Day of Death

A good name is better than precious ointment, 
and the day of death than the day of birth. 
*2* It is better to go to the house of mourning 
than to go to the house of feasting, 
for this is the end of all mankind, 
and the living will lay it to heart. 
Ecclesiastes 7:1-2

It seems odd, doesn’t it, that Solomon considers the day of death better than the day of life? Death better than birth?

These verses can seem a bit hard to read as we don’t like to think of death, particularly in the sense that Solomon mentions - that mourning is preferable to celebration, but death is a reality that is coming us all. It is more certain than most things in our lives. It’s more certain than many things in life like; marriage, kids, job, holidays or even if we are going to eat today. Most of these things we take for granted, we expect them to happen to us and we can spend a lot of time preparing for them.
So, considering the verses above - Are you spending as much time (or any) preparing for the one event that is most certain of all - your dying day?

I am not trying to be morbid here, or to imply that we should have detailed funeral plans laid out, but lets consider the fact that we are going to die for a few moments - are you ready for it?

I realise some people will think this a morbid topic to ponder on, but I think it’s an essential one to recognise. One day our Earthly life will end, and our life after will begin.
If you are a christian it’s not bad news as you expect to live beyond your Earthly death. If you believe and trust in God and Jesus, Jesus himself said that he’s preparing a place for you (John 14:3). This fact should fill us with hope. It should be something that we are looking forward to - Jesus is getting ready for us - that’s kind of exciting!

Yet the reality is that at the point of death we then enter into the unknown - that’s the bit that scares me. We do not know exactly what happens at that point, but I, like Solomon I guess, link the day of death to the day of birth. I imagine our dying day to be like when we are born. As a baby, we are alive in our mother’s womb, then the day comes when our womb days die and we are born into another reality - it’s scary and different. Could death be like that?

Our earthly days are those of preparation for being born into a new reality that we couldn’t of previously conceived. It is not that we cease to exist, but that we are birthed into a new realm, an eternal one. Just as our days in the womb were relatively few in number compared to our life on Earth, so our life on Earth is relatively short compared to our eternal life. Therefore, shouldn’t we be preparing for this eternity more than we are settling and making comfortable our lives on Earth?

It is great to prepare for life, to make plans and organise things, it is good to celebrate too, but are you prepared for what happens after all these things end? Are you prepared for the time when celebrations end and the life that is mourned is your own?
I do not mean that we should have all our funeral plans wrapped up and ready, but  what I do mean is; Are you living your life in such a way that you are ready for the end of it? Do you know what’s coming next and live in light of that?

None of us know when our last day will be, and we don’t like to think about it, it’s a kind of taboo. Yet, this event is certain. The day of death is coming, and it shouldn’t be a day to fear.

Solomon is encouraging us through these verses to not get caught up in the events of this Earth unless you are taking them into consideration of the wider eternal plan. We can get mixed up in  many distractions, that if we consider them on an eternal perspective probably will not have much significance. What is your focus and aim of your life on Earth? Do these objectives have an eternal perspective?

This is why Solomon is saying that the day of mourning is better than the day of celebration because it causes us to pause in our lives and consider. He has observed humanity throughout his life of wisdom and made some conclusions. He sees that when a baby is born, we celebrate, we congratulate, people are generally happy, it is fun and joyous to have new life in the world and we focus on this event and the opportunities it brings. On the day of death, the people present mourn, feel sadness, maybe regret and acknowledgement that there may be unfinished business. These people are considering death, and have an opportunity to recognise their own mortality. They may consider the meaning and purpose of their own life. They could contemplate how they wish to be remembered and what is going to happen when they die. We face some of life’s big questions when we think about a life ending. These kind of questions are not usually faced on a daily basis, and rarely come up in times of celebration. The day of mourning can bring long-term life-changing considerations. Whereas the celebrations of birth bring a temporary joy. This is why Solomon values the days of mourning more. Not because he’s morbid or likes a good cry, but because the meaning of your life can be challenged, and that can effect the rest of your life.

