by Charles Bertelsmeier
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Read Ecclesiastes 1:1–11
Although I can remember the names and a little about the lives of my grandparents, I would struggle to tell you the names of all my great-grandparents or anything about their lives.
Then I think about my grandchildren and realise they know virtually nothing about my parents and previous generations. I’m sure we could all agree with the sentiment expressed in today’s verse.
We will spend today and the next four days looking at the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Before you open your calendar app and set a reminder to resume reading LCA devotions next Saturday and skip these five days, let me encourage you to persevere. God has put every book of the Bible there for a reason and has a message for us. I pray that God has a message for you in what he gives me to write. You may also like to read the whole book before we proceed with these devotions.
The first verse of this book indicates that the author is King Solomon. God blessed King Solomon to be one of the wisest people in history. He is also believed to be the author of the biblical book Song of Songs and to have collected many proverbs.
In Ecclesiastes, the author conducts a series of scientific experiments to find the meaning of life. In reflecting on this, I think we are all doing the same, but probably not as scientifically as Solomon. As young children, we are absorbed in play. As teenagers, we are trying to discover who we are. As young adults, we seek acceptance through our friendship circles and employment. Then, we aim to perpetuate our identity through our children, moving on to get ourselves financially secure and finally retiring to contemplate what we have achieved with our lives. Maybe we will even write up our life stories to perpetuate our legacies.
Solomon tries a range of activities to find meaning and fulfilment but comes up empty each time. Most of these things are things we also do to try to discover meaning and purpose. Spoiler alert: The conclusion Solomon comes to is that we only find that meaning and purpose through our relationship with God and by surrendering our lives to the plans he has for us.
Most of us, me included, didn’t want to hear that when we were younger and tried looking elsewhere. I thank God he didn’t give up on me and gently led me to accept Solomon’s conclusion.
Heavenly Father, I accept that life without you is meaningless. Please help me to listen to your Spirit as we dive into the Book of Ecclesiastes and to find meaning and purpose in your plans for us. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Another Pentecost needed?
by Mark Lieschke
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And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions (Joel 2:28).
Read Joel 2:28–32a
In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quotes these words from the prophet Joel. Pentecost in Acts 2 was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among believers, fulfilling Joel’s prophecy and marking what is usually called the birth of the church.
The Holy Spirit has come, is with us and will remain in God’s people until Jesus returns. While we may desire the Spirit to work more powerfully and want to be more open to his influence in our lives, we can be confident that he is at work in our lives every day.
As Christians, as people who are ‘in Christ’, we have the Holy Spirit. We couldn’t be Christians if we didn’t have the Spirit. ‘“No one can say Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit is not a feeling or an experience. He’s a person who lives in every believer.
So, we don’t have to sit around and wait for a ‘move of the Spirit’. For those in Christ, the Spirit is already present. We are Spirit-filled right now.
Wanting another Pentecost suggests that the first Pentecost wasn’t enough. It wasn’t sufficient. Joel’s prophecy needs updating!
After Peter quoted Joel’s words, he immediately pointed his hearers to Jesus. He spoke about his life, death and resurrection. That’s the prime work of the Holy Spirit – pointing us to Jesus.
The response from the people: ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
They received the Holy Spirit. We have received that same Spirit. And with that Spirit, we are enabled, equipped and encouraged to live as the Spirit-filled people that we are, pointing others to Jesus.
Gracious God, you promised to pour out your Spirit on all people. We thank you for keeping your word and filling us with your Spirit. Empower us by your Spirit to be witnesses of your grace to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Who am I?
by Mark Lieschke
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They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted (Isaiah 62:12).
Read Isaiah 62:1–12
What a tremendous reminder! Prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years before, come to fruition with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, convinced of this truth by the Holy Spirit, you and I can be confident that we are special people.
Just think of what we are called: ‘a crown of splendour’, ‘a royal diadem’, ‘no longer deserted’, ‘the Lord’s delight’, ‘Holy People’, ‘the Redeemed of the Lord’.
God rejoices over us. And he doesn’t keep quiet about the people he loves! ‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet’ (Isaiah 62:1). Zion and Jerusalem are references to the people of God’s church. And he wants his love and devotion to be shouted all over the world.
What is most remarkable is why he loves us. God didn’t fall in love with us because of the wonderful qualities and upstanding characteristics he found in us. In fact, there is nothing righteous of our own in us.
God loves the people of his church, despite our sins and imperfections. This inexplicable love for sinners is what caused Jesus to give his life for us on the cross. In Christ, our sins have been forgiven. We have been credited with his righteousness. And it is this righteousness that makes us so attractive to the Father.
Because of Jesus, God delights in us. What an extraordinary fact!
Celebrate that again today. Rejoice in who you are. Praise God for his grace in and through Jesus Christ.
Loving Father, we stand in awe of what you have done for us in Jesus Christ. May your Holy Spirit continue to convince us of this truth and inspire us to share this incredible news with those around us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Peace be with you
by Mark Lieschke
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:21,22).
Read John 20:19–23
The Christian faith is rejected by most people in the world today. Its truths are no longer generally believed or followed. And it can seem to many, both outside and even to some within the church, that the Christian faith is no longer the power it once was or an effective force in the world.
Maybe, in the back of our minds, there’s the same nagging suspicion. We look around us and see the many other things in the world that influence people, and we can wonder just what kind of influence the church has today. Has it lost its power? Have we lost our way? Are we becoming more and more of a lost cause?
On the day Jesus rose from the grave, the disciples gathered behind closed doors, and there was a good deal of confusion in their minds.
Their hopes about participating in a glorious kingdom lay shattered; their Lord and friend had been put to death. The years they had spent following and listening to him may have seemed wasted.
But when Jesus appeared and stood in the middle of them and said, ‘Peace be with you’, their fear was changed into joy. Doubt and confusion were transformed into belief. Despair and anxiety were replaced by excitement and a desire to share what they had seen and heard.
A change took place within them that would have a lasting impact on their lives, and in turn, on the lives of millions of others.
That power is still at work – despite what we may see and experience. The Holy Spirit continues to come today to empower, encourage, equip, transform, strengthen and motivate us.
The peace of the Lord Jesus be with you today. May your life be enriched as you receive this peace. And may the Holy Spirit give you courage as Jesus sends you to share that peace.
Merciful God, your Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, who gives hope and joy even as we live and serve in a world that can seem to oppose us at every turn. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and empower us to share your peace with those around us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.