A Boomer in the Pew

Ecclesiastes - King Solomon's Personal Journal - The Secrets of Kohelet

As I have been making my way through my ESV Study Bible this year, I have noticed a striking difference in the voice of Ecclesiastes. 

Here we have King Solomon, Ecclesiastes (Greek for preacher), or Kohelet (Hebrew for preacher), recording for us his personal journal. 

1 Kings 11:41 - Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?

If you had the chance to read the journal of the world's richest, and wisest man; a man to whom the Queen of Sheba made a pilgrimage to see, would you read it?

Well, that is what we have here!

Therefore, I have decided to drop anchor, and do some deep sea diving in this text. 

God gave King Solomon great wisdom (1 Kings 3:10-12), and great riches and honor (1 Kings 3:13), and it is all recorded here for our instruction.

To guide me through the journey will be Dr. Darryl DelHousaye.  Dr. DelHousaye is the President of Phoenix Seminary, and was kind enough to give me a copy of his new book to review.

Now trust me, by review, I am not intending to give my "review" in the sense that a critic might make.  I am not qualified to make such a statement.  Nonetheless, I am a reasonably intelligent guy, have great trust in Darryl's heart, and intend to give this book a thorough read, and share it with you here.

My hope, in doing so, is that I might better understand my Creator, bring honor to Dr. DelHousaye's many years of theological study, and perhaps convince you that this book should be on your shelf.

Please join me as I journey through "The Personal Journey of Solomon:  The Secrets of Kohelet", in the coming days, and weeks.

The Continued Lesson in the Folly of Affluence

The great challenge, in the heart of the wealthy, is the constant desire for more, and the sense of self-reliance that comes about when you have enough to be comfortable.

To the unfamiliar, these may seem like trivial things, but these are the very things of which Christ spoke which make it impossible for the rich man to enter heaven.

How is it you say, that money could prevent a man from entering heaven?

You see, when you have a certain amount of wealth, it is very, very easy to become a god unto yourself.  You begin to place faith in your money, your ability to create money, and your ability to have what ever your mind might desire.

Mercifully, our economies seem to have cycles that will force many a wealthy man to reconsider where his heart lies.  Unfortunately, for some this will mean suicide, as they see their whole world collapse in front of them, some will hope to tough it out, some will find hopelessness, where the truly regenerate will recognize the discipline of God, and make adjustments to their worldviews, and make their hearts penitent.

A great many will unlikely be cognizant that this suffering, for this misplaced security of the wealthy, can be as severe a trauma as perhaps losing both of your legs.  Let's not forget that in these situations, many wealthy will find death at their doors.

Let us further not forget that in America, even the poorest of us is magnificently wealthy by the standards of many in the world.

In Jeremiah Burroughs' "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment", he continues to challenge the Christian toward contentment.  Contentment in that:

• as Solomon said, "All is vanity".  The rich, and the poor die.  They both come to the same place.  Therefore our strivings are in vain.  As a vapor.  Here today, gone tomorrow.  So, why are we really here in the first place?
• it is necessary to have God as our portion.  When you drill down deep, to the absolute bedrock of your life, you will be forced to come to terms with your beliefs, your worldviews. Many of us will never find these without an occasional stirring up of our lives.
• to the Christian, you begin to understand that this world is merely a passageway.  To place your heart completely on the things of this earth will lead to utter dismay.  Life is full of trials, and ends in death.
• to the Christian, any good things that we enjoy are to draw us in thankfulness to God, and further to consider the use of those comforts in the service of God's glory.
• in order to find contentment, Burroughs teaches that we must become students of our own hearts.  If something brings us travail, then the student of Christ will pull out the trowel, and dig deeply into the heart to find the root of trouble, and replace it with a proper God-centered perspective.

Once again, not easily accomplished, but well worth the effort. 

Many proclaim a faith in God, but bounce upon the seas of his Word as a jet ski bounces upon the ocean.  The best outfit is the deep sea divers gear, and deep diving into the Scriptures.  There, as Christ told the woman at the well, is the fountain of life.  Refreshing waters that will never cease to fulfill.

John 4:13-14 - Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Oh my soul, never again stray from this fountain, and trust in God alone!

