Dr. Ray Pritchard: The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer

 “You won’t believe the things that have happened to me." The man stood over my desk as he spoke those words. Then he proceeded to tell a tale of woe the likes of which I had not heard in many years. As I listened, it seemed to boil down to three basic parts.     

Dr. Ray Pritchard: God Never Wastes a Broken Heart

 Recently a friend who has struggled mightily with issues of forgiveness wrote to share some things he has learned along the way. I thought his words were worth sharing with you:  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Lost in the Bureaucracy

 “If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.”Ecclesiastes 5:8-9   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Does God Bore You?

 “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘‘My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God." Ecclesiastes 5:4-7   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Guard Your Mouth

  “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.“ Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Things We Cannot Control

 “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning.  The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.  I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor.  There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastes 4:13-16   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Together is Better

 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”Ecclesiastes 4:9-12   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Things Are Going to Change

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). God’s will is seldom done on the earth.  Too many things that go on are obviously not God’s will.   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Get Off Your High Horse

 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble” (Luke 1:52). It must be obvious to everyone that the world is not as it should be. This is not the world that God made because that world was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). What can we say about our world except that it is “very messed up"? There is no darkness like the darkness of not knowing how to get out of the trouble you are in. I met a man who has learned this from hard experience. For years he struggled with a serious alcohol problem. It impacted every part of his life and damaged every relationship. The turning point came, as it so often does, when those nearest to him would not, could not, live with him anymore. 

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Wonderful Counselor

  “He will be called Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6). Literally this title means “a wonder of a counselor,” speaking of the wisdom of his plan. The word “wonderful” means “astonishing” or “extraordinary." The writers of the Old Testament used it for acts of God which man cannot understand. The word “counselor” means “advisor” or “ideal ruler.”  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Alone at the Top

 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. ‘‘For whom am I toiling,” he asked, ‘‘and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless—a miserable business!  Ecclesiastes 4:7-8   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: The Rare Jewel of Contentment

  “And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. The fool folds his hands and ruins himself. Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”Ecclesiastes 4:4-6  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Waiting for Justice

 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. Eccleasiastes 4:1-3  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Unanswered Questions

 “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.  Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?" (Ecclesiastes 3:20-22) These verses are often attacked for teaching a sub-Christian view of the afterlife. The truth is, Solomon isn’t dealing with the afterlife at all. He’s simply pointing out that from an earthly perspective no one can say what happens when we die.  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Original Sin

 “And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there. I thought in my heart, ‘‘God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.’” (Ecclesiastes 3:16-17)  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Here Comes the Judge

 “Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). The wrath of God is a forgotten doctrine, even in the evangelical church. Part of the problem lies in the area of definition. When we use the word wrath we tend to think of uncontrolled anger. While that may be true of human wrath, it is far from the truth about God’s wrath. Here’s a working definition: God’s wrath is his settled hostility toward sin in all its various manifestations. To say it is “settled” hostility means that God’s holiness cannot and will not coexist with sin in any form whatsoever. God’s wrath is his holy hatred of all that is unholy. It is his righteous indignation at everything that is unrighteous.   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Nothing Left But God

 “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." (Ecclesiastes 3:14)  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: By Faith Rahab

  “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab” (Matthew 1:5).

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Living in the Here and Now

 “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13).  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: A God-Shaped Vacuum

 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Here is more good news and bad news. The good news is that everything has a purpose in God’s plan. The bad news is that no one can figure out the good news. To make matters worse—from a human perspective—God has put “eternity” inside every human heart.That means there is something inside each of us that yearns to understand what life is all about.    

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Grasping at Shadows

 “What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has kid on men.”Ecclesiastes 3:9-10   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: A Time for War

 “A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”Ecclesiastes 3:6-8   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: A Time to Laugh

 “A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain.”Ecclesiastes 3:4-5   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Times and Seasons

 “A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build." Ecclesiastes 3:2-3  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Each Precious Moment

 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1  

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Are You on God's Side?

  “To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gather­ing and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  Ecclesiastes 2:26  Verse 26 reminds us that there is a moral government in the universe. God honors those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30), and He judges those who sin against Him. The casual reader may skip right over the particular judgment Solomon has in mind. He suggests that the wicked store up wealth to give it to the righteous. This is a startling thought. It implies a number of interesting ideas, including the idea that sinners are just as much un­der God’s ultimate control as the righteous. 

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Learning to Enjoy Life

 “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”Ecclesiastes 2:24-25   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: God's Cure for Anxious Care

 “So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor un­der the sun. For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 2:20-23   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Passing the Baton

 “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.”Ecclesiastes 2:18-19   

Dr. Ray Pritchard: Temporary Advantages

 “Then I thought in my heart, ‘The fate of the fool will over­take me also. What then do I gain by being wise?’ I said in my heart, ‘This too is meaningless.’ For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!“ Ecclesiastes 2:15-16