memories

Leviticus 24, Ecclesiastes 7, Psalm 110

by

Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Leviticus 24, Ecclesiastes 7, and Psalm 110.

This devotional is about Ecclesiastes 7:2: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” This is a verse that I usually quote when I am doing a funeral message. It tells us that it is “better” to go to a funeral than to a party.

That advice is the opposite of our instincts or our desires. Nobody would rather go to a funeral than to a party. Funerals are sad occasions; parties are fun! So why would Solomon tell us to attend a funeral rather than a party if we had a choice to make between the two of them?

The answer is in the last two lines of verse 2: “…for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” Why choose funerals over parties? Because someday you’ll be the one who is remembered at a funeral. In addition to the sadness at a funeral, I think that most people don’t like going to funerals BECAUSE it reminds us that we’ll be dead someday. Funerals foreshadow your own death. Most people don’t want to think about that but Solomon said that we should think about it.

Why?

Because thinking about your death changes the way you live. After you die, your legacy is set in stone. You can’t make up for your mistakes, seek forgiveness, try to reconcile broken relationships, or receive God’s forgiveness for your sins. After you die, your eternal destiny is sealed and whatever memories people have of you are permanent.

When you think of your life in that light, it should give you some perspective to make better decisions today. If a person is usually kind and loving, they’ll likely be remembered that way. If a person is often selfish and difficult and only occasionally kind, those who know them will carry those memories.

More important than the people who remember you at your death, after death you will face God. If you’re found in Christ, God will welcome you into his presence. If you’re outside of Christ, you will pay the just penalty for your sins for eternity. And, for those of us who are in Christ, we will answer to God for what we produced with our lives. Did we strive to glorify him, to grow in faith, to spread his message of good news, to be generous to those with needs and for the advancement of his kingdom?

This life is a gift of extraordinary value. You can invest it for eternal rewards or spend it for temporary and fleeting satisfaction. Someday, sooner than we realize, probably, it will be over. How does that reality make you think about what you will do today and how you will do it?

Exodus 18, Job 36, Luke 2

by

Read Exodus 18, Job 36, and Luke 2.

This devotional is about Luke 2.

Joseph and Mary each received a dramatic, miraculous announcement about the conception of Jesus. After he was born, angels celebrated his birth, then shepherds and wise men showing up out of nowhere to see him. When they took him to the temple for the rite of circumcision, two people appeared to thank God for Jesus and prophesy about him. Although Luke did not record it, Matthew told us that Joseph and Mary received divine guidance to protect Jesus from the murderous intentions of Herod the Great.

So their family life started off very dramatically, to say the least. God was working through them and for them like he never had before for anyone. No wonder “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (v. 19) and “his mother treasured all these things in her heart” (v. 51).

Those statements about Mary were not at all the point of Luke 2, of course. The point of this chapter is to record the birth of Jesus and all the signs that affirmed God’s plan and God’s word about him.

But these two statements about Mary cast light on an important side truth: remember to remember God’s work in your life. Walking by faith is often difficult.

Mary and Joseph experienced the difficulty of living by faith in the past when people whispered about her pregnancy. Simeon prophesied that the days ahead would be painful, too, when he told Mary, “a sword will pierce your own soul too” in verse 35.

One thing that gets us through the hard days in our walk with God is remembering God’s work in the past. God’s work does not–will not–be miraculous and dramatic for you like it was for Joseph and Mary. But God’s answers to prayer, his leading in your life through providence, the encouragement of other believers just at the right time are just a few examples of God’s work in your life. Treasure them up in your heart as Mary did! Remember them and tell your kids and your friends about them. They will help you keep walking by faith in the dark days of the Christian life.