The View from the Penthouse

Posted by on 10.15.12 in Ebooks

“I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.” Ecclesiastes 2:9Here is his story, briefly told: At age six, his mother threw his birthday cake off the porch. He played the French Horn at age twelve and by the time he was fif­teen he was playing professionally with some of the top j…

Continue reading »

Money, Sex and Power

Posted by on 10.14.12 in Ebooks

“I amassed silver and gold for myself and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man.” Ecclesiastes 2:8Solomon had a harem, all right, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Historians tell us that many of his wives were not romantic attachments b…

Continue reading »

The Man Who Had It All

Posted by on 10.13.12 in Ebooks

“I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem…

Continue reading »

Eat Dessert First

Posted by on 10.12.12 in Ebooks

“I thought in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with plea­sure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to be meaningless. ’Laughter,’ I said, ‘is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?’ I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly-my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted …

Continue reading »

What Knowledge Can’t Do

Posted by on 10.11.12 in Ebooks

“I thought to myself, ‘Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem be­fore me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowl­edge.’ Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For w…

Continue reading »

Cut It Down and Forget About It

Posted by on 10.10.12 in Ebooks

“What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking can­not be counted.” Ecclesiastes 1:15Here are two stories to ponder. One comes from the Civil War, the other from the Vietnam War. In Charles Bracelen Flood’s book Lee: The Last Years, Flood tells of a time after the Civil War when Robert E. Lee visited a woman who took…

Continue reading »

Big God, Little Me

Posted by on 10.9.12 in Ebooks

“I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done un­der heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 1:12-14Over the years I have come…

Continue reading »

Faded Photographs

Posted by on 10.8.12 in Ebooks

“There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” Ecclesiastes 1:11There is good news and bad news in this verse. The good news is for those people who worry about what others think about them. In the end no one will think about you at all. The bad news is for those wh…

Continue reading »

Rainbows, If You Can See Them

Posted by on 10.7.12 in Ebooks

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there any­thing of which one can say, “Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10Commentators on Ecclesiastes remark that this early portion of the …

Continue reading »

The Treadmill

Posted by on 10.6.12 in Ebooks

“Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there …

Continue reading »

1 20 21 22 23 24