Lena's Journalin' to Rock Church's Daily Bread Readings for TODAY Eccl 10 ++

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
1Dead flies will cause even a bottle of perfume to stink! Yes, an ounce of foolishness can outweigh a pound of wisdom and honor.
2The hearts of the wise lead them to do right, and the hearts of the foolish lead them to do evil. 3You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street!
4If your boss is angry with you, don't quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.
5There is another evil I have seen as I have watched the world go by. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6if they give foolish people great authority, and if they fail to give people of proven worth their rightful place of dignity. 7I have even seen servants riding like princes—and princes walking like servants.
8When you dig a well, you may fall in. When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake. 9When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you! When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax! Such are the risks of life.
10Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
11It does no good to charm a snake after it has bitten you.
12It is pleasant to listen to wise words, but the speech of fools brings them to ruin.
13Since fools base their thoughts on foolish premises, their conclusions will be wicked madness.
14Foolish people claim to know all about the future and tell everyone the details! But who can really know what is going to happen?
15Fools are so exhausted by a little work that they have no strength for even the simplest tasks.
16Destruction is certain for the land whose king is a child F7 and whose leaders feast in the morning. 17Happy is the land whose king is a nobleman and whose leaders feast only to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.
18Laziness lets the roof leak, and soon the rafters begin to rot.
19A party gives laughter, and wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!
20Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don't make fun of a rich man, either. A little bird may tell them what you have said.
FOOTNOTES:F7: Or whose king is a servant.


Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

~ Lena’s Journalin’~
Wisdom is knowledge applied. It’s one thing to see something, and another to know of it and a whole ‘nother thing to apply what one sees and knows, especially inside of one’s own life. Religion has become so self exalting in nature.
We have actually thought we are something when we see something, and that is good to see “evil”. How can one conquer what they do not see, correct? Yet seeing is only the first step. Let’s present an example. I see that impatience is not a good fruit and should become a goal to overcome. I see that Jane is impatient and should change, I see that Melanie is being impatient with her kids and shouldn’t be that way, I see that Amber is impatient when she drives and she really needs to grow up, right? I see all of that in my three friends and after awhile I feel the need as a Christian to tell them about their faults, because if I tell them they will be able to see the fault and do something about it. Maybe I’ll save them from being hated or something, maybe I can help them change in this area. In fact the impatience in them starts to bug me and I decide I’ve had about enough, all I can take, and I decide I may not be able to hang around them anymore unless they change. Now I really have to tell them about their “sin”, right?
I’m looking at the speck in their eyes and it’s really bugging me, in fact I think it is hindering them from being close to God. I feel compelled to judge them.
So I saw something, now I’m pretty righteous huh, because I can see, what I perceive others can’t, right?
I saw something for prayer’s sake, and for self examination’s sake. I saw, now do I know enough to examine my own life in that area deeply? Will I take and look in the mirror at the speck or log in my own eye that is reflective of this characteristic? Am I impatient in any way? Not just the ways I see displayed in them, but anyway? Once I examine myself what do I do with the information? Do I find God’s word for my fault, repent and live out change? THAT is wisdom, sight plus knowledge applied.
After I have proven this through the application of God’s word. I might through love want to go to my friend and teach what I learned to them, not merely what I see written about their ailment, but what I’ve lived. I’m the living word of God in the earth. I’m love in demonstration. My suggestion for other’s change is not because of judgment, but because of love. Love compels me to be change and show another how by living it out. Even better would be that I tell by my life and in being the demonstration of life to my three friends, being patient with them, they may ask me “how I do it?”
Quitting is the big American escape mentality. Why do we always think to quit everything that even resembles hardship? Our society is a divorce filled society, a covenant, contract breaking society. We must combat this in the spirit by living out covenant, by demonstrating unity and stick to it-iveness, no matter what. You go to a church they offend you, you leave. You go to work, they don’t do it your way, you leave, a store doesn’t serve you, you leave, the list is endless. We go on strike. We protest, we demand our way. Love gives. Period. Love does not take, demand, require etc. Love gives and receives, and if it doesn’t receive from the men it gives to (i.e. your boss, husband, children church etc) it looks to God to receive more of the love He has to give, to be able to give more and more of those who will take it.
Everyone loves an unselfish giver, everyone loves someone they can receive from over and over again. God also loves a cheerful giver. Love Give and God is love. Does love live in us? It’s increase and measure is shown and proven by how much we can or do give and where we refill our ability to give more from.
Who are our present day kings? The word says believers are kings and priests unto God. A king is identified by those who are served unselfishly by His giving life. One who gives becomes a king in the eyes of the receiver. So you’ve been given a job, is your boss the king? So you’ve been given a home and a family, is your spouse king? Or does it have to be gifts as you deem and desire? Does it have to be your way for you to bless and reciprocate service? Time for a fit check. This is what it means to die daily, take up your cross and follow Jesus. We allow God to look inside of us to change us inside and out by deliberate actions taken by us to live His words to us – daily.
Is the word sharpening your sword through my journalin’? If so you are changing and becoming as iron in God’s kingdom, His power is going to be able to use you to win spiritual battles against His enemies.
Do you love to go to God’s house to hear more of His word, to receive more of His power for further growth and change? Or do you avoid God’s house and His chosen people? This is a heart issue, the quitting mentality and it’s “fruit” alive in us. Let’s grow fruits of repentance and make things that were wrong right, lets go to the house of god with joy and work out the quirks. Let’s work out the quirks at work or at home.I didn’t say make it our way, but go in with a new attitude of proving love to a world who is waiting to see it displayed unconditionally. Hypocrisy? Squelch it out in me first. Love God, Love people. Be God to people. Love covers multitudes of sin, of shortcomings, of mistakes, of imperfections, of stinky flesh….
I was glad when they said let US go to the house of the Lord, this is where the practice sessions start. This is where we get the water to put out fires.

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Proverbs 27:17-19
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. 18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored.
19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
Psalm 122:1
1 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.