Tag: Devotional

A Few Great Resources for Studying Ecclesiastes

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Devotional, MinistryLeave a comment

So we have been spending a little time reading through Ecclesiastes for the last week and a half and we will wrap things up tomorrow with Ecclesiastes 12.  Some of you may have had your interest piqued by the book of Ecclesiastes and want to go deeper.  Here are a couple of great resources I pulled off my shelf and have helped me get some meaning and application from the book of Ecclesiastes.

The first book I would recommend is A Life Well Lived: A Study of the Book of Ecclesiastes (affiliate link) by Tommy Nelson.  This book is written in a regular non-fiction book format and is an easy read for someone who isn’t used to using commentaries.  The author uses lots of great illustrations and packs in a great deal of application.  You can catch it at Amazon.com for about $11.00 (affiliate links).

The second book I would recommend is Ecclesiastes: Total Life (Everyman’s Bible Commentary)(affiliate link) By Walter Kaiser.  It is a great resource to get into the grit of what Ecclesiastes is all about.  Several years ago when I lead a college group through the book of Ecclesiastes I picked this book up.  Its no long in print and I think the only way you can get it now is from a used book seller.  I think I found my copy on Amazon.com (affiliate like) or maybe allbookstores.com (which is where I go to compare amazon against the other book retailers and get the best price or find an old book no longer out of print).

Real Failure Comes From a Lack of Wisdom (Ecclesiastes 10)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, discipleshipLeave a comment

Chapter 10 is much like Solomon’s speech to the graduating class.  Its a reminder that God is sovereign, people should be humble, and that apart from God’s wisdom you will make a mess of your life.

I know a man who lived well and for a majority of his life he trusted God.  Yet near the end he became a fool and made some bad decisions.  We are all only one bad decision away from ruining it all.  It’s not how you start the race its how it ends that matters. (Ecclesiastes 10:1)

Sometimes we meet resistance in life just because we are foolish.  There is story I once heard of a young man who wanted to be a lumberjack.  He was younger and more athletic than the other lumberjacks in his crew.  He showed up to the forest the first day and made the claim that he could chop down more trees than anyone else on the crew by the end of the week.  So they went to work and sure enough the young and athletic lumberjack was leading the way and cutting down trees almost twice as fast as the rest of the crew.  Eager to make his mark on the lumberjack world he worked through his lunches and while the other guys took a break. Somewhere around mid-week things began to slow and the young and athletic lumberjack was cutting fewer and fewer trees.  Finally by the end of the week he had cut the least amount of trees and the foreman had to let him go.  On his way out of the camp he went up to one of the older men who had been cutting down trees for years.  He said, “I don’t get it.  I am stronger and faster than anyone out here.  I never took breaks.  I worked through lunch.  How did you cut down more trees than me?”  The older lumber jack simply replied, “I took time to sharpen my axe.”  Sometimes it’s not about how hard you swing or how fast you are.  Sometimes as the old business proverb goes, “Work smarter, not harder.” (Ecclesiastes 10:10)

Application:   Where do you need wisdom in your life? There are decisions that you need to make in your life right now.  Some of them are somewhat small and inconsequential (like what will you eat for lunch).  Others of them really  matter.  Like what kind of husband, father, son,  or leader will you be.

How to Fail by Success (ecclesiastes 6)

On By pastorjonathanIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In the first few verses solomon writes about a man who has success, but can’t really enjoy it, because he doesn’t know the God that gave him the success. (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2)

Near the end of the chapter Solomon warns us of roving appetites. I’m going to have to keep making trips to the grocery store because we keep getting hungry at my house. My hunger is only satisfied temporarily. We are tempted to wander in our appetites. We may have a cabinent full of food, but none of it satisfy the initial hunger we have because we have set our appetite on food that isn’t available. Solomon warns that it is better to be satisfied with today than to put all of our stock in being full tomorrow. (Ecclesiastes 6:7-9)

Application: enjoy today! Spend time with friends and family. Thank God for the blessings you do have. When you leave work, leave it behind. Enjoy living today.

The Fruitful Life By Jerry Bridges (Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment
Jerry Bridges has discipled me from afar for years. I was first introduced to his book, The Pursuit of Holiness (affiliate link) around 10 years ago and it has left a lasting impression on my life.  I was grateful for the opportunity to read and review The Fruitful Life: The Overflow of God’s Love Through You(affiliate link).

The Fruitful Life: The Overflow of God’s Love Through You (affiliate link) is an application oriented exposition of the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.  I am deeply grateful an appreciative to the author for taking the time to flesh out the practical aspects of how fruit is produced in our lives.  He does an outstanding job at bringing the reader in to focus on living a Christ-centered fruit-bearing life.  He acknowledges an individuals reliance on the Holy Spirit of God to produce fruit, while at the same time calling the reader to responsibility.  For example, in the chapter concerning humility the author writes, “Though not mentioned explicitly in Galatians 5:22-23, humility is surely a fruit of the Spirit, the result of His ministry in our hearts.  But this ministry does not occur without deliberate, conscious effort on our part.  The Spirit does not make us humble; He enables us to humble ourselves in these difficult situations” (57).

Each chapter contains excellent study and application questions that go well beyond most group study books that I have read.  If read thoroughly and with a mind for application this book can change your life.  This book is a great tool for understanding and applying the scripture to your life.  It is designed to be useful for either individual study or study as a group.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Fruitful Life: The Overflow of God’s Love Through You (affiliate link) the retail price is $12.99 (paperback), and is worth twice that.  It is also available at places like Amazon.com for $10.39 (affiliate links).  I gave it five stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book (affiliate link) free from NavPress as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Who defines good? (ecclesiastes 2)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

Chapter two starts out with Solomon’s practical experiments in the pursuit of pleasure (2:3). In the end it didn’t provide him with lasting satisfaction (2:11).

Solomon then sets his sights on wisdom. However, Solomon can’t escape the fatal statistic that ultimately is the leveler of all men: everyone dies! Wisdom in this life Has the same problem that riches, pleasure, knowledge, and a hard days work have… They have no merit or worth beyond the door of death.

Solomon stumbles on to a sobering reality… There is no getting ahead in life when you are racing to your death. We all ultimately have the same destination.

Often we judge ourselves compared to how others are doing. We imagine we are living well if we are living better than others (morally, in the way we handle money, etc.) We might be able to draw a small measure of pleasure from the fact that we are “ahead” in life. Yet when we consider the end or destination, these things really matter very little. It’s at this point that Solomon begins to point to a greater purpose in trusting God (Ecclesiastes 2:24). Though we live in a temporal and fallen world, God has not removed all pleasure. The base line for judging our lives and determining our purpose isn’t what others are doing… It comes from “the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24). We also know that the standard of goodness isn’t what I call good, but what is good in God’s sight (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

Application: Who defined “good” & “right” for you? Are you looking at others to determine where you are in life or are you truly looking to God for guidance and wisdom on what is good?

What are your thoughts on Ecclesiastes 2?

Living Godly in an Ungodly Wolrd (Titus 3)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, discipleship1 Comment

My pastor posts a daily devotional thoughts most every day on the passages of scripture he is reading.  I follow along by reading the same passage in the morning and some time later catching up with his thoughts.  Today is the third and final day in Titus. I don’t know what aspects of the passage he is going to flesh out.  Hopefully this will be complimentary to his blog post.

Living Godly in an Ungodly World

In a perfect world just knowing sound doctrine would be good enough to effect the way we live, but the truth of the matter is that we live in an ungodly world.  It is difficult to put into practice the things that we know are right.  We can find ourselves justifying wrong behavior.  We justify cheating on our taxes because we disagree how the money will be spent.  We talking bad about our boss because we find ourselves on his bad side.  We justify not disciplining our kids because we have had a long day at work.

So then, how do we live Godly in an ungodly world?

We submit to the authorities that God has placed us under (Titus 3:1) – We are good citizens.  We didn’t used to be (Titus 3:3).  We don’t take offense at having leadership placed over us.  We look for ways to serve those who lead us, sometimes even while we disagree.

When teaching on leadership one time I wanted to illustrate how leaders have to make decisions based on the best interest of the people they lead.  Sometimes the majority vote is wrong.  To make the point I let the kids decide where to eat.  They said, “Chick-fil-a.” I said it wouldn’t work.  They said, “KFC.”  I said it wasn’t a good choice for the group.  I kid you not they said, “Churches Chicken.”  I finally said, “you need to make a decision that’s good for the group.”  They asked, “What’s wrong with Chicken?” The answer was that one of them was allergic to chicken.

