Tag: devotions

Ecclesiastes gets a bad wrap. 

Ecclesiastes 1 3 NIV sgl
It shouldn’t but it does. Most people think it is a depressed Old Man Solomon sitting down at the end of his life saying “EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS.” Therefore, most of the book is about how everything is meaningless, life is not valuable, and it would be better to be dead.
But that’s a bad interpretation.
First, let’s look at 1:2. This is the key phrase of the book. Everything hinges on understanding this phrase correctly. And most of our translations do a poor job. That may seem arrogant, but let’s look at the word in Hebrew. The word, (transliterated) is “havel” or “habel”. Literally, it means “mist” or “vapor.” Very rarely is it used in this sense. Many more times it is used of idols, which are “mists” as opposed to God’s “concreteness.”  In its more poetic context, which the passage warrants, it means “temporary”, “fleeting”, “transitory”. The author is declaring “Passing! Fleeting! Un-lasting! Everything changes and nothing remains!” See how VASTLY different that sounds from the usual “eVeRyThInG iS mEaNiNgLeSs!” we normally read?
We need to understand that the central call of the book is about how nothing lasts because it makes the question in 1:3 make SO MUCH MORE SENSE! The author (Qohelet, the teacher, most likely meant to be Solomon, but not for sure) is not simply lamenting that work is hard and not much can be gained. Instead, the author is asking a very pointed question : “In everything I do, WHAT DO I HAVE THAT LASTS? What remains? What is not ‘havel’, not a temporary, fleeting, striving after the wind?”
Now THAT is a question we want an answer to!
This isn’t a depressed teacher moaning about how everything is terrible and nothing matters and that all the stuff we do is unimportant. He is asking (and implicitly promising to answer), “What will be the thing that will last when all the other futilities of life fade?”
He goes on in these first 6 chapters and tells us that it’s not wisdom (1:12-18)[though it is better than folly (2:12-17)], it’s not pleasure (2:1-3) or possessions (2:4-11), it’s not labor (2:18-23) [though labor is a good thing (2:24-26, 3:12-15)]. The justice and oppression of men is havel, those who seek after money will realize it is havel.
Look at what the author says in 3:14 “I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it.” The eternal, so far as we know now, the thing that is not havel, temporary, fleeting or futile, is the work of God.
We leave this section of Ecclesiastes without the answer. There are some depressing things the author says, but once we have the answer for “what does a man gain? what LASTS?” we can reevaluate those passages in light of the answer.
Jake Ballard
Tomorrow we will finish the book of Ecclesiastes to find yet another wise answer to the questions of life on our walk through God’s powerful word – 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Counterintuitive Wisdom

Proverbs 27-29

Proverbs 27 6 NIV sgl

The Proverbs are, in many cases, fairly self explanatory. Don’t be lazy, don’t be a wicked ruler, don’t be foolish but be wise, be a righteous ruler, be diligent in your work. Each Proverb has it’s own meaning but they go along those lines. But some are not so self explanatory. They are counterintuitive.
A short example is found in 28:27. If you want to be prosperous and blessed, to never be in want, then we give our money to the poor. The world, our own sinful heads, and many economists believe that the way to grow our wealth and not be in want is to hoard our money. But that’s not the way God works. It is only in generosity and giving that we will be blessed. This comes from the fact that God will bless and many times he blesses us through the care of others in our time of struggle and hardship.
Also, 27:5-6 doesn’t seem to be true in the moment. I don’t like to be rebuked. I don’t like it when a friend calls me out on the garbage way I am acting. But the Proverb teaches us that we should delight when a friend rebukes us because their correction comes form a place of love and they want our life to be one of wisdom and righteousness. This is especially true for  our brothers and sisters in our local church. Many times, we may feel judged by the people of our church, but more often than not, they are wanting the BEST for us. The “wounds” they give are better than any kisses of those who tell us we have nothing wrong with us. There could be people who act like a friend and hurt you in terrible ways, but here we mean TRUE friendship, TRUE companionship, TRUE love from a brother or sister in Christ. That true love is shown in forgiveness and compassion, especially in our moments of weakness and humility. Many times, when we are sinning and are fearing the rebuke of those people, we hide our sin away, like 28:13 says. But counterintuitively, by hiding our sins, we only hurt ourselves more when they are brought to light in some other way. We need to confess our sins and turn away from them. When we do, compassion and forgiveness are waiting for us from the people of God and from God himself.
Jake Ballard
Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+27-29&version=NIV
Tomorrow’s reading will be Ecclesiastes 1-6 as we continue on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

To Answer a Fool – or Not?

Disagree – Wisely

Proverbs 26 4 5 NIV

Proverbs 25 & 26
Proverbs is hard to write ONE devotion about. From chapter 10 forward, nearly the entire book is a collection of pithy quick sayings that were meant to produce wisdom in those who learned them. (Only chapter 31 is different, but that will be for another author to work through!) Today, for chapters 25 and 26, I want to focus on just one set of verses.
There are two authors to every word of the Bible. The first is the human author, a person who lived in a specific place and time, thought and wrote in a specific language and who was fallible and failing just like the rest of humanity. Also, Christians believe the Bible is inspired by God. This means that God directed the author so that the words, ideas, and stories are those by which God wanted people to live and that everything in the Bible is true. Short and simple, the Bible is not full of lies and misinformation, and it doesn’t contradict itself. (1)
That seems like a hard standard to hold when we read Proverbs 26:4 and 26:5.
26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.
5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
That he not be wise in his own eyes.
DO NOT X & DO X. That is a pretty clear contradiction, right?
Well, yes and no; let me explain. It is clearly contradiction if we believe that all the Proverbs must be followed all the time, like the laws of the Torah. But this is not how the Proverbs were intended to be used.
Proverbs were meant to make people wise, and therefore were to build wisdom AND BE USED WITH WISDOM. Every Proverb doesn’t always give what must be done in every situation always, but instead tells you a general way of living that should guide you in the moment to make a wise decision.
The question we are hard-wired to ask is : Is it right or wrong to answer a fool? But,  THAT’S A BAD QUESTION! Instead we should be asking : Is it wise or foolish to answer this fool right now? Sometimes you debate with a person in private who will never change his or her mind, and you have to throw up your hands and say, “Not worth it” or you could be dragged into the mud and muck of folly and error. Sometimes, you need to correct someone for the foolish thing he or she has said or done, or they go on being foolish forever. Either approach could be wise or foolish; it is the wisdom of God that will sort out which way we should go.
Thus, God’s word is kept from our bad interpretation and we recognize that there is no contradiction!
Jake Ballard
(1) Rarely, if ever, is something truly “short and simple.” There are lots of implications and theological, historical and scientific questions that come up, but sadly, we don’t have time for that at the moment.
Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at

Tomorrow’s reading will be Proverbs 27-29 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

The Throne and the Temple

1 Kings 9 and 2 Chronicles 8

1 Kings 9 3 NIV sgl

In today’s passage, the temple in Jerusalem has been built along with the palace and throne of Solomon. David wanted to build the temple for God, but he was a man of war and bloodshed. Therefore God used David’s son, Solomon. In the passage from 1 Kings 9, we read God making a covenant with Solomon. We know about the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants, but here we have the Solomonic covenant. There are lots of warnings in it, but there are two main verses I want to focus on. Each hold promises that I want to focus on today; two things that should interest us in this Older Testament text after the revelation of Jesus Christ.
First, in 1 Kings 9:5, God promises that, according to verse 4, if Solomon is righteous, then “you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.” Though the children of Solomon did turn away and not follow God with their hearts, we can see that God stays true to the promise he made to David and Solomon. Christ, the son of Solomon (Matthew 1:6-7), will rule on the throne of David and Solomon. He will sit on the throne of the New Jerusalem over the Kingdom of God on the earth. What a glorious day that will be. We can trust and hope that during these uncertain times, we have the certainty of Christ reigning among his people in the future. God has declared it, he has promised. If He speaks it, He will fulfill it. (Numbers 23:19)
Secondly, a metaphor for Christ is the “chief cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:4-8). It’s a building term; it was the most important stone in the entire project. The whole building was measured off the cornerstone. If the cornerstone was strong and level, the whole house would stand. If it was crooked or wrong, it would fall. Christ is the cornerstone, and we are stones in this holy building that God is building. And this building is not just any building! In both 1 Corinthians 3:16 and Ephesians 2:21, it is clear that the people of God collectively are the NEW TEMPLE OF GOD. God promises in 1 Kings 9:3 that he consecrated a house where he will dwell, that he put his name there forever, and His eyes and His heart will be there perpetually. But the house where God dwells now is not a building in Jerusalem, but in the community of the redeemed. When the people who have been saved gather together, God’s eyes are there, God’s heart is there, and His name is put into us forever.
Praise be to God that through Christ our Lord we have been given a savior who will rule on the throne of David and Solomon, a savior who builds his people into the temple where God dwells.
Jake Ballard
Tomorrow’s passage will be Proverbs 25 & 26 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Called to Worship