Is this cult language? Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs: "Learn to know that you are less than nothing"

This post is part of a collection of posts, and joined in on-line interaction with scores of others, in the reading of Jeremiah Burroughs' "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment".

Cult:   a group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

When one begins to read the whole of the Bible, you are going to be faced with very uncomfortable, and challenging truths. 

There have been many times that I have wondered if I am not this guy pictured above. 

In my continued reading of "Rare Jewels", I have come across words that I cannot simply pass by.  It is not my desire to mindlessly become a reader of this text.  I will listen to his point of view, and then adopt it as my own, proclaim it to be sheer nonsense, but mindlessly passing by is not in my intent.

Burroughs contends that becoming a scholar of Christ is very difficult, no different than the child who might complain of learning their ABC's.  The task before us is going to be hard.  

Hear it from Burroughs:

"This is where Christ begins with his scholars, and those in the lowest form must begin with this; if you mean to be Christians at all, you must buckle to this or you can never be Christian. Just as no-one can be a scholar unless he learns his ABC, so you must learn the lesson of self-denial or you can never become a scholar in Christ's school, and be learned in this mystery of contentment. That is the first lesson that Christ teaches any soul, self-denial, which brings contentment, which brings down and softens a man's heart. You know how when you strike something soft it makes no noise, but if you strike a hard thing it makes a noise; so with the hearts of men who are full of themselves, and hardened with self-love, if they receive a stroke they make a noise, but a self-denying Christian yields to God's hand, and makes no noise."

Here are the words that have stopped me in my tracks for a few days, in learning what Burroughs might desire to teach us about self-denial:

• I must learn that I am nothing.
• I deserve nothing.  I am nothing, therefore I deserve nothing.
• I can do nothing.
• I am so vile that I cannot of myself receive any good.
• If God cleanses us in some measure, and puts into us some good liquor, some grace of his Spirit, yet we can make use of nothing when we have it, if God but withdraws himself.
• We are worse than nothing.
• If we perish we will be no loss.

Well...isn't that special!

Please continue reading...

31 Posts from Andrew Murray's 31 Day Meditation: Waiting on God

I have now finished Andrew Murray's 31 day devotional "Waiting on God", and thought I would capture a few finals thoughts, as I put this series in the archives.

Contrary to many Christian thinkers, the Scriptures are replete with references that life on this earth, living in a fallen world, with fallen creatures, will bring many trials, tribulations, and sufferings.

Suffering is inescapable.  Given this, it serves us well to seek God's advice when we encounter these periods, or find our friends, and family in these sufferings.

This book has become a very special text to me, and I am most grateful to Andrew Murray for helping me reshape my thinking in this regard.

Before this text, my expectation was, "God, get me out of here".  But, it would seem, this is part of life, and God uses, and can even be glorified in our trials.

As of this writing, I would say that I have not found the peak of this particular period of trial in my life.  I long for it.  I feel weary, but now I have a most trusted friend in this text to refer to, and help me to better have a holy view of our sufferings.

I highly recommend this text to anyone who is in a period of prolonged suffering.

Please continue on to see a listing of my 31 posts from Murray's "Waiting on God"...

Grabbing God's ankles and striving to let go of everything else

Andrew Murray's "Waiting on God" (Day #31) - Only.

Psalm 62:5-6 - For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
 6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

I have spent untold hours reading, and studying God's word in the past three years.  My own Damascus road event, if you will.

Our culture would have us believe that man is inherently good.  Further, our culture would believe that our path to God is our ability to be good, at least more good then bad, and then God will find us pleasant in his eyes, and grant us into the rewards of eternal relationship in heaven.

The great problem with this thinking is that it is a lie.  It is not true.  Furthermore, if you read the Bible you will find God speaking directly against this falsehood.  We are selfish, prone to wander from God, and each desiring to seek our own way.

As we continue to read, and understand God's holiness, this becomes increasingly apparent as we see ourselves in comparison with perfect holiness. 

From this point a desperation begins to set in as you begin to understand your true nature.  And here it is that we begin a right relationship, a right understanding, and how desperately we need God to protect us from not only the onslaught of the world, but of our own selves.

Thankfully, God tells us that he will never let his true children go.  Once you are truly in his hand, you will remain there.  The paradox is that even so, we are still trapped in this earthly shell, and the temptation to run off is ever present.

