TwelveTwelve: The Leader Blog of North Wake Church

Photo by USGS on Unsplash Ecclesiastes 2:18-22 (ESV) 18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash   Read:  Ecclesiastes 1:16-2:17   Ecclesiastes is an extraordinary book for our culture and context.  Various people throughout time have found understanding, comfort, and hope from books of the Bible that seem to particularly address their context and situation.  People suffering from oppression have found solace in promises of justice from the books of Exodus, Isaiah, and Psalms.  Those who live in dark times or suffer from a darkness that seems to chase them, find companionship with Job, Jeremiah, and David in their laments.  Just as there seems to be a season for everything, the Bible seems to have something to say to everyone, in every place, and in

Photo by Zugr on Unsplash Read: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 When this book was first mentioned to me, I was sitting next to Pastor Larry and exclaimed, “I love Ecclesiastes! It is so encouraging.” Needless to say I got a bit of a quizzical look from our Pastor. He even questioned why I wouldn’t pick Philippians or Colossians as encouraging books. It isn't that I don’t see those books as encouraging, but for me, there is a different type of encouragement that comes from the message of Ecclesiastes.  I often describe myself as a recovering perfectionist. From an early age I

Jesus, in my pain, in this disappointment, in the hurt I haven't even processed, I need you! Even if there's been no other time I've ever really sought you, I need you now. Our leaders fail us. Our minds play tricks. Our memories deceive us. Our shows distract us, but don't guide us. Like a sailor looking for stars to guide them on a cloudy night, we look to your eyes to guide us in this life. And yet, when we read your in your word that You are the Son of God; that you are the Way, the

Photo by Samuel McGarrigle on Unsplash “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” --Exodus 20:16-17   In the beginning, there was a lie. “You will not certainly die.” Satan gave false testimony against the Lord, implying that God wasn’t good, that God was a liar. And then there was covetousness. Adam and Eve wanted what God had: complete knowledge. Satan wanted to be king. In the trail to the cross,

Photo by Jan Tinneberg on Unsplash Read:  Exodus 20: 13-15 Every year around Easter week, you can find the glowing, spray-tanned face of Charlton Heston playing the part of Moses as he brings two perfectly carved blocks of stone down from Mount Sinai in the Oscar award-winning film "The Ten Commandments."  It's incredible how much art can influence the way we imagine history unfolding.  As I read any of the narrative Biblical accounts of Moses' life, I always see him in my mind as a bronze-faced, steel-gazed, skinnier version of Charles Spurgeon, aka Charlton Heston.  My mind has been imprinted by Cecil B. DeMille!     Whose imagination has not been captivated by the dramatic way

    Read: Exodus 20:8-12 I wonder if you grew up in a home that honored adults and authority. Maybe you were taught to say, “Yes ma'am” and “No sir.” Or maybe you were taught that kids eat after adults because the adults were the ones who worked for and prepared the food so they should be honored by being able to eat first. Maybe you were taught to show honor by having a firm handshake, making eye contact, and smiling when meeting people.  In today’s world we are losing many of these small signs of honor that we

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash Read: Exodus 20:7-11 You shall not take the name of the LORD ["Yahweh"] your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain (Exodus 20:7) The Third Commandment instructs us to protect our use of the name of God, Yahweh. Professor Philip Graham Ryken writes: Yahweh, or ‘LORD,’ is much more than a name. It is God's identity. This was the whole Hebrew understanding of names. For us a name is a label; it is something we have, not something we are. But for the