Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 13 January 2018

Yesterday, we hit just over 50 degrees.  Then the storm front hit.
Now, we're around 13 degrees, and have half a foot of snow on the ground.  Ice below it, and quite an interesting number of wrecks, some pretty bad, throughout the area.  In fact, I saw photos from last evening of a horrible situation in west Tennessee, I-40 around mile marker 112 if I recall, with cars, vans, and at least  half a dozen tractor-trailers all over the road, the shoulders, the medians, and at least one tractor-trailer having done a 180° spin and was now across both lanes and in the median as well.  NOT a good situation.
We got word a little while ago that church services for tomorrow have been cancelled, which I think was a good decision. 

And, again, in that eerie half-awake/ half-asleep state this morning, while in nearly a dream state struggling with some of my issues, worries, and questions, came two contenders for the song of the day.  Both of them appropriate, both of them appropriate about any time, but some times we (meaning Yours Truly) let the circumstances of the moment, crowd them out.  Which is wrong of me.
 So,
Jesus keep me near the cross 
there are quite a number of versions of this, and some of them come with some incredibly moving stories of how that song, and the message contained, has moved hearts, been a memory, been an experience of close connection to the Lord and a statement of our faith, no matter what.
By the way, this was yet another song brought to us by Fanny Crosby, the blind composer.  Blind she may have been, but she saw the important things more clearly than many of us who've been blessed with two eyes that work.

Text:

1.Jesus, keep me near the cross;
 there a precious fountain,
 free to all, a healing stream,
 flows from Calvary's mountain. 

Refrain: 
In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever, 
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river. 

2. Near the cross, 
a trembling soul, 
love and mercy found me;
 there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.

3. Near the cross! 
O Lamb of God, 
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
 with its shadow o'er me. 

4. Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand 
just beyond the river.


and
All to Jesus I Surrender

 This is, again, a statement, a statement of faith and determination to follow the Lord, no matter what.  If anyone is good at that, he's doing better than me.  But it's still the goal.  There are times, sometimes long periods, where all around us seems hopeless, when nothing makes sense, when we don't hear Him, or feel His presence (or, frankly, His provision), when what we do think He wants just doesn't make sense to us and we want to maintain control.  That's not our calling.

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/christianlyrics/alltojesusisurrenderlyrics.html

Unsafe driving conditions out there, so I told brother-in-law to stay home rather than come and try to fix our pipes.  Don't want him getting killed.



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Our reading today  is chapters 25 and 26 of the Genesis.

Genesis 25

 25:1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

25:2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

25:3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

25:4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

25:6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

25:7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

25:9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

25:10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

25:11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

25:12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

25:13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

25:14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

25:15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

25:17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

25:18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

25:19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:

25:20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

25:21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

25:22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.

25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25:25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

25:27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

25:28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

25:29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.



Genesis 26

 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

26:2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

26:6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

26:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

26:8 And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

26:9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.

26:10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

26:11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

26:12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

26:13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

26:14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

26:15 For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

26:17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

26:19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

26:20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

26:21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

26:22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

26:23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.

26:25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

26:26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

26:27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

26:28 And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

26:29 That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.

26:30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

26:31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

26:32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

26:33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.

26:34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

26:35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 12 January 2018

Well!  Yesterday, we made it into the mid-50's at least.  Today, a storm front started to nudge its way in.  As in, the air temperature dropped about 20 degrees in an hour.   The rain we had last night and early in the morning has transitioned to something between snow and ice crystals.  Tonight the prediction is for a low of 10° or so.  We still don't have water, but we do have heat .. For now, anyway.  Brother-in-law worked all day yesterday, then had an extensive doctor appointment, came here about 8 p.m. last night willing to help on the water situation.  But he was clearly dragging.  So we will try again tomorrow.  If he's up to it and nothing else goes haywire.  I have a brooder lamp going in the crawl space right now, perhaps that will help some, and we're going to try to plug in a "bivouac heater" as well.  Hate to think what our utility bills will be looking like.
But next-door niece and husband and kids are having furnace issues now.  Another of those things that wasn't an issue until the gas company guys dug up everything, moved her meter, had the furnace turned off while doing so, and all of that.  Things are still not right.  Not good.
And with an ice storm, the chances for electric lines to collapse are non-zero.  Which also won't be good.  And this weather situation will stay in place for the next week or so.
But ... we have heat.  We have pitchers of water sitting ready for use.  Food in fridge and freezer.  Niece let me use their washer and dryer, so we went from two hampers overflowing to a few items that missed the cutoff point.  We've been through worse, and seen much worse.  We're blessed, truly.

