July 17

“A time to rend, and a time to sew…” Ecclesiastes 3:7

The times and seasons of life, are described in this chapter and affect all of us. The literal sense of the text here is understood to refer to a practice rather unknown in our western world, but quite common in the east and particularly in ancient times. In times of grief and self-abasement, or in occasions when great offence was suffered, it was a practice for one’s own clothes to be rent. This showed the great distress and anguish of soul that the individual was experiencing at the time. A tragedy in the family, the loss of a dear one or some other personal calamity, would often result in this response or ritual of tearing clothes, in an expression of unbearable grief or anger. This text speaks to us spiritually, as it reminds us that there may come a time in life, when tearing up or ripping away something out of our lives is necessary. This would be true for instance, of the necessity to utterly remove those things which displease God, and that would hold us back from wholehearted and dedicated service unto Him. Sin cannot be allowed to remain in our souls, nor can it be dealt with gently and kindly, but rather with the force of conviction, it must be torn away from our hearts. The process is not pleasant, but necessary. Conversely there are times of 'sewing'. This may represent those seasons of life when we must assemble concepts and principles in our hearts by patient learning, keep things together, finalise projects, and give shape or form to ideas, goals or promises. Times of painstaking effort, creative application and rewarding growth, should form part of our lives regularly. Accepting the tides and ebbs of life, with humble resignation and determined faith, is necessary. In the journey of life, we cannot always have smooth seas to sail over, and whilst our prayer may call for protection from life’s storms, it must also include a statement of reliance on God, for strength and faith to make it through the storms, should God allow them.  

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

June 30

“Sorrow is better than laughter…” Ecclesiastes 7:3

Here is presented a concept which at face value may appear counterintuitive to our minds. In a world where the social norm and the contemporary wisdom is all geared to finding and promoting ‘happiness’, how can sorrow ever be ‘better’ than laughter? The bible states that the ‘joy of the Lord’ is our strength. There is however a vast difference between the satisfying joy that comes from God, and the elusive happiness which fallen man seeks, often in vain and in constantly changing circumstances. A step further back than that again, is the common place notion that if one can ‘laugh’ enough, then happiness will come. Again this seems another futile man-made attempt, at circumventing the true source of joy and contentment which is Jesus. While it may be true that laughter has some benefits and value for mental and emotional health, it should be the result of a content, settled and happy soul, not seen as a means to obtaining those conditions. In line with this erroneous thinking, the world has assembled a host of so called comedians who find it necessary to pollute and profane in their language and subject matter, every area of life, by serving up a mess of lewd, smutty, negative, vulgar and offensive performances, in an attempt to bring questionable laughter, to those who feel they need cheering up! It doesn’t even begin to make sense! Even so how can sorrow, be better than laughter? From a spiritual standpoint, this concept is very clear. Laughter is for a moment, and passes with very little permanent effect and no benefit to the spiritual man.  The sorrow spoken of in scripture, is not mere sadness or depression, it is a sense of personal regret for offenses committed against God, the distress of realising one’s own wrongs.   When a person can be truly sorrowful therefore, the effects reach the inner, spiritual man and can make a more permanent imprint on his being. Thus sorrow is better, when it is sorrow for sin! Instead of laughing at sinful jokes, a man who realises the guilt and awfulness of sin and becomes troubled over his own iniquities, can by repentance find forgiveness from God and new spiritual life! Such godly sorrow then is better, more useful, commendable, and more profitable than foolish laughter, because it recognises the mistakes which have been made. Instead of foolishly laughing them away, attempting to cover them or trivialising them, it causes the person to face them, repent and make changes to their way of life. Sorrow is a necessary part of the process of humbling oneself in the eyes of God, obtaining forgiveness from the Lord and turning back from a life of sin and degradation. It is the starting point of a person’s self-realization before God, and the pavement of the entry hall which leads to eternal life - a life of unending joy, glory and blissful contentment! That considered, it is not so hard to see why sorrow is better than laughter! 

