The Devotional - 074 - Part One

A Thought for the Day – 074 – Part One

I just cannot help myself… I like the way Solomon writes. He says here in Ecclesiastes 5:18 “here is what I have seen” this is a first person singular statement, like “I saw this in my life’s journey and here is my understanding of what I saw.” Most of us today quiver in our boots to make such a dogmatic comment, so when I write I challenge myself to use what I know to bring light into the darkness of my little corner of the world. Tying what I know to the Living Word of God helps me feel that I am fulfilling 2 Timothy 4:1-4.

Comments and challenges

“God has given to every one of us a portion in life”, or as translated in Ecclesiastes 5:18 “God has given us a heritage”. Now let me ask us a simple question. But first let me answer it for us from James 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Now the question: Solomon says that God has given you and me a portion of human life to live; does this life He gives come with an unhealthy dose of SIN? My answer is no, I am not sure what yours is?

Solomon says; “it is good and fitting to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his (mankind’s) labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God has given him” so I see here that the problem is not with the gift of God which is good, the problem is what we do with that gift once we determine that we can PESONALLY and selfishly destroy it. Now there is much too much scripture to prove this out and yes we are much too much a private hearted people to admit that we have TRASHED the gift of God with personal SIN! So God readily reminds us that we are full of lies and do not do the truth 1 John 1:5-10.

Ecclesiastes 5:20 provides ample information that mankind does not dwell on his or her sin with respect to the consequence since God keeps his or her life busy with the joy of the heart. This helps me understand that after a few days a person can forget how his or her root of bitterness has affected those around them, including themself and return to living and rejoicing in their daily labors. Too much of this activity though will produce hardness heart. Ecclesiastes 6:1 says this is an evil and common among men. (In this thought, there should not be a chapter break as I believe that Solomon’s thought continues here).

So here in Part One; of these thoughts today I see that there are many days of the past where I have selfishly lived my life (God’s physical gift to me) without recognizing that the gift is not mind to control or selfishly manipulate, the gift is given to my SOUL which belongs to God to whom my soul is accountable, but if I have used the gift of God to selfishly abuse me and those around me, then my soul has NOTHING to show to God of the labors of life. God’s gift then is expended in the selfishness of sin and is USELESS for eternity.

Now there is a problem or two: One is the problem of sin and for YOU AND ME (there are no exceptions), if you do not know it already, notice Romans 3:23 or Galatians 3:22 which conclude that every person has been imprisoned in SIN. This is a physical life sentence without parole under the SUN and what is meant by the statement of Solomon “under the sun” simply… whatever happens on earth is confined to earth. Satan caused mankind to reject the testimony of God on the one condition of physical living; “in the day you shall eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil, you shall surely die” Genesis 2:17. Man’s disobedience resulted in God’s curse on that which He created; the curse is death to our physical gift of life. Genesis 3:1-24. More tomorrow, scripture references: http://www.biblestudytools.com