Podcasts about Vanity

Kim Jon Un bans leather jackets so people can't copy his look,  a 'Squid Game' smuggler is set to die by firing squad in North Korea and an adult model shoots herself in her vagina while filming for fans.      This episode is brought to you by zip recruiter. Try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com/JRVP. This episode is brought to you by Paint Your Life - Text the word VANITY to 64-000. Get 20% off + Free Shipping at MANSCAPED.com/JRVP.This episode is brought to you by Fight Camp. JoinFightCamp.com slash VANITY See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Jon Un bans leather jackets so people can't copy his look,  a 'Squid Game' smuggler is set to die by firing squad in North Korea and an adult model shoots herself in her vagina while filming for fans.      This episode is brought to you by zip recruiter. Try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com/JRVP. This episode is brought to you by Paint Your Life - Text the word VANITY to 64-000. Get 20% off + Free Shipping at MANSCAPED.com/JRVP.This episode is brought to you by Fight Camp. JoinFightCamp.com slash VANITY See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just in time for your Thanksgiving travels (or to keep you company as you actively avoid the family) it's time to feast on Judas O! Gather 'round the Pumpkast table as guest Matthew Legard (The Colourflies) helps us tackle this delicious b-sides collection and spiritual sister to Pisces Iscariot. We speculate on questions like: What's the meaning behind the titles "Marquis In Spades" and "Set The Ray To Jerry"? Is it a coincidence that the Iha songs are both track 5 on Pisces and Judas? And would the Pumpkins turn down Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster" therapist? We also discuss the international espionage feelings of "Because You Are," The "Sparrow"/"Disarm" connection, "Waiting"'s "Spyro"-like sound, and Billy's playful send-up of his own voice in "Rock On." All that plus the similarities between "Winterlong" and "Vanity" and the Willy-Wonka-Boat-Ride vibes of "My Mistake." We even make room at the table for Evan Dando's Mom. We're grateful for all you Pumpkinheads out there. Raise a glass of strawberry wine and crank this 'kast! Sign up for our new Patreon! Follow us on the socials: Twitter: @PumpkinsPodcast Instagram: @smashingpumpkast TikTok: @smashingpumpkast Support us here! buymeacoffee.com/Pumpkast e-mail: thesmashingpumpkast@gmail.com Please rate and review us!

It's another bonus episode featuring RuPaul's Drag Race UK's Vanity Milan.We find out why Vanity near quit the show, what the producers of RPDR UK can do to encourage more POC queens and discuss that Scandalous lip sync! Get bonus content on Patreon, with our super exclusive fan feed See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hear the Word of the Lord from Ecclesiastes chapter 11, starting in verse seven through the end of the book. 7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. 1 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 wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. 9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14, ESV The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. My junior year in high school, I was required to take a physics course. Now, physics would not have been my choice, numbers and science, and all of that is not really my favorite thing to do, but it was a requirement and I took it. There were actually some interesting things in the class, one of which was an assignment. I was calculating, this would be 20 years ago right now I was gearing up to do. We had to do it over Christmas break my junior year there and we had to build a balsa wood bridge. So they gave us balsa wood sticks and some wood glue, and we had to take it home and to form a bridge that would hopefully be as strong and sturdy to bear up under as much weight as possible. So I worked on this project with a friend. We went home and hung out, and kind of messed around if I'm really being honest, and put together a very basic bridge. We got a little concerned when we got there and we saw all the elaborate bridges that some of my other friends had put together and we were thinking, oh my goodness, ours looks so flimsy. What's going to happen here? Actually, we ended up okay because it wasn't just how much weight can your bridge bear up under, but it was a ratio thing. So the lighter the bridge, the sort of the less weight you had to bear under if two bridges held the less or the same amount of weight, the lighter bridge because it held up weight under less material, would be deemed the winner. So because ours was so flimsy and very little went into it, our ratio was actually quite high. What was interesting in that project was the way that they worked through bridge after bridge after bridge. They put it on this machine that my physics teacher had hooked up, that we he slowly poured water into the bucket so that he could know exactly how much weight this could bear up under. We watched bridge after bridge after bridge crack and collapse. There wasn't any bridge that stood the test of all the weight that was put on it. There was no bridge that got to the end and said, well, I guess that can withstand under any pressure. Eventually, every bridge broke. Indeed, in life, ultimately, everything breaks. So what this means and what the preacher is trying to tell us in this passage is that if our identity, if our hope, if our confidence is in how we compare against others at some point in our lives, well, then we're ultimately building our foundation on a sinking sand. Even though you might be a little bit behind someone here or you might be a little ahead of someone tomorrow, the point is that ultimately even your bridge won't stand up. Eventually, everything is going to break. You need a firmer foundation, one that's not built on shifting sinking sand. What the preacher says as he closes this book of wisdom is that you need to build your life on the rock solid foundation of God himself. In Jesus Christ and him crucified. You need to do this through all the days of your life, from when you were young to when you were old, for as many years as the Lord trusts you and trust to you until he calls you home. Afterwards, as the preacher reminds us, comes the judgment. Our big idea then today is this Fear God and keep his commandments. This comes directly from Ecclesiastes 12 verse 13. So this morning, three parts to the sermon as we look at it. First, fear God in youth, some of you young people today, this is a sermon for you. Second, fear God in old age. Those of you who are not young anymore, this is a sermon for you and for everyone in between. Then third, fear God in view of eternity. 1. Fear God in Youth 2. Fear God in Old Age 3. Fear God in View of Eternity Fear God in Youth So number one fear God in youth. Look again at 11:7, "Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun." Now the preacher's starting a comparison here, but it's not clear yet where he's going with this. So we have to peek ahead a little bit in the passage to see where he's going. He's talking about light and light is sweet, and he's talking about eyes that see, especially see the light of the sun. This is an image for youth, for the earlier years of our lives. We're going to see this as the preacher later talks about the dimmed eyes and the darkness of old age. In fact, one of the main ways that the Bible talks about old age is as dimmed eyes. For example, Isaac in Genesis 27:1 is old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see. Jacob, in Genesis 48:1, again is old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see. Eli, the priest under whom the Prophet Samuel served, again when he was only reading in ` Samuel 3:2 was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see. Dimmed eyes are a product of old age. So the preacher is saying, enjoy light while you can see it. It's sweet, it's pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So verse eight, "So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity." What he's saying here is that life is precious, life is sacred, every moment of your life from the beginning to the end is something that you should enjoy and savor because he says the days of darkness will be many. Now, what are these days of darkness? Well, this could refer to old age. Again, if old age is characterized by dimness of sight, then old age could be the darkness that it's referring to here. Or this dimness, this darkness could refer to death. Death is the final enveloping of darkness around us, as it's often talked about in the Bible. Or it may not refer to the lifespan of an individual human being, but it may be talking about the lifespan of the world itself. The end of the world, the day of the Lord, the final day of God, when God brings all of history to an end and brings everyone in judgment is described by the Prophet Amos in Amos 5:20 as a day of darkness, "is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light and gloom with no brightness in it." So enjoy these years when there is light and enjoy all the years of your life, but remember the days of darkness will be many. There's a warning here, not to give too much attention to youthfulness. Verse nine, once again, encouragement to enjoy youth. "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth." Enjoy this youth! But he says, be mindful of the coming judgment. He says walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things, God will bring you into judgment. Now what's interesting about this walk in the ways of your heart and the side of your eyes is how often we are told elsewhere in the Bible not to walk after the ways of our heart and not to walk after our sight. For example, a verse I quote often is 2 Corinthians 5:7,"We walk by faith and not by sight." The preacher isn't contradicting those verses. The preacher isn't contradicting the many places where we are told not to follow after the ways of our hearts. What he's saying here is not a contradiction because those passages talk about morality. Will you trust in your own wisdom or will you trust in your own insight? Will you trust in what you can see or will you trust in the Lord? Here the preacher is simply saying, enjoy this, enjoy life while you can see it and savor it. The warning says don't get too far afield is to know that for everything you do, God will eventually bring into judgment. So in verse 10, the preacher really encourages us to enjoy youth, "Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity." They are a mist. They are here and then they are gone. Enjoy this while it is here. Youth ends far too soon. Now I am not yet what I would consider to be old, my children might disagree, but I'm also probably not quite in the young category anymore. I'm at 37 years old, which means that I'm just a year or so shy of half the average age of life expectancy for a male living in the United States. I haven't had that many years on this Earth, but it's astonishing how much has changed, even in my short lifetime. I want to give you a vivid example, some of you who are older will maybe remember some of this. My wife and I were this week at a shopping mall. Shopping malls are tremendously depressing places to go today. It's hard to explain to younger people how much fun and how much life and how much bustling there used to be at shopping malls. I have the most vivid memory as a child of being at a shopping mall and being in the food court, which was the best place to eat in town, and there were so many people they were just on top of each other. Then when you left the food court, people were just going in all kinds of different ways. There was life and energy and vitality there. I associated a lot with my childhood. But as I think about the childhood, my youth, I also know that that child or that mall in Hastings, Nebraska, has now been bulldozed to the ground because it couldn't sustain itself anymore. As I went in a shopping mall that's sort of limping along, I won't name it. I don't want to offend anyone, but you can probably guess there aren't that many in Omaha. As I went to a shopping mall this week, it was amazing. The growth of that is how skillful they are in putting up walls where they used to be businesses. So I was looking at a wall that was tiled and there was sort of a makeshift library, a take a book, leave a book. I realized, wait a minute, this is where the pretzel vendor used to be. As these businesses are going away as life and the world changes, I think about these vivid childhood memories of things that were a big deal then and how quickly things change and move away. That's a picture of a little bit of what happens in our youth. We have these vivid memories of when life is sweet and it's pleasant for the eyes to see the sun and the preacher says, enjoy this while you can. Children enjoy your childhood; you never get it back again. Young people enjoy the stage at which you are because you will never get it back again. Those of you with new babies enjoy that stage, they grow up so quickly. But everything eventually breaks. Nothing can withstand the test of time. It all eventually breaks down. Youth is but one season under heaven, there's a time to be born, but as the preacher is about to remind us, there is also a time to die. The preacher exhorts us to take seriously old age and death. Fear God in Old Age So what we're seeing in the next section in verses one through eight of chapter 12 is really the final word of the main part of this book. There's a main section. I'm going to show you how we find the end of that and a little bit, but this is the last main thing that the preacher says before the conclusion or the epilogue to this book. His main point is fear God in old age. The second section is fear God in old age, and it starts in verse one. This is sort of the transition from the previous section to this one. "Remember also your creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come in the years draw, near of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them." Now we read in verse nine of the previous chapter that we should remember our creator because judgment is coming, but here the preacher is reminding us that we should remember our creator in the days of our youth because of joy. Charles Bridge is one of the commentators on this passage. He writes this this line that really stood out to me, "Many have remembered their creator too late in life, but none too soon." As I look back on my life, I do not regret a single thing I gave up following Jesus. I don't regret any of the parties I missed. I don't regret any of the lifestyles that people around me were living. I don't regret missing out on any of that. My only regrets are when I did not follow Jesus as closely as I should have. My only regrets. Many people find their creator too late, but none find their creator too soon. You see, when you're young, you tend to think that you are invincible. The preacher reminds us here that the young invincibility very quickly fades away, far more quickly than we realize. The days are coming when you will say, I have no pleasure in them. Then versus two through seven, the preacher turns to this extended metaphor or this sort of stream of images that sort of roll by us now. Sometimes he's building an extended metaphor where the details are very clear, you know, pretty much exactly what he's talking about. Other times, some people have tried to sort of press the details too far to say, well, this refers to that, and it's a little too hard to make some of those connections. Where the details are not always clear the general meaning is. He's giving us a tremendous range of imagery to remind us about what old age does to all of us. So look at what he says in verse two. Here is where he brings back that comparison that he started in verse seven at the beginning of our passage of the last chapter, that youth is characterized by seeing the sweet light, whereas old age is characterized by darkness. So 12:2, "before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain." Not just clouds that come to bring the healthy life giving rains, but now these are clouds that come after the rain is over and they just hang and darken the sky. Then there's verse three, "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," We have here at the beginning of a description of a house that's falling apart with age, and it begins with the keepers of the house probably talking about limbs, arms and legs that tremble. The keepers of the house tremble and the strong men are bent, what used to be as strong back is now bent over with age. The grinders ceased because they are few, probably referring to your teeth. The old age makes it difficult to chew. Those who look through the windows are dimmed again, we're having a sight imagery, someone's looking out of this house and you can't quite see through the windows anymore. Verse four begins the discussion of hearing and the doors of the street are shut, "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—" When we shut the doors, we can't hear what's going on outside, and that's what happens to this house. Again, where the youth think that they are invincible, those who are old know fears. "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— " in verse five. The almond tree blossoms, well, this sounds promising new life blossoms, but it's giving an image of if you think of an almond tree when it blossoms, it's whitened like hair. The grasshopper drags itself along, think of how spry and nimble a grasshopper is, but as the days creep on year after year in fall toward the colder seasons, you ever seen those grasshoppers that can barely move anymore? Grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home and all of a sudden, the house is no longer decaying. We find ourselves in the middle of a funeral. The end has come, the mourners go about the streets. Then verse six, "before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern." Again, don't try to press the details of what the cord is and the bowl is and the pitcher is or the wheel is. This is an image of the fragility of life. In just a moment, it's gone. Until verse seven, "and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." When God first created Adam, he gathered together dust and mold it and shape that dust into Adam's body, and then God himself stooped down to breathe the breath of life into this man. When sin into the world when that same man rebelled against God, God told him that you are dust and to dust, you shall return. Our bodies returned to the dust, and the life breath that's been on loan to us has to be returned to God. In verse eight, the preacher ends this main section of Ecclesiastes with, "Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. All is vanity." We know this is the end of the main section, because there's a this is the tail where there's a corresponding top at the very beginning