Ecclesiastes 1-2

“Meaningless! Meaningless! ... What do people gain from all their labors a which they toil under the sun?” (1:1-3). The “Teacher,” king in Jerusalem, set himself to study “all that is done under the heavens” (1:13) - the human pursuit of life, happiness, and significance. He “undertook great projects” (2:4) and experienced all kinds of “pleasure” (2:10), but he realized that these were fleeting. Humans ultimately have no control over their fate (2:19); all our “anxious striving” cannot keep us from death (2:16).

“For without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (2:25). We are not in control. However, peace and joy are possible when we submit our hopes, work, and relationships to God and His good purposes (2:24-26).

Ephesians 5

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (15-16). The Ephesians faced influences tempting them to return to a ‘normal’ life of sexual immorality, coarse joking, greed, and family conflict (3-5). Instead, Paul urged them to cultivate a different kind of community. “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (19).

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (8). Through Christ, God rescues us so we can live differently, as “children of light” (8), shining brightly in a dark world.

Ephesians 4

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (1). Knowing Christ’s love, Paul wrote, our whole way of life should be different. We are called to treat one another with the compassion and forgiveness we receive from Christ (32). Working together, we “put off” our old selves (greed, impurity, darkness, 17-19) so that we can “be made new” in the attitude of our minds (23).

“Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (23). Using our gifts, we support each other as God works to transform us “until we all reach unity in the faith” (12-13).

Ephesians 3

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (12). Paul wanted to reassure the Ephesian believers (mostly Gentiles) that they were not second-class citizens; together with Israel, they were “members of one body” and “sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus” (6). Through faith in Jesus, they were completely accepted by the Father and could approach Him with full confidence.

The enemy of our souls wants us to think we are spiritual outsiders, needing to earn our position or beg for our prayers to be heard. Instead, God wants to give us power to grasp “how wide and long and high and deep” is Christ’s love for us (18-19).

Psalm 104

“How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures” (24). The psalmist found satisfaction and joy in contemplating God’s vast and beautiful universe. The sun and moon (19), the water (8), trees (16), wild goats (18), lions (21) and people (23) are part of the orderly world God created. He is the giver of gifts - wine, oil, and bread (15);

“He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate” (14). “When You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things” (29). Life comes from God (30), and He knows what we need. His desire is to satisfy us with “good things” from His own hand (28).

Psalm 103

“The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (19). David can praise the Lord from the depth of his soul, his “inmost being” (1), because he has experienced all the good “benefits” of God. Through hard times and good times, he has learned that the Lord is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (8), and God’s kingdom is secure (19).

“Forget not all his benefits” (2). Our heavenly Father is worthy of our praise, love, and allegiance. We are secure knowing that He is for us, He is good, and His rule encompasses all of life (19,22). Worship from our hearts is the natural outflow of our trust in Him.

Proverbs 30-31

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (30:5). The wise man Agur admitted the limits of his understanding (30:1). God has true wisdom; God alone has “gone up to heaven and gone down” (30:4). Knowing this, he asked the Lord to keep him from poverty (he might be tempted to steal) and to keep him from wealth (he might be tempted to think he did not need God, 9). He prayed for the integrity necessary to be true to the Lord and satisfied with “my daily bread” (30:8).

Thinking we can live without God or others leads to an insecure life. The only true refuge is in the wise arms of Jesus.

Proverbs 27-29

“The righteous care about justice for the poor” (29:7). The Proverbs repeatedly measure leadership (29:14) and righteousness not just by good values, but by how people with resources and power treat the poor. Ungodly leaders devastate the poor like a “driving rain that leaves no crops” (28:3). Building success on the backs of the poor is foolish because God may turn those profits over to someone who is “kind to the poor” (28:8). For the wise person knows that “those who give to the poor will lack nothing” (28:27).

God’s people flourish when we actively bless the poor. As Jesus the perfect King has taught us, “be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you” (Luke 14:41).

Proverbs 25-26

“Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control” (25:28). The Proverbs tell us that the undisciplined person never learns life’s lessons but is a “fool who repeats their folly” (26:11). This person gives no effort to wisdom (“too lazy,” 26:15-16), or he may deceive others and self by lies that cover over sin like “silver dross on earthenware” (26:23). These shortcuts lead to a life in ruins.

God calls us to reject the temptation to be “wise in our own eyes” (26:12, Gen 3) and to humbly reach out for the help He offers. By the Holy Spirit’s power, the fruit of our lives is love, joy, peace, and self-control (Gal 5:23).

Ephesians 2

“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace” (15). God’s plan of salvation is more than an escape from punishment; He is creating a new people of God. In Jesus, there are no longer outsiders, strangers or “foreigners of the promise” (12), but instead by Jesus’ blood all people can be “fellow citizens” and “household members” (19).

Only Jesus can destroy “the dividing wall of hostility” (14). The cross reconciles us to God and to one another, so that people of different ethnicities, cultures, and statuses can become a worthy temple “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (22).

