WE LONG FOR THE ETERNAL King Solomon was the writer of Ecclesiastes. He observed the beauty of how God had assigned everything a season and how these things seemed to repeat over time. Yet, he also observed that God had put an eternal longing in man’s heart, so that he wanted to know and experience
A NEW CREATION Becoming a Christian is not about self-improvement. It is an invitation to come and die, that we might be born again. It is not incremental nor partial, but drastic and total. By believing and receiving Christ, we are found in Him. Our old nature we count crucified with Christ. Our new nature
WE CAN KNOW “We know.” This faith we have is based on the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus. We look at this fact, believing it, and this faith becomes like confident knowledge. Believing that God raised Jesus in the past, we also believe that He will raise us with Jesus in the future.
IT’S NOT ABOUT US Our message is not about us, but about our Lord. For we are like clay jars containing a great treasure. Our weakness only serves to emphasize the greatness of Christ within us. When we want people to see us, to applaud our efforts, we forget that our purpose is to cause
ASKING QUESTIONS OF YOUR SELF There are at least two ways of reading this Scripture. The first is to view the psalmist as truly questioning the source of his feelings of discouragement and sadness. He knows that he is depressed, but he is not sure why. So, he is lifting up his heart to the
THE GRAYNESS OF GRIEF ABSENT THE LORD The grief that covered Job like a cloud affected even his ear for music. The lyre, a stringed instrument, was often employed by David to lighten the mood of King Saul. It was an instrument used in worship and in times of celebration. Yet, to Job’s ear, the
DO YOU TREASURE GOD’S WORD? Job lived during the time of the patriarchs before the written Word was given to Moses. Yet he knew the commands and words of the Lord that had been given personally to him or passed on to him from his forefathers. He lived by them and “treasured” them more than
OFFERING COMFORT THAT TRULY COMFORTS On top of all of Job’s grief he had to suffer the “futile comfort” of his so-called friends. Job had lost his children, his wealth and even his own health, yet those who came to pay their respects had no real comfort to give him. They only offered empty clichés.
DO YOU KNOW THAT YOUR REDEEMER LIVES? Long before Christ came to redeem us from our sin, Job already looked for such a “Redeemer.” Job placed his hope in Messiah as one peering through a veil. For the Book of Job is one of the oldest in the Bible. Yet, he knew not only that
ARE YOU STEADFASTLY EXCELLING IN THE LORD’S WORK? Be strong, immovable, always work with enthusiasm for the Lord. Why? Because of the resurrection and because whatever you plant in faith will grow and produce a harvest. The promise of eternal life should make us fearless in our focus. It should make us immovable (persistently firm