We don’t talk a lot about vows and oaths in our society. The closest we come to “oath-taking” is when a witness is sworn in before taking the stand. They swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – “so help you God.” Then they are considered “under oath.”

But then you hear people caught in a lie say things like, “I swear to God!” So if you swear on the Bible, you are bound by that oath, but if you swear to God then it doesn’t really mean anything… Hmm…

I don’t know about you, but if someone has to add I swear, I promise, or I’m not gonna lie, then that really makes me wonder how honest of a person they are. If they don’t add in those phrases am I to assume they are “gonna lie.”

The other time we think of vows and such is in the context of a wedding ceremony. The bride and the groom exchange their vows to each other in the sight of witnesses and then seal those vows with a ring. Yet how soon after the honeymoon are those vows forgotten? How long does it take for the husband to start looking at other women again? How long does it take for the wife to nag about money issues?

You can see just how seriously we take our “vows” by simply checking out the divorce rate. Last time I checked our vows don’t address allow “irreconcilable differences,” whatever that means, as an escape clause.

What about the vow we make before God. When we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; when we repent of our sins and pursue righteousness; and when we are submerged in the water and are pulled back up we are publicly stating our vows to God.

Jesus, I will follow you no matter what the cost.

Spirit, I will go wherever you lead me.

God, everything I have is yours.

For better or worse, in wealth and in poverty, in sickness and health, in safety and in persecution, in foreign countries, in homeless shelters, in church, on sports teams, at work – God, I am yours and yours only. I will keep myself only to You for as long as I live.

What about THAT vow? How many of us delay in fulfilling our vows to God? How many of us make deals with God – I’ll follow you when (x) happens. When I’m through college. When I’ve got a job. When I get married. When I have kids. When I’ve got the car and the house paid off. When the kids are gone. When I retire.

Time and time again people came up to Jesus wanting to follow him, but more often than not there was something holding them back – I just got married. I just bought some land. I just got some new farm equipment. I want to wait until my father is dead.

“When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” {Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

Maybe it’s time that you renewed you vows to God. Make 2013 the year that you fulfill your vow.

My mouth gets me into trouble. Guys, can you relate? I have a knack for saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time, especially when talking to my wife. The saying rings all too true for me: “It is better to close your mouth and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

Many times I find myself thinking What I should have said was…nothing.


Have you ever noticed that a lot of people are uncomfortable with silence? There always has to be music going or television playing. They fill every sound gap with more and more words until it just sounds like static. Some people just don’t like silence so they prevent it at all costs.

Other people talk a lot when they know they’ve done something wrong. They get caught up in a lie so they add more and more details to the story to make it sound believable. But they end up over-describing to the point that the story sounds obviously contrived.

Some people are nervous talkers. Whenever they’re anxious about something, their mouth takes the reins and churns into a full gallop.

Then their are those oddballs who are content not to say anything. They just sit back and let everyone else do the talking. They rarely add to the noise, and when they do speak up people listen. They’re not really oddballs – the rest of us are.

Noise.

Many of us think that they only way we can get people to listen to us is by making noise. The loudest voice is answered. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. And we use this same approach with God far too often. We’re like the prophets of Ba’al. They were getting to response from Ba’al on top of Mount Carmel so Elijah suggested they yell louder, make more noise, act more ridiculous.

They still got no answer. Elijah, on the other hand, simply knelt and prayed. No shouting, no dancing, not theatrics. Just a simple prayer.

How do you approach God? Do you come to God with singing, dancing, loud music, shouts, theatrics, and lengthy prayers? Do you try your best to get God’s attention so that he’ll listen to you?

Maybe if we stripped away all the noise then God would be able to get our attention so that we’ll listen to Him.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth,    do not be hasty in your heart    to utter anything before God. God is in heaven    and you are on earth,    so let your words be few.  {Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

Is listening considered an act of worship? I think it should be. It’s definitely a sign of respect.

If you were to have lunch with the President, you would probably be interested in what he had to say. You would be more focused on listening than on talking. You wouldn’t engage him in conversation like you do your buddy or your spouse. He talks, you listen.

