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Steve Webb: Coming to you from
Riverside, California. This is

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the Lifespring family Audio
Bible and podcasting since 2004.

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I'm your OG God castors. Steve
Webb. This is the daily show

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where we're reading through the
entire Bible in a year. Today is

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poetry Thursday. And we'll
finish the book of Ecclesiastes

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by reading chapters 11 and 12.
And I hope you'll forgive me,

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but today I'm going to run a
repeat of last year's episode

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for this reading. as I record
this, it's about 830 at night,

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which means there's only about
90 minutes before the show was

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due to publish in this is the
first chance I've had to be in

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the studio all day long, which
is very unusual. So the bottom

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line is, there's no time to
produce a new episode for you

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today. You're saying, Steve, why
what happened? Well, the first

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thing this morning, I got a call
from Dell that Kathy was on the

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way to the emergency room. I'm
not going to go into details.

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But suffice to say that she has
been checked into Loma Linda

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University Medical Center, which
is closer to their home, then

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city of hope is and she has
internal bleeding. We'll know

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tomorrow, what exactly is going
on. And then the lovely lady

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Leanne, and I had to go out
today and do our weekly rounds

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for the family business. Long
story short, this is just one of

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a very small number of episodes
this season. That will be a

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repeat, pray for Kathy, and I'll
see you tomorrow. Thank you for

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your understanding. And now
here's the episode. God bless

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you. Thank you for being here.

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Knowing that everything will be
all right.

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Lifespring family Audio Bible
episode number 330. This is the

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daily podcast where we're
reading through the entire Bible

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in a year. I'm Steve Webb, I'm
your host. How are you? Are you

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doing well today? I hope so.
We're going to finish the book

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of Ecclesiastes today by reading
chapters 11 and 12.

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Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
thank you for the gift of life.

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Thank you for the senses you
gave us to experience the world

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around us. We thank you for
loving us and for giving us your

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word that we might know you.
Above all, we thank you for your

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son, and the salvation he offers
to all that will accept. I pray

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this in Jesus name. Amen. All
right, let's go.

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Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Cast
your bread upon the waters for

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you will find it after many
days, give a serving to seven

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that also to eight, for you do
not know what evil will be on

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the earth. If the clouds are
full of rain, they empty

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themselves upon the earth. And
if a tree falls to the south or

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the north, in the place where
the tree falls, there it shall

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lie. He who observes the wind
will not so and he who regards

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the clouds will not reap as you
do not know what is the way of

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the wind, or how the bones grow
in the womb of her who was with

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child. So you do not know the
works of God who makes

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everything. In the morning sow
your seed and in the evening, do

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not withhold your hand for you
do not know which will prosper

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either this or that, or whether
both alike will be good. Truly

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the light is sweet. And it is
pleasant for the eyes to behold

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the sun. But if a man lives many
years and rejoices in them all,

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yet, let him remember the days
of darkness, for they will be

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many. All that is coming is
vanity. Rejoice so young man and

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your youth and let your heart
cheer you in the days of your

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youth. Walk in the ways of your
heart and in the sight of your

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eyes. But know that for all
these God will bring you into

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judgment. Therefore remove
sorrow from your heart and put

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away evil from your flesh for
childhood and youth. Our vanity,

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Ecclesiastes chapter 12.
Remember now your Creator in the

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days of your youth before the
difficult days come and the

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years draw near when you say I
have no pleasure in them. While

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the sun and the light the moon
and the stars are not darkened,

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and the clouds do not return
after the rain. In the day when

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the keepers of the house
tremble, and the strong men bow

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down. When the grinders cease
because they are few. And those

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that look through the windows
grow dim when the doors are shut

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in the streets and the sound of
grinding is low. When one rises

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up at the sound of a bird and
all the daughters of music are

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brought low. Also they're afraid
of height and of terrorists in

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the way when the almond tree
blossoms the grasshopper is a

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burden and desire fails. For man
goes to his eternal home and the

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mourners go about the streets.
Remember your Creator before the

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silver cord is loosed, or the
Golden Bowl is broken, or the

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pitcher shattered at the
fountain or the wheel broken at

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the well then The dust will
return to the earth as it was,

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and the spirit will return to
God who gave it. Vanity of

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vanities, says the preacher all
is vanity. And moreover, because

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the preacher was wise, he still
taught the people knowledge.

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Yes, he pondered and sought out
and said in order many proverbs,

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the preacher sought to find
acceptable words, and what was

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written was upright words of
truth. The words of the wise are

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like goats, and the words of
scholars are like well driven

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nails given by one shepherd. And
further my son be admonished by

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these, of making many books,
there is no end at much study is

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wearisome to the flesh. Let us
hear the conclusion of the whole

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matter. Fear God and keep His
commandments, for this is man's

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all, for God will bring every
work into judgment, including

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every secret thing, whether good
or evil.

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Chapter 11 began with a message
that would not come from an old,

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jaded, cynical Scrooge type
fella that Solomon has sounded

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like during much of this book,
he started chapter 11, with the

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advice that you should be
generous with those in need,

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because you're giving is like a
farmer sowing grain, it will

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yield a return. And if you have
the ability, now, you never know

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when your fortunes may change,
and you may need someone else's

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generosity. And then Solomon
advised that the young should

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enjoy their youth, keeping in
mind that God will be the judge

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of all that we do so we should
avoid evil. Chapter 12 says that

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the young should keep the
creator in mind, because in our

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old age, life becomes difficult,
our senses dull, and our bodies

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become weak, and ultimately, we
die. And at the very end of the

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chapter in the book, Solomon
refers to himself in the third

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person and calls himself the
preacher. And he says that after

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observing all that he could, he
wrote down the best words that

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he could, words of truth, words
that could hold you steady in

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the storms of life, words that
were given by God. And his

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conclusion was this, Fear God
and keep His commandments, for

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this is the whole duty of man,
because God will judge every

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work, every act, whether good or
evil. Beloved, the only true and

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lasting happiness in peace is
found in knowing God and

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pleasing Him. anything apart
from that will only bring

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emptiness, heartbreak, spiritual
bankruptcy, and ultimately,

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eternal separation from God. And
as Christians, we know that the

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only way to truly know God is
when we have a personal

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relationship with Jesus. Solomon
didn't know Jesus by name, but

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he came to know that God was his
only hope. And I'm sure that God

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credited his account in the same
way as he did with Abraham.

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Because of that faith. Then a
few weeks, I'm going to be 67

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years old. And even though I've
not lived my life with the same

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privileges as Solomon did, my
experiences have taught me the

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same lessons. When I've gone my
own way, veering from the path

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that I knew God would want me to
travel. I've always found

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nothing but emptiness and
sadness. It's only when I cling

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tightly to him, that I find that
unshakable peace, that joy,

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which is independent of my
circumstances, that knowing that

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everything will be alright. I
hope you found that marvelous

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truth in your own life. Jesus
said, I came that they may have

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life and have it abundantly.
That is what God wants for you,

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beloved, and so to why I invite
your comments. Write to me at

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Steve at Lifespring media.com.

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Our reading tomorrow will be the
book of Malachi. Until then, may

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God bless you richly. I'm Steve
Webb. Bye