JULY 22

In chapter 5 the preacher emphasizes the importance of
sincerity in religious service. In verses 4-6 he states that we
should keep our promises to God literally. Too many people walk down
an aisle and make a decision for Christ without following through.
When you accept Christ as your Saviour, you also acknowledge Him as
your Lord. God records every decision, and holds us accountable for
our follow-through. It is wrong to use God as a fire escape or a
foxhole in time of great emergency and need. The Lord wants to be
invited into the common-place and everyday affairs of our lives. The
Christian life is a relationship, not a religion!

After chapter 6 deals with the reality of death, Solomon
feels that life is not worth living, because the ultimate end will
be an untimely death. Once again we must view this as the
perspective of the godless man. Death is not a horrible experience
for a born-again believer. Death is graduation. “For to me to live
is Christ and to die is gain,” Paul said.

Chapter 7 is dedicated to the subject of Christian
testimony. Verse 1 says, “A good name is better than precious
ointment.” The most precious possession we have, apart from
salvation itself, is our Christian testimony. We should carefully
guard it at all times.

The Bible urges us to be of good report among them which are
without. Billy Monday used to say, “When you get saved, you will
change your hitching post.” A good dose of Bible salvation will ruin
you for this world! You must come out from among the worldly
associations, habits, and haunts when Christ becomes real in your
life. “How can two walk together except they be agreed?”