by Julia Bruce
The entire book of Ecclesiastes has been words of wisdom, mostly written by King Solomon. As the book comes to a close, he has considered everything and draws one conclusion. Verse 13 begins with saying, “let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:” So what’s the “whole matter?” This book centers around the message that we are mortal, living very brief lives in comparison to the timeline of eternity. It seeks to answer the question “what profit has a person from all their labor and work in life?” Another way to ask this question is, “What is our purpose in life?” Here, at the end of the book, we are given two answers to the meaning of life.
First, we are to fear God. This is being afraid of God but that we have a highly exalted and reverential view of Him. It means we stand in awe of His glory, majesty, power, wisdom, justice, and mercy, and respond to him appropriately. As a result we humbly submit ourselves to Him and worship, praise, and adore Him. When we fear God in this manner, He takes delight in us (Psalm 147:11).
Our second purpose in life is to obey God’s commandments. Almost everyone is familiar with the 10 Commandments, God’s law that He gave as the means to set the standard for our relationship with God and others. But in the New Testament, Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40 that the law is summed up with just one basic command: Love. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we love God and others we will be willing to serve God and others.
So, the purpose of life is to fear God and obey His commandments. But every life eventually comes to an end and then we will stand before God who will judge every work of our lives – both good and evil. Therefore we should live our lives in the reality that life is brief and then we must give an accounting. We need to each ask ourselves, “What are we doing with the life that God has given us? Are wasting it, living selfishly and for our own glory or are we living it in obedience to His Word, serving as His calls us, and standing in awe of who He is?
#purpose #fearGod #obeyHiscommandments
We have a new product line of Christian apparel and gifts available in our Teespring Store and our new Spreadshop Store. You’ll find tee shirts, hoodies, tanks, socks, leggings, tote bags, mugs, iphone cases and more. All proceeds go to the advancement of Wellspring Christian Ministries. Thank you for helping us grow!
Click here to view the Teespring store.Â
Click here to view the Spreadshop Store which has a 15% discount through August 9, 2019
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars: This book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel
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Looking for a speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.
Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants.
Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.
With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities.
To request more information or a booking,Â
fill out the online form here.
Or call us at 904.524.8073
