Today’s Reading: Ecclesiastes 9:4-12
Ecclesiastes 9:4 — But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
God promises something better. Today is your day of opportunity. Your today can be better than your yesterday if you place your today in God’s hands. Every day is a gift from God in which God can improve your life. Every day there is hope that God will increase in our lives and we will decrease.
The old sin nature of man, often called “the flesh,” is the source of most of the misery in our lives. The old sin nature is like a parasite that is only interested in its survival, even if it means the ultimate destruction of its host. The sin nature encourages us to be selfish and self-centered and to live with self-preservation as our number one priority.
If being religious or living in false humility will promote and preserve self, we will act that way. If being dishonest and deceptive will accomplish that same goal, we will act that way. Whatever the sin nature chooses will please itself.
People living their lives to please themselves may live a good life according to the standards of this world, but according to God, they are living in vanity. They are missing the entire purpose for their existence. We were not created to please ourselves, but to please God. We were made to enjoy God and find our pleasure in relationship with Him.
While we yet live, even if we are just “dogs” in the eyes of the world, we have the hope of experiencing a better life today. We can know God more, love God more, and think more about God and His desires for us than our selfish desires to please only ourselves. Have a better life today enjoying life with God!
10/02/2024
Devotional
"We were not created to please ourselves, but to please God. We were made to enjoy God and find our pleasure in a relationship with Him."
Pastor. Samuel was preaching this morning that we as a believer should teach about the Gospel to ourselves and believers. Because we were not created to please ourselves, but to please God. We were made to enjoy God and find our pleasure in a relationship with Him.
What a great statement!
Chinese friend Shen, Andy, and Kyung sook, I was sharing today's Devotional at the breakfast table.
We were all believers, but it was a great opportunity that we could teach and share each other.
God’s words have a strong power tha…