of Ecclesiastes in 1:2. It says the exact same thing, "vanity of vanity, says the preacher, all is vanity." He began on that word, and now he ends on that word. Everything is a mist. It's a breath. It's a vapor. It's here, and then it's gone. Everything, even you young children one day are going to grow old and you are going to break down and die. Everything breaks down and dies. All is vanity. One of the most stunning object lessons of the relentless, vicious work of time, I think, is to see whenever they have a big reunion for something, a big reunion of people who are famous. So this year was the 50th anniversary of a really famous football game, the game of the century, between Nebraska and Oklahoma in 1971. Children, 50 years ago, Nebraska won games. In that in that game, it was a really big game against, against a really big team, and it was an epic battle. You can pull this up on YouTube. The fittest, the fastest, the strongest men who are youthful in their vigor and their vitality fighting it out like gladiators on the field. It was an epic game. That's why it's called the game of the century. When this reunion has happened, those same young, vibrant men are now bent with age and their limbs tremble. Age has taken a significant toil on the best and the fittest and the strongest of their generation. Even more cruel, perhaps, or when you see reunion episodes of sitcoms, especially the sitcoms that that glamorize and idealize and idolize youth. Where you see these people who are living it up for their youth and their beauty, and that's everything to them. You see them 20 years later and age has not been kind. You say if they were living for their youth, if that was everything to them, if that's what that show was about, their lives have already peaked. How tragic to live that way. How tragic to live clinging to what cannot be retained. If youth is everything, what do you do when it's gone? Youth is a time of light, and it is and it is a time of joy, but it is so fleeting. Old age is a time of darkness and fragility. No one likes it better. The preacher acknowledges that these are years you are going to say, I have no pleasure in them. You will have pleasure in them, but not of the kind that you had, which is everywhere, all around you in your youth. As I remember my grandmother so vividly saying at the death of my grandfather, death comes to us all. Death comes to us all. The preacher wants us to know life under the sun is so fragile, it is so fickle, it is so fleeting to cling to, it is futile and foolish. Wisdom insists, then, that we must remember our creator because he is the eternal one who stands outside time. Time does not age God because he is the ageless one. He is neither older nor younger. He has never been before. He is always before. He is, and he always will be. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change. There is no before and after with God. He simply is. Fear God in View of Eternity So the preacher concludes all of this book in verses nine through fourteen. With an exhortation to remember this creator. So now we come to section three, fear God in view of eternity. Again, some commentators call this the epilogue or conclusion, but the point is this stands outside of the main body of the work. The preachers surveyed everything, and now he comes to his final conclusions. What should we take from this? This is the application section of his sermon. So in verses nine through ten, part of this is tracing the preacher's work in life and ministry. Besides being wise, the preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The preacher sought to find words of delight and uprightly he wrote words of truth. We're told in 1 Kings 4:32 that Solomon spoke 3000 proverbs and his songs were one thousand and five. You see we value in our day access to information. We want to be able to Google something at the drop of a hat and figure out an answer to anything or look it up on Wikipedia. Figure that kind of thing out. The ancients had a very different perspective. They valued not mere access just to know that I can look it up, and they didn't value mere information. They wanted mastery of wisdom. For someone to memorize 3000 proverbs and one thousand five songs is an extraordinary feat of wisdom. He mastered this great wisdom over the course of his life and he tried to pass it on. He was a teacher. He tried to find words of delight and uprightly he wrote words of truth. Then verses eleven and twelve, he talks about what these words did. He says, "The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." Goads prod livestock. If you're trying to get a cow or a sheep to go in a certain direction, a goad was a big stick that you would poke him to get him to go in the direction that you wanted to go. We need these in our own lives to be goaded by these words of wisdom. But he says words of wisdom are also like nails. You think of what nails do? They fix something down, particularly for a shepherd, that's what's in view here. The shepherd who's goading, the shepherd who has nails firmly fixed down, the one shepherd from whom on wisdom comes. This is shepherding imagery. The shepherd would have used these nails to fix down his tent from site to site. Wisdom teaches us to know when we need to move and when we need to remain steadfast and fixed and steady. What the preacher warns us is that too much information, too many books, can obscure the clarity of God's wisdom, the wisdom that comes from one shepherd. Of course, this one shepherd is God. As Psalm 23:1 says, "The Lord is my shepherd". Particularly when Jesus Christ came into the world de declared, "I am the Good Shepherd" in John 10:11. That's where wisdom comes from. It comes from the timeless one, the eternal one, the one who is not affected by time because he created it and encompasses it all before him in his eternal wisdom and power. Well, in verse 13, this is the conclusion. He says, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." He has surveyed everything under the sun and what does he say? Fear God and keep his commandments. After considering everything under the sun, everything in this world, the preacher says there's nothing in here that's going to satisfy you like you're looking for. Instead of looking under the sun, look above the sun, look to the creator of the sun. Fear God and keep his commandments. Now we've talked about what the fear of God is. It means, on the one hand, acknowledging your vulnerability and your helplessness and your hopelessness and your guilt because of sin. To be truthful about that. Not to try to hide it, not to try to make justifications or excuses. It's to acknowledge them before the judge of all the Earth you stand guilty. It's to go to that same judge and recognize that he is your only hope, because he has loved you so much that he has sent his son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die for you in your place so that you may be reconciled to him by grace through faith. It's to trust in this same Lord because of his promises, anyway, even though you are guilty. The fear of God, the fear of the Lord is another word, then for faith. As the Bible everywhere declares, we are justified, we are made righteous before God by faith. We are counted as righteous before him by faith. So the preacher says fear God, but he adds this line, he says, keep the commandments. Now this isn't to atone for your guilt. This isn't to earn something before God. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone and not by works. Ephesians 2:8-9 is very clear about this. "For by grace, you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not by work so that no one may boast." We are not saved by keeping the commandments, rather, when the Bible talks about keeping the commandments, it's always as a loving response of gratitude. Knowing that even as we seek to keep his commandments, we're still dependent upon him upon his grace, upon his power to obey. To keep the commandments as another word for what the Bible calls sanctification, to grow in the holiness without which no one would see the Lord. We are justified by faith, by the fear of God, and we are sanctified as by God's power. It's by God's grace through faith, we seek to keep his commandments. So, in verse 14, the preacher closes with this word. He says, "For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." A life lived for the fleeting pleasures of this world is its own reward in full and those pleasures are so quickly fading away. Nothing lasts, everything ultimately breaks down. A life lived for the glory of God, who is not under the sun, he is above the sun, he is the one who created this, and the life lived for his glory will not be in vain. Application How do we apply then? Well our application then is just what the preacher tells us, fear God and keep his commandments. Ecclesiastes is a difficult book. There are blunt words, grim outlooks and despairing conclusions. Forgive me if you were offended by the preacher's description of old age today, for example. As I said in my first sermon in this Ecclesiastes series. Martin Luther considered this to be a most optimistic book. Martin Luther was the great reformer who began the Reformation in 1517, and he considered this to be the most optimistic book. What he saw in Ecclesiastes is a book that has explored all the possible rabbit trails that we might pursue all the possible avenues under the sun to find happiness and satisfaction and joy. He exposes them all as a fraud. He shows that every single one of these cannot provide what we are looking for. So what he's doing is to clear away the debris, to get rid of what may cloud our vision, to get rid of what may be a confusion. Much study and much anticipation and attempts to find satisfaction in this life is a weariness to the flesh. He's done that for us, and he's cleared away these false ideas about how to live, especially by clinging to the vanity of this world. So that once that debris is cleared away, the gospel then can shine all the more radiantly. The gospel tells us not about a life hack, not about a quick fix, not about how to have your best life now. The gospel tells us that Jesus Christ came into this world, the one who is above the sun, who came down from heaven into this earth, so that he could lift us up to God. Fear God and keep his commandments. Well, let's unpack what that means, because it gets at what the gospel is. Again, the idea of fearing God is to believe, it's faith. It's to have faith in God and what the Bible tells us after everything else has been cleared away, and we can see the gospel in its radiance, is that we are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with the promise that all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. There are so many proposals in life for how to find salvation. You can find anywhere all kinds of ideas about how to do the right good works, about how to sacrifice personally in your own life, about how to do the right collection of religious practices to appease God. The scriptures are so clear you are dead in your sins and trespasses. You are a child of wrath. You are without hope and without God in the world. There is nothing you can do to counteract this. You cannot do enough community service hours to overcome the wrath of God against you because of your sins. You need nothing less than the death and resurrection of God's only Son, the Lord of Glory. Fear God, then. He is the judge of the living and the dead, the judge of all the Earth, and he will surely do what was right. He will bring every deed in a judgment on the last day and he will by no means clear the guilty. Fear him, the Bible commands. Again, the other part of fearing him is not just to cower before him, not just to acknowledge your helplessness and hopelessness and vulnerability and guilt before him. It means to take him at his word. To believe the promises that he makes. The promise of salvation for all those who turn from their sins in sorrow. As we heard earlier today to consider his word, to confess our sins and to hear the assurance of God's pardon through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The question is, will you believe his promises? We turn to Christ for salvation. That's what this book is driving at. Clear away everything else that's getting in the way and turn to Jesus Christ, whom the rest of the scriptures hold out as your only hope and comfort in life and in death. Fear God. But also keep his commandments. In addition to the saving grace of justification by faith alone, another one of God's saving graces is as the Westminster Larger Catechism question thirty-two, puts it, "To enable us unto all holy obedience as the evidence of the truth of our faith and thankfulness to God and as the way which he hath appointed us to salvation." Now, listen to that God's commandments are the way to salvation. Now, not the way to gain salvation. We don't keep commandments to gain salvation. This is rather the way that God has appointed for those whom he has saved. It's not how we are saved, by keeping the commandments, it's what we are saved for. Again, Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "It is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not by works", not by keeping the commandments well enough". so that no one may boast." But in verse 10, the very next verse, he says, "for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works", for keeping the commandments, "which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in." We are saved not by keeping the commandments, we are saved for keeping the commandments. God has appointed these good works that we should walk in them as a people whom God has brought out of death and into life. You see, for the believer, God's commandments are no longer a thundering word of condemnation against our sin. That's the warning of the Bible if you have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ, God's word sounds as a thunder blast from heaven, declaring that you are guilty and in danger of the wrath of God for all of eternity. For believers, in the words of John Newton, the man who wrote Amazing Grace, "Christ has hushed the laws loud thunder", and he has done this, "so that justice smiles and asks no more." There's nothing else that you need to do because Christ has done everything that justice demands. The law then is transformed from our enemy, our persecutor, our oppressor, our condemning agent into a friend. Not by anything that we have done, but through Christ. Christ reorient us to the law through Christ, we relate to the law in a new way. He makes that introduction in a friendly way. The commandments of God then teaches how to please God through holy lives. So as we've seen all of the false ways to live and as the preacher has exhorted us at many points toward the wisdom of the fear of God, the wisdom that begins with the fear of the Lord. I want to ask you, do you long for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord? Do you delight in the law of God in your inner man and your inner person? Do you pray that God would conform you to the image of Christ and to righteousness, holiness and knowledge? The only alternative to Christ is this vain world where everything ultimately breaks. Don't put your trust there. Put your trust instead in Christ. As the apostle John writes in 1 John 2:17, "this world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." "Vanity of vanity, says the preacher, all is vanity." In a view of that and in view of eternity. Fear God, looking to Jesus Christ in faith, and keep his commandments. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray for a heart of wisdom, wisdom that comes from above that is first pure and peaceable, not wisdom that is from below and is earthly and spiritual and demonic. We pray that you would give us the wisdom of Jesus Christ crucified that we would look to him as our alone confidence, our alone assurance, our alone hope and comfort of salvation. That through Christ, you might relate us to the law in new way, not to gain something, because we can gain nothing before you, we can earn nothing from you. But to live a life that's really related to you as your children, as your people who are growing in the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Who are being conformed to the image of Christ, by your grace, by your mercy, by your power. We pray that this would all be to your glory through Jesus Christ name we pray. Amen.

