19 February 2018

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 19 February 2018

Yes, I missed a day.
Came home from church services yesterday, and neither of us felt good.  Not quite sick, not exactly, but drained and worn for no good reason that I can see.  A wiser person would probably have finished off the vegetable soup we had for lunch (warmed-up scratch-made leftover from the freezer), swallowed some sort of over-the-counter nostrum, and taken a long nap.  We didn't.  We did gang up on the one cat that still seems to be suffering a cold/upper respiratory problem and force some bootleg animal antibiotic into his gullet, against his express wishes.  That was about it.
Finally, after just vegging all day, we went to bed.  And that same cat crawled up on the bed beside me, snuggled up.  And urinated on the bed, on me, on the blankets, sheets, everything.  NOT quite what you want when it's pushing midnight, all the blankets you own are soaked,  only the mattress pad is protecting the mattress itself, and -- lacking a working clothes dryer -- there's no way to wash, dry, and put back into service those blankets.  Soooo, I stripped the bed down to the mattress, put an old ragged coverlet over it, and we decamped for the living room.  Two recliners, and that's what our option was (we have no couch).  No full-size blankets, but we do have have half a dozen "throws", small blankets suitable for a recliner or whatever.  And there we attempted to sleep.  Actually did get a few hours of sleep, interrupted by cats when they wanted breakfast or whatever.
So, this morning, we arose, and I started running the washing machine.  Three oversized loads later, I headed to a nearby laundromat and dumped $3 in quarters into their dryers and got everything dry and smelling better too.  The foam pad is airing out on the "drying rack" thingy.  And I'll make the bed later.
NOT the stuff of legends or great wisdom or anything.  Just another day in the life, with a few bumps.
Sometimes, nothing is easy.  Now, I've had MUCH worse sleeping accommodations, and we both know what it's like to go a couple days without eating when things were tough.  Hoped that such things were in the distant past, and mostly they are.  But there are occasions ......

So things are a bit out of sync around here for the last day and a half.  Not horrible, and nothing like that, and nobody's shooting at us.  Today.  Again, it is a reality that our highest intents sometimes get off track from what I sometimes call the "stone in the shoe" matters.  Sometimes, you just have to do the necessary.  The last 36 hours or so have been like that.

Yesterday's Old Testament reading was chapters 7 and 8 of Leviticus. 




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The reading today in the Old Testament today is chapters 9 and 10 of Leviticus.  Some pretty spectacular things going on here.  And yet, there were those who wanted to "do it their way".  Not good.  Note as well a reality that is politically incorrect and little mentioned today.  The Lord discriminates.  Yes, He distinguishes between the holy and the profane, and expects His people to do likewise.  I have, nearly on a weekly basis (and sometimes daily) disagreements and calls from people, some I've known for decades, who are quite upset by that, quoting (out of context by the way) the most popular verse in the Bible (at least for the non-believer), "judge not".  I remind them that even Heaven has a wall around it and extreme vetting.  Makes some of them quite unhappy.


Leviticus 9
1  And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;
2  And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.
3  And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;
4  Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the Lord will appear unto you.
5  And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord.
6  And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.
7  And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the Lord commanded.
8  Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
9  And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:
10  But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the Lord commanded Moses.
11  And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.
12  And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.
13  And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.
14  And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.
15  And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
16  And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.manner: or, ordinance
17  And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.took…: Heb. filled his hand out of it
18  He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,
19  And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:
20  And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:
21  And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the Lord; as Moses commanded.
22  And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.
23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people.
24  And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.




Leviticus 10
1  And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.
2  And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
3  Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
4  And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
5  So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
6  And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.
7  And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
8  And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying,
9  Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
10  And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
11  And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
12  And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy:
13  And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire: for so I am commanded.
14  And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.
15  The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the Lord hath commanded.
16  And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying,
17  Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?
18  Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.
19  And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?
20  And when Moses heard that, he was content.



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Our passage in the Poetry category today is Psalm 36

Psalm 36
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
1  The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2  For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
3  The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
4  He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
5  Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
6  Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.
How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
9  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
10  O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
11  Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
12  There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.



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Today's New Testament reading is chapter 8 in the Gospel of Mark
Here is the question we must all answer.  Who do we say that He is?  And, with it, do we act accordingly?  Remember that those who were there, those who answered correctly, still abandoned or denied Him when the soldiers came.

Mark 8
1  In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
2   I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
4  And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?
5  And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
6  And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
8  So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
9  And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
10  And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
11  And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
12  And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
13  And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
14  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
15  And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
16  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
17  And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
18   Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
19   When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
20   And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
21  And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
22  And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
23  And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
24  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25  After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
26  And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
27  And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
28  And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
29  And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
30  And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
31  And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32  And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
33  But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
34   And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35   For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
36   For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37   Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38   Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

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