Woe to Those that Oppress

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 4:1-8

My thoughts about the verses:

As we read this we see that those that are oppressed deal with much grief.  They suffer from the hands of people.  They are oppressed by the governments.  They deal with the consequences of a system that restricts their freedom.

This is important for us to read today.  We first need to know that those that are oppressed are not the ones that are at fault.  They are victims of those that have power.  They are victims of those that abuse their authority. 

Solomon says it best when he says it is better for someone never to be born than to face oppression.  Being equal with your peers is essential.  Having governments respect you and create laws to protect you are essential.  Woe to those that oppress people. 

The majority of Americans have seen the news in the last few weeks.  People have decided that one group is less important than others.   People out of fear have decided that the GLBTIQA community is a threat to their existence.  They have irrationally come to the conclusion that we who are GLBTIQA are trying to change what they see as the “normal way of life.”

They are missing the fact that they are oppressing people that are just like them.  WE are just like everyone else.  We have the same occupations as the rest of the world.  WE live in the same communities as everyone else.  WE love just like everyone else.  WE mourn just like everyone else.  The only difference between US and the rest of the World is Who WE Love.

OUR love is not what WE are.  WE are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, aunts and uncles.  WE are teachers, lawyers, nurses, waitresses, bosses and owners of businesses.  WE are not a threat to anyone’s way of life.  WE only want to be treated equally.

WE don’t want special preferences.  WE just want the same rights as everyone else.  WE want to marry, adopt, and live a happy normal life.  WE want to be able to live without fear of being hurt.  WE want to be able to love and have families.

Yet, what we have seen is that people still do not understand GLBTIQA.  They think that WE are trying to get things that WE do not deserve.  The government has created laws that allow people to discriminate.  The system has oppressed a part of the society because of misunderstanding.

There has been some progress that has allowed people to start having equal rights.  Yet, the laws do not expand everywhere.  I live in Kentucky a state that doesn’t allow me to marry.  I live in a state that doesn’t have equal rights protection.  I live in a state where people do not understand that they are actually allowing others to be oppressed.

We have to all agree to stop oppression.  It doesn’t matter what group we are limiting rights we need to allow them equality.  We have to speak out so those in positions can stop making laws that hurt others.  We have to stand up and say enough is enough.

Those that choose to continue oppressing others are bringing woe on themselves.   They are not living the will of God.  They are not bringing peace to the world.  Instead of following God they are working against God.

It is very hard for us to understand that each one of us has an influence on society.  We can choose to allow rules to be passed that hurt others.  We can choose to treat people different.  We can choose to judge others. We can choose to follow Gods will.

When we follow God our society will change.  We will find that people can all live together in peace.  We will discover that equality is not a privilege but a right.  We will learn that we are the vessel of peace and equality.  We are able to change the world so that no one faces oppression.

It is all up to each and every one of us to make this change.  We have to stop oppressing people that are different from us.  We have to demand a change of laws.  We have to make sure that people of all races, religions, sexual orientation and abilities are treated the same.  We need to change our way of thinking so that we can change the world.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for loving us all.  We thank you for loving us the way you created us.  We ask that you help us change our way of thinking.  Help us accept people the way you have created them.  Help us treat people equally.  In the name of the Creator we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you treating people fairly?  Are you accepting that people are all the same?  Are you choosing to follow God?  Are you choosing to oppress people who are different from you?  What do you need to change about the way you are living so all can be treated equally?

All Will Return to Dust

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

My thoughts about the verses:

We are like all things that live on the earth.  We will die and return to the dust in which we came.  No one can live on their own forever.  We can attempt to do all things on our own yet, what we discover is that we are living in vain.  No matter how much we have here on Earth it will pass away in the end.

You can spend your whole life trying to get wealthy.  You can spend your whole life searching for love.  You can spend your whole life trying to get things.  You can spend your life in search for the hope you need.  Yet, if you do not ask God into your life everything is in vain.

