Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 05 September 2018

mid-week greetings to all.
This 24 hour period, we are to have 12 hours 56 minutes of "day", losing 2 minutes 40 seconds more by tomorrow.  First day of astronomical Autumn less than 3 weeks away.  That may please some, but I'm not in that bunch.  The most recent predictions via the Old Farmers Almanac is for a particularly cold and bitter winter.  We shall see.  ANY winter weather, meaning anything that flirts with the freezing point, is too cold for me.  I'd prefer that the lowest we see is in the upper 40's if not above.  But we shall see:  I don't have a vote in the matter.  By this coming Sunday, the predicted "high" is in the 60's!😭

I can not let go of that frequent song of the day, "Jesus Calls Us O'er The Tumult" .  Can't.  Has come to mean a lot.  First and foremost, it begins with Jesus, always the foundation.  But it continues with "calls".  Yes. He calls TO us in our times of need and confusion and desperation.  Yes He does.  But at the same time, we are called.  Called to His service, to His work in this world.  That's not a request, it's  a command from the Lord, and to be treated as such.  I've been noting several times Paul's reference to himself as a prisoner of Christ.  "For the love of Christ compels us" comes to mind.  That is part of the "new creation" that goes with being in Christ.  This path to Glory is not compatible with the easy beliefism so popular these days.  Yes, He calls us o'er the tumult.  But doesn't always abolish the storm, but enables us to deal with it, through Him.  Others, who do not yet know Him, are caught in similar storms and need to know where relief is to be found.

We (well, certainly she) are to cross   crossed the yard in a few minutes to "watch" the 1 year old great nephew.  Mom and dad at work, sister in all-day kindergarten.  I "get" to run back and forth, doing things like laundry (the four loads from Monday weren't enough, now I "get" to do some that had been put aside until cooler weather, or until a planned-but-not-done yard sale, or some other purpose.  A certain cat got into some of it and left some "deposits" of her presence.  Such fun we have.



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Isaiah 11

1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

3And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:quick…: Heb. scent or, smell

4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.reprove: or, argue

5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.cockatrice': or, adder's

9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

10And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.glorious: Heb. glory

11And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.corners: Heb. wings

13The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

14But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.them of: Heb. the children ofthey shall lay…: Heb. Edom and Moab shall be the laying on of their handshall obey…: Heb. their obedience

15And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.dryshod: Heb. in shoes

16And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 12

1And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

2Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

3Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

4And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.call…: or, proclaim

5Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

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Proverbs 7

1My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

2Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

3Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

4Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

5That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

6For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,

7And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,the youths: Heb. the sons

8Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

9In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:in the evening: Heb. in the evening of days

10And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

11(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

12Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

13So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,with…: Heb. she strengthened her face and said

14I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.I have…: Heb. Peace offerings are upon me

15Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

16I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

17I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

19For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

20He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.with…: Heb. in his handthe day…: or, the new moon

21With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

22He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;straightway: Heb. suddenly

23Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

24Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

25Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

26For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

27Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

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this is another of those truly meaningful passages, starting with verse 1, but certainly to include the last 5 verses or so.

Ephesians 3

1For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

8Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

12In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

13Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.