The Reality Of A Fallen World

I have been reading Ecclesiastics I’m the Bible this morning. It is a lament written by King Solomon, on what he has learned through his many mistakes. This is just a breakdown of the lesson of this book.

This book uses the word “vanity” to describe how all worldly things, money, power, pleasure, and success are ultimately meaningless and as elusive as smoke or wind. Every thing in the world is temporary.

Life is a characteristic by lack of certainty and fairness, and we have limited control over our destiny’s or the outcomes of our endeavors.

The temporary nature of life and the finality of death mean we cannot take worldly possessions and accomplishments with us.

I think we need to live in the light of these truths.



    • Find Joy in God’s gifts

    Despite life’s frustrations, we should find a way in the good things that God provides, such as food, drink, and the fruits of our labor, and recognize these things as gifts from God.

    • Live a God Centered life

    Our true purpose is not found in self-centered pursuits, but in a God-centered worldview, recognizing our dependence on our Creator and live according to principles.

    • Trust God’s timing

    We need to understand that there is a “time for everything“ this encourages, patience, discernment,and faith in God‘s perfect plan, which can unfold according to His sovereign timing.

    • Hope in God’s ultimate judgment

    The hope for God future judgment provides a framework for integrity and justice, this assures that every deed will be eventually brought to light and accounted for.

    Ecclesiastes teaches us that the keys were meaningful life if you embrace the reality of a fallen world, but also finding purpose and lasting joy in God.

    It calls us to live with integrity, recognizing God’s sovereignty, and ultimately finding fulfillment, not in fleeting earthly things, but in fearing and obeying God.

    Favorite Foods

    What are your favorite types of foods?

    I’m a sucker for a good casserole. Especially during the colder months

    Casseroles give me a warm feeling. That creamy, cheesy or saucy that many casseroles have is the key to take a chill off any cold day.

    Dishes like lasagna, or Frito pie, or just a simple cheesy ground beef and potato bake.

    Things Faith Can Do (If We Let It)

    Faith, we acted on, can enable people to act courageously in trials and believe in the impossible. Through it was can experience God’s intervention for miracles, like Peter walking on water, Noah building the ark, and even the bleeding woman’s healing. Faith is a path to spiritual growth, a foundation for salvation. It means to live a life being what is thought possible.

    Faith empowers belief when things seem impossible. It leads to acts of divine power. There’s a young man who started coming to my church about a month ago. He was struggling with alcoholism. A few weeks ago he said the “sinners’ prayer” and last week he was baptized he chose to give his life to Jesus and walk with him. He had faith that God could help him. When he was baptized there were only a few other people to watch him promise to walk with God. Only a few people from the church. I felt that as a church, we should have been there to support him. I can only say for myself how I would feel if I were struggling and chose to be baptized and the people who were supposed to be there for support were not. I can’t say that would give me much hope. I choose to have faith that this young man will be rid of his alcoholism completely. And will support him in any way possible.

    I see many people growing weary of doing good. Galatians 6:9-19 encourages us to trust in a future harvest. Too often we can have an overwhelming feeling to give up. The world is becoming a dark place, and we are called to be a light.

    Walking Or Running

    How often do you walk or run?

    I prefer walking over running. Walking is low impact, and helps maintain joint flexibility and can improve circulation.

    Understanding Idolatry

    Red Sands In Snow Canyon -St George Utah

    The biblical definition of Idolatry is “any worship, veneration, or extreme attachment other than the One true God, placing it at an equal or higher position of authority and affection than the Creator.” Idolatry can manifest in various forms, including physical objects, ideas, or even oneself.

    One key factor in idolatry is the “idol of self.” This is prioritizing one’s own interests and desires above all else, leading to a distorted sense of worth and purpose. When we as Humans tend to focus solely on ourselves constantly it inadvertently places our own desires on a pedestal, we effectively end up worshipping our own identity and ambitions.

    There are a few signs of self-idolatry I think we need to begin to recognize to be able to turn back to God and not fall into a pattern.

    • Self-centered decisions: Making choices that only benefit ourselves without considering others.
    • Pride and ego: Believing one is superior or more important than others.
    • Neglecting Relationships: Failing to nurture connections with family and friends due to self-absorption.
    • Materialism: Valuing possessions and status over spiritual or community well-being.

    The Bible warns us against Idolatry, emphasizing that true worship belongs to God alone. In Galatians 5, it talks about various acts of the flesh, including selfish ambition and idolatry, and are listed as behaviors that can lead us away from spiritual fulfillment.

    Leaders

    Do you see yourself as a leader?

    I see myself as a gentle leader. I lead by example. Strength and clarity is about guiding others with quiet confidence.

    I don’t see gentle leadership as a weakness. It’s about staying calm, being grounded under pressure, but also commanding respect through presence, not volume.

    I can hold people accountable, without shaming them. It’s about leading with compassion, kindness, and empathy, while still maintaining clear standards, and accountability..

    It’s about serving others and building trust. Being an honest communication my active listening. This requires emotional intelligence and the strength to hold people accountable with grace, not weakness.

    Well Liked Words

    What’s your favorite word?

    My favorite word is few people have anymore. It’s respect. I like the word respect but I also like what it stands for.

    Valuing others – valuing people’s feelings, boundaries, and perspectives. I have had these 3 things taken away in my life and honestly I don’t want other people to feel the pain that comes from this.

    Self-respect – I hold myself to the standard with dignity and self-worth. I know I deserve. Everyone is worthy of dignity and self-worth with no excuses.

    I believe in respect as integrity in action. Like shaking hands you show you’re present, acknowledging the other person by looking them in the eye. And doing what you said you were going to do shows your reliability and accountability.

    It is honoring your word and showing up.

    We have lost respect for each other, because of our breakdown in communication. Because of cell phones we cannot have a conversation without burying our heads in our phones.We talk at each other instead of talking with each other. Along with the erosion of accountability. And we have a us vs them mentality.

    It’s is because of lack of respect we lost a great man yesterday. Charlie Kirk had respect for everyone. And was trying to bridge the gap between a breakdown in communication. He spread love and respect to everyone he met, yet because of this he lost his life. It is such a tragedy. And it solved absolutely nothing.

    Ignoring God’s Will

    Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City Utah

    What happens when we ignore God’s will?

    We see over and over again in Scripture what happens when we ignore God’s will. When we place our own desires or human reasoning above divine instruction.

    This act of disobedience, can lead to both earthly and eternal negative consequences. Matthew 7:2 tells us, “…For whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged, and whatever measure you measure it will be measured to you.”

    God is not the cause of sin, it is the rejection of His will. In essence sin is understood as a conscious rebellion against God‘s authority and a substitution of our own will for His. This can manifest as willful disobedience, stubbornness, and pride.

    The Bible provides numerous examples of ignoring God’s will with catastrophic results:

    • Adam and Eve: Their disobedience in Eden brought sin and spiritual death into the world (Genesis 3).
    • The Israelites in the wilderness: Their refusal to trust God’s promises resulted in 40 years of wandering instead of entering the promised land (Numbers 14).
    • Jeremiah’s Warnings: The people’s refusal to heed God‘s warnings, resulted in Judah’s downfall (Jeremiah).

    Ignoring God’s will can lead to spiritual regression, a hardened heart, and a lack of peace and purpose.

    When we ignore God’s will our lives can be miserable, because of loss of blessings, hardened hearts, and judgment, but there are also eternal consequences. The New Testament teaching warns of eternal separation from God for those who persist in ignoring His will.

    Jesus’s parable of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7 emphasizes the ruin that awaits those who hear His words but do not act on them.

