Police Devotion 11-2-2016

“I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14)

When King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, he obviously wasn’t happy. He’d put his faith in the Messiah; he was rich; and he was wise. He said about his riches: “I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:” (Ecclesiastes 2:4-6). Yet in Ecclesiastes 2:11 Solomon said, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” In eternal terms, all of his work was a big waste of time.

Solomon’s problem was that he was living “under the sun.” He used that phrase several times in the book of Ecclesiastes. Basically, to live “under the sun” is to go through the functions of earthly life. No doubt many people today live “under the sun.” They eat, drink, work, play, raise kids, and go on life’s way; all of which isn’t sinful, but it has no eternal value.

Early in his reign, “Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father:” (1 Kings 3:3). However, Solomon’s fatal mistake was that he started to hang out with heathen people: “But King Solomon loved many strange women,…Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in unto them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” (1 Kings 11:1-4, boldfaces added)

Solomon hung out with heathen people and fell in love with and married heathen women which was in direct disobedience to God’s warning. As a result, his heart was turned away from God—exactly what God said would happen. People would be so much better off if they would just take God at His Word.

If you know Jesus as Saviour, you have eternal forgiveness for all your sins. You know Jesus personally and have a home in heaven when you die. Many people would love to have that kind of assurance and don’t, but you HAVE it. You also have the most important purpose in the world: to share the wonderful good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and salvation with lost people.

How is your heart toward God? Do you care about pleasing Jesus and telling others about Him? Or are you just living “under the sun,” going through life’s rat race? If you’re “under the sun” and honest enough to admit it, look at the people you hang out with. How do they influence you? They DO have an influence on you, whether you realize it or not. Do they encourage you to live for the Lord or do they tend to turn your heart from Him as Solomon’s heathen “friends” did to him? Your friends could be good cops but a terrible spiritual influence. If you need to get away from people who are a bad influence, you know it.

Don’t be content to live “under the sun.” One day you’ll see Jesus face to face. You don’t want to look back on your life and see how little you did for Christ or how many chances to witness were wasted because you were too occupied with your heathen “friends.” You don’t want your life to be nothing more than “vanity and vexation of spirit.”

If you’ve never seen in the Bible how to have a home in heaven, please click “Helpful Links” on the top menu and then “How Do I Go to Heaven?” on the dropdown menu.

Brian Miller 11/2/2016

Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216.671.2822