How much more so should we be quick to listen to God? Yes, God wants you to communicate with Him, and even commands us to do so. But He also commands us to listen to Him. It’s like the old adage: You have two ears and one mouth, so do twice as much listening as talking.


This week in worship, as you approach the house of God, draw near to listen. Hear what God has to say to you. Don’t just let your mouth run wild. Listen first, then offer the sacrifice of praise.

Here’s how I finally did on my goal for 2012. I set off to read at least 24 books, or 2 a month. I got to 25 1/2 books.

One of my favorite “Christmas” hymns is Joy to the World. It’s a simple but powerful song. It’s few short verses are packed with high Christology, the redemption of creation itself, and the sovereignty of Christ over all the universe.

But the most convicting line in the song, in my opinion, comes in the first verse: Let every heart prepare Him room.

The arrival of Emmanuel is ripe with bittersweet irony. The King of kings, the Prince of Peace, was not born in a palace, but in a stable. He was not birthed in a sterile birthing room in the maternity ward of the local hospital. His first sensations included the scent of day-old animal dung, the sound of domesticated livestock, and the scratching of dried out hay, which was likely infested with small biting insects similar to bed bugs.

God made room within this infantile body, enough room for His fullness to dwell. Yet there was no room in the town for this newborn baby. It’s even more heartbreaking to understand that it wasn’t an “inn” like a Motel 6. They were most likely trying to bunk with relatives overnight. The word often translated “inn” is more like a guest room on the upper floor of the house.

The NIV 2011 get’s it right: “There was no guest room available for them.” (Lk 2:7)

Joseph’s own family members relegate him and his full-term fiance to the basement with the animals gathered for the night. There was no room for him.

But zoom out a bit and the picture becomes even more disappointing.

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but his own did not receive Him.” John 1:9-11

Jesus was the catalyst for creation. Without Jesus nothing would exist. The entire world was made through Him. But when He came into the world, that which was His own, His own (people) did not make room for Him. He pitched His tent alongside us, but no one welcomed Him to the neighborhood.

And yet…His current mission is to prepare room for us in the kingdom of heaven (John 14:1-4).

I also love how Isaac Watts phrased the opening line of the song: Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Not has come, not did come, not came…the Lord is come. It’s not enough to focus on the one time birth of Christ. Rather, He is in a constant state of “coming.” His coming to earth is an ongoing process, and we must always be in the process of preparing room for Jesus.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.” Revelation 3:20

Are the No’s still lit up on our Vacancy signs? Is there room for Christ in your heart? your home? your workplace? your ball team? Is there room for Jesus in your church?

Or is Jesus relegated to the basement…again…

I like Christmas music. The music is one of my favorite parts of this time of year. Just like all good movies have killer sound tracks, it isn’t really Christmas without those heart-warming songs. But there are a few things that make me sad about Christmas music:

1. Folks who work retail are sick of it by mid-December.
2. The growing emphasis seems to be on the more secular songs that have nothing to do with the holiday (by which I mean the “holy-day”).
3. It’s awkward to sing Christmas hymns any other time of the year in our worship services.

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” – Colossians 1:15-20

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. – Ecclesiastes 1:1-8

Yet this thing called “time,” enigmatic as it may be, is of utmost importance to us. Animals don’t really have a sense of time. The eat whenever they’re fed. They sleep whenever they’re tired. They don’t care that it’s one o’clock in the morning; they want to go outside, now! We humans, however, are swimming in the awareness of time. It’s on our wrists, our cell phones, our computers, our microwaves, our dashboards, our building signs, and in nearly ever room we walk into. There is a constant tick from the analog clocks sounding off the seconds. There is a constant blink from the digital clocks reminding us that we haven’t properly reset it since the last power outage.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. -Ecclesiastes 3:12-15

Every time a tragedy hits, no matter what it is – hurricane, mass murder, drunk driver, cancer, etc – it brings us to our knees. We were a nations brought to our knees this weekend. Life and time, I think, are seen a bit more clearly on your knees, close to the ground, beneath the smog and smoke that keeps us in a haze all day long. When we have nothing left to stand on we realize who is holding us up. Our life is but a mist – here for a moment and then gone. But everything God does endures forever.

Use your time to do what you love – with whom you love – for the One who loves you. Carpe that diem.