It is not what we get in life that makes us who we are.  We often think that if we are the smartest or wealthiest person then we have no fear.  If we have great talents and love from others we have all we need.  Yet, our Spirit is not filled with the Holy Spirit if we do not ask God into our life.  So all that we have gained will pass away and will be accomplished in vain.

See it is our spirit that lives on.  Those things that we achieve with the help of God will go on even when other things fall apart.  We do not have to be wealthy or the smartest.  We do not have to have to be the most talented and be loved by others.  What we need is God in our hearts.  When we ask for God to save us we will live forever.

Our bodies will pass but our spirits will live on if only we ask God to take away our transgressions.  If we ask God to come into our lives we will have a multitude of blessings.  If we follow God and do the work we are called to do our lives will have meant something.  People in the future will remember us for what we have done for God’s will.  When you live for God your living will not is in vain.  You will see that the work you do for God will benefit you more than anything that you ever tried on your own.

Prayer:

We thank you for love.  We thank you for the gift of everlasting life.  We thank you for giving our life meaning.  Help us turn our lives over to you.  We ask right now God that you come into our life.  Help us to follow you each and every day of our life.  In the name of the Holy One we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you truly trusted in God?  Have you given your life over to the Savior?  Are you following God?  Are you spending your life living for God?  Is there something that you need to do today that God is calling you to do?

God Has Given Us All Gifts

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

My thoughts about the verses:

Many of us forget that God gives us gifts every day.  We are so worried about what is going wrong in our life.  We are worried about the things that we do not have that we miss what we do have.  We are stressed out in our lives so often that we miss the times when there are stress free moments.

Now we all need to remember that God gives each and every one of us gifts every day.  Now I am not talking about gifts that we are each blessed with each day.  If you are reading this then you have the first gift.  Today you were blessed with the gift of life.  It may not be what you were expecting.  Maybe you are sick.  Maybe you are struggling with issues.  Yet, God blessed you with the gift of living. 

You were blessed today with the gift of love.  God loves us so much that Jesus even died for our lives.  Imagine the strength and love it took to go to the cross willingly.  It takes great love to give your life so that others may have eternal life.  This is the gift of love that you were blessed with today.

You were blessed with the gift of creation.  God created you in the perfect image.  We are part of the creation.  God created each and every one of us to be who we are.  God knows our hearts and souls.  God created the world and gave us dominion over it.  The gift of a whole and complete creation is our gift today.

We have to remember that God loves us.  God loves us for who we are and we do not have to change who we are to be loved by God.  God provides for us and we need to remember this.  We may not have all we want but we have what we need.  We have the gift of hope.  The gift of hope gives us the strength to get through the struggles that come our way.  We can see God’s gift of hope in many things.  God’s hope comes in the gift of everlasting life.

We need to remember that in our times of struggle we have the power to get through it because of God.  There is a special gift that those who accept the love of God have.  We have the strength of God helping us carry our struggles.  We do not have to go through the battles of life by ourselves.  God gives us the ability to get through all things if we only rely on the Almighty.

Prayer:

We praise you for the many gifts you give us.  We praise you for helping us get through our day.  We thank you for the gift of eternal life.  We thank you for giving us hope.  Help us to remember all that you have given to us.  Help us turn over our lives to you so that we may live in peace.  In the name of the Almighty Creator we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted the gift of everlasting life?  Have you accepted the strength that God wants to give you?  Have you accepted the Hope that comes from God?

There is a Time

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

My thoughts about the verses:

Many of us are very familiar with these verses.  Songs have been written about them.  They have been reflected in poetry.  It is something that we can easily connect with.  There is a time for all things that we do.  God has given an opportunity to have great times of joy.  There are other times of sorrow that fills our life. 

If you are reading this during a time of stress or sadness you are probably saying why.  Why do I have to have bad things happen in my life?  Why is there a need for pain and sorrow?  Why can’t we go through life filled with joy?  The list of Why Questions just goes on and on. 

If you are reading this during a time of joy and happiness in your life you are probably asking why?  Why do the good times have to end?  Why does the happiness in our life have to fall into time of sadness?  Why do I have to worry about tomorrow when I am doing so well today?  The list of Why Questions goes on and on.

Basically we are asking the same thing why we have to have bad times.  Can we not always have good times?  Who needs sadness and stress in their life?  This seems like it is against the very plans that Jesus lays out in the Gospel.  Jesus is giving us new life a filling of our Spirit.   So how can Jesus let me go through low points.

We all find it is easy to blame God for the bad things that happen to us.  We want to get angry with God when things are not easy.  We want to push God away because we feel what good is it to trust in God if I am going to have bad times.  Yet, we need to ask ourselves is this really what we need to do during the bad times.

We all find it is easy to forget about God when things are going good.  We go through life with our head raised as if we caused all the happiness in our life.  We often forget that Jesus is there with us during the highlights of our life.  We have a very easy time of taking credit for the moments in our life that are turning out good.

Basically, we find it easy to blame God when it is bad.  Yet, at the same time we want to pat our own back when things are going good.  It is like we want God to make things go good for us.  When it does we think we have done it ourselves.  When it doesn’t go good for us we want to blame God. 

The crazy thing is that we miss that God is responsible for the highlights of our life.  We also miss that God is there helping us through the low points of our life.  We have to realize that there will be both good times and bad times.  We have time when we are on top of the world.  Other times when we feel like we have the whole weight of the world on our shoulders. 

We have to ask God to be there to help us when we hit those stressful and sorrowful moments of our life.  We also need to praise God for the moments that we are having joyful moments.  When you do this you will realize that the hard times will not be so bad.  You will also realize that you will have the best friend ever to share the highlights of your life. 

Prayer:

We thank you God for your love.  We praise you for being there with us throughout our life.  Help us offer our lives over to you God.  We praise you for all the good things that happen in our life.  We ask for you to give us strength as we face life’s struggles.  In your Holy Name we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Yes there is a time for every season.  The question is how are you handling those moments?  Are you asking for God’s help to get you through the rough patches?  Are you praising God when things are going good?  Have you accepted that God wants to be there in all of the moments of your life?  What do you need to turn over to God today?

We Receive Joy if We Only Strive to Please God

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

My thoughts about the verses:

What is to come to the knowledge that we gain throughout our lifetime?  Is it to our reward or to those of the next generation?  Is it not true that those that work their whole life to learn secrets of life will die not knowing the truth?  They search for things that they will never understand that they have found.  It is the generations that follow that gain understanding from their toils.

This can be a very confusing concept.  How is it we can work all of our life yet never find what we were looking for?  Think of it this way what we are searching for is right in front of us, but because we are looking everywhere else we miss it.  We do not see the joy in our life because we waste our life trying to find joy.  Yet, those that come after us are able to see what we have discovered and are able to say this is the joy that they had.  Not realizing the generation before never fully realized their joy.

This is the humanness of the mind.  We are always searching for things that we think will make us happy.  How many people really ever find the key to happiness?  This is what we see from these verses.  That we can live our life striving for something and miss the happiness we would have had if we just stopped and enjoyed what we had. 

Think about the great minds of the past.  How much time did they spend finding out things that we now seem as common knowledge?  Did they ever realize that they held the key to their endeavor in their hand?  Did they continue looking because they thought there was more to gain than what they had?

Our humanness leads us down this path yet we do have a way of stopping the cycle of desire.  We can accept that there is nothing that we can do or learn on our own which will make us happy.  We can come to accept that we need to allow Jesus to be the redemption of our life.  When we come to accept that Jesus holds the key to all the happiness in the world our life can change.  We can discover what was right in front of our eyes was the blessings of the Messiah.

You can imagine Solomon trying to discover all the hidden secrets of life.  He was blessed with wisdom and was trying his best to use it to find what he needed out of life.  Yet, the more that he learned the more he learned he was not happy.  He felt as if he was wasting his life away yet he could not understand why. 

