Author: enCultivate

Faith Proceeding

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But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Romans 14:23 (ESV)

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about the book of Romans. On the one hand, I find it so incredibly helpful in understanding the truths of the gospel and how to integrate faith into life. Yet, there are some statements and ideas that trouble me. These statements trouble me because they are like a double-edged sword, piercing my very heart and soul. Romans 14:23 is one of these statements. In this long passage concerning his admonition that we should care for the faith of others by being mindful of our freedom in Christ being lived out before others. It is a section on humbling ourselves before others and using our freedom in Christ to encourage and lift others up and not lead them into temptation and sin. It is the last sentence in this section that troubles my heart. “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

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Vain Satisfaction

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He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (ESV)

Satisfaction and contentment are the cornerstone of our natural desires. We have an innate drivenness to seek out satisfaction and contentment. We all desire to satiate this inner drive and determination. Where we look for that satisfaction and the level of determination in that pursuit is different in each person, but make no mistake… we all seek satisfaction and contentment. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is pointing to one object that we all struggle with in our pursuit. All of us will at some point struggle with the pursuit of wealth and a desire to find contentment by pursuing money. Money is not in itself a bad thing or something to be abhorred. What the Preacher is pointing out is that our love for money can lead to a craving that is never satisfied. If we are in love with money, the pursuit of money, or the prestige of money, we will never be content with the level of wealth that we attain. When our love of money is driving us, we will always want more and more. Satisfaction, true satisfaction, will never be found in money and wealth.

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Patient Beauty

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He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV)

There are moments in life where everything seems to working against you. Moments where chaos, agony, suffering, hardship, and trials seem to be so overwhelming that it is difficult to see an end to the pain. These times of walking through the deep darkness of the valley where confusion, fear, and doubt are continually pressing in on you. It is in these moments of depression and fatigue that this passage speaks to me in a special way. I need to continually be reminded that this world around me, this life “under the sun” that the Preacher is talking about is not all there is or ever will be. That yearning in my heart is for eternity. A yearning for this life under the sun to give way to the future where all things are made beautiful in the light and glory of Jesus Christ. I yearn to leave this mortal world behind and find my rest in the Beautiful One of heaven who is preparing a room for me in his kingdom.

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Mind of a Fool

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Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Proverbs 28:26 (ESV)

What is it about our minds that we put complete faith and trust in them? I had never really thought about this before, but as I read through Proverb 28 this morning, it resonated with me. “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” That’s a difficult saying to digest and process. It’s difficult because that is not only exactly what I am continually doing, but something that is a source of pride. I find myself trusting my mind above all else. My intake of knowledge and ideas is mixed in and calculated with all the other data and information that is settled in my mind already. I am continually processing, updating, and solidifying what I know, believe, and understand about my life and the world around me. I find myself trusting in my own mind above all else. I am a fool.

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Lesson 1 -Be Strong and of Good Courage (Part 1)

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This is a lesson I prepared for a Small Group series on the book of Daniel in the Spring of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the Christ-centered Exposition Series – Exalting Jesus in Daniel by Daniel Akin and from Be Resolute (Daniel) by Warren Wiersbe.

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Daniel 1:1-7

Main Idea: Even in times of great trial and opposition, Christians must remain faithful to God and his gospel, imitating Christ’s own steadfastness as he endured persecution and death for our sakes.

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Teach Me

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Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Psalm 143:10 (ESV)

“Teach me to do your will.” This is a prayer request full of faith, trust, and humility. David is inviting the God of the universe to come and teach him obedience. For to do the will of the Lord is to be obedient to the Lord. In this prayer of David we see the heart of Jesus at work. Jesus learned obedience through suffering and David is setting the same example before us. David is acknowledging that his heart is not always aligned with the will of God. David’s heart wanders away from the Lord and is inclined toward sinful actions and decisions. David desires to be in alignment with the will of God, so he asks to be taught. He is inviting God to teach him through correction, suffering, and hardship. David knows that this is the path of holiness. How can he shake off his fear and make this request? David understands that he is not asking some distant, dispassionate god. No, he is asking his God. The God that loves and cares for him.

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Work of Art

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Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9:3 (ESV)

As Jesus and his disciples are walking, Jesus saw a man who had been blind since birth and he focused his attention on this man. This man who was an outcast of the community, someone who was ignored or pitied at most, becomes the focal point of attention in the life of Jesus. The disciples obviously noticed the attention of Jesus being focused on this man and asked the question that was at the forefront of everyone’s mind. They wanted to know who had sinned (this man or his parents) that he would be resigned to a life of begging and hardship. The disciples wanted to know the causal effect that brought this man into the world blind. The question is not a bad question, but the assumption made in the question are what Jesus brings to light. The assumption is that either this man or his parents had surely sinned and offended the Holy God to receive such a poor state in this life. The answer Jesus gives is somewhat staggering to their ears (and to modern ears). Neither the man nor his parents sinned. It was not a punishment that this man was born blind. The answer is that this man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This man was a piece of art designed, conceived, and birthed by the Creator of the universe for a special purpose… to display the works of God!

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Lesson 2 – Happiness

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This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Ecclesiastes in the Spring of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the Gospel-centered life in the Bible Series – Ecclesiastes: Life in the Light of Eternity.

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Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26

Big Idea

“The more we try to find lasting satisfaction in the many offerings of happiness in this world, the more we find we instead need to look somewhere else entirely.”

Just as the Preacher is teaching us that “all is vanity,” so too is the ability to fully explore all that is in this section!

1:12-18 & 2:12-17 Wise living is better than being foolish, but still vanity.
2:1-11 Vanity of indulging in pleasures, acquiring possessions, and achieving success.
2:18-26 Hard work going for nothing

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find until after death.”

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Lesson 1: Wisdom

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This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Ecclesiastes in the Spring of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the Gospel-centered life in the Bible Series – Ecclesiastes: Life in the Light of Eternity.

View Ecclesiastes Lesson Series

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Preacher (v. 1)

Ecclesiastes 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Author

  • The author is anonymous and simply calls himself the Preacher, “one that speaks to an assembly”; an ecclesiastes in Greek.
  • Although there is debate on the authorship, Jewish and Christian tradition generally ascribe authorship to Solomon.

Purpose

  • There are wide and varied interpretations of the book. Some see this as a statement of pessimism, while others see it as optimistic. Some see heterodoxy, while others see orthodoxy.
  • As a genuine wisdom teacher, the Preacher has a gift for penetrating observation and for stating things in a profound and challenging manner that spur the listener on to deeper thought and reflection.
  • This means that the Preacher invites us to come to God more indirectly than what we are used to. (Reference to Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon)
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Refreshed Hearts

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For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Philemon 7 (ESV)

This is a tremendous testimony from Paul about the outworking of the Holy Spirit in the life of one man. A man that was known for his love and faith toward Jesus and all the saints. Paul is in prison and has only heard stories about the love and faith of Philemon. Here is a man whose reputation preceded him and his godly character went before him. His character and reputation was such that even though Paul had never met him in person, he felt as though he knew him through the testimonies of those who had been refreshed by Philemon. It’s a lovely picture of love and faith. A picture that needs to be not only admired and commended, but replicated in our own hearts.

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