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Psalm 119:133

26 Mar

133 Establish my footsteps in Your word,
And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.

Psalm 119:133

Dear God, the last part of this one verse is so powerful. My iniquities and their influence over my life is a concept that overwhelms and humbles me. How many of the frustrations I’m experiencing now are a result of my iniquities? My sins?

It doesn’t say that David wrote this psalm, but my first thought goes to David and how his dalliance with Bathsheba (rape?) and then murder of Uriah seems to be the touchstone for his family problems later. That iniquity, though repented of in Psalm 51, seemed to have dominion over the rest of his life and even flowed into history. Amnon was the rightful heir to the throne, but Absalom killed him, led a revolt that ultimately led to his death. And Solomon would never have existed if not for David’s relationship with Bathsheba.

So, what can I pray for this morning? Well, somehow, Solomon was the pathway to Jesus through lineage. There was redemption for this somewhere down the line. Can you somehow use the ripples of the sins I’ve committed to do something positive in this world? Can you protect me from my iniquities and keep them from having dominion over me?

Father, I want to be at peace with the sorrows in my life. I can see where I made mistakes that played a role in my current sorrows, but I still don’t know how I ended up in them to the level I’m at. And it hurts. I hurt. So please be in these situations. Don’t let my mistakes and sins (sometimes mistakes aren’t sins) have dominion over me, the ones I love, or the plans you have for us. Help me to know the path forward, which starts with my very next step.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 26, 2025 in Psalms, Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

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Ecclesiastes 12

21 Oct

12 Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” 2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 3 Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.

4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.

5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

12 But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Ecclesiastes 12

Dear God, I have to say that this is an odd ending for this book. And I would say that verses 13 and 14 seem incongruous with the message Solomon has been teaching up until now. It seems like the previous 11 chapters have been about enjoying life as much as you can because that’s all you get, but this last chapter is about you. It’s almost like he read over everything else he wrote and looked for that deeper purpose. The other activities of eating joyfully and sucking every morsal out of life seem to fade away in this last chapter. Now, he realizes that it is about remembering you not in my old age, but when I am young.

I would certainly say that my knowledge of Solomon and how his life turned out helps to inform how I read this book. Knowing that he marries 700 women and has another 300 on the side. Knowing that a lot of these wives will lead him away from you with the idols of their home lands. Knowing that he makes treaties with people in the name of peace instead of fearing the attraction of their riches and their idols. Knowing that he ends up being harsh to his people. All of that makes me take his advice here with a grain of salt. I wonder how early in his reign he wrote this book. Of course, we aren’t even sure he wrote it.

I just read the summary of the book from my NIV Study Bible and it’s interesting to see how the biblical scholars position this book because it’s not at all how I read it. Perhaps I was wrong. Hear is what the author of the summary says about what the book teaches:

Life not centered on God is purposeless and meaningless. Without him, nothing else can satisfy (2:25). With him, all of life and his other good gifts are to be gratefully received (see James 1:17) and used and enjoyed to the full (2:26; 11:8). The book contains the philosophical and theological reflections of an old man, most of whose life was meaningless because he had not himself relied on God.

Father, the experience of spending the last two weeks with Ecclesiastes has been interesting. What have I gotten out of it? I’m not sure except to just really have my guard up against the pursuit of myself because chasing my own “happiness” is a fruitless path. It will not lead to anything but ultimate emptiness. But if I wake up wanting to love you and then love others I will have a chance at living a life that will be in touch with you and grow the fruits of your Spirit within me. It’s the fruit of your Spirit that I want for my time here. I want to have a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Thank you for offering me that life through the relationship you want to have with me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 21, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 11

20 Oct

11 Send your grain across the seas,
    and in time, profits will flow back to you.
2 But divide your investments among many places,
    for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
    Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.

4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
    If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

8 When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless.

9 Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. 10 So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.

