Isaiah 1-6 discus the coming judgment of Israel, but parallels to modern Christianity can be seen in God's rebuke of Israel. Since Isaiah is such a deep book, I've decided to post by chapter instead of by topic to avoid making the posts too long. This post covers Isaiah 1.

This history, origins, and contents of Isaiah are examined. Isaiah is one of the major prophets—you can expect to spend quite some time in this book, but it's definitely worth it! Isaiah gives us the bulk of Messianic prophecies and is often quoted in the New Testament, so you know it's an important book.

This post is a little longer than I intended, but it didn't feel right splitting it up. People have been talking about why millennial are leaving the church for quite some time and I figured, as a millennial who left the church and came back, I have an obligation to provide some insight.

A look at what I learned and struggled with during this reading of Song of Solomon.

Song of Solomon concludes with a spring rendezvous and the couple together once and for all. Now that the drama of the wedding has passed, the couple is free to enjoy each other's company and begin their life together.

After the wedding, the couple is once again separated and searching for each other. In between the compliments and longing, we can find much symbolism and meaning.

There are definitely aspects of Christmas that I think are Godly, but there are definitely aspects that are pagan (this is how the devil gets you, mix a little good in with his evil). The good things about Christmas are things you can do anytime . I can give gifts to friends and family (even strangers) at any time. I can make plans to see my family any time. I can fellowship with my fellow believers any time. Just like I can talk about the crucifixion any time, I can talk about His birth any time. None of these activities is restricted to December.

If I was in some weird experiment where I had to give advice to someone without knowing the problem, I'd direct them to Ecclesiastes 3:1-9. Granted, I don't think it fixes all problems (especially not without discussion) but it covers pretty much everything.

What's the most exciting and important part of a relationship? Did you guess the wedding? The middle of Song of Solomon gives us front row access to the marriage of a couple deeply in love with each other, with the intent of reminding us of our own upcoming marriage to Christ. It's pretty powerful, if you ask me.

To understand Song of Solomon 3—well Song of Solomon in general, to be honest—it's nice to understand the customs of a Jewish marriage ceremony. The first half of chapter 3 shows us someone who is distraught that their lover is not with them and goes off to find them. I'm fairly certain that the speaker in these verses is the woman, but don't take my word on that.

So, it's official: Jay-Z cheated on Beyoncé. We already knew this, but we didn't know this until Jay-Z confirmed it in his interview with the NY Times. Hearing the confirmation that Jay-Z did in fact cheat on Beyoncé made me stop to think about cheating—or what the Bible refers to as adultery—in a general sense. As I pondered the issue this past week, I started thinking on all the complexities and went searching for a Biblical answer. I'm not here to speculate on or judge their situation. However I do want to talk about the general question of staying versus leaving after cheating has occurred. As you'll see, this isn't a post on what people should do, just some thoughts I had has I pondered the question and read people's two cents about Beyoncé's decision online.

Reading Song of Solomon is kind of like watching a period love story. I imagine if it were made into a movie, it would look like a Shakespearean play... The second section of Song of Solomon features a conversation between the young lovers that centers on enjoying a spring day together. Once again we see significance for our literal love lives, as well as, significance for our spiritual lives.

The first two chapters of Song of Solomon introduce us to the leading lady and her lover. Solomon switches from her point of view to his point of view throughout the book, making it important to constantly re-evaluate who is speaking to whom as we read. Within these first chapters we find much inspiration and many lessons that apply to our own lives today.

When we read any book, we usually identify with the hero. the Bible is no different. We always think we would make the right choice. We think that put in the same situations as people like the young rich man of Matthew 19, we would make the right decision... But would we? Hindsight is 20/20 after all.

Song of Solomon is beautiful poetry. This book reminds us of why love and marriage is so beautiful! Solomon was the wisest man to live, yet he took the time to compose such beautiful poetry. He knew that the beauty of love is to be appreciated. Although we don't know the time period between Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes, love remains one of the few things Solomon never calls a waste of time or "vanity."

This post is a reflection of what I learned and took away from Ecclesiastes. Although Solomon starts off seeming to prove the pointlessness of life, we see exactly the opposite: everything in life always points back to a singular point. That is the purpose of life.

Ecclesiastes 12 is the final chapter in the book of Ecclesiastes and summarizes Solomon's thoughts on the purpose of life. Solomon summarizes his message by concluding that our sole duty is to respect God and follow His commandments. When put into words, it sounds easy, but in action, it's a lot harder!

Ecclesiastes is short but sweet. Solomon talks about youth, God's command of nature, and the inevitability of bad days. These topics may seem a bit disjointed, but they are deeply connected both literally and spiritually.

These 3 chapters of Ecclesiastes hold some oft forgotten wisdom along with a few popular quotes. My favorite quote from Ecclesiastes is found in chapter 9, verse 11: "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Ecclesiastes 7 continues Solomon's profound look at the purpose of life. Solomon ponders the difference between birth and death, emotions such as sadness, anger, and happiness, how to prolong our lives, and more.