Today's Readings and Stuff-- Friday, 01 January 2021

😀

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Let us begin again.

A new year.  Welcome.  We've been allowed to see it.  Let us use that opportunity to glorify the Lord.

Song of the week, perhaps.  Since Jesus Came Into My Heart.   Sing along.  Do it twice.  

And a second one, Open The Eyes Of My Heart.

I'm trying a reading plan that I used for years before trying some others.  It's available, should you wish, from my old friends in the Gideons.  It's broken down with readings in the morning and a second passage in the evening.  Nice to read the first passage while in the morning routines, the evening later on.  Although at one time I did the morning one during my lunch break at work.  Give it a try.  I can not over-emphasize the importance of regular, methodical, intentional, daily, prayerful time in the Word of God.  I have often, sadly, been shocked to encounter those in the church -- including in the pulpit I fear -- who have NEVER read the entire Bible.  That's understandable, I guess, for those who have no access or who simply can't read.  For the rest, it staggers me.    It's a disgrace.

========÷÷÷÷÷÷======

This contains in the first four words, what is one of the most crucial statements that can be made:  "In the beginning, GOD! ".  

Morning reading:

GENESIS 1

The Creation

1In the beginning  God created the heavens and the earth.  

2Now the earth was  formless and empty,  darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.  3Then God said, “Let there be light,”  and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and He called the darkness “night.” Evening came and then morning: the first day.

6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse  between the waters, separating water from water.”  7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse.  And it was so. 8God called the expanse “sky.”  Evening came and then morning: the second day.

9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place,  and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry land “earth,” and He called the gathering of the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.”  And it was so. 12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13Evening came and then morning: the third day.

14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs  for festivals  and for days and years.  15They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. 16God made the two great lights — the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night — as well as the stars.  17God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.  And God saw that it was good. 19Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the water swarm with  living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21So God created the large sea-creatures  and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water,  according to their kinds. He also created every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22So God blessed them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”  23Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.

24Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26Then God said, “Let Us  make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.  They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth,  and the creatures that crawl  on the earth.” 

27So God created man in His own image;

He created him in the image of God;

He created them male and female. 

28God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,  and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls  on the earth.” 29God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you,  30for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.”  And it was so. 31God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.  Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

GENESIS 2

1So the heavens and the earth and everything in them  were completed.  2By the seventh  day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested  on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.  3God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested  from His work of creation.  

Man and Woman in the Garden

4These are the records  of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time  that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5No shrub of the field  had yet grown on the land,  and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6But water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land. 7Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground  and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils,  and the man became a living being. 

8The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,  and there He placed the man He had formed. 9The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden,  as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

10A river went  out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers.  11The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah,   where there is gold. 12Gold from that land is pure;  bdellium  and onyx  are also there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is the Tigris,  which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 

15The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,  17but you must not eat  from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”  18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”  19So the Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it.  And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man  no helper was found as his complement. 21So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man,  and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.  23And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called “woman,”

for she was taken from man. 

24This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.  25Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

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

MATTHEW 1

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1The  historical record   of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,  the Son of Abraham: 

From Abraham to David

2Abraham fathered  Isaac,

Isaac fathered Jacob,

Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, 

3Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,

Perez fathered Hezron,

Hezron fathered Aram, 

4Aram fathered Amminadab,

Amminadab fathered Nahshon,

Nahshon fathered Salmon,

5Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,

Obed fathered Jesse, 

6and Jesse fathered King David.

From David to the Babylonian Exile

Then  David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife, 

7Solomon fathered Rehoboam,

Rehoboam fathered Abijah,

Abijah fathered Asa, 

8Asa  fathered Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, 

Joram fathered Uzziah, 

9Uzziah fathered Jotham,

Jotham fathered Ahaz,

Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,

10Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,

Manasseh fathered Amon, 

Amon fathered Josiah, 

11and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers

at the time of the exile to Babylon. 

From the Exile to the Messiah

12Then after the exile to Babylon

Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel,

Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,

13Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,

Abiud fathered Eliakim,

Eliakim fathered Azor, 

14Azor fathered Zadok,

Zadok fathered Achim,

Achim fathered Eliud,

15Eliud fathered Eleazar,

Eleazar fathered Matthan,

Matthan fathered Jacob,

16and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary,

who gave birth to  Jesus who is called the Messiah. 

17So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, 14 generations. 

The Nativity of the Messiah

18The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  19So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man,  and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 

20But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.  21She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus,   because He will save His people from their sins.” 

22Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23See, the virgin will become pregnant

and give birth to a son,

and they will name Him Immanuel, 

which is translated “God is with us.” 

24When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her  25but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.  And he named Him Jesus. 

