The Simple Life

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." And he said, "Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:8-10 (ESV)   Being used by God does not mean man understands us. Often, God's ways are not man's, and those who express His desires and plans are not desired or welcomed. Prophets spoke of things as they were, not as they were portrayed. When one speaks of things as they are, those who disagree are often "offended." When God asks for volunteers, it is wise to step up to the challenge, for if you do, you will see mighty and marvelous works that will both break your heart and restore your soul...

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! Isaiah  5:21-23  (ESV) When we are wise in our own eyes, we lack perspective because we ignore how God, without perspective, views our situation. Being wise in our own eyes is something we do to replace God. We want to live in a way that justifies everything we do, just because we do it, and it makes sense to us. The trouble with this thinking is that it is wrong. Prideful, arrogant, and belligerent behavior stems from those who rule their private kingdoms. There is only one King of the universe, and I am not Him. If I were truly wise, I would want to be wise in His eyes, not in mine, and I would continually check what I believe against what He has declared true. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. Isaiah 2:6-8 (ESV) Compromise is the door to disaster when you compromise with truth. Those who are Godless live Godless lives, and those who are Godly should have little in common with them. I have been married for many years, and my lifestyle has little in common with a man my age who has never been married. At my age, I do not act like a teenager, I am not concerned with my credit score, and I prefer older pickup trucks to newer ones. We must live within the identity God gives us in Christ and reject the idea of gathering ...

How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come to them. Isaiah  1:21-23  (ESV) It's easy for something that was once important to become worthless. Intimacy is meant to be experienced within strict guidelines, and when the guidelines are blurred, erased, or discarded, what was once beautiful becomes wrong, even evil. Money can be used for good, or it can be the weight around our necks that drowns us. We were made to live peculiarly, and when we avoid the particulars, we invite disaster to be our constant companion. Sort of right is not right. Kind of good is not good. Almost listening is not listening. Those who need to justify their lifestyle must not know that one day,...

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah  1:18-20  (ESV) I often like to ignore the "if-then" clauses in the Bible. I want to think that any flaws in my character and any acts of disobedience are problems that are too big for me to deal with, and therefore, I will never be held accountable for my actions. Just because God knows what decisions I will make does not mean He controls those decisions. He has given me volition, and my choices do matter. I must never pawn off my responsibility and play the victim. Life gets rough when I choose to go it alone. It is reasonable for me to listen to and obey God. For now, my choices are mine, and my choices matter.  ...

Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Isaiah  1:13-15  (ESV)   When we make "religion" about ourselves, we make fools of ourselves. When we make relationships about ourselves, we become "users" rather than "lovers." It is easy to go through the motions of loving God and others when we demonstrate that we love ourselves, and our outward exhibition of sincerity is a show to convince ourselves of our sincerity. Several places in the Bible tell us that our prayers are worthless. God sees through our religious drama and deals with our hearts as they are. We need not do anything to...

"The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." Isaiah 1:3 (ESV) Animals recognize the one who cares for them. For years, I operated the horse program at Silver Birch Ranch. Over time, the horses recognized my voice and looks and could identify me at a distance. Depending on what they were up to, they either welcomed me or ran from me, but they always knew it was me. Those who listened to me lived relatively carefree and straightforward lives. I bore the burden of caring for them; they needed to allow me to do so. One day, four horses escaped into the massive National Forest, two of whom were MIA for quite a long time. I was concerned, for I knew that without my help and protection, they were easy prey in those woods. Within a few weeks, I saw them standing by the gate, waiting to return home. Skinny, scarred, and scared, they finally realized that being under the master was better than going alone.   http...

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: "Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me." Isaiah 1:2 (ESV) "Isaiah lived during the decline of Israel in the shadow of Assyria. He spoke the word of God to a people who were "deaf and blind," who refused to listen to his warnings of looming disaster. He warned that the sin of the people of Judah would bring God's judgment, yet he also declared that God is sovereign and would use Cyrus the Persian to return them from exile. The book speaks of a "servant," a "man of sorrows," who would be "pierced for our transgressions," accomplishing God's purposes of salvation. The final chapters give a beautiful description of a new creation in which God will rule as King, judging the wicked and establishing eternal peace." (ESV Introduction) Here is a prophet assigned to proclaim God's Word to the "deaf and blind." What a...

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes  12:11-14  ESVST)   We must be careful not to add to what God has said, for adding parts to truth can be as devastating as subtracting parts. We must have the whole truth without additions or subtractions.   Anything that does not increase our fear of God is dangerous, and anything that compromises obedience to God is devastating.   God has not asked us to do anything we cannot do. He has asked us only to do things we can do when we obey and depend on Him. If you do not fear God, you do not know Him. If...