Have you considered your life in this light? Have you ever thought about the big questions of life - where is your life going and even more importantly where are you going after this life?

There are two choices on how you live your life now and hereafter - with God or without God. How you live your life now, here on Earth, will determine where your life after death will be. Are you going to be with God or not?
The day is coming. For those who believe in God and trust in Jesus, it’s not a terrifying day (or shouldn’t be). We have assurances that Jesus has gone ahead and prepared our place - has he prepared yours?

A Good Name

‘A good name is better than precious ointment’ 
Ecclesiastes 7:1

A 'good name' - what does that mean?
A name is more than an identifier - a tag or label to set you apart from others.
For the Jews, in the time of Solomon, a name signified something of who they are and what they will be. In 1 Samuel 25:25 it says, ‘as his name is, so is he’ - a name is about the essence of who you are, not just what you are called. It is more than an identifier, it depicts elements of character, personality and potential.

So, to be of ‘good name’ is not just about having a nice name with a meaning or story. It is far more foundational. Being of ‘good name’ is connected with the basis of who we are - our character, reputation and potential. Our name emanates meaning beyond a title. It is not just a tag but a fundamental exhibitiion of who we are.

Your name carries significance. 

Not just because your parents chose it, or because it has a a sweet story attached, but because your character, reputation and potential are attached to it. It may be that you’re not sure about the meaning of your name.
My name, ‘Natalie’  is attached to the words birth and Christmas Day (I was born in April!). So, I may be excused from thinking that my name is irrelevant, as I clearly wasn’t born on Christmas and I have never given birth! Maybe I was just given the name because my parents’ thought it sounded nice.
Yet, this verse tells us there is more to it than that, as does the verse in Samuel. We have our names for a purpose. They are intended to demonstrate something of who we are and what we can become. I do not know how I will live up to my name, but I have been given it and maybe there are things that will be given birth to through my life (I hope so).

It’s not all about the actual name definitions found in every baby book, but to have a good name includes having a good, moral, upright, and admired character. Solomon is saying a good name is highly valued, precious, significant, they are ‘precious ointment’ - something valuable and curative. Our names should do people good when they hear them, they should leave others with a pleasant aroma.

What does your name say about you? Have you ever considered the connotations people will have to your name after meeting you? Does your name seem precious to those who utter it?

Our God The King

Today we are going to consider royalty.
How do we treat and respond to those who are royal?

Most people respond with a sense of awe when they come across royalty. A friend of ours recently saw the Queen in her car. So, we got told us the story, if someone saw me in a car I doubt there’d be much to tell, yet, it was the Queen, so we all listened intently to this close encounter. How cool that our friend got to see the Queen, even if only for a few moments, she smiled, didn’t wave or speak, but to see her go passed was enough to tell a good tale. Onlookers were, naturally,  excited and photo-happy, wouldn’t you be if you saw a monarch?! This was only a passing encounter, but think about if one of us were invited to meet a monarch! Wow! Wouldn’t that be something?! I’m sure there would be great excitement and great preparation going on; What to wear? What to say? How would to travel? Along with many other considerations It’d be an important occasion, probably a once in a lifetime opportunity.
How would you feel? I’d feel excited, bit scared and especially honoured. That’s natural, isn’t it? meeting the leader of a country, a crowned King or Queen,  an internationally renowned and respected public figure, what a significant occasion, what a privilege.

The thing is, we get the opportunity, and the invitation to meet with a King daily.

What do I mean? Well, people often refer to God as King.
He is far more important and powerful than any of these earthly monarchs that we have been talking about. To them we impart so much awe and respect - do we do the same for Our God the King? The One who is in fact the King of all of them?

It is this King, Our God King, who invites us each and every day to spend time with Him. We don’t need a special invitation, to dress in a particular way or go somewhere significant to meet with Him, we can, but we don’t have to.  Our God the King doesn’t expect us to approach Him in a particular manner, He invites us just as we are, and he’ll even come to us - Isn’t that awesome?!

