From Pastor Ben
Trivia:
So did you guess, Which prophet anointed David as king? Elijah, Saul, Jeremiah, or Samuel? Well, if you guessed Samuel, you were right. Way to go!!!
Here is another trivia bit. In which year was the very first model of the iPhone released? Was it 2005 or 2007, maybe 2008, or was it 2009? Make your guess, and we'll see just who can guess the right year.
Challenge:
Ecclesiastes 7:8
"Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride."
Here we are reminded of the second obstacle to gaining wisdom: impatience (vs 7). Solomon is reminding us here of two positive qualities; faithfulness/consistency, and patience/determination which are both necessary for purposeful success in any area of our life.
We have all known people who are great at starting good things, but are weak in the followup technique. They have great visionary qualities but lack the ability to follow up their dreams. The pathway of many visions are strewn with many great ideas but with very little follow-up and even less attempts with patience at finding solutions. Every small and large accomplishment in life requires both of these qualities.
The Bible gives us some background in these qualities: Ephesians 4:2 says "... Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love." Patience fits a man for God's approval as we see in Romans 5:3,4: "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation."
Yet pride fits him for destruction. Proverbs 16:18,19 reveals this: "The path of the virtuous leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe. 18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall."
True confession! I've never regretted the times that I've waited on the Lord for His affirmation in attempting a new direction either personally or regarding new endeavors in ministry. However, I must admit, that waiting for His affirmation is not one of my strong qualities in life.
SO GO WITH GOD, for He will give you the stamina for following this guidance as we see in the Psalms. Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." And Psalm 37:34 states, "Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it."
My guess is 2007