    Unforced Rhythm Of Grace

    There’s a place a strive to be every day. A place of unforced rhythm when it came to God. It involves accepting His grace and learning to life freely without any burden of self imposed expectations. A place where allowing His love to guide my actions rather than striving for the approval through my own efforts.

    This is actually a concept from Matthew 11:28-30 which suggests that true rest and fulfilling service come through learning to work with Jesus and relying only on His enabling power, that leads to a burden free life. It involves prayer, solitude, and a time to slow down and savor God’s gifts.

    I’m sure we have all heard, or read Matthew 11:28-30. But getting to a place where we can do it is a different matter.

    “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

    Resting in God’s grace.

    Instead of trying to be a better person. Maybe it’s about resting in what God has already done for us. When can we give our burden to Jesus and receive His peace as He carries us through life’s challenges, I believe it can happen. Yet, we choose to pick up our burdens again and again.

    Walk with Jesus

    It’s a call to work with Jesus, not to work for Him. Watching how He works, and embracing His easy yoke, and living in His strength and ease.

    This requires a glowing rhythm that is not forced by comes from a thankful heart. It implies riding a wave gently down, finding release from problems, and maintaining peace.

    Matthew 11:28-30 doesn’t include a rigid set of rules, but is an extraordinary invitation to a new way of living that is light, free, and fulfilling.

    My pastor always says, it’s a simple as hearing God, and obeying Him when He speaks. But that’s not so simple for me.

    I think it has to be an approach to life. A shift from self-effort to reliance on God’s sufficient grace. A source of rest that brings recovery and freedom from our burdens. And a way of living, which involves a rhythmic, flowing, and easy way of walking with Jesus in His strength and peace.

    Peaceful Evenings

    What are you doing this evening?

    As the dips low, painting the sky, there’s a soft breeze stirring the trees and fall begins its season. I spent my evening reading “The Awe of God by John Bevere with my household goblin (aka my kitten) lying on my lap while I’m enjoying a cup of cinnamon tea.

    Having The Mind Of Christ

    Farm Country

    God is not interested in busy bees but He is looking for people who are kingdom-minded.

    In Matthew 16:23 Jesus told Peter, “Get behind Me, satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.”

    Jesus rebuked Peter and told him not to set his mind on the things of man, but to upgrade his thinking on God’s interests. It’s no surprise that worldly people are unable to understand the things of God, so, Jesus had to rebuke Peter.

    God said in His Word, worldly people would like to play leapfrog (skipping the difficult things) and be successful without actually following or obeying God, they fail to understand that blessings come through obedience to God and not through having a “smart” life (relying on their own mind). It’s like someone saying they have no time to read the “Old Testament” because of their busy work schedule. If we don’t have time to sow into God and His Kingdom, we will not receive the blessings that come from it.

    Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

    Many don’t realize that it’s possible to set their minds on the things of God, by simply filling their mind with the Word of God. God tells us in Hebrews 8:10, “I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall by My people.”

    The best way I can explain it, is when I was diagnosed with cancer. Before I was going through the world. I was what I call a “Sunday Christian” As soon as church was over I began living in the world. When I was diagnosed, something happened to me. I began drinking in the Word of God and became fully sold out to Him. Maybe it was the thought I wasn’t going to make it. But, no matter what it was, I changed my thinking. Sadly, it took a potentially fatal disease to get me where I needed to be with God.

    His Word shaped me into what I am today. God had a plan for my life, more than I ever thought possible, before the cancer. They say “seek and you will find.”

    Colossians 3:2 tells us to, “set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.”

    At the same time, it’s important not to be “worry-minded like Martha in Luke 10:41. We will have no time to sit at the feet of Jesus and get saturated in His glory. We need to be like Mary who was not taken away from Jesus, because of worldly things.

    I think there should be no time for satan to take to have a foothold of us to capture us.

    “Finally, brothers (sisters) whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about those things” Philippians 4:8

    Do these things and the peace of God will be with you.