Tag Ecclesiastes

Bible in a Year: Week of July 1-7

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Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: you can just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, or read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!  It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.

This week we finish Mark and Deuteronomy and move on to Luke and Joshua.

Monday, July 1
Morning: Ecclesiastes 3, Mark 16
Evening: Deuteronomy 30

Tuesday, July 2
Morning: Ecclesiastes 4, Luke 1
Evening: Deuteronomy 31

Wednesday, July 3
Morning: Ecclesiastes 5, Luke 1
Evening: Deuteronomy 32

Thursday, July 4
Morning: Ecclesiastes 5, Luke 3
Evening: Deuteronomy 33

Friday, July 5
Morning: Ecclesiastes 6, Luke 4
Evening: Deuteronomy 34

Saturday, July 6
Morning: Ecclesiastes 7, Luke 5-6
Evening: Joshua 1

Sunday, July 7
Morning: Ecclesiastes 8, Luke 7-8
Evening: Joshua 2

Bible in a Year: Week of June 24 – 30

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: you can just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, or read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!  It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.

After this week, Bible in a year is halfway done!  This week we finish Proverbs and start Ecclesiastes, continuing with the wisdom books.  We’re also nearly finished the Pentateuch.

Monday, June 24
Morning: Proverbs 27, Mark 7
Evening: Deuteronomy 23

Tuesday, June 25
Morning: Proverbs 28, Mark 8
Evening: Deuteronomy 24

Wednesday, June 26
Morning: Proverbs 29, Mark 9
Evening: Deuteronomy 25

Thursday, June 27
Morning: Proverbs 30, Mark 10
Evening: Deuteronomy 26

Friday, June 28
Morning: Proverbs 31, Mark 11
Evening: Deuteronomy 27

Saturday, June 29
Morning: Ecclesiastes 1, Mark 12-13
Evening: Deuteronomy 28

Sunday, June 30
Morning: Ecclesiastes 2, Mark 14-15
Evening: Deuteronomy 29

Glory Days Have Not Passed You By

Todd R 1 Comment

One of my favorite books of the Bible is Ecclesiastes, and chapter 7 in particular is full of practical wisdom, such as:

“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. – Ecclesiastes 7:9-10

People commonly refer to the “glory days” of their past.  When they were an athlete.  When they were younger.  Before they had responsibilities.  Before they experienced a loss of a loved one, job/career, home, or anything they held valuable.  Before the Covid-19 pandemic.  Somehow the past looks better.

In these verses, Solomon, who lived a life where he gained and lost far more than nearly anyone else ever will, categorically says this is foolish. He’s not doing this to criticize, but to keep others from repeating his own mistakes. To advise against anger for the wrong reasons about things that can’t be changed or fixed.

God’s mercies are new every morning, and with the path we’ve taken before today, He has prepared us for the day ahead in a way no other path could. Strive for what is ahead – your true “glory days” in Him! Start from here and listen for Him. Perfection lies ahead.

“Give us each day our daily bread” – Luke 11:3

Mourning Has Value

Todd R 1 Comment

The second Beatitude from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).  Mourning logically follows our awareness from the first Beatitude of needing Jesus because we are poor in Spirit, and our awareness that every bad thing in this world is a result of sin.  When we mourn as Christians, we deeply acknowledge that we aren’t happy with the consequences of having sought our own way.

Many religions and philosophies see no value in sorrow.  Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers hated it and strived to avoid it.  Eastern religions sometimes deny its reality and seek to live above it.  On the other hand, in Christianity and Judaism stories like those of Job are highly valued, and verses like these from Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 are common –

“It is better to go to the house of mourning
            than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
            and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
            for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
            but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

In Christianity, mourning can have value, helping sanctify us, making us more like Christ.  Mourning can be a form of confession – a way of saying the same thing about sin that God does.  When we mourn doing wrong things or neglecting things that should have been done, we agree with God on what is “wrong” and what “should” be done.  It is not the same as repentance but is often a preceding part of it.

Therefore, we should mourn!  Emotionally reacting to sin and its effect on the world means that knowing we are “poor in spirit” is more than just an intellectual or logical idea.  Sin needs to mean something to us, deeply.  However, this mourning is not the same as despair, depression, or meaninglessness.  In the words of JRR Tolkien, spoken through the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings: “Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.”  Only God can see the end, and there is more to come!  In Christianity it is but part of a journey.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4

Letting God Be Your Vision

Todd R 2 Comments
Photo by Jenna Day on Unsplash

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” – Ecclesiastes 5:1

When recently reading Ecclesiastes I was initially put off by the seeming harshness of this verse. What sort of sacrifice to God is foolish, or even evil? What is this verse of the Bible I believe in telling me to do, or not to do, and how does it point to Christ?

Then I was reminded of Micah 6:6-8:
“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

When Jesus said “it is finished” on the cross, He was saying His sacrifice is enough and it is all we need. We don’t go to church to negotiate with or bargain with God. We cannot impress God. We can offer nothing He does not already have and has not already provided. This is good news!

We only offer ourselves in worship. We “draw near to listen”, to know Him, and to follow Him. Take a listen to one of my favorite hymns today and just be available for whatever He has in store for you. He is enough for you, and for the world.