O. Addison Gethers
e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 11:10 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Thursday July 16 > Ecclesiastes 7-9 (The Message) > > Ecclesiastes 7 > Don't Take Anything for Granted > 1 A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date > tells more than your birth > date. > > 2 You learn more at a funeral than at a feast- > After all, that's where we'll end up. We might discover > something from it. > > 3 Crying is better than laughing. > It blotches the face but it scours the heart. > > 4 Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. > Fools waste their lives in fun and games. > > 5 You'll get more from the rebuke of a sage > Than from the song and dance of fools. > > 6 The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs > Under the cooking pot. And like smoke. > > 7 Brutality stupefies even the wise > And destroys the strongest heart. > > 8 Endings are better than beginnings. > Sticking to it is better than standing out. > > 9 Don't be quick to fly off the handle. > Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head. > > 10 Don't always be asking, "Where are the good old days?" > Wise folks don't ask questions like that. > > 11-12 Wisdom is better when it's paired with money, > Especially if you get both while you're still living. > Double protection: wisdom and wealth! > Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner. > > 13 Take a good look at God's work. > Who could simplify and reduce Creation's curves and angles > To a plain straight line? > > 14 On a good day, enjoy yourself; > On a bad day, examine your conscience. > God arranges for both kinds of days > So that we won't take anything for granted. > Stay in Touch with Both Sides > 15-17 I've seen it all in my brief and pointless life-here a good person > cut down in the middle of > doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil. So don't > knock yourself out being > good, and don't go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won't get > anything out of it. But don't > press your luck by being bad, either. And don't be reckless. Why die > needlessly? > 18 It's best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who > fears God deals responsibly > with all of reality, not just a piece of it. > > 19 Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person > Than ten strong men give to a city. > > 20 There's not one totally good person on earth, > Not one who is truly pure and sinless. > > 21-22 Don't eavesdrop on the conversation of others. > What if the gossip's about you and you'd rather not hear it? > You've done that a few times, haven't you-said things > Behind someone's back you wouldn't say to his face? > > How to Interpret the Meaning of Life > 23-25 I tested everything in my search for wisdom. I set out to be wise, > but it was beyond me, far > beyond me, and deep-oh so deep! Does anyone ever find it? I concentrated > with all my might, studying > and exploring and seeking wisdom-the meaning of life. I also wanted to > identify evil and stupidity, > foolishness and craziness. > 26-29 One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of > seductive scheming and > grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught. At least this > is my experience-what I, > the Quester, have pieced together as I've tried to make sense of life. But > the wisdom I've looked > for I haven't found. I didn't find one man or woman in a thousand worth my > while. Yet I did spot one > ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we're > the ones who've made a > mess of things. > > Ecclesiastes 8 > > 1 There's nothing better than being wise, Knowing how to interpret the > meaning of life. > Wisdom puts light in the eyes, > And gives gentleness to words and manners. > No One Can Control the Wind > 2-7 Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience. Don't > worryingly second-guess > your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You're serving > his pleasure, not yours. > The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, "What are you doing?" > Carrying out orders won't > hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately. Yes, > there's a right time and way for > everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part. It's > true that no one knows > what's going to happen, or when. Who's around to tell us? > > 8 No one can control the wind or lock it in a box. > No one has any say-so regarding the day of death. > No one can stop a battle in its tracks. > No one who does evil can be saved by evil. > 9 All this I observed as I tried my best to understand all that's going on > in this world. As long > as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is. > > One Fate for Everybody > 10 One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When > the people returned to the > city, they delivered flowery eulogies-and in the very place where wicked > acts were done by those > very men! More smoke. Indeed. > 11 Because the sentence against evil deeds is so long in coming, people in > general think they can > get by with murder. > > 12-13 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times > throughout a long life, I'm > still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears > God, who lives reverently in > his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. > No matter how many days he > lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow-because he doesn't > fear God. > > 14 Here's something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: > Good people get what's > coming to the wicked, and bad people get what's coming to the good. I tell > you, this makes no sense. > It's smoke. > > 15 So, I'm all for just going ahead and having a good time-the best > possible. The only earthly good > men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good > time-compensation for the > struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth. > > 16-17 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking > place on earth, I > realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even > blinking, you'll still never > figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard > as you like, you're not > going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to > the bottom of it. > > Ecclesiastes 9 > 1-3 Well, I took all this in and thought it through, inside and out. > Here's what I understood: The > good, the wise, and all that they do are in God's hands-but, day by day, > whether it's love or hate > they're dealing with, they don't know. > Anything's possible. It's one fate for everybody-righteous and wicked, > good people, bad people, > the nice and the nasty, worshipers and non-worshipers, committed and > uncommitted. I find this > outrageous-the worst thing about living on this earth-that everyone's > lumped together in one fate. > Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any > wonder that people go crazy > right and left? Life leads to death. That's it. > > Seize Life! > 4-6 Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, "A > living dog is better than a > dead lion." The living at least know something, even if it's only that > they're going to die. But the > dead know nothing and get nothing. They're a minus that no one remembers. > Their loves, their hates, > yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There's not a trace of them left in > the affairs of this > earth. > > 7-10 Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, > Drink wine with a robust heart. > Oh yes-God takes pleasure in your pleasure! > Dress festively every morning. > Don't skimp on colors and scarves. > Relish life with the spouse you love > Each and every day of your precarious life. > Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange > For the hard work of staying alive. > Make the most of each one! > Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! > This is your last and only chance at it, > For there's neither work to do nor thoughts to think > In the company of the dead, where you're most certainly headed. > 11 I took another walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this > earth as it is- > > The race is not always to the swift, > Nor the battle to the strong, > Nor satisfaction to the wise, > Nor riches to the smart, > Nor grace to the learned. > Sooner or later bad luck hits us all. > > 12 No one can predict misfortune. > Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds in a trap, > So men and women are caught > By accidents evil and sudden. > > Wisdom Is Better than Muscle > 13-15 One day as I was observing how wisdom fares on this earth, I saw > something that made me sit > up and take notice. There was a small town with only a few people in it. A > strong king came and > mounted an attack, building trenches and attack posts around it. There was > a poor but wise man in > that town whose wisdom saved the town, but he was promptly forgotten. (He > was only a poor man, after > all.) > 16 All the same, I still say that wisdom is better than muscle, even > though the wise poor man was > treated with contempt and soon forgotten. > > 17 The quiet words of the wise are more effective > Than the ranting of a king of fools. > > 18 Wisdom is better than warheads, > But one hothead can ruin the good earth. > > > > > > > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
