Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 27 December 2017 with an update

Update:   I originally posted earlier, back when cats woke us to get breakfast.  I did, then lay back down for a bit.  6° out there and no urgency.  Woke back up an hour or so later, and the kitchen sink I'd washed my hands in after feeding cats had both the hot and cold water nothing doing.  No water.  Nor to shower.  Nor bathroom sink.  Nor to the toilet tank.  No water!  FROZEN pipes!  Yuck!!
Yes, we had NO water!  None.  Not a good thing.  The "snap" that took that 6° down to 3° or so evidently crossed a critical point or something.  At least we  had heat (though the fireplace that heats our place the odd "whistling" sound it had made before the lines froze last week).  Our neighbor, two doors down on the corner had, and at this point has, no heat: his gas line is frozen.  Once again.  I crawled under our place and plugged a "bivouac heater" into the same extension cord that has the brooder lamp.  In an hour or so, we started hearing a mix of water and ice coming out of some faucets.  So, Thank  You Lord!, we have water again.
The gas company is, again, down at the neighbor's place.  The flame in our gas fireplace, our sole source of heat here, keeps jumping, so I presume that is related to the work they're doing in the service lines on the street.
All this "fun" and we're still in December!
But friends of ours in NW Pennsylvania have, just in the last few days, had more snowfall than our area normally averages (66") in an entire year.  So we keep things in perspective.

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Counting down, still.  Just a few more days of 2017.  Not the worst year we've had, not the best either.  But we're still living, so there is a reason, somewhere.  I'd never expected to live this long: while Dad made it past 90, both grandfathers and one uncle were gone before I was even born.  One aunt (Dad's sister) died before I was 5.  The last two uncles passed while I was in high school.  See what I mean?  So I figured 50 might be the end.  Wasn't.  "Three score and ten" isn't too terribly far off, but we shall see.  As for Wife, the "esteemed medical professionals" expected her to be gone more than six years ago.  And, truth be told, there had been some scary moments around that time and certainly for a number of years before and since.  But, God be thanked, she's still here.  A blessing to many, some of whom don't realize it.


Wife's Disability check hit the bank yesterday, so I was sent off around noon to pick up the rest of the month's supplies that we get from the Big Box store.  Did well, and we should be good on most stuff for the next month.  Lord willing.  That trip was after she paid some bills -- having on-line systems lets us do this electronically, meaning without leaving the house and nearly instantly.  So that's done.  And I got some money out to pay the rent we give to her niece for this  place.  It's not much, certainly less than we'd pay for just about anything other than one of the subsidized joints (which would have us away from her family and also  probably ban her cats).  So we get by.
But, by late afternoon / early evening, she was feeling awful.  She'd gotten up around 04:00 yesterday morning, feeling too awful to lay any longer, so she got up, had something warm to drink, all that stuff.  Had one of those generic Alka-seltzer cold things, kicked back while I went back to bed.  She came back to bed around 06:00 and slept, eventually, until around 09:00.  But still felt lousy and went back to bed around 5:30 p.m.  Before doing that, she called in refill of that heavy antibiotic she'd been on several weeks before, hoping that would help. We got the "OK" message in short order, so I was sent out Across The State Line to make pickup.  Nothing like driving in bitter cold, after dark, on less than great roads and enjoying the red lights so "helpfully" arranged.  Another unplanned $42 outlay.  While I was gone she took another "breathing treatment" of Alupent in  our old but working Nebulizer, which helps a good bit.  The fact that she'd taken the "biologic" (Humira) after coming home from the christmas "do" Monday afternoon, means that her natural immune system was depressed so she might even have picked up something from the other attendees.  Just another day in our world.

We hit a low of 6° last night.  Today's "high" is set to be 13°.  So much for that massive fraud called "catastrophic global warming", one of history's greatest lies and frauds.  Friends of ours up along the PA coast of Lake Erie got hit with 34" of snow just on Christmas Day!!  By yesterday afternoon, that had grown to 53" and another foot is  predicted to fall by this afternoon, which should mark the end of this storm.  More will surely come later on.  Yes, I dearly miss living in the Deep South.  Terribly.  And the lows on the 31st, 1st, and 2nd are predicted to be all of +1°.  At least, no sub-zero.  But nothing in the  10-day outlook that's above freezing nor anywhere near to it.
But we pick up a whole 21 seconds of "day" today, so we're moving, albeit slowly, in the right direction.  If only it was three four months from now already.  And would stay there. 


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The Old Testament reading today is chapters 4, 5, and 6 in the book of Zechariah.
There are several references here and elsewhere to Zerubabbel.  He was the head of the tribe of Judah, a position of leadership.  From all accounts, he did pretty well.  This gets into the rebuilding of the Temple, the so-called "second Temple" after the first, Solomon's Temple, had been destroyed.

Zechariah 4

1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. 11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.

Zechariah 5

1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. 4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. 5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? 11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

Zechariah 6

1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the LORD of all the earth. 6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 7 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. 9 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

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The New  Testament reading for the day is chapter 18 of the Revelation.
Again, there are here and elsewhere references to Babylon.  As I guess most are aware, historical Babylon is a ruins, an archeological site at most.  But the system, the attitudes, the whole culture t hat surrounded historical Babylon is not.  And appears to be growing.  Now, whether the resurgent areas of the Middle East, like Iran (Persia) and others, the whole Moslem efforts toward establishing a worldwide caliphate might be successful (due to weakness in the West) might result in such a thing, which might even have a major center they name a new Babylon, who knows.  For that matter, I've long heard all kinds of speculation that named Rome as Babylon, pointing to the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church as being like Babylon.  I have my doubts on that.  Likewise, I've heard speculation on Constantinople, once known as Byzantium, now in Turkey but once the headquarters of the Ottoman Caliphate, and before that the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.  My doubts there also.  I've also heard speculation naming New York City as a new Babylon, pointing to the United Nations there as well as all the centers of financial pecualation and manipulation and a whole lot of astonishing levels of immorality, and claiming to be leaders of modern culture, which is all too often true.  Particularly with media chiefs and political manipulators.  Could be.  I have no idea.  But I do know that the Lord is watching all of these, and more, and is not pleased.

Revelation 18

1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. 20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.