by Charles Bertelsmeier
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
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.
Leave the weeds to the master
by Stephen Abraham
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them’ (Matthew 13:29).
Read Matthew 13:24–30
In Year 8 Agriculture at my high school, we were each given a plot and some cabbage seeds and told to plant the cabbages and keep the plot weed-free. In my report at the end of the semester, my teacher Mr Boerth wrote, ‘Stephen struggled to keep the weeds at bay. He is no gardener!’ (A bad report for the son of a farmer!)
As much as I try, I admit I’m still no gardener. Nowadays, I get help with my garden from an expert. He knows far more than I do. Sometimes I have ideas for dealing with issues in my garden and don’t consult him. I inevitably do the wrong thing, which he then must correct. As much as I want to do things myself, I have to trust his expertise first.
In the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, Jesus addresses the human frustration of seeing weeds among the wheat. A farmer’s field is sabotaged by an enemy who sows weeds alongside the good wheat. In first-century Palestine, this weed was likely darnel, a poisonous plant closely resembling wheat in its early stages of growth. When the master’s workers eagerly offer to pull up the weeds, the master stops them with a surprising command: ‘Let both grow together until the harvest.’
We make judgement calls all day long: make this or that for breakfast, check our calendars or messages, sort out this problem or prioritise another. But when it comes to God’s kingdom – who is righteous, who is not, who is heaven-bound and who is not – that is not our call to make. Calling down God’s judgement on people isn’t our responsibility (as much as we might want to).
Do we need to confront poor behaviour respectfully? Yes. Do we need to keep people safe? Absolutely. Do we help those who need help? Of course! Do we point people to Jesus? One hundred per cent. But a person’s salvation or damnation isn’t our call to make – we leave that to the master.
Heavenly Master of the field, we lift our world to you. Focus us on your word and on the tasks set before us. Help us trust you with the final outcome of our world, knowing that we who are in Christ will one day shine like the sun in your kingdom. Amen.
Stephen Abraham is a retired Lutheran pastor and musician who served as a school pastor and church planter in Mawson Lakes, South Australia. Having to retire due to a spinal injury that leaves him largely housebound with chronic pain, Stephen still preaches, takes chapel and serves his local church and school. He also writes and records personal songs, worship songs and Christian meditations, which he shares on his YouTube channel
Seeing the sign
by Colleen Fitzpatrick
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me (Psalm 86:17).
Read Psalm 86:11–17
I remember watching a movie called The Man with Two Brains some years ago. It was a comedy starring actor Steve Martin. In one of the opening scenes, we see his character (recently widowed) standing in front of a painting of his late wife, talking to it about what to do regarding a woman who had taken his fancy. Then he says, ‘Show me a sign, just show me a sign!’ The picture starts spinning on the wall – and he takes it down and puts it away in a cupboard.
Have you seen any signs of God’s goodness lately? I have. I see God’s goodness in the beauty of nature, in the fact that we have food on the table, in the love of family and friends, and every time I go to church and hear the words, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, ‘Take and eat, this is my body’, and ‘Take and drink, this is my blood that was shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins’. And, of course, God’s goodness shines through answered prayers.
Even when we cannot form the words to ask God for help, God knows our needs and what is on our hearts. Think about how God provides help and comfort when you most need it – the person who is prepared to listen; the quiet touch when you feel lost and alone; the friend who checks in to make sure you’re okay – and the knowledge that nothing can separate you from God’s loving care (see Romans 8:26–39).
The psalmist prays that God would teach him to rely on God’s faithfulness. We can pray that, too – and in learning to rely on God’s faithfulness, we can have confidence that God will never leave us or forsake us; God will deliver us from the depths. And in return, let’s give thanks and praise to our generous God – the God who surrendered his only Son for us, to die for us and to make it possible for us to be God’s children for now and for always.
Let’s pray: faithful God, thank you for always being here for us. Thank you for being compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love, faithfulness and mercy. Amen.
Colleen Fitzpatrick is retired and lives in Adelaide. She enjoys reading, writing and drinking coffee with her husband, John, and their friends. Colleen and John enjoy regular fitness classes, particularly when they include opportunities to throw frisbees.
Thorns and thistles
by Colleen Fitzpatrick
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned (Hebrews 6:8).
Read Hebrews 6:1–8
This week’s readings have had a strong agricultural theme. We have heard about planting seeds on good land, where crops can grow and flourish. Today’s reading celebrates land that receives rain and produces a useful crop – unlike land that produces thorns and thistles that ‘is worthless and is in danger of being cursed’.
In Monday’s reading of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus refers to the seed falling among thorns as referring to ‘someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful’ (Matthew 13:22).
How long is your worry list? The worries of life are potentially numerous – we can worry about work situations, home and health, family and friends, not to mention all of the things that pop into one’s head at 2.00am when sleep is eluding us.
And then there is the ‘deceitfulness of wealth’. The gap between the poor and the rich continues to grow. The housing shortage is part of our everyday landscape. In the midst of winter, the plight of homeless people is much more challenging. We have heard that the world has its first trillionaire, and that the numbers of millionaires and billionaires is increasing. Is it possible that pursuing wealth can deceive a person into ignoring spiritual wellbeing?
Maybe another factor is busyness. Yesterday, we thought about the Sabbath rest and the activities that seem to take over every day of the week.
There are other distractions in our lives as well. Our phones and other screens are constantly with us, and we now have AI to do our thinking for us. It is possible to be constantly bombarded with messages and information and to lose sight of what is happening in the real world or to the people around us. It can be challenging to separate truth from opinion. The news is filled with stories of violence and anger directed at individuals, families and groups of people.
All of the above deflect us from the one thing needful. May we ignore the thorns and thistles and be the good soil that allows the seeds of God’s word to be planted and to grow into a strong and vibrant faith.
Precious Saviour, help me to listen and to hear your words so that my faith may grow and flourish. Help me to live with and for Jesus and to follow where he is leading me. Amen.
Colleen Fitzpatrick is retired and lives in Adelaide. She enjoys reading, writing and drinking coffee with her husband, John, and their friends. Colleen and John enjoy regular fitness classes, particularly when they include opportunities to throw frisbees.