The beginning of our Ecclesiastes passage reminded me a lot of Proverbs!
This one stood out to me....
7:9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
I've always had a bit of a temper. Anger itself is not necessarily wrong - it depends on what we're angry about and how we handle that anger. Righteous anger is a good thing (Jesus driving out the money changers and clearing out the temple). But all too often, we err on the unrighteous side of anger. We get upset for the wrong reasons, or act improperly after getting angry for the right reasons. Sin should anger us because we are passionate for the glory and holiness of God. We cannot allow that anger to turn into bitterness or vengeance. We also need to be careful not to cloak our unrighteous anger in righteousness in an attempt to justify it.
What stood out to me in Revelation is this....
The devil is real. We would be foolish to dismiss this and to underestimate his power.
However, we also should not overestimate his power either. He is limited by God's power and can only do what God allows him to do. Satan is not in control, God is.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Ecclesiastes 10-12; Revelation 13
2 comments:
"The end of a matter is better than its beginning," Ecclesiastes 7:8a
This stood out for me and this is something that I have tried to apply to my life. I've often thought that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. This can apply to so many things in our life, but most importantly our relationship with Christ.
I thought about our recent journey through
Proverbs too!
These stood out for me:
10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
or from the Message
10 Don’t always be asking, “Where are the good old days?”
Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.
As I prepare to watch one of my children graduated from high school, I can't help but reflect on her life until this point. I sigh with nostalgia and this verse reminds me that "the good old days" are not over.
and this verse:
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.
and from the Message:
14 On a good day, enjoy yourself;
On a bad day, examine your conscience.
God arranges for both kinds of days
So that we won’t take anything for granted.
There's that saying that in order to appreciate the sunshine there's got be a little rain. We are so much more aware of our good days when we have a bad one.
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