Wisdom – Page 5 – The Nexus

When Life Feels Empty

February 25, 2019February 20, 2019Leave a comment

This past Sunday we kicked off a brand new teaching series called Finding Meaning. For the next few weeks we are going to walk through some highlights of the collection of wisdom in the Hebrew Bible we call Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes, the wisest man who ever lived records some personal thoughts on his own efforts to find meaning in life. Through his reflections we can learn a great deal about where to find it in our own. First, though, we need a foundation from which to build this structure of ideas. That’s what we did yesterday. If we are going to find real meaning in our lives, where do we start building? Keep reading to find out.

When Life Feels Empty

So…the Patriots won the Super Bowl. Again. I’ll just say: They’re really good. More specifically, Tom Brady is really good. Bill Belichik is really good. They managed to bring just what they needed to beat every opponent they faced in the playoffs. Every time. Now, the result was the most boring Super Bowl game ever, but I’ll bet you didn’t hear any complaints to that effect in the locker room after the game. A Super Bowl win is a Super Bowl win even if it’s boring. The thing that drives so many folks crazy about the Patriots isn’t just that they are really good. The Los Angeles Rams and even my Kansas City Chiefs were really good this season and they didn’t drive anybody crazy. The same goes with the New Orleans Saints. No, the thing that gets under the skin of so many folks is that they’ve been good for so long. This was the sixth win for Patriots and their ninth Super Bowl appearance just in the last 19 years. In other words, they’ve been to the Super Bowl basically every other season for the whole of this millennium.

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Morning Musing: Proverbs 3:13-15

February 22, 2019February 19, 2019Leave a comment

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”‬‬ (ESV – Read the chapter)

Ronald Reagan is famous for saying many things. He had a gift for being quotable. He also had a gracious sense of humor and a winning smile when he said something to pick at his political opponents and their ideas. This combination simultaneously thrilled his supporters and infuriated his critics. One of his more memorable lines was this: “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s that they know so much that just isn’t so.”

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Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 10:19

October 31, 2018October 25, 2018Leave a comment

“And when all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Have you ever helped someone do something wrong? Let’s not go so extreme, though. Have you ever helped someone do something foolish? How’d that go for you? Did they get caught? Did you get caught with them? Did you face any consequences with them? Worse yet, did you face consequences that they didn’t face? Depending on either how close the relationship is or else how big the promise of potential reward is, there are times when we are sorely tempted to join in on something that just isn’t very wise. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: 1 Samuel 25:30-31

October 3, 2018October 3, 2018Leave a comment

“And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

Abigail was scrambling. She knew that if she didn’t come up with something really good and right on the spot her husband, possibly her older children, and most of the servants under her care were toast. When she heard word that David was coming for war, she put together a generous gift, road out to meet him well before he arrived, and made her pitch. Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Joshua 9:14-15

July 18, 2018July 18, 2018Leave a comment

“So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

There are three things worth noting in this story. First, the Gibeonites were both smart and wise, if dishonest. They saw the writing on the wall and decided that living as servants was better than being totally destroyed. If they could trick the Israelites into thinking they were not locals slated for destruction, but rather foreigners who came to serve because of how great Israel’s God was, perhaps they would be allowed to live, rather than being wiped off the face of the earth as had happened to Jericho and Ai. Read the rest…