|
GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #1,017 January 26, 2004 Kicked Over Ant Hills I sat at a red light in downtown during the lunch hour. The drivers were impatient at the wait and you could almost feel their stress oozing out of the cars. Perhaps oozing isn't the right word, perhaps throbbing is better. The pedestrians were so intent on getting to their destinations that they didn't even notice one another. They moved like mindless robots, set on high speed heading for unknown destinations. The whole scene reminded me of the scurrying that goes on when an ant hill is kicked over. Everywhere you look, ants are frantically trying to figure out what happened and what they're supposed to do about it. Unlike us, they have a reason to be frantic when it happens. Surely we're smarter than ants. Aren't we? We've given our lives over to a lie. More, bigger, faster, better and we'll all be happy and able to relax. We spend our whole lives working for retirement only to find out that when (or if) we get there, we don't know what it means to have a life or how to live one. We value property over people. Resources over relationships. Treasure over time. We've become all askew. We've got it backwards. Things and power never satisfy. It's nothing new, although I do believe it is getting worse. King Solomon tried it and found that it didn't work. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:8-9 NIV Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 NIV He pursued pleasure, work, knowledge, all of the "isms" of his day and more and none of them satisfied. He came to one conclusion at the end of it all. 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. Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV A profound verse. To me, what's even more profound is the fact that the earliest of manuscripts don't have the word duty. They read: Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13 People are made in the image of God and our whole being is designed for worship. It's not a duty, it's who we are. All our striving will never satisfy. The only thing that satisfies for eternity is to allow ourselves to become all God intended us to be, to walk in obedience and communion with Him. Until next time, may you put aside your endless strivings and just walk with Father. It's what you're really looking for any way. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin OUR GOD IS Our God is awesome and majestic. "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you -- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Exodus 15:11 NIV YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus as Saviour, you are designed for worship Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13 Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING You've tried one high after another but they never satisfy for long. One relationship after another, but they don't hold long term appeal. Stuff just leads to a craving for more stuff. Is there anything out there that can fill the emptiness in your heart? Only one thing will do that, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He's waiting with open arms for you to ask Him into your life. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2001-2004 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Ministries International - All Rights Reserved
|