What he was missing is the key of salvation.  Those that come to accept the key of salvation open their lives up to happiness.  It doesn’t mean they will be joyful every day of their life.  It doesn’t mean that they will never struggle.  Yet, it does mean that their soul has found its hiding place.  No matter what is going on in our life if we have Jesus we have comfort.  God will be there protecting us and helping us make it through the day.

The greatest part of salvation is that it doesn’t take great wisdom to achieve it.  It doesn’t take great works to be saved.  It does take love to be saved.  It takes acceptance to be saved.  The love and acceptance of Jesus as your Savior are the two things you must do.  Jesus has already used the key when you love Jesus and accept Jesus as your Savior you have the gift.  You have the comfort in your life.  You have the peace in your live.  You most importantly have eternal life.

Prayer:

We thank you for giving us the key to our Salvation.  We thank you for going through the lock and dying so that we may be forgiven.  We praise you for rising out of the tomb so that we may free.  Help us to always remember these things.  Help us come to love and accept you for you have already love and accepted us.  In the name of the Risen Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you been searching for the questions of life?  Have you asked Jesus for the answer?  Have you accepted the gift of salvation?  What do you need to do today to let go of your past and grab hold of your savior?

Our Human Gain Is All In Vain

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

My thoughts about the verses:

Imagine being able to do and have all that you wanted in this life.  Having the money and power to say I want this and it is instantly yours.  Having the wisdom and understanding to ask any question and know the answer immediately.  How would our lives really be in this situation?

Most scholars agree that the Book of Solomon was most likely written by King Solomon.  We know under his rule that Israel grew they were able to build God’s temple.  We are told that Solomon was one of the wisest men ever born.  Yet, listen to what he says.  After I surveyed all that I had I found that it was all in vain.

Do we not find that we are working in vain?  We spend 90 percent of our time trying to get what we want.  Once we get it we discover that it wasn’t what we thought it would be like.  Then we go back and try to get the next thing to replace what we worked so hard to get.  We are only to be disappointed when we get the new thing.  This happens over and over in our life.  We come to the same conclusion that Solomon did in this moment.  All that I worked for was in vain.

Yet, there is a gift that we can receive that we do not have to work hard to get.  In fact, a gift that is given completely free to those those seek for it.  We can all obtain the gift of eternal life through the power of the resurrected Jesus.  See Jesus did all the work all we have to do is decide that we want to accept the gift. 

A simple task but one that people find so hard to accept.  We want the miracle yet we are afraid that it will be too hard to obtain.  We want to believe it is free but our humanness says there has to be more to the story.  We find it hard to believe that our Savior would go to the cross die freely so that we may be blessed with the gift of eternal and everlasting life. 

Yet, this is truly the free gift from our savior.  All who accept the gift much will be given to them.  They will have the perfect redeeming power of the Christ covering all the sin and wrong that they have done in this world.  Think of it this way how would it be if Jesus had gone to his death and it is in vain.  We can understand from looking at it this way that the gift is freely a gift of love and life.  Jesus didn’t die out of vain but out of love for us.  His death means that we will have everlasting life if only we will accept it.

The treasures of the world seem like the spoils that our hearts desire.  Yet, in reality what do we give up if we only want the things the world gives us.  Do we not sale ourselves short of the greatest gift?  Do we not in our humanness miss that the things of this world will never fill us like the power of the risen Savior?  The next time that we try to achieve things without God in the forefront we need to ask ourselves is this we really truly want.  Isn’t what we desire is happiness?  With that being our desire the only way to obtain it is not through our own work but through the acceptance of our Savior. 

Prayer:

We thank you for your Love.  We praise you God for your gift that is freely given.  We thank you for the sacrifice on the cross.  We praise you for your victory from the grave.  Help us concentrate on receiving your gift.  Help us to refrain from gaining worldly possessions that will never truly make us happy.  In the name of the Risen Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted the gift of eternal life?  Are you trying to gain the riches of the world?  Are you concentrating on the work of God or on the work of the World? 

