Chapter-A-Day Audio Bible - Ecclesiastes 9

0:00What happens when faith and mental health meet for real? What's up? I'm Grace Graber. Welcome to Breaking Through with Grace Graber, a podcast for honest conversations about anxiety, trauma, healing, hope, and the God who never backs away when life gets heavy. We are going to talk about everything mental health. No pretending, no perfect answers, just real stories, real faith, and a reminder that you're not alone. Get ready. You're going to be absolutely obsessed. Breaking through with Grace Graber, available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Life Audio For more resources to help you in your walk with Christ, please visit us at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com. Let's be honest. Ever read a passage and wonder what it really means in its original context? True Bible study isn't just casual reading. It's about connecting historical background, cross references and themes. If you've ever felt like navigating all of that feels too difficult, you need to check out Logos. Logos is a game-changing platform that

1:01equips you to explore hard questions with absolute confidence, knowing that you're drawing from reliable, well-respected, academic resources. Whether you're at your desk or on the go, Logos helps you follow that path of discovery naturally. With their new AI tools, you can ask Logos any biblical question and get trusted answers from a biblical library. To help you dive into the layers of meaning in the word, Logos is offering my listeners an exclusive free 60-day trial. Just go to logos.com slash deep. That's l-o-g-o-s.com slash deep to claim your free 60-day trial. Let's stop guessing. Start going deeper together. Do you ever want to spend more time in God's Word? But the day just gets away from you? Bible League International created a free guide called Nine Tips to Get More of God's Word in Your Life. It's filled with practical ideas to help you build a simple rhythm in Scripture, plus a 30-day Scripture writing challenge to keep you going.

2:02Because when we spend time in God's Word, something wonderful happens. Clarity grows and joy deepens. Get your free copy today. Just text more to 948-78. You're listening to the chapter a day audio Bible. I'm John Stongy and today we're in Ecclesiastes, chapter 9. And we'll be reading from the New King James version. For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. All things come alike to all. One event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good, the clean, and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner.

3:03He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one thing happens to all. Only the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they live. And after that they go to the dead. But for him who is joined all the living, there is hope. For a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die. But the dead know nothing. And they have no more reward for the memory of them is forgotten. So their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished. Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun. Go eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart. For God has already accepted your works. Let your garments always be white and let your head lack no oil.

4:06And joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity. For that is your portion in life and in the labor which you perform under the sun. Whenever your hand finds to do it with your might, for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all. For man also does not know his time, like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare. So the sons of men are snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them. This wisdom I have also seen under the sun and it seemed great to me.

5:11There was a little city with few men in it and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man and he by his wisdom delivered the city. But no one remembered that same poor man. Then I said, wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. Words of the wise spoken quietly should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Let's pray. Lord we thank You for Your Word and we thank You for the privilege to be able to look at it together today. And for the fact that through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ You grant us understanding into things that would be far beyond our natural understanding.

6:12Lord you call us to be wise, but You also illustrate that many of the things that people spend their lives chasing after are really just exercises in vanity. And so many people, the majority of us, spend so much time chasing after things that have no lasting value. But Lord we pray that by Your grace we would be looking forward to the future as we have the privilege to live in eternity in Your presence for all time. Lord we know that that's something that You want us to be focused on during the course of our lives. And likewise Lord you want us to live as men and women who have hope beyond our current circumstances. And we commit ourselves to You today and we thank You Lord for the reminders that You grant us of these things from Your Word. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen. Dedicating time each day to spend feeding our minds and our hearts the truth of God's Word is immensely helpful in our growth as followers of Christ.

7:12I'm John Stongy and each day I host a show called Daily Devotions with Pastor John. On the show I spend just a few minutes taking an application look at one or two verses of Scripture before coming to the Lord in prayer. If you'd like to make a habit of spending more time meditating on the truth of God's Word, you can listen to Daily Devotions with Pastor John at lifeaudio.com or on your favorite podcasting app.