Dear God, I don’t normally spend too much time on the footnotes in the different translations, but the footnote for verse 1 seems important: 11:1 Or Give generously, / for your gifts will return to you later. Hebrew reads Throw your bread on the waters, / for after many days you will find it again. It’s interesting because it’s almost like this is putting a selfish twist on Jesus’s command to love others. It’s saying there is a side benefit to loving others that makes it worth it. That sounds like Solomon. That sounds on-brand.

I think the other part I’m going to focus on this morning is the truth of verse 5: 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. I don’t understand you, and I am okay with that. I don’t know why you’re doing thing the way you’re doing them. I think the person who holds on to the selfish motivation for doing what they do gets angry at this. And I’ve been angry with you before because I can be very selfish. I’ve been disappointed in you before because I thought I had made some sort of deal with you that you didn’t live up to. But you had never made that deal with me. Your deal with me is that you will forgive me of my sin, love me as I love you, and then let your Spirit and the fruits of your Spirit grow in me as I love you. Everything else is a hazy mystery.

It makes me think of the Gospel reading for the Catholic church this morning out of Mark 10:35-45, when James and John go to Jesus and ask to sit at his right and left when he comes into his glory. I don’t know why, but I never thought too much about what they meant by Jesus coming into his glory. They had no idea what this would look like. Even though he had just told them about his death, they weren’t getting it. I don’t know exactly what they were envisioning, but it seems to me they were wanting to make a deal with Jesus in order to attain greatness. I don’t think they were thinking about heavenly greatness and new earth greatness like we think of it now. I think they were thinking of earthly power greatness. Judging. Intimidation. Punishment. Casting favor. Little did they know they would literally share in Jesus’s path. James would be the first of the 12 to be martyred while John would live in miserable exile. I don’t know what role they play in the new earth, and I’ll find out one day, but I’m sure they are embarrassed to look back and know they did this. Just like I am embarrassed by so many selfish things I’ve done.

Father, there is so much for Solomon to learn, and so much for me to learn from both his good and bad examples. Help me to learn every lesson you have for me. I know some of them will be harder for me to learn than others. Open my eyes so I can see. Open my ears so I can hear. Dispatch of the bad teaching I’ve observed over the years. Help me to link everything to the teachings I know of from Jesus through the Gospel writers and the other authors of the New Testament. They say on a football team, each player on the field just has to do their 1/11th. Well, if there are 2 billion Christians on the earth, help me to be the best 1/2 billionth I can possibly be. For your glory, and your glory alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 20, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 10

19 Oct

10 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,
    so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

2 A wise person chooses the right road;
    a fool takes the wrong one.

3 You can identify fools
    just by the way they walk down the street!

4 If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
    A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.

5 There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. 7 I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!

8 When you dig a well,
    you might fall in.
When you demolish an old wall,
    you could be bitten by a snake.
9 When you work in a quarry,
    stones might fall and crush you.
When you chop wood,
    there is danger with each stroke of your ax.

10 Using a dull ax requires great strength,
    so sharpen the blade.
That’s the value of wisdom;
    it helps you succeed.

11 If a snake bites before you charm it,
    what’s the use of being a snake charmer?

12 Wise words bring approval,
    but fools are destroyed by their own words.

13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,
    so their conclusions will be wicked madness;
14     they chatter on and on.

No one really knows what is going to happen;
    no one can predict the future.

15 Fools are so exhausted by a little work
    that they can’t even find their way home.

16 What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant,
    the land whose leaders feast in the morning.
17 Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader
    and whose leaders feast at the proper time
    to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.

18 Laziness leads to a sagging roof;
    idleness leads to a leaky house.

19 A party gives laughter,
    wine gives happiness,
    and money gives everything!

20 Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts.
    And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom.
For a little bird might deliver your message
    and tell them what you said.

Ecclesiastes 10

Dear God, I have to say that it was verses 13 and 14a that stuck out to me this morning:

13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,
    so their conclusions will be wicked madness;
14     they chatter on and on.