And I had not intended to go out on the roads until Sunday morning at least, and perhaps not even then.  That will depend on things like road conditions and my health.  Not feeling real great right now, but not sick either.  My last job I had for 5-1/2 years and never called in sick.  Typical for me, but I'm closer to the "three score and ten" mark than I am to 21, and that pattern won't hold for ever, probably.  We can hope.

I do need to be watchful about things like keeping the cell phone, etc. charged up.  As we discovered, when it goes dead (something that I almost never let happen), then even when it's charging, even when it's fully charged, it doesn't automatically come on unless/until you turn it on.  And if the weather gets as bad as I fear it may, that little handset may be our ONLY communications link.

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Our Old Testament reading today is chapters 23 and 24 of the Genesis.

Genesis 23

23:1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.
23:2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
23:3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,
23:4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
23:5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
23:6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
23:7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
23:8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
23:9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
23:10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
23:11 Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.
23:12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.
23:13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.
23:14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,
23:15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
23:16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
23:17 And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure
23:18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
23:19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
23:20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.




Genesis 24



24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:
24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
24:5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
24:6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.
24:7 The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.
24:8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
24:9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.
24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
24:11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
24:12 And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
24:13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
24:14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.
24:15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
24:16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
24:17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
24:18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
24:19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
24:20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
24:21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
24:22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
24:23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?
24:24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
24:25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
24:26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
24:27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.
24:28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.
24:29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
24:30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
24:31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
24:32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.
24:33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.
24:34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
24:35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.
24:36 And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.
24:37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
24:38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
24:39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
24:40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:
24:41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.
24:42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
24:43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;
24:44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.
24:45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
24:46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
24:47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
24:48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.
24:49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.
24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
24:51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.
24:52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
24:53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
24:54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
24:55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.
24:56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
24:57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.
24:58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
24:59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
24:61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
24:62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.
24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
24:65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.
24:66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.
24:67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.


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Our reading in the Poetry section today is Psalm 10

Psalm 10

10:1 Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
10:2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
10:5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
10:6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
10:7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
10:8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
10:9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10:10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
10:11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
10:12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
10:13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
10:15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
10:16 The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
10:18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.




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The New Testament reading is chapter 10 in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 10

10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
10:4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
10:9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
10:11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
10:12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
10:13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
10:14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
10:15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
10:24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
10:26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
10:27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
10:31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
10:41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 11 January 2018

First order of business is the song of the day.  Now, this is not one you'll find in a hymnal, probably.  Definitely not "high church" or southern gospel.  OK?  But it was in my mind in that eerie half-awake/half-asleep period in the early morning hours.  And still is.  Yes, that just might set one's thoughts in the right order for the day, or, ideally, longer.
At The Cross is that title. 
Meditate upon that theme for awhile.  Yes, His sacrifice changed us, changed me.

It's 50° or so outside right now.  And .... the gas company is on the street, digging up front yards and all sorts.  They've got about 5 trucks, plus at least one backhoe that I could see.  So, of course, none of us, nobody on the street has gas for heat or hot water or cooking or anything.  I talked to the crew a few minutes ago, not sure if they've found anything yet, but I know they damage done to some front yards and landscaping has upset people up and down the road.  I hope they find and fix the problem today, this has not been fun at all.
And, yes, 50's today.  Tomorrow, depending on which  Tarot cards and Ouija boards that the weathercasters have consulted, we should be getting anywhere from 4 inches to a foot of snow.  Sunday's "high" expected to be in the mid-teens, and maintain that pattern for at least the following week if not longer.  So having some heat would be real nice.  But tomorrow we pick up another minute and 22 seconds of daylight.  We're at 9 hours 26 minutes now, which is not what I want, but it's a lot better than what we had a few weeks ago, and we're picking up speed.
But so would having water, even cold water.  We've been without water for more than a week now.  Brother-in-law was here night before last, the fix didn't last even 2 seconds.  He'd promised to be back yesterday afternoon after work, but we never saw him nor heard a word.  I've got piles of dirty dishes and dirty laundry and have enough water in a bucket to flush the toilet just once.  Not a lot of fun.


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Our passage for the day from the Old Testament is chapters 21 and 22 from the Genesis.

