Treasures On Earth Or In Heaven?

Gospel reading from Luke 12:13-21 KJV it is vanity to lay up more things on earth than you need and will not bring you happiness. Enjoy life in the presence of God.

It's Not All Vanity!

Ecclesiastes 1:2,12-14; 2:18-26 KJV Don't get stuck thinking everything you do is in vain. Love the Lord and love your neighbor.

Love Of Money

1 Tim 6:10

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. 

                                                                     (Eccl 5:10-20 KJV)

There was a time when just about everyone rejoiced that they had work that would enable them to provide for themselves and their families. Their rejoicing was not because they were going to be rich and and have every material thing that they desired. They rejoiced that God had provided them a means to be able to have shelter and food to eat for themselves and their families. They were not so greedy to want every material thing because they actually wanted to have time to spend with their families and friends. They knew that there were and are more important things in life than "stuff."

One of my husband's great-uncles told me the story of how he provided for his family. He had been struggling to make ends meet so he prayed that God would give him enough money to support his ever growing family. Within short order he was hired by the post-office and lived financially comfortable; yet, not rich in things, ever after... He was ever grateful to God who provided for his family.

Things are not the most important thing in life. Great wealth can very easily rob a person of the greater pleasures in life. 

Let us give thanks to God for the real pleasures in life. Live life in Christ and rejoice!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

I Lay Down In Peace

Psalm 4

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

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My favorite times of day are early morning and evening just before I fall asleep. They are quiet times. They are times when I can commune with God without any interruptions. 

The world is full of challenges as we strive to do better. Unfortunately, this striving to do better usually tends to mean we strive for more unnecessary stuff. This striving for stuff can take the joy totally out of living as it can be a constant battle to appear more successful in the eyes of others. Successful for many means having more stuff even if they no longer have time to enjoy the stuff they've accumulated. Successful for most Christians means living in peace in communion with God. We don't need lots of stuff. We need Jesus. We need need his love. We need the peace that only he can give. 

No matter what challenges might trouble our hearts and minds we can live and rest in peace knowing that the Lord is with us and for us. The Lord lifts up the light of his countenance upon us.

May God help each of us to live in perpetual communion with Him that we might all live life in peace with Him and with one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Nothing New?

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

                                                                                    (Eccl 1:1-9 KJV)

I have seen a few posts on Facebook this morning that ask us what we learned during the year 2020. To be honest: I cannot think of one thing that I learned that was new. Some of the things that I already knew were reinforced this last year. But, there really is nothing new under the sun. It's been pretty much the same stuff since the beginning of time. 

As I look back over the year 2020, unlike a lot of people, I do not see a horrible year. I have had many that could be considered much worse and most of you probably did too if you look back further than 2020. The corrupt politicians have always been there. Being lied to by the government, the media, as well as others seems to have gotten a bit worse; but, then again maybe it's just because our eyes have seen enough of it and finally recognize it for what it is and always has been. Greed, selfishness, anger, hate, disrespect, slothfulness, lack of integrity, lack of empathy: they have also always been here. Disease has always been here, as well, and the earth keeps spinning.

But, in 2020, there was also the other side of the coin. There was love. There was generosity. There was self-sacrifice by many. These are good things. 2020 wasn't really so bad and if we expect 2021 to be much different than we are probably in for a shock. There is nothing new under the sun. There are good things and things that are not so good under the sun. 

As we sit around complaining about our lot in life, remember that we were never promised that life would be without tribulations. We were never promised a rose garden. We were promised the Kingdom of God. Trials and tribulations exist here on earth. They always have. They always will until the Lord comes to take us home. In him alone lies our hope. In Christ alone is our peace. Through him we are heirs of salvation. We can and should be rejoicing in that!

