"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame." - Song of Songs 8:6

Dashrath Manjhi was a poor laborer in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India. One day in 1966, his wife Falguni Devi took a serious fall and hurt herself. She needed quick medical assistance, but that wasn’t possible due to the hill that isolated their small village from the next town that had a hospital. Tragically, his wife died from the serious injuries before Dashrath could do anything about it. It was the night when Dashrath Manjhi decided to carve a small path through the mountain in order to give his village easier access to medical assistance.

It was an ambitious plan and he was heavily ridiculed for it. But after working for 22 years, using hand tools and with the greatest determination and willpower, a path was carved into the hill. Even though he was initially mocked and ridiculed for his mission to give his hometown easier access to the nearby town, he finally succeeded. His life’s work of love helped to reduce the distance between the two towns from 55 km to only 15 km, so that never again such a thing would happen. He is remembered as the "Mountain Man" because he moved a mountain for the love of his life. 

God’s love built a way for us to end our isolation from Him. It is the way of the Cross. Today in prayer, give thanks to Jesus that His love triumphs over all.

"God loves each of us as if there were only one of us to love." - Augustine

God's Word: "The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." - Jeremiah 31:3

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 11:10

In his work “The Waste Of Worry”, author Brad Stevens wrote the following:

“If we were to keep a record of all the things we worried about during a given period of time, we would discover--in reviewing them--that the great majority of our anticipated problems or troubles never come to pass. This means that most of the time we devote to worrying, even the constructive kind that prompts us to try to come up with a solution to what is troubling us, is wasted. Thus, we not only caused ourself unnecessary mental anguish, but also took up valuable minutes and hours that could have been spent elsewhere.  To avoid this, it is often necessary to subject potential sources of worry to the coldly objective and analytical light of reason. Once, sortly before a major concert before a standing-room- only audience, a member of Arturo Toscanini's orchestra approached the great Italian conductor with an expression of sheer terror on his face. "Maestro," the musician fretted, "my instrument is not working properly. I cannot reach the note of E-flat. Whatever will I do? We are to begin in a few moments."  Toscanini looked at the man with utter amazement. Then he smiled kindly and placed an arm around his shoulders. "My friend," the maestro replied, "Do not worry about it. The note E-flat does not appear anywhere in the music that you will be playing this evening."  The next time we find ourselves in the middle of worrying about some matter, we might be wise to stop and ask ourselves what the odds are of the problem really coming to pass. We may be able to go on to something more constructive.”

We need to banish worry from our minds. Today in prayer, give the Lord all of your worries and cares.

"I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?" - Henry Ford

God's Word: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again." - Ecclesiastes 11:1

Justina and Darryl DePasquale started their marriage with a strong passion for adoption. Unexpectedly, God blessed them with their own biological daughter. Despite this blessing in their life, the DePasquales knew this wasn't the end to their adoption story. Then one morning, during Justina's devotional time, she had a vision of her future child. At that moment, she knew they would have a little girl. Although they still did not know the circumstances relating to this adoption, they later received answer to their prayers when they knew their little girl was in Ukraine. 

“I saw a little girl in a blue barrel, and it was in a war-torn country – a countryside that was very barren. And I knew that she was our daughter.

“It seemed like God was just telling us, ‘This is what I want you to do.’ There was different thing after thing to confirm this girl is who we need to pursue. As doors continued to open left and right, they knew Anastasia was the girl God was calling them to adopt.

The entire adoption and hosting process cost $40,000, which included home study, legal fees, travel and all the necessary details.

The couple was able to raise the money through bake sales and hosting spaghetti dinners.

In the summer of 2014, they were finally able to meet Anastasia as they hosted her in their Texas home.  After the joyful summer with her, they were only further confident in their adoption and swiftly preparing for Anastasia to join their family.

Anastasia DePasquale's adoption was finalized and she was brought from Ukraine to her new home and family in Texas on February 7th, 2015. It was 18 years from the time Justina and Darryl DePasquale first had received God’s vision to adopt a child.

The Lord desires us to step out in faith and to take real steps to follow Him. Today in prayer, cast your bread upon the water, trusting that Jesus will bless your action. 

"For it is in giving that we receive." - Francis of Assisi

God's Word: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." - 2 Corinthians 9:6

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say." - Ecclesiastes 10:20

In the summer of 2012, Jarvis Britton of Birmingham, Alabama sent out a series of Twitter messages that he later described as “stupid” jokes. Prosecutors did not think they were funny.

“Let’s Go Kill the President,” wrote Mr. Britton, who is 26 and unemployed. “I think we could get the president with cyanide! #MakeItSlow.”

When Secret Service agents showed up at his house to question him, Mr. Britton said he had been drunk and apologized. But in September 2012, he posted another round of death threats against President Obama and was arrested. Britton plead guilty to threatening the life of the president. He was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

“Because of the repeated threats on Twitter, we took him seriously,” said Joyce White Vance, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, who prosecuted his case.

Once spoken or written, our words can take flight and land where we do not intend them. Today in prayer, ask Jesus to direct your speech so it will bring Him glory.

"Open your ears, for which of you will stop the vent of hearing when loud Rumor speaks?" - William Shakespeare

God's Word: "A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends." - Proverbs 16:28

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

“Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.” - Ecclesiastes 10:12

In December 1952, President-Elect Eisenhower chose Arthur Summerfield as the federal Postmaster General; he served in that post from 1953 until 1961.

As postmaster general, Summerfield oversaw attempts to reform and modernize the Post Office and the U.S. mail system, which was still conducting many sorting and processing operations by hand. Summerfield called for an increase in postage rates to subsidize the purchase of new mechanized mail processing and sorting equipment. Some of this equipment was adopted, including the Hamper-Dumper internal mail sorting/transport system and the Mail-Flo Letter Processing System, which used conveyors to speed mail processing. However, rapidly increasing mail volume and postal deficits prevented the Post Office from completely modernizing and mechanizing all of its many post offices.

One of Summerfield’s ideas was to transport mail by missile. "Before man reaches the moon, your mail will be delivered within hours from New York to Australia by guided missiles.  We stand on the threshold of rocket mail." 

The first and only flight of the missile mail carrier occurred on June 8, 1959, when a letter-stuffed Regulus cruise missile was successfully launched from the U.S. Navy submarine USS Barbero.

Though the flight was successful, it became apparent it would neither be cost effective nor safe in the long term and the program was disbanded.

We need to guard our lips against foolish talk and we need be gracious in our speech. Today in prayer, ask Jesus to give you wisdom in all that you say. 

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.” – Dale Carnegie

God's Word: "Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin." - Proverbs 10:14

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

“As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” - Ecclesiastes 10:1

When Wilhelm Rontgen discovered the X-ray in 1895, the news swept not just the medical community, but the media as well. That's how 30-year-old Elizabeth Fleischmann-Aschheim learned about the discovery that captivated her imagination. Though she never completed high school, she decided to learn all about radiophotography and she became a very skilled radiographer in just a year, thanks to help from her brother-in-law, who was a physician.

Fleischmann opened California's very first X-ray laboratory in San Francisco, making her the first radiographer in the state. These accomplishments were no small feat in the late 1800s, especially for a woman.

Fleischmann and her brother-in-law performed many X-ray experiments, sometimes involving hours of radiation exposure. But from early on, it was clear that X-ray exposure was dangerous: More than 20 radiologists and X-ray manufacturers had reported severe injuries after repeated or long-term exposure by the end of 1896.

Despite the evidence that radiologists should take safety precautions, Fleischmann refused to wear protective gear, because she was afraid it would scare off her patients. She paid for that stubbornness with her life. In 1905, after 7 years of practice with x-rays, she died from radiation poisoning when she was only 46 years old.

Foolishness can take lives. Today in prayer, ask Jesus to give you wisdom in all that you do so you may bring honor and glory to Him.

"Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom." - Charles H. Spurgeon

God's Word: "Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly." - Proverbs 13:16

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it. Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man." - Ecclesiastes 9:14-15

In 1972, Mark Felt was the No. 2 official at the F.B.I. under J. Edgar Hoover. When Hoover died in May of that year, Felt became the acting director. In June of that year, five burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel.

Felt wanted to investigate the break in, but the White House ordered that that the F.B.I.  not pursue the matter.

Felt believed that President Nixon was misusing the F.B.I. for political advantage. He knew that Nixon wanted the Watergate affair to vanish. He knew that the White House had ordered the C.I.A. to tell the bureau, on grounds of national security, to stand down in its felony investigation of the break-in. He saw that order as an effort to obstruct justice, and he rejected it. Felt became the government informant for Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who exposed the Watergate affair and led to President Nixon’s resignation.

Only God remembers the wise decisions made throughout history. Today in prayer, thank the Lord for His wisdom and pray for wisdom in all that you do.

"You cannot access wisdom by the megabyte. Wisdom is concerned with how we relate to people, to the world, and to God." - Edmund P. Clowney

God's Word: "For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." - Proverbs 2:6

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth--his eyes not seeing sleep day or night" - Ecclesiastes 8:16

Christian author Steve May tells the story of "Dee," who grew up in an affluent home in east Tennessee. She came from an affluent, but unchurched home. Dee's time at college involved wild living, and soon her life became a never-ending search for a party.

One weekend, Dee and her friends rented some rooms at a local motel, and set about the usual activities involving drugs and alcohol. On this weekend, the group also devised a contest to see who could steal the most from the room. One of the things Dee stole was the Gideon Bible.

Since they all thought it was funny, Dee won the contest.

Several weeks later, Dee's life began to fall apart. She discovered she was pregnant. Abortion seemed the only solution, and it was a solution she had used in the past. Her boyfriend left her, and Dee found herself all alone.

One night, in the midst of her fear and uncertainty, in the midst of her crisis, she picked up the Bible she had stolen and began to read.

She flipped the book open to 1 Samuel, and found the story of Hannah, who desperately wanted a child. It was the first time Dee had ever read the Bible, and the words seemed to have a life of their own. In a short time, as she read more of the Bible, and as she found Christians ready to help her, Dee accepted Christ. As the years went by, Dee grew deeper in her walk with Christ, and by the time her child was a teen-ager, both mother and daughter were telling their story to groups all around their community.

It was crisis that brought Dee to a point of searching for answers, and it was the Bible that took her to the only place where she'd find true wisdom. And immediately, that wisdom changed the way Dee lived.

In all that you do, seek wisdom. Today in prayer, thank Jesus for His Word and seek His wisdom in the Bible in all your decisions.

"He is truly wise who looks upon all earthly things as folly that he may gain Christ." - Thomas a Kempis

God's Word: "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,

for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold." - Proverbs 3:13-14

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 8:15

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.

Early on, Raphael was known as a womanizer and one who loved parties. His early work came under scrutiny by Michelangelo.

One day Michelangelo came into the studio of Raphael and looked at one of Raphael's early drawings. Then he took a piece of chalk and wrote across the drawing "Amplius," which means "greater," "larger." Raphael's plan was too cramped and narrow.

Raphael took his advice and opened an enormously productive, unusually large workshop. Despite his death at 37, Raphael left a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. The best-known work is “The School of Athens” in the Vatican.

In “The School Of Athens,” Raphael offered his own critique of his rival Michelangelo. He painted the great artist as grumpy and lonely man, who was in the front and center of the fresco, but all alone.  

God looks down on our plan of life today, and knowing what is in man, writes over that plan "Amplius"? Greater! Larger! But God also wants us to enjoy life. Today is a gift from the Lord; enjoy the day and follow Him every day! Today in prayer, ask the Lord to give you a fresh appreciation for your life and a joy for living.

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

God's Word: "Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do." - Ecclesiastes 9:7

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” - Ecclesiastes 7:8

Before becoming the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt got word that his oldest son, Theodore Jr., was ill. While the boy would recover, the cause of Ted’s illness hit Roosevelt hard. Doctors told him that he was the cause of his son’s illness. Ted was suffering from “nervous exhaustion,” having been pressed unmercifully by Teddy to become the “fighter” hero-type he himself had not been during his own frail childhood. Upon hearing this, the elder Roosevelt made a promise to relent: “Hereafter I shall never press Ted either in body or mind.”

The father was true to his word. From then on he paid close attention to how he treated his son, exercising patience. Teddy Jr. became a successful man in his own right, even receiving the Medal of Honor for gallantry during World War II.

We need to be patient and take the long view in living our lives. Today in prayer, praise Jesus for His patience toward you and seek to be patient in all that you do.

"Patience is the queen of all virtues." - John Chrysostom

God's Word: "A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly." - Proverbs 14:29

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

“Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.” - Ecclesiastes 7:7

In April 2017, police in Masaka District of Uganda arrested a prominent female Pentecostal pastor for trying to bribe the municipal town clerk.

The pastor’s arrest followed a tip off from the town clerk, Mr. Innocent Ahimbisibwe that the evangelist offered him Shs300,000 ($78 US Dollars), which he declined to take.

According to Mr. Ahimbisibwe, the suspect together with another unidentified woman walked into his office asking to see him.

During their conversation, Mr. Ahimbisibwe said the pastor pleaded with him to allow her erect a perimeter wall. “The two ladies came here and I took them to be usual clients, one introduced herself as a pastor and they reminded me that they had come to my office sometime back and I had asked them to bring documents concerning their plot to see whether they are genuine,” Mr. Ahimbisibwe said moments after the pastor’s arrest.

Mr. Ahimbisibwe added that the pastor handed him a brown envelope that he thought contained documents he had asked for, but after opening it, a smaller envelope that contained the money came out. “When I asked them (two ladies) what the money was for, she (pastor) said it was for appreciating the work I was going to do for them and I replied that that was not the way work is done,” he said.

Maintain your personal integrity and flee from any bribery. Today in prayer, ask the Lord to keep you away from any bribes.

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." - George Washington

God's Word: "Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous." - Exodus 23:8

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil." - Ecclesiastes 6:2

In 1998, Gerald Muswagon won the $10 million Super 7 jackpot in Canada.

Gerald had the world at his feet after collecting the bumper jackpot win. It seemed as if life had given him a blessing and he was never going to have to worry about finances again during his lifetime.

Immediately after his win he went on a spending spree that saw him buy new cars for his family and friends. He bought a new house that he promptly turned into a self-proclaimed “party pad” and it was also alleged that he bought eight brand new big screen TVs for friends in a 24 hour shopping stint.

His cousin Mike Muswagon said “He didn’t have the right people around him at the time, people who could have guided him. A lot of people asked a lot of him.”

Gerald’s “party pad” became a den of alcohol and drug abuse. He also started up a logging business, but the business was soon failing as sales were low and profits plummeted.

Gerald was also involved in a series of run-ins with the law. In October 2000, Gerald was sentenced to three months in jail when he pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving after he had led an epic police chase whilst driving his brand new Chevy Silverado at speeds that reached an estimated 111 miles per hour.

In 2005, he spent another three months in jail for sexual assault of a house cleaner. Now penniless, he went back to work at a minimum wage job. In October 2005, he committed suicide.

Money is fleeting. We need to spend every valuable moment of life bringing glory to Christ. Today in prayer, give the Lord your undivided heart and seek to glorify Him in all that you do.

"I will place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of Christ." - David Livingstone

God's Word: "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God." - Ecclesiastes 5:19

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 5:10

Probably no one loved money as much as James “Jemmy” Wood. He inherited the Glouchester Old Bank from his grandfather and ran it with the help of only two clerks. He became nationally known as "The Gloucester Miser". He was the inspiration for Charles Dickens’ character “Ebenezer Scrooge.”

His wealth of around £900,000 was stated at the time to have made him "the richest commoner in His Majesty's dominions."

Supposedly, he often visited the Gloucester Docks to fill his pockets with small pieces of coal that fell off the boats being unloaded there, and wore the same old clothes for years on end.

Wood was renowned for walking everywhere rather than paying the cost of a carriage. Once he travelled back to Gloucester from Tewkesbury in the back of a passing hearse, laid out in the space usually reserved for the deceased.

Despised throughout his life, when Wood died in 1836, people laughed at his funeral and through rocks at his coffin.

Money should NOT command our affection and be the driving force in our lives. Today in prayer, praise Jesus that true wealth is knowing and loving Him.

"There is nothing that makes men rich and strong but that which they carry inside of them. Wealth is of the heart, not of the hand." – John Milton

God's Word: "A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished." - Proverbs 28:20

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." - Ecclesiastes 5:2

In March 2018, three MIT researchers reported that fake news travels at a markedly faster rate on Twitter than accurate information. "I was very surprised by the results," Sinan Aral, who co-authored the study with Soroush Vosoughi and Deb Roy. "Not the result that false news travels faster than true news, but in the magnitude of the difference."

