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.
Slow praise
by Jane Mueller
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O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures (Psalm 104:24).
Read Psalm 104:24–34,35b
Today is World Turtle Day.
It’s one of those observances that feels quietly charming. Turtles don’t rush. They don’t demand attention. They simply move at their own pace: slow, steady and unbothered by the noise around them. They have been doing this for a very long time.
Psalm 104 invites us into that same unhurried posture.
This psalm doesn’t argue for God’s existence or try to prove anything. It simply notices. The psalmist looks at the world – the seas and creatures within them, the cycles of life and breath, the rhythms of work and rest – and responds with awe. Creation is not frantic. It’s ordered and sustained. Held.
Again and again, the psalm returns to one thing: life depends on God’s ongoing care. When God gives breath, creatures live. When God sustains, creation flourishes. Nothing is self-made. Nothing is self-sustaining. And we rejoice knowing that God not only sustains creation now, he also promises its renewal – a future shaped by resurrection, a promise secured for us in Christ.
In a society that rewards speed, efficiency and constant output, Psalm 104 slows us down. It reminds us that wonder takes time. Praise requires attention. Trust grows through noticing what God is already doing.
Even creatures like turtles – ancient, steady and unremarkable by modern standards – bear quiet witness to our Creator, whose wisdom is deeper than our impatience.
To pause and delight in creation is not an abuse of precious time. It is faith. It is choosing to see the world as something sustained by God and worthy of praise, rather than something to be conquered or consumed.
And so, our week of devotions ends where it began: not with control or worldly certainty, but with lives quietly held by our Creator God.
Creator God, slow me down when I rush past wonder and overlook your care. Open my eyes to the beauty around me, my heart to praise and my spirit to trust your sustaining presence. In a world that demands speed and output, remind me again that, along with all creation, I am held by you. Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as the Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA/NT/WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, hiking, learning new things and trying new things.
Essential lessons in Vegemite application
by Jane Mueller
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Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you (1 John 2:24a).
Read 1 John 2:24–29
It’s taken me years to master the art of Vegemite application.
This is not a skill you acquire in childhood and then forget about. It requires discipline, focus and a surprising amount of self-control. It takes patience, restraint and a willingness to learn from mistakes. Too much Vegemite, and you’ve ruined perfectly good toast. Too little, and you’re left wondering whether you’re even trying. I’ve had seasons of confidence, moments of regret and the occasional identity crisis when I thought I’d finally nailed it, only to discover I’d drifted off course again.
But as a proud Australian, applying Vegemite to toast is an essential life skill. You don’t dabble with Vegemite. You don’t improvise wildly or freestyle your way to success. Vegemite doesn’t reward experimentation. It demands commitment. You learn the basics, you respect them and – crucially – you stick with them.
In today’s reading, John is writing to a community where sticking to the basics is becoming increasingly harder.
New ideas are circulating. New voices are claiming authority. Some teaching sounds impressive, even sophisticated. There’s no pressure to abandon faith altogether, but certainly to adjust it. Tweak it here, update it there. Make it fit more comfortably with what feels new or fashionable.
John’s advice is remarkably simple: ‘Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.’
Stay. Remain. Stick.
This isn’t fear of change or resistance to growth. John isn’t warning against learning, reflection or being reshaped – he’s cautioning against forgetting Christ himself. Abiding means continually returning to Christ and trusting him to keep doing his work in us. It is not about clinging tightly but trusting that we are already being held.
Abiding takes patience. It means resisting the urge to constantly upgrade, rebrand or improve what was already given as a gift. It means trusting that God – who held us from the beginning – is still enough.
This brings us back to Vegemite. It doesn’t need experimentation or reinventing. Nor does it require upgrading or rebranding. Spread too thin, and it disappears. Tinker too much, and it loses its point. But used as it was intended, it does exactly what it’s meant to do: it nourishes. John’s advice is just as practical: stick with what you heard from the beginning. Stay. Abide. Don’t drift.
Faithful God, when I am tempted to chase what is new, impressive or fashionable, draw me back to the life you give. When I drift, help me return. When I complicate faith, remind me of the grace I first received in Christ. Hold me steady in your love and keep me grounded in you. Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as the Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA/NT/WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, hiking, learning new things and trying new things.
Confidence without control
by Jane Mueller
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… for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Read 2 Corinthians 5:1–10
On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart landed in a field in Northern Ireland, having flown solo and nonstop across the Atlantic. Historians write that she was exhausted, cold and unsure about where she was. Still, she had made it.
Earhart didn’t fly with certainty. She flew with resolve. The weather changed, instruments failed and visibility dropped. The journey carried risk from the moment she took off. Confidence, for her, meant stepping forward anyway.
Paul speaks of a confidence like that.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul describes life as fragile, like a tent – temporary and vulnerable. Bodies age, plans unravel and outcomes remain uncertain. Paul knows this firsthand, and yet he says, ‘We are confident’ (verses six and eight).
Confident. Not because life is predictable. Not because the future feels secure. Not because everything can be seen or measured.
Paul’s confidence does not rest in worldly knowledge and strength, or in what he can personally secure or manage. It rests in the one who holds him. He writes, ‘We walk by faith, not by sight.’ Faith is trusting that God is already at work beyond what we can see, even when we cannot forecast how things will unfold. Or, as Philip Yancey wrote in Disappointment with God, ‘Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.’
Like Earhart, Paul doesn’t deny risk. Rather, he acknowledges it without being ruled by it. He refuses to let uncertainty have the final word or to let fear speak louder than God’s promises. Confidence, for Paul, is not bravado; it’s keeping going when the risk is real, because he knows his life is already held.
This kind of confidence doesn’t eliminate fear. It carries us through it.
And so, I ask myself: What am I avoiding right now because I’m afraid? Where have I mistaken caution for faithfulness, when it might actually be fear? What decision could I approach today with trust rather than fear, remembering that the outcome does not rest on me?
God of grace, when the path ahead feels unclear, and the outcome isn’t mine to manage, steady me. When I’m weighing decisions, juggling responsibilities or quietly wondering how much energy I have left, remind me that I am not alone. I am held by you. Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as the Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA/NT/WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, hiking, learning new things and trying new things.