Coram Deo

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it.  Pursue the things over which Christ presides.  Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed in the things right in front of you.  Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ . . . See things from His perspective. Your old life is dead… your real life… is with Christ in God. Colossians 23:1-3 MSG

In studying Ecclesiastes, we discover that work and purpose are God’s gifts to us. Called to work, we are also encouraged to enjoy this life given to us. The Chronological Study Bible notes, “Considering the uncertainties of the future and the certainty of death, Solomon recommends enjoying life as God’s gift”. Warren Wiersbe writes, “Those who really know how to enjoy life are the ones take life each day as a gift from God, thanking Him for it and serving Him in it.” This requires us to recognize the Source of our purpose and provision. Elohim, God who has absolute sovereignty, rises far above the illogical and irrational, transcends the unreasonable and unbelievable fractured parts of this world. This is how we can find joy in this often mixed-up life!

let's pray together...

Adonai ~

You are Lord; You are Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Creator and Redeemer and Counselor.  You are above us and below us, to our left and to our right, before us and behind us. You surround us with abundant blessings, and we are humbled by such generous gifts. You are in everything and everything comes from You.

 You see our hearts and our motivations, see all that we conceal from the world. You know our selfish ambitions, our pretentious vanities, our deceitful words. You hold our deepest fears, our greatest disappointments, our darkest thoughts. Behind our masks, we struggle with loneliness. Beside our idols, we long for more. Beneath our veiled hearts, we cry out loud. And You? In exchange for what we bring, You offer real forgiveness, real love, real life. You are Grace and everything happens through You.

You choose us for real life, a life defined in Christ. You reform our minds, renew our hearts, refresh our spirits. Taking holy threads of faith and hope and love, You weave a robe of righteousness adorned with purity and holiness. You wrap us in this exquisite tapestry, every detail shouts of Your majesty. You are Perfect Love and everything ends up in You.    

We come before this altar with servant hearts. Solitude surrounds us. Prayers rise to You, our Adonai ~ prayers of hope and possibility, prayers of thanksgiving and songs of praise. You are in every detail!  Defined in Christ, our souls are made new, for one purpose, for Your Glory! Let everything ~ everything ~ speak of Your Glory!  Coram Deo, let us live and work in Your Presence. Amen. ~dho

Old Sayings for a New Time

Any of these sayings sound familiar:
“All is vanity…”
“There is nothing new under the sun”
“There is a season to everything”
“Two are better than one…”
“A good name is better than…”
“The fastest runner does not always win the race”
“Cast your bread upon the waters.”
“God makes everything beautiful in His time” 

All are from Ecclesiastes, a sometimes overlooked book in the Old Testament. Our ladies’ Bible Study groups are doing a survey of the book, which most scholars agree Solomon wrote. Even with Solomon’s great God-given wisdom, the early verses in the book suggest a frustration with work, a lack of purpose, and failed outcomes leaving life meaningless and empty. Soon we discover the problem lies with the perspective. Do we work for man’s applause? How often do we engage in activities that are self-indulgent and for our own personal gain? 

In studying Solomon’s life, one will discover he asked God for great wisdom, and this gift was afforded him. Early on, he did make extraordinary efforts to achieve much for God’s glory, especially in building the Temple. Overtime, he began to indulge in many vices outside of God’s will, to include many foreign wives which diluted the faith. it is estimated Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He also began to believe in his own greatness. His perspective became worldly, a secular worldview of success. To know God exists is not enough. A relationship with God, the One True Source of joy, is the Christian perspective.

“Teach us to number our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 To seek God’s wisdom is a worthy endeavor, but even more important is to seek a relationship with God. Trusting the Sovereignty of God and counting our days serving Him as both useful and purposeful will help us develop a heart of wisdom. Our dependence on a Holy God defines our faith. God is the Source of all wisdom, and our purpose is to glorify Him. -dho

 

Roadmap to True Abundance

 

"The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what He tells you. And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 MSG

Because God answers Solomon's prayer for wisdom, people far and wide seek his wisdom, each bringing gifts of gold, silver, jewels, spices, chariots, horses, and more, year after year. This is an era of extraordinary abundance. King Solomon surpasses all the kings of the earth in wisdom and wealth. His vast inventory is full of gifts from merchants and explorers, kings and queens and governors of surrounding countries. Despite God's enormous blessings, in later life Solomon, in disobedience, also loves many foreign women, builds altars for their idols, and offers sacrifices to the false gods.

Most Bible scholars credit Solomon with writing Ecclesiastes, a book that examines the meaning of life. Likely a series of reflections toward the end of his life, Solomon shares his understanding of life based on his myriad of experiences; he creates a roadmap for others searching for meaning in the world. His final conclusion is simple: Honor God and obey Him. 