Therefore, the true saint will daily hide in God's shadow, hang near the spring of everlasting life, and seek to grab hold of God's ankles. 

The temptations of the world, and of our selves are great.

Oh God, during these times of my spiritual youth, please keep me shackled close to you.  And, oh my soul, wait only on God, my rock, and my salvation.

If we truly believe in God, why wouldn't we wait continually on Him?

Andrew Murray's "Waiting on God" (Day #30) - Continually.

Hosea 12:6 - “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

Andrew Murray:

"This waiting is a promise.  God's commands are enablings: gospel precepts are all promises, a revelation of what our God will do for us.  When first you begin waiting on God, it is with frequent intermission and failure.  But do believe God is watching over you in love and secretly strengthening you in it.  There are times when waiting appears to be just losing time, but it is not so.  Waiting, even in darkness, is unconscious advance, because it is God you have to do with, and Hi is working in you.  God who calls you to wait on Him see your feeble efforts, and works it in you.  Your spiritual life is in no respect your own work; as little as you begin it, can you continue it.  It is God's Spirit who has begun the work in you of waiting upon God; He will enable you to wait continually."

It would seem that my job here is to show up continually, with expectation, with daily reading of Scriptures, and prayer.  Then with the eyes of faith, look to God, through his indwelt Spirit to make the continual, and oft subtle changes over time.

The whole idea of God actually living within the believer is a mysterious thing, isn't it?  If a surgeon were to cut open my chest, we would not find the Spirit of God. 

To the unbeliever, I am thinking of an Arizona business acquaintance right now, this sounds like certain lunacy.  Yet, undeniably, if we go sit on this dock, and stare into creation, there is something there calling us, that is much larger than ourselves.

The Scriptures tell us that our relationship with God started with his initiative.  He called us, we respond to that call through repentance, and placing our faith in Him, and then the Holy Spirit performs a miraculous thing called regeneration (spiritual birth), enters into our lives, and slowly begins the fellowship of cultivating, and strengthening our faith.

Without our continual appointment with God, this process is stalled and we wind up the most feeble, and miserable of all Christians.  One foot in the kingdom, and one foot in the world.

Just as our bodies have no life without the continual beating of our hearts, so our relationship with God has no life without our continual reliance, and waiting on Him.

Oh my soul, wait only, and continually on God!

Baby Boomers, Recessions, Idolatry, and Shattered Plans

This post is part of a collection of posts, and joined in on-line interaction with scores of others, in the reading of Jeremiah Burroughs' "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment".

Post #3, Chapter #2

I have fallen behind my counterparts this week in posting about this chapter.  The reason is quite simple:  I am greatly struggling with its contents.

I suppose my story isn't any different than many baby boomers around the nation.

We started a business 15 years ago.  We worked our tails off, kept our lifestyle to a certain level, saved money like crazy, were more than generous in our giving, established a wonderful reputation in our town, sold our business, and moved to "retirement" at the age of 50. 

Then...WHAMO...the economy free falls, half of my cash assets are erased from my balance sheet, other crummy things happen, and all of a sudden, this great plan I built is broken.  Please don't feel sorry for me, we are still incredibly blessed.  My problem is not here today, my problem lies waiting for me 10-15 years down the road, unless today's situation changes.

It's not fair God!

It is now clear to me that God doesn't want me placing my joy in this retirement that I dreamed of, and worked so hard to accomplish.  I am passing through this earth, and my joy is to come.  I get that, and I now fully ascribe to it.

I am nearly done with Andrew Murray's "Waiting on God", and have learned a great deal.  Furthermore,  there is a tremendous amount of learning, and life change chronicled in this blog of 18 months.

But now I come to Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, and I struggle with his second chapter on contentment.  If you remember, when we started this book, I was already raising flags with that word.

