Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 03 January 2018

Yesterday's posting had a litany of troubles.  The list was accurate, surely.  But it is not my intention to host a "pity me, poor poor pitiful me".  And, yes, I am as prone as anyone to put a whole lot of emphasis on the downsides.  But the downsides are part of life.  It's important, and we all need to keep things in proper perspective.  To focus on the important stuff. Yes, we need to focus on the important stuff, knowing that as we do we will inevitably have what I sometimes refer to as "the stone in the shoe" matters.  Yes, we will have some matters that have to be attended to, but that shouldn't take us off the track.
I was considering the troubles and sufferings of the Apostle Paul.  Look up the record in, say, 2nd Corinthians 11:

    2 Corinthians 11:23-28

– “. . . in labors more abundant, in stripes above

measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

2   24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I

was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

   26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of

my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in

the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

  27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in

fastings often, in cold and nakedness --

Sound like the "prosperity gospel" (lower-case intended) that is all too often proclaimed?  Not quite.  I am confident that the Lord knows our problems.  Sometimes, what they are, are preparations.  Sometimes, and I have "been there", they put us in a place that we could never have been otherwise.  And sometimes, and, again, I have experienced it, they are to protect us from something worse.   I want to be in His will, always.  If I chase my will, my desires, and ignore His, things will not turn out as I had imagined.  And He is still driving this bus, whether I like it or not.


our "song of the day" is taken from Psalm 3.    Thou Oh Lord
This is, again, a personal favorite.  It has a good bit of personal meaning to me, as the text of Psalm 8 did for the psalmist. 

Having said all of the above, we crawled out of our warm bed to be greeted with a whole +2°.  And ALL of our pipes are frozen, including the one to the toilet.  So it appears that I did well in filling a couple of 5 gallon buckets as a just in case.  They'll be used.  Supposedly going to get all the way up to 21° today.  Heat wave!   But Saturday night supposedly going to -13°!  Yuck.  Can we toss some of those "warmists" on a bonfire to warm things up?  Please??
I for one am ready, more than ready, for Spring.  
I note, by the way, that the Old Farmers Almanac, this last summer/fall, predicted an unusually cold and snowy winter.  To be mocked and belittled by all the "in" folks, including, I am sad to say, some biggies in the Southern Baptist Convention, including the lower-ranking one who took issue with my points just the other day.  Oh, well.  The SBC is, of course, hardly alone in in having people like that.  The Roman Catholics, for example, have that idiot Jesuit as pope.  The ELCA Lutherans, American Conference Mennonites, Disciples of Christ, United Methodists, etc. etc. are all on board with that fad, just like the other fads  they've been chasing in a rush to be "relevant".
None of which helps the frozen pipes, being found as far south as Tallahassee, Florida!

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Old Testament reading   ==  Genesis, chapters 5 and 6

5:1		This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
5:2		Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
5:3		And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
5:4		And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
5:5		And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
5:6		And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
5:7		And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:8		And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
5:9		And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
5:10		And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:11		And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
5:12		And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
5:13		And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:14		And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
5:15		And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
5:16		And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:17		And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
5:18		And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
5:19		And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:20		And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
5:21		And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
5:22		And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:23		And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
5:24		And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
5:25		And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
5:26		And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:27		And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
5:28		And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
5:29		And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
5:30		And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
5:31		And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
5:32		And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6:1		And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
6:2		That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
6:3		And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
6:4		There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
6:5		And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6:6		And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
6:7		And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
6:8		But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
6:9		These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
6:10		And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:11		The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
6:12		And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
6:13		And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
6:14		Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
6:15		And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
6:16		A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
6:17		And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
6:18		But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
6:19		And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
6:20		Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
6:21		And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
6:22		Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

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Poetry reading  -- chapter 3 of the Psalms
(as ever, I strongly recommend that all of the Psalms, and really all of the passages in our "poetry" section, be read aloud).

3:1		Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
3:2		Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
3:3		But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
3:4		I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
3:5		I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
3:6		I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
3:7		Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
3:8		Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

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New Testament reading ---  chapter 3 from the Gospel of Matthew
A brief note on verse 17.  I have been told that, even today, in Jewish homes, where there is a family business like "Goldberg and Son", for example, old Mr, Goldberg is the one in charge, and son is a "go-fer".  Until Mr. Goldberg, Senior, decides it's time to hand the keys over to the son.  A gathering, perhaps a dinner will be arranged, and the other small businessmen in the set will be invited.  And, at a point, old Mr. Goldberg will stand behind his son, put his hands on his shoulders, and announce that the son is now in charge, with similar words.  Sounds a whole lot like what is happening here, does it not?

3:1		In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
3:2		And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3:3		For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
3:4		And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
3:5		Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
3:6		And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
3:7		But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
3:8		Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
3:9		And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
3:10		And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
3:11		I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
3:12		Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
3:13		Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
3:14		But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
3:15		And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
3:16		And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
3:17		And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.