Life is a Celebration - Leading The Way - Week of February 5
Life is a Celebration
How you view your life will make a world of difference in how you live your life. If you live your life viewing it from a biblical perspective, it will have deeper meaning than if you see it through a pessimistic looking glass. In Ecclesiastes 11, we find Solomon’s ultimate conclusion to his view on life, and the lessons he learned. Here are four key points from these two chapters:
1. Life is a stewardship; invest it wisely. Read Ecclesiastes 11:1–6. Everything in life—not only possessions, but also family, friends, relationships, everything you have—is a gift from God. He entrusted you to manage all of His bounties on His behalf. You don’t own it, but He’s giving it to you to manage it for Him. You see, the whole of life, Solomon said, is a stewardship, and so we must invest it wisely.
2. Life is a celebration; delight in it. Read Ecclesiastes 11:7–12:8. For us to enjoy life and to see it as a celebration, there are three things that we must do—rejoice (11:7–9), remove (11:10–11), and remember (12:1–8). Rejoice in each day. Anticipate every new day as a wrapped gift from the hand of God, and look forward to literally waking up and unwrapping that wonderful gift each day. Start your day with gratitude. Remove bitterness, false beliefs, bad habits, and unwholesome relationships from your life now before they endanger your future. Remember the constant presence of God. Wherever you go, He is with you and He is watching over you. Remember to obey His Word, to seek His righteousness and His kingdom first—for that is the secret to your success. Remember to place Him first in every decision you make.
3. Life is a school; grow in it. Read Ecclesiastes 12:9–12. How does God teach us in His school of life? Primarily, it is through His Word. Our textbook is the Bible, and our teacher is the Holy Spirit. There are always new lessons in God’s school. There are always new examinations coming up and every time we think we’ve passed one exam, there is another one on the way. We always have opportunities to grow, progress, and advance.
4. Life is a responsibility; succeed in it. Read Ecclesiastes 12:13–14. Life is a gift from the hand of God. And like any gift, there is an obligation associated with it—an obligation to value it, to cherish it, and to gratefully use it. We need to fear God with a godly fear—an attitude of gratitude, reverence and awe. It is an attitude of love and respect for the power and the greatness of the giver of the gift.
You may feel that you have been heading in the wrong direction. This is the time; this is the moment for you to get back into the game of life. Begin to see life as a stewardship to be invested wisely. Begin to see it as a celebration to be delighted in. Begin to see it as a school in which you grow. Begin to see it as a responsibility in which to succeed. Just as the old hymn reminds us, life is worth the living simply because Christ lives.
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As we speak, our nation is under assault from without—and from within. From without, radical Islamists seek to destroy our way of life and establish a global caliphate. From within, aggressive secularists attempt to erase our Judeo-Christian values. But there’s also another enemy—a hidden enemy—infiltrating our churches and homes today. How can we fight back against these forces and maintain our Christian faith? In The Hidden Enemy, Dr. Michael Youssef reveals a strategic battle plan for resisting the enemy—especially the hidden one—and winning the war. Understand and be prepared for the times in which we live. Pre-order your copy today for your gift of any amount and receive a FREE digital resource, The Case for Truth in a Post-Truth Age.
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