Shalom,
Good Wednesday morning it’s June 30, 2021, I pray all is well. Hope what happens when it gets shattered by the struggles of life. Yesterday we left off talking about our Threefold Cord, hope is part of that cord. Our cords must be strengthened daily in order for us to maintain the courage we need to endure struggles. Our lives are also shadows but in order to receive our light we need the wisdom in Christ our God. Today’s readings and thoughts will come from Ecclesiastes 5:1-19 and Ecclesiastes 6:1-12.
“Until that Day comes...let us be about our Father’s business, knowing that our time is short. - The Day Approaching By: Amir Tsarfati
(Threefold Cord, Faith, Love, and Hope)
Ecclesiastes 5:1-19 Hope or Hopeless
Ecclesiastes 5:1-4: Do not be hasty with your mouth, and do not let your heart be quick to utter a word before God: For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; Therefore, let your words be few. For a dream comes in multitude of distractions, and the voice of a senseless man is with a multitude of words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it. For his will is not in senseless men. So pay whatever you vowed. Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
Ecclesiastes 5 is a passage about a man who allowed himself to lose all hope. His labor was to only satisfy his own hunger for his own needs. The flip side is in the light of Christ we have hope, joy, health, and a peace of mind. The man in the passage lacked a Threefold Cord; it seemed his had been cut and he ruined all chances of repairing it unless he turned to God. Yesterday we were heading to Walmart and we were driving on the Belt-line, and we had our windows down. The wind picked up just right when I got a smell that rocked my world.
One of my missions in Iraq was working with a KBR Recovery Team, and let me tell you this was interesting. We would take out these contractors so they could recover blown up equipment and return it back to the FOB (Forward Operating Base). We called this the GRAVEYARD, and many times these trucks would still be stained with US Soldiers blood. Sometimes the smell was unbearable especially with extreme heat and that wind kicked up just right. No, I would not be in the mood to eat the smell alone was enough to create vomiting. That’s what I smelt yesterday: the stench of something rotting, something dead, and Heather and the kids smelt as well. Today I’m struggling a little bit. Last night I couldn’t sleep at all, and yes I had a few nightmares. These were the first in months!
I’m sitting here trying not to lose my own faith and I know I will be fine. This too shall pass like everything else, but I guess we all need a booster every now and then. I’m not one to ask for a lot of things but I will ask for prayers. I will be okay. Let's continue to move on because the more I engage with the Bible; the better I feel.
“In order to maintain the integrity of our Threefold Cord. We can not lose our faith and hope in Christ our God!” - Jared W. Campbell
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 Life is Nothing more than a Shadow
Ecclesiastes 6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the soul. This also is vanity and is the choice of one’s spirit.
Life is no more than a shadow that makes sense to me. Our lives are a series of choices after choices ultimately impacting the lives we live. Our lives are temporary, nothing we have on this earth will make it to heaven with any of us. As Christians we can rejoice knowing the true wisdom of Christ our God. The soul that labors for the bread of life through Christ our God will obtain immortality. We will not be covered in darkness but in light, and live not a thousand years twice, but forever. John 6:55-58 (http://bib.ly/Jn6.55-58.NKJV)
“I’m no shadow but a new creation in Christ our God!” - Jared W. Campbell
Closing Prayer: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Father, I pray you help give me hope not to be a hopeless sheep wandering about lost! Lord, I ask you to give us all the faith and hope not to become shadows of the dark but a new creation in Christ our God. May our light in you my Lord never burn out. I pray this in the holy name of Yeshua (Jesus) Amen!
God Bless,
Jared W. Campbell
US Army Retired