So, if we do consider our great God a King, shouldn’t we attribute something of the awe and respect we give our earthly monarchs to Him also? If we are invited into the presence of The King each day, should our hearts bear a sense of preparedness? Should we acknowledge His awesome presence and power? And possible feel a bit scared and excited about meeting with Him?
I ask this as I know that I take for granted that I can access God whenever I want. I can pray to Him and read abut Him whenever I like, and I can approach Him in quite a relaxed manner. I am not saying that this is wrong, but sometimes, do you think we should be overawed by whose presence we are entering into? Should we we, before approaching our King, recall His awesomeness? His majesty? His glory and power?
If you and I do that, even for a few moments before we pray - how would that effect our prayer life?



The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.
Psalm 103:19

For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.
Psalm 47:2

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

Whatever has come to be has already been named

'10Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.' 
 Ecclesiastes 6:10.

‘Whatever has come to be has already been named,’ - Whatever has happened in your life has already happened to someone else - Did you know that?

You may think your circumstances are unique, difficult, different, yet others have previously experienced the same as you.
Hopefully this gives you comfort, encouragement and relief. Whatever you are going through, there’s someone around who can appreciate your circumstances, or there’s someone that’s been in the same position before. That’s what Solomon is saying here, he has also stated previously that, ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
People in the past, present and future will have the same experiences as you, and they will probably have similar reactions and emotional responses as you.

If this is true though, why do we feel so alone? 

That’s a common response. Any time of trial can cause us to feel like we are; inadequate, weird, different and that no-one can possibly understand or appreciate our unique situation. Yet, the Bible here clearly says that whatever has happened has happened before and will happen again. So why do we feel so closed off and isolated? So different and distraught?

Well, it’s probably because our old enemy, the devil, likes us to think that no-one will understand us. He whispers to us that we are different, alone and odd. We hear these whispered lies in our minds that no-one can relate to us, that there is no point in talking about how we feel or what is going on because there’s something wrong or different with us that no-one will understand or be interested in. We can end up feeling that we are weird, unloved and alone.

I know that you probably feel like that at times because I have too.

I have believed these lies that I am different, weird, unwanted. I have kept my own thoughts and feelings private for many years. I have been convinced that I am weird and that my situation is different to anyone else so no-one could understand me or would want to even try.
Believing these thoughts kept my mouth shut, and kept the pain in. I ended up believing the worst things that rattled around my head, and no-one else knew. I can put on a good act, pretend it’s all ok, even laugh and participate in different things even though my own mind was eating up all my worth, my joy and peace. I am sure you can do this too.
If you don’t tell anyone your thoughts, no-one else knows about the battles in your mind. On the outside you may seem ok, yet there can be battles raging inside of you, wrestling with your worth, joy and peace as well.

I implore you - don’t wrestle alone.
Don’t let the devil win.
He whispers lies into your mind to keep you apart from others. He wants you to feel isolated, depressed and worthless. Today, wake up and realise there is hope. There is no insignificant thought or feeling, if it’s bugging you then it’s important, and you are loved and valued by others who will honour the opportunity to speak into your life.
We all, at some part of our lives encounter what we would consider an awful or embarrassing problem, or maybe its even the way we react to circumstances that even we think is a bit odd - don’t worry, you’re not so unique, its already been experienced by someone else. Other people have been where you are, and can relate to whatever it is you’re struggling with, that’s what this verse tell us, ‘Whatever has come to be has already been named’.