The study, which Aral said took about two years to complete, found that it took true news stories about six times longer to reach 1,500 people on Twitter than stories that were false. False stories, the study said, "diffused significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth in all categories of information."

"I find it disturbing," said Aral, who said he has been studying the impact of social media on society for more than 10 years. "All of the potential consequences of our society being consumed by falsity. In terms of responses to terrorism, responses to national disasters, the impact on our national economy. I think the potential for negative consequences in those areas are very real."

We need to be speak less and when we do, it should be words of encouragement. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that He hears all and understands all and seek to glorify in Him with your speech.

"Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so is he." - Publilius Syrus

God's Word: "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." - Proverbs 10:19

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

William Tyndale was ordained to the priesthood in 1521. Soon he began to express his desire, which eventually became his life's obsession, to translate the Scriptures into English. It is reported that, in the course of a dispute with a prominent clergyman who disparaged this proposal, he said, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost." The remainder of his life was devoted to keeping that vow.

Finding that the King, Henry VIII, was firmly set against any English version of the Scriptures, he fled to Germany, where he visited Martin Luther in 1525.

When Tyndale was arrested in May 1535, he had completed the New Testament, the Books of Moses and a few historical books of the Old Testament. England was still without a complete Bible in the English language. Who would finish the work?

Miles Coverdale, an Augustinian friar who embraced the Reformation, had stayed with Tyndale, when the two were in Germany. The two worked together in their shared desire to produce an English Bible. During this time in Germany, Coverdale learned much from Tyndale about the art of Bible translating.

So after Tyndale was arrested, Coverdale completed the translation of the Bible and had it published later that year.

The Lord brings spouses and friends into our lives because two are better than one for the difficult tasks in life. Today in prayer, praise the Lord for the friends and family that He has brought in your life that bring you support and comfort.

"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil." - Baltasar Gracian

God's Word: "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." - Ecclesiastes 4:12

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

In Western New York State, there is a small waterfall located in the Shale Creek Preserve, a section of Chestnut Ridge Park in Western New York. In a small grotto at the waterfall's base there is a flame, called the Eternal Flame.

For years, scientists thought that the eternal flame was kept alight by gas produced by ancient, extremely hot rocks.

However, researchers from Indiana University have discovered that the rocks underneath the Chestnut Ridge County Park aren't hot enough to produce this gas, which means another process is producing the gas that's keeping the flame burning. And they have not been able to identify exactly what the process is. 

Some people say the eternal flame was lit thousands of years ago by Native Americans. But no one knows how the flame was lit and what keeps it alight.

Though we have eternity in our hearts, we cannot truly fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that He is God over all of time and is to be praised throughout all of eternity.

"We are citizens of eternity." – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

God's Word: ""The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began." - Proverbs 8:22-23

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" - Ecclesiastes 3:1

In 2005, as the iPod reached its height of popularity with teenagers, inexpensive watch sales dropped 12%. Five years later, 6 out of 10 teens reported they did not need a watch to know the time and only 1 in 10 reported they wore a watch every day. Though smart watches have become popular, the overall number of watches that are sold each year continues to shrink.

The watch is a symbol of stress for many people. But it's not really time itself that's the problem, according to historian James Hoopes.

"It's that we live in an increasingly synchronized world," said Hoopes, a professor in the division of history and society at Babson College in Massachusetts. "You don't really relieve all the stress unless you get out of the world where time synchronization is so important."

He notes that, historically, the obsession with synchronization took hold in the railroad era, when watches were often kept in a pocket.

By World War I, watches began moving to the wrist, as a means of efficiency.

"The wrist watch was really a response to stress — the stress of battle," Hoopes stated.

In other words, the way we track time is changing with the times.

The Lord calls us into different seasons and we need to live each of these days bringing glory to Him. Today in prayer, thank Christ for this time in your life and seek to follow His will each and every day.

"Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend." - Theophrastus

God's Word: "I thought in my heart, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed." -Ecclesiastes 3:17

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" - Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

In an article entitled “The Joy of Jesus,” Pastor Adrian Rogers said the following:

“Unless you have joy in Jesus, your joy is not full. What is the secret to finding this joy? Jesus said He spoke “these things that your joy may be full.” By “these things,” Jesus is referring to His words in John 15:1: “I am the true vine and my father is the [gardener].” Our relationship with Jesus is like that of a branch to a vine. A branch is absolutely dependent upon a vine. Do you depend upon Jesus totally and absolutely?

It is Jesus, the vine, that produces fruit; and we, the branches, bear the fruit, including the fruit of joy. Here’s how the joy of Jesus gets out of Him and into me: As I am in union and communion with Him, as my life is blended with His and His life infuses mine–just as the sap flows from the vine into the branch–the life of Jesus Christ flows into me and the joy that is in Him is now in me.

A branch may do some things–it may curl around the post, shed some leaves or bear some fruit, but it has one concern, and that is to abide in the vine. These other things happen because it has reduced its concerns to one. Have you ever brought all of the issues of life into one burning focus, and said “I have no greater ambition than just to abide in the Lord Jesus Christ?”

You belong to God just as the branch belongs to the vine. When you start seeing your life in that relationship you will find in your heart a miraculous joy because the joy of Christ which is the life of Christ is going to be flowing out of Christ and into you.

Our lives do belong to the Lord and outside of Him we will not find enjoyment. Today in prayer, praise Christ that in Him we can find an abundant and joyful life.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." – John Piper

God's Word: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12-13

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 2:1

Edie Mayer Goetz was the daughter of MGM founder Louis B. Mayer. She married Hollywood producer William Gotz and together bought a storied estate. Their mansion was "the best address in town," hosting dinners and extravagant parties for Hollywood's rich and famous. It was considered the center of the Hollywood social scene. For three decades Edie threw parties that included stars Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Judy Garland, Rosalind Russell, Bill Wilder, and Frank Sinatra.

Those fortunate enough to score an invitation to one of the couple’s lavish parties were reportedly shown pre-release films in the private screening room.

Oscar-winning director Billy Wilder once said: "The highest accolade for someone coming into this town was to be invited to the Goetzes—they had the best food, the best people, and the best things on walls," referring to the couple’s incredible art collection.

But after William Goetz died in 1969, Edie stopped giving lavish parties.

She lamented to her husband’s secretary Sonya Gilbert, that her "life was over now that he's gone, I’m finished.”

Seeking pleasure does not bring fulfillment; that can only come through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Today in prayer, thank Christ that in Him we can find contentment in all circumstances.

"I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy." - C.S. Lewis

God's Word: "He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich." - Proverbs 21:17

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow." - Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

In 1847, The French inventor Antoine Redier was the first to patent an adjustable mechanical alarm clock. But Redier was not the inventor of the alarm clock.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (428–348 BC) was said to possess a large water clock with an unspecified alarm signal similar to the sound of a water organ. Plato used it at night, possibly for signaling the beginning of his lectures at dawn. 

The Hellenistic engineer and inventor Ctesibius (285–222 BC) fitted his clepsydras with dial and pointer for indicating the time, and added elaborate “alarm systems, which could be made to drop pebbles on a gong, or blow trumpets (by forcing bell-jars down into water and taking the compressed air through a beating reed) at pre-set times.

New “discoveries” are often just rediscoveries. But the greatest discovery of all is having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that in Him we will truly learn new things each day.

"The Christian life is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ lived nineteen hundred years ago, lived now by Him in you!" - W. Ian Thomas

God's Word: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." - John 5:39-40

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS

"The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.'" - Ecclesiastes 1:1-2

Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who spent more than 2 years in Nazi concentration camps. His experiences as a concentration camp inmate led him to discover the importance of finding meaning to life. In his book, “Man's Search for Meaning,” Frankl reflected on one particularly harsh day in the concentration camp:

“A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth —that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way—an honorable way— in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, ‘The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.’”

Loving Jesus Christ brings meaning and purpose to life. Today in prayer, pray for those people who you know who do not yet know Jesus. Pray they may have a personal relationship with Him and in Him they may have eternal life. 

"The only reason why man as man has individual significance is that Christ died for him."  - George MacLeod

God's Word: "'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Everything is meaningless!'" - Ecclesiastes 12:8

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2018, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN ECCLESIASTES & SONG OF SONGS