IDOK DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008
Ecclesiastes 12: 1 in part says: Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, … . How important it is to live and love and laugh before our children in hope and faith that they will remember their Creator in their youth and avoid the vanity of vanities. But that is not really where I think we are going today – verse 6: Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “ All is vanity.”
I am so glad Solomon did not stop here at vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Because you know if man does stop here it is all in vain. To look over all the goings and comings of this creation and stop there is of all things most void. We must go on and embrace the Creator of the sun that rises and the tide that ebbs. Listen to the conclusion that Solomon makes.
9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.
10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.
11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.
I really like this. Goads are a good thing. Remember what Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus? Acts 26:14 …It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ I’d like to be like that. I’d like to speak in words of wisdom that would ‘goad’ others to be saved. And next I think of a master carpenter. Have you ever watched a good carpenter drive a nail? They make it look easy – it’s not. It takes much practice! But when a nail is set right, ask any carpenter, he will tell you it is a thing of beauty. I’d like to be like that – speaking wisdom until the affect it has upon folks is a thing of beauty to THE MASTER CARPENTER. As I said it takes practice. And then it says given by one Shepherd. Yes, wisdom is give by ONE Shepherd. The Lord Jesus Himself.
12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
Book Learning (education) is good. Education is GREAT. But devotion to education alone, for education’s sake is vanity. When all is said, and all is done this is it: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Should anyone ask you why am I here? Now you can tell them. You are here for God! To reverence Him, to obey Him. That’s it. That’s your whole duty from birth to death … And beyond.
And if you are not weary of reading, here’s something from my Bible Footnotes that you may find interesting regarding verse 6. “Some suggest that silver cord refers to the spinal cord. Golden bowl is broken: this may refer to the brain. Pitcher shattered at the fountain: One suggestion is that this is a failing heart. Wheel broken at the well: the system of veins and arteries radiating out from the heart might have appeared to the ancients like the spokes on a wheel. An alternative explanation of this verse is that each of the four images represents death.
Whichever explanation you prefer, the message is clear. NOW is the time to love, worship and serve our ABBA, Creator. Waiting to worship Him, waiting to love Him, waiting to serve Him is vanity of all vanities!
Abba, this is good. You are right. How foolish it would be for us to waste our breathing time ever learning but never knowing You are Truth. I am sorry that so many folks are doing this. I pray for a real and genuine love for them that will enable me to be a holy goad to them. I can’t think of anything more wonderful than being one that You work through to enlighten a soul and see them say YES to You; to see them born again from above. Teach me Lord how to drive those nails of wisdom. And I pray too for every IDOK who has this same desire that You will move us and empower us to be hammers and nails in Your Hand to build up and add to Your Body Lord Jesus. And we pray too for these listed here, for their well being – materially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We pray each will prosper and be in health in all aspects of their lives for Your Glory and their good. We pray for Palin and McCain and their families for protection and wisdom. We pray that too for Obama and Biden. Father, even though I do not want Obama to be President, I want to see him radically love You and embrace You; he and Biden and their families. In these 60 or so days that we anticipate to be, I pray You will expose the media’s agenda; I pray You will expose the half-truths and the whole lies that are being told and I pray people will have their eyes opened and the enemies of holiness and those who will contribute to the destruction of America will be defeated. I pray Holy Spirit that You will pour out conviction upon the people of America. I pray You will give us space and grace to repent. I pray Lord Jesus that You will be proclaimed as Savior and Lord from the White House to every house in America. We continue to pray for Israel; it is a privilege to pray for them, for their peace and protection. Thank You, Lord, for being You and thank You for who You are grooming us to be. Again we are asking you to protect our IDOK Troops; protect their bodies from harm but also their minds and spirits. We think there is much going on around them and we know they are busy but in the quiet when they are missing home, be HOME to them Lord. Speak within and to them words of hope and courage and as much as possible close their ears to the media and it’s agenda that cares nothing for them or their well-being and success. You know us Lord, You know our hearts, You know our needs; thank You that Your are faithful; thank You for taking care of us always for Jesus sake. Amen and amen. Jacqueline and her boys are River and Jackson. Jonathan. Mobile Family grieving death of family member. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Family from Olive Baptist. Davison and Mosley Families. Danni A. Bernie. Darlene. Edie G. Rachel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Dylan. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Kim T. Kevin and the children. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Pattie S. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. David & Allison. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Candance andFamily. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family,
Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.
Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.
The Peace of Israel
Revival in America.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Josh. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Kyle N. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N. Casey.
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: T. Palin
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Tommy T. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George.Travis N. Hawk.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony.
Hospitalized: Captain Tran
Military at home adjusting – Tim. Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi. Edward J. Lyndon A. Jason G.
Still praying but no recent update: Hector. Corpl. Light. Bradley T. Albert R III.
As I post this it is 84°F and partly cloudy in Al Asad, IQ & the time there is 7:11 AM AST – on September 4, 2008
Internet Daughters of the KING
THE WHITE STONE
His Ministry to You
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 “ Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “ All is vanity.”
I am so glad Solomon did not stop here at vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Because you know if man does stop here it is all in vain. To look over all the goings and comings of this creation and stop there is of all things most void. We must go on and embrace the Creator of the sun that rises and the tide that ebbs. Listen to the conclusion that Solomon makes.
9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.
10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.
11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.
I really like this. Goads are a good thing. Remember what Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus? Acts 26:14 …It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ I’d like to be like that. I’d like to speak in words of wisdom that would ‘goad’ others to be saved. And next I think of a master carpenter. Have you ever watched a good carpenter drive a nail? They make it look easy – it’s not. It takes much practice! But when a nail is set right, ask any carpenter, he will tell you it is a thing of beauty. I’d like to be like that – speaking wisdom until the affect it has upon folks is a thing of beauty to THE MASTER CARPENTER. As I said it takes practice. And then it says given by one Shepherd. Yes, wisdom is give by ONE Shepherd. The Lord Jesus Himself.
