Ecclesiastes 12

Whats going on

- Solomon is still going on about how everything is meaningless
- talks about that when we die, all that we had before is nothing compared to what is ahead - eternal life or not
- Mans duty is to obey the commandments, fear God
- there will be judgement where all our whole life comes before God


Stuff to take away

- we need to live our lives in the knowledge of eternal life
- need to work out what God is calling us to do and to do it
- we need to be reading the word of God. Other books are good, but not as good as the Bible.

Ecclesiastes 11

Whats going on

- First bit is about God and that He does awesome things because He is God and is beyond our understanding. Also talks about working well all the time, not just when you feel great.

- Second bit talks about God knowing all that we do and that He has given us free choice to choose whether to follow God or the world
- give all your worries / anzieties to the Lord


Stuff to take away

- God is amazing and we need to thank and praise Him for all He does - the author and creator of all things, who was and is and is to come
- Need to give all that we are and do to Him and to serve Him in what we do. I know for me this is at work where I need to spend even a minute just giving the day to Him and asking him to be involved and to make the most of it
- Follow God in all things and to choose to serve him not the world

Ecclesiastes 10

Whats going on

- Talks about the problem of too much wisdom and also of too little and being lazy. common sense is good.
- Also about the words that we use


Stuff to take away

- be careful of the words that we use as they can help or harm
- also be careful of holes, logs, boulders!!

Ecclesiastes 9

What happens:
- Solomon talks about death and about wisdom.

Meaning:
- Death - we don't wknow what will happen tomorrow so we should live for today. Enjoy the short life we have.
- Wisdom - it is better to be wise. If you are wise and rich people will listen to what you say. If you are poor you will never be heard no matter how wise you are. (Africa?)

Stuff for us:
- We need to not worry so much about the future but concentrate on the here and now otherwise we'll miss the now.
- As rich people (compared to the poor in Africa) we have to give a voice to those who are too poor to have their voice heard.

Ecclesiastes 8

What's going on

- there is a time for everything
- Solomon changes his mind in v1 saying that wisdom brings happiness


Stuff to take away

- God has a plan for our lives which he will show us in his time
- We need to obey God even when things are hard.

Ecclesiastes 7

What happens:
- Solomon is on the rant again. He lists whole load of things that it is better to be and do. He also looks at life and we'll never understand everything.

Meaning:
- There is always more to God. All the little things that we do or don't do and that we get right or wrong don't come close to God. If we look to God we will walk in the right line anyway and then we don't have to worry about doing the right thing or not because we will always chose the right way.
- v28 - "I have never met a good woman" - good reason why you shouldn't have more than one wife otherwise women become bad straight off!

Stuff for us:
- Look to God not ourselves. Trust in His strength not our own. Live for Him not for us.
- Don't marry more than one wife or your asking for trouble!

Ecclesiastes 6

What happens:
- Solomon is still moaning about the futility of life. Work is pointless and life is unfair.

Meaning:
- Life without God is pointless. There is nothing in life that is worth doing without God.

Stuff for us:
- Make sure God is at the centre of our lives, otherwise it's all a waste of time.

Ecclesiastes 5

What's going on

- Solomon is talking about what we say and to be in awe of God

- He goes on to talk about money and possessions and how they can't give you happiness - Sol is talking out of his experiences


For us to take away

- we need to stand in awe of God and to give him the glory. God is soverign and we are on earth yet he loves us and we can come before him. idea of reverence and being aware that he is Almighty God

- God takes us at our word!

- We should not be taken in by materialism and the love of money - God will give us all that we need

Ecclesiastes 4

What happens:
- Solomon talks about work, friendship and foolishness.

Meaning:
- The stuff about work means that we should only work to the extent that it helps others. It shouldn't come before our happiness. According to Solomon.
- The stuff about friendship meansthat we shouldn't do things alone if we can help it. We should team up with people, help each other and support each other.
- The stuff about foolishness means that it is better to be poor than stupid.

Stuff for us:
- Work hard, but not the destruction of other things. Work should not rule you.
- Get alongside people. Help them and allow others to help you.
- Don't be foolish and ignore the above warnings, its better to be poor with the above things, than rich with no one to share it with.

Ecclesiastes 3

What happens:
- Solomon sees that there is a time for everything. God has a master plan within which everything happens at the correct time.

Meaning:
- God is control of everything. Those who obey Him will be rewarded, but in God's time scale. Those who do ot obey Him will be punished, but in God's time scale.

