31 January 2015

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 31 January 2015

Saturday.
Weather reports have us set to get a MAJOR winter storm, beginning (depending of the models) either in the middle of the night, or around noon tomorrow, they're still wobbling a bit.  Looks like low temps and nearly a FOOT of snow!  nearly, as in 10 to 11+ inches.  Close enough.  I had to run out earlier to get Dear Wife some cranberry juice: she's developing what appears to be a kidney infection and that seems to help her.  I went through our "meds tub" and found some Azo and a few (real old) doses of Bactrim, both useful in such situations.  And we have scheduled a doctor appointment for her on Monday morning first thing.  Not sure how we'll handle a foot of snow on that, we shall see.
And we just got a disconnect notice from the gas company.  They want it ALL paid, and that by the day just before the retirement check hits..  Might be a bad day, that.  We have $100 we'll send them on Monday morning, and she'll call them that same day.  But other than that, not sure what we'll do.

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The Old Testament reading here is chapters 25 and 26 of the Exodus.


1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
3
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
4
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
5
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
6
Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
7
Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
8
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9
According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
10
And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12
And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
13
And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14
And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15
The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
16
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
17
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18
And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
19
And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
20
And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
23
Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
24
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
25
And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
26
And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
27
Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
28
And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
29
And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
30
And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me always.
31
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
32
And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:
33
Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.
34
And in the candlesticks shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.
35
And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.
36
Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
37
And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.
38
And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
39
Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.
40
And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.


1
Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of cunning work shalt thou make them.
2
The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.
3
The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.
4
And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
5
Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.
6
And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
7
And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
8
The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.
9
And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.
10
And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.
11
And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.
12
And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.
13
And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
14
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins.
15
And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.
16
Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.
17
Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
18
And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.
19
And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.
20
And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards:
21
And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
22
And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.
23
And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.
24
And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.
25
And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
26
And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,
27
And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward.
28
And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end.
29
And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
30
And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount.
31
And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubim shall it be made:
32
And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
33
And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
34
And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
35
And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
36
And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.
37
And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.




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The New Testament reading is verses 1-22 in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
We usually refer to this as The Triumphal Entry, of Jesus into Jerusalem.  To the cheers of many.  Many of whom, a week later, will cry "Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!!", and later mock Him on the cross. Fickle?


1
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2
Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3
And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4
All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5
Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6
And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7
And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8
And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
11
And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
12
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
14
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
15
And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,
16
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
17
And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.
18
Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
19
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
20
And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
21
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.



30 January 2015

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 30 January 2015

ahh the "joys" of living in what seems to me to be The Frozen North.  We're nearing noon, and enjoying a balmy 17.9 degrees, with a low tonight predicted to be +4.  Meanwhile, our former residence in central Alabama is, at this point, 49.8 with a low of 30, our friends in western Arkansas are at 41.4 with a low of 36, and our former homes in East Tennessee (heading into the mountains) are showing 40.6 with a low tonight of 24.  In other words, their "low" is higher than our "high".
Yes, I miss the South and the better winter weather.  But this is where we think we are supposed to be.  And a hundred years from now, it won't matter.  The weather, I mean.  What we do in our time here, well, perhaps THAT will matter in a hundred years.  We hope so.
Dear Wife has a UPS delivery set for today, a bunch of 3-T clothes for Beloved Great Niece that she found on-line for $10.  So of course Yours Truly "got" to go out and shovel a path for the delivery driver, it's only fair.  And now we cluster under blankets in our drafty abode stay near the gas "fire" that provides our only source of heat.  Waiting for Spring.  Can't come soon enough.
She's not feeling well, which is an understatement.  But she has a doctor appointment for Monday morning, so perhaps that will help.

My nephew's wife writes a blog called called Wisdom Wanderings that in the current postings deals with some issues within the Mennonite Church - USA, in particular issues involving attempts to revise their statements of faith and doctrine to -- at the very least -- accept homosexual practice.  If not celebrate it, which seems to be the case in other denominations.  As some know, I grew up in the Mennonite Church, though I am not a member there.  I do still have friends and family there and in the related groups, including Old Order Amish, there's actually quite a spectrum.  They have a big national convention later this year and, based upon last year's convocation and the wrangling since then, could be quite contentious.
Similar disputes are and have been dividing other denominations for quite a number of years.  And much of it goes back to conflicts between Scripture and Political Correctness.  See for example, the Lutherans (ELCA and LCMS), the Presbyterians (PCA and PCUSA), the sub-groups within the Episcopalian/Anglican groups, and many more. 
My own, decidedly non-politically-correct view, is that this gets into downplay of Scripture, and one of the first signs of that was the ordination of women as senior pastors.  Once that wall was breached, the rest was inevitable.  The fuss at their last convocation came as a result of the ordination of a practicing lesbian as a bishop!  (BTW, the title does not hold the same meaning as in, say, the Roman Catholic structure).
 I am sorry to see this state of affairs.

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The Old Testament reading today is chapters 22, 23, 24 of the Exodus.  The LORD is speaking.  These are not mere suggestions from some guy next door.


1
If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
2
If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3
If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4
If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
5
If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6
If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7
If a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8
If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbor's goods.
9
For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbor.
10
If a man deliver unto his neighbor an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
11
Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbor's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12
And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
13
If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
14
And if a man borrow ought of his neighbor, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
15
But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
16
And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17
If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
18
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
19
Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
20
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23
If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24
And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
26
If thou at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
27
For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
28
Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
29
Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
30
Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
31
And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.


1
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3
Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5
If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6
Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9
Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10
And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11
But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13
And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14
Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15
Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16
And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.
17
Three items in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.
18
Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19
The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
20
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21
Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22
But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23
For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24
Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25
And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26
There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27
I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28
And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29
I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30
By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31
And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32
Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.


1
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2
And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3
And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4
And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5
And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6
And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7
And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8
And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10
And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11
And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12
And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13
And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14
And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15
And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16
And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17
And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18
And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.





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The New Testament passage is verses 17-34 of the 20th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew.
Things are about to get real intense.  Jesus and His followers are heading to Jerusalem, and the Crucifixion is not far ahead.  He knew that.  They didn't.  I can not imagine their feelings as, later, they looked back on this time.  Intense does not begin to describe it.

17
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
18
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
19
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
20
Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21
And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
22
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
23
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26
But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
29
And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
30
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
31
And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
32
And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
33
They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
34
So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.


29 January 2015

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 29 January 2015

another day before us that began with "Winter Weather Advisory" messages over the 'Net.  Snow and cold and freezing rain/snow mixed.  Should make for an "interesting" day driving.  Which I have no intention of doing whatsoever.  Been there, done that.
Alarm went off at 06:00 for Dear Wife to walk across the back yard to go "watch" Beloved Grand Niece.  Of course, my "cat-alarm", the four-legged fuzzies wanting breakfast, went off around 04:55, actually before, but the "snooze" on them wasn't working any longer.  So I did the deed and Starvation and Hunger have been pushed back another day.
quite a life we have here.  Sitting inside a darkened cave for days at a time.

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The Old Testament reading today is chapters 19, 20, and 21 of the Exodus.
They're out of Egypt, Pharaoh's army got drowned, and now they're on their way.  A gripy, complaining bunch with a common ancestry, 400 years in bondage, in the wilderness, led by the Lord -- and His visible Presence in the pillars of fire and smoke - and a historic figure like Moses.  And these are the Lord's "Chosen People".  Time to start making them into that.  And that means developing a faith and a culture along the lines the Lord wants, rather than that which they'd been seeing for generations, nor that of the cultures they would be bumping into quite soon.
And that means we get into the Law and the judgments and the Commandments.  We see that beginning here.  Not just the day-to-day decisions that Moses, as the Judge, hands down, but the long-term written-down and memorized ones that don't change.  Those.  A defining distinction that actually undergirds many of our own laws to this very day.

1
In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2
For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
3
And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
4
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
8
And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
9
And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
10
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
11
And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
13
There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
14
And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
15
And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
16
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
17
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20
And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.
22
And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
23
And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24
And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them.
25
So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.


1
And God spake all these words, saying,
2
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6
And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9
Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work:
10
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12
Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13
Thou shalt not kill.
14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15
Thou shalt not steal.
16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
17
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.
18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
22
And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
23
Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
24
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.
25
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
26
Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.


1
Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
2
If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3
If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4
If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6
Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
7
And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9
And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11
And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
12
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
13
And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
18
And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19
If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
21
Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
22
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23
And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25
Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27
And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29
But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
30
If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31
Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32
If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
34
The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
35
And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
36
Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.



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The New Testament reading is verses 1-16 in the 20th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
Jesus is still speaking, still teaching.  For our ears as well as for those of the people crowded around Him.

1
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
2
And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
5
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
6
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
7
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
8
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
9
And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
10
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
11
And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
12
Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13
But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14
Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
16
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen