Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 27 August 2018

Happy Monday to all, and I hope it has been a good one for everyone.
We've been next door most of the day, "watching" the greats.  (Wife can handle the great-niece ok, she's reasonably tractable and with the physical challenges Wife deals with daily, that's a good thing.  The little great nephew is another story entirely).  Today was the only day that Niece works this week.  We need to "watch" the great-nephew for a while tomorrow while Niece takes the Great-Niece to the school for some sort of orientation.  All-day kindergarten begins Wednesday, which will be a great wrench for mom and dad (and us too, as well as the grandparents 1-1/2 doors up), with the beloved one getting on a school bus every morning.  She heartily dislikes getting up early, so I guess that will also be part of the learning curve.  And I suspect that Yours Truly will be frequently (or at least at first) detailed to walk her to the bus and to meet it in the afternoon.  Or so I presume. 
That will leave Wife with the 1-year-old Great Nephew ( a handful to be sure) on the days that Niece is off, and no telling how her schedule will work out.

Lots in my mind today, whether any of it means anything is yet to be seen .

And I note in passing that we are in the last Monday of August, the "--ber" months are almost upon us with the Equinox less than a month away.  Our "day" is now reduced to 13 hours 20 minutes, losing another 2 minutes 35 seconds by tomorrow.  Yuck!!

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anybody else have "friends" like Job's?  Hope not.

Job 35

1Elihu spake moreover, and said,

2Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?

3For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?if…: or, by it more than by my sin

4I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.answer…: Heb. return to thee words

5Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.

6If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?

7If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

8Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

9By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.

10But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;

11Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?

12There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men.

13Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it.

14Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.

15But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity:he hath: that is, God hathhe knoweth: that is, Job knoweth

16Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

Job 36

1Elihu also proceeded, and said,

2Suffer me a little, and I will shew thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.I have…: Heb. there are yet words for God

3I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

4For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.

5Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.wisdom: Heb. heart

6He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.poor: or, afflicted

7He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.

8And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;

9Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.

10He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.

11If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

12But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.perish: Heb. pass away

13But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.

14They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.They…: Heb. Their soul diethunclean: or, sodomites

15He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.poor: or, afflicted

16Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.that…: Heb. the rest of thy table

17But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee.take…: or, should uphold thee

18Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.deliver…: Heb. turn thee aside

19Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.

20Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

21Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.

22Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?

23Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity?

24Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.

25Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.

26Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

27For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:

28Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.

29Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?

30Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.bottom: Heb. roots

31For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.

32With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.

33The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.

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Today marks a bit of a milestone.  For many years, since this blog began back in 2006, I've normally followed the reading plan from my old cohorts in the Gideons organization.  Good plan, and worth following, but I wanted to try something different this year, and adopted a schedule that consists of

• two chapters from the Old Testament (with the exceptions shown below) every day
• one chapter from the New Testament every weekday
• one chapter every weekday from those books labeled as "Poetry", primarily meaning the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon.

So, from that schedule, beginning back in January, we've been in the Psalms every single week day.  That string of 150 week days ends today.  Tomorrow, Lord willing, we will turn our attention to the Proverbs.

Psalm 150

1Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.Praise ye…: Heb. Hallelujah

2Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.trumpet: or, cornet

4Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.dance: or, pipe

5Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

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Today, chapter 2 in Paul's epistle to the church in Ephesus.

Ephesians 2

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

11Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

12That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.