Devotionary

You’re born. You live. You die. That just about sums up Solomon’s philosophy of life. Oh, and one more thing: As long as you are alive, try and enjoy it, because that’s all you get. Sounds a tad pessimistic, doesn’t it? But remember, this is a man who is speaking from years of experience and a life-long commitment to finding meaning and significance in life. His life had been a quest, a persistent pursuit of that illusive and endangered species known as contentment. In Ecclesiastes 2:12-26, Solomon will delve into the frequently frustrating world of life lived on this planet. When all is said and done, the fool and the wise man end up in the same place at the end of life: Dead. It really doesn’t matter how much one accomplished as compared to another. In fact, the wise man may end leaving everything he worked so hard to gain, to the poor man. It’s a form of absurdity and incongruity that leaves one shaking their head in disbelief. Solomon knew that, ultimately, everything and everyone is under the divine dire

What do you give the man who has everything? Great question. What do you give the man who has the ability to buy himself anything is heart desires? In the case of Solomon, the answer would be, “Absolutely nothing.” This guy was the consummate consumer, filling his home and his life with all the material things money could buy. He had palaces, vineyards and orchards, as well as musicians to entertain him and concubines to pleasure him. He had no shortage of friends and admirers. Other kings envied him. His people looked up to him. And on top of all his material possessions and royal closets filled with expensive robes and hand-crafted sandals, he had been blessed by God with unsurpassed wisdom. So, Solomon put his wisdom to use, trying to determine the true source of meaning in life. His life became one grand experiment, with him in the role of scientist, investigating and examining every possible source of significance and meaning. He explored the boundaries of physical pleasure. He tested the hypothesis that

In today’s episode, we’re going to cover verses 12-18 of chapter one. In this passage, Solomon is going to address three primary topics: Wisdom, madness and folly. He’ll bring them up repeatedly throughout his book, describing his relentless pursuit of them and his frustrated experience with them. It is important to remember that Solomon is most likely writing this book at the end of his life, long after he has walked away from God, having succumbed to the influence of his many wives, and having erected idols to their false gods all over the nation of Israel. As he peers back over the decades, he sees some disturbing patterns and trends. He has made the pursuit of wisdom a life-long endeavor. Keep in mind, God had graciously given Solomon wisdom when he had asked, but it seems that Solomon wanted more. Greed and a tendency toward conspicuous consumption had left him with an insatiable hunger that left him constantly dissatisfied. He operated by the philosophy of more is better. More wisdom. More money. More p

Today we begin a new series of podcasts on the book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, the son of David and the King of Israel. Over the next weeks, we will be digging deep into the profound and sometimes pessimistic-sounding words of this man who was renowned for his wisdom and who had been blessed beyond belief by God. This is not a particularly upbeat book, but it contains some of the most practical life lessons to be found in the Scriptures. Solomon, nearing the end of his long life, is providing us with some sobering insights into what he has learned over the years. Some of it is hard to hear. But all of it is vital to our understanding the futility that can come when we live our lives without God at the center of our lives. Solomon was known for his great wisdom, but we will see that wisdom alone was not enough to keep Solomon from living like a fool at times. The wisdom provided by God, used apart from a daily dependence upon God, will not protect us from making unwise choices. And Solomon will provi

This episode will bring Luke’s book to a close. He will wrap up his chronicle with Paul in prison in Rome and the fate of the gospel somewhat up in the air and unresolved. Luke does not tell us what happened to Paul. But according to the early church historian, Eusebius, Paul was eventually freed and allowed to continue his ministry, only to be sent back to Rome again where he was martyred. It is believed that, while in prison in Rome, Paul wrote four of his letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. After his release, he wrote what are typically referred to as his pastoral epistles. While Luke provides us no clear indication as to what happened to Paul, he does let us know that the two years Paul was held prisoner in Rome, he continued to proclaim the Kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite his imprisonment, he remained bold and fully committed to his commission. He did not shirk from the responsibilities given to him by Jesus. Captivity in Rome was not a detriment, but

