God's Word For Every Day

"He who observes the wind will not sow, and  he who regards the clouds will not reap" (Ecclesiastes 11:4). "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Like everything else in our world, the weather can be so changeable.  The love of God is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. What's so different about God's love? His love is eternal love. It's not something that comes and goes. He doesn't blow hot and cold. He loves us in life's rainy days as well as its sunny days. How do we know that God loves us? - The answer to our question is Jesus - especially the fact that Jesus died for us. --- As I was thinking about the love of God and the death of Jesus, our Saviour, I started thinking of a song which says, "The best thing I can tell you is God loves you." Here are two versions of it -  The Best by Dion - YouTube  and Dion DiMucci "The Best" - YouTube . The first video concentrates on the ...

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26 Life is empty without You, Lord. You fill our lives with Your blessing. You give to us new life, abundant life, eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). All of these blessings come to us through Jesus, Your Son. He brings us out of emptiness. He brings us into a life that has meaning, purpose an d direction. We thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour. Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16 We look, Lord, for happiness, but we cannot find it. Why do we keep missing happiness? We’re looking in the wrong place. We try to find happiness in ourselves. You’re saying to us, “You’ll only find happiness when you come to Jesus. Only Jesus can fill the God-shaped blank in your heart.” Teach us, Lord, to listen to Your voice, speaking to us of Jesus, calling us to come to Him and receive from Him Your gift of salvation. Help us to rejoice in Jesus, to be glad that He is our great Saviour.   Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12 Lord, there’s something hollow at the...

Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12 ‘The man who loves money can never have enough’(5:10). Some people are never satisfied, They’re always wanting more. This is the world’s way. The more you have, the more you want. The Lord’s way is very different: ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth... Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... Do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?”or “What shall we drink?”or “What shall we wear?”... Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well’. ‘Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?’(Matthew 6:21-23,31-33; James 2:5). There’s more to life than ‘getting on in the world’. ‘Treasures on earth, treasures in heaven’- Which world is most important to you? Ecclesiastes 7:1-29 ‘Do not be over-righteous and do not be over-wise’(16). Christ is ‘our righteousness and our wisdom’(1 Corinthians 1:30). We...

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26 Life is empty without You, Lord. You fill our lives with Your blessing. You give to us new life, abundant life, eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). All of these blessings come to us through Jesus, Your Son. He brings us out of emptiness. He brings us into a life that has meaning, purpose an d direction. We thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour.

Ecclesiastes 8:1-9:10 ‘Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might...’(9:10). ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart...’(Colossians 3:23-24). These two verses seem, at first, to be saying the same thing - until we read the rest of each verse! The first is describing life ‘under the sun’(9:9): ‘in the grave where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom’. The second describes life in the Son: ‘you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward’. There is more to life than life under the sun. There is life in the Son. In everything we do, we must remember this: ‘It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving’. We are ‘working for the Lord, not for men’. ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord... your labour in the Lord is not in vain’(1 Corinthians 15:58). Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20 ‘Wisdom is better than weapons of war’(9:18). We are to seek the better way, the way of wis...

Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:20 “Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (Ecclesiastes 9:18). We ask, Lord, about wisdom – “Where does wisdom come from? How will wisdom change our way of thinking and living?” You tell us that real “wisdom comes from heaven.” You show us that true wisdom will make us more “peace-loving” (James 3:18).

Ecclesiastes 8:1-9:10 Lord, what a great difference there is between life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:9) and Life in the Son. The world tells us that there is nothing beyond “the grave” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Our Saviour promises us “an inheritance from the Lord as a reward” (Colossians 3:24). Help us, Lord, never to lose sight of the eternal dimension. This is what gives our life real depth, true meaning and a strong sense of purpose.

“I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). God’s salvation - It’s a permanent salvation: it “will endure forever”; - It’s a complete salvation: “nothing can be added to it”; - It’s a secure salvation: “nothing” can be “taken from it”; - It’s a salvation which leads to worship: “so that men will revere Him.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16 We look, Lord, for happiness, but we cannot find it. Why do we keep missing happiness? We’re looking in the wrong place. We try to find happiness in ourselves. You’re saying to us, “You’ll only find happiness when you come to Jesus. Only Jesus can fill the God-shaped blank in your heart.” Teach us, Lord, to listen to Your voice, speaking to us of Jesus, calling us to come to Him and receive from Him Your gift of salvation. Help us to rejoice in Jesus, to be glad that He is our great Saviour.  

"For many times, also, your own heart has known t hat even you have cursed others" (Eccle siastes 7:22).  "Therefore you are  inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge,  for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things" (Romans 2:1).  The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector " Also He spoke this parable to some  who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  10  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   11  The Pharisee   stood and prayed thus with himself,   ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.   12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’   13  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise  his  eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘Go...

Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:26 Without Christ. life is empty. With Him, everything changes. He fills our life with God’s blessing. With Him, we have more than life ‘under the sun’. We have life ‘in the Son’- abundant life, eternal life (1:3,14; 2:11,17; John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). Which life do you want? You can settle for life ‘under the sun’. Many people do. They never think about the meaning of life. They never ask , ‘What is the purpose of my life?’. There is another life, a better life, a life with meaning, purpose and direction. You can come to Christ and receive life ‘in the Son’. This is life ‘from above. This is our ‘foretaste of glory divine’: ‘Angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love’‘Looking above’, we are ‘filled with His goodness’ and saved by ‘His love’. In our ‘Saviour’, we are ‘happy and blest’ (Mission Praise, 59). Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:16 ‘God has put eternity into man’s mind’(3:11). In every human heart, there is a God-shaped bla...

"The words of the wise are   like goads, and the words of  scholars are like well-driven nails ,  given by one shepherd" (Ecclesiastes 12:11). As I was reading these words, my thoughts turned to Psalm 23:1 - "The Lord  is my Shepherd" - and John 10:11 - Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." What a wonderful thing it is  that the Lord speaks to us through his Word! He speaks to us because he cares about us. We read the words of David and Jesus, and God  speaks to us of his love for us. There is no love like the love of God. No human love can be compared to it. It's the greatest love of all. Sometimes, God speaks to us words that we don't really want to hear. Why does he do this? It's because he knows that they are the  words we need to hear. He loves us - and that's why he calls us back from ways that will be harmful to us  and into ways that will bring blessing to us.   

"Where the word of a king  is, there is  power;  And  who may say to him, “What are you doing?”" (Ecclesiastes 8:4).  "You   shall receive power   when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and   you shall be   witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and   Samaria, and to the   end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). What do we mean when we speak about power?  What is most important to us - the love of power or the power of love?  There's a great difference between the love of  power and the power of love. It's better to be empowered by love than to be enchanted by power.

"The end of a thing  is  better than its beginning;  The patient in spirit  is  better than the proud in spirit" (Ecclesiastes 7:8). We are to wait patiently on the Lord (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 40:1). The emphasis is on the Lord - not ourselves.  Pride says, "I don't need the Lord. I'll do things my way."  Teach us, Lord, to be more patient and less proud.

Life “under the sun” is depressing (Ecclesiastes 1:3,9,14). When life is seen in an earthbound way, with nothing above and beyond it, there is no hope, no glimmer of light. The preacher is not saying that this is the only way we can look at life. He is saying that this way of thinking about life is a dead-end street. He is inviting us to see the meaninglessness of a life that is no more than life “under the sun.” He shows us the hopelessness of life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:17,20,22). We can never be satisfied by life “under the sun.” There is always a sense of something more. This dissatisfaction, this longing for something more, comes from God: “He has put a sense of eternity in people’s minds” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Life “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 4:1,3) offers nothing to those who are searching for a real sense of meaning, purpose and direction.There is an emptiness at the heart of life “under the sun.” Attempting to find something more, through our own effor...

ECCLESIASTES   1:1-2:26 -  Without Christ. life is empty. With Him, everything changes. He fills our life with God’s blessing. With Him, we have more than life ‘under the sun’. We have life ‘in the Son’ – abundant life, eternal life (1:3,14; 2:11,17; John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). Which life do you want? You can settle for life ‘under the sun’. Many people do. They never think about the meaning of life. They never ask , ‘What is the purpose of my life?’. There is another life, a better life, a life with meaning, purpose and direction. You can come to Christ and receive life ‘in the Son’. This is life ‘from above. This is our ‘foretaste of glory divine’: ‘Angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love’ ‘Looking above’, we are ‘filled with  His goodness’ and saved by ‘His love’. In our ‘Saviour’, we are ‘happy and blest’ ( Mission Praise , 59). 3:1-4:16 -  ‘God has put eternity into man’s mind’ (3:11). In every human heart, ther...

Ecclesiastes 7:1-29 “Do not be over-righteous and do not be over-wise” (Ecclesiastes 7:16). Help us, Lord, not to take pride in our own righteousness or our own wisdom. Help us to trust in Christ – “our Righteousness and our “Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). “Through faith in Him, we are made righteous” and we become “wise for salvation” (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Timothy 3:14-17).  

Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:14 “Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Lord, we read these words, and we wonder, “How can we even begin to fear You and keep Your commandments when our hearts are full of sin?” We ask, “How can our hearts be cleansed from sin?” We cannot do this for ourselves. Only You can do this for us. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, You give us such great blessings: “I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:24). Thank You, Lord.