I thought of Solomon and the premise for many of his arguments in the previous 9 chapters: It’s all a waste so you might as well make yourself as happy as you can. Oh, how I think Jesus would have had something to say to Solomon about all of this.

So that makes me wonder why kinds of things I am just so certain of that are simple foolishness. Don’t get me wrong, I love to sit here and judge Solomon from thousands of years ago. But what is the good in that? I need to learn from Solomon, and I need some self introspection to figure out if there are any premises of my philosophy/theology/perspective that are simply wrong? When it comes to my marriage, is there anything I believe that is simply wrong? When it comes to parenting? My work? My involvement in church and the community? My engagement in politics? I have a friend who is a good man and a great lover and worshipper of you, but I fear he has made politics, politicians, and other associated things into an idol. I tried to talk to him about it, but he couldn’t hear my arguments. I am sure that if he were the one sitting here right now, he might be typing the same thing about me. How can John not feel more this way or that way? Why is he not upset about this or prioritizing that?

Father, I don’t know that I’m going to come up with some great answer sitting here this morning, but I am sure there are many areas where I am flat out wrong. When I meet you face to face one day I will have all kinds of things revealed to me that will make me feel foolish. So I am sorry for my foolishness. I am sorry that I likely cause you to shake your head at my missed opportunities or wrong perspectives. I love you. Holy Spirit, please speak to me in a still, small voice and reveal not only the Father and the Son to me, but also open my eyes to see the sin in myself.

I pray this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 9

18 Oct

9 This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. 2 The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

3 It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. 4 There is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”

5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. 6 Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. 7 So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! 8 Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!

9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.

13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. 14 There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. 15 A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. 16 So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.

17 Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person
    than the shouts of a foolish king.
18 Better to have wisdom than weapons of war,
    but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Dear God, once again, by doing a whole chapter that has artificial separations not done by Solomon, but by translators, I have some disparate thoughts on the content here.

The first thing I was thinking about as I read Solomon bemoan the idea that we just as well live for ourselves because we all end up in the same place anyway is that he is missing the point of living for you and you using our lives. Naomi’s move to Moab, her son marrying Ruth, her son dying, and her return to Bethlehem with Ruth was putting something in motion that would ultimately lead to Jesus’s lineage: the marriage of Ruth to Boaz. Our lives will have effect on other lives. I can’t remember the example right now, but I was talking to my wife this morning about a small thing that happened long ago that led to something wonderful now. I told her, “Those were the butterfly’s wings that made this happen (I really wish I could remember what we were talking about.” For good or ill, our lives do impact others. And even a bad life can bring good fruit because of your redemption. And good intentions can accidentally bring bad fruit. Frankly, we never know, but you know. But I would rather live my life worshipping you and loving others than feeling sorry for myself that I don’t get some sort of reward over someone else. That’s pitiful. So I reject the premise of Solomon’s argument and his self-pity. There are sorrows in my life, and I have let them bring me down and make me feel sorry for myself. But my life isn’t about me. It’s about loving you and loving everyone I can.

Now, for the part about the poor wise person not being respected due to their stature, well, this is very true. As a tall, middle class man, I have advantages in a group of people that others don’t have. I was thinking about this once when watching the movie 12 Angry Men. I thought about Henry Fonda’s character, Juror #8, and how it helped in the script that he was tall. Juror #2 (John Fiedler) was the small man with the mousy voice (the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh). It would have been interesting to see how the movie would go if they had switched the casting and made him Juror #8. What would it have been like to see the small man with a high voice being the lone holdout at the beginning of the movie? How would it have looked to see him standing up to people while they towered over him? I don’t think it would have worked, and the movie would not have been as good. It’s human nature. So the lesson to me is to look for the wisdom where my prejudices would tell me to avoid or ignore. And don’t ascribe wisdom and influence to the things the world tells me to admire and respect because of their appearance, stature, gender, or wealth.

