Daily Strength for Men: An Unspectacular Life – Part 2
Passage: Verse in Context – Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Related Passage – Ecclesiastes 1:12-15
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is rooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Questions for Reflection and Application
Near the end of his life, the wealthiest man who ever lived said that the duty of every man is to fear God and keep his commandments. Period. What do you tend to add to that very short list?
At your funeral, for what do you want to be remembered?
How are you being obedient and faithful today? Where are you struggling to be obedient and faithful?
Prayer
Father, accomplishments do not measure a man’s worth. Help me to be obedient to your extraordinary plan for my ordinary life. Amen.
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Chris Bolinger. After 27 years in tech, mostly as a product manager, Chris started evitalize Ministries to help small-church leaders. He also served as an executive producer of the film “The Song.”
So, he decided to write a Daily Strength for Men Book which has sold over 200,000 copies. The book is the foundation of CLC’s Getting Real program, and a Spanish translation is now available. Chris’s latest devotional, 52 Weeks of Strength for Men, became available in April 2022.
A native of Akron, Ohio, Chris splits his time between northeast Ohio and southwest Florida. He became a grandfather in 2019. Find out more about Chris and his books at mensdevotionals.com.
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