READING FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2025: ECCLESIASTES 2, ACTS 4, PSALM 95 ECCLESIASTES 2 One often hears that the high school and college years are a time of exploration, which often means it is a time for youth to try out high-risk behavior for themselves rather than just take someone’s word that it’s dangerous. Taken to extreme, this could result in the development of destructive life patterns from which there is no recovery. In this chapter, Solomon recounts his series of life explorations.
The first area mentioned is the pursuit of pleasure, including the use of alcohol. Then he explored materialism and everything money could buy, such as entertainment and women. He mentioned fame and achievements, saying he became greater than all who preceded him in Jerusalem. On a certain level, he found this satisfying, but as he stopped to reflect more upon it, he saw no lasting benefit from it “under the sun.” Is this reflection on his life what some call a mid-life crisis? Maybe some of us who are older also question the value of what we have achieved or experienced in life.
In verse 12, Solomon turns to the life of the mind, called wisdom. He observed “wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness.” But he concluded that both the wise and foolish suffer the same fate at the end: death and oblivion: “For there is no lasting remem- brance of the wise, along with the fool.” Yes, he or she might leave some kind of legacy: a company, estate, or great non-profit organization. But once this founding person dies, another person without the same vision and effort will take it over. The very thought of it was painful and sleep-depriving to him.
In verse 24, Solomon seems to land on an attitude he finds at least temporarily mollifying: don’t expect too much out of life. Instead, be satisfied with meeting the basic needs of life and enjoying the work that God has given each person. There are at least two reasons why this is likely a very initial finding by Solomon. First, he ends the chapter with this comment: “This too is futility and striving after wind.” Secondly, we still have 10 more chapters to go in the book.
ACTS 4 Peter and John were arrested for preaching the doctrine of the resurrection. Here is a report from last year’s YMC’s update “In March, three Montagnard [Viet Nam] members of an independent house church in the Dak Lak province were detained for a week—without any explanation or warrants. Villagers in the same province also found the body of Montagnard preacher Y Bum Bya hanging in the local cemetery. His church members believe the preacher was murdered after being repeatedly beaten and threatened by local police.” Black scholar George Yancey wrote, “One of the money lines in a New York Times editorial I was interviewed for recently was that I have faced more discrimination as a Christian than as a black in academia.” Those who work in higher education know this is true. Let’s see how
READING FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2025 CONTINUED: ACTS 4, PSALM 95 John and Peter handle their opposition, having recently seen Jesus executed for the truth.
It looks like they were hauled in front of the same cast of accusers who questioned Jesus during His trial. In fact, these accusers asked them a similar question to what they asked Jesus after He cleansed the Temple: “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” At this point, we see a fulfillment of one of Jesus’s promises. They were filled with the Holy Spirit while they were on trial for preaching the truth. Doesn’t this get us excited? First, Peter pointed out how absurd it was to be on trial for healing a disabled man. Then they seized the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, finishing with that epic statement: “There is no other name [than Jesus] under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.” The Council told them not to preach about Jesus again but let them go because the people could see the truth. Peter and John responded with a vital principle: They must obey God rather than man. This is true for our us, as well as for our fellow believers in Viet Nam and in academia.
As they left the Council, they returned to their Christian community for a prayer and praise meeting. This might be a good idea for us whenever we can celebrate God’s victories. Even though they were baptized in the Spirit before at Pentecost, it says they were filled with the Spirit at this meeting. (Looks like there can be multiple fillings.) A concrete result of this filling is that they spoke “the word of God with boldness.” That’s what we need. They even sold their personal possessions to distribute to those in their fellowship who had need. Radical.
PSALM 95 This Psalm gives us two choices. Maybe there are only two choices in life. For the first seven verses the Psalmist says let’s all sing with thanksgiving and joy accompanied by instruments. The reason? God is great. With all love to friends with other beliefs systems, the God of the Bible is greater than any other god or belief or non-belief system. He is the creator of the natural world and of us human beings. To bow down to Him alone is our first choice.The second choice is to harden our hearts to God and His revelation to us. This is the choice that many Israelites took in the wilderness. As a result, they did not enter the promised land, although the next generation did. The final phrases tell what happened to them as a warning to the readers, especially us: “And they do not know My ways. Therefore, I swore in My anger, they certainly shall not enter My rest.” Hebrews tell us what to do: “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God” (Heb. 3:12).
