Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 5 September, 2013

at the kitchen table late at night once again.
Wednesday was a rough day.  As I posted last night, we've had a guy sleeping on our couch for, well, let's just say far too long.  Was originally, I guess, set to be a week or so.  Been FAR longer than that, and things have gotten out of hand.  He's been in bad and worsening shape, a variety of ailments including Type 1 diabetes, aggravated by an active HIV status.  After I'd had to pick him up off the floor several times, Dear Wife laid down the law to him in the morning:  either to the ER at the hospital or we're dumping you at the Salvation Army.  We can not and will not put up with it any more.  Took FIVE HOURS of pestering to get him off the couch (which, when we move in a few weeks, is going to be carted off and burned) and into his shoes and car.  And off to the ER.  Blood sugar in the stratosphere because he refused to take his insulin, and some other stuff too.  They put him in the ICU and admitted him.  We spent HOURS on phone with hospital personnel, including Social Workers, letting them know that no, no matter what he told you we are not his brother or sister.  And telling those he had told were his sister that he was in hospital, only to find out that she was not his sister and no, she had not started arrangements to move him into her basement some time in the next two weeks.  And more like that.  Been tough to get into the tough love.  I grew weary and now angry at the horrid pattern of lies and general bad behavior that we evidently enabled by not kicking him out four years ago.
We are leaving here in less than a month, moving nearly a thousand miles from here.  I hope the social workers can have him placed in an assisted living environment, because he's not coming with us.  I hate to be that way, but there it is.   We're over it.

The morning's reading is chapters 7 and 8 in the Proverbs.  I'm told that at one time, it was considered common in some school settings, for students to copy these down word for word.  Perhaps doing so exposed them to some good advice.  Worth a try, anyway.

Proverbs 7

1	My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2	Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3	Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4	Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5	That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6	For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7	And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8	Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9	In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10	And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
11	(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12	Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13	So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14	I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15	Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16	I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17	I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18	Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19	For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20	He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21	With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22	He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23	Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24	Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25	Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26	For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27	Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 8

1	Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
2	She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
3	She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
4	Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
5	O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
6	Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
7	For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8	All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
9	They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
10	Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11	For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12	I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
13	The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
14	Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
15	By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16	By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17	I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
18	Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
19	My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
20	I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
21	That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
22	The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23	I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24	When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
25	Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
26	While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27	When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28	When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29	When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30	Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
31	Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
32	Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
33	Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
34	Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
35	For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
36	But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

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The New Testament reading is verses 21-40 of 1st Corinthians chapter 14.

This section has a few verses that are particularly controversial these days, the commands regarding the role of women in the church found in verses 34 and 35.  I am not brave enough, nor wise enough, to dwell on them overmuch.  I will note that I have observed some denominations and individual congregations that have ignored these prohibitions.  One being the Mennonite church I grew up in.  Sad to say, the results have not been good.  I see much adherence to the religious fad of the day, and much less attention to the issues of sin and salvation.  Lots of blather about the chimera of "social justice" and the like.  Not much about judgment, Hell, eternity.  I don't think the Lord is pleased to see a church in northern Alabama call a female pastor, who thereupon makes noises about performing same-sex "weddings".  Or the Mennonite congregation in the Baltimore area doing likewise.  Or the homosexuals holding high church offices in the Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran (ELCA), UCC, or Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  And, probably, others.  Not good, and not God-honoring.

I Corinthians 14:21-40

21	In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
22	Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.
23	If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?
24	But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
25	And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
26	How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
27	If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28	But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29	Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30	If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31	For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32	And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33	For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
34	Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
35	And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
36	What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
37	If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
38	But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39	Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
40	Let all things be done decently and in order.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 4 September, 2013

midweek here.
Writing this at the kitchen table, keeping an eye on things.  A while back, we took in a guy that wife knew, essentially homeless, severe diabetic, numerous other issues including HIV and a homosexual lifestyle.  Let him crash on the couch until he could get situated, get his SSDI disability income, get Medicaid, all that stuff.  He's still here, more than four years later.  And now that we're moving in a month (or less, we hope), he's in panic mode.  Won't eat, which for a severe from-birth diabetic is very serious (and stupid), we've already had a ambulance and rescue squad here in the last few weeks when his sugar level crashed to around 27.  I had to pick him up off the floor a little bit ago which was not fun, he's 50 years old and taller than me.  But had to be done.  Now I'm not sure what to do, so am writing this while occasionally looking over to be sure he's still breathing and try to encourage him to eat the jello, etc. that we got for him out of our meager resources.  We shall see.

The Old Testament reading for the day is Proverbs 5 and 6. 

Proverbs 5 

1	My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
2	That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3	For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
4	But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5	Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
6	Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
7	Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8	Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
9	Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
10	Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
11	And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12	And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
13	And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14	I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15	Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16	Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
17	Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
18	Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19	Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
20	And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21	For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
22	His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
23	He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Proverbs 6 

1	My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
2	Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3	Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
4	Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5	Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6	Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7	Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8	Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9	How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10	Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11	So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
12	A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13	He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14	Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15	Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16	These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17	A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18	An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19	A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
20	My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
21	Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
22	When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23	For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24	To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25	Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26	For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.
27	Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28	Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
29	So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
30	Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
31	But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
32	But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
33	A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34	For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35	He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

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The New Testament reading is verses 1-20 of 1st Corinthians chapter 14.  Speaking in tongues.  A subject of controversy even today.  And also prophecy.  A REAL controversial subject in some places, I've been at ground zero for some of the fights.

I Corinthians 14:1-20 

1	Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
2	For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
3	But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
4	He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
5	I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
6	Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
7	And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
8	For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
9	So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
10	There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
11	Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
12	Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
13	Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
14	For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15	What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
16	Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
17	For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
18	I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
19	Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
20	Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Yesterday was Labor Day.  When I was a kid, today, the day following, was the first day of the regular school year.  Generally, we began today, had a week or so off at Christmas-New Year, and finished up a day or two after Memorial Day, depending upon the days school was cancelled due to heavy snow.  Now I understand that they often begin in mid-August and go until early June, the better to have a variety of non-scholastic events like teacher conferences and holidays necessitated by the desire to be "inclusive" and "diverse".  Not sure how learning is improved by observances of Eid and Lunar New Year and other nonsense, but my opinion was not requested.
But the beginning of September does get us thinking about change of seasons and the recognition that more of the year is behind us than before us, and how well did we use it?  Tough questions, and hard for us as we get into the major changes in our life now underway.

The morning's reading is chapters 3 and 4 in the Proverbs.  Be wise.  Become wise.

Proverbs 3 

1	My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2	For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3	Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4	So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5	Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6	In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7	Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8	It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9	Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10	So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
11	My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
12	For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
13	Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14	For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15	She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16	Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17	Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18	She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
19	The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
20	By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21	My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22	So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
23	Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
24	When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
25	Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
26	For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
27	Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
28	Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
29	Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
30	Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
31	Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
32	For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
33	The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
34	Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
35	The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 4 

1	Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
2	For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3	For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4	He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
5	Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6	Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7	Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8	Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9	She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
10	Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
11	I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12	When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13	Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14	Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15	Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
16	For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17	For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18	But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19	The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
20	My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21	Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22	For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23	Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
24	Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25	Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26	Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27	Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

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The evening New Testament passage is chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians.  The Love Chapter.
Paul uses the word charity here, the term means love.  Love in our day has become conflated with eroticism, lust, etc.  That's not what is meant here.  God is love, we know that.  If we are filled with the Spirit, shouldn't we exhibit that same love nature?

I Corinthians 13  

1	Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2	And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3	And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4	Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5	Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6	Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7	Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8	Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9	For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10	But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11	When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12	For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13	And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, September 02, 2013

a bit late off the mark today, sorry.  And we really ddn't do much today, no parades, no fairs, not much of anything.  Dear Wife took her chemo pill, methotrexate, Sunday night and it pretty much lays her low for the next 36-48 hours, so it wasn't a surprise that she wasn't up to much. Actually she was a bit more active than is often the case,was out of bed at least half the day which is by no means normal.  And I wasn't feeling up to much myself.  So things are running behind, for which apologies.

The day's Old Testament reading has us beginning in the book of Proverbs, chapters 1 and 2.  These were set down by Solomon, listed in Scripture as having been the wisest man.  Not always right, and sometimes the wisdom shown here came, I suspect, as a result of reflection upon some unwise behavior.  Look back in the books of the Kings and the Chronicles and you'll see what I mean:  having multiple wives led to multiple kids and multiple armed claimants for the throne after Solomon's passing (and some anticipation of that passing).  Not good for anyone and certainly not good for the realm.  But there is a lot of good hard sense here, worth taking to heart.  A wise person learns from other people's mistakes, avoiding the need to learn from his own mistakes.

Proverbs 1

1	The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2	To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3	To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4	To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5	A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6	To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7	The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8	My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9	For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10	My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11	If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12	Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13	We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14	Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15	My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16	For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17	Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18	And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19	So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20	Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21	She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22	How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23	Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24	Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25	But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26	I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27	When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28	Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29	For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30	They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31	Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32	For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33	But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Proverbs 2

1	My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2	So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3	Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4	If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5	Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6	For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7	He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8	He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9	Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10	When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11	Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12	To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13	Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14	Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15	Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16	To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17	Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18	For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19	None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20	That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21	For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22	But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

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The New Testament passage is chapter 12 from 1st Corinthians.  This is Paul getting into the issue of spiritual gifts, an issue that is sometimes contentious even today.  The reading is important, and worth taking to heart, and keep it in mind when we get into TOMORROW's reading on love.  This passage before us is also critical.  Or it wouldn't be here.  And yes, there is a lot of argument over the question of whether these gifts are still present.  I suspect that they are, having seen some in action.

I Corinthians 12

1	Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
2	Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
3	Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
4	Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5	And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6	And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7	But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8	For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9	To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10	To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11	But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12	For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13	For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14	For the body is not one member, but many.
15	If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16	And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17	If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18	But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
19	And if they were all one member, where were the body?
20	But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21	And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22	Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23	And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24	For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
25	That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26	And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
27	Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28	And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29	Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30	Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31	But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.