Category: Ecclesiastes (Book of)

I Got This?

R. Mangold

IGotThis

I’m guilty of saying, “I got this,” even when I’m drowning. No, seriously, not metaphorically drowning, literally drowning. I was in my late twenties when my wife and I went with our church on a canoe trip. I had been a couple of times and seemed to have the whole paddling and steering thing down. I was thinking, “I got this.” I mean it’s not rocket science, and after all, I was the “man of my canoe.”

We decided to break for lunch on a sandbar that was at a turn in the deceptively lazy river. It was a hot day, so we waded out into the water to cool off a bit. I couldn’t help but notice that the sandbar beneath my feet was extremely soft. I stepped forward and again, the sand gave way. This happened several times before I realized that not only was the sand giving way, there was an undercurrent. With each step, I was literally losing ground and falling deeper and deeper under the water. I would pull myself up for a gulp of air thinking the whole time, you guessed it…I got this.

Screaming for help was not an option, but my face must have conveyed a deep sense of urgency as I one more time pulled myself to the surface. It was feeling close to the last time that I could muster the power in my limbs to thrust myself up.

A couple of my friends saw what was happening and sprang into action. While I was still attempting to downplay how much danger I was in, there was no denying, I needed help and quick. Had it not been for the quick thinking and observation of my friends that came to my aid, I would not be alive to share this story.

Had I been prideful and turned down their offers to help, I would have drowned. Played out a bit farther, had I resisted them, and emphatically declared, like we often do, “I got this!” They would have recoiled and remained where they stood, all the while painfully watching me drown.

Even as I write the recollection of this account, I feel the breathlessness, the overwhelming powerful pull beneath of the deep, and the suffocating effects of the water swirling around my nostrils and mouth. I beg you friends who are reading this, PLEASE don’t wait until it’s too late. The sad truth is, not all of those men who helped were great swimmers and I could have potentially put them at risk by waiting as long as I did.

Think about it like this, if you aren’t willing to do it for yourself, be willing to do it for your family, your friends, and those who care deeply for you.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Please reach out for help, or accept the help that kind and caring friends and family may be offering. There are just times when what you’re facing can cause you to drown; maybe not in water, but in pride, arrogance, and self-pity. It’s not worth it. Saving face, or thinking you’re admitting failure, in the grand scheme of things, pales in comparison to the relief you’ll feel when stepping back onto the safety of the shore.

There will just be times you must be willing to admit…You don’t “got it!”

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 12

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute.  One Minute Inspirational Sermonettes, Devotionals, and Sermon Ideas for Busy Christians, Pastors, Teachers, and Bible Students!  Visit our ABOUT PAGE  for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you.  ~ RD Mangold

Your Dirty Little Secret

R. Mangold

DLS

I have some startling news about your dirty little secret – Yes, it’s dirty, but it’s not little and it’s not a secret. We can tend to think that just because the masses don’t know about our hidden sin, addiction, or affair, that we’ll never be discovered. What a delusion when we fall for that deception. Our lives may not immediately be an open book to those around us, but there’s ONE who sees our every move and knows our every intent.

Hebrews 4:12 describes the Word of God as, “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

See, we may think we’re getting away with something, but we’re not because in another portion of Solomon’s own unheeded wisdom, Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. (Ecc. 8:11)

Our confession will not be new information to God for He knows the secrets of the heart.

Rather than trying to hide from God and foolishly cover our sins like Adam and Eve, Christ’s redemptive work at Calvary has enabled us to run to God with our failures and our sin. While it is far more admirable to resist sin altogether, it is even more vital if we have sinned, not to cover it up. Like King David, we must lay it bear before a merciful and loving Savior. 1 John 1:9 intreats us, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Our confession will not be new information to God for He knows the secrets of the heart. Our confession is more of a humble admission and a revealing to God that we know nothing can be hidden from Him, and that only He can truly provide us with the overcoming power we require to beat that sin and never fall prey to it again.

Let’s stop fooling ourselves by living in the illusion that God doesn’t see what we’re up against. The sooner we admit our sin is bigger than we can handle on our own, the sooner God’s grace and mercy can come to our rescue.