If you don’t know what to do - Pray. Pray about your struggles and about who to talk to. Then, be brave and approach them. You may be surprised by their reaction - they might just be able to relate to your circumstances, or at least empathise with your emotions. I have experienced this when I was really struggling with something. I prayed, and one particular friend came into mind. I had to overcome the fear of speaking out how I was feeling and allow my friend to speak truth and dispel the myth that I was so different and weird! It gave me great relief and comfort to be realise I was not alone in my internal struggles, I had someone I could trust. It immediately dispelled the lies that the enemy was speaking to me - I was not alone or weird, I was not different and I didn't have to fight a lonely fight any longer. The amazing thing was that although my situation didn't change by talking it through, the enemy couldn't continue to whisper these lies to me anymore because I had discovered that I was not alone, I was able to be understood and that released my mind to be able to deal with what was going on.
Do you need that kind of freedom too?
If you need some lies dispelled, are struggling, feel isolated or depressed - be brave and tell somebody. Not just anybody, but ask God for inspiration of who to speak to, then be brave and speak. This could be the start of a new phase of freedom for your life.

Guard your steps

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
Ecclesiastes 5:1.

Consider this verse and what it means - ‘Guard your steps…’ to me it seems to be asking; What is your posture as you go to meet with fellow believers?
Not just your physical posture, but the state of your heart and mind. If we guard our steps, we consider them, we protect their journey and think about the purpose of them. Guarding our steps is different to being on autopilot where you have just got into a routine. We can treat meeting with other believers like that can’t we?! Just a routine thing that we do, just like brushing our teeth almost. It can be that attending church, home group or prayer meetings becomes routine.
I am not sure that when I meet with other believers I do it with a recognition of the reverence and holiness of God that this ‘guarding our steps’ implies. This phrase shows me that we should; plan, protect and prepare ourselves before we gather together, we should be mindful of where we are and what we are doing.
 Why do you go to these meetings? Is it with an awe and reverence for God? Is it to catch up with friends? feel good about yourself? Is it merely routine? Or did you go with a recognition that you are getting together with others who believe and trust in the almighty God, just as you are?
I doubt many, if we are really honest with ourselves truly consider the last option each time we meet. I know that I have sometimes gone to church distracted thinking; I must talk to this person, tick this job off the list, make sure I am there to work on whatever team I’m on this week. These things are part of life, and saving and looking out for one another are good. But we should also recall our purpose for meeting together in the first place, When we meet, God is with us. We shouldn’t take this for granted.
Having an awareness of whose presence we are coming towards should inspire us. It is a privilege to meet together and honour God and to be in His presence. We should be purposeful as we enter the place where we give him glory and approach Him.

I am sure if we had an invitation to meet a king or queen, we would be rather excited, nervous and we would most certainly prepare ourselves! Well, as we enter the presence of God we are entering the presence of the King of Kings! One far more fearful and powerful than the latest reigning monarch. As we come together, worship, pray, learn, teach and inspire each other we also enter the presence of the Highest King.

So, this week, or the next time you meet with others who believe try to consider these things, guard your steps and make sure the posture of your heart is ready to receive it’s King!

Be ready to be inspired to be generous.

I have noticed over the past few weeks how the theme of generosity has been cropping up for us as a family. We have been taking part in a 40 Acts of generosity challenge so maybe that’s part of it, but we have also been hearing stories of extraordinary, generous living.
So, the theme of generosity has been mulling about in my mind. I have noticed that everyday opportunities to be generous are all around us, are we making the most of them? (Even if it can seem a bit weird!)
Whether it’s being generous with your speech, your time or your money, what you invest has ongoing effects.

I was even considering the other day - what would the journey of a £1 coin look like from it’s manufacture? How many pairs of hands has it passed through? How many banks? tills? How many pavements has it rested on? How many purses?
 A single £1 coin has a story to tell. That coin has been an important sum to some, an investment for others, a gift for a few and a commodity to many. That £1 has meant much to many. Yet, the value of the coin isn’t so much it’s monetary value, but the worth of it is measured by it’s usage; you can save it, spend it, lose it, invest it, donate it. A single coin has a multiple of options open to it. So, my question to you is - what are you doing with the coins in your hands? Maybe you don’t have any coins, but you do have some form of treasure whatever it may be; money, skills, time, resources. These things are your treasure that you can choose to put to use how you want to. There are a multitude of choices. What are you going to do with what you have in your hands? What is the next stage of the journey of your treasure? You have responsibility for what you have got whilst you have got it, so how are you going tout these things to work?

