Articles categorized as Jesus Christ

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 32. ORIGINAL SIN

And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judg­ment-wickedness was there, in the place of justice- wickedness was there. I thought in my heart, “God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.” Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 15. THE TURTLE ON THE FENCE POST

15. The Turtle on the Fence post   Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done? Ecclesiastes 2:12   I’m sure Solomon felt pressure from both sides on the issue of kingly succession. On the one hand […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 16. AM I WISE OR AM I FOOLISH?

16. Am I Wise or Am I Foolish?   I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Ecclesiastes 2:13-14   Sergei […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 17. TEMPORARY ADVANTAGES

17. Temporary Advantages   Then I thought in my heart, “The fate of the fool will over­take me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said in my heart, “This too is meaningless.” For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 18. I HATED LIFE

18. I Hated Life   So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:17   “Sometimes I get so lonely it’s unbelievable. Life has been so good to me. I’ve got a great wife, good […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 4. RAINBOWS, IF YOU SEE THEM

4. Rainbows, If You See Them   What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there any­thing of which one can say, “Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 8. WHAT KNOWLEDGE CAN’T DO

8. What Knowledge Can’t Do   I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem be­fore me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowl­edge.” Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that […]

Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living – 10. THE MAN WHO HAD IT ALL

10. The Man Who Had It All   I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were […]

The ABC’s of Wisdom: Building Character with Solomon – Sovereignty

SOVEREIGNTY   God Has the Last Word   To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. Proverbs 16:1   We might paraphrase this verse as follows: “A man can have his own ideas, but the Lord inspires the words he utters.” This is a powerful […]

The ABC’s of Wisdom: Building Character with Solomon – Understanding

UNDERSTANDING   Learning from Your Mistakes   Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it, but folly brings punishment to fools. Proverbs 16:22   Some people never learn from their mistakes, which is why they repeat them. Others learn the first time and gain what Solomon calls “understanding.” It is an inex­haustible […]