Genesis 21

21:1		And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
21:2		For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
21:3		And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
21:4		And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
21:5		And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
21:6		And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
21:7		And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
21:8		And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
21:9		And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
21:10		Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
21:11		And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
21:12		And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
21:13		And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
21:14		And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
21:15		And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
21:16		And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
21:17		And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
21:18		Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
21:19		And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
21:20		And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21:21		And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
21:22		And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
21:23		Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
21:24		And Abraham said, I will swear.
21:25		And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
21:26		And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
21:27		And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
21:28		And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
21:29		And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
21:30		And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
21:31		Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
21:32		Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
21:33		And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
21:34		And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

Genesis 22

22:1		And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
22:2		And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
22:3		And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
22:4		Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
22:5		And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
22:6		And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
22:7		And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
22:8		And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
22:9		And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
22:10		And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
22:11		And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
22:12		And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
22:13		And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
22:14		And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
22:15		And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
22:16		And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
22:17		That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
22:18		And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
22:19		So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
22:20		And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
22:21		Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22:22		And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
22:23		And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
22:24		And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

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Our reading today in the Poetry section is Psalm 9

Psalm 9

9:1		I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
9:2		I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
9:3		When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
9:4		For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
9:5		Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
9:6		O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
9:7		But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
9:8		And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9:9		The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
9:10		And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
9:11		Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
9:12		When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
9:13		Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
9:14		That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
9:15		The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
9:16		The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
9:17		The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
9:18		For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
9:19		Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
9:20		Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

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Our New Testament reading today is chapter 9 in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 9

9:1		And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
9:2		And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
9:3		And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
9:4		And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
9:5		For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
9:6		But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
9:7		And he arose, and departed to his house.
9:8		But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
9:9		And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
9:10		And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
9:11		And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
9:12		But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
9:13		But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
9:14		Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
9:15		And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
9:16		No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
9:17		Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
9:18		While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
9:19		And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
9:20		And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
9:21		For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
9:22		But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
9:23		And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
9:24		He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
9:25		But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
9:26		And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.
9:27		And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
9:28		And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
9:29		Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
9:30		And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
9:31		But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
9:32		As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.
9:33		And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.
9:34		But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
9:35		And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
9:36		But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
9:37		Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
9:38		Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 10 January 2018

Actually above freezing for a few hours today.  Supposed to hit 55° tomorrow!  But Sunday's "high" still looking to be around +16°.  And remain in that region for the week thereafter.  Boo!  But I am reminded that tomorrow we pick up another minute and 18 seconds of daylight.  That's some progress, albeit grudging and slow.  But it's something.
We still have no water here, and I am told we're not the only ones in that fix.  I was at the hardware store again this afternoon (after picking up a refill of one of Wife's meds.  I was by no means the only person looking for the same items to deal with the same issues.  And we're not even halfway through January, the usual worst weather is yet to come.  In fact, starting Friday, just a few days from now, we're supposedly going to get one of those monumental snow events.  4"-8" perhaps, 8"-12" also possible.
Brother-in-law had promised to come by late this afternoon and we'd make another attempt on the broken water lines in the crawl space.  No sign of him nor word from him.  He knows a lot more about this than I do, so I'm relying rather heavily on him.  But no show.  I imagine that there was a reason.


Our Psalm today suggests the song of the day.  How Majestic Is Your Name
There are two very distinct versions, I like them both very much.  Here is the other, the one I'm more familiar with and have sung.  Though our version was longer by a good bit.

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Today from the Old Testament, chapters 19 and 20 of the Genesis.
Now, fair warning.  The behavior of Lot's daughters is pretty bad.  His getting drunk allowed it.  And the results of that bad behavior troubled the earth for a very long time, and perhaps today even.

Genesis  19

19:1		And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
19:2		And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
19:3		And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
19:4		But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
19:5		And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
19:6		And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
19:7		And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
19:8		Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
19:9		And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
19:10		But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
19:11		And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
19:12		And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
19:13		For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
19:14		And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
19:15		And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
19:16		And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
19:17		And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
19:18		And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my LORD:
19:19		Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
19:20		Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
19:21		And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
19:22		Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
19:23		The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
19:24		Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
19:25		And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
19:26		But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
19:27		And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
19:28		And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
19:29		And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
19:30		And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
19:31		And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:
19:32		Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
19:33		And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
19:34		And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
19:35		And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
19:36		Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
19:37		And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
19:38		And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Genesis 20

20:1		And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
20:2		And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
20:3		But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
20:4		But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
20:5		Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
20:6		And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
20:7		Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
20:8		Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
20:9		Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
20:10		And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
20:11		And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
20:12		And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
20:13		And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
20:14		And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
20:15		And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
20:16		And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
20:17		So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
20:18		For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

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The selection for today in the Poetry category is Psalm 8

Psalms 8

8:1		O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
8:2		Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
8:3		When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
8:4		What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
8:5		For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
8:6		Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
8:7		All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8:8		The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
8:9		O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

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The day's reading in the New Testament is chapter 8 in the Gospel of Matthew
Verse 34 and around it has always troubled me.  Here, Jesus did a great thing for a poor fellow.  The result?  "Go away!"