So, Paul finally made it to Rome and Luke records this auspicious and long-awaited even in Acts 28:11-22. The interesting thing is that on two separate occasions, after having landed on Roman soil, Paul and Luke encountered groups of Christ-followers. They were not alone. The gospel had spread as far as the capital of the Roman empire. This had to have encouraged Paul greatly and reminded him once again of the sovereign plan of God. Paul had been aware of the believers in Rome for some time, having already written to them. And he had a long-standing desire to visit them. Now, his wish had come true. He was going to get the opportunity to encourage them in the faith and to help them grow strong in the Lord (See Romans 1:11-12). But Paul also made an effort to visit the synagogue in Rome, just as he had every other place he had gone on his missionary journeys. Partly, his objective was to let the Jews know why he was there and bring them up to speed about all that had transpired back in Jerusalem. They were far

Let’s face it. Bad things happen to good people. We may not understand why. We may not even like that it happens, but we can’t argue the fact that it’s a part of life. And when we read Luke’s account of Paul’s journey to Rome, we can’t help but notice that nothing seems to go right for this faithful servant of God. In fact, he had been warned in advance by God, that he would suffer. And God was true to His word. Everywhere Paul went, he faced opposition of all kinds, from verbal attacks to physical beatings. And even as he made his way to Rome on ship commandeered by the Romans, he still encountered trials that would make of us throw up our hands in despair and raise our voices in criticism of God. But Paul took it all in stride. In Acts 27:39-28:10, Luke provides a detailed account of Paul’s seemingly ill-fated voyage and eventual shipwreck. And even when he and all the other passengers of the ship washed up on the shores of Malta alive and well, he ended up getting bitten by a poisonous snake. Even the nati

It’s easy to be courageous when no danger or threat is imminent. Being brave is a piece of cake if you aren’t staring down the proverbial barrel of a gun. But what about when things have gone south and you find yourself surrounded by circumstances that could prove disastrous, if not deadly? In Acts 27:21-38, Luke is going to provide us with just such a situation. It involves Paul, as well a host of other, unnamed characters who find themselves in a deadly predicament where loss of hope is accompanied by a real possibility of loss of life. They’re on a ship in the middle of a raging storm and, as far as the men on board can determine, all is lost. But in the midst of it all, Paul will stand up and urge his fellow passengers to take heart. Basically, he will tell them to be of good cheer. They’re being battered and beaten by the wind and waves, and yet Paul wants them to put on a happy face. Had he lost his mind? Was he delirious? No, he was trusting. He had received a message from an angel of God assuring him

Have you ever felt like giving up? If we’re honest, all of us have had that experience. It comes with living in a fallen world. There are those times in life when we get the urge to throw in the towel, to quit. Sometimes it’s because we simply run out of steam. We get tired. Other times, we find ourselves running short on hope. Things get so tough that we don’t see any way out. Which drives us to abandon all hope of things getting better. In Acts 27:1-20, Luke recalls a story when Paul was being transported by ship from Caesarea to Rome. He was on his way to stand trial before the emperor. This was a God-ordained journey that was going to place Paul in the very heart of the Roman empire, providing him with a unique opportunity to share the gospel with the world’s most powerful man: Caesar. But this trip, while sanctioned by God, was not going to turn out to be a Disney cruise. This voyage was marked by lousy weather complete with typhoon-strength winds and timber-breaking waves. And even the leather-skinned s

When you look at the world, what do you see? More specifically, when you look at those who live in the world with you, what do you see? Do you see happy and sad people? Are some successful, while others struggle to make ends meet? Is your view of the people with whom you work, play and live restricted to external characteristics and visible attributes? If so, you’re not alone. But as followers of Christ, we are to see people through a different lens. We have been given a unique, Spirit-empowered perspective that allows us to look at people as either saved or lost, redeemed or under condemnation of death. On the outside, their lives may appear free from trouble and full of joy. But as God reminded the prophet, Samuel, “People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT). And yet, as believers, we are to use our spiritual sensibilities to look beneath the surface and into the hearts of those with whom we share this planet. In Acts 26:19-23, Luke continues his record of Paul’

The resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Paul, this was not a topic that came up one time a year, at Easter. It was the heart and soul of his entire ministry. Without the resurrection, he had no ministry. There was no good news. His whole salvation story was based upon his own personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus. So, when he shared the good news regarding Jesus, it included news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As far as Paul saw it, one meant nothing without the other. If Jesus had died, but had not been raised back to life, He was nothing more than a martyr, not a Messiah. He was a rabbi who taught some powerful moral lessons and lived an exemplary life, but nothing more. And yet, Paul was convinced that Jesus was alive because he had met Him on the road to Damascus. He had spoken with Jesus. And he had received his commission from the lips of Jesus. So, when Paul got the opportunity to speak before Festus and Agrippa, guess what he talked about? That’s right, the resurrection. In Acts 26:2-18, Luke

Have you ever had the experience of being tongue-tied or at a loss as to what to say? Perhaps you found yourself in the position of having to defend your faith or share your testimony, and the words just wouldn’t come out. It’s not an uncommon experience and, for most of us, it’s one we particularly dread. In today’s episode, we’re going to look at Luke’s description of a potential stress-inducing encounter between Paul and King Agrippa. Having been accused and arrested for committing crimes against the state and violating the Mosaic law, Paul has been in Roman custody for more than two years. Now, he is going to get the opportunity to present his case before King Agrippa. Yet again, Paul will find himself standing before a powerful representative of the Roman government who had the power to set him free or sentence him to death. These kinds of opportunities are rare for most of us. We don’t usually find ourselves standing before dignitaries and powerful people. But what if we did? How would we respond? Would

We can’t see into the future. We have no way of determining the outcome of our present circumstances. And neither did Paul. He had been in Caesarea under the protective custody of the Romans for two solid years, waiting for someone to make a decision regarding his guilt or innocence. But the months came and went and, eventually, so did the Roman governor. Felix was replaced by Festus. But as we will see in Acts 25:1-12, not much else changed for Paul. The Jews were still around and their hated of Paul had not diminished with time. Paul would find himself facing yet another hearing, having to listen to the same old false accusations again. And, once again, he would defend himself, declaring his innocence. But this time, Paul would take matters to a whole new level, demanding that he be allowed to appear before Caesar in Rome. This was his right as a Roman citizen. He knew he would never receive a fair trial in Jerusalem, and his only hope of having this situation resolved was by making the long and arduous jou

What do you talk about if you get the opportunity to sit down with one of the most powerful men in the land? And what if that person held the power of life or death over you. What topics do you bring up in that case? For most of us, it would seem normal and natural to avoid anything controversial or potentially offensive. We would keep the banter light and the conversation as non-inflammatory as possible. But in Acts 24:22-27, Luke records Paul’s ongoing appointments with King Agrippa and his wife, Drusilla. And what he had to say to them is a bit of a surprise. The king had the power to set Paul free or put him to death, but Paul didn’t let that stop him from discussing some highly delicate and difficult topics with him. Paul knew that Agrippa, just like any other human being on the planet, needed to hear what he had to say. And Paul discussed three essential topics that apply to every individual, regardless of their status or station in life: Sin, righteousness and judgment. Sin is a universal problem that

The Jewish leadership hated Paul and they weren’t exactly fond of what they called The Way either. They were determined to rid their world of any and all traces of Jesus and his followers. And at this point in Luke’s story, we find Paul bearing the full brunt of the Sanhedrin’s hatred for him. They fully believed they had him on the ropes. He had been shipped off to Caesarea where he would stand before the Roman governor, facing a litany of trumped up charges, that the Sanhedrin hoped would result in his death. And while the prosecuting attorney had what he believed to be a strong case against Paul, the real focus of the ire of the Jewish religious leaders had to do with Paul’s claim that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah of Israel. This was more than they could handle. They had seen Jesus crucified and any talk that he had been raised back to life and was orchestrating a movement was nonsense to them. Much to their chagrin, the rabbi from Nazareth who had caused them so much grief when he was alive, was caus