Father, I would love to have seen Solomon and Jesus have a conversation over these things. I would love to have an account of Solomon going to Jesus in the night like Nicodemus did and laying out these feelings before him. I would love to hear Jesus tell him to let go, relax, worship, and love. Our lives are so small. I’m currently just one man sitting in a hotel room in a city with millions of people. My life is so small and yet it can seem so important in my own mind. And I’m know I’m important to you, but so is everyone else in the hotel, city, county, state, country, and world. We are your children. You love us all–even the ones who have wandered far from you. Help me to be about loving everyone you love, which is to say, help me to be about loving everyone!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 8

17 Oct

8 How wonderful to be wise,
    to analyze and interpret things.
Wisdom lights up a person’s face,
    softening its harshness.

2 Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3 Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. 4 His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? 8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.

9 I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10 I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11 When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13 The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

14 And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

15 So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

16 In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. 17 I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.

Ecclesiastes 8

Dear God, I have a few things here.

First, I have been tempted to abandon this series in Ecclesiastes. I haven’t enjoyed it nearly as much as I thought I would. It’s a little like a Carpenters’ song. In isolation they are fun, but if you spend an hour listening to The Carpenters you can’t help but leaving feeling a little depressed. That’s how I feel about reading Ecclesiastes day after day. It feels like Solomon is experiencing so much emptiness.

Which leads me to my second point. As I was reading chapter 8 this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if Solomon wasn’t fighting or experiencing some depression when he wrote this. It feels like the musings of someone who is struggling. Verse 14: 4 And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless! Not the words of someone who is at peace and filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. If I had been Solomon’s friend or confidant at this time, I wonder if I would be worried about him. How would I counsel him. I actually have a friend I’ve been concerned about lately, and I suggested to them that they see a counselor because they have so much going on in their personal and professional lives. Yeah, it feels like Solomon might have needed an intervention. I wonder how much the process of writing all of this out might have been therapeutic to him in some way.

Finally, I like this last part of chapter 8: 16 In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. 17 I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim. That is the key that I feel like I am learning more and more. I have no idea what you are up to, and that is okay. I shouldn’t expect anything from you. I watched a good video this morning that is a mock conversation between an early Christian and a modern Christian.

Somehow we have accidentally come to expect things from our faith that Jesus would have…well, at a minimum he would shake his head.

Father, I am going to get to have a lot of interactions with others today. I’m going to a conference in Houston where I will visit with a lot of people who are in the same type of work I am. Then I get to have dinner with an old friend. Make me an instrument of your peace today. Help me to expect nothing for myself, but to worship you in every word that I speak and action I take. Help me to love you well and represent your well. Help me to lead with mercy and compassion. And I am sorry for the foolishness I show sometimes when I expect things that Jesus would just shake his head at–that you shake your head at.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 17, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 6

15 Oct

6 There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. 2 God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.

3 A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead. 4 His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name, 5 and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. 6 He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use?

7 All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. 8 So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others?

9 Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

10 Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny.

11 The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they?

12 In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?

Ecclesiastes 6

Dear God, “one thing [he] lacks.” That’s what came to mind when I started to pray about this passage. Solomon (or the person writing in his voice) is missing something so key. He’s missing the part about loving others and following you. It reminded me of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

This guy was trying so hard without giving all of himself. I think the same can be said of Solomon. He wanted so badly to have everything. He didn’t want to sacrifice anything for the good of someone else. Even the idea that he would work to accumulate things and then someone else could inherit and enjoy them appalled him. It’s a very self-centered view of the world. If Solomon had come to Jesus like this young ruler did and asked, “What must I do to be happy?” I think Jesus would have had a similar answer for him. Solomon pursued money, possessions, women, and land. He was a harsh king. His son was even more harsh than he was (1 Kings 12:1-15). Solomon lost his love for you and for others through his pursuit of self.

