Today is quiet and subdued. Dear Wife had a very bad night, and the day hasn't been great either. In part, perhaps, effects of the shot of steroids into her knee at the doctor visit yesterday. The "2nd day" effects of a number of medicines aren't always a whole lot of fun, to say the least.
In part, because it appears that some of her current crop of issues arise out of what is often referred to as a "flare", a flare-up of the symptoms and outcomes of her long fight with lupus, as well has several other, serious, debilitating types of autoimmune disorders. It's a daily, sometimes hourly, struggle. At one time, 25 years ago, even 15, she could get through, usually, by plain determination. She's well supplied with that, or was: it's a deposit reduced by expenditure like so many others. These days, that account is getting pretty puny, though she gets through some things even now that would probably have others giving up in despair. Not her, not yet. We pray for a miracle, and it can happen.
Yesterday had strong storms, and at least one tornado touch down, in our general area. Not here: we were thankfully spared. But another line of storms, this one reaching from Niagara Falls, New York to around Nashville, Tennessee, with some nasty stuff embedded in it, is due to hit in the next 30 minutes or so. We hear of power outages associated with that, so I want to get this sent out, now.
Today's reading in Isaiah 43 brought to mind a song. "God Will Make A Way". By the way, the woman leading this was just coming out of cancer treatments. She had reason to know the truth of this, as many of us do. Many of those present during this were themselves in the middle of very hard things, and more than a few of those faces are of those who have already passed over. Others had recently lost loved ones, and all knew the truth of this.
Some of the greatest stories, in the Bible certainly, but also the testimonies over the centuries, are when all seemed lost and hopeless. "Then God! ........ ". True for me, probably for many of us. We don't speak of it enough, those testimonies move others.
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Isaiah 43
1But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
2When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
6I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
8Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
9Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
12I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.
13Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
14Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
15I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
16Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
17Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
18Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
22But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
23Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
24Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
25I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
26Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
27Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
28Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
Isaiah 44
1Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
2Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
4And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
5One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
6Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
7And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
8Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
9They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
10Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
11Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
12The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.
13The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.
14He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
15Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
16He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:
17And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
18They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
19And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
20He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
21Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
23Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
24Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
25That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
26That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
27That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
28That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
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Today, Proverbs 19. I realize that many of these seem, well, "old fashioned". I guess they are. So??? They're intended for teaching some foundational things, matters that we once thought necessary to pass on to succeeding generations, as well as to remind ourselves. I understand that, at one time in our land, such proverbs, perhaps a verse at a time but still, were expected to be copied, by hand, by all students, thus to reinforce the teachings. Some of those proverbs, and others like them, would be permanently and prominently displayed in all school classrooms, and more than a few houses as well. Doesn't happen now, I gather that we're too "sophisticated". How's that working out?
Proverbs 19
1Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
2Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
3The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.
4Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
5A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
6Many will entreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
7All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
8He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
9A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
10Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
11The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
12The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
13A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
16He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
17He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
18Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
19A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
20Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
21There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
22The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
23The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
24A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
26He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
27Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
28An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
29Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.
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2nd Thessalonians 2
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
17Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
