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Christian Devotional – September 7, 2021
Book of Regrets, Day 4 What does it take to be wise? Read Ecclesiastes 4. As Solomon continues his sermon, we see him discuss the value of wisdom. As he’s looking at his situation and all that he sees around him, he realizes that it is possible to be old and wise and yet not be wise at all. Sometimes people become so set in their ways that they lose the ability to trust in the Lord. As we get older, we become more reliant on ourselves and our experience and self taught wisdom then we are reliant on God. Sometimes, we need something new and young and fresh to…
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Christian Devotional – September 6, 2021
Book of Regrets, Day 3 A time for everything. Read Ecclesiastes 3. This chapter is one of the most famous from the book of Ecclesiastes. There is a time for everything. Yet, just reading those first 10 verses without understanding verse 11 will result in you missing the point. Yes, there are times for all these things. But, God is the one that gives all these activities purpose and meaning. God makes them beautiful. Do we allow God to work to make all things beautiful? Are we following his timeline for all these events? God is the one who gives purpose. God makes all things beautiful in his time.
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Christian Devotional – September 5, 2021
Book of Regrets, Day 2 What do the things that Solomon was regretting? Read Ecclesiastes 2. This chapter lists many of the things that Solomon had been focusing his energy and time on throughout his life. Now he realized that everything he had been doing wasn’t worth anything. It was meaningless. When we look at all that we have been working on and working toward in our lives, are we doing things that matter? Are we focusing on eternally minded things? If we were to look back on these areas, would we feel joy or regret? How can we get focused on doing the things of Christ?
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Christian Devotional – September 4, 2021
Book of Regrets, Day 1 Solomon’s book of regrets. Read Ecclesiastes 1. Solomon, King of israel, writes this book at the end of his life. He has done many, many things that he now wishes he would have done differently. The older, wiser Solomon is writing this book as a lesson and warning for all those who come after him. What are we chasing? In life, we seem to always be chasing something. And at times, the object of our pursuit can change. It could be money for a time, then turn to family or power or happiness or comfort or any number of other searches. As we go through…
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Christian Devotional – September 3, 2021
Esther, Day 10 Written and recorded. Read Esther 10. The details of all that the king and Mordecai did were written down and recorded so they could be shared with others for generations. Everything about them, their focus, their greatness, their dedication. All of these were recorded so that others could see and understand what they did and why they did them. If the details of our lives were to be written down, how would that read? Would we be excited for the world to see and to learn what God has shown us and how God has guided us through our lives? Or, would we be embarrassed and ashamed…
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Christian Devotional – September 2, 2021
Esther, Day 9 Sorrow turned to joy. Read Esther 9. The Jews were able to defend themselves and to overcome their enemies. As a result the issues they were experiencing went from sorrow to joy. God takes the messes that we have turned our lives into and gives us a sense of joy. Have we allowed God turn our sadness into joy?
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Christian Devotional – September 1, 2021
Esther, Day 8 A time of gladness and joy. Read Esther 8. As the Jewish people come to realize that what was meant to be a difficult and deadly time for them has now turned into a chance and opportunity, the rejoice. They praise God for the way he has turned events around and how he orchestrated such a wonderful plan. For me, things have been weird lately. I’ve had a lot of emotions up and down. Some days I think I’ve gotten things figured out and other days, I am concered about what could be next. The world is like that. Yet through everything, God is faithful and he…
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Christian Devotional – August 31, 2021
Esther, Day 7 Do we get what we deserve? Read Esther 7. Some people call it karma, but I don’t believe in karma. My God is bigger than our understanding of karma. However, God is also just and he understands and recognizes the importance of justice in the world. The question is, do we get what we deserve?? Most of us would not really want what we deserve since we know that we are all sinners and truly what we all deserve is death. Still, our sense of moral Justice is bothered when we see difficult and dangerous situations that result in people getting something good when we feel they…
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Christian Devotional – August 30, 2021
Esther, Day 6 God protects his people. Read Esther 6. While Haman is busy hating the Jews, God is busy working. God reminds the king of all that Mordecai has done for him. As a result, Haman ends up honoring the very individual that he dislikes so much. Haman is frustrated and angry and returns home to tell his wife about this. His wife tells him that there may be nothing else he can do. If God is for Mordecai, then Haman won’t be able to stop him. Are we busy fighting against God, or following Him? We will never see success if we are seeking anything different from what…
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Christian Devotional – August 29, 2021
Esther, Day 5 Gratitude. Read Esther 5. I’ve studied a lot of leadership books and throughout many of them a common theme is the importance of gratitude in our lives. As a leader we must have gratitude for the people that we work with and the situations that we are in. Gratitude spills over into every other aspect of our life and our leadership. Haman could have taken that lesson. He had an extremely high position of leadership within the Royal court at the time, but he allowed one thing this thing to damage the way he viewed himself and his position. He allowed his frustration and anger with Mordecai…