Ecclesiastes 11 - Hopeless Sea

Ecclesiastes 11:1
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary said of this chapter;
Solomon presses the rich to do good to others. Give freely, though it may seem thrown away and lost. Give to many. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done, from the good thou hast further to do. It is not lost, but well laid out. We have reason to expect evil, for we are born to trouble; it is wisdom to do good in the day of prosperity. Riches cannot profit us, if we do not benefit others. Every man must labour to be a blessing to that place where the providence of God casts him.

The water imagery represents the multitudes that we sometimes feel our efforts go wasted on, but according to Isaiah 49:4;
I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God.

Something about what ANC is about….feels right. Though most of us are somewhat new to the experiences we are challenged with….we never leave empty.

Brandon and I were talking about this just the other day, with each new ministry opportunity, there is a certain sense of dread, worry, apprehension….but when you bust through and just do it….God blesses the doer and the giver.
So the challenge is to keep casting bread …… on what appears to be a hopeless sea.

Esther 1 – Behind the Scenes

Esther 1 – Behind the Scenes
I am a HUGE Esther fan. I guess reading this first chapter the thing that Lord is laying on my heart is how he is constantly working. Behind the scenes, when we are sleeping, when we are unaware, in other believers, in those that don’t claim God…..He works. And like in;
Romans 8, I believe that He “works for the Good of those who love him and been called according to his purpose.”
We will learn later on….all that is unfolding for Esther…and how God plans to use her to save his people….and she isn’t even aware of it right now.
Back in 1998, I was at a place in my life that was very distant from where I am right now. I was a believer, but nominal at best…one that Christ would have spewed from him his mouth….neither Hot or Cold.
God was using circumstances and people that I believe don’t even know him (or at least they didn’t act like they did) to draw me closer to Him. He placed people in my life, who pointed me to Him, challenged my faith, my convictions, and who I thought God was.
I have been on that journey ever since. Sometimes closer than others….but realizing that I am not the center of my universe…..God is.
I honestly believe that God is preparing EVERYONE…for works of service….it’s just a matter of obedience.

Nehemiah 11 – Move Us

Jerusalem wasn’t safe, there was much work to be done, it was different, there were just a bunch of strangers there, it wasn’t home. So many reasons for the Israelites not to want to be there….but many ‘were called’ to live there. Many felt the pull of national pride, or maybe it was just the ‘greater purpose’ of being a part of a movement of something larger them themselves.
I can totally relate.
I would bet that many of the men had wives, who were beside themselves. They were probably thinking about the kids, the security, the problems that they would face, the relationships they would leave behind, the family that would be hurt…and ultimately the hardship of the work and the constant fear of being in the ‘enemy’s’ crosshairs.
Austin was our Jerusalem. Jenny and I had to decide that ultimately wherever God called us, was the place we would be. The strange part was…we had never trusted God in a decision of that magnitude….never. That time of decision was truly a God thing. To move us his direction, he affirmed us in the little things. People that we thought might be hurt the most…or call us crazy….supported us.
Nehemiah 11:2 The people commended all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
I am removed by a year and a half from that time of decision and God moving in my life. But I am still humbled by it, like it was yesterday.