Who's hungry for a roast? The final four - who have been the final four for FAR too long - have to slag each other off for the Pearly Gates roast. Who comes out on top out of Ella, Vanity, Krystal and Kitty? Well, you'll have to listen to us to find out. (Well, actually you already know as you watched the episode, but to find out more importantly what WE think, press play!) Plus, we go off on tangents about Adele, Ed's Covid and Kathy Burke. Don't forget to rate and review us by the way if you're enjoying these episodes! X email edward.m.dyson@googlemail.com @unitedqueendompodcast www.patreon.com/UnitedQueendom SPONSORED BY KU BAR, SOHO, LONDON www.ku-bar.co.uk BOX MENSWEAR www.boxmenswear.com www.instagram.com/unitedqueendompodcast www.instagram.com/samdowlertime www.twitter.com/samdowler www.podtail.com/podcast/united-queendom-podcast/ open.spotify.com/show/0TDLmRw2eSeYCtODoZxjyR (Contains Explicit Content)

In the 57th Episode of the SWAV Podcast we are talking about Vanity metrics and if you are focused on Vanity Metrics. Don't be the Founder or Entrepreneur that is focused on and fixated on metrics that are surface level and vanity. Focus on the substance, because that's what will get you where you want to go. 

Today's guest on episode 55 of the Mitlin Money Mindset™ is Dr. James. Marotta is a dual board-certified facial plastic surgeon with education and training from some of the finest institutions in the world. He leads the team at Marotta Plastic Surgery Specialists. Dr. Marotta specializes in facial plastic surgery keeping up with the latest trends and techniques in popular procedures like facelifts and rhinoplasty. In addition to being a respected and highly sought-after doctor, Dr. Marotta is also an author. He recently launched his latest work You Are Not A Vanity Purchase. Dr. Marotta also gives back by volunteering his time and surgical expertise to Face To Face helping victims of domestic violence with facial injuries and to Faces Of Honor helping veterans who have suffered face or neck injuries while deployed overseas. Learn what makes Dr. Marotta different and how he has transformed lives. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Dr. Marotta's path to becoming a plastic surgery specialist [2:31] What percentage is based upon medical need vs. elective? [6:44] Has insurance billing changed since James stopped accepting it? [10:45] Dr. Marotta's most common procedures [12:51] The impact on people's lives [17:26] James' practice core values, PACT, and the importance to patients and staff [22:24] Who should read Dr. Marotta's book You're Not A Vanity Purchase? [28:34] How has the COVID pandemic impacted Dr. Marotta's practice, in what ways? [31:42] Resources & People Mentioned Dr. James Marotta's book You're Not A Vanity Purchase  Miracle Morning Connect with Dr. James Marotta The website On Instagram On Twitter On Facebook On YouTube On Pinterest Guests on the Mitlin Money Mindset Show are not affiliated with CWM, LLC, and opinions expressed herein may not be representative of CWM, LLC. CWM, LLC is not responsible for the guest's content linked on this site. Connect With Mitlin Financial podcast(at)MitlinFinancial.com - email us with your suggestions for topics or guests https://mitlinfinancial.com  Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram Subscribe on Youtube Follow on Linkedin Follow on Facebook Subscribe to Mitlin Money Mindset™ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts

Obed Brefo | Ecclesiastes 5v8-20

I discuss the driving force - both the good and the bad - behind running for next year's parliamentary elections, in hopes that pushing for reform remains an ultimate priority, regardless of whether the opposition wins or loses against traditional parties. Click to watch: https://youtu.be/VCwMqgjufFk Help support The Beirut Banyan by contributing via PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/walkbeirut Or donating through our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/thebeirutbanyan Subscribe to our podcast from your preferred platform. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter: @thebeirutbanyan And check out our website: www.ronniechatah.com Music by Marc Codsi. Animation & illustration by Sana Chaaban.

Megyn Kelly is joined by Jim Breuer, stand-up comedian, to talk about the downsides of fame and vanity, the power of healing through comedy and human connection, his relationship with his wife, his kids, and his parents, SNL in the 90s and his Chris Farley story, the attempts to cancel Dave Chappelle, touring with Metallica, honoring the elderly, the media "circus," COVID vaccine mandates, and more. Also lawyer Mark Eiglarsh joins the show to discuss the latest on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, to talk about the prosecution's "smoking gun" new evidence, the media coverage of the case, and more.Follow The Megyn Kelly Show on all social platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MegynKellyTwitter: http://Twitter.com/MegynKellyShowInstagram: http://Instagram.com/MegynKellyShowFacebook: http://Facebook.com/MegynKellyShow Find out more information at: https://www.devilmaycaremedia.com/megynkellyshow

Richard F. Ames | Recorded July 17, 2021

Richard F. Ames | Recorded July 17, 2021

It's Luke's Birthday... Again!  On this episode, our "Apple Pie Patriot" joins me to discuss our Undergraduate Senior Theses, one on the Adams Administration, the other on the Treaty of Amiens (1802).   We chat about life as a History Major, John Adams' successes and shortcomings, and the "Vanity of Peace."  And, I won't lie... we got nostalgic beforehand and drank a good bit!  Key content: John Adams, Alien and Sedition Acts, XYZ Affair, Quasi War, Napoleonic Wars, Treaty of Amiens Cheers!Support the show here and get access to all sorts of bonus content:https://www.patreon.com/user?u=34398347&fan_landing=trueBe sure to follow me on Facebook at "Drinks with Great Minds in History" & Follow the show on Instagram @drinkswithgreatminds_podcastMusic:Hall of the Mountain King by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3845-hall-of-the-mountain-kingLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Artwork by @Tali Rose... Check it out!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=34398347&fan_landing=true)

Episode 016- An ultra discussion with Mai Nguyen where we discuss interior design, her brand IAMAI Official, becoming a mother, and more. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

What a week! Vanity Milan lives to see another slay, a timed challenge that could not possibly be real, we are still confused as to who and what Grimes is, Eve 6000 has 6000 problems, and Cynthia Kiss has risen from the dead. Coming to you from a vacation in the Catskills, Mijon is falling love with the country and Nick is all in favor. Like upstate, this is an intimate episode with just your two co-hosts as we go in on the franchises. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy, Huntys!Drag Race UK Season 3 Episode 7, “Miss Fugly Beauty Pageant" Kitty got a win!  Vanity Milan figured out the gain. Why drag queens need partners!  How did Vanity last this long! The clock wasn't real.  Was Krystal actually stretching herself if she brought that costume to Drag Race?  The lip sync was VANITY'S! Don't hate on Scarlett Harlett's Rhythm. The double elimination explained. Ella Vaday's Cockiness! Canada's Drag Race Season 2 Episode 4, “Snatch Game - Canada Season 2” The underwhelming reading challenge. Can you name two Grimes songs?  Pythia was hilarious and maybe the moment. Thank you, Canada for the diversity but can the ethnic people not leave first Snatch game- good choices, inconsistent execution, but some were GREAT Props to Cynthia Kiss for the comeback arc!  Eve 6000's reveal???? FOLLOW NICKInstagram: neprobst and grow_withnickTwitter: neprobst  FOLLOW MIJONInstagram:majorzu FOLLOW THE HUNTYSInstagram: whisperinghuntysFacebook: whisperinghuntysTiktok: whisperinghuntysTwitter: huntywhisperingWhispering Huntys Website  Whispering Huntys is an Apocalypse Podcast Network Podcast. Sign up to our Listserv: http://eepurl.com/hfnySr

Rev. Tom Eckstein of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, ND, joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 11. Plunge onward. God is in control. Be generous. God is generous with us. Enjoy the days He has given. God provides. Rejoice in the LORD no matter the life situation. God provides all that we need in Christ. We live out the line “Carpe Diem”, not as a reason to deny our daily vocations, but in Christ to move forward by His strength to love Him and love others. “Lord God, strengthen us to seize the day in faith with our time, energy, money, and skills to Your glory and proclaiming Christ's salvation and forgiveness. In Him, Amen”

"According to Ellis, all men should live according to “Billy Graham-Mike Pence Rule.” I say all, and not just married men, because Ellis, who describes himself as a conservative Christian, likely believes that it is a sin for unmarrieds to have sex. Thus, not only should married men abstain from being alone with women who are not their wives, so should unmarried men. Women, for married and unmarried men alike, are the problem. If married men want to keep themselves morally pure, then they must never, ever put themselves in positions where they are alone with women. For married men, the wife of their youth awaits, legs spread wide, ready and willing to satisfy their sexual needs. Unmarried men have no such fire extinguisher awaiting them — the Apostle Paul said it is better to marry than to burn — yet they, too, are implored to avoid being alone with the opposite sex. So what are these young men to do? Many of them, if they marry at all, do not marry until their late twenties. This means that they must wrestle with unsatisfied raging hormones for twelve to fifteen years. And remember, masturbation — lustful self-gratification that leads to homosexuality — is verboten too. (Please read Good Baptist Boys Don't Masturbate, Oh Yes, They Do!) This kind of thinking breeds immature, juvenile men; men who are weak; men who are not in control of their sexuality; men who see women primarily as objects of sexual gratification. Ellis, Graham, and Pence would likely object to my characterization of their beliefs, but it seems clear, at least to me, that women are treated as dangerous, seductive beings who must be avoided lest being alone with them leads to intercourse on office and study floors. This kind of thinking objectifies women, turning them into chattel used for male sexual gratification. Since the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God condemns all sexual behavior except married heterosexual vaginal intercourse, (preferably in the missionary position, and primarily for human propagation), any relationship or circumstance that could, even remotely, lead to moral compromise must be resolutely avoided. (A separate discussion is whether consensual adult sex with someone other than your wife or sex between unmarrieds is necessarily “wrong.”) As I have stated time and again on this blog, Evangelical men need to grow up and own their sexuality. If they can't control themselves when around physically and sexually attract women, the fault is theirs. Plenty of men are around women publicly and privately, yet they, somehow, keep themselves from having sex with them. These men have learned how to control their thoughts and behaviors. I have viewed countless women whom I have found attractive. My wife and I, now that we no longer concern ourselves with thoughts of God, judgment, and hell, are free to say to the other, that's an attractive man/woman. Both of us have found it interesting the type of people the other is attracted to. Men I thought Polly would consider hot often elicit a meh from her — she really likes gay guys. Similarly, the kind of woman Polly thinks I would be attracted to often elicits a shrug from me. It's liberating to be able to express my thoughts, interests, and desires without worrying that it could lead to adultery — a sin, according to the B-i-b-l-e, that lands offenders in the Lake of Fire." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/antonio-myers4/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/antonio-myers4/support

