All Is Vanity
The above
piece is entitled “All Is Vanity” (1982) by Charles Allan Gilbert based off of
a verse in Ecclesiastes which states (depending upon which translation you look
up) “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher,
vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2 (KJV) Admittedly, when I was first drawn
to this picture it was for the skull itself. As you may or may not know about
me, I have a visual appreciation of (some) skulls equating them to the truth
that we must be dead to the world around us, living for the Creator and also
since the place where Jesus was crucified is called Golgotha aka Calvary, which
translates into place of the skull.
Ecclesiastes
was written by Solomon. THE SOLOMON. The man who knew it all (well mostly), had
it all, could get it if he didn’t have it, and it is he who said, without God everything is meaningless
(NASB). He did have bit of a nasty ending, all because he failed to keep this
truth to be at the forefront of his mind.
It’s is easy
for us to get caught up in our day to day lives, to get sidetracked by working
to pay the bills, or napping to relax after our 60+ hour work week, but truly without God, all
of it is meaningless.
He is the one who created you.
He is the one who sustains you.
He is the only one who can save you.
He alone will judge you.
He is the one who created you.
He is the one who sustains you.
He is the only one who can save you.
He alone will judge you.
I write this
not knowing if it is a message that can even be taught my mere words. It is a
truth that perhaps one “knows in their knower” (as my diddy would say), when
they come upon the realization within their own being. It may be something you
realize more than once, as with the ups and downs in life, sometimes our walk
with God follows the same pattern. However, the important thing is that we
always return back to Him. That we continue to grow in His will and wisdom all
the days of our lives, and that we share the truth of salvation with others.
Some of you
reading this right now, may be wondering what this whole God thing is about –
what can He really do for me … Peace and Life has that questions answered for you.
He Can Comfort You
Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and
the
God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any
troubles with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any
troubles with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
He Can Give You Confidence
I know what
it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret
of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me the strength. Philippians 4:12-13
of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me the strength. Philippians 4:12-13
He Can Take Your Worries Away
Cast your
cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous
fall. Psalm 55:22
He Can Give You Eternal Life
Praise be to
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that
can never parish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are
shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to
revealed in the last time.. 1 Peter
1:3-5
He Can Help You
For we do
not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we
have one who has been tempted in every
way, just as we are - yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16
He Can Give You Hope
Let us hold
unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
He Can Give You Joy
Though you
have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe
in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are
receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9
He Can Provide For You
Therefore I
tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear. Is not
life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than
they? Who of you by worrying can add a
single hour to his life? Matthew 6:25-27
He Can Give You Salvation
For the Son
of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
Luke 19:10
He Can Forgive You
Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and
death. Romans 8:1-2
Now, some of
you reading this may be wondering what God CAN’T do … since He is after-all the
Creator of all things and Christianity Today has that answer for you …
God can't get tired.
Have
you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator
of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. Isaiah 40:28
God can't take on a job he can't handle.
Ah,
Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power
and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you. Jeremiah 32:17
God can't be unholy.
And
one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the
whole earth is full of his glory!" Isaiah 6:3
God can't be prejudiced.
In
truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever
fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. Acts 10:34-35
God can't break a promise.
My
covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips. Psalm
89:34
God can't remember sins he's chosen to
forget.
I,
even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not
remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25
God can't make a loser.
Now
thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14
God can't abandon you.
Be
strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord
your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake
you. Deuteronomy 31:6
God can't stop thinking about you.
How
precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If
I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake,
I am still with you. Psalm 139:17-18
God can't stop loving you.
Yes,
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have
drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3
So coram Deo my friends. Coram Deo.
2 comments
thank you for the time and inspiration this took to compile. Blessings to you, my friend
ReplyDeleteWonderful work
ReplyDelete