Queen's Road Cell

  Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2  before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3  in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4  and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5  they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6  before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the w...

  But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2  It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3  This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4  But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5  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. 6  Their love and their...

  A good name is better than precious ointment,      and the day of death than the day of birth. 2  It is better to go to the house of mourning      than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind,      and the living will lay it to heart. 3  Sorrow is better than laughter,      for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,      but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5  It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise      than to hear the song of fools. 6  For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,      so is the laughter of the fools;      this also is vanity 7  Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,      and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8  Better is the end of a thin...

  16  Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17  I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18  I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19  For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20  All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21  Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22  So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will b...

  1 1  The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2  Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,      vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3  What does man gain by all the toil      at which he toils under the sun? 4  A generation goes, and a generation comes,      but the earth remains forever. 5  The sun rises, and the sun goes down,      and hastens to the place where it rises. 6  The wind blows to the south      and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind,      and on its circuits the wind returns. 7  All streams run to the sea,      but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow,      there they flow again. 8  All things are full of weariness;      a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, ...

I shared how Joyce and I were visiting another cell on Good Friday as part of an 'inspection tour' and how they were doing spiritual gifts in Book 4.2. Listening to their sharing helped me realize how fortunate I felt to be able to serve in church in areas where I am gifted. We shared that our service in church need not always be in areas where we feel capable or gifted. We also serve where there are areas of need when no one else is available for a critical task. When He does this He always provides the resources and the grace to see us through. And sometimes the experiences we have in areas where we feel unsuited make us better equipped for service in areas where we feel more comfortable. We asked the question: if the Holy Spirit leads us into all the truth(Jn 16:13), how is it that Christians with the Spirit can disagree on practical and doctrinal matters? One possible reason is that our experiences and mindset obscure the voice of the Spirit, but it is probably more corre...