand of the great Baal. I don’t know if this is a digitally enhanced picture or if this is what was actually in the sky, but greater than my eyes is knowledge that God’s Word is True. While reading the chapters today, I thought, I was glad that I did not have children in this evil world but if I did, the best thing I could do is study the bible with them everyday as you with us on this blog.

  8. David M….I was unable to do yesterdays blog so my response today is for yesterday. With all the replies yesterday you can see how much you are loved, appreciated and are being prayed for. It is so wonderful to ‘see’ how well you are looking again. No one knows the number of their days…only the Father does. He made us and set in place that number before we were even born. My thought is: when doctors give one a prognosis – a time line – we have two choices, give up, and in a sense allow death overshadow us, or we can stand up and fight. (years ago, I too, was given such a prognosis) You dear David, made the choice for ‘life’ in spite of the odds the doctors gave. The Lord still has a work for you to do, and your days will not end until He says ‘now is the time.’ As just one of your followers, I am most thankful for you, for your strength and courage during this most difficult time; for your faithfulness to Him and to this blog every day, even when I am sure it was most difficult to carry on and you did not feel like it getting up early and writing. Bless you David M…thank you for the example you have and still are setting for so many!

  9. May you feel the Lord’s presense with you, Rosemarie and His comfort in the loss of your husband. God bless you, my sister. What a response yesterday to your blog, David. Good wisdom today, David and fellow bloggers.

  10. Praying for continued healing and comfort for all of our blog family.
    May God gift us all with a very merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.
    Amen
    🙂

  11. Dear Rev. David M.
    The desire of my heart is the same as yours focusing my eyes on Our Saviour Jesus letting The Holy Spirit show us the way to accomplish Gods will .
    All my deepest sympathies Rosemarie on the loss of your husband . Do not forget that The God of the mountain is still The God in the valley. Keeping you in prayer.
    Have a blessed day everyone.
    xxxx Carole.

  12. Just read about your husband’s passing Rosemarie, and my heart goes out to you. I lost my husband of 57 years to cancer, and my 53 year old son died tragically in an accident not even 6 seeks before, so it was a huge shock.. But, God does give grace to continue as I depend on Him each day. I pray that God would minister peace, grace, and comfort to you Rosemarie. Psalm 18:6 “In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help. He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears”. He promises to “”never leave us or forsake us” and we can trust Him..

  13. Dear David,

    I am so thankfull that God choose you ( and He knew you would accept the job) to start a Christian television, be a role model for Canada, and to stand for God in politics as a faith leader. As Billy Graham is for America, so are you for Canada being obedient servants. What God started with you, he will finish. God will receive two magnificent men into glory, maybe around the same time. I love Norma Jean and your whole family. Merry Christmas to all. And I am anticipating what God is planning in the New Year for you to do.
    Tjarda

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