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute.  One Minute Spiritual Sermonettes, Devotionals, and Sermon Ideas  for Busy Christians, Pastors, Teachers, and Bible Students!  Visit our ABOUT PAGE  for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you.  Rev. RD Mangold

No Such Thing as a Secret

R. Mangold

There is a great deal of controversy today surrounding our privacy and the lack thereof.  Our government seems to have taken great lengths to ensure that your privacy be limited.  Every aspect of our lives seems to be monitored in some fashion.

Government agencies can retrieve records of every transaction that you perform.  From the things you purchase at the grocery store right down to the type of toilet paper you use.

–          Every store you shop at more than likely has security cameras

–          Hidden cameras make videos of practical jokes being played on people

–          Spy cams and “Nanny Cams”

–          You can even view your home as it would be seen from space with satellite cameras

We are being closely scrutinized today from every corner of our lives. But, even as tenacious as the government is, it has its limits…But an even HIGHER POWER is watching and sees it ALL!

This HIGHER POWER is not seeking to infringe on our privacy, but we will be called into judgment one day by God Almighty.  Every aspect of our lives will be vividly called into view one day. And those events will have one of 2 labels Good or Evil.

Amazing how differently we act when we know we’re being recorded. The most frightening aspect of this whole scenario could be that not only will our actions be called into question but our thoughts and intents as well. There will be no secrets with God.

Consider these passages…

Psalm 19:12 – Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Eccl 12:14 – For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Daniel 2:22 – He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Luke 8:16-18 – No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute.  One Minute Spiritual Sermonettes and Sermon Ideas  for Busy Christians, Pastors, Teachers, and Bible Students!  Visit our ABOUT PAGE  for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you.  Rev. RD Mangold

Prematurely Pulling the Plug on the Process

R. Mangold

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. Ecclesiastes 3:10-12

If you’re a collector, or one that loves antiques, you know that some things gain more value with a very important ingredient…TIME. Herein lies the challenge for many of us – while time may add value to antiques, for humans it’s the proverbial “kiss of death.” In a generation that wants instant gratification, the value of growing, maturing, and experience is all too often minimized in favor of a quicker result.

We’d do well to remember, God is in charge of not only the clay, but the wheel on which the clay is spinning. He has in His mind a perfect plan, a defined design, a prescribed purpose for each of our lives. While we’re spinning on the wheel we’re tempted to offer God our “recommendations” AND even go as far as to say when we feel the work is complete!

In order to maximize the “glory that shall be revealed in us” we must trust God with our future. Let God finish what He’s started in you. He’s faithful to complete it. And when given “time” He makes “everything” beautiful. Yes, “everything” – even the flaws, faults, and failures. Let’s not presume to “pull the plug” on God’s process prematurely.

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold

One Chance Too Many

R. Mangold

Steve Irwin, or as he was nicknamed the Crocodile Hunter, knew the imminent danger he faced each time he approached a deadly creature. By his own estimate, Steve had been bitten by thousands of animals, insisting it was always his fault, not the animals’.

Steve Irwin died September 4, 2006 while filming a documentary in the Great Barrier Reef, when a barb from a Sting Ray entered his heart and killed him instantly. Ironically, after the thousand or so bites and attacks by much wilder animals, a normally peaceful and not easily provoked creature, the Sting Ray took the daredevil Crocodile Hunter’s life!

Like Steve Irwin, we think we can cheat death, or even punishment. The Bible says, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil [Ecc. 8:11].”

We’d do well to learn from examples of just one offense that resulted in immediate punishment or death – One bite of the fruit (Adam). One glance over the shoulder (Lot’s Wife). One strike of the rock (Moses). One haircut (Samson). One touch of the Ark (Uzzah). One lustful look at a bathing beauty (David).

“Serminutes” – Sermon in a Minute. A one minute spiritual pick-me-up for busy Christians!  Visit this POST for details on what exactly that is. Thank you for visiting today! May the Lord richly bless you. Rodger Mangold