It was Jesus who referred to Paul as, “my chosen instrument.” He had called and commissioned Paul to take the message of the gospel to the Gentiles and to kings. And Paul had proven to be a faithful servant, carrying out that calling with fearless determination. He had been beaten, flogged, rejected, run out of town, and even stoned, but he never gave up. He refused to back down. And now, Luke begins to chronicle Paul’s divinely appointed journey to Rome. The Roman tribune in Jerusalem had no idea what to do with Paul. He could find no reason to keep Paul, let alone punish him. So, he determined to send Paul to Caesarea, where the Roman governor, Felix, could assess the situation and make a judgment. As we have stressed repeatedly, these encounters were divine appointments, orchestrated by God and in fulfillment of the words of Jesus. Paul had been chosen by Jesus to accomplish great things for the kingdom, and that was going to include standing before some of the most powerful men in the Roman empire. And th

aul was a dead man. At least, as far as the Jewish religious leadership were concerned. They believed it was just a matter of time before they convinced the Roman authorities to condemn Paul as a dangerous threat to the well-being of the empire. They had gone out of their way to portray Paul as a radical and revolutionary who stirring up trouble among the Jews and causing riots that could boil over and threaten the peace of Jerusalem. And then were another 40 Jews who had made a pact with one another not to eat or drink until they had assassinated Paul. It seems as if everyone was out to get him. But nobody could touch him without the express permission of God. Paul had made a habit of walking away from difficult situations, including his own stoning. He was like the Energizer Bunny of the 1st-Century. He just kept going and going and going. And Paul was going to survive this latest dilemma, because God was not done with him yet. He had unfinished plans for Paul, that included a trip to Caesarea and then on t

Nobody likes it when their plans fail or their preconceived ideas of how things should turn out, turn out for the worse. But when living in the will of God, it’s not always possible to know when that turn for the worse is exactly what God had in mind. In studying the life of the apostle Paul, we are provided with a vicarious look into the up and down nature of his calling. Paul was living in obedience to the commission given to him by Christ, and yet he regularly suffered everything from rejection and ridicule to both verbal and physical abuse. If you measure his success based on the external circumstances surrounding his life, it would be easy to conclude that, at times, he was out of God’s will. Why else would God allow him to be beaten, flogged, arrested, and even stoned and left for dead? But one of the things we learn from Luke’s chronology of those early decades of the church, is that God’s ways are not our ways. His methodology doesn’t always make sense to us, but it gives us no right to question His m

As followers of Jesus Christ, we live with a certain sense of duality. We are citizens of heaven, but we find ourselves having to live out our earthly existence in this world. And that can leave us facing a certain degree of conflict and tension, as we attempt to navigate a fallen world while maintaining the integrity of our heavenly citizenship. Paul was well acquainted with this ever-present reality for the believer because he faced it each and every day of his life. And Paul had learned how to straddle these two antithetical worlds with a certain sense of ease. That’s not to say it was easy. He faced rejection and ridicule. He was constantly misunderstood and misrepresented. He was hated and despised. And it was not uncommon for him to face both verbal and physical abuse for his beliefs. As we continue to look at Paul’s defense before the Jews who had accused him of desecrating the temple, we will see Paul effectively using his dual citizenship as a Jew and a Roman, in order to navigate the difficult circu

By this time in the story of the Book of Acts, we have seen the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry, which provides ample proof of the reality of his calling. As we read Paul’s testimony found in Acts 22:6-21, he makes it clear that his commission had come from Jesus Christ Himself, and that his entire life since the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus had been the work of God. He was a chosen instrument of God, handpicked even before he was born and given a very specific assignment to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. And Paul had been faithful to that task. Which was the very reason he had been accosted and arrested in the temple courtyard that day in Jerusalem. A contingent of Jews from Asia had come to town and had seen Paul in the Courtyard of the Israelites and accused him of violating Mosaic law by bringing a Gentile into the restricted area, thus desecrating the temple. But Paul had been innocent. In fact, the whole point of his testimony was to assure those in his audience t