Ecclesiastes 12
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Dear Edward,
We have gone round about a conversation, 'Omnipotence, is God's plan irrefutable and is being resigned to the will of God a good thing and prayer changes nothing' since Isabelle died in 2008. Sometimes the Lord gives us a conversation congruent to one in your mind and then the thread picks up again elsewhere and you know He wants you to have the discussion.
We laughed today about you reading Ecclesiastes at our friend Allen's suggestion; when you went back to uncharacteristically low moan, he ignored your uncharacteristic sedate moan, to be DELIGHTED to know you followed his suggestion. It's a great thing to laugh. However you said life was perhaps not as joyous again, after reading Ecclesiastes.
Clark told us to prepare for seasons. And Clark says a lot of the time there is no Coincidence in the Christian Life in HIM.
My flipping open our Sanctuary Bible today was this - on Coincidences - being from HIM
2 Kings 8
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”
Frankly, this is the first time I read the events of the woman from Shunem.
Coincidence and Christians is a sign from HIM and is joyous. A wonder we should enjoy as knowing how lovingly HE is involved with us praying and talking to HIM in our move, dwell and have our being with HIM.
Hezekiah, you know, changed the Hand of God to be blessed completely. Hezekiah lived carrying the cross of Jesus. At one point, Hezekiah stripped off the gold, a scar that remained, to follow his father king's advice to strip the Temple of Gold to keep the Assyrian army at bay. God fully forgave Hezekiah. And gave him blessing upon blessing upon blessing. For believing and being obedient to God. Hezekiah's reign was almost as prosperous as Solomon, and we have many, many rich archaeological finds to be able to see this blessing of God.
Edward, miracles Only happen because of this:
John 15:7
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
This verse was on the radio, at work, after we were talking about God and His attitudes on prayer. It seems to me, maybe, you are stuck in Ecclesiastes.
Luke 18
And he told them a parable to show that they must always pray and not be discouraged, 2 saying, “There was a certain judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not respect people. 3 And there was a widow in that town, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary!’ 4 And he was not willing for a time, but after these things he said to himself, ‘Even if I do not fear God or respect people, 5 yet because this widow is causing trouble for me, I will grant her justice, so that she does not wear me down in the end by her coming back!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying! 7 And will not God surely see to it that justice is done to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? 8 I tell you that he will see to it that justice is done for them soon! Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?”
Are we on the same page? How Can Jesus compare HIS Father, the ONE Jesus tells us is the Only Good ONE, to a corrupt judge? Obviously, our Father God wants us to see HIM in a light that is gentle, favorable, calm, loving, reverent, placing HIM as first in our thoughts, hearts. Knowing He loves us that much.
When we go to Him, constantly in prayer, He wants you to Love HIM as much as you loved, miss, wept, continued to miss, still get misty, Buddy.
Knowing, that you know, and I know you know - your dad actually does fish, completely well and heart-ily in the waters of Heaven, described as beautiful in the Book of Revelation.
One of your favorite verses is this:
Luke 23:39-43
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
When I think of our home, I've named our home as Psalm 107
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Psalm 107
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Okay! Which is absolutely marvelous, yet describes some of the wild ride life has been for us.
People always ask why did Saul (people have nicknamed you this sometimes) become so angry, bitter, horrible in deeds? He refused to go with God's Plan. Counting each day in joy. Giving back to God, what God asked of Saul.
We did the Bible Study at our house for about two months - 100 Stories of the Bible You Should Know. The determination was you get ONE Choice. You can do God's Plan. Or you can be resentful to the point of evil, and
... you get to do God's Plan.
Every day you have the opportunity to greet the One who Loves you most. And you can be resigned, but this isn't encouraging to the Father God who would RUN Run run run run run RUN RUN RUN to meet you. Because you are, like all of us, a prodigal son. The Holy Spirit said to the prophet Samuel, are you going to continue to mourn Saul? Well Edward, the Holy Spirit understood Samuel. God understands Love - better than most of us.
Remember when you called me from Las Vegas. And your voice was thrilled. You got pressed into having your palm read, and in the middle of that phewy, when asked when are you connected, revved up - you had a moment of Profound Joy. Rushing off to call me. You felt connected to Love. In Church. In music.
Psalm 111
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
Ecclesiastes 12 is a season. Trim your lamps, women!! Prepare for the Bridegroom. This season can be planned for as in, see a need, fill the need.
all the daughters of song are brought low—
Let your sons see encouragement - of them - of team work - desire to see them - times to call them - gentle conversation, encouraging - all of us.
Don't let your house run down - House is both physical and Spiritual. Be thankful any time you can. This is the only real gift we can give HIM.
Let the Light within Edward shine. In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
John 1:4
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Love,
Anne Laurel
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