THURSDAY'S THE 4TH'S DAILY BREAD : GONE WITH THE WIND

[cimi]

December 4
Thursday


GONE WITH
THE WIND

READ:
Ecclesiastes 1:2-9, 14
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All is vanity and
grasping for the wind.
__Ecclesiastes 1:14
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The epic film based on Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone With the Wind opens with these lines:

"There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow.... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind."

Not only does a way of life disappear but also the dreams that drive the main characters. Throughout the Civil War, Scarlett O'Hara is preoccupied with her love for Ashley Wilkes. But by story's end, she is disillusioned.

Solomon saw the futiility of seeking satisfaction in people and things. Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects, and marrying many wives, he said, "All is vanity and grasping for the wind" (Ecc. 1:14).

Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical answer is that we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God. Jesus promised, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

People and things come and go. But the spiritual satisfaction Christ offers sustains us in this world and will endure into eternity. __Dennis Fisher
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`````````````````What comes from man will never last,`````````````
`````````````````````It's here today, tomorrow past;``````````````
``````````````````What comes from God will always be````````````
```````````````````The same for all eternity! __Spencer```````````
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Invest your life in what pays eternal dividends.

***************Today's Bible Reading __ Ecclesiastes 1:2-9,14*******

2 "Vanity of vanities," says
the Preacher; "vanity of
vanities, all is vanity."

3 What profit has a man
from all his labor in which
he toils under the sun?

4 One generation passes
away, and another
generation comes; but the
earth abides forever. 5 The
sun also rises, and the sun
goes down, and hastens to
the place where it arose.

6 The wind goes toward the
south, and turns around to
the north; the wind whirls
about continually, and
comes again on its circuit.

7 All the rivers run into the
sea, yet the sea is not full'
to the place from which the
rivers come, there they
return again. 8 All things are
full of labor; man cannot
express it. The eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor
the ear filled with hearing.

9 That which has been is
what will be, that which is
done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new
under the sun....

14 I have seen all the works
that are done udner the sun;
and indeed, all is vanity and
grasping for the wind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In Ecclesiastes 1, Solomon uses several key ideas to build his
argument. The first is the term "vanity," which means "emptiness." It
expresses the tragedy of misplaced values and their inability to meet
the deepest needs of the heart. The pharase "under the sun" identifies
the source of those misplaced values--this present world system.
Then, Solomon describes the frustration that results from empty
pursuit as "grasping for the wind." These dramatic word pictures point
us heavenward for the Source of our satisfaction. __BillCrowder