KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, July 18, 2016
Chapters: Ecclesiastes 5-8
Message: Every Work Under God
Hello My Friend,
Labor, To work at; to till; to cultivate. We all have to work to get the things we need and want. The Christian life is not a label to put on, but a life to be put in, it is not a system of doctrine to be questioned, but a great principle to be lived out. Genuine faith in Christ helps us overcome obstacles, draws us closer to God, and improves the work we do when we place Him at the center of it. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments.” – John 14:12-15.
When we accepted Christ as our personal Savior we said a prayer similar to this: Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner, I believe that Jesus died, was buried, and arose to save a me from hell. I ask You to come into my heart and save me and from this moment on I am only trusting You for my salvation. In Jesus’ name. Amen. We never have to work for our salvation, Jesus already did the work for us, and all we need is to accept it and receive His gift of eternal life through Him. Salvation might save us from hell, but it will not keep us from making wrong decisions or from sin itself, we must make an effort to do that if we want to live the best life we can live while we are here. Christians ought to be the best workers in all that they do, and in doing so they will be very prosperous, but we must be careful, if we take our eyes off Christ it could backfire. Solomon warns us about the dissatisfaction of seeking superficial wealth.
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.” – Ecclesiastes 5:10-15.
“and shall take nothing of his labour,” While God does want us to enjoy life and the fruits of our labor, we must realize the more we make the more sorrow it brings, and we cannot take any of it with us when we die. I often wonder why my family never became wealthy, but after dedicating my life to Christ I realized something, God knows what we can handle, He knows what would happen to us if we lived that type of lifestyle, not to mention, riches bring out the worst in people. As Solomon continues to give us some great advice about the sorrows of riches, he ought to know since he was very wealthy, he reminds us of how worthless it is if we do not have God. If one does not have the will to serve God with what they have, God may deny them the joy of their fruits of their labor.
“If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.” – Ecclesiastes 6:3-9.
“and yet the appetite is not filled.” Those who have ever so much, yet do not know Christ, are never satisfied with what they have, always craving more. Wealth to a world is like being dehydrated of thirst and drinking soda, which only increases the thirst. Christ is the true Bread which satisfies, the Water of life that quenches all thirst of the soul.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” – John 6:51.
God gives us the skills and talents we have to be used so we can live the best life we can possibly live here on earth serving Him, we do Him honor to acknowledge that every day because we are who we are because of the person God created us to be. The amazing thing is that the more we acknowledge Him in what He has done for us the more He honors and blesses us. The problem is we try to compare ourselves to someone else, and anytime we do that envy comes. We cannot worry about what everyone else has or think that God is blessing them more than us, God blesses us all in different ways. As soon as we figure that out, we will start to not only see, but receive many more blessings.
“A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.” – Ecclesiastes 7:1-4,16-18.
“It is better to go to the house of mourning,” Sometimes we need to come to the end of ourselves before we see just how blessed we are. God blessed Solomon with much knowledge and wisdom, he was not only taught to be a good king, but a godly one as well. He prospered greatly because of his relationship with God, but once he let the world come into his life he became what we call, a worldly Christian. He loved God, but started worshiping other gods as well, and this caused much affliction in his life. Solomon actually wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes at the end of his life when he realized all the worldly things he longed for was pure vanity. Solomon teaches us here some amazing things about enduring affliction and being careful about dwelling on past mistakes.
“All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.” – Ecclesiastes 8:9-13.
We need to be careful not resent the afflictions we face, it is perfectly fine to ask questions, but we are not to allow ourselves to become resentful that we turn to sin. God allows the decisions we make for a reason, it is through the afflictions that we learn, grow, and become stronger not only in our faith in God, but as a Christian as well. Those who have so much, yet do not know Christ, are always wanting more. Instead of reaching for the treasures of earth we need to be reaching for the treasures that only come from living the Christian life. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.” – Ecclesiastes 5:4. Jesus is One who expects us to keep our vows made to Him. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” – Romans 14:12.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You are a treasure that is rich beyond measure, the things You have done for me and continue to do are numberless, especially since I do not deserve half of them. I want to live my life the best I can, giving You the recognition, honor, and praise that you deserve. Lord, as I allow You to live in and through me, make me a vessel of honor to not only remain committed to You, but bring others to You as well. Give me Your power, strength, mercy, and grace to work honorably, and faithfully to give Glory to Your name. In Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://imfollowingjesus.com/follow-Jesus.html
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2016 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.