Today's Readings: New Testament -
Matthew 21:33-46
James 1:12-18
Old Testament -
Ecclesiastes 2:1-16
Jeremiah 3-4
Click on Text Links to Read Online
Focus Verses:
Ecclesiastes 2:21-26
21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. 24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Insight:
Material wealth and personal accomplishments are not meaningful in and of themselves. Without God, there is no purpose or meaning or enjoyment. Toil and possessions pass away and are forgotten as they become buried under the dust of time. They cannot satisfy or give meaning unless they are seen as gifts from God to be used to serve and honor God. Life is meaningless apart from the meaning and purpose God imparts.
Response & Action:
I do not want to be owned and pushed around by possessions. I recognize that hard work, achievement, enjoyment, and possessions do not give meaning to life. It is God who gives meaning and depth to them. I will seek God above all else. I want my life and perspectives to be shaped and directed by my relationship with Christ and my understanding of God's word.
O God, help me to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Keep me from wrongheaded living that expects to find meaning in things. Instead, help me to set my mind on you and to fix my eyes on Jesus, knowing that honoring you brings satisfaction and purpose to my life. Help me to put first the things that truly last. Through Christ, Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Matthew 6:33-34
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Resources:
Can Man Live Without God
by Ravi Zacharias