Of course, now it’s time to turn the lens and focus it on myself. Am I pursuing myself? In the things at work that are causing me stress, am I stressed because I am not sure how to accomplish the things you want me to accomplish, or am I stressed because the things that are a struggle might reflect poorly on me? Am I there for others and do I want things to be good for others, or do I want them to be good so I can have a good, easy time? Of course, there is some of both, but I confess to you right now that a good bit of my ego is in there too.

Father, as things come up today, make my focus all about worshiping you and loving others. When I problem comes up, help me to put you first and foremost. Help me to put your will for others first and foremost. Help me to love as you love. Help me to pray, serve, persuade, and suffer for others. It’s all about you. It’s all about how you will use me to love others. My joy will come through those two things.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 15, 2024 in Ecclesiastes, Mark

 

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Ecclesiastes 3

12 Oct

3 For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

16 I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! 17 I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”

18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. 21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die.

Ecclesiastes 3

Dear God, let’s face it, most everyone over 40 knows the beginning of this song from The Byrds classic, “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

I could spend a lot of time talking about the different seasons in life, but I am actually drawn to two other parts of this chapter. First, verse 11: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. I think my Mothers of the Bible and Fathers of the Bible series taught me that I will never be able to see what you are doing in the grand scope of things. My life is too short and my mind is too small. Naomi could never have seen that her path in life would lead to the lineage of Jesus (through Ruth and Boaz, to Obed, to Jesse, to David, to, ultimately, Jesus.) Hagar couldn’t have seen her suffering would lead to her freedom from slavery until much later in life. I can’t even figure out how taking a trip this week impacts the rest of my life. Almost nothing is known to me. And that’s okay. It’s just hard to learn to accept.

Then there is the part in verses 18-20: 18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. I mentioned this the other day after I read the whole book at once and then prayed about my takeaways. Solomon (or the person writing from his perspective) has such a Solomon-centric, humancentric view of the world at this point, that he sees the only path as being self indulgence. Verses 12 and 13: 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. Verse 22a: 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life.

Whenever I think of the quiet sufferer who didn’t “live their best life now” (see Joel Osteen’s heresy) I think of the poor widow who put a couple of coins into the offering at the Temple. Jesus saw it and gathered his disciples around him to point it out and use it as a teachable moment. But there is no evidence that she ever knew he saw her. There is no evidence she ever had any more money when she died than she did that day. And there is no evidence that she ever knew that her act of worship and duty to you would be preserved as an example to billions of people over the millennia. So Solomon, I know you didn’t have her as an example yet when you wrote this, but she is my example. My life is not about me.

Father, we are on an interesting journey through Ecclesiastes. It’s a little like Job where you have a lot of people talking and saying the wrong things, including Job. Taken out of context, this could be a dangerous book. But for me the message of peace is found in 3:11: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I trust you with eternity. I trust you with my life. I trust you with my wife’s and children’s lives. My wife and I prayed for a cousin who is getting married today. I trust you with their lives as well. Be God. Don’t let one thing slip from your notice. And use every struggle to refine all of us into your children.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 12, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 3:13, 5:18, 8:15, 9:7

10 Oct


And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

Ecclesiastes 3:13


Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.

Ecclesiastes 5:18


So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15


So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Dear God, I read Ecclesiastes in one sitting yesterday, and this phrase kept popping up. As Solomon (again, I’m going to just assume Solomon although it could be someone speaking with his voice) considered life and its meaning, it seemed that he couldn’t get away from the idea of just finding happiness in indulgence because our lives are so small you might as well have some fun while you’re here.

There is something to be said for taking time for a little enjoyment. As I type these words, I am on the balcony of a rented condominium overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean is roaring in my ears as the beginning of the sunrise are starting to show over the tankers anchored on the horizon. My wife and I went out and had a great dinner last night. We have indulged this week, and the time to relax has been good. It’s been a luxury. I’ve needed it. She’s needed it too. So yes, I do believe there is a place for this.

I think the important thing to remember is that the work “under the sun” is not a burden. It’s a “get to” and not a “have to.” Now there is some work that is just flat out hard. Harvesting crops. Roofing houses. But even this work can be mixed with worshipping you and submitted to you as our lives are submitted to you. Otherwise, if we carry this vision through life (the short lives we live) that our work is a burden then we will have spend so much of our lives thinking we deserve better. And no matter how much “better” we end up achieving, there will always be a happiness we never achieve.

Father, it reminds me of a VeggieTales my wife and I still joke about called Madame Blueberry. In it, our main character is in search of a happy heart. It feels like that is what Solomon is in search of in Ecclesiastes. He is trying to unwrap the mystery of the happy heart. For Junior Asparagus in Madame Blueberry, happy hearts are found in gratitude. And I think that can be true. But I think it starts even a step back from that and getting over my rights to the life, relationships, and situations I think I am entitled to. To quote Paul once again from Acts 20:24, “I consider my life worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus have given to me. The task of testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace.” If I can truly get to that level and then do what Paul and James tell me to do in giving thanks in all things then I will find a heart that exudes love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Help me to get there.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 10, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 1

09 Oct

1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
    What is missing cannot be recovered.

16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
    To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1

Dear God, I’m actually going to sit down and read all of Ecclesiates (it’s been a while and I don’t remember that much about the arc of the book) before I just drop into studying it because I think I need the context of chapters 2-12 before I can get a feel for where Solomon (I’m just going to assume this is Solomon and not someone writing in his voice) is coming from in chapter 1. I say this because, for a wise person, he seems awfully naive in this chapter. He comes across as too immature. There must be more to the message he has for us than, “I’ve seen the future and all I can say is, ‘Turn back.'”

When I started reading this passage this morning, my first thought was to think he has it all wrong. He starts with a basis for his argument that is faulty. The basis is that life is about us. Our lives our about us. My life is about me. He is right that the world is just on a cycle and it keeps repeating itself with our lives just being an infinitely small part of that cycle. I can see it in the lives of the dogs I’ve owned in my life. I don’t think I can name every dog our family owned as a child, but I can break down the 54 years I’ve been on earth into eras of my pets. My childhood until 18 is one era with many dogs coming and going, but I’ll call this the “Weezer” era because there was one dog we had from the time I was five until after I left for college. Then, seven years later, my wife and I got our first dog, Darlin’. That era lasted 14 years until she aged out and towards the end of her life we got sisters from the pound, Polo and Clover. That era lasted 15 years, and now we are in the era of Evvie. Our hope is that this era will last us into our late 60s.

These dogs had meaningful roles to play in our lives. They loved us, and they gave us something to love. They didn’t really do much around the house. They didn’t earn their keep. We didn’t make any money off of them. In fact, they have all been a resource drain. They have taken time, money, and even some heartache. They angered us when they destroyed something or peed in the house. They delighted us when they played or cuddled up next to us. The sisters, Polo and Clover, fought with each other, and all of them tried to figure out how to get along with other dogs we encountered, and sometimes they failed at that too. But because a dog’s lifespan is much shorter than mine, I can see the fleetingness of life in them. I see the energy of a puppy, the learning and hunger for knowledge of an adolescent, and ultimately the fatigue of the elderly. Their memory’s live in my heart, but even those memories will die with me one day.

Is my life much different? Does it matter to me if it isn’t? I have a feeling that is the question Solomon is going to wrestle with here, and I’m here for it. If it’s not something along these lines, and the whole book is just moaning that he is not more important then I will be really disappointed.

Father, I know you have things to teach me. I know you’ve only given me one short life to live here on this earth. Help me to use it well. Help me to glorify you in all that I do. Help me to die to myself willingly, pick up my cross and follow you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 9, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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