Day 225 Bible Readings – Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14 (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 10-12, 1 Corinthians 7: 36-40, 1 Corinthians 8, Psalm 119: 121-128

Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14 (ESV)

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

At the of the Book of Ecclesiastes in verses 13 and 14 where Solomon examined the meaning of life through various pursuits, he tells us all these pursuits are meaningless without a relationship with Father-God. Solomon came to understand that it is worth it to obey Father-God, because there will an examination of everything that we’ve done in our life by him. Solomon confirms that there is an eternal God and is a rewarder of those who seek him and follow his laws. If we want to find purpose in our lives, we need to have a relationship with Father-God and find out what his plan is for our life. Father-God created each person to have a unique purpose, and Solomon tells us that true happiness, satisfaction, and contentment will only come when we are living according to design that Father-God has for our lives. Father-God is eternal, and we need to live our lives pleasing him and not seeking temporary gains.

King Solomon was the richest person in the world, having more wealth than any modern-day rich person. Solomon reminds us that these riches didn’t satisfy him or bring him comfort at the end of life. Solomon says that the only true lasting peace of mind comes from knowing that you have a relationship with Father-God and knowing that you spent your life trying to please him and living your life according to his design. Since Father-God will judge everything in our lives when we die, we will not know true peace of mind unless we make sure Father-God has an influence in our daily decisions and actions.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this Bible verse, and you want to have true peace of mind through your faith in Jesus Christ, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I want to give you my Life. Forgive me of all of my sins. Wash me in your blood. I believe in my heart You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 224 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 7: 17 (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 7-9, 1 Corinthians 7: 17-35, Psalm 119: 113-120

1 Corinthians 7: 17 (ESV)

“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

Verse 17 from 1 Corinthians 7 is great advice from Paul. Father-God has a specific plan for each believer. When you first come to faith in Jesus Christ, you need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show what is Father-God’s plan for your life. And when you figure what Father-God’s plan is for your life, Paul tells us we need to embrace the calling Father-God gave us. We need to find contentment and be faithful and be a good steward of that calling. We cannot compare our calling to other people’s calling, because we all have unique skills that are needed to fulfill Father-God’s plan for the world. We are a small puzzle piece in his plan and if we don’t play our part, the Lord’s plan and puzzle will be incomplete. I think that contentment with Father-God’s plan for your life can only come when you are in a church that teaches you to believe in all the things that are said in the Bible. I heard a preacher say that you cannot only believe that John 3: 16 (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”), and think that the rest of what is written in the Bible is false. The Bible teaches that Father-God loves because he made each of us to be unique. The Bible teaches that Father-God has promises for his children, and the gifts that the Lord gave to his children throughout the Bible is available to us. And finally, the Bible teaches us that Father-God is the same is now as he was back then in the Biblical times because he is eternal and unchangeable.

I was raised in a religious home and was an active member of many churches when I grew up. I began to truly believe that Father-God loved me when I attended a full-Gospel church where the preacher affirmed the truth of everything in the Bible. The other churches I grew up with and later participated in, preached that I was a sinner and I had to constantly atone for my sins. I spent most of my life thinking Father-God never loved me because I was a sinner who couldn’t stop sinning. The other churches never emphasized that when we are saved by Jesus Christ, our old self dies, and we become a new creation because Jesus Christ died for our sins. Now I know that Father-God loves me because he created me, and when I was saved and born again all my sins were forgiven because of my faith in Jesus Christ. I am in tears every morning when I wake up and it hits that Father-God loves me because I am his child and he created me. I hope that everyone can experience this sense of assurance of Father-God’s love, particularly for those who, like myself, once believed that Father-God's love was inaccessible due their belief that they were perpetual sinners.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this Bible verse, and you want to feel that Father-God loves you through your faith in Jesus Christ, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I want to give you my Life. Forgive me of all of my sins. Wash me in your blood. I believe in my heart You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 223 Bible Readings – Ecclesiastes 6: 7-9 (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 4-6, 1 Corinthians 7: 1-16, Psalm 119: 105-112

Ecclesiastes 6: 7-9 (ESV)

“All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

I love the wisdom from King Solomon in verses 7 through 9 from Ecclesiastes 6. Solomon tells us we work for food, but we are never satisfied spiritually. Solomon then tells us that human wisdom does not give us an advantage either, because a person who has wisdom is no better off than a person without wisdom. Both will not find satisfaction. Our toil and labor are focused on fulfilling our immediate needs and desires, but we lack true satisfaction because hunger returns. Solomon also tells us if you are poor but you have socials skills and wisdom, such skills will not give you satisfaction either. Human wisdom cannot ultimately satisfy us or give us answers to the deeper questions of life. Solomon then talks about the value of contentment, because our physical desires make us want more which leads us to feel dissatisfied and spiritually empty. We need to be grateful and content with “what we can see in our lives” and not be distracted by what we don’t have. Focusing on our physical desires is like “striving after the wind”, which cannot be caught. We will never be satisfied if we have all our desires fulfilled because only the love of Father-God can truly satisfy us.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses, and you want to experience contentment in your life that can come from your faith in Jesus Christ, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I want to give you my Life. Forgive me of all of my sins. Wash me in your blood. I believe in my heart You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.

Day 222 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 6: 12 (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 1-3, 1 Corinthians 6, Psalm 119: 97-104

1 Corinthians 6: 12 (ESV)

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.”

Verse 6 from 1 Corinthians 6 stood out to me this morning. Paul was writing to the Christian church in Corinth, and the phrase “all things are lawful for me” was a common saying among the people. Paul tells them there is freedom in believing in Jesus Christ, but it is not a freedom to sin because not all lawful things are helpful your Christian life. Paul tells us to have true freedom as a Christian; we must live a life that honors Father-God. We need to have discernment and choose only those actions that will benefit ourselves and others spiritually. Paul lets us know that the practice of self-control is a fruit of having a relationship with the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit will guide us as to which actions will bring us closer to Father-God and which actions will take us further away from him. Paul also tells us that as believers in Jesus Christ, we must not be dominated by anything in the culture that may enslave us. This verse stood out to me because in today’s culture we are told to not let anything dominate us, which includes our belief in Christ. But this thinking means we are letting culture dominate and tell us what to do, so we trade one dominance for another. I’ve let culture tell me how I should think and behave, and I found no peace. True peace only came to me when I let myself be full of love for Father-God and followed his words in the Bible.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this Bible verse, and you want to experience true peace in your life because of your faith in Jesus Christ, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I want to give you my Life. Forgive me of all of my sins. Wash me in your blood. I believe in my heart You raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am clean, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of Father-God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the words of Father-God preached and experience signs, wonders, and miracles in your life.