PJ's Prayer Line: "SWEET SLEEP"

Good Evening to All!

The Answers to the Bible Trivia "Names Made in Heaven" are as follows:

1. Israel (Genesis 32:38)
2. Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3)
3. An angel (Matthew 1:20-21)
4. Hosea (Hosea 1:9)
5. An angel (Genesis 16:11)
6. Abraham (Genesis 17:5)
7. Zacharias (Luke 1:13)
8. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:3
9. Adam (Genesis 5:2)
10. Peter (J0hn 1:42)
11. Lo-ruhamah (H0sea 1:6)
12. Sarah (Genesis 17:15)
13. David (1 chronicles 22:9)
14. Hosea (Hosea 1:4)
15. The Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:30-31)

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"SWEET SLEEP"

Today's Seed "The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the

abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep." Ecclesiastes 5:12 NIV

Reference from the NKJV suggests that "There are few things so satisfying in life as Sleep following a hard day's work; but the greedy rarely enjoy decent rest.

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Experts say we need seven to eight hours of sleep each night. For many of us, that's impossible. A full-time job, a full-time family, church activities, school events, sports, workouts, crafts, and hobbies take time--time that we rob from our sleep time. Then when we go to bed, we have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. We might get by if only we could sleep soundly.

Often what keeps us awake are worries over money or how to maintain the things we have. We're told in Ecclesiastes that when we're too concerned about money and possessions, especially acquiring more, we'll find ourselves embroiled in anxiety which leads to sleepless nights and exhausting days.

I contrast to the warning about riches in this seed, there is a blessing to hard work--peaceful sleep. The person who works at a physically demanding job sleeps well because he or she is exhausted. Hard work and exercise enable us to sleep well--even if we have only seven hours to spend in bed.

Dig Deeper: The Hebrew word for "sleep" means to give in to our exhaustion. It can also mean to be slack or slow, without energy.

Background Bulb: Solomon, thought by many scholars to be the author of Ecclesiastes, sought an anchor for his lost spirituality near the end of his life. He wrote Ecclesiastes to search for the meaning of life. After accumulating amazing riches, pleasures, and worldly successes, Solomon came to one conclusion: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" Says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless"' (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The more possessions we have, the

less we really have. Through God's grace we have all we need--salvation and a relationship with Him. We all need to make a commitment but make it to the right cause. I did a post a short time ago about Commitment. I wish I had found this picture then. We should keep a "check on the commitments we make to make sure that we do not "over" commit ourselves and what we do commit to is for the right purpose.

Weed & Water: Are you living beyond your means? When we've allowed money and possessions to take over our lives and we toss and turn trying to figure out how to get more, more, more, that's a sign that we are out of balance. consider ways to simplify your life. Halt spending, and starting saving. Cut down on activities that aren't necessary. Learn to say no. Ask God to show you what is most important. When we turn to God instead of possessions, this blessing will be ours: "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet" (Proverbs 3:24). I chose this picture to prove a point. we can''t even get

into a "hobbie without thinking of it in monetary terms.

Think about it: How can possessions keep a person too busy to focus on Christ?

What possessions or desires are calling you away from Christ?

What changes do you need to make?