Psalm 134 & 146-150

Psalm 150 2 NIV sgl

What’s your favorite song? Not the one that makes you sound sophisticated to your friends or the one that is just a current fling, but the one that is your favorite. What’s the song that makes you wanna roll down your windows and sing out as you drive along? (It’s hard to narrow down, I know. There are many “emo” bands from the mid-‘00s that are contenders for me.) For many of you, it’s probably a song that is ‘happier”: they probably have upbeat lyrics, a fun melody, a catchy tune. (For you music nerds, probably a major key, rather than minor key.) The reason those kinds of songs may be your favorite is because music reaches into a deep part of what makes us human; joyful songs uplift our souls.
Joyful songs uplifting humans has been true across time. As we have been reading the psalms, we are of course reading the songbook(s) of the Jewish people. These were not just words on the page, but were a collection of songs that the people would sing. These songs, these Psalms we are reading today are songs of JOY, songs of SHOUTING, SONGS OF JUBILATION! Each one of them are the happy, joyful, exuberant songs that, were they sung today, would make you want to tilt your head back and let loose a “joyful noise” with everyone around you. I wish we could hear exactly as they sounded when they were sung as the people worshipped in the temple or on their way up to the temple mount.
The first and last psalms (134, 150) are short, but even the longest psalm (147) is written in a nearly breathless ecstasy. They are read quickly, at a pace that rushes along. This is because in all of them, there is a repetition of phrases. Search all the Psalms together in NASB on Bible Gateway. The effect of the repetition is quite striking and intentional by the author. In our minds, we may think that the author should have used different word or phrases to be interesting. Remember, when something is repeated, that is something the author wants us to remember. These songs are making use of something akin to a “chorus”. They wanted people to easily remember the song as they walked up the mount and sang.
Moreover, these psalms show us that the cacophonous world we inhabit is not just a torrent of noises, “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Instead, Psalm 150 invites the praise of the instruments of the people. Trumpet and lyre and timbrel and cymbal, (and drums and guitar and piano and voice); ALL are called to give glory to God our maker and creator. Even more is the section of Psalm 148:7-12 where the psalmist asks the inhabitants of the earth to praise the Lord. But what is called to praise? Sea monsters, hail, and fruit trees, along with mountains and cattle. The list shows us that it is more than humans that are called to worship; we are to be the forefront of creation, but creation will praise its creator, and we have a choice to make in who or what we praise!
Today is Sunday. Today, above all days, is the day when we think about God who made us, who raised his Son from the dead, and who rules over us all. Find the song that allows you to worship him, crank it up in your headphones, in your speakers, in your car, and sing to the glory of the Lord. (To get “Jesus turnt” try : Amazing Grace by Phil Wickam, Glorious Day by Passion, or Church Clap by KB.)
Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!
Praise the LORD!
Jake Ballard
Tomorrow’s Bible reading will be 1 Kings 9 and 2 Chronicles 8 as we continue on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Heal Our Land

2 Chronicles 6-7 & Psalm 136

2 Chronicles 7 14 NIV sgl

Solomon addresses the people of Israel, reminding them of how they got to where they are in regards to the building of God’s temple.  Then he offers a prayer of dedication of the temple.

In his prayer, Solomon knows that as great as the temple is, it isn’t great enough for God.  Yet he asks God to hear what is brought before Him in this house.

40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

41 “Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.
Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”

 

God doesn’t have to hear us.  He doesn’t have to love us.  Yet he established a covenant with David that continued through the generations, that when it came to Jesus, was opened to everyone.  We should be so thankful to God for that!

God responded to Solomon’s prayer with fire and His glory filling the house.  And later, He appeared to Solomon.  One of my favorite verses is in this next section –

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I know this was directed to the people of Israel, but I’d like to think it can apply to us too.  Our land is so broken today.  I live in Minnesota.  These past few weeks we have been dealing with a huge mess of brokenness.  A police officer killed a man during an arrest.  Peaceful protests gave opportunists the chance to start violent riots with buildings being burned down, stores looted, people being sexually assaulted, kids going without food because the services that normally provide them with food are unable to operate amidst this, and much more.  And all I can think is how much our land needs to be healed.  And that is just in my little state.  I know there are problems all across our country, and our world.  If all of God’s people turned to Him and prayed, could our land be healed?

