Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 26 March 2018

I am pleased to report that today is the very last Monday in March.  Lord willing, a week from today will be April 2.  I'm also pleased to note that the predictions are for a temperature in the high 40's today, and the high 50's tomorrow and Wednesday.  We still have snow on the ground around our place, but less by the hour.  Of course, the rest of the story is that there is a predicted snow for Saturday!  Yuck!!
Wife was messaged this morning, while still in bed, that she was needed next door to "watch" the Little Angels as mom (wife's niece) ran to the doctor for her quarterly injection of something.  So she's over there.  Shouldn't be more than an hour, if that.  Yesterday's need to "watch" the other great-niece and great-nephew turned out to be much shorter than expected.  Nephew and his wife were off to some gun show type of thing, he was supposedly having a vendor table there and they'd be home sometime around 4 p.m.  They even picked her up and took her over.  But the show was a bust:  hardly any attendees, and he was met at the door with the announcement that the table fee had TRIPLED from what he was contracted to.  So they left, and I picked her up while en route home from church services.  She took most of the rest of the day to recover from being up even that long.
But I have one load of laundry done, and  another being prepared.

But this is Monday in Holy Week, and we need to keep that first and foremost in our minds.  Yesterday we commemorated Palm Sunday, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, greeted with crowds and palm branches, one  of the two forbidden symbols of the free nation (the other was a menorah) and riding on a donkey that had never before been ridden (an important note, that).  Today, Monday, is I believe the anniversary of Jesus driving the money changers from the Temple.  The next time you hear some whine about "what would Jesus do?", generally an attempt to defend the indefensible, recall that kicking over tables and using a whip is within the possible range of actions.



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Today's Old Testament reading is chapters 15 and 16 of Deuteronomy.  I almost feel sorry for Moses, as he recounts all that has been going on for more than 40 years.  Almost.
Note as well that much of what is being ordained here, is the Passover.  Timely.

Deuteronomy 15

1  At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

2  And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord's release.

3  Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;

4  Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:

5  Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

6  For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

7  If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:

8  But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.

9  Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee

10  Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.

11  For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

12  And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.

13  And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:

14  Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.

15  And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.

16  And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;

17  Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.

18  It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.

19  All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.

20  Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God year by year in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household.

21  And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God.

22  Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.

23  Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.

Deuteronomy 16

1  Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

2  Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.

3  Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

4  And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

5  Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee

6  But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.

7  And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.

8  Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.

9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

10  And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

11  And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there.

12  And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

13  Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine

14  And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.

15  Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

16  Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:

17  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.

18  Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

19  Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.words: or, matters

20  That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

21  Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

22  Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth.

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Today, Psalm 61, which provides as well the Song of the Day.  Lead Me To the Rock.  I like this presentation, it reminds me of long-ago singing around a campfire, something I've not done in decades, and yes I miss it.    But I like this as well.
And, yes, I know what it is like to be at an impasse, in what seems to be an impossible situation, when all is lost.  Apparently.  When all our own human strength and resources are of no avail.  But there is One who oversees it all.
By the way, remember this week and what it means.  All seemed lost then.  But then ......
He is my rock and my salvation.

Oh, and I almost forgot.  Blessed Be The Name of the Lord.  Yes Thou has been a strong tower.

Psalm 61

To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David.

 

1  Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

2  From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3  For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

4  I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

5  For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

6  Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations.

7  He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

8  So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

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Luke 16

1  And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

10  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

18  Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

19   There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:

28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.