Stuff for us:
- We should take comfort and a warning from this:
- Comfort - God is in control of it. He has a plan for us and has prepared the way for us. He knows the decisions we will make and will be watching over us all the time. We need not worry because God has it all in hand.
- Warning - God works on different time scales to us. If we sin we should repent immediately because we don't know what might happen in the future, we may die in the next moment!

Ecclesiastes 2

Whats going on

• Solomon is trying wine, material pleasures to satisfy him. He could have anything he wanted when he wants but finds that there is still nothing.
• Everything he does will be left to whoever comes next

For us to take away

• in network stuff, we pass on the baton to whoevers next to lead -
• we need to give our best now rather than waiting till later
• we need to eat, drink and enjoy our work - this is from God and we need to have God at the centre of all we do and be the reason we do stuff
• if we please God then wisdom, knowledge and joy will come - God given rather than man given.
• by having a relationship with God means that we can have life and life in abundance (John 10:10)

Ecclesiastes 1

Whats going on

• Solomon is a really wise guy who is King in Israel. He is uninspired with life and reckons that there is nothing new and never will be and that's how it is! C'est la vie.
• Although he is a wised up guy he ends by saying that with wisdom there is disappointment and sorrow.
• He doesn't have God at the centre of his life and is living in his own knowledge rather than trusting in God and living in the life that Jesus can give us
• He probably feels that as king he ought to know a lot but actually by having done so, is low in himself. He has become comfortable and is also possibly not hearing from God for the future both for the nation and in his life.

For us to take away

• Don't know everything - you'll be disappointed!!
• We need to ask God to show us new and exciting stuff - lifes a journey where God delights in showing us new things to make us smile
• I love the fact that God continues to suprise me - I think sometimes though I need to recognise when and to say thankyou.

Titus 3

Whats going on?

• Reminder to the Cretans on how to live with one another.
• Also reminds them of where they have been before Jesus and that Jesus died for our sins and that can live in the hope of eternal life. Paul reminds Titus to stay away from those that are still living in the past or worrying out petty things.
• Titus is leaving Crete but Paul has sent others to carry on. Paul seems to want to debrief and disciple/mentor Titus and to be a support
• There is possible snow in Nicopolis - snowball fight anyone!

For us to take away

• We need to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross and not to live as we did before.
• We need to have people who we can be accountable to.
• Its all about grace!
• The Holy Spirit was poured out generously on us to over flowing - now thats good stuff

Titus 2

What happens:
- Paul instructs Titus in various ways that the people should behave.

Meaning:
- Leaders are called to teach only what they know to be correct, to be faithful, always loving and patient. They must be self-controlled and set a good example for all people.
- Slaves must seek to please their masters, like us and God, and they must not steal or cheat them.

Stuff for us:
- There's a lot of stuff here, all of which we should put into practice. Basically we should live in a way that yerns after God and our actions will be the result of our faith.
- We need to give up our old evil ways and live honest and loving lives. If we do this we will show the glory of God in our lives, we won't need to worry about what to say.

Titus 1

Bit more light hearted and easy to follow this time, although I do think we should go back to another hard one next.

What happens:
- Paul is writting to Titus who is in charge of the church in Crete.
- There are instructions for Titus on choosing good leaders and the kind of qualities they should have. There is also a warning against people who teach selfish things.

Meaning:
- v1+2 are interesting - it says we should have more faith and understand the truth better in order to have hope in God. Or to put it another way, if we have more faith and understanding then we will have more hope in God and His promise of eternal life.
- The guidelines for a good leader are pretty obvious.

Stuff for us:
- If we are lacking hope or trust in God we need to strengthen our faith and improve our understanding of God.
- Do we follow all the guidelines for good leaders? It is a good tick-list to see if we are effective leaders.
- v16 is interesting. There is a lot of debate about is it just faith that brings salvation or is it works. Here it clarifies it well and says that people claim to have faith but their actions do not portray this. What this means for us is that if we have faith we will act in a right way as a result of this. The actions verify the faith.

Zechariah 14

It's the end of Zechariah! He certainly goes out in style as well:

What happens:
- There is a long vision of what God will do in the future. It involves a lot of death, destruction, pain and misery for all people. He will attack foreign nations who attack Jerusalem and He will cause great suffering for many people.