Rev. John Shank of Trinity Lutheran Church & School in Edwardsville, IL joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 10. Trust in the LORD. Be prepared, be careful and plan ahead. Humanity has been in a constant state of rebellion since Adam and Eve which leads us down paths that are not pleasing to Him or loving to others. Solomon slowly unpacks our reality of rebellion which gets revealed in our words, at our work, our families, our communities, but we are called to trust in Him. To live in faith, does not lead us to fatalism, but He reminds us of His path of salvation & grace to help in all things. “Lord God, keep us from temptation and give us eyes of faith to trust in You. Give us wisdom to be prepared, careful, and to plan ahead for the sake of love for others while we live in faith of Your promises. Amen”

Rev. John Lukomski, co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 9. Find Wrestling with the Basics at kfuo.org/WrestlingWithTheBasics. The same event happens to all: Death. Solomon gives us a glimpse of life without the LORD, which easily leads us to despair. The grace of our LORD allows us to lament these realities, but He pulls us back to Him again that whether you are wise, fools, wicked, righteous, rich, or poor are all fallen sinners, but He is our wisdom and in Him we are approved. “O Lord, Jesus Christ, as You are Wisdom, fill us with Your wisdom so that we are able to eat & drink with faith of Your approval from the cross. We give You thanks that one sinner might destroy, but You as the One Savior have saved us completely. Amen”

Rev. Dr. Brian Kachelmeier, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Las Alamos, NM joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 8. Wisdom comes from God by the Holy Spirit through Christ. By His Wisdom, in faith, He makes our face shine and have peace by His work. Although the wheels of justice move slowly, God's day is now as we wait for the day He returns. Evil will not win the day. Christ has had the victory. We are not worthy to be in His presence, but in Christ the King, the wisdom of God, we are united with Him. “Lord God, fill us with faith, so that under any circumstance we grow in wisdom and righteousness on account of Christ's cross. In Him, Amen”

NOTE - This episode was recorded before the AstroWorld incidents. Thoughts and prayers to the families. Once again, we back. The Busy Boys recap their introduction of Busy Sessions featuring Reggie Becton and his set on Grace Weber's tour stop in Brooklyn. CHAT - Summer Walker, Terrace Martin, Silk Sonic, Travis Scott, and Kanye West on Drink Champs. HALF&HALF - Responsible Revisit of Audius and NFTS. EOTM - Rob Markman, VP Content Strategy at Genius. SLIDE DECK - Wildfires by Sault (Armon), Slow Down by Ro James ft. Masego (Nic). BOARD MEETING - Live Shows and how they can shape or create fandom, what we look for in live performances, bucket list shows. BULLETIN BOARD - New Ausar track "Vanity," Black Christmas is back on 12/11 (blackchristmasnyc.com), and Snoh Aalegra is about to tour! Stay Safe, Stay Humble, Stay Busy.

Rev. Jacob Heine of Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, KS joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 7:14-29. Consider God. The words are very simple, yet, we consider ourselves more than Him. Solomon reflects back on his “vain” life seeing his own faults, lamenting his past while realizing that everyone has their own sins and we all come to the cross deserving death. This is why He tells us to consider His grace and rest in it. “Lord God, we are by nature sinful and unclean, by Your Spirit give us Christ's forgiveness and lead us to righteous living. In Him, Amen”

Rev. Dr. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, FL joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 7:1-13. Solomon was a realist. He didn't try to make it sound like everything was perfect, but proclaims our need to see the real brokenness of the world (mourning, sorrow, and death) in order to fully understand the need of the cross and a new heart. Laughter and flattery might help for a short time, but he reminds us that it is the LORD and His Word that sustains us and gives us hope. “Lord God, fill us with the wisdom from Solomon so that we consider Your works. By Your Holy Spirit, help us to filter this life by the lens of Christ's death so that we live and speak Your Words trusting in You. In Christ, Amen”

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in Pine Lawn, MO joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 6. Ecclesiastes shows us the dead end of trying to find hope in the light of nature. Yet, in the light of God's grace, we always have hope because it is all a gift from Him in Christ. Solomon challenges us today, “Are you enjoying what you have?” God is the ultimate philanthropist because He wants His people to find satisfaction in this life. We pray to Him for the gift of joy with our blessings, taking from us jealousy and all the strivings after the wind to keep us grounded in You. “O Holy Spirit, we struggle to find satisfaction. Give us the gift of joy & faith in Christ's salvation so that we are able to faithfully enjoy the rest of Your creation until You call us home. In Christ, Amen”

It was our absolute pleasure to have Cloud9 Blue's Xeta (@officialXeta) join us on the show today to give us some insight on his team's advancement to Champions by winning the beleaguered LCQ NA, best of luck to them back in Berlin! We also cover Chamber and how he might impact the game, and we also were lucky enough to snag the services of @JessGOAT to give us a rundown of how Game Changers EMEA shook out in the end. We also had MitchMan get very irate over Upcomer's article on Cned's involvement with the Turkish money laundering scheme, so all in all it's an episode not to be missed! Live on Twitch (http://www.twitch.tv/dnpeek) every Tuesday at 2pm EST. Follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/dnpeek), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dnpeek/), and check out our website (https://www.dnpeek.com/).

A simple call to be the people we portray ourselves as. 

This Week Brandon and Joe discuss Dragula S4 E3. They also have this random queen they found on the street. The amazing Vanity "The Tumbles" Jones.

