But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. -Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NLT) REFERENCE Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 (NLT) In some versions of the bible, Solomon’s narration in today’s passage is tagged, “The futility/vanity of pleasure.” King Solomon having spent a lot of resources on acquiring pleasurable things reflected and concluded that everything was meaningless. This scenario often plays out in life when one aspect of life is lived disproportionately to others. For Solomon, he lived in the extreme of acquiring whatever his eyes...
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Matthew 4:4 REFERENCE Matthew 4:1-4 The phrase “You are what you eat” is a very popular parlance for promoting heathy diet and fitness. It means in order to stay fit and healthy you need to eat good food. This apparently also applies in the animal kingdom because eagles are known to be very agile and powerful birds because of their diet. Today, we continue our examination of the ways of the eagle. #Lesson...
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 REFERENCE Isaiah 40:28-31 Scripture often compares Christians with the eagle; a close examination of an eagle’s lifestyle pictures a victorious Christian who follows and pleases God. Jesus frequently taught spiritual truths with natural things. This week on Inspired2Go, we will learn ways to strengthen our walk with God and live victorious lives by studying the ways of an eagle. Eagles are very distinguished birds. Just like the lion is the king...
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. Job 1:20 REFERENCE Job 1:1-22 Reading through Job’s travails you can’t help but wonder, “How much can one man endure? How did he go through that entire trauma without losing his mind? How did he hold onto his righteousness? What audacity of hope made him decide to wait for a change that would take place on ‘an appointed’ day? What made him still say kind words about God during his night season when it seemed like the day will never break? It is recorded that...
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. Job 1:22 REFERENCE Job 1:1-22 Metaphorically, in the bible, the night often speaks of adversity and affliction; the period when the spirit of wickedness roams unchecked and demon spirits go all out to express their full wrath. Night season is when things go awry, when the unexpected happens, when danger and calamity loom, when you are confronted with impossibility and all hope seems lost. When night falls, the sun hides its face and withdraws its light and everywhere becomes dark. Genesis 8 says, “While the earth remains…day and night...
These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars. He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war. Judges 3:1-2 (MSG) REFERENCE JUDGES 3:1-4 (MSG) There are times that God, in His wisdom, will permit certain unpalatable situations in our lives to give our faith and trust in Him an opportunity to SHINE. He doesn’t do them to make life unbearable for us, but to basically train us to handle life’s tough situations, to bring out the ‘Man...
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? Matthew 6:26 -27 REFERENCE Matthew 6:25-34 Unmet expectations, unfulfilled dreams, shattered promises, life’s uncertainties, emotional stress, work pressures, unpaid bills and the ratio of needs to the money at hand, are some of the things that sometimes make us worry. It is almost as if the mind has been trained by our primordial wiring to worry, but worrying only...
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. – Luke 10:19 REFERENCE Luke 10:17-19 Man’s greatest enemy since the Garden of Eden is Satan. Adam and Eve handed over their dominion to him when they disobeyed God and fell for his trick to eat the forbidden fruit. Hence, he was empowered to STEAL (people’s joy, peace, health, dreams, etc.), KILL (businesses, purposes, relationships), and ultimately to DESTROY lives. Nevertheless, Jesus came, took the punishment for man’s sin, paid the price...
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5 REFERENCE Job 42:1-6 Sovereignty is unlimited power; supreme authority over all things, the liberty to decide one’s thoughts and actions, or freedom from external control. It is the power to do everything without being accountable to another. God is sovereign – He is paramount and supreme; not answerable to anyone. There is no one higher in authority or power. He made all things and all things are under His watchful eyes and care. Though God is sovereign, we must understand that...
Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 REFERENCE Jeremiah 33:1-3 God has limitless secrets that will unravel the mysteries of life and living. He has insight into every situation and He knows the way out of every logjam, but as seen from the main text, He will only share His secrets with those who call out to Him for help, those who earnestly seek Him, desiring and requiring His help. Also, like Psalm 25:14 rightly puts it, “The secret of the Lord is with those who...