Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

November 6
Wednesday


A SEASON FOR
EVERYTHING

READ:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
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To everything there
is a season.
__Ecclesiastes 3:1
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In the 1960's, the folk-rock band The Byrds popularized the song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" It climbed to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and gained worldwide popularity. People seemed captivated by the lyrics. Interestingly, though, except for the last line, those lyrics are from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes.

"To everything there is a season," proclaims the writer of Ecclesiastes, "a time for every purpose under heaven" (3:1). He then lists some of the seasons in human experience: birth and death, gain and loss, tears and laughter, mourning and dancing. Just as the seasons in nature change, so do the seasons in our lives. Our circumstances never stay the same for long. Sometimes we welcome change in our lives. But often it is difficult, especially when it involves sorrow and loss. Yet
even then we can be thankful that God does not change. "I am the LORD," He said through the prophet Malachi, "I do not change" (Mat. 3:6).

Because God remains the same, we can rely on Him through the shifting seasons of life. His presence is always with us (Ps. 46:1), His peace has the power to guard our hearts (Phil. 4:7), His peace has the power to guard our hearts (Phil. 4:7), and His love provides security for our souls (Rom. 8:39). __Jennifer Brenson Schuldt

```````````````A mighty fortress is our God,`````````````
`````````````````A bulwark never failing;```````````````
```````````````Our helper He amid the flood````````````
````````````Of mortal ills prevailing. __Luther````````````
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God's unchanging nature is our
security during seasons of change.

*******************Today's Bible Reading __ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8*******************

1 To everything there is a
season, a time for every
purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a
time to die; a time to plant,
and a time to pluck what is
planted; 3 a time to kill, and
a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to
build up; 4 a time to weep
and a time to laugh; a time
to mourn, and a time to
dance; 5 a time to cast away
stones, and a time to gather
stones; a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from
embracing; 6 a time to gain,
and a time to lose; a time to
keep, and a time to throw
away; 7 a time to tear, and a
time to sew; a time to keep
silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time
to hate; a time of war, and a
time of peace.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The book of Ecclesiastes is a relevant book for our culture today.
In it, the author (believed to be king Solomon) writes out of a
heart of disillusionment over the emptiness of life "under the
sun." He describes this emptiness by repeatedly using the word
vanity. In Ecclesiastes, vanity is an emptiness rooted in a life lived
independently of God. But as Christians have discovered, our true
meaning, purpose, and worth are only realized when living in
relationship with our Creator. Solomon, possibly late in his life,
realized that he had left that path and warns us of the danger of
walking apart from God.