The Bottom Line

Today’s Passage – Ecclesiastes 7 – 12

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

When Solomon was at the end of his life after he got finished with all of his thinking, all of his philosophies, all of his experiments and studies; he came to one conclusion: it is man’s duty to fear the Lord. When your life is over, much of what you lived for will matter. The pleasures you pursued; the wealth you accumulated; the relationships you nurtured; the power and prestige that you attained; none of it will matter. What will matter, however, is whether or not you fulfilled the will of God for your life. You and I are here on this earth for a purpose, which is glorifying God and fulfilling His Great Commission. I like what Missionary Kevin Conner said at our church a few months back. He said, “Everything you do for God you could do better in Heaven, with the exception of winning people to the Lord Jesus”. That’s a true statement. I could certainly study Him better, and pray to Him better if I were in His presence; but He left me here on this earth to serve people for Him. My job is to allow Him to live through me in order to impact the lives of those around me.

In another month, I will be 46 years old. I am well over half way through with my time here on the earth. I have wasted a lot of my time in the past on meaningless pursuits, but I desire to be used of Him to the fullest in my remaining years. I want God to get all of me. I want to live my life as yielded as I possibly can to His will.

The Bottom Line is that time is running out. The Bottom Line is that I will spend eternity either rejoicing over what was accomplished for His glory; or regretting what was accomplished for mine. The conclusion of the whole matter – fear God – live for Him – obey Him.

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Phil Erickson

Pastor Phil Erickson has been the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church since January of 2002. Having grown up in Ocean County, Pastor Phil has always had a burden for the south Jersey area. After graduating from Bible College in Longview, Texas, he and his family moved to Galloway Township with the vision of digging in and serving the Lord and the people of Atlantic County. Pastor Phil and Cindy Erickson have been married since 1985. They have four children and ten grandchildren. Their oldest son, Phil Jr. and his wife Katelyn are serving the Lord in Egg Harbor Twp., NJ. Their oldest daughter, Melissa, is married to Wesley Clayton who is in the Air Force and is currently stationed in New Mexico. Samantha, their third child, is married to Justin Mears and they are both serving the Lord at the church in Galloway. Hannah, the youngest, is married to Lucas McCollum, and they are also serving here in Galloway. In preparation for ministry, the Lord led him through a variety of educational experiences that have equipped him to serve the Lord and His people. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgian Court University, a Bachelor of Biblical Studies in Pastoral Theology from Texas Independent Baptist Seminary (formerly Texas Baptist College), a Master of Religious Education in Bible from West Coast Baptist College, and a Master of Biblical Studies from The Crown College. More recently, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Biblical Counseling and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Veritas Baptist College. He is thankful for these opportunities to study God’s Word more deeply, and counts it a privilege to use whatever knowledge the Lord has given him for the building up of His church. In addition to pastoring, the Lord has given Phil the wonderful privilege of teaching as an adjunct professor at Vision Baptist College in Berlin, NJ and Veritas Baptist College.