Ecclesiastes is a journey. Like I said last week, the book of Ecclesiastes mimics life itself – full of twists and turns and loops.

The premise of the book is that everything is Hebel, lit. vapor, breath, wind, mist. Hebel is that which is here for but a moment and then vanishes away. Even the conclusions reached in Ecclesiastes seem to be hebel. One moment, the Teacher tells us that pleasure is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. He says toil is pointless because you don’t get to keep that for which you have labored. Everything is hebel, meaningless, futile, a chasing after the wind.

So what’s the big conclusion? Enjoy the pleasures of life and find satisfaction in your work.

Wait…what?

Teacher, I’m confused! So are we supposed to enjoy the pleasures of this life or aren’t we? Is life meaningless or isn’t it? Is hebel a good thing or a bad thing? I don’t get it.


The Teacher realized what all lottery winners learn the hard way – more money, more problems.

He understood the frustration of the academics in the world – more wisdom, more sorrow.

Death is the great equalizer. Wise man and fool, rich man and poor, go-getter and lazy bum all face the same fate. So what is there to gain?

Jesus said some similar things in his sermon on the mount.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:19-21, 31-34)

 I think the Teacher reaches the same conclusion as Jesus. At the end of this journey, a pursuit of pleasure, wisdom, and success on the world’s terms apart from God, the Teacher concludes:

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

Find fulfillment on God’s terms. Enjoy the blessings from God, not the ones you strive after. To the one who pleases God, he will give wisdom knowledge and happiness. This sounds very similar to Jesus’ conclusion, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. If you are seeking God above all, then all these things will take care of themselves. You will store up for yourself treasures in heaven, there for you to enjoy after you leave this earth.

So often our lives end up looking like the Teacher’s life. It’s like we’re stuck in a pinball game, bouncing around from one thing to another with no real goal other than to rack up as many points as possible before the ball falls through the gap. It’s chaotic, it’s stressful, and it’s not how we were intended to live.

Rather, our lives should look more like golf. Our focus should be on the one goal, trying to get there in as few strokes as possible. If we keep our focus and aim for the hole, then it is a relief when the ball drops – not a disappointment as in pinball. For by keeping our focus on God, his kingdom and his righteousness, then we know that something better awaits us when this life is over, after the ball drops.

Ecclesiastes can be a very depressing book. At times it feels more like Nietzsche than Jesus. It feels more like nihilism than Christianity; more like existentialism than living for God. It’s confusing; very difficult to understand at times. Other times, the point is very clear.

The whole book can make your head spin. It’s enigmatic, living comfortably in the paradox of meaninglessness and purpose. Ecclesiastes is not just a book about life, it’s a book that mimics life. It’s a book that makes me think of a quote from Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” That’s true of life, and it’s true of Ecclesiastes.

The book opens up with a poem that sounds like it has no business being in the Bible:

I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called Surviving Progress. It gives an interesting perspective to what we have been promised to be a better, brighter, more advanced future. Medical breakthroughs allow people to live longer, healthier lives. Technological advancements allow for instant communication and speedy travel between nations. More cars, more computers, more televisions, more – more – more. Bigger! Faster! Better!

This is “progress.”

But what are we to do with it?

An interesting observation from an evolutionary psychologist is that the human brain hasn’t changed much at all over the last fifty thousand years. I’m not going to get into the evolutionary debate at this point, but I think the point is very valid. The parts of our brains that still tend to dominate are the more rudimentary regions. The deepest parts of the brain, also considered the oldest, are those that control the “fight or flight” survival system, the sex and pleasure system. The concern of these regions is the immediate and the tangible. They are always concerned with what is happening right this moment all around us.

Very helpful if one is living in a world overrun with wild beasts and tribal warfare. Not so helpful when standing in the checkout line at Walmart.

These regions are incapable of considering the long term impact of immediate decisions. Do I eat the cupcake in front of me or do I wait and receive an additional cupcake in an hour? You get the point.

We humans would like to think that we are more sophisticated than our nomadic ancestors of millennia past. But we aren’t.

We Christians would like to think that we are better prepared to handle Satan’s temptations today than were, say, Adam and Eve. But we aren’t.