12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.
Book Learning (education) is good. Education is GREAT. But devotion to education alone, for education’s sake is vanity. When all is said, and all is done this is it: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Should anyone ask you why am I here? Now you can tell them. You are here for God! To reverence Him, to obey Him. That’s it. That’s your whole duty from birth to death … And beyond.
And if you are not weary of reading, here’s something from my Bible Footnotes that you may find interesting regarding verse 6. “Some suggest that silver cord refers to the spinal cord. Golden bowl is broken: this may refer to the brain. Pitcher shattered at the fountain: One suggestion is that this is a failing heart. Wheel broken at the well: the system of veins and arteries radiating out from the heart might have appeared to the ancients like the spokes on a wheel. An alternative explanation of this verse is that each of the four images represents death.
Whichever explanation you prefer, the message is clear. NOW is the time to love, worship and serve our ABBA, Creator. Waiting to worship Him, waiting to love Him, waiting to serve Him is vanity of all vanities!
Abba, this is good. You are right. How foolish it would be for us to waste our breathing time ever learning but never knowing You are Truth. I am sorry that so many folks are doing this. I pray for a real and genuine love for them that will enable me to be a holy goad to them. I can’t think of anything more wonderful than being one that You work through to enlighten a soul and see them say YES to You; to see them born again from above. Teach me Lord how to drive those nails of wisdom. And I pray too for every IDOK who has this same desire that You will move us and empower us to be hammers and nails in Your Hand to build up and add to Your Body Lord Jesus. And we pray too for these listed here, for their well being – materially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We pray each will prosper and be in health in all aspects of their lives for Your Glory and their good. We pray for Palin and McCain and their families for protection and wisdom. We pray that too for Obama and Biden. Father, even though I do not want Obama to be President, I want to see him radically love You and embrace You; he and Biden and their families. In these 60 or so days that we anticipate to be, I pray You will expose the media’s agenda; I pray You will expose the half-truths and the whole lies that are being told and I pray people will have their eyes opened and the enemies of holiness and those who will contribute to the destruction of America will be defeated. I pray Holy Spirit that You will pour out conviction upon the people of America. I pray You will give us space and grace to repent. I pray Lord Jesus that You will be proclaimed as Savior and Lord from the White House to every house in America. We continue to pray for Israel; it is a privilege to pray for them, for their peace and protection. Thank You, Lord, for being You and thank You for who You are grooming us to be. Again we are asking you to protect our IDOK Troops; protect their bodies from harm but also their minds and spirits. We think there is much going on around them and we know they are busy but in the quiet when they are missing home, be HOME to them Lord. Speak within and to them words of hope and courage and as much as possible close their ears to the media and it’s agenda that cares nothing for them or their well-being and success. You know us Lord, You know our hearts, You know our needs; thank You that Your are faithful; thank You for taking care of us always for Jesus sake. Amen and amen. Jacqueline and her boys are River and Jackson. Jonathan. Mobile Family grieving death of family member. Mabel’s Aunt Lou. Heather and Brandon. Family from Olive Baptist. Davison and Mosley Families. Danni A. Bernie. Darlene. Edie G. Rachel. W C and family. Maggie and Family. Dylan. Joseph Toomey and Family. DeLois. Terri. Kim T. Kevin and the children. Katelyn (B). Janie B. Pattie S. Vickie. J Lloyd and family. Janet and Steve. Cathy. Caleb and family. Bay and family. Jennifer B. John and Carolyn and Family. Larry and Claudia and family. Taylor & family. David & Allison. Jeanette and Earl and family. Callie. Madie. Ruth. Cynthia. Martha F and Bob. Allyson and Glyn and family. Brittney and Kersten and family. Sheila and Andy. Carrie and Rachel and Jacob and family. Billy and Gina and boys. Lance and family. Grace and family. Tressa. Brad, Lindsay, Karah and Haley. Chuck. Windy and Jared and families. Helen and Dan and family. Jen and Larry and family. Chad and Brittany and family. Mollie and family. Julia. Bobbie. Tj. Zack. Phillip. Jessica. Larry. Kayla. Trey. Jacob. Ashely. Lance. Candance andFamily. Laura and family. John and Sandy. Bill and Judy. Andrew and Daughters. Lee. Sharron and family, Linda and family, Bev and Family,
Unspoken Requests – situations so close you can only speak to Father about
Every IDOK and every IDOK son and daughter and grandchild.
Every IDOK Pastor and Family. Every IDOK church.
The Peace of Israel
Revival in America.
IDOKs Military Families.
IDOKs Troops (foreign soil) – Ethan. Christopher. Raul. Robert. Billy. Josh. Buddy. Mark. Josh W. James. Bryan. Nick. Brant W. Christopher R. Joshua M. Brent. Drew. Justin G. Kyle N. Michael K. Sgt. Bozicevich. Bay N. Casey.
IDOK Troops leaving shortly for foreign soil: T. Palin
Serving Stateside: Jonathan. Jasmine B. Tommy T. Shaun. Bay. Danny. Lee. George.Travis N. Hawk.
Injured and brought State side: Anthony.
Hospitalized: Captain Tran
Military at home adjusting – Tim. Mack. The 226. Troy. Brad. Tommy. Desi. Edward J. Lyndon A. Jason G.
Still praying but no recent update: Hector. Corpl. Light. Bradley T. Albert R III.
As I post this it is 84°F and partly cloudy in Al Asad, IQ & the time there is 7:11 AM AST – on September 4, 2008
Internet Daughters of the KING
THE WHITE STONE
His Ministry to You