Creator of all, I search the alleys and highways, the valleys and mountain tops for MORE! In times of boredom and celebration, emptiness and abundance, I constantly seek to satisfy the deepest place within my soul. Count me alive in Christ. Jesus is True Abundance. ~dho

Hope in the Chaos

"Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does  not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them." Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

Spring is my favorite season! Just as the earth begins to dance after a long, dormant winter season, so my soul smiles with these new beginnings. The Sandhills of North Carolina is dogwood country! I LOVE dogwood blossoms, and every spring the dogwoods dress in their finest. Dogwoods are everywhere; some old, some wild, some maturing, some beginning, some struggling, some flourishing, reminding me of the many journeys in life, reminding me of the HOPE in new beginnings.

Like many of you, I see the unimaginable disaster of Hurricane Helene that fills the media. While many of us know people who have been affected, most of us know people who are safe and not hurt, despite all the destruction and disruption to life. The entire East Coast is grieving the tragic loss of those who have died, and is weeping for the life-changing, unbelievable suffering by those in the direct path, the floods and fallen trees, no water or power, business and homes and bridges floating away, and so many people who are still missing. We describe our reactions with words like angry, sad, shocked, frustrated, confused, overwhelmed, and when we get good news, we sigh with thankfulness and relief. Any unexpected, devastating storm reveals a fresh underlying threat woven into the fabric of our lives. We cannot help but examine our emotions of vulnerability.

In Ecclesiastes, we find the wisdom of King Solomon which shakes up our comfort zones, opens up our gates of protection. Bad things happen and happen to all people and happen suddenly without warning. We do not like the injustice of these truths. Words fail us. Grief captures us. Reality consumes us. When our family or community or security is threatened, the truth of our frailty reveals itself. We desperately long for a HOPE that is ever-present!  

Unfortunately, the vulnerabilities in life enter into our lives daily while on this earth. Our HOPE is always in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the redemption of Jesus Christ and the Sovereignty of God. These NEVER change, not with situations, not with seasons. His Presence must be our Comfort zone, our Gate of protection. This HOPE is ever-present - especially in the middle of chaos! ~dho

Transformed by Love

You’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does! 

Ecclesiastes 11:5b TheMessage

Many times the mystery of God seems to shout to us! The unexpected, unpredicted, and unwarranted experiences of life appear out of nowhere, and we are afraid. Events often baffle theologians and scientists alike. These unforeseen circumstances of living in a fallen world, these very things God allows into our lives can be used to accomplish God’s Divine purposes. We search for reasons and answers; we demand resolution. Still, these big and small mysteries remain. The one certain truth that will always prevail: God is in control, not chance!

God’s holy mystery permeates the Bible stories we share. Full of prophecy and promise, there are those who encounter the unexpected. Fathers of our faith, prophets, disciples, and ordinary people are changed when they encounter the Living God. As they embrace the unimaginable, each one becomes a part of God’s Divine Plan; each life is transformed by God’s unchanging love!

What conquers fear? “Perfect Love casts out fear.” With Perfect Love and our obedience to live by faith while trusting the Presence of God, our lives can be transformed, each of us entering a part of God’s everlasting story. Oscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop and martyr, writes that God loves us with gifts we thought we didn’t need, which transform us into people we don’t necessarily want to be. How often our fear and rebellion hold us captive! As we begin our study of Ecclesiastes, embrace the unexpected and be transformed by Perfect Love. You’ll never understand the mystery in all that God does!   ~dho

Purpose in Every Season

 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1

"How will we know when to act, when to wait? How will we know when it is our time to lead rather than our time to follow? Discernment calls us to spiritual understanding but also to action." Henri Nouwen

What does discernment mean and how do I apply it to my faith journey? Some of the very questions Nouwen identified above calls me to explore discernment. How do I know when to wait? How do I wait? When is waiting just avoiding action? When does following become the easy answer? What if stepping out in action is not God's purpose for this season of life? How can the soul discern God's purpose anyway? The answers are myriad. Perhaps somewhat of a paradox, the path of discernment can be both clouded by uncertainty and fueled by possibility.

In the weeks to come, I will be leading a Women’s Bible Study at my church on the book of Ecclesiastes. Among other references, we will be using Life Under the Sun by Hannah Anderson (Lifeway). This study can help us examine where we are in the process of finding God's purpose for whatever season of living. Of all the unknowns, this truth remains: God has a plan, a specific plan for every person. God desires us to know His plan for our lives and gives us not only the insight to find the purpose but also equips for the chosen task. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." God will reveal the best plan for our lives, the best purpose for our energies, while we frequently settle for the better way. Let's seek His purpose in this season, whatever that may individually mean. As I share some insights in the weeks to come, hope you follow along! ~dho