The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

Tag: Devotional

March 6, 2014

Lent Devotional: Ecclesiastes 2

Ecclesiastes 2
And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. (Ecclesiastes 2:10)

Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:15-17)

Reflection
I…I…I…my…my…my… this is the mantra of Solomon and all too often it is the theme of my own life. You can almost hear the yearning of Solomon’s soul as he continues to seek satisfaction for himself, but perhaps satisfaction cannot be found when we are so self focused. As long as “I, I, I and my, my, my” remain the center of all we do it seems pretty clear that all will be vanity and chasing after the wind. For, no matter what we achieve, death will take it all away.

Solomon recognizes that everyone’s life (the wise or foolish, rich or poor, etc) ends the same way…death. All he does, all he accomplishes, will be gone in a moment. Death renders all his striving pointless…vain. So why try to achieve anything. What’s the point?

Maybe, just maybe, the meaning and purpose Solomon seeks can only be found outside himself. Perhaps we are not supposed to be the center of our own universe. Could there be something or SOMEONE around which our lives were designed to center…one who can even conquer death and fill our lives with meaning and satisfaction?

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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March 5, 2014

2014 Lenten Daily Devotionals

Each day the Lenten season, I am emailing out a devotional to many of the members of SVCC. I will also be sharing these devos via blogging. Hopefully, I will post first thing each morning, but definitely by 12pm. The first devotional may be found below. These are designed to accompany the SVCC Lenten reading guide which may be found here: 2014 Lenten Reading Guide.

In these devotionals I will give a link that will take you to the entire reading for the day if you would like to read it. I will actually include a few of the verses upon which I will focus my reflections. In the reflection section I will make a few brief comments…nothing in depth…just my own reflections as I read through the passage that morning. I hope these thoughts will spur your own thinking and prayers.

Lent is meant to be a season of repentance and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting reminds us that we are not in need of the things this world offers, but in desperate need of Jesus.  So the point of Lent is that we need Jesus…we need Easter. It is my prayer that these daily devotionals will simply help remind us daily of our need for Christ.

Ecclesiastes 1 (click here)
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:8-9)

Reflection
Vanity. Pointless. Meaningless. This is Solomon’s “happy” summation of life after experiencing all the world has to offer. He has seen it all, heard it all, and done it all…and there is nothing new under the sun that can satisfy his soul. Yet, we still seek something to satisfy. Generation after generation bears witness to the truth of Solomon’s words… “I can’t get no satisfaction” is the theme song of the Rolling Stones and everyone else. Still…we keep trying.

It’s like our hearts instinctively know that there must be something that can satisfy our longings. If the longing for satisfaction exists, surely that which will satisfy it exists as well. Thirst exists and so does water to quench it…surely there is something to quench the thirst of our souls! Perhaps Solomon didn’t see it and so many others miss it because they look in the wrong place…under the sun. Solomon is right, there is nothing under the sun (in this world) that can satisfy…so maybe our hearts were made to be satisfied by something outside this world. Maybe everything in this world is meant simply to point us to that which truly satisfies our souls.

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