Read, Meditate, Pray

<h3>3 August 2020</h3>
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<strong> …BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. DO NOT BE TERRIFIED; DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD WILL BE WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. </strong> (Joshua 1: 9)

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<h3><strong>READ:</strong></h3>
<strong><u>ECCLESIASTES, Chapter 12</u></strong>

<strong><em>NOW ALL HAS BEEN HEARD; HERE IS THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER: FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, FOR THIS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN. FOR GOD WILL BRING EVERY DEED INTO JUDGMENT, INCLUDING EVERY HIDDEN THING, WHETHER IT IS GOOD OR EVIL. </em></strong>(Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14)

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<strong><u>MATTHEW 22: 34 – 46</u></strong>

<strong><em>JESUS REPLIED: – “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREATEST COMMANDMENT. AND THE SECOND IS LIKE IT: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF. ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS HANG ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS. </em></strong>(Matthew 22: 37-40)

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<h3><strong>MEDITATE:</strong></h3>
The final chapter (12^th) of the Book of Ecclesiastes begins with a continuation of advice directed to the youth. They are told to remember God in their youth before difficult days come in which there will be found little pleasure. Such days are described through a series of illustrations that depict the feebleness of old age and eventual death. When the inevitable happens, the body will decay back to dust, and the spirit will return to God who gave it (v. 1-7).

<strong>MEDITATE,</strong> then, upon what is coming according to the Teacher’s experience and then on the conclusions drawn about <em>FEARING GOD:</em>

<strong>1.The day is coming to every one of us in which:</strong>

– <em>the keepers of the house tremble- </em>(= the arms weaken),

– <em>the strong men stoop- </em>(= the legs become frail),

<em>- the grinders cease because they are few-</em> (= the teeth fall out),

– <em>those looking through the windows grow dim- </em>(= eyes lose sight),

– <em>the doors to the street are closed- </em>(= ears become hard of hearing)

– <em>the sound of grinding fades– </em>(= mouth and speech, unintelligible),

– <em>men rise up at the sound of birds-</em> (= the elderly easily awakened),

– <em>all their songs grow faint- </em>(= the voice no longer able to sing),

-<em> men are afraid of heights- </em>(= the fear of falling),

– <em>dangers in the streets- </em>(= no longer feeling invincible),

– <em>the almond tree blossoms, – </em>(= reference to the white hair),

– <em>the grasshopper drags himself along – </em>(= an old man, bowed like an insect, able to move only with some difficulty),

– <em>desire no longer is stirred- </em>(= the desires of flesh wane),

– <em>man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets, – </em>(= finally, DEATH comes).

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<strong>2. Remember your Creator before:</strong>

– <em>the silver cord </em>(= the spinal cord) <em>is severed,</em>

<em>- the golden bowl </em>(= the scull) <em>is broken,</em>

<em>- the pitcher </em>(= the heart) <em>is shattered at the spring,</em>

<em>- the wheel </em>(= the pelvis) broken at the well, – (= the decay of the body),

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<strong>3. When finally:</strong>

– <em>the dust returns to the ground it came from,</em>

<em>- and the spirit returns to God who gave it.</em>

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Solomon closes his comments about life coming to an end by repeating that <em>everything is meaningless. </em>A life lived “under the sun” without God is meaningless, a vapour, here today and gone tomorrow, only to be forgotten (v. 8). But for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, life has meaning and purpose. When we die and leave this earth, we go to our heavenly home to be with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for all eternity. Give praise to your Creator now and remember Him all the days of your life!

A <em>goad </em>is a sharp, pointed stick, still used in some parts of the world, to urge or move an animal along. Solomon used wise words to motivate people to seek the truth about God through His Word. Wise words are also compared to <em>firmly embedded nails, – </em>nails used to hold something in place securely (v. 11). This is a reference to God. God Himself is our Teacher through His Word. God’s Word is truth, and we can securely rest in Him.

Today, there are many books written about God. But there is only ONE book containing the very Word of God, The Bible, that holds the truth of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, leading to Salvation in Him.

The Grand Conclusion of Solomon at the end of the Book of Ecclesiastes: -<em>Fear God and keep His Commandments, </em>as <em>the whole duty of man </em>(v. 13), was translated by Jesus into the New Covenant in His Blood, as LOVE. Loving God and loving each other is the Greatest Commandment. <em>All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments, -</em>replied Jesus to the testing question of the expert in the Law (Matthew 22: 40). This is the <strong>wisest way of life.</strong>

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<h3><strong>LET US PRAY: </strong></h3>
LOVING GOD, in all the complexities and uncertainties of this world, may we continue to have faith in Your loving purpose, daring to believe that Your grace will finally triumph over all. Though so much – even invisible deadly viruses – are conspiring against Your Creation and our lives, seeming to deny and even contradict Your Love, help us to glimpse Your Hand at work, bringing order out of chaos, truth out of falsehood, and good out of evil, until Your will is done. Teach us, that though we can influence certain aspects of life, for better or for worse, we are unable to dictate our destiny. Teach us that true power lies not in our hands, but in Yours. We can’t help it, Lord. Time after time, day after day, we look at life from our point of view rather than Yours. Where You see possibilities, we see problems. When You speak, we fail to hear. While You try to lead us, we resist and rebel. Thank You that despite our reluctance or inability to see Your presence, You continue to work out Your purpose, and somehow in all things working together for good. Teach us, – as the Teacher of the Book of Ecclesiastes, – and use us, lead us, and take us, by Your grace for Your Glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

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Have now your quiet prayers. Bring before God all for whom and for what you are thankful or concerned, happy, or desperate, and believe, that the Lord will answer you…

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<strong>THE LORD’ PRAYER: -</strong> OUR FATHER, Who art in heaven…

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<h3><strong>SUGGESTED HYMN:</strong></h3>
<strong><em>O LOVE THAT WILT NOT LET ME GO, </em></strong><em>I rest my</em> <em>weary soul in Thee; I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.</em>

<em>O Light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day may brighter, fairer be.</em>

<em>O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be.</em>

<em>O Cross, that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee: I lay in dust life’s glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red life that shall endless be.</em>

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<strong>NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO ESTABLISH YOU BY THE GOSPEL AND THE PROCLAMATION OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY HIDDEN FOR LONG AGES PAST, BUT NOW REVEALED AND MADE KNOWN THROUGH THE PROPHETIC WRITINGS BY THE COMMAND OF THE ETERNAL GOD, SO THAT ALL NATIONS MIGHT BELIEVE AND OBEY HIM – TO THE ONLY WISE GOD BE GLORY FOR EVER THROUGH JESUS CHRIST! AMEN.</strong>

<strong> </strong>(Romans 16: 25-26)
<h3><em>Sandor, your Minister.</em></h3>