Friday August 23, 2103

Read Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

It is rumoured in tradition that Solomon wrote Song of Solomon when he was young, Proverbs when he was middle aged and Ecclesiastes when he was old. As an old man with many years of experience under him, he would have seen life repeated in the same vain over and over again. Even at the tender age of forty something, I can see a repetitive pattern across the generations. Children make the same mistakes. Teens go down similar paths. Young adults have the same struggles. How much more would Solomon have seen in his older age and grander wisdom!

 

Solomon had seen the meaninglessness of life apart from God. He had seen the treadmill existence in so many different people’s lives. He had seen the insatiable appetite of the eyes and ears of men and women. He had seen the youth search in futility for meaning and value to life. He had seen the endless cycle repeat itself over the decades. He had seen it so many times that he knew there was nothing new under the sun.

 

Solomon cries out to a lost and searching world that life, without God, is pointless. It is meaningless without God. Life is futile if lived in isolation from the one true Life Giver. Life may “work” for a while without God but it can only end in disaster. It can only end in ruin.

 

We may be alarmed at the way the youth of our day binge drink and party. We may be anxious at the high drug usage rate. We may be troubled by the violence and terrorism of today. But Solomon assures us that all of this has happened before. From the day Adam and Eve were thrust out of the Garden of Eden, mankind has embarked on a restless search to find contentment, meaning and value to life. Mankind will always seek to dull the pain of reality. Mankind will always seek to substitute the excitement and contentment of God with something else. Mankind will always seek to please “self” at the expense of others. History has shown that without God, such a life is inevitable.  History has proven that life apart from God is pointless.

 

You, the believer, are the lynch-pin in bringing purpose, meaning and value into other people’s lives. That’s not a burden. It’s a grand privilege!

 

Prayer:

Write down at least one prayer point in each of the following categories based on the following verse.

 

All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

But the Word of the Lord stands forever.

1:Peter 1:24-25.

Adoration:

 

 

Confession:

 

 

Thanks:

 

 

Supplication:

¥ Ask the Lord to grow your church through conversions and to light a fire in the belly of each believer that pushes/urges and compels them to go out into the world to make disciples for Jesus’ sake.

¥ Pray that this disciple making will bear much fruit. Pray that you personally would have opportunity today or tomorrow to speak life into someone’s life. Pray that you will be courageous and bold in sharing your faith as God opens the door.

 

 

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. How can you share Jesus with Donald without appearing to be too preachy or pushy?

2. Can you think of a way forward with Don that may help him come to faith?