Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 01 January 2018

Happy New Year!
OK, we got that out of the way.  And I really and truly put down the right year the first time.  Might mess up tomorrow, might not.  But it's something.


Getting there.  Happy New Year to all.

The service guy from the gas company is just leaving.  Yes, we had ice in  our incoming gas line AGAIN! Our pattern of every 3 days seems to be holding.  NOT a good thing.

Today's "high" is predicted to be all of 11°.  At least that is ABOVE zero, not below.  I can remember all too well some "highs" that were below zero.  No, Spring can't come any too soon.
I heard a few days ago from a former co-worker in the Deep South.  She's originally from around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so she knows cold.  Her husband is from the Deep South, an area not far from Atlanta.  Neither has any inclination to return up North except occasional brief visits in summer.  She told me that the South is calling to me.  Well, I do miss the weather and much of the culture.  But it's not an option, so I'll bear the cold and gray and all that stuff.  We will have several sub-zero nights, and a few days this week with "highs" in single digits.  So much for that "global warming" nonsense, a pack of lies if there ever was one.  But, today is said to have a "day" portion a whole 41 seconds longer than yesterday.  A very long way to the equinox in late March, but heading there.  Now if we can just keep the pipes from freezing. 
I understand that a whole lot of people were planning to stay up in big public venues in bitter bitter cold to watch signs of the year start.  I don't care for crowds, neither does wife, and most of this stuff doesn't impress nor interest me in the least.  Too good a target for jihadist types anyway.

Older daughter and husband had their 10th wedding anniversary this last week.  I sent congrats, got no response whatsoever.  I tried.

Considering the new year did have my mind going in a lot of directions.  New directions, new attitudes, new missions.  So, some "songs  of the day" that perhaps reflect that.

First of these is an old hymn, another of those rarely heard ones these days.  But a personal favorite, yet one that scolds me for not regularly heeding its message.  Take Time To Be Holy is the title, dating from 1882, but timeless.
The lyrics are a reproach to our busy-busy lives:

Take Time to Be Holy

William D. Longstaff, ca.1882

 Scripture: Leviticus 19:2; Ephesians 1:4

1. Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
   Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
   Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
   Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
   Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
   By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
   Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
3. Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
   And run not before Him, whatever betide.
   In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
   And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
   Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
   Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
   Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

sounds like a good practice for all of us, every day.  Do we?  regularly?

Another came to mind while reflecting on the sermon yesterday.  Psalm 8, of course.
The Majesty And Glory Of Your Name
This is another one of those that I was at one time, several times actually, in churches in several states at that, that I was privileged to help to present.  It has a great personal meaning for me.  We used to say that there are hymns ABOUT the Lord, and there are hymns TO the Lord.  This one does both.
Another version with some discussion of the issues.


If my heart is not focused on Him, if my desire is not to be ever closer to Him, to hear His voice and to do His will, whatever it is, then whatever I do is to please me or others.  He is the source of my strength, direction, and provision.  Yes, He's worthy.



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OK, as advertised, we're going to try a different Bible reading schedule this year.  Might last out the year, might not, but it's worth a try.
For those who don't know, at one time my Bible knowledge was about "average".  Meaning not very good.  Somehow along the line, while living in East Tennessee in the 1990's, I was nominated into and became a member of the Gideons organization.  To their credit, they realized that a lot of entrants were no better grounded in the Word than I, and handed each of us a schedule of "suggested" reading that would take a person through the Bible in a year.  I'd really never done it, and I started.  And have tried hard to keep up with that daily reading ever since around 1995 or so.  When I started this blog, one of my intents was to publish that schedule and to do those readings every day.  The discipline of it has been good for me, and a few people have let me know that they find it useful.  I believe that if we approach the Bible reverently, prayerfully, and intentionally, the Lord will help and will let us see the connections and the pattern.  I think it's important, and I think that He honors our commitment.  And lives have been changed thereby, mine included.

So.  This will be in three parts.  The Old Testament reading, 2 chapters every day.  The Poetry reading, one chapter every weekday, beginning with Psalm 1.  And one chapter in the New Testament every weekday, beginning with chapter 1 in the Gospel of Matthew.  In the main, these will be taken from the King James 1611 version.  I am not a KJV-only fanatic, but some are.  You are free to note the days' reading and use, say, the Holman, the New King James, the ESV or indeed, any of several others.

So, without further ado:

Old Testament

By the way, I think that all of us have some favorite Bible verses.  John 3:16 comes to mind, for example   But in the same handful, I personally list Genesis 1:1.  "In the beginning, GOD!.....".  If only we, if only I, could keep that the priority!  "He must increase, I must decrease" is a good policy, always. 

Genesis 1

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

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Poetry

Good rule for living every day.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

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New Testament

Matthew 1

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.