My comfort in this time is knowing that our land will be ultimately healed.  Jesus will return and the earth will be made new.  But until then, I do believe it is the job of God’s people to pray and to turn to Him and away from wickedness.

We’ll end today and this week with Psalm 136.

Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, His love endures forever.

If I counted correctly, that phrase “His love endures forever” is repeated 26 times in this psalm.

Thanks Marcia for putting this reading plan together.  What a timely reminder.  Whatever is happening in the world today, God’s love endures forever.

Come lord Jesus come.

 

~Stephanie Fletcher

 

Today’s beautiful and timely Bible passage can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+6-7%2C+Psalm+136&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be Psalm 134 and 146-150 as we continue seeking God, and growing our Christian faith while learning to love Him and others better and better on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan.   Now is a great time to start following along. Print your own plan (red link above) and subscribe to the daily devotion emails at https://seekgrowlove.com/

 

God’s Glory & Forgiveness: Then & Now

1 Kings 8 & 2 Chronicles 5

1 Kings 8 11 NIV sgl

Once the temple was finished, they brought in the ark of the covenant.  It was brought into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies.  When the priests (who had sanctified themselves) had come out, and the group praised the LORD, His glory filled the temple and the priests couldn’t perform their service because of His great glory.

That concept of how great the glory of the LORD is hard to comprehend for me.  On one of our Zoom calls for the youth group recently, we watched a video on holiness.  There were some interesting points in it, and a good analogy on how to better understand God’s holiness and why we can’t be too close (watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9vn5UvsHvM).  We cannot get too close to God because we are impure, and He is perfect.  People had to purify themselves to come into the temple.  And for the Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, separated by a veil, the purified high priest could only enter once per year on the Day of Atonement when the whole nation asked God for forgiveness of their sins.

The good news for us is that we live in a time after Jesus interceded.  When he died, that veil was torn, and we can now come to God instead of the high priest, and we can come without having to go through those same purifying rituals.  I forget sometimes what a blessing that is.  Because of Jesus being our mediator, we can go to God and receive forgiveness from our sins by request, not through sacrificial offerings.  We have never had to live in a time where it was different, but can you imagine it?  Thinking of this helps to remind me of how amazing Jesus’ sacrifice was.

If you haven’t already, you can stop reading in 1 Kings 8 at verse 12 and pick up there tomorrow to read a similar account in 2 Chronicles.

 

~Stephanie Fletcher

 

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+8%2C+2+Chronicles+5&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be 2 Chronicles 6-7 and Psalm136 as we continue on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

 

Giving It Your All

When Working for Him

2 Chronicles 4 18 NIV

1 Kings 7 & 2 Chronicles 4

After the temple was built, Solomon built his palace.  When I read through this, my first thought was that he had his priorities right in building God’s house first, but why did he spend more time building his palace?  It doesn’t directly say, but I can guess from what is missing, that there wasn’t the eager readiness of someone to provide all the materials and laborers for this.  Another reason the commentaries say is because there wasn’t the same sense of urgency in completing the task.  The one for God – utmost importance, need to get this done!  The one for Solomon, they get it done, but the timing isn’t as important.  So that brought my thinking again to priorities as with Proverbs.  Do I put God’s work first?  Do I approach it with a great sense of urgency?  I wish I could say yes, but I don’t think that is often the case.  I need to make sure that how I am choosing to spend my time is lining up with what I say my priorities are.

Then we are back to temple (or if you are reading the 2 Chronicles account, you never left that).  It is talking about the furnishings – again, if it is hard for you to visualize, look up a picture!  It makes reading it easier.

This description is again so specific but speaks to the intricacies of what was being done to prepare the temple of God.  This had to take so much preparation, and then the work that went into all the details was intense too.  This wasn’t being done halfway.  They really were trying to build, to the best of their human abilities, something to truly glorify God.

When we do something for God, do we put our full effort into it?  Or do we just get it done?  When we aren’t excited about something, I think sometimes we just aim to get the task done.  And it may need to be done.  But I don’t think that brings joy to God the way it would if we gave it our all.  God may still be glorified through our work, but for me at least, I don’t feel the same.  If I didn’t put my full effort in, I can tell, even if others can’t.  I want to please God in what I do, and I think He is most pleased when I am putting in 100% effort.

