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.
Clear the stones
by Anne Hansen
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Blessed is the one whom God corrects … For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field (Job 5:17a,23a).
Read Job 5:17–27
In the Barossa Valley of South Australia, there are fences made of stones. They are dry-stone walls built in the 1850s and 1860s by the early settlers. They were built without mortar and show the ingenuity of the settlers of the land, who used stones in their fields to make these walls to contain the livestock and even to stop bushfires. At the same time as building fences, they cleared the land of the stones that would hinder ploughing and cause problems for the livestock. If you look carefully at the walls, you will see that the stones were carefully stacked and interlocked with smaller stones packed into spaces in the centre of the wall.
Back in Job’s time, the fields had to be cleared before sowing a crop. The jagged stones in the fields would ruin a plough, thwart the growing crop or hurt animals. In the Book of Job, he had three friends who sat with him, giving advice and helping him cope with all the issues the devil placed on him to get him to curse God. Eliphaz told Job that being corrected by God is a blessing, and Job would see healing in the long run. That was hard for Job to hear, for he loved and respected God and didn’t see why he was being punished. (But it was the devil who was doing the punishing; God doesn’t do this!)
When we are right with God, it is as though a promise has been made with us and all the ‘stones of the field’. These obstacles can be bruising throughout our lives, but they will no longer hinder our faith; instead, they can become stepping stones for growth.
God isn’t putting the stones in our way. Rather, he helps us through them to understand the difficulties we face. Just as the stones in the paddocks in the Barossa Valley were used to help the early settlers build walls, so the stones in our lives can help us grow and become sturdy and strong, knowing that in God we have the assurance of life eternal with him.
God is always present to help us clear away the stones.
Heavenly Father, you are always with me, helping me through the difficult times (the stones) and using them to build my faith and strength to withstand all obstacles. Thank you for being my Saviour. Amen.
Anne Hansen has been the Lutheran Tract Mission development officer for 20 years. She lives in Noosa, Queensland, with her husband, Mark, who is a pastor. She enjoys leading Know Your Bible (KYB) and Mainly Music. For relaxation, Anne enjoys walking, reading, gardening and playing pickleball.
Just believe
by Anne Hansen
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While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live’ (Matthew 9:18).
Read Matthew 9:9–13,18–26 (see also Mark 5:21–43)
While I was at St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Loxton, South Australia, major productions were held every few years. John Gladigau, a talented scriptwriter, has a production company called Little Town. Usually, the productions were held around Christmas, hence Little Town (of Bethlehem), but for a couple of years, we had productions over Easter. Many from the town of Loxton, the congregation and the surrounding areas joined the production team as actors, musicians or in behind-the-scenes roles. In 2011, ‘Anna’s Hope’ was written and performed. It was a poignant depiction of Jairus and his encounter with Jesus through his little daughter Anna.
In the play, the background story was presented with Jesus stirring up the towns he visited. There were those who believed, those who were sceptical and those who hated Jesus. Jairus, being a synagogue leader, was torn between his role as temple official and that of a father, especially when his precious daughter Anna became ill. He tried everything to have his child healed, but then he went against the Jewish teachings and came pleading to Jesus, knowing that Jesus could heal her. Jesus was waylaid by a bleeding woman, and Jairus’ daughter died. But Jesus told him to have faith and believe. In private with just the parents and a couple of disciples, Jesus brought Anna back to life.
When the six ‘Anna’s Hope’ performances were held, there were people ready to pray with those who may have been affected by the portrayal of such an intense situation. We can think, ‘I have faith, and I believe, so why wasn’t my loved one healed?’ We don’t know the mind of God, nor should we try to understand why one lives and the other dies. All that we need to remember is that God is a God of grace and mercy who does all things for good. God had his own Son suffer a horrible death and die for all of humankind. That was in his plan from the beginning. Don’t let your heart be troubled with the whys and wherefores.
Just have faith and believe!
Thank you, my loving God, for your blessings to me each day. Your love comes to me unconditionally. Grow my faith and help me to always trust and believe in your faithfulness. Amen.
Anne Hansen has been the Lutheran Tract Mission development officer for 20 years. She lives in Noosa, Queensland, with her husband, Mark, who is a pastor. She enjoys leading Know Your Bible (KYB) and Mainly Music. For relaxation, Anne enjoys walking, reading, gardening and playing pickleball.
God doesn’t need our riches – he wants our hearts!
by Sal Huckel
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Sacrifice thank offerings to God … and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you (Psalm 50:14a,15).
Read Psalm 50:7–15
It’s easy to get caught up in either criticising ‘the church’ (whatever we mean by that) for asking for money … it’s just as easy for people to think that giving to the church makes us good Christians or gives us a special weighting to a vote in a church meeting.
While giving – from the heart – is part of the Christian walk, we need to keep it in the right place. This psalm reminds us that God doesn’t need our money. It’s all his. Everything in heaven and earth belongs to him. What is yours is already his and is from him. What does he want? He wants your heart. He wants ‘thank offerings’. He wants us to call on him when we are in trouble or struggling. God is the perfect parent. He wants us to give our hearts to him and to call on him, and he will deliver us.
How can you sacrifice a thank offering to God today? Perhaps this will be a financial thank offering. Perhaps it will be a little more of your heart. Perhaps it will be reaching for your prayer book instead of Facebook when you have a problem you need help with. Perhaps it will be relinquishing the rest you feel next Sunday and going to church tired anyway. Give him a fragment more of your time and see how he works in it. He is ‘God, your God’.
Lord, help me to cling to you above all else. Thank you for the assurance of your perfect, parental love for me. The love that never turns me away is always there when I turn myself away, and the love that is there waiting for me to run back to you. Lord, may I stop running. Help me to walk in step with you and turn to you above all things. Show me this week how I can give more of myself to you, in thanksgiving and praise for all that you have done for me in making me your child. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is the wife of Matthew, pastor at Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church and assistant bishop of the LCA Vic–Tas District. They are blessed with six children who all love and serve the Lord in their different walks of life, from high school to post-grad. Sal is currently studying a master’s degree in counselling practice. She loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at any opportunity.