apply what you have.

Ec 1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. 17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Solomon made a great mistake here in his own life. Instead of examining his life from God's prospective, he examined it from a fleshly perspective. He became proud in his wisdom, rather than humble that it was given from God. Instead of searching out the things of God by wisdom, he choose to search out the things of the world, to know madness and folly, as if he because God had given him wisdom would be able to handle these things without them harming him. He fell victim to the same folly that others do because as he pointed out in Pr 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?.

Knowing God's Word, and thereby God's wisdom does not keep the consequences of sin from occurring if you meddle with foolishness. Instead Solomon found sorrow and pain. Trying to mix the Bible and the World is like mixing oil and water, the two don't go together. The reason Solomon says that in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow is because once you know the things of God, your conscience accuses you when you meddle in the things of this world. Solomon knew that the things that he was doing were wrong, and he knew that the consequences would be bad, yet he did them anyway. His wisdom told him that he would be sorrowful and it was right. The admonition in this is not avoid wisdom and knowledge, it is be faithful in the wisdom and knowledge that you have or you will produce sorrow in your life.

how to have peace and joy

Ec 1:12 ¶ I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

These verses demonstrate the folly of seeking for peace and joy outside of the Lord. Solomon had been given all wisdom and yet he sought out all things done under heaven. this search yielded nothing but sorrow for his soul. Our society pushes young people to experience everything the world has to offer, and the sad truth is that most things the world has to offer will bring them sorrow. I have heard parents accused of harming their children by not allowing them to do one thing or another. The lesson that we see here from Solomon is that abstaining from worldly pursuits will keep us from sorrow not hinder us.

The great truth of this passage is that God had given Solomon everything that he needed to be happy and successful, yet Solomon was not satisfied with God's provision of wisdom and wealth. The key to peace and joy in life is found in this thought that Solomon rejected dispite his wisdom, that godliness and contentment therewith are all you need. 1Ti 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. Paul later says 1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. Jesus in the Gospels tells us not to worry about the things that the world seeks after, Luke 12 is a great passage on contentment, instead we are to seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

It is telling that the wisest man that has ever lived did not know this without experiencing the trouble of violating these principles. you and I are no wiser than Solomon, but we have the benefit of two things. First, we have the account of his folly so that we can learn from his mistakes and walk wisely. Secondly, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God to speak to our hearts and guide us into all truth. What a great blessing to know that in these things we can have peace and joy in our lives.

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days, Angela and I took a couple days the first of this week to get away and rest. We went over into Arkansas to where we had never been before and did some diamond mining, (to no avail). We had a great time but are glad to be back.

Jo Ellen is back in the Hospital, and Mr. Biggalo is going home today.

We had a great time with the Witness group here last night, they did a great job.

New and improved

Ec 1:9 ¶ The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

It is awesome to think about what Solomon says here, there is nothing new under the sun. At times we are amazed with some new invention that revolutionizes our life and it would seem that this is indeed a new thing, but in reality it is just another way to do the same thing we have always done.

Edison didn't invent light, he didn't even invent the ability to have light at night, any more than the man who made the first candle. The computer you are on right now was just a new way to record information and the printing press was just a faster way to copy letters. All new ways, but the same old things.

The truth is that the old nature of man keeps right on pulling us into the same old sins. There is nothing that has been introduced to our generation that hasn't made sin more accessible and easy. The same old sins keep us bound and we keep looking for new ways to improve the same things we have always done.

The key to life is not finding something new, it is finding something old. To many people are looking for the next big thing in church, or life. They are missing the simple truth that godliness with contentment is great gain. Paul said it well in Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. If we would learn to just abide in Him, instead of running after everything new life would be much better.

here we go again!

Ec 1:4 ¶ One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

Solomon here takes not of the never ending process of life, it is never finished. If my wife were writing this she would say one load comes out of the washer and another goes in, my work is never done. The sun never stops, the wind never stops, the rivers keep running and what are they all accomplishing. No matter how much I do I never make any progress. Oh, the utter futility of life without God.

I often wander how someone copes who does not have the Lord. Many people seem to just work so that they can play with no real direction for their lives. What ever happens in life happens and they at best hope to get to the place in their life that they can retire and stop working for no apparent purpose other than to stop working. Life without Christ is aimless and futile.

It is wonderful to have a purpose and goal in life as a believer, to get up every day with the goal of serving the Lord, and pleasing Him. How great to meet each day with a purpose and to face life with the promise of greater blessings to come. I tell you this Christian life is anything but mundane and futile, it is the greatest adventure that you can have in this world to walk with God. He will take you places and show you things that you never imagined and all the while you will find that those things that He sustains are glorious rather than vain.

what will last?

Ec 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

What a profound question. If you remember yesterday Solomon was looking back at his life and saying that it was all emptiness and nothing. Now He asks this question, what will be the sum total of all the things that you have done in your life? When you face God and you look back will your life have counted for anything, or will it have been wasted in vanity?

Someone once said, "Only one life twill soon be past, only whats done for Christ will last." How true it is that nothing done in our own power lasts. If your family is not established by the wisdom of God it will fall apart, if your work is outside the realm of His control it will amount to nothing, if your life's pursuits are beyond the will of God they will amount only to vanity. The most amazing accomplishments in this world are soon forgotten, we remember only the most relatively recent things. The largest buildings still crumble. Yet, we may do things of true lasting value, if we are willing to subject ourselves to His Word and will for our lives. The things that we can take with us into eternity are not gold and silver, but are souls and service from a pure motive of love for the Lord.

a life of vanities

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age. It is a wonderful book of wisdom and insight into the heart of a man who was looking back at his life and trying to warn us of the failures of bad decisions that he had made. In some ways the book of Ecclesiastes is a dark book, but it would be wrong to think that it is a hopeless book. this book is full of nuggets of wisdom and spiritual insights that if we are careful to examine will prove to be full of help to our souls. over the next period of time I am going to be giving a daily devotion from this book in a verse by verse manner, it may not be exhaustive, but I hope that it will be helpful.

the word vanity is used in this book 37 times and it is used to represent the fruitless attempt of man to find purpose and direction in his life apart from God. The word vanity means empty, worthless, conceited and an inflated ego. The word vanity is used almost 100 times in the Bible and is never used in any positive sense. Consider the sense of the writer here as he cries out after a life so filled with promise, and yet so wasted in this world. He looks back on all of his attempts to satisfy himself, and a life of giving himself to every pleasure known to man and his only cry is that it was all empty and worthless. What a sad testimony of your life. Many people I fear will find the end of their lives to be with the same testimony. It is so important to face every day in the light of God's will for you and to seek His purpose to that instead of Solomon's testimony you and I might give Paul's 2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.