Looking back over Ecclesiastes 10:1-20, the passage of the Sunday sermon, you may notice that there is a common theme in all the self-destructive characteristics of foolishness. What do promoting the unqualified, failing to prepare, being full of useless words, and going after pleasure all have in common? A fundamental contempt for and avoidance of…
Earlier this week, I put together a new piece of Ikea furniture, a shoe dresser. I started by unpacking all the different pieces and opening the assembly instruction booklet to step one. I then proceeded to put the pieces together, constantly consulting the booklet for what I was supposed to do next. Even with the…
It was very exciting to hear our kingdom workers this past Sunday talk about how the Lord is at work in their country to save souls. Our kingdom workers also repeatedly challenged us regarding our own mission field, “God is already at work. The question is: will we join him?” As Pastor Babij has been…
I remember once hearing a pastor say, “There are two sermon topics that are almost sure to make Christians feel guilty: prayer and evangelism.” This past Sunday, Pastor Babij finished preaching on the very evangelism-centered passage of 2 Corinthians 5:1-21. While a wonderful explanation of the glorious gospel ministry we have received from God himself,…
Thinking more about Pastor Babij’s sermon on Sunday, I am struck by the connection between 2 Corinthians 5:1-20 and Ecclesiastes 9:10. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon exhorts those who fear God to make the most of their lives while they can, including by working hard. Though Solomon’s admonition applies to all kinds of labor, the NT clarifies…
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” The above quotation or some version of it is frequently attributed to C. S. Lewis, the famed 20th century Christian writer. However, C. S. Lewis never actually said this. In fact, as Christian as the above statement sounds, it has more in…
One of the most common prayer requests, after the request for help and healing amid sickness, is the prayer for wisdom. Indeed, all of us frequently find ourselves asking God for the knowledge or skill for living life and handling difficult situations—like those we heard about in the Sunday sermon. The Bible itself commends such…
Considering Sunday’s sermon, I wanted today to recommend to you one of my favorite Christian books: Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp. Though I am not yet a parent, I read this book on parenting as part of my biblical counseling training courses at seminary. I was genuinely blown away by the simple wisdom…
For today’s meditation, I’d like to offer a little quiz. Please take a look at the ten comparisons below and answer in your mind which action (action A or action B) is holier, more pleasing to God, and worth more eternal reward. 1. (A) Working as a pastor or (B) working as a salesman. 2.…
As I’ve been meditating more on Sunday’s sermon, I thought it would be profitable to consider Ecclesiastes 8:1-15 from the perspective of those who are in authority. Though the passage is written primarily for those under authority, there are some important implications in the passage for husbands, parents, bosses, ministry leaders, public officials, or anyone…