Wed.7.22.15...When Wealth is Meaningless...Eccles.6

John D. Rockefeller was the richest men who ever lived in a America. Adjusting for inflation, he was worth $336 billion, He was once asked, "How much money does it take to satisfy a rich man?"  He famously quipped, "Just a little more." Today in Eccles 6 you will read the words of the richest man of antiquity, King Solomon on wealth. But to get a running start, begin reading with Eccles 5:18.

How meaningless and such a sickening misfortune to have a fortune and not to enjoy it. John D. Rockefeller at one point was a sick man. But his health and happiness turned around when he began to give his fortune away. He lived to the ripe old age of 97. How sad when God blesses a man with great wealth, but he doesn't enjoy the joy of enriching others. Paul reminds us of the words of our Lord Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" Acts 20:35. The enjoyment of life begins by being thankful for what you have, and it spills over by giving to others. God has given us this great present called life in Christ. Remember, a few  weeks ago, we opened this PRESENT and found what to focus on to enjoy life-
Praise God for who he is
Rejoice in who you know are in Him- His dearly loved son whom He rejoices over with singing
Enjoy the moment- come to your senses- taste and see the Lord is good.
Smile and sing :)
Encourage others
Never dwell long on the negatives
Thank God and others often

Solomon's view of life from under the sun, not from the Son, led him to a pessimistic outlook, which all of chapter 6 reflects. Again, those that don't grasp this understanding of the book, come up with twisted views of life. Consider Solomon's words regarding lost mankind- "All man's efforts are for his mouth, his appetite is never satisfied" 6:7. But Christ has given us new life to our spirits and now we are to make every effort to grow in Christlikeness. Jesus also said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied" Mt.5:6. The lost need to heed Jesus' words, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" John 6:27.

Again, from only an "under the sun" perspective, Solomon asks, "Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?" 6:12. However, we are not limited to an under the sun speculation of life and death; we have been given revelation as to what will happen after a man dies. "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" Heb.9:27. Thus, Paul said, "we try to persuade men...For Christ's love compels us...he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again...we implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God" (excerpts from 2 Cor.5:11-20).

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation...we are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God was making his appeal through us" 2 Cor.5:18,20. What a great honor to be ambassadors, representatives of Christ the King. May we evermore be on the lookout to share the good news that people can be reconciled to their Creator. They don't have to live alienated from God. You and I were once lost and separated from God too. But others shared the good news with us. Now we are doing the same. It was good reading the stories you shared yesterday of people you have passed out the message of salvation to via our Greatest Mini-movies. 

1.-Please watch a new Greatest Mini-movie and share it's name and briefly what it was about. Then be on the look out to pass this message of reconciliation on to others. (Let's do this on a weekly basis until we've viewed them all. I want you to know well what is available to point people to. Paul would compare these to spiritual weapons (2 Cor.10:3-5). So know your weapon well.

Nic recently gave out a couple more Greatest Mini-Movie cards to his driver's ed students. Here's what he wrote- "I gave a card to an 84 year old driving student. I prayed that God will touch her heart. She may not be around many more years. Also gave one to a christian teen student and told him to check out the videos." Very good Nic! Wow, she's 84 and still learning! May we all be lifelong learners.

2.- Read Eccles. 5:18-20 and 6:1-12 and then write out the verse you picked and a cross reference you found to it. 

Speaking of death, Solomon bemoaned the man who died without a proper burial (6:3). So long as you are in M3, you will be honored by us upon your home-going. It may not be as big of a turn-out as Chris Kyle, the American Sniper, received upon his tragic death, but we will honor you in a special way as one of our own- a MANLY M3 man.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg33ozrTqpc

What was it that the Navy SEALs adorned Chris Kyle's coffin with?
Find out tomorrow.

Speaking of wealth today, if I gave you $1,000 each day you went from the blog to the scoreboard and put your points there, how many days would you skip doing such? Never right? So you can do this. It's not even hard work. So please imagine you are getting that amount put in your bank account. Help me, yourself and your team by doing this. Ka-ching! Ka-ching! :) Thanks for your faithfulness here. If need be, go back and fill in for Monday and Tuesday. I'll be looking to see your good work. :)

Some may not have understood the request from Monday or Tuesday. It was to contact the one or two men who are in your newly formed fire team and write down the names of the guys they are seeking to recruit to M3. Please do that today if you haven't yet. See the scoreboard to confirm your fire team members. Go to the Contacts tab to find their phone numbers and load them into your phone if you haven't done so yet. Note: Your Squad leader is over both of the two fire teams in your squad, so he is not in your fire team. They have to put up with me as their coach :)