November 5, 2008 …
Passage of the Day: Ecclesiastes 12: 13 … 13 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.
My Journal for Today: As Solomon exhorted in today’s passage, Christians can – and must – search for the mind of God (i.e., for Godly wisdom) by fearing God and keeping His commandments. Much of this wisdom book in the Old Testament is, I believe, Solomon’s later life reflections on all the human wisdom God allowed him to have. He discovered later in life, in penning the book of Ecclesiastes, that all his human wisdom led him to nothing but vanity. As Solomon reflected in Eccles. 1: 16 – 18, when it comes to dealing with life, all the human wisdom in the world will simply not “cut it.” He said that chasing human wisdom was like chasing after the wind; and I think that’s a very apt word picture. And toward the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon warns the child of God [in today’s verse] to “… fear God and keep His commandments” as the “… whole duty of man.”
That is also what James, the brother of Jesus, whom we’ve been learning from in the last few days, was saying in James 3: 13 – 16 [see below], … warning believers, as did Solomon, that the pursuit of human wisdom is earthly, and can be demonic, yielding nothing but disorder and evil practice.
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James 3: 13 – 16 … Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
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So, here we have two wise believers, shaped by years of life’s experience, warning us to avoid the folly of pursuing human wisdom and doing all we can, with reverence and obedience to God, to find and apply the mind of God to our lives.
Therefore, I hope you join me in the remainder of this month’s devotional pursuit, learning from God’s word what we must do to find God’s way from His word, … and that is to fear (i.e., reverence) God and to live life in obedience to His will. I believe, as we do this, we will do what Solomon and James desired of fellow believers … to discover and apply the very mind of God to our lives.
My Prayer Today: O Lord, how I’m driven to know Your mind and to make Your way, my way! Amen
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