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Ecclesiastes 10:6

The senseless man devotes himself to great heights,
And rich men shall sit in a lowly place.

Personal Challenge

Where is our heart focused or devoted? Is it here on earthly things or is it on the heavenly things? As followers of Christ, we are no longer citizens of earth but citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. As such, we need to be devoting our all to the heavenly realm and not the great heights of this world that are here today and gone tomorrow. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have money on me, the sinner!

Ephesians 5:25-28

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

Personal challenge

What did Jesus do for His Church, His bride? He went to the cross for her. Jesus gave His life for His wife so that She would be glorious and have no spot or wrinkle. He made the ultimate sacrifice for her. Our world today has tended toward much more misogynistic and dominionistic mindsets and made it okay to subject women to lower status and oppression. This is not what Jesus wants from His followers, especially husbands. As husbands, His expectation is that we love our wives to the point where we will give our lives as sacrifices for them. We are to help them be without blemish. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 7:16

Do not be overly righteous,
Nor be overly wise,
Lest you be confounded.

Personal Challenge

We must be very careful to not get all wrapped up in our own perception of what we think our righteousness is. First of all, this leads us to pride and away from humility. We must also be careful not to relish in what we think wisdom is. We are not wise in Christ because of the number of books that we read or the difficulty of the writer. We are not righteous because of the number of services that we attend or the roles that we lead in the church. Righteousness and godly wisdom come from our Lord and through our relationship with Him, which is based on loving Him and loving our neighbor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Ephesians 5:14-16

Therefore He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light.”

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Personal Challenge

Jesus calls us to awake from our slumber and to follow Him. He desires that we arise from our death in sin, hear His voice calling us, and walk circumspectly in His footsteps. He calls us to not be fools but wise, redeeming our time, and living in His light. He will provide all that we need to awake from our slumber and live fully for Him, if only we will seize it. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For there is not a second one to help him up!
If two lie down together, both stay warm,
But how can one stay warm alone?
If one is added strength, two will stand before him,
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Personal Challenge

People were not created to live life alone. God saw that Adam was alone and gave him Eve to complete him. The early church fathers taught that we are saved in community. Jesus is our Savior, and it is through Him alone that the gates of heaven are opened up to us, but it is in our Christian community that we find the opportunity to grow in our salvation. This is where we find sanctification, or theosis. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Encouraging Words

We were once darkness! Let that sink in. At one time in our lives, those of us who are followers of Christ, were darkness. Paul does not say that we were in darkness but that we were darkness. However, because of our Lord, and the work that He has done, we are light in Him. We have the fruit of the spirit in all goodness, righteousness, and truth within us. Our task now is to walk as children of the light. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to give birth
And a time to die;
A time to plant
And a time to pluck what is planted.
A time to kill
And a time to heal;
A time to pull down
And a time to build up.
A time to weep
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn
And a time to dance.
A time to throw stones
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace
And a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to seek
And a time to lose;
A time to keep
And a time to throw away.
A time to tear
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silent
And a time to speak.
A time to love
And a time to hate;
A time of war
And a time of peace.

He made everything beautiful in its time, and He indeed put eternity in their hearts in such a way that man may not find out the work God made from the beginning to the end.

Personal Challenge

Our life is not lived in a constant state. Things are always fluctuating. Many times, these fluctuations are because of external things, but usually they are results of our own decisions. How we respond to the things that happen in our lives talks more about the state of our hearts than any words that come out of our mouths. As followers of Christ, we must choose to respond to the times in our lives in ways that glorify and honor Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Personal Challenge

We are told here to be imitators of God. How do we do that if we are not close to Him? How do we do this if we do not know Him intimately? We must be consistently following in His footsteps if we are to ever pick up His characteristics and teachings. Once again, being a Christian, a follower of Christ, is not a onetime event, or a passive following. We must constantly be moving forward in our relationship with Him, or we are moving backwards. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Love, have mercy!

Ephesians 4:31-32

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Personal Challenge

The events in our recent history related to the politics of our nation become quite convicting as we read these two verses. We cannot claim to be followers of Jesus Christ in one breath and continue to spew bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and malice in the next breath. We are commanded by our Lord to love our neighbor which includes the homeless, the widow, the immigrant, and every other person that exists. We are told to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving. If we are not doing this to the best of our ability. then we are not following Christ. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!