So put your full effort into what you are doing today!  See what kind of difference it makes for you.

 

~Stephanie Fletcher

 

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+7%2C+2+Chronicles+4&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5 as we continue on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Still Can Not Contain Him

1 Kings 5-6 and 2 Chronicles 2-3

2 Chronicles 2 5b NIV sgl

I never much cared for reading the descriptions of the temple preparations or building. That is, until I had an open-ended project in school to study an ancient culture and create artifacts from that time.  My group picked the Hebrew culture, and one of the items we chose to create was a to-scale replica of Solomon’s temple.  That section of reading got a whole lot more interesting for me as I took notes on the dimensions, did the math to scale it down (probably the most fun part for me!), and found objects to use to build it.

I still struggle reading the descriptions, but when I stop and picture what our group made, it makes it easier!  So if you are a visual learner, go look up a drawing of Solomon’s temple.  I think it will help.

I don’t know why such an elaborate description of the temple is included for future generations to read, but if you can picture it, it really is an impressive work.  It took 7 years to build!  I know they didn’t have the technology we have today (and didn’t use iron tools at the site – take some time to look that up – some interesting theories), but that is still a long time to build something.  2 Chronicles 2:5-7 says:

5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him? 7 “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided.

Solomon, recognized that though this temple would be great, it couldn’t contain God.  But they would build it to offer sacrifices which was the best option at the time.

One thing that stood out to me in this section is the relationship between Hiram & Solomon – I found it interesting in the 1 Kings account, Hiram reached out first to establish the good relationship with Solomon that he had with David.  Even though God didn’t allow David to build the temple, He worked through him to provide the materials and skilled laborers that Solomon would need by way of a relationship.  Do you ever think about how the relationships you establish could affect the future generations?  I always enjoy hearing about connections.  How someone’s grandparent established a church which lead to another group of people coming into the faith, and their family, and now today I know their descendants because of that.  The connections we make today can have a lasting impact.

 

~Stephanie Fletcher

 

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+5-6%2C+2+Chronicles+2-3&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be 1 Kings 7 & 2 Chronicles 4 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

 

Strong-Willed for God

Proverbs 22-24

Proverbs 22 6 NIV sgl

If you are just jumping in now, I have been pulling out a few lines in Proverbs that stand out to me, but I encourage you to do the same – you will likely find different ones!

22:6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

My mom always tells these horror stories from when I was a young child about how I was a nightmare to deal with (I’m sure she exaggerates…), but that didn’t mean that she just accepted it.  She tells me she prayed and asked that God would turn my stubborn, strong-willed self to be stubborn and strong-willed for God.  I can’t say that I have done a perfect job, but I know I am thankful for the prayers my mom said.  I don’t hit people in anger anymore (or throw whatever is in my hand across the room when I get mad).  Though I sometimes struggle to stay on fire for God, I am trying to do what I can to stay faithful through it.  The attribute of being strong-willed has been put to use in staying steadfast even when I go through times of struggle.   If you are the child who was raised in the faith and is still in it, thank your parents!  If you are someone who has children or plans to someday, keep this in mind.  It starts young.

23:4-5 Saying 8

4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Finding a balance between providing for life and accumulating wealth can be difficult.  Most of us want to have nice things in life, but it can consume us.  That first line stands out to me – “Do not wear yourself out to get rich;” If I am so focused on work that I am worn out everyday, or don’t have time to spend with my family, I don’t think that is right.  Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of other places in the Bible that tell us we should be hard workers and not to be lazy (see next section), but overworking yourself just to gain wealth doesn’t feel right.  You might not be able to get everything you want, but learning to be content with what you have is for the better.  Contentedness is something I have been working on the last few months. What I have is enough.

24:30-34

30 I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.

Being lazy leads to an inability to thrive.  We have to find that balance of hard work, but not letting it consume us to where gaining possessions becomes our sole focus.  How are your priorities?  Where is God on that list?

We are moving out of Proverbs tomorrow, so enjoy these little bits of wisdom!

 

~Stephanie Fletcher

 

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+22-24&version=NIV

 

Tomorrow we jump from Proverbs (many of Solomon’s writings) to 1 Kings 5-6 and 2 Chronicles 2-3 to read some of the events of King Solomon’s life and reign.  We return to the rest of Proverbs next week on our 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan.