Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Dear Brethren,

Good Morning!

You could say that Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 is the passage of "time." In this passage, Solomon used the word time twenty-nine times. In this wonderful passage, we see that there is truly a "time" or season for everything in life.

Consider the various happenings of life and catagorized by Solomon: Birth and death, planting and harvesting, killing and healing, tearing down and building up, crying and laughing, mourning and rejoicing, removing stones and gathering stones, embracing and refraining from embracing, gaining and losing, keeping and throwing away, tearing and sewing, silence and speaking, loving and hating, and war and peace. In each of the aforementioned happenings of life, we see opposites expressed in the "beginning" and the "ending" of each happening.

As you go about your life today, give thought to the "timing" and "seasons" within your life and thank the Lord that you have these "times" and "seasons." Here is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 presented for your consideration.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;

3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.

In Love,

John Duvall

Psalms 95:1-6

Dear Brethren,

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!

If you look at your life, I strongly suspect that you will find many blessings for which you are thankful. Maybe you are thankful for your spouse, your children, your abilities and talents, your job, etc. However, the greatest blessing for you and I has to be the salvation of our souls. We were once lost but now we have been found. We have been set free from our bondage to sin by the precious blood of Christ.

While most Americans sit around their tables, sharing the blessings for which they are thankful, and then partake of some turkey and other prepared foods, let us remember that we should be thankful every day of the year. King David serves as an example of one who continually expressed thanks to the Lord. Presented for your consideration is one such example as found in Psalms 95:1-6.

Psalms 95:1-6

1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5 The seab is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
In Love,

John Duvall

Matthew 16:17-21

Dear Brethren,

Good Wednesday Morning!!

I have great treasures! If you were to look into my life, you would see that the Lord has blessed me with treasures greater than I would have expected. I have a wonderful wife, five loving children, a house, a car, a wonderful congregation, great parents, a loving mother-in-law, an occupation I love, etc. While I may not have a wealthy income, I have priceless treasures.

Which of the aforementioned treasures would be worth the cost of my soul? If my children were to turn away from the Lord, would I follow them? If my wife turned away from the Lord, would I pursue her? If the church or my parents were to walk away from the Truth, would I follow them in order to keep my treasures? I am thankful that these are questions I do not face at this point in my life. But not everyone is as fortunate as I. Many saints face these questions daily. "Do I leave the Truth in order to gain back my wife?" "Do I sacrifice parts of God's word that would condemn my children's sinful life?"

This is the ultimate question for which every Christian must prepare himself: "Which of my treasures would I give in exchange for my soul?" The correct answer is this: "No treasure is worth the cost of my soul. The eternal safety of my soul must always come first." Here is Matthew 16:17-21 presented for your consideration.

Matthew 16:17-21

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

In Love,

John Duvall

Mark 16:14-20

Dear Brethren,

Good Morning,

The growth of the church hinges upon whether or not we are teaching those lost in sin. If we are spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, then the Lord will give the increase. This increase will come through the conversion of those lost in sin.

Jesus addressed this great need in one of his final conversations with His apostles. According to Mark's account, Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Take notice of the two parts in this command. First, we have the command to go preach the gospel (or good news). Secondly, Jesus declared the gospel to be the promise that the one who believes and is baptized will be saved. If we are going to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we must be teaching people to believe and be baptized so that they will be saved.

Let us consider our lives to make certain that we are taking every opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we will teach others about Jesus Christ and His gospel, then those recipients of the truth will be saved and the church will grow.

Here is Mark 16:14-20 presented for your consideration.

Mark 16:14-20

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

In Love,

John Duvall

Colossians 1:9-14

Dear Brethren,

Good morning!

Praying for other Christians is both a privilege and a responsibility. If you are in fellowship with your heavenly Father, then you should be praying for other Christians. The apostle Paul prayed often for his brethren. Paul exercised his responsibility to pray for fellow Christians.

One such example of Paul praying for other Christians is Paul's prayer for the brethren in Colosse. In this prayer, Paul prayed for the following:

1. That the brethren would be "filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding."

2. That the brethren would "walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him."

3. That the brethren would be "fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

4. That the brethren would be "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy."

5. That the brethren would give thanks to the Father.

As we examine our lives and our relationship with other Christians, we should question the frequency of our prayers on the behalf of other Christians. Paul said that he and others did not "cease to pray" for the brethren in Colosse. Can we make the same statement about our prayers for other saints?

Here is Colossians 1:9-14 presented for your consideration and meditation.

Colossians 1:9-14.

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

In Love,

John Duvall