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 12:8   Our position in life, wealth, learning, or comfort will never bring lasting satisfaction to our souls. Life can be a failure or a triumph depending on our focus.   God created us to love, and Satan seems to want to tempt us to pervert love by enticing us to love what we should use and use what we should love.   At the end of our lives, all we possess will remain here and be managed by someone who may have had nothing to do with its accumulation.   However, those who invested their lives in loving God and people will enter an eternity of celebration, and will never really be without what they treasured most.   For now, the choice of what/who we treasure is ours. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them." (Ecclesiastes 12:1 ESVST)   Good habits are established early in life and easily broken if not attended to diligently attended. If one remembers his Creator, he remembers that he is created. If you are created, you realize your limited power and authority and that you have a purpose that has been given to you.   Many try to earn their purpose or change it to no avail, for our design is intentional, and will not yield well to something outside our design.   In the days of our youth, we can look ahead and see what we think we will enjoy when we are old, yet those who are old, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, warn us that the stuff of this earth and life are not worth our time and have no worthwhile yields.   Young people should often be reminded that God created them to love. They need to see older people demonstra...

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 ESVST)   There are always reasons to procrastinate, delay a project, seek more information, consider other options, or wait for ideal circumstances.   Those who do not start cannot finish. There are countless stories of individuals who began journeys where the eventual destination was clear, but the path was blurry.   We need to remember that we cannot control future circumstances and that the One who can loves us and wants us to live in a way that demonstrates who He is and how He works.   To do that, we need to live in a way that allows life's current circumstances to have no real controlling factor over us or our decisions. Instead, we focus on the end result, and often, God uses the lack of clarity to allow us and others to see Him clearly.   There are many reasons to remain in a place you consider safe, and one overwhelming reason to consider starting some...

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them (Ecclesiastes  9:11-12  ESVST)   Why would we invest our time and money in being swift, strong, wise, intelligent, and ignoring God? God, alone, is in charge of the time and chances in life, and can make the poor rich, the slow appropriate, the weak strong, the simple wise, and the uneducated intelligent.   Our time and effort should be invested in knowing and following God, not in knowing and following the best educational practices. Many healthy, educated fools have ignored the one thing that would truly give them what they seek.   Nothing on earth...

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 ESVST)   The living know they will die, but often live as if they will not. The truth of the matter is elementary: we will all die. Death is as much a part of life as life. The day of our birth is special, the day of our death is special, and the days in between are filled with either meaningful or meaningless activity.   Meaningless activity is activity that dies with the person or shortly after the person dies. Meaningful activity lasts for eternity.   Whenever we are involved in things that focus on us in the here and now, we focus on the futile. Then we wonder why we feel so insignificant. We feel insignificant because we have not enjoyed the source of significance.   We were mad...

Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God. (Ecclesiastes  8:10-13 )     Evil men are buried, their probation is over, and the means of reconciliation are ended. There is a time, an end to all things other than God. This life and earth will end, our nation will end, and the power and use of money will end.   The wise person invests in things that will not end and promise a return on the investment. There is little that fits that category, and therefore, littl...

For there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him. For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt. (Ecclesiastes 8:6-9 ESVST)   We can see the present, but we have no real idea of the future. Only God knows what will happen and can prepare us for it. The wise person lives each day, yielding themselves to the One who holds that future. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. (Ecclesiastes  7:21-22  ESVST)   This verse holds the key to a leader's sanity. If anyone is in leadership, they will be doubted. Many who are under your authority believe that they can do your job better than you, and all whom you serve could give you a lesson on how to serve them better.   Everybody wants to have their voice heard, but they do not mean that they want you to hear them. They want you to listen to them and do what they say. If not, they will claim that you do not listen to them.   A leader hears many voices and probably actually listens to them, but in the end, he still needs to make a decision for which that he alone is responsible, and for which he alone will stand accountable before God.   I have been guilty of criticizing leaders, and was wrong to do so, for my information was limi...

A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:1-2 ESVST)   I'm not sure you would want this message delivered at your party, but these statements contain tremendous wisdom.   I remember talking to a friend whom I accidentally ran into in the checkout lanes of a store. I had not seen him in a while, and he was in a different lane from me so that others could hear our conversation. He told me he was in the area to do music for a wedding. Then he added, "I'd much rather do funerals than weddings." I agreed with him.   The checkout person said something like, "It's always entertaining here," and seemed amused. Yet there is a reason why some of us would prefer to speak or play at a funeral rather than a wedding. Funerals force us to face reality. Th...

The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? (Ecclesiastes 6:11 ESVST)   As someone who loves words and the use of them, even playing with them, this is a convicting statement. However, one must put things in context. The Bible contains many words, and throughout history, we have had many speeches, books, and lectures that have been most helpful because the many words have helped us transform concepts into reality.   The statement that many harmful words refer to is when we take a simple concept and make it difficult, or cloud the water by using many words. The tax code could be simple. We could be told to send in 10% of our income. Instead, thousands of pages need tax lawyers to interpret their meaning.   Not many understand the tax code. It is too long and too complicated. We should not make the simple complex. Instead, we should make the complex simple.   The Gospel is straightforward. There is a God; I am not Him. I am separated from Him bec...

