- Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” Ecclesiastes 12:1 – For anyone studying Ecclesiastes, chapter 12 is the one you want to reach for Solomon finally leans into the truth we hold fast to. All throughout this book we’ve been seeing Solomon chase after meaning to his life from everything under the sun and came up empty each time. This led to a mindset for Solomon that life was utterly meaningless, and we just wanted to shake him and remind him of the God he once worshipped. Finally in this last chapter Solomon remembers the Lord and that life is about the Lord and keeping the Lord’s commands. He says it is the full duty of man to fear the Lord and do the Lord’s will. Yet for us today what could be a first step into such a lifestyle? Choose to remember that Jesus is your Creator. This means in your life you have a being who is grander than you are and was the one who designed you. Jesus being your creator means you were made by Him but also made for Him. Your life isn’t meant to be lived out for all the pleasure under the sun, your life is meant for the Son. As one pastor said, “Your life is meant to go beyond the sun to the Son.” Settle in the conclusion that Solomon spent so long in coming to. This life is eternal and is designed to be lived out for the eternal God. It’s not about our will or our wants, it about the Lord’s will and His wants for our life. An under the sun mentality forgoes any thought of accountability to an eternal God, yet we know there is more to this life than just this life. You were created for the Son, not just to live life under the sun. Choose today which Son/sun you’re going to live under. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3397
- For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes12:14 – God’s sees it all. That means God sees and knows all your thoughts and your true motives behind what you do. So while we may be able to fool the people around us into thinking we’re wholeheartedly following Jesus, if we’re hiding some sin know God isn’t fooled. So don’t just let your faithfulness be shown in your actions and words, let their be a purity in your mind and heart as well. The transformation God brings begins on the inside with the changing of our mindsets and thoughts. Changing it to what He wants and to bring Him glory. Be aware then if that’s where God begins His work that means He sees and knows the sinful mindsets and thoughts you aren’t letting go of. Begin to release those and let God start His work in you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 846
- The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Imagine an auction closing down. The item that’s up for auction is what is the whole purpose of mankind. Everything in the world is bidding to be the purpose of mankind. Money is bidding, power is bidding, pleasure is bidding. But nothing can win the bid except one. To fear God and follow His ways. King Solomon here throughout this book showed he explored deeply all these other things to see if they would give him purpose in life and fulfill him. All though was pointless, all was vanity. That is except to love God and to follow Him. This is why you are breathing today. Your purpose today is to love God with all you have and follow His ways today the best you can. What are His ways? To love people deeply and to tell them about Jesus. Go then today and fulfill your reason for existing. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1668
- Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 12:8 – As the writer began the book of Ecclesiastes, he repeats this bold and disheartening message. Everything is vanity, everything in life is pointless. Using chapter after chapter he showed how nothing in the world, nothing under the sun could offer him the point to his existence he was looking for. Wisdom, wealth, and pleasure, even in the greatest amount known to man, couldn’t supply him the purpose and meaning to life he was looking for. All he went after that the world had to offer was vanity. Yet he closes out the book with the one thing that wasn’t pointless, a life with God. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” Ecclesiastes 12:13. In your story, one thing is worth it, a following after God and His ways. It’s so tempting to make your life about the things of this world. They seem to offer those who pursue them so much, and in the moment they sure do, but the pleasure they give lasts only a moment. The joy that comes from a pursuit of Jesus is eternal, and as our writer would say, it’s the whole purpose of our life. Find yourself wholly leaning into your walk with Jesus today. Let the one thing that can give your life real meaning and purpose be what you life is all about today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2002
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