Today's Readings and Stuff == Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Well, we have entered the second half of January.  A tiny step closer to decent weather.  We had more snow during the night, of course.  Other snowfall, sometimes heavy, in former homes in NW Arkansas, central Alabama, and East Tennessee.  More of that mythical "catastrophic global warming" that we've been lectured about, ever since the previous "the sky is falling!" fad of catastrophic global cooling / ICE AGE!  fell out of favor.
But we are now up to 9 hours 33 minutes of "day", and tomorrow we'll gain an additional 1 minute 37 seconds, so the equinox is coming.  Eventually.  As in, two more months.  But it's progress, and we'll take it.  Won't remedy the very real causative issue, which is reduced solar activity, something that has been known for several years, but the "warmists", like the arrogant nazi types they are at heart, have assiduously worked to keep out of public discourse.  Ready for a half-mile thick glacier on top of Toronto?  How about over Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Albany, Rochester?

The "fix the pipes" effort yesterday failed.  The forecast for the next 10 days shows next week as being markedly less cold (I won't say "warmer", but above freezing at least) so we may have to defer further efforts until then. 

Wife is scheduled to go next door in about 2 hours to "watch" the great-niece and great-nephew as niece heads to work.  Plan is for her to go over early and grab a hot shower, something she's not been able to do for a while and the prospect of yet another sponge bath over here isn't what she wanted, and the steam would be good for her sinuses I suspect.  So we'll make the attempt.  Issue is that niece's shower is on the 2nd floor, and Wife doesn't do stairs very well any more.  So, getting up and down will require a team effort.  Things we forgot to give thanks for .......


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Our passage in the Old Testament today is chapters 31 and 32 in the Genesis.
There is a lot here, but I am drawn particularly to the latter part of chapter 32.  Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord.   I was in a Bible study discussion a month or two ago, and the question arose as to the meaning of "wrestling with God".   This is as good an example as you might find in the Bible.  Yes, Jacob wrestled with the Lord.  Wrestled.  Not  fought.  Not boxed with.  Not pushed away.  Not punched.  Wrestled.   Ever wrestle?  Probably, even as a kid.  Wrestling gets pretty intimate.  Not in a sexual sense, but in a closeness.  Grappling with.  We speak sometimes of grappling with an issue.  This is much like that.  Grabbing hold and not letting go until there is a resolution.  Perhaps our prayer life, our connection with the Lord should be like that: seeking Him and His  presence and His guidance until there is a resolution.  You really can't do even "casual" wrestling half-heartedly, you can't do it from a distance.  Our prayer life should be just as committed and fervent as that.  I promise you, Jacob did not leave that encounter unchanged.  He'd met the Lord, after all, and that SHOULD change him.  And us.  Oh, and that encounter changed the world as well.
As for chapter 31, you think  you have problems with in-laws??

Genesis 31
31:1 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.

31:2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

31:3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

31:4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

31:5 And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.

31:6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

31:7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

31:8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ring-streaked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ring-streaked.

31:9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

31:10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled.

31:11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.

31:12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

31:14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

31:15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

31:16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.

31:17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;

31:18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

31:19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.

31:20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.

31:21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.

31:22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.

31:23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

31:24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

31:25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.

31:26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?

31:27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?

31:28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.

31:29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

31:30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

31:31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.

31:32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

31:33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.

31:34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.

31:35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched but found not the images.

31:36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

31:37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.

31:38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

31:39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.

31:40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.

31:41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

31:43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?

31:44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

31:45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

31:46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

31:47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

31:48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

31:50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.

31:51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee:

31:52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

31:53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

31:54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.

31:55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.



Genesis 32
32:1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

32:2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

32:3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

32:4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

32:5 And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

32:6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

32:7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

32:8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

32:9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

32:12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

32:13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

32:14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

32:15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

32:16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

32:17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

32:18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

32:19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

32:21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

32:22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

32:23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

32:32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.



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Our reading in the Poetry section for the day is Psalm 12

Psalms 12

12:1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

12:2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

12:3 The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

12:4 Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

12:5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

12:7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

12:8 The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.


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The New Testament reading here is chapter 12 in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 12

12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

12:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.

12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

12:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

12:9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

12:10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

12:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

12:14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

12:16 And charged them that they should not make him known:

12:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

12:19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

12:21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

12:33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

12:46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

12:47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

12:48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

12:49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.