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 29 December 2020

My apologies for the extensive gaps in postings lately.  There have been some tough things going on.  My brother's recent and sudden death is just one of them. We had not been close, not ever, and the last 30-some years of distance hadn't helped that.  He'd been to our current hovel a couple of times, but not in the last couple years.  I'd seen him at a -- rare -- family get-together a few years ago, but not since.  It's filled me with a lot of sense of failure and recrimination.  So near as I can determine, he had -- despite our parents' best efforts -- never come to know the Savior.  That makes everything triply tough, at least, and adds, or multiplies, the sense of personal failure.

We are only a few days from the point of turning the calendar into a new year.  Whether that will presage a better time in our world is unlikely in my view, but I've been wrong, often.  We shall see.  I believe that the Lord is still in charge, and very much aware of and part of the situations.  Trusting Him, and being obedient, is all that any of us can do.

It does not help, perhaps, that the song running in my head for several days now, is This World Is Not My Home.  

  Can't argue that line, but does that thought presage my own soon departure?

And, with it, and perhaps tied to my brother's passing, We've A Story To Tell To The Nations.  We do.  Have we been faithful in that charge?  Not sure I like the answer.

We’ve a story to tell to the nations That shall turn their hearts to the right, A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light, A story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And the dawning to noonday bright, And Christ’s great kingdom shall come to earth, The kingdom of love and light. We’ve a song to be sung to the nations That shall lift their hearts to the Lord, A song that shall conquer evil And shatter the spear and sword, And shatter the spear and sword. Refrain We’ve a Savior to show to the nations Who the path of sorrow hath trod, That all of the world’s great peoples Might come to the truth of God, Might come to the truth of God.

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

ZECHARIAH 13

God’s People Cleansed

1“On that day a fountain  will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.  2On that day” — this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts — “I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered.  I will remove the prophets  and the unclean spirit from the land. 3If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken falsely in the name of Yahweh. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through.  4On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak  in order to deceive. 5He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased  me as a servant since my youth.  6If someone asks him: What are these wounds  on your chest?  — then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.

7Sword, awake against My shepherd,

against the man who is My associate —

this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; 

I will also turn My hand against the little ones.

8In the whole land —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

two-thirds  will be cut off and die,

but a third will be left in it.

9I will put this third through the fire;

I will refine them as silver is refined

and test them as gold is tested. 

They will call on My name,

and I will answer them. 

I will say: They are My people,

and they will say: Yahweh is our God.” 

ZECHARIAH 14

The Lord’s Triumph and Reign

1A day of the Lord is coming  when your plunder will be divided in your presence. 2I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle.  The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

3Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.  4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,  which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. 5You will flee by My mountain valley,  for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled  from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.  Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones  with Him.  

6On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight  will diminish.   7It will be a day known only to Yahweh,  without day or night, but there will be light at evening.

8On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem,  half of it toward the eastern sea  and the other half toward the western sea,  in summer and winter alike. 9On that day Yahweh will become King over all the earth  — Yahweh alone, and His name alone.  10All the land from Geba  to Rimmon  south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain  on its site from the Benjamin Gate  to the place of the First Gate,  to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.  11People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.

12This will be the plague the Lord strikes all the peoples with, who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13On that day a great panic from the Lord will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other. 14Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance.  15The same plague as the previous one will strike  the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.

16Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths.  17Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, rain will not fall on them. 18And if the people  of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the Lord inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 19This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

20On that day, the words

HOLY TO THE LORD

will be on the bells of the horses.  The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. 21Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts. Everyone who sacrifices will come and take some of the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite  in the house of the Lord of Hosts.

===========

This completes this year's scheduled reading in the Revelation.  As most here know, I have a policy of NEVER commenting upon this book:  I don't claim any wisdom with respect to it, and have heard far too many who had claimed such wisdom and insight to be, at best, of doubtful accuracy and fidelity to the text as written.  My own faults are many, and there is no need to add to that voluminous array.  Perhaps the Lord will point something out to you.

REVELATION 22

The Source of Life

1Then he showed me the river  of living water,  sparkling like crystal,  flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  2down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life  was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.  The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations,  3and there will no longer be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,  and His slaves will serve Him. 4They will see His face,  and His name will be on their foreheads.  5Night will no longer exist,  and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near

6Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.  And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,  has sent His angel to show His slaves what must quickly take place.”  

7“Look, I am coming quickly!  The one who keeps the prophetic words of this book is blessed.” 

8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow slave with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”  10He also said to me, “Don’t seal the prophetic words of this book, because the time is near.  11Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy go on being made filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; and let the holy go on being made holy.” 

12“Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me  to repay each person according to what he has done.  13I am the Alpha and the Omega,  the First and the Last,  the Beginning and the End. 

14“Blessed  are those who wash their robes,  so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15Outside are the dogs,  the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. 

16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to attest these things to you  for the churches. I am the Root  and the Offspring of David,  the Bright Morning Star.” 

17Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come! ” Anyone who hears should say, “Come! ” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift. 

18I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book. 

20He who testifies about these things  says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 

21The grace of the Lord Jesus  be with all the saints.  Amen.