I have a simple story to tell you along these lines this week, as our treasure was rhubarb!

The other day we discovered that there’s rhubarb growing in our newly-acquired-overgrown allotment, it was a hidden treasure as it’s take us 5 moths to find it! So my daughter and I  picked some - 9 sticks in total, some for us and  some for the neighbours.

As we were walking home with our 9 stalks of rhubarb, we saw a dog-walker who commented on our bundle, we asked if he wanted any- and he walked away with 3 stalks.
When we got home, I chopped off the leaves, cut up 3 sticks and stewed it (rhubarb crumble here we come!). It wasn’t until later when my daughter came into the kitchen that she asked about how much rhubarb we had. So, I reminded her; we picked 9, gave 3 to the dog-walker, we stewed 3…. She then told me that wasn’t right. So, I explained again. Again she told me that wasn’t right - it didn’t add up. So I asked her why. She told me that 9-3-3 is (not surprisingly) 3. Yet we had 5 stalks left!
This made me smile, so I said that clearly God has been at it again! He multiplied the fish and loaves to feed the 5,000 and now he’s multiplied the rhubarb to feed the neighbours!

I have no idea why God would do this, but it was a beautiful little miracle that shows the reality of God to us and our kids. It shows the lavish generosity of God. Why would He do that? I don’t know - maybe it was just because He wanted to!
How can we not be generous when we have a God that does things like this?! He makes 9-3-3 equal to 5!

It also struck me how when we put our mind to give away what we have got, God has a habit of multiplying your capability to continue to give. As a family we have cut back many times, wages have reduced, time has been precious, things have gone wrong, but God has always, always taken care of us. We have had times when it doesn’t make sense for us to have money in the account, yet we have.

It seems God may be challenging us again to step up into a new level of generosity. However He does it, whatever He asks us to do, i pray that we will have the confidence to do it because He can increase whatever we give. However scary His ask, I want to say yes because I know He will never let us down. He will press down and increase the little treasure we have. Just like rhubarb and the £1 coin - who knows the journey our treasure is going on? How many lives will be effected? How many hands will what we once had pass into?

Be ready to be inspired to be generous.

Is it all vanity?

The book of Ecclesiastes says a lot about vanity. That many things in life are ‘vanity’. These things include; Working, seeing, hearing, ’New’ concepts, pleasure, wisdom, foolishness, gardening, building, treasure, having wealth, being the boss. All vanity! There’s not a lot left if all these things are counted as ‘vanity’!

So, what is vanity? It’s defined as ’brief and unsubstantial, emptiness’.

The things that we can invest our time and pleasure in can all be summed up as brief and unsubstantial emptiness. Now, I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t make me feel very good - To think that all my efforts conclude in brief and unsubstantial emptiness! The book of Ecclesiastes says about these things that there will be ‘’no enduring remembrance’ (2:16).

So are all our works, our efforts, our toil worth nothing? Are they all but a puff of smoke that vanishes in the wind that dissipates into the atmosphere with no lasting effect? Will they disappear into ‘no enduring remembrance’?

Are all things are vanity?

None of us wish to think so. None of us want to think that our lives are worthless or that they will have no impact on the world around us. Personally, I don’t think it’s true either.

The things listed are all stuff. They are all things we can get busy with, things we can take for granted, but is there deeper purpose behind it all?

A lot depends on our motives for what we are doing.  Do you have purpose behind the things you do? Do you have long-term goals? And do your short-term actions fit with those goals? In essence - are you working for purpose?

If you are not working with a purpose then the things in your life can all seem like vanity. They can feel like they are unsubstantial, brief and empty.

So, today, remember  and evaluate the purpose to what you have and what you do; The things you have, the job you do, the skills, abilities and qualities within you and the culture you’re in are all for purpose.
You don’t have to live in an empty cycle that is brief and unsubstantial. You can make changes today to build a life of purpose.