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God, I confess that I have not always been the person You've created me to be. I sometimes failt to love You with my whole heart, mind and soul. I do not always love my neighbors as You love them. Please forgive me, God. Transform my heart and renew my mind so that I can draw closer to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

PSALM 29:10-11 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as King forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace.

The God who has authority over the heavens forever is also the God who is with us in this moment. As you reflect on God's power and authority, bring Him whatever words of worship come to mind.

JOHN 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Close your eyes and imagine you're sitting next to Jesus. What is He doing? As you imagine this, think about what's going on in your life right now. Share your concerns with Jesus and picture His response.

God, Today I give You all of me: every concern I have for the future, every present problem, and every past mistake. Purify my life, Lord. Make me new. Show me glimpses of Your divine nature and power by showing off through my life. in Jesus' name, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READING: ISAIAH 32-33 COLOSSIANS 1 A KING WILL REIGN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. 4The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands. COMPLACENT WOMEN WARNED OF DISASTER Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice; 5until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. 16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. Happy are you who sow beside all waters, O LORD, BE GRACIOUS TO US O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, 6 and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure. He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. 17 Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us. no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity. GREETING Grace to you and peace from God our Father. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER We always thank God, we pray for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; THE PREEMINENCE OF CHRIST He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. he is the head of the body, the church. in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23if indeed you continue in the faith PAUL'S MINISTRY TO THE CHURCH To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

ECCLESIASTES 5:13-20 VANITY OF WEALTH AND HONOR riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14and those riches were lost in a bad venture. what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. INSIGHT In Ecclesiastes, Solomon seeks to answer the perplexing question of the meaning of life. He shows that life without God is futile, unfulfilling, miserable, and meaningless “under the sun” (see 1:3, 13-14; 12:8). Then he explains how and why God must fit into our lives (2:24-26; 3:11-14; 5:7, 18-20). He examines human accomplishments, pleasures, and intellectual pursuits (chs. 1-2); the repetitive mundane existential/experiential life (ch. 3); and social interactions and community (ch. 4). Though accumulating wealth through hard work in itself isn’t wrong, pursuing materialism for its own sake brings disillusionment and despair (chs. 5-6). But the person who reverently worships and fears God (5:1-7) will see and enjoy the fruit of his labor as a gift from God (vv. 18-20). Solomon offers us this recipe for a fulfilled life: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (12:13).

See how the wisdom of Ecclesiastes matches the teaching of Jesus.

By: K.T. Sim

A CAUTIONARY TALE In the classic film Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane amasses wealth and power by building a newspaper empire. In a story reminiscent of Ecclesiastes 2:4-11, Kane spares himself no pleasure, building a castle with grand gardens full of artistic treasures.

Like other tycoons, what Kane really wants is adulation. He bankrolls his own political career and, when it fails, he blames the defeat on voter “fraud” to save face. He builds his wife an opera house and forces her into an ill-suited singing career to make him look good. Here too Kane’s story echoes Ecclesiastes, where wealth is found to harm those who chase and hoard it (5:10-15), leaving them eating “in darkness, with great frustration” (5:17). By the end of his life, Charlie Kane lives in that castle alone, isolated and angry.

Citizen Kane ends with the revelation that Charlie’s pursuits have been driven to fill a void in his heart—the parental love he lost as a child. I can imagine the author of Ecclesiastes agreeing. Our Father God has “set eternity in the human heart” (3:11), and life can only be enjoyed with Him (2:25). Charlie Kane’s cautionary tale speaks to us all: Don’t seek spiritual fulfilment through wealth and power, but through the one who pours His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).

By: Sheridan Voysey

REFLECT AND PRAY How do you see yourself imitating Charlie Kane? What spiritual need does God need to meet in you today?

Loving God, please forgive my attempts to feel important through buying things or seeking praise. My spiritual need can only be met by You! in Jesus' name, Amen.

BELIEVING FOR A MOVE OF GOD EMBRACE HOLY INTERRUPTIONS REFLECTION How interruptible are you? Peter and John were going somewhere they had been before, perhaps even twice already that day when God broke in and interrupted their lives. The God who met them at Pentecost is still meeting them afresh each day, leading, prompting, and interrupting their lives.

The Aramaic word for prayer is Slotha. It literally means “to set a trap.” “To set your mind like a trap and wait patiently to catch the thoughts of God.” It could almost mean “tuning in.” Prayer tunes us into God’s voice and enables us to remain tuned in as we go about our day. We need a prayer life that is open to INTERRUPTIONS, we need a life that is open to the spontaneous promptings of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER Lord, we want to be tuned in to you, attentive to your promptings and leadings as you commission us to share your gospel. May we hear you clearly as we seek to proclaim your kingdom to the world around us. in Jesus' name, Amen.