what is my purpose? – Be Still…

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 – The Meaning of Life

Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes should be interesting because it has traditionally been a bit controversial. The book is believed to be written by King Solomon, late in his life, after living much of his life apart from God. His reflections look back on his life, and we’ll no doubt see a lot of parallels to our world today. You’ll soon discover Solomon’s frustrations with life.

As we let the Holy Spirit guide us through this book, we’ll see how important it is to fear God and obey his commands. We’ll encounter contradiction, pessimism, and opinions of the wise king. You may recall Solomon asked God for wisdom when he first became king. God granted his request, and Solomon became the wisest in the land. It’s my prayer that Solomon’s wisdom will draw us closer to God.

Nehemiah 12:1-26 – Worship

Read Nehemiah 12:1-26

Up to now, we have been seeing how Nehemiah is shaping up the returnees, so they don’t fall out of God’s good graces again. Here are more lists supporting the people in charge of renewing the people and keeping them properly focused.

Let’s focus on verse 24. It says, “These were the family leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, and other associates, who stood opposite them during the ceremonies of praise and thanksgiving, one section responding to the other, as commanded by David, the man of God.” It appears Nehemiah is prescribing a worship format, fashioned after King David’s command.

Philippians 1:20-26 – Why Am I Here?

Read Philippians 1:20-26

images of people with question marks above their heads in thought bubbles

I can still see myself sitting at the kitchen table in my pajamas as a teen. After everyone had gone to bed, and the house was quiet, I wrote. I wrote a lot of things in a journal questioning my purpose. I suppose you could say I was talking to God on those pages. I may have even written “Dear God” at the top of some of those rants.

Even still today, I ask God daily to show me my purpose, how I can best walk this journey of faith with him close. These words of Paul really resonate with me today, and I feel a kindred spirit with him and how he sees his own journey.

Romans 6:1-11 Your Purpose in the Kingdom

Read Romans 6:1-11

girl looking over the water with her arms up in the air as if in joy for knowing her purpose

This whole chapter in Romans talks about sin, but we’re just looking at the first 11 verses. There’s plenty of nuggets here for us to cherish. Since our theme is “Seeking the Kingdom of God,” we may be thinking that we’re looking for a place. Where is the kingdom of God exactly? For purposes of our reflections, it’s where Jesus rules as king. That should be in our lives here and now, just as well as our eternal home in heaven.

Our reading today talks about how the power of sin has been broken. That’s a good thing because our sin is what puts a wedge between us and God. Paul’s words are challenging to understand at first, aren’t they? Paul describes how our lives are changed because of what Jesus did for us. Jesus paid for our sins with his life.