Tag Archives: Ecclesiastes

Pruning roses: a good example of God’s love for us

pruningPruning roses. For anyone who hasn’t done this, it can be a challenge. When I saw this image on one of the sites I use for stock images, I actually laughed. Only the brave or foolish will prune roses without gloves! But of all the free images on the site, it was the only picture which showed the base of the rose bush.

Last night, our church had the latest monthly dinner using a program offered through the Salvation Army called the Embrace Dinner. The materials are geared towards women’s meetings but are flexible. Our congregation uses it as a theme for a monthly dinner to encourage discussion. Last night’s theme was spiritual challenges. And believe me, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I listened as others shared their spiritual challenges and the Lord reminded me it was time to prune my roses.

Pruning roses: what it does

I live in an apartment and do not have the ability to have a rose garden. Instead, I have a rose bush in a large flower pot outside and a miniature rose on the kitchen window sill. Both roses need pruning to keep them healthy and growing. When I prune the rose bushes, I look for the dead branches. I look for the branches were leaves look unhealthy, and I also look for the long branches that are growing in a direction I don’t want them to grow. All three of those types of branches are removed.

As anyone who loves roses knows, pruning doesn’t hurt the roses when it is done correctly. Pruning roses encourages new growth. Removing the dead branches allows more room for healthy growth. Cutting away the sick branches allows the rose to redirect those nutrients needed for the healthier branches and new growth. Removing the runners allows the gardener the ability to shape the rose bush. And as I was thinking about rose bush care, it hit me: this is how the Lord works in our lives.

The dead branches…

What causes dead branches? Within a rose bush, a number of things such as disease, bugs, and weak or broken spots. If left untreated, these imperfections can impact the health of the rest of the rose bush. As I sat in the dinner last night, listening to everyone share their spiritual challenges, I began to see things a bit more clearly. Just as there are dead branches that jeopardize the health and growth of rose bushes, there are branches that hinder Christian growth. And each of those branches are sins.

The sin in my life…

The apostle Paul spent a lot of his time warning early Christians about sin. In Romans, he writes this strong warning, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). We all apply this verse to the spiritual death those who have rejected Christ will experience. But for Christians, sin can bring about physical death. Yes, we may be forgiven for sinning as a Christian. But that forgiveness does not stop the consequences of our sin.

There’s a trend among some Christians to think that a little sin in life here is to be expected. But again, Paul warns us of this kind of thinking. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, he is addressing an area of concern. He has heard rumors of how the church is defending the sin of one of its members. Paul rebukes the members of the church. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 1 Corinthians 5:6. Just as a dead branch in a rose bush can impede its growth, tolerating sin in our lives has the same spiritual effects – we cannot grow in our faith. We’ve grown deaf to the pleadings of the Holy Spirit for us to avoid this sin.

Pruning out sin…

Just as the dead branches are cut out and removed from a rose bush, the Lord leads us to see these sins within our own life. He understands we are imperfect beings, but He still calls us to a life of holiness. Within the Old Testament, there ae several places where this is taught: Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God (Leviticus 20:7). Yes, we are forgiven for our sins when we repent of them, but it is our willingness to yield to sin which cannot be overlooked. This willingness to sin must be pruned out of us. And this only happens as we seek closeness and fellowship with the Lord and other Christians.

No gardener expects a rose bush to remove its own dead branches. Those dead branches will stay attached to the bush and will block new growth from happening. When we begin to allow the Holy Spirit to remove the temptations to sin, we begin to grow, just as a rose bush will send out new growth. David wrote, Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously (Psalms 119:29). David is asking the Lord to prune him, to remove the sin of lying from him. It is such a yielding to the will of the Lord which allows Him to remove our dead branches.

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Resting and waiting upon the Lord (Part 3)

resting and waitingResting and waiting on the Lord is something that I still struggle with daily. As I shared last time, it is also the smartest thing we can do. It is easy to become so involved with things around us that we often neglect to simply rest and wait. We become tempted to act when we see  injustice, suffering, or other problems which must be solved. But we see within the Bible a verse that reminds us to do just that: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7).

The last part of the verse

The first two parts of the verse have been pretty straight forward in what the Lord wants us to do. The first part, Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him, reminds us there are times when we simply need to take a step back and let the Lord handle things. The next phrase of the verse, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, is another reminder that we don’t know enough about anyone else’s situation in life to pass judgment. We often forget this and rush to judge others by an artificial standard we’ve constructed. It is a faulty judgment because we base it on our standards.

The third part of this verse, because of the  man who bringeth wicked devices to pass, is another reminder for us. And like the other reminders, too often we forget this important one. This part of the verse is about those who are bent on doing evil – doing things in direct opposition to the Lord. If we are honest with ourselves, we pay more attention to them than what we really need to.

Setting the right priority

Since I began studying the Bible more seriously in 2006, I’ve learned that when the same thing is recorded in two separate places it’s really important. David understood the importance about not worrying about the wicked and their plans. David understood a precept which Jesus would later teach during His earthly ministry: And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do (Luke 12:4).

The same teaching is recorded in the book of Matthew, but with a slight twist: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). We should be more worried about what the Lord sees within us than what those who want to do evil have planned. The most severe thing that evil can do to a believer of the Lord is to kill the body. And as Christians, we know what happens at that moment: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

We still have an obligation to share the gospel

A while back ago I was told by a college student that she never shares the gospel with people she believes are too evil to receive Christ. As followers of Jesus, it is not our responsibility to decide with whom we share the gospel. We are simply commanded by Jesus: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). There are no qualifiers, no rules of who we are to avoid. Just a commandment to spread the gospel.

The apostle Paul understood something about our divine mission: I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). I’ve seen too many well-meaning Christians who believe that every time they share the gospel there’s no success unless a profession of faith is made. This is not at all what should drive us. We are simply the conduit through which the Holy Spirit works.

The ultimate fate of the wicked should be our concern…

but it shouldn’t become such a preoccupation that we lose focus. We all know people who become preoccupied with making sure the wicked “get what’s coming to them.”  God even reminds us several times in the Bible that it’s not our place to make sure the wicked are punished. We don’t have that responsibility. Once we have shared the gospel with those who are bent on being wicked, our scriptural responsibility is complete.

God’s set this standard back in the Old Testament: Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19:18). It has never been the responsibility of humankind to seek revenge against another. Instead, we are to love others as we love ourselves. And it should be this love that drives us to share the gospel with them. Paul reminds us of this important teaching: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19).

We share the gospel and our responsibility stops there. We are not to do anything other than that. No revenge, no setting up scenarios to get even. We must simply share the love of Jesus with them. This can become a true test of our faith in Jesus. We must allow the Lord to be God without reservation or second guessing.

There’s no need to worry

When we worry about what awaits others, regardless of if our view is right or wrong, we are letting God know how we think He should handle others. It’s difficult knowing there are people out there who treat others with such contempt and hatred. There are people out there who have intentionally hurt us or those we love. And it becomes easy for bitterness and worry to preoccupy our minds with thoughts of what we think what they deserve.

David wrote, But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness (Psalms 9:7-8). We don’t need to worry about what awaits the wicked. The Lord has already prepared for their judgment – and unlike what fills our hearts, it is a righteous judgment. Solomon expounded on this very thing in more detail: I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work (Ecclesiastes 3:17).

Resting and waiting upon the Lord

The Lord’s desire is for us not to fill our days with worry or stress. He doesn’t want us to waste our time trying to figure out ways to get even or to punish those we believe who need it. There are times He simply wants us to wait (not do anything without His guidance) and trust (this means commit our entire being under his Lordship) upon Him. Again, the verse for this series reads: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7). We could free up so much of our mind and wasted energy if we just followed God’s advice and wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

Resting and waiting upon the Lord (Part 2)

fret

© Parys, Dreamstime Stock Photos

Resting and waiting on the Lord is difficult to do. As I shared last time, it is also the smartest thing we can do. It is easy to become so involved with things around us that we often neglect to simply rest and wait. But we see within the Bible a verse that reminds us to do just that: Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7).

A three-part verse

This verse lends itself to be divided into three parts. Last time, I shared how the first part, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him… is a reminder. It is a reminder of the need to take a step back, rest, and wait for the Lord to work on our behalf. Today, the second part of the verse, fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way is a reminder of our tendencies to waste time and energy. We spend so much energy and time trying to come to our own understanding of the things we see or think we understand.

Fret not yourself because of others…

I’ve taught at the college and university level since 2004. Each semester, I have met young folks who are angry at the wealthy. They assign values to wealthy people who are not only unreasonable, but often wrong. And some of these same college students will gladly tell anyone who asks they identify as Christians. But by the very deed of hating the wealthy, they violate one of the Lord’s greatest teachings.

We shouldn’t focus on the wealth, prosperity, or popularity of others. When we do this, we take our eyes off the Lord. We become distracted and cannot see clearly. Solomon, with all his God-given wisdom, understood how attempts to understand the source of wealth can lead to real spiritual battles. Even in his day, there were those who asked “why them, Lord?” and “why not me, Lord?” And just like people today, they didn’t stop there. Some began to imagine ways to gain wealth and others condemned the wealthy.

Solomon had a clear understanding of the source of all wealth

Within the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon had a clear understanding of where all gain their wealth. The first verse reads, Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:19). Within this verse, we see that wealth is a gift from God and the ability to enjoy that wealth is also a gift. The second verse reads, A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease (Ecclesiastes 6:2).

One man is wealthy because he has gained wealth through his labor and the Lord rewarded his efforts by allowing him to become wealthy. He has the ability to enjoy all that he’s earned – a gift of the Lord. The other man is wealthy and gained it though the Lord’s blessing. But instead of being able to enjoy it, he doesn’t. He continues to value the wealth more than his own life.

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