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

                                                                                    (Romans 8:16-18)

The sufferings of this time are really not enough for us to dwell in darkness, in the closed closets of our mind. For "....ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." (1 Pet 2:9)

Have a blessed new year and rejoice for every day that the Lord has provided you with! Rejoice and live life in the light of Christ!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

A Time To Embrace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 KJV

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

As a young person, I often suffered from periods of deep depression. It was in those times that I often turned to the author of Ecclesiastes to commiserate with. "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." (Eccl 1:2) I could not have agreed with him more that everything was vanity and probably a really big waste of time; even life. Somehow the reality of everything being vanity got me through to a point where I realized that whatever I do amounts to not much more than survival. In order to really live, I had to trust in God and to live my life in Christ. 

We can never really figure out God's whole plan for us. We might think we know it and then whoosh... something happens and the plan changes just like that! What we thought was His plan for us is not. 

Today, I will lead the service at the funeral of a friend. He leaves behind a teen-age son. His wife, the son's mother, died years ago. It is a very sad time. It is a time to weep. As I consider the words of the preacher, I know that with the bad times; times of sadness; times of depression; God will also provide times of relief; but, in His time. God provides times of peace; times of love, times to build up; and times of embracing. 

Today is a time to weep; but, it is at the same time a time to love and a time to embrace one another. 

Whatever sorrow you may be enduring today remember the love of God in Christ Jesus for you and allow him to love you through others. And, don't forget to love others as Jesus loves you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Live Joyfully With Your Spouse

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. (Eccl 9:9 KJV)

It is a good thing to have someone to share and enjoy one's life with. 

Over the years as I have done pre-marital counseling I have often found myself advising couples that if their marriage is going to last and last peaceably they probably need to find time to be together and things to do together. It seems as though many young people think that marriage should afford each partner time to do what it is that they like to do. Sometimes, they expect an awful lot of time to be who they were before marriage. Playing cards with the guys every Saturday night or in the bar for a few (few too many) drinks with your gal pals can cause more than a few problems. It can take the joy right out of a marriage. 

Hanging with your old friends or at your old haunts on a way too regular basis is nothing short of adultery. Just as putting anything or anyone before God is idolatry; putting anything or anyone before your spouse is adultery. Of course, there will be times when that might need to happen. You may have to help a friend in need instead of going out to dinner with your spouse. But, a God-fearing and loving spouse would support you in that. 

Marriage is about a lot of things. It is about sharing things, including your time. It is about commitment to the one you love enough to have married in the first place. Your spouse comes before the things and/or people who were in your life prior to Holy Matrimony. It is about sacrifice. Sometimes you both might have to sacrifice some of those things that gave you pleasure prior to making the commitment to love and care for and respect each other.

Marriage is not always easy. In fact, it can be pretty tough. But, if you want to live joyfully with the one whom you love then set aside your vanity and put that person before all other things of this world. 

Marriage may be hard at times; but, it is not a ball and chain. It is not a death sentence. It is a gift from God so that you might have someone to enjoy life with and to grow old with.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Meaningless Love of Money

The older I get the more death becomes a reality, I lapse into more moments of thinking that life is as meaningless as Solomon would imply. Why all the years of toil, if it is to be gone in a second?

This toiling after riches is meaningless.

"The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity.

When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let them sleep.

There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture; though they are parents of children, they have nothing in their hands. As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands."
                                                               (Eccl 5:10-15 NRSV)

That is not to say that work is evil. We must work if we expect to eat. But, it becomes very bothersome, even a burden, when one works only to amass riches. Jesus told this story to a crowd who followed to listen to Him:

“And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
                                                               (Luke 12:17-21)

Our work should bring joy to us as well as to others. Live life! Enjoy the life that God has given you! Whether it is in the hours you spend laboring or during the hours you are relaxing with your friends and family, life here on earth is to be lived and enjoyed. Life, abundant life, is a gift from God.

"This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot. Likewise all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God."
                                                                (Eccl 1:18-19)

While you are yet making your journey through this world focus not on amassing wealth or power to the exploitation of others, but on living life so that God may be glorified.

And... may the peace and joy that is found in being in relationship with God, our Father and with one another, through His Son, Jesus the Christ, be with you always. Pr. J