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Feb 13

“…I will prove thee with mirth…” Ecclesiates 2:1

We have not really changed a great deal as humans, when it comes to our basic functions and outlook on life. We continue to believe, in spite of the mountains of evidence which has been accumulated by the testimony of others that somehow, we have to experience all things of life, to ‘prove’ to ourselves whether there is anything worthwhile in them. Travelling this path, seeking satisfaction, most of us end up, at times battered and bruised, and almost always poorer in time and finances from the ‘proofs’ we so badly thought we needed. Somewhere along the line, we resign to the inevitable and join the crowds of others who also did similarly, and with a nod acknowledge that what we had been told about life, was actually quite correct in the first place! We might have spared ourselves the heartache, but something in our fallen human nature rebels at ‘being told’ what to do. Not until we have tried it ourselves are we contented to consider many issues settled, though they were really settled for us long ago by the Lord in His Word, and through the experiences of those who have gone before us! Solomon was no different from the rest of us in these pursuits of self-discovery and determination of the ‘facts of life’. Unlike most of us, he had at his disposal just about anything any human could ever want or choose to experience. The test highlighted in the portion of the text under scrutiny, speaks of tying to satisfy oneself, by gratification through entertainment and merriment. No doubt this man known for his wisdom and his enormous wealth, left no stone unturned to make his judgement on this matter. He would have been as thorough here as with all the other ‘tests’ of life he conducted. Neither need we think that he had to necessarily partake of evil or sinful practices to come to his conclusion. Once he had tested himself and his own heart and soul with the very things we so often ardently pursue, he determined without doubt or hesitation that no lasting joy or satisfaction can be obtained by mere entertainments and amusements, even if legitimate and rational. A man whose wisdom was ordained by God is able to share his findings with us and tell us that along with all his other experiences, this too on its own and without God, is nothing but vanity and futility, it will not fulfil and will leave us always wanting and searching for more! Clearly the essential outcome of Solomon’s research in life is that, nothing outside of God satisfies! While we readily accept we do not have to ‘re-invent the wheel’ in so many other areas of life, yet in seeking our personal fulfilment, we often insist on wasting time and life on costly and futile pursuits, instead of just accepting the established proofs supplied to us by the wisdom and love of God!

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Feb 7

“…and a time to every purpose under the heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

God in His benevolence has set a time for every purpose under heaven. ‘Every purpose’, must be understood to indicate all the good things which God intended to be ‘correct’ purposes, in the life and existence of the human race on earth, not the sinful determinations and aberrations of fallen mankind. This can be seen firstly, by the fact that He has stipulated and governed the way seasons and natural processes take place on earth. This is God’s blessing to man, in that we can by these pre-set parameters, better plan our crops, make decisions, prepare and clothe ourselves, shelter appropriately and much more. An added blessing is recognising that God is the Author of these over-arching purposes, and that in His love He has given them place and time and made them available to us. The second way we could look at this portion of the holy text, is to note that in His benevolence, God has made time available to every person. Everyone is given time, and what purposes we use it for, is all important! Naturally the Lord instructs and directs in His Word what the best usage of this time is. The ultimate purpose, for which it was granted to each human, is to worship Him in all our actions and deeds of life. He does however, allow us to determine how we will use or spend much of the time we are granted in our lives. Apart from portions invested in many legitimate human purposes of just living life and survival, (some of which are listed in the passage), sadly much of humanity spends and wastes this precious commodity in committing sin and in actions which are not only offensive to God and detrimental to their own souls, but that also were not meant to be a part of the ‘purposes under heaven’ for which God has given us the blessing of time. It is every bit as irresponsible, as using money which should pay the bills, for other things such as entertainment, vices, frivolous habits or unnecessary wants. Naturally this type of behaviour, when insisted on, will end up in financial ruin and loss. Similarly, time has been given to each of us to invest wisely and to fulfil every one of God’s determined purposes. When we choose to do otherwise with it and waste the time of our lives on that which affronts God, we cannot expect but to be found culpable for its misuse! 

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion