Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts

4.01.2008

Not Done in Vain

"Vanities of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity."
-Eccl. 9:8

This verse epitomizes a teacher I have in college who extols the amazing achievements of science. She says that one day we will be able to live much longer than we do now through the assistance of machines. This indefinite living is something she would like. Her reasons are not that she is afraid of dying, for she believes we cease to exist after death, but because there is so much to discover and learn in life.

A life lived for Christ is glorious indeed. However, the Bible expresses her motives for living differently. "[T]here is a just man that perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongs his life in his wickedness." (Ecclesiastes 7:15) This is what she is doing. In her depravity, she seeks to extend her life and, ultimately, the time before judgment. One verse later, the author of Ecclesiastes (Solomon?) inquires why we make ourselves overly wise when it only serves to destroy ourselves?

The unregenerate want to explain their existence apart from an all powerful Creator. They do not want to acknowledge that there is a God who will judge them for their thoughts and deeds. One day they will realize (either in this life or after) that the works, toils, and pursuits of their earthly bodies and minds are all worthless; it is all vanity.

As Christians, we have the great privilege of pursuing all we do for God's glory. We do not have to fit non matching puzzle pieces together. Instead, God has revealed His plan and design to us. We can contently rejoice and be overwhelmingly awed at His wise orchestration. It is our responsibility, our commission to share with the lost (as we once were) the magnificent act of God on their sinful behalf. Our lives must be lived as a testimony to His work on the cross that was not done for us in vain.

May God who began a good work in you perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Love in Christ,
Elizabeth Cheryl
Ellie, Connie,
Bubbly, Bets,
Firecracker, Rosie,
Squeaks, Twitchy,
Shrimpy, Cheerio,
Shortcake, Pinkie,
& E!

3.31.2008

The Indispensables

After having gone to college for a little more than half a semester, I have compiled a list of indispensable items I keep in my backpack.

  • My little Bible - The words contained in this book will keep me from sin and sin will keep me from this book. God's gift to us is an ultimate treasure that I have learned to prize even more because of this college excursion. It's teeny tiny size is perfect for storing in a backpack that seems to gain weight by its existence (I've suggested a diet for it...). With God's Word at my fingertips, I can be exhorted and encouraged between classes! Thank God for Mr. Gutenerg!
  • Tide to Go Pen - or as Daniel nicknamed it, my Tide to Stay pen. It has saved almost all of my shirts from a stain-y demise with it's incredible stain-fighting abilities. I put it on and the stain is gone!
  • My Little Black Moleskin Book - I love this thing! I have a ruled moleskin where I record my ramblings, schedules, quotes, Bible verses, and doodlings.
  • Nano Stapler - (I have the pink one! Of course. )This stapler is not an ordinary stapler. It has gone through at least ten pages of printer paper no problem and no extra effort. I do not have to muster a lot of force to get this stapler to work. Plus, because it is small, I am the girl who always has a stapler to share.
I am on the last leg of this semester's journey. God is finishing the good work He started in me. He is good, and I am in awe of Him.

I will leave you with this quote...

"The stamp of the saint is not the metallic rapping out of a testimony to sanctification, but the true humility which shows the fierce purity of God in ordinary human flesh." - Amy Carmichael

May the God who is able to keep you from falling present you faultless before His presence with exceeding joy.

Love,
Elizabeth Cheryl
Ellie, Connie,
Bubbly, Bets,
Firecracker, Rosie,
Squeaks, Twitchy,
Shrimpy, Cheerio,
Shortcake, Pinkie,
& E!