Here are a few things I am wrestling with:

• How to join these two together: to be sensible of an affliction as much as a man or woman who is not content; I am sensible of it as fully as they, and I seek ways to be delivered from it as well as they, and yet still my heart abides content-this is, I say, a mystery, that is very hard for a carnal heart to understand. But grace teaches such a mixture, teaches us how to make a mixture of sorrow and a mixture of joy together; and that makes contentment, the mingling of joy and sorrow, of gracious joy and gracious sorrow together.
• Here is the mystery of it: though his heart is so enlarged that the enjoyment of all the world and ten thousand worlds cannot satisfy him for his portion; yet he has a heart quieted under God's disposal, if he gives him but bread and water.
• Now I say that a heart that has no grace, and is not instructed in this mystery of contentment, knows of no way to get contentment, but to have his possessions raised up to his desires; but the Christian has another way to contentment, that is, he can bring his desires down to his possessions, and so he attains his contentment.
• The way of contentment is to add another burden, that is, to labor to load and burden your heart with your sin; the heavier the burden of your sin is to your heart, the lighter will the burden of your affliction be to your heart, and so you shall come to be content.
• The way of contentment to a carnal heart is only the removing of the affliction. O that it may be gone! 'No,' says a gracious heart, 'God has taught me a way to be content though the affliction itself still continues.' There is a power of grace to turn this affliction into good; it takes away the sting and poison of it. Take the case of poverty, a man's possessions are lost: Well, is there no way to be contented till your possessions are made up again? Till your poverty is removed? Yes, certainly, Christianity would teach contentment, though poverty continues. It will teach you how to turn your poverty to spiritual riches. You shall be poor still as to your outward possessions, but this shall be altered; whereas before it was a natural evil to you, it comes now to be turned to a spiritual benefit to you. And so you come to be content.

There is more in this chapter that I struggle with.  Certainly, as Burroughs suggests, these statements are insanity to the carnal mind.

I am also presently not suggesting that I can't find my way to understanding.  I can.  The problem is that part of me doesn't want to understand.  A great part of me doesn't want to utter words like I can be satisfied where I am.  My inclination is to rebuild.  I have had to hold myself back, in some ways, as I seek to understand God's heart in these regards.

Therefore, the best I can do right now is to be honest with myself, my family, my friends, and my readers, and proclaim, I am struggling with this.  It is my heart to find God's heart in this, and I am certain that He will make it plain to me.  Above all, I have been pleading for his heart.  Better to be a complete, and total pauper in God's graces, then the wealthiest of men standing against him.

I have no problem saying that.  I just want back what I had.  Thumb sucking?  Whining?  Disobedient?  Disrespectful?  Still an idolater?  Still trusting my money over God?

Perhaps, and completely open to God showing me if there is still a remnant of a stiff neck.

So...that's my story for this chapter.  I'm simply not willing to write merry words as though all is well with me, and this text. 

My intention is to keep reading. 

Oh my soul, pay attention, and wait only on God!

"The Decent of the Spirit", 1865 engraving, by Gustave Dore'.

Andrew Murray's "Waiting on God" (Day #29) - For the Promise of the Father.

Acts 1:4-5 - And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

As I near the end of this study, Andrew Murray shakes my senses, and reminds me that God, through the Holy Spirit, dwells inside me.

Andrew Murray:

"The Holy Spirit is not a person distinct from the Father in the way two persons on earth are distinct.  The Father and the Spirit are never without or separate from each other;  the Father is always in the Spirit, the Spirit works nothing but as the Father works in Him.  Each moment the same Spirit that is in us, is in God too, and he who is most full of the Spirit will be the first to wait on God most earnestly, further to fulfill His promise, and still strengthen him mightily by His Spirit in the inner man.  The Spirit in us is not a power at our disposal.  Nor is the Spirit an independent power, acting apart from the Father and the Son.  The Spirit is the real, living presence and the power of the Father working in us, and therefore it is just he who knows that the spirit is in him, who will wait on the Father for the full revelation and experience of what the Spirit's indwelling is, for His increase and abounding more and more."

In my mind eye, I am ashamed to admit, I have been picturing God in heaven, and me down here, far away from Him, working my heart out to wait upon Him.

Yet, the Holy Spirit is God.  The Holy Spirit dwells in me.  Therefore, God dwells in me.  God is not far off, he dwells in me!

It is clear to me that a study in prayer is in order.  How could I go 28 days with this picture in my head?  Certainly I have prayed, but I have prayed to God who is out there.  Not to God who dwells in me.

Oh my soul, wait on God who dwells in you.  Hmm....how can you wait on someone who dwells in you?

Maybe, as we learned back a bit, it is God that is doing all the waiting.  Maybe, as we also learned back a bit, I have been so wrapped up in my own...what...self imposed misery, that I haven't paid attention to God who dwells in me?  Is that possible? 

There is a great deal to consider here. 

Holy Spirit, please be so present in me that I can no longer be away from your presence. 

Oh my soul, pay attention, and wait only on God!

Waiting on God while waiting for His Son

Andrew Murray's "Waiting on God" (Day #28) - For the Coming of His Son.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 - ...you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven...

It is so easy for us to be consumed, as we look for God, in what will be, rather than what is here before us.

Andrew Murray:  "It is always easier to be engaged with the religion of the past or the future than to be faithful in the religion of today.  As we look to what God has done in the past, or will do in time to come, the personal claim of present duty and present submission to His working may be escaped.  Waiting on God must ever lead to waiting for Christ as the glorious consummation of His work; and waiting for Christ must ever remind us of the duty of waiting upon God, as our only proof that the waiting for Christ is in spirit and truth.  There is such a danger of our being so occupied with the things that are coming more than with Him who is come; there is such scope in the study of coming events for imagination and reason and human ingenuity, that nothing but deeply humble waiting on God can save us from mistaking the interest and pleasure of intellectual study for the true love of Him and His appearing.  All you that say you wait for Christ's coming, be sure that you wait on God now."

Murray goes on to talk about a bride who is about to marry a king.  She so looks forward to what life will be like, to be married to a king, that she spends no time in the present being in love with the king.  Therefore, she becomes an unfit bride.

This behavior is so present in our natures.  We set our eyes on what life will be like when Christ comes, yet all the while He is here present with us now.

Father, please forgive me of this very transgression.  I too have my eyes set upon heaven, but daily am inclined to walk by your very presence. 

Oh my soul, diligently wait on God who is present now!

Jeremiah Burroughs - The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (#2)

 This post is part of a collection of posts, and joined in on-line interaction with scores of others, in the reading of Jeremiah Burroughs' "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment".

Reading Jeremiah Burroughs, if the rest of the book is like the first chapter, will require the ability to hold your breath for long periods of time.

Many Christians, it seems, hop along God's word as a jet ski quickly runs across the top of the ocean.  Burroughs, however, invites us to take a deep, deep breath, and dive down into this thing called Christian Contentment.

In so doing, like the Japanese divers of pearls, we might find, with God's aid, this rare jewel of Christian contentment.

I have already found, as I have been diving down, that my lungs are not accustomed to this diving, and as I scurry to the surface for breath, I explode into the air with an urgent gasping.

Burroughs' first chapter is not unlike sitting on a boat being given diving lessons by the world's greatest pearl diver.  He describes for us where we are going, some of the dangers that lie below, and the techniques, or knowledge, that will keep us safe.

I must admit, I have learned of a shark, or two, in this first chapter, that brings me discomfort.

Here again, is Jeremiah Burroughs' definition of Christian Contentment:

"Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition"

The definition is fairly easy to get my mind around.  Where I am likely to squirm is with the "freely submitting with delight" part.  

Burroughs teaches that with Christian contentment, it is not enough to freely go, and come under (submit) to God's sovereignty, but to do so with delight. 

What's the big deal you say? 

Well, what if God's sovereignty deals a period of discipline?  What if somehow, in this whole mysterious thing called sovereignty, perhaps even the rod of God's discipline, great disaster befalls you, like Job?  Could I, if my children were taken, all my wealth taken away, my property, and I was left penniless, freely submit with delight?

I gotta tell ya, this would be a great struggle!

Burroughs teaches that in such instances we are free to complain, or make appeal to God, but to freely submit with delight?

Friend, if taken seriously, and I am certain God desires that, this is no easy thing!

I remember Jonathan Edwards saying that there is no better place to be than submitted under the care of a perfectly good, and loving Sovereign.  I am certain that is true.  The problems is my faith, and the great amount of kicking, and screaming I am prone to do.

Oh...this is going to be quite the journey. 

Oh my soul, take a deep, deep breath, and learn to trust deeply in God's care for you!