Rev. Christopher Maronde, pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bingen, IN joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 5. God calls us to humility, faith, and contentment. Contentment so that we do not feel the need to speak words we are not called to speak. Contentment to not think that possessions will bring us joy. Contentment to enjoy the gifts that He gives (home, spouse, family, church, possessions, and forgiveness in Christ). Eat, drink, and find enjoyment in all that He has provided---this is the gift of God. “Lord God, grant us humility, fill us with faith, and provide contentment in Christ. Thank You for providing all that we need on the cross and bring us back to You for the peace that surpasses all understanding. In Christ, Amen”

Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Minot, ND joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 4. Ecclesiastes shows us the real world. Solomon doesn't hold back in his angst toward the oppression done under the sun. These realities point us to the oppressed Christ who was tempted like us, but did not sin and took these realities on His shoulders. The LORD gives us the gift of the community of believers for us to be filled by His gifts, not as a perfect place, but to muddle forward by His grace. “Lord God, as we travel on this trail of tears, provide us Your grace by Your Word to keep us centered in You. Amen”

On Friday I celebrate my 35th birthday. To mark the occasion today, I want to delve into some interesting trivia about where and when I come from. What follows is my origin story. I was born at the Glendive Medical Center on November 5th, 1986 in Glendive, Montana to Byron Doyle Mullet, a native of Eastern Montana, and Alice Ann Mullet, maiden name Ranew, originally from Milton, Florida, near Pensacola in the panhandle of that state. You will forgive me for not remembering, but the Weather Underground tells me the historic average for that day of the year is 36 degrees Fahrenheit, with the record high and low being 72 and -6 respectively. The history of the naming of my hometown is that Sir George Gore, a wealthy Irish sportsman, named his favorite hunting area in 1855. "Gleanndubh" was at some point anglicized after a combination of two Irish words meaning 'valley' and 'black.' Thus I come from a town named after "the black valley" nestled on both banks of the Yellowstone River on the outskirts of Makoshika State Park, said park named after the Lakota Sioux phrase meaning "bad land," or "bad spirits." The local high school sports mascot is the Red Devil. Interestingly enough, my wife's maiden name is Duff, a Scottish name which my research has concluded comes from that same Gaelic word 'Dubh' which helped form the name of my hometown. The day I was born being November 5th, the people of the United Kingdom across the waters celebrate every year as 'Guy Fawkes Day' to reflect on the famed and failed Gunpowder Plot, an attempt in 1605 to blow Parliament to retake the country for Roman Catholicism. But the year I was born in being 1986, the United Nations designated the 'International Year of Peace.' A decent number of famous movie stars, musicians, and athletes were born the same year as me. And now I am officially old enough to run for President of the United States. But what does all of this really mean or matter? Can anything be gleaned about who I am as an individual from pulling on all these diverse and eccentric threads? "Vanity of vanities" the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes. "All is vanity." And while my rehearsing these factoids may be interesting in its way, it may also be chasing after wind. Nevertheless, it is interesting to ponder. Where we are from, what family we are born into, when we reach certain stages of development and what is going on in the wider world when we do - all of these have some kind of bearing and influence, even if only God knows precisely to what extent and end. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/garrett-ashley-mullet/support

In this episode I introduce a new character, The Sconsin Slammer,  a 19th hole discussion about Vanity Handicappers, my experience with Carvana, and a diatribe on a search for influencers to build my brand.

Solomon was the richest and wisest person to ever live. Yahweh gave him wisdom and great wealth. He set out to find fulfillment apart from God. After he had partaken in all sorts of delectable delights Solomon said whatever he desired to he did it. He realized it was all vanity, in other words, he felt empty and unfulfilled. We must never forget that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Put God first and He will not let you down.

Rev. Jason Bredeson, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sacramento, CA joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 3:9-22. Solomon transitions from proclaiming the reality of the world to the joy of God's people serving in this world. He encourages us to live with joy while we serve in our vocation as Christ is risen from the dead (I Corinthians 15:58). We can look at the world and use the tagline, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” More faithfully we can say, “In Christ, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow is in His hands.” “Lord God, give us joy in Christ that we may eat, drink, and be merry for You are a child of God and He has all authority. Amen”

Rev. Dr. Nathan Meador, Executive Assistant for Mission and Mercy for the South Wisconsin District in Milwaukee, WI joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Solomon calls us not to fatalism but to faith. He describes the truth of life---everything has a season. Birth & death; planting and plucking up; weeping and laughing; mourning and dancing; seeking and losing; war and peace. Take heart, saints of our Lord, God has not forgotten you. “Lord God, sustains us in the season, as You have called us to be here now in Your grace, fill us with Your strength and love to remember that everything is in Your hands. In Christ, Amen”

Sometimes, people latch on to poor metrics when they can't find a good proxy for what they want to measure. And those poor metrics can lead them away from what they want to accomplish. In this solo episode, Spencer challenges the popular digital metrics of traffic and stickiness and explains how to find your "smoking gun" metrics instead. Article: The Vanity of Nonprofit MetricsArticle: The Surprising Truth About Digital Metrics for NonprofitsService: Health Nonprofit Digital Diagnostic

Rev. Kevin Yoakum, pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Riverview, Florida joins host Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 2. In this chapter it is quite telling that the word “I” is used 31x. Solomon paints a picture of life with the LORD. He presents his life like a “pleasure research project.” He enjoyed wine, built homes, planted vineyards, possessed a huge farm, acquired more silver and gold than anyone, and he had the opportunity for pleasure without hindrance. To find meaning in these things led Solomon to say, “So I hated my life.” We are reminded that without the LORD we are “under the sun” but in Christ we are “above the sun on account of the Son.” “Lord God, keep us focused above the sun in the Son. When we hate life, fill us with Your love. When we see the brokenness of the world and ask what's the point, once again show us our identity as ones loved by You and Your presence each day. In Christ, Amen”

In this episode, Jimmy discusses the book of Ecclesiastes and the vanities of life described in that book. How do we set up our businesses to point back to God? How do we make sure our pursuits are not in vain? What steps can we take to grow our relationship with God? All of this is discussed in this important episode.To join the conversation on this episode and many others, head over to our free Facebook group (Biblical Business Leaders) at www.facebook.com/groups/biblicalbusinessleaders and if you would like to listen to the podcast episode, head over to our site www.biblicalbusinessleaders.com and you can find the link to your favorite podcast player!God Bless!Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/15SqoHzdPhI

Darren Bent urges Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to drop Cristiano Ronaldo, Ally McCoist pays a touching tribute to former Rangers manager Walter Smith who has passed away aged 73, Darren Ambrose raises his concerns over Leeds United's form after they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup and QPR boss Mark Warburton slams the officials after losing to Sunderland. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For this week's episode, we will be talking about how to convert your leads successfully and delving into the reasons why it may not be happening already.We also talk a look at a recent mastermind and why - even without truly selling - there was a 100% conversion rate for the prospective leads who attended.So go to https://danbradbury.com/win for more information the upcoming mastermind.____________________________________________________________________________Dan Bradbury can be found here:Get your FREE 8 Module Finance Masterclasshttps://danbradbury.com/finance/WEBSITE: http://danbradbury.com/QUIZ: What's your BPM Business Score?This quiz is going to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of your business. All you have to do is take 5-10 minutes to answer simple "yes or no" questions and you will be scored in 10 different areas of your business. Once you have your score, you will be sent a 24-page report that is customised specifically for you.LATEST BOOKS:Turnover is Vanity, Profit is Sanity: 9/12 Steps to Improving Your Profits & CashflowBreeding Gazelles: Fast Growth Strategies For Your Business 

Rev. John Lukomski, co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio joins Rev. Brady Finnern to study Ecclesiastes 1. Find Wrestling with the Basics at kfuo.org/WrestlingWithTheBasics. Solomon does a thorough investigation of his life and his conclusion? Everything is meaningless, let me say it again, meaningless. What is vanity? You name it...it's vain. He points to wisdom, the sun, the wind, generations, and the sea and challenges us to keep our eyes focused on Christ. All of it can look like a circle of life which leads to a lack of meaning, but in Christ, we are above the sun and that our hearts are to be centered in Him. “O Holy Spirit, keep us seeing the world with Christ goggles. To see the meaning of the world to be grounded in His forgiveness and salvation and to not become overwhelmed by the vanity under the sun but knowing life above the sun in Him. Lord have mercy. Amen”

This week Brandon and Joe discuss Dragula Season 4 Episode 1 with our very special guest Dee Mercury, San Diego's seamstress to the stars (Mariam T) and an amazing drag performer.

Rev. Dr. Brian Kachelemeier, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Las Alamos, NM joins Rev. Brady Finnern to introduce our new study of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is a book of wisdom. Yet, as Christians wisdom is found in the fear of God in Christ. Wisdom is not a pursuit of information or thoughts, all of that is vanity. It is difficult to hear that wealth, the pursuit of wisdom, work, and intelligence is meaningless. Yet, when we understand that wisdom comes from Christ, we do not need to wonder if we have wisdom, but we live in freedom with His blessed words to live holy lives. “Lord God, grant us the wisdom of faith in Christ. We thank You that Christ has done everything for us and we ask that we would believe in this wisdom and live in wise freedom as His beloved children. Lord help us. Amen”

this week I will read chapter 27 of Anne of green gables by L.M. Montgomery! from now on, all announcements will be on the BOB website: https://sites.google.com/view/box-of-books-site/home there, you can also find information about me, the B.O.B. mascot, and take a quiz about about the possibilities of having a theme song! there is now a second quiz about which book I should read next! shout outs: dad to get a shout out, to send me a book recommendation, to tell me about a book you have read recently, or tell me your guess of what will be in the next bonus episode, message me at the link below! I would LOVE to hear from you!! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/boxofbookspodcast/message

Hear a passage, understand the passage, apply it to your life, all in about 10 minutes a day with ADDBIBLE®, Audio Daily Devotions from The Ezra Project.

Hiring a new person is serious business, and there are some really important questions to ask yourself as a leader before you take that step.   In this episode, hosts Richard Lindner and Jeff Mask walk through some really vital steps we need to take before we bring someone else on our team. In Richard's company, they have a saying that reflects an important value:    We take the social responsibility of hiring very seriously. What does that mean? It means that, when they make the decision to hire someone, it's more than an exchange of time for money. It's not a pair of jeans at Nordstrom's. It's a human. They have other humans relying on them. And hiring should only be done after much care and consideration.   Listen in for some great advice on making these key hiring decisions as a leader.   Taking the Social Responsibility of Hiring Very Seriously When Richard's company is considering hiring someone new, they do what they call “work journaling” for a bit first. They ask questions like: What are we doing? How are we spending our time? Is the leader hoarding something that should be passed down? What percentage of my day is spent on things I should be doing? What percentage of my day is spent on things I should be delegating?   And they follow these three basic rules of thumb:   We don't throw people at inefficiencies We don't throw people at “we've always done it that way”  We don't throw people at seasonality   Each of these things leads to unnecessary hires. That's bad for the leader, the company, and the person you hired. Why don't they throw people at these things? Because they take the social responsibility of hiring very seriously. When we're in the most pain we're most likely to throw a warm body at a problem. Don't hire people in your emotional state. Step back and assess first.    You Can Never Make Enough Lists If someone requests additional help doing their job, make some lists. What the leader is doing, what everyone on the team is doing, what the person requesting additional help is doing. Go back to that critical task list—Do, Defer, Delegate, Delete. For the person asking for another hire, ask: Do you have the time to do all of this? Are we following a documented process? Is it efficient? What can we automate?   When you ask those questions (about how you're spending your time, etc.), you can figure out if you actually need to hire someone, or if you just need to make some other changes. What if you get really efficient with your time two weeks after you hire a new person? Don't hire for seasonal work unless you're advertising for a short-term, temporary, seasonal hire. If people don't know they're being hired temporarily, don't hire them temporarily.   These are the processes you have to go through so you can be socially responsible when you hire. We as leaders can get frustrated and impatient. Once again, all problems are leadership problems. We have to take this responsibility very seriously.   Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself There are a few things Richard and Jeff encourage you to be aware of and think about as you're considering hiring.   There are people who are empire builders who like to build a large team of people underneath them. You need to look in the mirror to know yourself. Are you an empire builder? Does success for you look like the number of employees you have? Do you have a ton of employees but your company isn't profitable?   Vanity metrics are things that look and feel great but ultimately don't drive to the end result we're looking for. A million subscribers but no engagement. A huge email list but not a good open rate. A boatload of employees but not comparable profitability.   Richard says he won't bring on a person unnecessarily, because the profitability of his company will go down, and he's endangering his whole team.The goal of the company is profitability, making money. You need to know what profitability looks like and whether or not a new hire will bring you more of that.   Jeff says to run through the 3 Ps (people, profit, purpose). Who are the people who can generate the profit to ultimately fulfill the purpose? You need all 3 legs of the stool. The right people, the right profit, your right purpose. It's a sustainable model.   Necessity drives invention and innovation, but we need self-discipline to be as efficient as possible, to be wise stewards of what we've been given. Do the work beforehand. Make sure you actually need another team member before you add them.   If someone on your team asks you to hire someone, Richard says you can say, “Great, let's talk about it. At this company, we take the social responsibility of hiring people very seriously. We have a process to walk through first. First thing, brain dump, work journal. Then categorize all your tasks (4 Ds). Make sure we have processes and automation in place. If we go through all this and still think we need the person, great. Let's do it!   The next episode is a micro-episode about Who to Hire. Stay tuned!   Richard and Jeff want to hear from YOU. What questions do you have about hiring? Do you have any positive tips or stories about hiring to share? What other topics would you like them to address on the show? Email them here with your thoughts/questions: feedback@readytolead.com  OTHER SHOWS YOU MIGHT ENJOY: Business Lunch with Roland Frasier and Ryan Deiss Perpetual Traffic with Ralph Burns and Kasim Aslam DigitalMarketer Podcast  

One young mom sends in a thoughtful question regarding teaching her daughters about true beauty, vanity, and make-up. Another young mom struggles with guilt over buying pretty things for herself. How can we think biblically about these issues?Support the show (https://renewalministries.com/donate/)

Bond is back and on TMI!  We found all the time in the world to watch No Time to Die, and have STRONG opposing feelings… but who has a golden eye for it, and who has a view to a kill?  Then…the truly insipid Never Too Young to Die!  #notimetodie #jamesbond #danielcraig #nevertooyoungtodie #johnstamos #genesimmons   

הבל - The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. ECCLESIASTES 1:1–2 — LINKS Purchase "Unveiling Mercy" and learn more... 1517 Podcast Network Support the work of 1517 CONTACT and FOLLOW chad@1517.org Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast RSS Google Podcasts Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (gillespie.media).

Ecc 5:8-6:9 Joshua York