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.
Light to Guide 1st Monday in Advent Light to Guide 1st Monday in Advent Read: Exodus 13:21-22
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,” Exodus 13:21a (NIV) Fireflies are incredible little insects. I first came across them while camping one summer with my family in Pennsylvania. The little firefly causes a light to glow in its body through a chemical reaction called bioluminescence, which is primarily used to attract the male of the species. Our children had fun catching them in their hands and seeing the glow that shone through their fingers. It was a small bright light that then lit up the darkness and they ran around chasing and following these tiny lights. The people of Israel had left slavery in Egypt and were being led by Moses to the Promised Land.
The people having lived in Egypt knew all the Egyptian gods but didn’t have a personal relationship yet with the true God of Heaven and Earth. To help the people and Moses know that the God of Israel was with them leading and guiding them and never leaving them, God promised to have a pillar of cloud by day for them to see and follow and a pillar of fire by night to light their way in the darkness. It was a visible sign of God’s presence among His people, and it never left them. In Bible pictures we see a huge fire and a huge cloud, but we are not told how big.
But even a small light in the darkness is enough to follow. Even a small light, like a firefly, takes away the darkness and allows us to see and follow! The Bible is filled with the figurative language of Jesus being the ‘light of the world’. It illustrates to us that knowing Jesus and His Father God is to never live in darkness. Knowing Him and His love we are always able to see where we are going.
He lights our way and guides us through our lives – like Moses and the Israelites – God’s presence leads us finally to the Promised Land of Heaven. Follow the guiding light of God through knowing His love in the Bible. Prayer: Lord, you lead me through so many dark places of my life. Light up the way so that I can follow you in all I do. May I always follow your guiding light. Amen.
Let There Be Light 1st Sunday in Advent Read: Genesis 1:1-5
“God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:4 (NIV-UK) Watching TV one evening after dinner, suddenly everything went dark – the power went off. What is the first thing we all went to look for? Torches, candles and matches to bring light to the darkness. I don’t mind the darkness when I am sleeping, but when I am awake, I don’t like the dark. There is something scary of not being able to see what is around. The first thing that God created on the first day was light. Everything was dark and it was formless, but God wanted more… so ‘light’ was created and God said that the light was good. Light is necessary for making all of God’s creative works visible and makes life possible.
Even creatures that live in the nighttime adapt to ‘see’ in the dark. Both day and night belong to the Lord. But it is the light that brings life. I found a quote about light from the National Geographic: “Light reveals the world to us. Body and soul crave it. Light sets our biological clocks. It triggers in our brains the sensations of colour. Light feeds us, supplying the energy for plants to grow. It inspires us with special effects like rainbows and sunsets. Light gives us life-changing tools, from incandescent bulbs to lasers and fibre optics. Scientists don’t fully understand what light is or what it can do.
They just know it will illuminate our future.” But within the darkness before light, we read that already God’s Spirit was ‘hovering’, ready for action as soon as God spoke the words. When you feel that you are in the dark physically or figuratively, know that God’s Spirit is there ‘hovering’ to care for you and lead you into the light. Before light was created everything was a void; dark and deep.
Then in Revelation 21:1, 25, in the end times, God tells us there will be no more darkness and no more deepness – God will illuminate everything. This Advent season remember that God is there bringing you His light and order into your life. God is at work in your life… and sometimes you get to see it! Prayer: My Heavenly Father, all you had to do was speak the words to bring life and light into the world. Light my life this Advent season to see you at work in and through me. Use me to bring light to others.
Amen
The house of the Lord
by Peter Bean
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I was glad when they said to me: ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’ (Psalm 122:1).
Read Psalm 122
The last day of the church year. A good day to go to the house of the Lord. But where will you go? What do you understand by the house of the Lord?
You might immediately think of a church, referring to the physical building. But most aren’t open on Saturdays. And is that what is really meant? This psalm is very much a ‘local’ psalm, praising Jerusalem and all that it involves. But when we read and hear Jesus, we remember he said, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’ (John 2:19). He relocated the house of the Lord to his own self, his own body (John 2:21).
And Paul said, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19a), echoing Jesus’ words, ‘I will be with you always’ (Matthew 28:20b). This suggests perhaps that the house of the Lord is now contained within each one of us! ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20a).
So, perhaps, today, you don’t need to go to the house of the Lord, but you are carrying the house of the Lord around with you. When you go shopping, do some gardening, watch the children’s sports, go for a walk along the beach or in a park or ring a friend, the house of the Lord is present. The Spirit of the Lord is alive within you. What difference will that make to your shopping, gardening, cheering, walking or listening?
Perhaps, then, we can all see what is best (verse nine) for the house of the Lord and all who have the Spirit of God living in them.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have changed history. Thank you for being willing to dwell in me through your Holy Spirit. May I bring honour and glory to your house every day. Amen.
Despite the cold spring in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, it is mulberry-picking time, which means mulberry jam, pies and mulberries every way you can imagine. Peter prays that you enjoy whatever God offers you each day. Having now paraphrased Psalms 1–100, Peter invites you to read them anew, applying them to your lives. If you would like his paraphrase of any of these psalms, send your request to pbean087@gmail.com