Sometimes we may think that those we are called to submit to just hate chicken, but I bet if we give them the benefit of the doubt we will find out that more often than not they are making wise decisions for the group.  When we place the interest of others ahead of our own we are ready to hear that.  Its while we are self absorbed that we most often rail against  the Authorities in our lives.

We do good works (Titus 3:1, 8) – We shouldn’t be godly in our speach only, but in our actions as well.  When God has blessed us we need to give of our time, effort, and money to help others along the way.  Sometimes that is helping our brothers in Christ along the way.  Sometimes that is going out of our way to help people meet Jesus.

We Avoid foolish controversies and toxic people (Titus 3:9) – Some people never get it.  We are to lovingly reach out once or twice, but not give audience to those who are seeking a division.  This may sound strange or out of character, but the truth is some people  thrive of having people listen to what they are saying and so they invent controversy.  The best way to deal with someone who is creating controversy for controversy sake is to reason with them once or twice and then deal with them like the little boy that cried wolf.

There isn’t profit in continually giving someone an audience who is bent on folly.  You are only feeding the folly.  The godly thing to do is cut them off so they will learn of their sin and quickly repent.  The last thing you want to do is be seen in the middle of a church scandal while trying to invite your lost friends to meet Jesus.

Application: Living Godly in an ungodly world… What are you doing to submit to the authority in your life? How are you blessing the leadership in your life? What kinds of good works are you involved in or can you be involved in today?  Who can you bless?  Who do you need to avoid?  What situations do you need to remove yourself from?

Which of the 3 is hardest for you?

What are your thoughts on Titus 3?

If you liked this post, you may like these as well:

When Church People Do Bad Things

When Church hurts

7 Steps of a Unified Group

God Cannot Lie, but People Can (Titus 1)

Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living (Titus 2)

Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living (Titus 2)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, Ministry, spiritual disciplines, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’m trying something new.  My pastor posts a daily devotional thoughts most every day on the passages of scripture he is reading.  I follow along by reading the same passage in the morning and some time later catching up with his thoughts.  Today is the second day in Titus. I don’t know what aspects of the passage he is going to flesh out.  Hopefully this will be complimentary to his blog post.

Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living

Truth about God is called doctrine.  Sound doctrine is having true truth about God.  False doctrine is when some one says, “This is true about God” and it isn’t.  Like when some people in Crete said you had to be circumcised in order to be a follower of Jesus (Titus 1:10).  That was a lie and it didn’t lead people closer to God, it actually separated them from God (Titus 1:16). Sound doctrine however causes us to grow in godliness.

So how do you apply sound doctrine to your life?

Submit to authority (Titus 2:2,15; 3:1) – I know it sounds weird to submit.  Saying the very word submit brings back memories of playing “mercy” (you may have called it “uncle”) and watching wrestling on TV. Submission, however, is really less about being defeated by someone and more about accepting authority.  Submission to godly authority actually protects us from error and helps us to grow in our relationship with Christ.  Being under authority is actually a gift from God and we need to be thankful for our pastors and teachers.

As an adult it is easy to see why children really need to submit to their parents.  When I discipline my daughter I remind her that God has given her great parents to protect her and guide her as she grows up.  The authorities that God has placed in our life have come to bless us and help us grow in godliness.

Learn from those who have gone before (Titus 1:4-5). Older women are to teach the younger women.  There is great value in learning from someone who has been where you are and walked with God through it.  We don’t have to blaze the trail anew each time we come to a junction in life where we have never tread.  It is great to get godly advice and leadership from people who walk close to the Lord and have tread the path before us.

The Grace of God (Titus 1:11-14).  God’s grace has a way of transforming us.  The power to overcome sin and temptation in our lives flows from the overwhelming nature of God to secure our salvation and draw us near to Himself.  We have been considered righteous because of what Christ has done, not a work of our hands.  Yet, now what motivates us to give ourselves wholly to Him is that he has given so much for us.  We give our all now, not because we could even begin to repay him by our deeds, but because He satisfies.  What we have in Christ is so much better than the short-lived pleasures that this world has to offer.  We desire for others to know Him and celebrate His goodness.

Application: Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living… What are you doing to actively live out Truth about God in your life?  Who do you submit yourself too? Who are you learning from?  How has the grace of God transformed how you live?

What is the hardest part about submitting to others?

What were your thoughts on Titus 2?