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on humanity: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 ESVST)   Some have much, yet they live in poverty. They are spiritually bankrupt, ethically challenged, and enslaved in the saddest possible way. Imagine having it all but having nothing. There seems to be a game to be played in convincing those around you that having it all fuels significance and security when those who have it all are the most insignificant and insecure people.   Those who have nothing can lose nothing. Those who have much can lose much. Therefore, those with much are often more anxious, angry, and arrogant. It is hard for rich people to love God, for they are too busy loving what God has given them.   When entrusted with wealth, possession...

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil — this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. (Ecclesiastes  5:18-20  ESVST)   Toil enables enjoyment and rest in this world. With complex and purposeful labor comes true enjoyment and rest. Those continually seeking comfort and rest will find neither, for we were made for meaningful toil.   We want to lose weight and be in great shape, but we do not want to eat right or exercise. We want to have good relationships, but we do not invest the time and energy necessary to have them. We want to rest well without toiling much. Sorry, it cannot and will not...

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. (Ecclesiastes  5:10-12  ESVST)   We often hear that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, yet we seldom have a definition for the term. Here we are given a definition.   Those who are not satisfied with their income love money. Loving money does not work in that money is something we are to use, not love. We tend to use things we should love, and love things we should use.   Those who focus on their income are slaves to their income. They will change locations, abandon relationships, break promises, and sacrifice precious moments in order to gain a little more. Their significance is tied to their income...

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 ESVST)   Think of this passage the next time you go to church. It seems to me that fools don't even know how foolish they are. They say things they do not mean, and do so in church, in a gathering, where they are to be enjoying fellowship with God and other members of His family.   Yet so often, the words we utter in our songs, the greetings we give in the hallways, and the acknowledgements given to our teachers are really just rash, hasty, or meaningless words.   Those who actually hear the voice of God become silent. Their silence reflects repentance and reflection, conviction and communion, confidence and strength. Sometimes i...

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESVST)   We were not meant to be alone. We never operate best alone. In fact, the gifts God has given us are wasted when not exercised in the context of community. Man does not operate well alone, and man was not meant to ever be alone.   Strength comes in numbers. The greater the number of body parts that have unfettered access to the brain, the greater the ability to accomplish great things.   Significant people have at least three other important relationships in their lives. They have someone older from whom they can learn, someone younger whom they can teach,...

I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. (Ecclesiastes  3:14-15  ESVST)   There is only one real power in the universe, God. He is the only one who has the power and authority to grant life and take life. He is the only one who can make sense out of life, death, suffering, and prosperity.   When we try to ignore Him, we are attempting to avoid the only reality there is, and we are thereby forced to live in a fantasy world. This fantasy world is most fragile, and is held together with lies, deceit, and the false promise of a better tomorrow, when apart from God there is no hope for any tomorrow.   A wise person starts and ends with the premise that there is a God and he/she is not Him, and then lives in that context. A fool lives as if he...

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESVST)   Time changes all things. Only God is changeless and is not affected by time. We and all that we own will one day be forgotten, no matter how much we try to preserve the status quo. A wise person invests in what does not change.  https://www.podbean.com/relate365

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 ESVST)   There is no enjoyment available to those who do not enjoy God. All who work hard and "own" much will realize one day how futile all this ownership stuff really is. No matter who you are and how hard you work, all you have will be turned over to someone else one day. They may appreciate or abuse it, but you will have nothing to say. There is no permanence in the temporal, and all you can see and touch is temporal.   A wise investor invests in the surest return. There is no return in that of which most of us invest. ...

So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 ESVST)   One who had it all said this, not one who wanted it all. If you dream about having it all, you are never satisfied with what you have, and then, when you get it all, you miss the hungry years, for there is a tremendous satisfaction that only occurs in the struggle and is not available to the victor.   Perhaps we were made to be hungry and not satisfied. Maybe we were made to work and not rest. Possibly our only satisfaction can come from enjoying God, and we can never seem to enjoy Him enoug...

What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. (Ecclesiastes 1:3-7 ESVST)   Some people make living this life their goal. They work hard at living in hopes that they will provide enough for themselves to ensure they stay alive until they die.   All people will make that goal. It is not noble. In fact, it is foolish. No man knows the time of his death. Only God knows that. No man can care for himself apart from God. Without God, we have no past, present, or future.   God and His purposes do not change. We would be wise to align our thoughts and actions to harmonize...

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4 ESVST)   Those who have experienced having it all can testify that it often leaves them feeling like they have nothing. Having it all without God leads to a worthless life.   Temporary satisfaction in this life is worse than no satisfaction, in that those who find satisfaction now often become myopic in thought and deed. When the uncertainty of today eclipses the certainty of tomorrow, and our time and efforts are for what is fading, we will also look back and say vanity of vanity…all is vanity.   It is difficult to look at those who have much and think that they have nothing, yet, in many cases, that is the case. Purpose or significance involves relationships with people, not ...