Category: 2024 – Nelson’s A Life Well Lived (Ecclesiastes)

One man aptly noted, “Sow a thought, reap a deed; sow a deed, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a lifestyle; sow a lifestyle, reap a destiny.”

Little choices will define our long-term legacy for good.  C.S. Lewis stated “With every choice you are either becoming more of a heaven-like or hell-like creature.”  Consider the great coach Vince Lombardi’s challenge, “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to excellence, i.e., excellent choices.”

So, it begs the question, who are we when no one is looking?  What destiny are we building?

Solomon shows us that one key to a life well lived is simply doing the right thing over a long period of time.

Click here for more from Pastor Tommy Nelson on Ecclesiastes 8

Pastor Tommy Nelson talked about Allie Miller, a businessman in his church who established the church’s tape library. He was about sixty years old when he died of prostate cancer. Before he died, Allie told Nelson that the greatest thing that ever happened to him—other than knowing Jesus Christ—was cancer. 

Allie came to know the Lord when he was a little boy, but he said, “I used Him as my Savior.”  He said, “When you have a death pronouncement given to you, you don’t have to take it by faith that you’re going to die. Now all that stuff you’ve been saying all those years about laying up your treasures takes on real meaning.”

Trials have a very beneficial purpose. Trials purify you. Trials make you trust. Trials make everything you hear in Sunday School become real.

In chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says that hard times are not always the worst thing.  That’s when bad is better.

Our culture is similar to Solomon’s.  Most people go through life looking to have a good time.

Click here for more from Pastor Tommy Nelson on Ecclesiastes 7