If you liked this post, you may like these as well:

When Church People Do Bad Things

When Church hurts

7 Steps of a Unified Group

God Cannot Lie, but People Can (Titus 1)

Review: Dad’s Bible (NCV)

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment

Dad’s Bible: The Father’s Plan (affiliate link) is a NCV Bible with special notes written by Robert Wolgemuth geared towards fathers.  There is also a NCV Mom’s Bible: God’s Wisdom for Mothers (affiliate link) written by Bobbie Wolgemuth geared for mothers.  I really enjoyed reading my Dad’s Bible this past week.  The Bible is very user-friendly assuring that it is a good gift for dad’s who are new to reading the Bible.  The New Century Version is a very easy to read version and there are several explanatory notes that help the reader to understand cultural nuances.  The Articles by Robert Wolgemuth do a great job of illustrating the main principle of the text.

I would highly recommend this Bible to new dads and dads who are new to reading the Bible.  I imagine that it will make a great father’s day gift for dad’s who are just beginning to get interested in spiritual things.  It also makes a great reading bible, though I wouldn’t suggest it for in-depth study.  Originally I was planning on giving my copy away, but I ended up liking it so much I may end up using it on a regular basis as a reading Bible.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Dad’s Bible: The Father’s Plan  (affiliate link), the retail price is $29.99 (Hardcover), and is worth every penny.  It is also available at places like Amazon.com for $19.79 (affiliate links).  I gave it four stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book (affiliate link) free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Review: Intimacy Ignited

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment

I got this book thinking it would be a great aid to studying the Song of Solomon.  I now understand the intent of the book was more designed to examine sexual issues between husbands and wives using the Song of Solomon as a launching pad for discussion.  My understanding of the Song of Solomon has shifted over the years and I have come to a different historical perspective on the Song of Solomon which makes my view of the book come in conflict with some of the authors’ interpretation and main points.  None-the-less I still see how this book has some value for couples who may be looking for some insight into how God designed sex for marriage.

The authors do a great job of illustrating their perspective of the text and relating it to issues faced by husbands and wives today.  Much of the insight and perspective shared on sex inside the book are not new.  The book does a great job of illustrating the perspective of husbands and wives and how to navigate some of the more difficult issues.  Over all Intimacy Ignited: Conversations Couple to Couple: Fire Up Your Sex Life with the Song of Solomon is a good book filled with great perspective and counsel for couples on sexual issues.  However I would offer one word of caution… If you are not married, don’t read the book…. It really is written for married couples.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Intimacy Ignited, the retail price is $21.99 (Hardcover).  It is also available at places like Amazon.com for $14.95.  I gave it three stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Nav Press Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

How Should a Christian Live (Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Devotional, discipleshipLeave a comment

The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament Devotional: How Should a Christian Live? (The Word of Promise: Next Generation Devotional & Journal) is an awesome resource.  I was blown away at the thought that went into developing this book.  I’m a student pastor and always looking to review teen oriented Bibles, Bible studies, devotionals etc.  To be honest most of the stuff that comes across my desk is lame.

Here is what I really liked…

(1) The scripture in MP3 format that goes along with this devotional. I love the idea of having audio files of the Bible on my students ipods and in their ears.  By the way this is one of not those boring audio Bibles where some dude with a British accent reads to you (my apologies if you are British).  The readers are mostly teenagers and read with passion ensuring that each file has a chance of being listened to.  I’m a 30ish year old dude and I still didn’t mind having a teenager passionately read the scriptures to me on my ipod.

(2.) The message of salvation is front and center in the book.

(3.) It has games like cross word puzzles and jumbles to help get the message across. Though I’m not a big fan these kind of games personally, I do see the value in how it engages the mind and kind of makes it fun.

(4.) Teens are encouraged to listen to four or five chapters of scripture at a time.

The only draw back I saw was that each section may be a little long for a daily devotional.  This resources is probably better suited for a weekly Bible study (there are only 12 sessions).

I would recommend it to middle school and  high school freshman & sophomores who are willing to make a serious effort to get into God’s Word.  The retail price is $15.99 (Paperback), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $11.51.  I gave it four stars.

Disclaimer: As a blogger I received a complimentary review copy from the Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program  (http://booksneez.com/ ).  There was no requirement to give it a positive review, just for the reviewer to call it like they see it.

Other teen related Reviews:

For Teen Parents: