Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 01 May 2018 slightly modified

MAY!!  YAY!!  Supposed to be in the mid-to-high 70's for most of the week.  Inasmuch as it was, what, just two weeks ago (or so) that we had that ghastly substance, snow, on the ground here, 70's sounds pretty durn good.  80 would be better, of course.

===>>  slight modification here:
I've been including some of these songs as links to the text.  It would appear that not all of them are coming up, not more than one per post, if that.  SO .... I'm going to be showing some real URL addresses for them.  Not as elegant, but I think that it should work.  Sorry for any inconveniences.

end mod   <<<====================


Perhaps I am weird.  ("No maybe about that, the chair says").  I find myself in that odd semi-awake/semi-asleep mode that characterizes all too much of my nightly routine, struggling with my own peculiar sins and temptations and bad memories.  Now, lest anyone take that wrongly, the term "peculiar" simply means that we are individuals.  There are things that are struggles and temptations that bother me, that others would never notice.  And the opposite is also true:  some people have confessed to me things that they struggle with mightily that I'd simply never noticed.  And, of course, some of these things move up and down on the scale as we "mature" (sounds so much better than "age", doesn't it?).
Anyway, I was in a mode of despair.  My own reprise of Romans 7:24

²⁴ O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

And with that, the reinforced realization that I am helpless to fix that in my own strength.

And then, as so often happens with my "odd" mind, some of the answers came in the form of songs.
Wonderful Grace Of Jesus    the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exE5YQNewv8

another recording here  URL is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ijrnfeWufE
Anyone want to argue that? 

And then, to the inevitable follow-up thoughts:
Faith Is The Victory     URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OebY9pHMVkc
Let that run through your thoughts all day.

So what am I here for, such a failure in everything?  Just to diminish and to die?
For Such A Time As This      URL here is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmYOQ8h4wsM
Go re-read Esther.  Particularly Esther 4:14, but all of it.  This is one of those particular favorites of mine.  The Lord is running this show.  Yes, we (I) sin and cause Him sorrow.  But I believe that there is a purpose for all of it, that He is in command, and certainly that He is smarter than any of us.  I believe that there is a purpose for the pain, for the loss, for the sorrow.  And yes, even for the failures.  As one put it, "If I never had a problem, I'd never know that God could fix it; would never know what faith in His word can do."  Can't really argue that.  And, despite it all, I believe that, someday, at His feet, we will look back at those moments that seemed so awful to us, and they will be no more important than our worries when we went off to school for the first time, or stubbed our toe.  Perspective, from His perspective.

And, of course, Have Thine Own Way   
URL here is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-G128nFHQk
Easier to say or sing, than to do.  But important, very.

===================================
=================================

Today, chapters 3 and 4 of 1st Samuel.
"Just a child".  Really?  That "just a child" was in the Lord's hand and mind.  And Samuel listened, better than most of us (me) have or still do.
 

1st Samuel 3

1  And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

2  And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

3  And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4  That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

5  And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6  And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

8And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9  Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10  And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

11  And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

12  In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.

13  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

14  And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

15  And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.

16  Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.

17  And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.

18  And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

19  And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

20  And all Israel from Dan even to Beer–sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

21  And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

1st Samuel 4

1  And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben–ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

2  And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.

3  And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

4  So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5  And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

6  And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp.

7  And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore

8  Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

9  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.

10  And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

11  And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain

12  And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.

13  And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

14  And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.

15  Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.were dim: Heb. stood

16  And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?

17  And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

18  And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

19  And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

20  And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.

21  And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

22  And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

========================================
==========================================

Psalm 87

A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah.

 

1  His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2  The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3  Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

4  I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.

5  And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.

6  The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.

7  As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

 Yes, Glorious Things of The Are Spoken
URL here is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iACASJ39vDg

===================================
====================================

Today's song:   "Behold The Lamb"
And, finally, the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysH6nl0N8gU

John 19

1  Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

2  And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

3  And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

4  Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

5  Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

6  When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

7  The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

8  When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;

9  And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

10  Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

11  Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

12  And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.

13  When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

14  And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

15  But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

16  Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

17  And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

18  Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

19  And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20  This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.

21  Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.

22  Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

23  Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

24  They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

25  Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

26  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

28  After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

29  Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

30  When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

31  The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

32  Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.

33  But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:

34  But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

35  And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.

36  For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

37  And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

38  And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

39  And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

40  Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

41  Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

42  There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.