Monday, December 1, 2008

The End of it All

I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving. Alyssa and I had 20 family members over at our house. It sure made our house seem very cozy. We enjoyed each others company as well as the many different families represented coming together. I pray everyone had a good one and probably have some good stories to share as well.

Lately we have been going through the life of Solomon in 1st Kings on Sunday and it is interesting to see just how wealthy he was. It says that he would receive annually 666 talents of gold or 49,950 lbs of gold. He would have had over 403 billion dollars a year. He had over 1000 wives. He was the wisest man as well as the power of the whole world at his hand. No one could compare to his vastness and knowledge and I truly believe no one else to this day will. God gave him the warning of him departing from his ways which he did by making compromises throughout his kingship.

We see in Ecclesiastes that Solomon was trying to do everything under the sun. It is true that he tried everything. He tried being the smartest man alive. He tried having pleasure in women, in food, and in wine. He tried being happy with his power. He tried being happy with clothes and material things. He tried being happy with his fame and popularity but throughout the book of Ecclesiastes he says, "Vanity of Vanities." It is all meaningless or pointless.

He sums up the meaning of life in 12:13 by saying , "Fear God and keep his commanments." A man that had everything but realized he lost it. A man who gave the most important thing up for a life of pleasure. He tried obtainging more and more but it was just a circle of false hope. May we learn from Solomon that our true joy and success comes from him.

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Important info:

  • Mark your calendars for the Winter Retreat. The dates are March 13th through the 16th. In a few weeks I will be handing out the requests.

Prayer Request

  • If you have any prayer request please let me know
  • Pray for Liz of Wednesday night.
  • Pray for Liz's grandma who had a heart attack a few weeks ago.
  • Please keep Angela's father in your prayers
  • Pray for Alex to find a job.
  • Please continue to pray for my wife and the baby.