Turn, Turn, Turn (Meditations in Ecclesiastes, Part V)

May 18, 2018 by Joel Burns in Ecclesiastes, meditations

And so we are reminded by Solomon’s observations that the whole of life does not reside only upon the positive side of the ledger of human experience. It is not all about gaining, establishing, and building. It is not all about laughter, celebration, and love.

To be truly understood, life must be viewed and experienced in its entirety, with God trusted as the sovereign ruler over it all. Everything has its place. Everything is made beautiful in its time.

Empty Legacy (Meditations in Ecclesiastes, Part IV)

May 04, 2018 by Joel Burns in Ecclesiastes

The world will never tire of telling us that what we do is who we are – that we are defined, both now and forever, by what we put into the world and how prominent of a mark we manage to make. The Word of God urges us to consider an alternative: that we keep our work, no matter how successful or unsuccessful we happen to be, in its proper place. And that place is most definitely not in the absolute center of our lives.

Blessed Are the War Horses: On Christian Meekness

May 02, 2018 by Joel Burns in meditations, definitions, manhood

How does one balance this directive of Christ to be meek with others throughout the Bible exhorting us to be “of good courage” or “strong in the Lord and in His mighty power”? What are to make of the apostle’s command, “Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong?” It would seem that the ideal of meekness is diametrically opposed to these characteristics. Which one is it? Are we to lay down as passive recipients of whatever comes our way or are we to develop courage and strength according to the might and power of the Lord?

The key lies in the original Greek.

The Rat Race (Meditations in Ecclesiastes, Part III)

April 26, 2018 by Joel Burns in Ecclesiastes, meditations

Make no mistake: if anybody was going to acquire enough stuff and have great enough experiences to feel satisfied by them, it was going to be King Solomon of Israel. Such a notion should give us pause: if it didn’t work for him, what makes one think it’ll work for us?

Quick Hits - Friday, April 13

April 13, 2018 by Joel Burns in Notepad

I cannot recommend enough the following resources for those of you wanting to chow down on some Biblically-based thought food in regards to the two big issues from this week, namely racialism in the Church and the ever-present war on masculinity.