Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thrusday, 04 January 2018

Late start today.  We had to call the gas company last evening, our heater, the sole source of heat in our hovel. was "whistling".  Bad sign, usually means ice choking the pipe coming from the street.  So, we called.  And, eventually, a poor guy,service crew guy, showed up.  The pipe from the street to the meter was almost completely blocked with ice, the free zone to let the gas through was no bigger around than a pencil.  The poor guy was out there in the bitter cold for a good while, and finally had it cleared enough to let us get some heat in here.  But it was pushing 02:00 when he left.  We still had some stuff to do before nodding off, so it was pushing 03:00 before we crashed.  Cats let me sleep in a bit later than usual:  usually I have one dancing on me around 05:00.  That might have led to "flying lessons" today, so she deferred for a while.  When she started the "feed me NOW!" routine, she was evicted from the bedroom and the door closed.  Which, of course, blocks any heat from getting in.  So it cooled off noticeably.  We got up, finally, fed cats, made some coffee, and I got Wife into her recliner with blankets (and an orange cat) on her for warmth.
We still have no water: the pipes are frozen, all of them.  I'd go do the thing with a hair dryer (and may yet do that) but not sure where is the best place to start and really can't afford to be replacing pipes or lines and certainly can't afford a professional.  Can't be done.  The next three days are going to be bitterly cold, with Saturday night supposedly down to -13° and tomorrow's "high" all of +5°.  NOT my every dream come true.  So, among other things, I'll have to go next door to niece's place and fill a bucket or two and some pitchers of water. 
And I was just told that they're going to lend us a "torpedo heater" this evening, but I have to run to the gas station to get some diesel fuel for it.  Fair enough.
Now, Monday is predicted to make it well into the 30's, which is above freezing and sounds downright tropical.  Compared to -13, I guess it is.  And several days NEXT week are supposed to be well into the 30's, well above freezing.  We are picking up nearly a minute of "day" every 24 hours.  So tomorrow the "day" will be 57 seconds longer than today,  Doesn't sound like much, but the first day after the solstice we only picked up one second.  Today we are up to 9 hours 18 minutes.  At some point, that will start to have an effect.  Now, the length of "day", the visible light, is important.  At least equally important is the solar angle, with the center of the more or less perpendicular sun rays moving from the southern hemisphere, where it is Summer now, to the northern hemisphere.  That is also proceeding, albeit too slowly for my liking.  I hate winter!!!
Usually, in this area, the coldest days are in February, a good month away.  Not much to look forward to, that is certain.

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The reading for the day in the Old Testament is chapters 7 and 8 in the Genesis.
Quite a story.  I do sometimes wish that Noah had forgotten to bring along ticks, lice, wasps, fire ants, and a few others.  But I guess the Lord had a reason.

Genesis 7

7:1		And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
7:2		Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
7:3		Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
7:4		For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
7:5		And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
7:6		And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7:7		And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
7:8		Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
7:9		There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
7:10		And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
7:11		In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
7:12		And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
7:13		In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
7:14		They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
7:15		And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
7:16		And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
7:17		And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
7:18		And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
7:19		And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
7:20		Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
7:21		And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
7:22		All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
7:23		And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
7:24		And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8

8:1		And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
8:2		The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
8:3		And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
8:4		And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
8:5		And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
8:6		And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
8:7		And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
8:8		Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
8:9		But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
8:10		And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
8:11		And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
8:12		And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
8:13		And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
8:14		And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
8:15		And God spake unto Noah, saying,
8:16		Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
8:17		Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
8:18		And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
8:19		Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
8:20		And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
8:21		And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
8:22		While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

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Our reading today in Poetry section is Psalm 4

4:1		Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
4:2		O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
4:3		But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
4:4		Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
4:5		Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
4:6		There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
4:7		Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
4:8		I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

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The reading from the New Testament is chapter 4 in the Gospel of Matthew

4:1		Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
4:2		And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
4:3		And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4:4		But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
4:5		Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
4:6		And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
4:7		Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
4:8		Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
4:9		And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
4:10		Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
4:11		Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
4:12		Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
4:13		And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
4:14		That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
4:15		The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
4:16		The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
4:17		From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
4:18		And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
4:19		And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
4:20		And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
4:21		And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
4:22		And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
4:23		And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
4:24		And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
4:25		And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.