Date: Thursday, July 17, 2014
Today's Chapters: Ecclesiastes 5-8
Message Title: Bake God A Cake

When baking cakes it's important to have the right ingredients, alter this, and you could end up with something that is inedible. The Christian life is much like a cake, we need the right ingredients, alter this, and we end up being someone unusable to God. If we truly want to see God do some amazing things in our lives we must, of course, make Him part of it. Secondly, God gave us the world to dwell on, that does not mean we are to dwell with its people. And thirdly, expect God to send some challenges in order to get us to be usable. God has much to offer and give us, but in order to receive them we must get out of the world. “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” - James 4:2-4.

While salvation might save us from hell, it will not keep us from making wrong decisions or continuing to live in sin. While living the Christian life is not required to be saved, it is encouraged if we truly want to have the best life we can live here on earth. We are encouraged to live a godly life rather than constantly seeking reconciliation for living in sin. “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” - Ecclesiastes 5:1-5.

Vows are very important to God, He makes a vow to keep us out of hell when we believe in and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. He expects us to keep our vows to Him. While God gives us all the free will to choose which path we take, that does not mean that He approves, but He rather have you follow some other path than say you want Him in your life and lie about it. You want to anger God? Pretend that you are godly with no intention of repenting of sins you know are wrong. Remember, God is a jealous God and does not take too kindly to people abusing His good graces. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” - Revelation 3:15,16.

The sad part about all this is that many truly believe that the life they are living is the Christian life. I was watching a reality show. The man, a devout Catholic, made a comment that he is going to go straight to heaven because all the good he had done and endured so much. This is false religion, by the way, Catholics are taught about purgatory, a place people go after they die to await the good of others paying their way to get them into heaven. Goodness does not get us to heaven, Jesus does, and any other means to pay your way or keep your salvation is false. Solomon found out the hard way that no amount of good, sacrifices offered, or money made will save a dead soul.

“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 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. If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?” - Ecclesiastes 6:1-4,12.

Worldly religion strives on wealth and fame, they claim all should be equal, but what they really mean is that all who follow our rules be equal. They care less about hard work, integrity, and the value of life, but are quick to take the fortunes of those who live by faith for their own pockets. Riches get us nowhere, but a one way ticket to the grave, and while God has no problem with us being wealthy, He does have a problem with wealth being our god. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” - 1 Timothy 6:10.

Solomon realized all the worldly things he longed for was pure vanity, he teaches us some amazing things about enduring affliction and not dwelling on the past. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time? It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.” - Ecclesiastes 7:2-4,10,16-18.

Once in a while I run out of an ingredient to put in my cake, I think I can improvise, and always end up with is something completely different, edible, and often quite delicious, but different. While God really does not want us altering His plan, He will allow it, the main reason is that He uses every opportunity to get us to grow closer to Him, to see that He still loves us, and uses us despite our changing up His plans quite often. “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 8:12-15.

Christians are by far sinless, but they do know God will be there for them when they acknowledge and confess their sins to Him. The worldly Christian cares less about what God thinks, let alone what we think, they are in it all for themselves. In the end, we who love and honor God, even though we may have thrown in some different ingredients, will have a great cake for Him to enjoy. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:7-9.

Today's Prayer: Jesus, You are a treasure that is rich beyond measure, the things that You have done for me and continue to do are numberless, especially since I do not deserve any of them. I want to live my life the best I can, giving You the recognition, honor, and praise that you deserve. Lord, as I allow You to live in and through me make me a vessel of honor to not only remain committed to You, but bring others to You as well. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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