Meaning:
- All of this will show that He is the Lord All-Powerful. This could be pointing towards the final end of the Earth as in when Jesus returns and there is the tribulation. It might refer to then. Either way it's pretty horrible and nasty.

Stuff for us:
- God is a hugely powerful God. He doesn't mess around and He isn't just the cuddley friend who helps us out when we're in trouble and comforts us when we fall. He is that God but He wis also the great and terrible God dscribed here. We should love Him fearfully.

Zechariah 13

What happens:
- The Lord talks about establishing a fountain for the washing of sins. He also says that He will remove all idols and false prophets from the area. In regard to the prophets, even their own parents must cast them out.
- There is then a section about God putting his people to the test with the image of a Shepherd and sheep. He is going to kill two thirds of the sheep and strike down the shepherd!

Meaning:
- In the first section the fountain refers to Jesus as the spring of living water. It's a fountain as well which means it is a constant flow of clean water, not a stagnant pool or well that remains still and can dry up. Jesus is the source for the redemption and forgiveness of sinful people.
- The second section is scary. It could mean that God deals with people in such a way that they lose a great deal of there things in order to be put to the test - I guess in a Job kind of way. It could mean that the flock refers to one person and the losing of two thirds of the sheep means that the person will be reduced to almost nothing and then God will purify and restore. Either way it's a pretty scary concept!

Stuff for us:
- Jesus is the fountain of life. We need to daily refresh ourselves in the fountain of Jesus and drink from it everyday.
- Don't be discouraged when hard times hit because it means the Lord is putting us through the refining fire. Yes it is hard and painful but the after effect is that we revere God fully and know Him to be God.

Zechariah 12

For Zec

Jerusalem is going to be a city where others will attack yet the city will remain because God is in control of that place. God then says he will destroy those that have attacked Jerusalem

Talks about God pouring kindness and mercy on the peoples in Jerusalem and there will be a time when they will realise what they have done in the past towards God and mourn - forgiveness??

Don't like what he's going to do to the horses + riders


For us to take away

Love the verse at beginning ' The Lord who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundations of the earth and who forms the spirit of man inside' How awesome is our God. Just blows me away that this is the God we serve who loves us.

whatever we do or say, God is there watching and listening to everything.

Zechariah Chapter 11

For Zec

Not sure about this chapter at all - even when I tried googling around the chapter!

God seems to be going on about shepherds and that half are corrupt and need to be stopped (guessing the ones that have been living with tradition and against Him. The other half , He broke the covenant between Judah and Israel.

Mentions 30 coins which is also what Judas was given to betray Jesus - not sure how this links in though. The shepherd was only worth that amount even though both the good and the bad gave up on the sheep.


For us to take away

God does not abandon us no matter how hard it gets - He disciplines because He loves us.

Zechariah Chapter 10

For Zec
There are false prophets and there is no one to guide the people as to what is from God and what is not. They need a leader who is in tune with the Lord. He wants to transform the people into those that will build the city.

He wants to start again with the people and bless them. So that they will tell others about God - 'The Message' talks about 'keeping the story alive in their children' which I like. Although there will be hard times and valley experiences, still God will strengthen them.

He will rescue the people of Ephraim from Egypt - similar story to that of Moses and the red sea


For us take away

We need to tell others about Jesus and what he has done in our lives and on the cross
We need to discern what God says - and not to be taken in by false teaching.

Zechariah Chapter 9

For Zec

• God is going to bring judgment on Israels enemies so that God is seen in that place as the one who has the authority and power. They think that they are well protected and safe, yet God can break down those barriers and destroy them
• Talks about people are his swords - they are going to be at the frontline
• Prophecy about Jesus coming on a colt into Jerusalem which we know is true from the NT and that he will bring peace not, war to all areas
• Mentions the blood of the agreement - is that a link to Jesus where he will set people free through dying on the cross so that we can live in love and in his forgiveness.
• Tells Zec that God will come and ressue his people and look after them like a shepherd does his sheep - they would be familar with this and know that the shepherd will do anything for his sheep

For us to take away

• Reminder that what we read in the NT - some of it was propheised years before - a connection between the two and that God knew the plan from the begininng of time.
• Love and peace are so much better than hate and war
• God has the authority in our lives and we need to live in the power of him.
• He is our fortress, protector, can destroy the enemy
• We need to live in the knowledge of what Jesus has done for us on the cross whereever we are and whatever we are doing
• Jesus is the Good Shepherd and has good things for us