We would like to think that Satan is always scheming, always going back to the drawing board, always drawing up more intricate traps and snares in order to catch us. But he doesn’t.

Satan has one playbook. It hasn’t changed since the time of Eden because there is no need for change. The road runner kept out thinking and outsmarting the coyote, so the coyote had to keep trying new and increasingly dangerous stunts to catch the darn bird. Not so with Satan. Humanity falls for the same traps so consistently that there is no need for him to update his game plan.

The real kicker is…we KNOW the playbook! We know every single go-to that Satan has. Just read Genesis 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11; and James 1:13-15. We know how he works, we know what play he’s going to run, and we’ve had thousands of years to study and develop a defense.

When it comes to progress – be it technological, medical, social, or economical – the single greatest hindrance of progress is…humans. As long as Satan is able to trap humanity with his schemes, nothing will really change. That’s why the writer of Ecclesiastes could say, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

What we really need is not new “stuff;” we need a new system. If there is nothing new under the sun, we need a different sun – a new world, restored to God’s original intent. We need a world redeemed and set free from sin, where Satan has no dominion, where our own fallen humanity won’t get in the way of true progress.

If we’re going to “survive progress,” then we need a little bit of heaven.

I love music.

I come from a very musical family full of people who have been in band and/or choir. My family likes to sing – all of us. When we get together it’s like a live-action musical.

Seriously. A few years ago we were all together at my sister’s house for Christmas. Her in-laws were also there for a while. One night we were gathered around the table playing a game. At one point in the game, after something funny had happened, my sister’s mother-in-law asked, “Oh no, are they going to sing again?”

I love to sing. Dancing, on the other hand…let’s just say we weren’t blessed with that gene. I played trumpet in high school, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the only rhythm in my entire body lies in the index, middle, and ring fingers on my right hand. It’s straight up embarrassing when I attempt to move my body to the music.

I’m talking Elaine from “Seinfeld” kind of awful.

That’s probably why I love the story in 2 Samuel 6. It’s one of the most amazing worship services in the Bible.

When David became king of Israel, he moved the capital city to Jerusalem. The Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant had, up to this point, been in Shiloh and a couple other places. But now David wanted to give the Ark a permanent dwelling place. Although the Lord prevented David from building the Temple, all the prep work was made. The Temple, the Ark, and subsequently God’s presence, would reside on the prime piece of real estate in the new capital.

David and his men began transporting the Ark to it’s new home, but they hit an initial snag. The Ark was set on a cart – not carried with poles by the priests. The oxen stumbled (I think Israel learned it’s road paving techniques from Illinois…), the Ark rocked, Uzzah tried to stabilize it but was struck dead. They’re not off to a very good start. So David unloads the Ark at someone else’s house for three months – back to the drawing boards.

Three months later David tries again. This time, taking every precaution. He has the Ark carried like it was supposed to be. Along the way, David – not a priest – sacrificed a bull and a calf every six steps. Six steps! Every 20 feet leading into Jerusalem there was the carcass of a dead animal. Imagine the barbecue they had later…

So not only is he sacrificing the whole way, but as they enter Jerusalem the crowds are shouting, the trumpets are playing, and David is dancing with all his might. David would have been kicked out of most of our churches.

When the Ark was brought to the Tabernacle, David blessed all the people. But not only that, he gave everyone there a gift of bread and pastries.

This was a parade, a festival, a celebration – this was worship. Singing, dancing, cheering, excitement, blessings, fellowship, and food.

But there will always be someone upset at the freedom of others when it comes to worship. Michal, David’s wife, was downright embarrassed by his display. She scolds him for making himself look so foolish in front of other people.

I love David’s reply: “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when He appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel – I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

At the heart of worship was the relationship between David and God. It didn’t matter what anybody else said or thought about him. David determined that he will celebrate with all his might.

Did God ever prescribe dancing and trumpets and free bread as acceptable worship? No. But was He pleased with David and Israel on that day? Did He delight in seeing His children celebrate with all their might? Absolutely.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to get up on stage next Sunday go all Gangam Style. But why should anybody stop me from worshiping with all my might? Who’s to say that you can’t pour your heart out in celebration of God’s presence?

Celebration is at the heart of worship.