The More You Learn; the More You Want to Learn

Verses:  Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

My thoughts about the verses:

Think back to when you were in your favorite school in class.  The more you learned about the subject the more you wanted to know.  The cycle seemed to get bigger and bigger until you come to find that it is consuming large amounts of your time.  In the end you discover that no matter how much time you put in learning about the subject you will never learn it all.

I compare this to what we can learn from studying the Bible.  I for one started reading and learning about the Bible as a young kid.  I went to Church as often as I could go.  I wanted to be submerged in the Gospel.  I even went to Baptist College thinking that one day that I would be a Pastor. 

Every day that I read the Bible I learn something new.  I learn new discoveries and realize that if I spent every waking hour the rest of my life on learning about God I would never know everything.  Instead I would discover that there is so only so much that can be revealed to one person throughout their lifetime.

The more that you learn about God the more in awe you become.  You come to understand all the majesty that God possesses.  You come to understand that God provided a plan for eternal life.  God created us out of Love and still loves us.  You come to see that all is perfect in the eyes of the Creator of all.

There is a difference though when you spend your time studying about God and spending time on things of this world.  When you are concentrating on learning about God your life is filled with hope and peace.  When you concentrate on learning about things of the world your life is filled with sorrow and despair.  What we have to come to understand is that the world will fill us with burden while God will fill us with comfort.

Think about all those people that spend their whole life studying about how to make it in this world.  They are so busy trying to learn what they need to do that they let life slip them by.  They miss out on simple pleasures and joyful moments because they are trying to advance in status.  They are working so hard on having what the person next door has that they miss what they have.

See you can study yourself into fits of sorrow.  You can come to a time in your life when you look back and say what was it all for?  What did I get out of life?  See we find that we can never learn everything that we need to be totally sufficient on our own.  No matter how much we try to get to the top, the top just gets taller and taller. 

What are you spending your time trying to learn?  Are you trying to learn how to do a different career?  Are you spending your time trying figure out how to pay the mounting bills?  Are you spending your time trying to figure out how to have the perfect relationship?  Are you spending your time on how to become the person other people think you should be?

No wonder so many of us are not happy with our life.  We have expectations that we can never meet about our own life.  We can never achieve everything that we think we need to achieve.  So we spend our life trying to learn to be something that we are not.  Our knowledge forces us to learn more because we know we don’t have exactly what we need.  Yet the more we learn the more we study.  In the end, we have spent our life wasting it trying to learn just is ourselves.  No wonder we are sad.

Yet, if you spend your life studying the word of God you will find.  That Jesus died for you.  Jesus died for your eternal blessing.  You find that you don’t have to work harder or be a better person to have a relationship with God.  You learn that your task is easy.  All you have to do to be the person God expects out of you is to love God. 

The more you learn about your relationship with God the more hope you have in life.  The more you learn about the grace of God the more peace you have in your life.  The more you learn about the Love of God the more love you have in your life.  The more you learn about the acceptance of God the more you love yourself.  Because in all these things you will see that God doesn’t want you to be more than what you are.  God is happy with you being who you are.  God will love you where you are.  God will walk by your side all the time.  God will carry you when the times are too hard.

When you worry about learning about the world your life ends in distress and sorrow.  When you spend your life learning about God your life is hope, peace and love.

Prayer:

God we thank you for your love.  We thank you God for the wisdom that you give us.  Help us accept that we do not have to be anything that we are not to have you in our life.  Help us learn about you and your grace.  Help us stop worrying about learning about the world and spend the time learning of your love.  In the name of the Risen One we pray.  Amen

Questions:

What are you spending your time trying to learn about?  Have you accepted the gift of love from God?  Are you stressed out trying to learn how to make it in this world?  Do you need to spend more time coming to learn about your Savior?  What do you need to do to make your life full of hope, peace and love?