Galatians 1:1-24.  I was kind of impressed with how many times Paul tells us that what he is doing is not because of the influence of men.  Twice in verse 1, 3 times in verse 10, once in verse 11, twice in verse 12, once in each of verses 16 and 17.  Considering what was going on (Read the “Introduction to Galatians” page if you didn’t already) that seems pretty important.  On the other hand we do see that he went to see Peter (Cephas) and James early on in his ministry.  We also know that he was mentored by Barnabas (See the “Paul:  ‘Sent one to the Gentiles'” page for that story) and according to this part of Galatians his ministry and message were given to him directly by Jesus.  In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul describes what he means by the word Gospel and he tells us that it is according to the Scriptures.  So I guess we see that we need to rely on the Bible for what we believe and teach and we need to be careful not to give up in the face of opposition.  Paul talked about people distorting the Gospel or good news.  The word distorted or perverted means to turn something into it’s opposite.  Salvation is a gift the opposite would be something we earn, in this case by following religious laws.  It’s pretty scary that twice Paul says that if someone comes along and does this that they should be accursed.  That word means to “set aside”.  The word was used for something that was dedicated to a god and was set aside to be destroyed.  Salvation is a gift from God that is in no way earned, Jesus gave Himself for our sin so he could deliver us.Thank ou God for the free gift of salvation.  Help me never distort your gift and help me not run from you when people disapprove.

As I said in yesterdays post the reading starts tomorrow.  That left me with today with no particular thing to read as I spent time with God.  I decided to read in one of my favorite books, Ecclesiastes.  I actually wound up reading the whole book.  The book is somewhat famous in a couple of ways.  Back in the 60’s there was a famous song “Turn!Turn!Turn!” by the Byrds based on a passage in chapter 3.  Many people know the book from the repeated use of the word vanity, “vanity, vanity all is vanity.”  The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew.  The Hebrew word translated vanity in the book is “hebel” and it means “breath or vapor”.  The idea is something with little or no substance.  The book was written by the extremely rich and wise king of Israel, Solomon.  Solomon was the son of David who took over the kingdom from his father.  According to the Bible the kingdom was so wealthy under his rule that silver became worthless.  He also asked for and was given great wisdom by God. His wisdom was recognized all over the ancient world and many royal people would travel to see and hear him.  The book was probably written near the end of life and is probably take from a lecture or series of lectures that he gave to visitors to the palace.  It is true that the phrase “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” occurs at both the beginning and end of the book and that the word vanity occurs 38 times in the book.   Usually the phrase is couple with the phrase “under the sun” and that is a key to understanding the book.  may people think is is a book of despair and hopelessness and that Solomon is telling us to get the most out of life here and now because life doesn’t give any meaning to our existence.   The book is really about a tug of war in our lives.  We all feel and live like we are important, like our lives mean something.  Solomon remembers all of the experiences he has had and all of the experiences he has watched and concludes that is a mess.  His real question seems to be, “Why do we bother?”  or “How come we try?”.  In the book he has clearly show that there is no reason under the sun.  His answer is in chapter 3, the chapter that the Byrd’s song comes from.  Solomon lists pairs of actions  from our lives and tells us that there is a time for all of them.  In verses 11 he tells us that everything is “beautiful” or “appropriate” in it’s time.  It’s not vain or empty.  He tells us in Eccl. 3:10 tht it is because god has created these tasks.  Also in verse 11 Solomon tells us that it is God who has put this sense of “being important” in us; god has put “eternity in the hearts of men”.  At the very end of the book Solomon offers this advise, “Fear God and keep His commandments, this applies to every person.  Because God will judge every action”  (Eccl. 12:13-14).  God is the reason for living, God is the purpose, without Him, under the sun, life is empty.  By the way I kind of liked Ecclasiastes 7:12 this morning.  Wisdom and money are both helpful in life but wisdom is more powerful because it preserves our lives.  The King James translation says that “wisdom gives life to those who have it.”  I wonder if this is a reference to eternity with God, eternal life.  both wisdom and money can protect us here and now but wisdom helps us see eternity too.  Wisdom gives life eternal to those who have life “under the sun”.  Live for God, he has placed eternity not just in your hears but with in you reach through Jesus.