Ephesians 1

“I keep asking that God ... may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (17). Paul’s prayer is that God’s people would know the “riches of inheritance” (18) and “incredibly great power” (19) that belong to all believers in Jesus. These benefits are ours because “in love, He predestined us for adoption” (5).

We can live with absolute confidence that the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is for us. “In accordance with his pleasure and will” (5), God joyfully wants and intentionally wills that we experience the “riches” of salvation through Christ. He has set the seal of the Holy Spirit on us as a guarantee (14).

Psalm 102

“But you, LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations” (12). In this life we experience the “evening shadows” of suffering (11), and we may fear our days will be “cut short” (23). The psalmist cries for help amid his suffering because he knows that God “will respond to the prayer of the destitute” (17). He knows that God hears our groaning (19-20).

The God who was at the beginning, who “laid the foundations of the earth” (25), is involved for our good in the present moment and will be victorious God in the end (27). The final word on our suffering is in the hands of the Alpha and the Omega.

Proverbs 23-24

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD” (23:17). The Proverbs caution us to not “envy the wicked” because their lives are full of making “violence” and “trouble” (24:1). We don’t need to “fret” (24:19) that sinners are prospering or seeming to prosper; the truth is that without God there is no lasting “future” (24:20).

Living faithfully for Jesus may seem at times that we are making sacrifices that keep us from “getting ahead” in life while non-believers succeed. But wisdom sees the bigger picture; our “hope will not be cut off” (23:18). Following Jesus is the long-term path to joy, peace and prosperity.

Proverbs 20-22

“Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life” (22:4). The Proverbs says that the person without humility refuses guidance from God, the One who gives us wisdom, “ears that hear and eyes that see” (20:12). We need Him to “draw out insight” from the “deep waters” of our hearts (20:5). Humble people are willing to “seek advice and obtain guidance” (20:18) for big plans, and humble people learn from the mistakes of “mockers” and by “paying attention” to wise people (21:11)

“A person’s steps are directed by the LORD” (20:24). Our rugged individualism can make us think that we can figure it out on our own, but God offers us something better – His guidance.

Proverbs 17-19

“Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam” (17:14). The Proverbs urge us to avoid or quickly end conflict. Seeking to provoke others or looking for ways to stir up disagreements is wrong; if one “loves quarrels”, one “loves sin” (17:19). Rather than approaching life assuming everyone is an enemy, we are to be people who “cover over offenses” (17:9), show “restraint” with our words (17:27), find practical ways to “settle disputes” quickly (18:18), and listen before answering (18:13).

The wisdom of Proverbs opposes today’s angry, combative culture, revealing its dangers. Rather than following the world, we follow the One who teaches us: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt 5:9).

Galatians 6

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin ...” (1). Paul applies the fruit of the Spirit to the process of dealing with someone caught in sin. Love, gentleness, forbearance and self-control drive the process to “restore.” We are to carry others’ burdens (2), while blaming no one else for our own challenges, for we are responsible for “carrying our own burden” (5). By living this way, we are “sowing” to the Spirit and will “reap” eternal life (8)

“At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (9). Working toward reconciliation and restoration can be a long process, but our hope is in the God who brings peace.

Galatians 5

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (1). Paul warns that a return to Law is slavery (1), of “no value” (2), and makes you “alienated from Christ” (4). Depending on the Law rather than Christ will not help us resist the temptations of “the flesh” (sinful humanity), and the acts of the flesh are opposite to the fruit of the Spirit (17). Our freedom in Jesus from the law is not a freedom from morality (7), but an invitation to life lived by the Spirit (18).

“Walk by the Spirit” (16). The way to live the life we want, filled with good fruit, is not through strict regulations, but to know Christ and rely on the Spirit (16).

Galatians 4

“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts” (6). The Law was a temporary state in God’s plan (2). Once Christ came, we no longer needed the Law as our “custodian”, because we became fully adopted children of God (4-5). Paul urges believers not to return to their previous “enslaved” state (9). He uses the OT story of Hagar (Gen 21) as a metaphor for two trajectories, one a child of slavery and one as “children of promise” (28).

“So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child” (7). We may be tempted to replace our relationship with God with the false security of religious activity, but we are invited to something better: to become part of His family.

Psalm 101

“I will be careful to lead a blameless life” (2). The psalmist desires that God’s people reflect the “love and justice” (1) of God. It begins with the King himself who commits to living a “blameless life” and conducting the “affairs of his house” with a “blameless heart” (2). He wants to make sure that the people who “dwell in his house” will be deceit-free (7).

Like David, we are called to imitate the love and justice of God. The great news is that we are not left to our own resources to clean our hearts or modify our behavior. By the grace of Jesus, we can “walk by the Spirit and not satisfy the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).

Psalm 100

“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (3). God’s special covenant with Israel revealed His desire for all people – that through Christ we would be “his people, the sheep of his pasture”. To be His beloved people means that we enter the courts of the Temple (4) – His presence, where He meets with us – with worship, knowing He has redeemed us from our sins and adopted us into His family.

“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever” (5). Nothing stands between us and the goodness of the Lord. Through Christ, we are His people and He is our Shepherd.