Monthly Archives: September 2017

Sep 27 2017
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Ecclesiastes, IMS704

The Meaning of Life

Question mark sign

With the vast amount of information now available online we have access to all kinds of “wisdom” to help us find the answer to “What is the meaning of life. “Google it” has become a verb in which many of us use today. Wikipedia has become a free “reliable” source of information that covers nearly any topic you can imagine. Just for fun I searched for “the meaning of life” on Google, the search engine returned about 274,000,000 results. It took Googles servers 0.82 seconds to come back with all those results, it’s going to take you more than a lifetime to read them all. Here is a shortcut…

The author of Ecclesiastes has really given us something to think about when it comes to understanding wisdom and life.  He, presumably Solomon, takes us on a wild and at times confusing journey of trying to find meaning and purpose in life through pleasure, work, prosperity and wisdom. “Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” (1:2) “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (1:14) Solomon was in his time one of the wisest men in the world, “God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29) So here we have the words of a very intelligent man, one who was given a gift from God to lead and guide his people, to help them find purpose and meaning in life so that they could lead a life holy and pleasing to God. This collection of life experience and Godly wisdom written for the people of that time is transferrable to our lives today. We all live in the same world of sin and despair today. God, who is our hope in life and in death has revealed to us through his word the true meaning of life.

So, can Google or any other online search help give you and answer to what the meaning of life is? Yes, I believe it can, but it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Our online digital world is relatively new compared the writings of the bible which date back much further and much deeper into history. Understanding wisdom, finding meaning in life has been a journey many people have made before us and God inspired man to record it for us in His word. The author of Ecclesiastes comes to a point in his journey that brings him to this conclusion about life, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (12:13) Our attitude in life is one that needs to focus on trust and obedience to the word of God. Yes, life is difficult. Live and grow in the knowledge and experience found in this collection of teaching on wisdom written by Solomon, it is the needle in the haystack of 274,000,000 hits on Google, and it will only take you an hour to read it.

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Sep 06 2017
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IMS704, Matthew

Rocks and More

FullSizeRenderOne of the things I enjoy about living on the west coast of British Columbia is the easy access to a variety of different types of beaches. One of my favorite things to do on the beach is collect uniquely formed rocks and rocks of interesting color. I am not a rock expert, I can’t identify all the different types of rock or tell you how they are formed. My rock identifications skills are limited to knowing the best skipping rocks on the beach and the rocks that fly perfectly straight from my slingshot.

In Matthew chapter 7:24, Matthew uses a simple illustration to help us identify the connection between listening to God’s word and living them out in our lives. This is what he says: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock”. “These words of mine”, refer to the teachings of Jesus recorded for us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). Wisdom is living a life that is holy and pleasing to God; to be wise like the man who built his house on the rock is a picture of us standing on the foundations and truths presented by God through the Bible. The Sermon on the Mount is bursting at the seams with knowledge and understanding for us as believers. Jesus is extremely clear in his teachings on topics like murder, adultery, divorce, generosity, love for our enemies, prayer and worry. All these things and more define how we are to live among one another, how we are to respond to the grace and mercy of a God who created us and desires to have a relationship with us.

Our human condition (our sinful nature) is constantly fighting to distract and pull us away from living out the truths of scripture. Sin has a notorious way of creeping into our lives, it rolls around and mixes into our lives causing us to stumble and fall. Matthew continues to tell us of the foolish man who built his house on the sand and how it was destroyed by the water and wind. Living in ignorance to the words that we have heard in scripture is foolishness and leads to separation from God. There is a wonderful little children’s song that teaches these truths from scripture, my favorite line as a kid was “and the house on the sand went splat”. The house is you and me, build your house on a firm foundation like the wise man, feel free to “renovate” and add-on but follow the building code (be wise in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word).

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Sep 05 2017
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IMS704, James

Black & White

b&WThere are infinite possibilities when it comes to mixing colours. With all these possible combinations, my personal preference as an aspiriing artist is to do a lot of work in black and white. For me, I appreciate the simple contrast between these obvious opposites; black representing the complete absence of white, and white representing itself as brilliant and pure, free of any black.

James asks an interesting question in his letter to God’s people, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (3:13). To fully grasp the scope of what James is asking, we need to understand the truth about how the bible defines “wise”. Thankfully James helps us with this by including these words in his letter, “Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (3:13-16) In essence, what James is saying is those who are wise should demonstrate their wisdom in how they live, by deeds done with an attitude of humility. We as believers demonstrate wisdom if our deeds reflect God’s commands.

You can now begin to see a contrast between two types of wisdom. James continues in his letter giving these words of truth, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (3:17). Pure and void of any darkness, this selfless and humble wisdom is filled with the characteristics of our great God. Each of these things stand in contrast of the way the world defines its wisdom. When we live out these virtues or characteristics in our own lives, when we show greater concern for others then for ourselves (this is what James would call a “good life”) we bring glory and honour to God. The good fruit that James writes about here parallels the words of Paul in his letter to the Galatians, this is where he describes for us the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. A good life lived in accordance to God’s will is evidence that we are wise and understanding. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we as believers will stand as wise in contrast to the “wisdom” of the world.

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