Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 21 March 2018

Yesterday marked the beginning of Spring.  Hurrah!!
So, of course, beginning last night and continuing all night and through much of today, a major snow storm.  Repeat:  SNOW.  Apparently, the traditional "St. Patrick's Day Blizzard" was somewhat premature.  All kinds of school closings in the area, also tie-ups and closures on major Interstate highways and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  The one TV channel shows 157 closings!
No word of what happened to that "catastrophic global warming that would make snow a distant memory", as was promised by Al Gore and the "warmists".  And I've been severely criticized for even mentioning that.
I have heard NO traffic on our road,none whatever, and that includes snowplows, and also no commercial traffic on the nearby steel processing plants a few blocks from here.  (we do not live on "doctor's row", to say the least).  I'd tentatively planned a small errand for today, but it appears that it will be delayed until Friday.  Saturday should see some clearing, which is good since Wife's nephew's son has a birthday party we're commanded to attend, the lad is turning 11 so Attendance Is Required.  Perhaps the road department will have bestirred themselves by then.  And the weather is predicted to improve beginning tomorrow.  NOTE:  that was the case as of around 08:00 today.  Yes, they've "done" the road.  Part of it, anyway:  I shoveled a path down the drive for the mail carrier and anyone else who might need to come here.  I found that the last 3 feet or so of my shoveled path was un-plowed street.  Fearing the wrath of the AFSCME types, I made certain that the displaced snow was on the drive, not the street.  Yes, people have gotten in serious trouble for failing to ensure that.

 
The delay is probably OK.  Gave me a "song of the day" that largely reflects my own inner turmoil (or part of it at least). 
Take My Life And Let It Be.  Every pay close attention to the lyrics?  I strongly recommend doing so, we too often don't.  But this pretty much goes along with what Jesus underscored as the greatest commandment.  Yes, you shall love the Lord  your God with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  ALL.  We, and that certainly includes me, too often assign Him a portion.  We want to maintain control  Not good.  Read the lyrics here, and think.  No halfway measures, no lukewarm faith.  No security blanket. 

1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.


2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.


3 Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee,
filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose,
every power as thou shalt choose.


5 Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne,
it shall be thy royal throne.


6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee,
ever, only, all for thee.

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Deuteronomy 5

1  And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.

2  The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

3  The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

4  The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,

5  (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,

6  I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.bondage: Heb. servants

7  Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

8  Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:

9  Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

10  And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

11  Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

12  Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

13  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

14  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

15  And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

16  Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

17  Thou shalt not kill.

18  Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

19  Neither shalt thou steal.

20  Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

21  Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.

22  These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

23  And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;

24  And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

25  Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die.

26  For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

27  Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.

28  And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

29  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

30  Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.

31  But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

32  Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

33  Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Deuteronomy 6

1  Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:go: Heb. pass over

2  That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

3  Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

4  Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

5And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

10  And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11  And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12  Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

13  Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

14  Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

15  (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

16  Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

17  Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

18  And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,

19  To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.

20  And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?

21  Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

22  And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

23  And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

24  And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

25  And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

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Psalm 58

To the chief Musician, Al–taschith, Michtam of David.

 

1  Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

2  Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.

3  The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

4  Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;

5  Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.

6  Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.

7  Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.

8  As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

9  Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.

10  The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11  So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

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Luke 13

1  There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2  And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3   I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4   Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

6  He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

7  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

8  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

9  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

10  And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

11  And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

12  And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

13  And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14  And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

15  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

16  And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

17  And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

18  Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

19   It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

20  And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?

21  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

22  And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

23  Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

24  Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

25  When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

26  Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

27  But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

28  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

29  And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

30  And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

31  The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

33   Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

34   O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

35  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.