Matthew 8

8:1		When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
8:2		And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
8:3		And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
8:4		And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
8:5		And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
8:6		And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
8:7		And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8:8		The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
8:9		For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
8:10		When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
8:11		And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
8:12		But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
8:13		And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
8:14		And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.
8:15		And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.
8:16		When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
8:17		That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
8:18		Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.
8:19		And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
8:20		And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
8:21		And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
8:22		But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.
8:23		And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
8:24		And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
8:25		And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
8:26		And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
8:27		But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
8:28		And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
8:29		And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
8:30		And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
8:31		So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
8:32		And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
8:33		And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
8:34		And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 09 January 2018

Well, we actually got -- ever so slightly -- above the freezing point today.  Supposed to be even more so for the next few days.  Then ........  then it all goes back in the wrong direction.  By Sunday, we are seeing a forecast "high" of 17°.  Not exactly what I'd like to see, but, again, I don't get to have a vote.

And we still have no water.  Brother in law came by after work, he knows FAR more about this than I ever have.  We spent some time underneath in the crawl space, finding a leak (we  hope it's the only one) then off to the hardware store, then back and do the install.  And it still leaks, right there.  So, tomorrow, more parts, another try. 
Meanwhile, the gas fireplace beside me is beginning to "whistle".  Not real bad, not yet.  So, I guess we'll be placing another call to the gas company in the morning.
This is not a great winter, and we're less than a month into the official season.  I am not enjoying this.  Probably not surprising.
I went next door this afternoon and filled some pitchers of water, so we could cook and wash our hands.  Before doing so, I'd heated some water and washed some dishes by hand so we had clean pans and silverware.  My grandmothers and aunts used to do something similar, heating water (drawn from a well using a hand pump) in a well on a coal-fired stove, and then doing the washing by hand.  They'd think me lazy: they made a point of wiping the clean dishes dry and putting them away.  I let them sit in a drainer and air dry.  They were glad they didn't have to haul water in buckets from a stream.  Yes, attitude and expectations are important.
But it would be nice to get hot water out of a  faucet again.  And carrying 5-gallon buckets of water over here to flush the toilet gets old.  Still better than an outdoor privy, warmer at least.

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Old Testament reading:  chapters 17 and 18 of the Genesis.

Genesis  17

17:1		And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
17:2		And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
17:3		And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
17:4		As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
17:5		Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
17:6		And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
17:7		And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
17:8		And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
17:9		And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
17:10		This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
17:11		And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
17:12		And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
17:13		He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
17:14		And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
17:15		And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
17:16		And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17:17		Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
17:18		And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
17:19		And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
17:20		And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
17:21		But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
17:22		And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
17:23		And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
17:24		And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
17:25		And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
17:26		In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
17:27		And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 18

18:1		And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
18:2		And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
18:3		And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
18:4		Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
18:5		And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
18:6		And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
18:7		And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
18:8		And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
18:9		And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
18:10		And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
18:11		Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
18:12		Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
18:13		And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
18:14		Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
18:15		Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
18:16		And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
18:17		And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18:18		Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
18:19		For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
18:20		And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
18:21		I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
18:22		And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
18:23		And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
18:24		Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
18:25		That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
18:26		And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
18:27		And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes:
18:28		Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
18:29		And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
18:30		And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
18:31		And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
18:32		And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
18:33		And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

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Poetry passage:  Psalm 7.

The passage itself terms this to be a "shiggaionoth".  That's not a familiar term.  To quite one web site, 

The word denotes a lyrical poem composed under strong mental emotion; a song of impassioned imagination accompanied with suitable music; a dithyrambic ode.   

Sounds like a hymn.

Psalms
Chapter 7

7:1		O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
7:2		Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
7:3		O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
7:4		If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)
7:5		Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.
7:6		Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.
7:7		So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high.
7:8		The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
7:9		Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
7:10		My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
7:11		God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
7:12		If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
7:13		He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
7:14		Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
7:15		He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
7:16		His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
7:17		I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high

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Today's New Testament reading is chapter 7 in the Gospel of Matthew

This begins with the most misquoted misused verse in the Bible.

7:1		Judge not, that ye be not judged.
7:2		For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
7:3		And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
7:4		Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
7:5		Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
7:6		Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7:7		Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
7:8		For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
7:9		Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
7:10		Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
7:11		If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
7:12		Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
7:13		Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
7:14		Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
7:15		Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
7:16		Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
7:17		Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
7:18		A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
7:19		Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
7:20		Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
7:21		Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
7:22		Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
7:23		And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
7:24		Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
7:25		And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
7:26		And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
7:27		And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
7:28		And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
7:29		For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.