Food For Thought |
Unless otherwise indicated the collection of scriptures found in Food for Thought are quoted from the Jewish New Testament translated by David H. Stern, pub. by Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD, 1994; and the Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Old Testament) pub. by, The Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1988.
~ Meditations ~
~ From the Word of God ~
(Meditations are meant to be
pondered carefully.)
~ Worship ~
A
woman...came to draw some water...
Our
fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you people say that the
place where one has to worship is in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Yeshua (Jesus) said, Lady, believe me, the time is
coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain
nor in Yerushalayim. You people dont know what you are
worshipping; salvation comes from the Jews. But the time is
coming --indeed, its here now -- when the true worshippers
will worship the Father spiritually and truly, for these are the
kind of people the Father wants worshipping him. God is spirit;
and worshippers must worship him spiritually and
truly.
(John 4:7a,20-24)
~ The Words of King Solomon ~
Utter futility! All is futile!
What real value is there
for a man in all the gains
he makes beneath the sun?
One generation goes,
another comes,
But the earth remains
the same forever."
(Ecclesiastes 1:2-4)
For
all this I noted, and I ascertained all this: that the actions of
even the righteous and the wise are determined by God. Even love!
Even hate! Man knows none of these in advance -- none! For the
same fate is in store for all: for the righteous, and for the
wicked; for the good and pure, and for the impure; for him who
sacrifices, and for him who does not; for him who is pleasing,
and for him who is displeasing; and for him who swears, and for
him who shuns oaths. That is the sad thing about all that goes on
under the sun: that the same fate is in store for all. (Not only
that, but mens hearts are full of sadness, and their minds
of madness, while they live; and then -- to the dead!) For he who
is reckoned among the living has something to look forward to --
even a live dog is better than a dead lion -- since the living
know they will die. But the dead know nothing; they have no more
recompense, for even the memory of them has died. Their loves,
their hates, their jealousies have long since perished; and they
have no more share till the end of time in all that goes on under
the sun.
Go,
eat your bread in gladness, and drink your wine in joy; for your
action was long ago approved by God. Let your clothes always be
freshly washed, and your head never lack ointment. Enjoy
happiness with a woman you love all the fleeting days of life
that have been granted to you under the sun -- all your fleeting
days. For that alone is what you can get out of life and out of
the means you acquire under the sun. Whatever it is in your power
to do, do with all your might. For there is no action, no
reasoning, no learning, no wisdom in Sheol, where you are going.
I have further observed under the sun that
The race is not won by the swift,
Nor the battle by the valiant;
Nor is bread won by the wise,
Nor wealth by the intelligent,
Nor favor by the learned.
For the time of mischance comes to all. And
a man cannot even know his time. As fishes are enmeshed in a
fatal net, and as birds are trapped in a snare, so men are caught
at the time of calamity, when it comes upon them without
warning.
(Ecclesiastes 9:1-12)
Send
your bread forth upon the waters; for after many days you will
find it. Distribute portions to seven or even to eight, for you
cannot know what misfortune may occur on earth.
(Ecclesiastes 11:1-2)
O
youth, enjoy yourself while you are young! Let your heart lead
you to enjoyment in the days of your youth. Follow the desires of
your heart and the glances of your eyes -- but know well that God
will call you to account for all such things -- and banish care
from your mind, and pluck sorrow out of your flesh! For youth and
black hair are fleeting.
So
appreciate your vigor in the days of your youth, before those
days of sorrow come and those years arrive of which you will say,
I have no pleasure in them.
(Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1)
A further word:
Against them, my son, be warned!
The making of many books is without limit
And much study is a wearying of the flesh.
(Ecclesiastes 12:12)
The
sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere God and
observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: that
God will call every creature to account for everything unknown,
be it good or bad.
(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
SAW