If you guessed Tomatoes your were absolutely correct. Just think about it for a minute; Tomatoes are the base for pizza, salad ingredient, they have been used in food for more than 2,500 years, in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, are considered an essential food base for hundreds of dishes, etc. On top of that they have many essential ingredients, vitiman A & C, lycopene, potassium, etc. Imagine this, in the US alone over 170 million tons of tomatoes are being produced ever year. Wow, amazing isn't it?
On the lighter side; Do you know what the trashcan says when the leftovers get thrown away? Well of course, What a waste. That's a stretch, huh?
Tuesday 8/8
Eccl. 2:26-3:1a "God gives wisdom. knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please Him... For everything there is a season,"
This verse talks about one of the most used words found in Ecclesiastes -- "God gives". This verse describes our Father's relationship to us His children. In fact this phrase appears 11 times in this book always with God as the provider.
Then the next verse rolls into the thought that there are natural outcomes in life. In other words many of the events in life, are not just God's intention to control. In fact many events in life are the natural outcome of our actions.
If we look about mankind there are many benefits passed on to His children for walking in fellowship with Him. For instance, there are blessings passed onto His children as they frequently gather in His presence as a family.
You may ask, just what are they? Here are just a few, better health, longer life, greater generosity, more stable home life, tendency for greater personal relationships, better tendency for mental stability, fewer tendencies for drug & alcohol dependency, to name a few. In fact if you took time to meditate on this, you could probably arrive at many more benefits which you have witnessed.
With this glorious benefit, we ask ourselves this question. Why are more Americans becoming "Dechurched?" In fact the stats are that 40million people have stopped attending church over the last 25 years, which comes to about 12% of our population. This is the greatest shift that has occurred in our national history.
Do you sense the consequences of this shift? I wonder in fact, Will the institutions & communities that have preserved our faith as a nation exist for our children, grandchildren, etc.? I fear that this flow of attrition will bring great harm to those that we love. In fact, could you ever have imagined the possibility that todays culture with as many scientific strides that we have achieved, would be considering the question; What is a woman?
The challenges of our present day, attempting to change gender, to this present days feelings, pursuing the possibility of men becoming pregnant bearing children, etc. All of these difficulties present in our day, actually helps us to see the necessity of these verses.
God being the provider of wisdom, joy, enrichment, etc. ,as well as, the protector of true success, and prosperity. If mankind were the provider of these things, what would our world be like today?
Boys becoming girls would not be halted by the ultimate outcome (disappointment, dissatisfaction, etc.) of these decisions. Though that is the new "thing" in our present day, it is just a matter of time for it to be rejected, for our Heavenly Father stands as the guard over these foolish ways. Sadly, many innocent people will be harmed.
Going back to the decline of attendance of present day believers to the gathering of God's family together in communion & fellowship, renewal of our walk with our eternal Father. I can't help but feel that this vacancy in the lives of so many believers is connected to this trend. Zoom, TV, radio, you tube, face book, though a present day form of interaction, etc. are no substitute for believers gathering together in real live contact with each other.
So Go With God for He is the arbritator of blessing & loss for all mankind. Rather than the feeling of rebellion towards Him for providing blessing & harm from our actions. We should rather be grateful for His intervention in our lives to protect us from wasting our days towards foolish ends. He guards us from getting off track in our lives. Rather, He points out our weakness, inconsistencies, which ultimately may bring harm to our lives.
What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord