Today's Reading August 14

Today will be a tense day. I had a phone call last night, a VP from a manufacturer about an hour from here, wants me to come by this afternoon to speak about a job with the firm. I am also hoping to hear from some of the people I have interviewed withover the last few weeks - certainly have racked up the miles.
And I had a message the other day. Seems that one of my nephews is going into a divorce phase; I gather that he objects to his wife's boyfriends. He's still active duty military (Navy) and while he was floating on a frigate he wasn't aware of it, but now that he has shore duty it became too much to ignore. That is added to the message that I received from one of my brothers two weeks ago, his wife decided that she doesn't want to be married any more, at least not to him.
Our 19th wedding anniversary is in a few weeks, it is troubling to see marriages coming apart all around us. We learned last week that, in an SS class we were part of just three years ago, there have now been 3 divorces. One of the ladies is still employed by the church! This is just awful, and we need to be doing something different.
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This morning' readings go further into the Psalms, 99, 100, 101, and 102. These are all relatively short ones, praise primarily, and one of them is listed as a Psalm of David. One of them, Psalm 100, is one of those that I memorized as a young man and I still find that it comes to mind at certain times. Worth memorizing some of these.

Chapter 100
1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Some good theology there too.
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This evening we turn to Romans chapter 13. This is more of Paul's admonitions on how to live as believers.

8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Ex 20:13-17 Lev 19:18 Matt 5:43 Matt 19:19 Matt 22:39 Mark 12:31 Gal 5:14 Jam 2:8
10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

and

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Today's Reading August 13

Happy Monday! The local school system starts up today, and I hear parents everywhere with prayers of thanksgiving.
This morning, continuing in the Psalms, we turn to Psalms 96, 97, and 98. We do well to sing praises to the Lord, Here are some good examples of that.

Chapter 98
1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

See what I mean?

This evening we get more into the letter to the Romans, all of chapter 12.
One of the common, and reasonable questions that a new believer (and more than a few of those who are not so new either) is ''How now shall I live?'', ''How should my faith play out in my life?''. These are reasonable questions. While the Christian life is not defined by rules but by faith and grace, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the character of Christ, nonetheless we do look for some guidelines. (and yes, I know the subject is a minefield). Paul addresses this in general terms. Here's a good start:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

or

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

these are just excerpts, look through it all. These are, as I said, not steps towards salvation, but signs of it.

Today's Reading August 12

Happy Sunday! We'll be off to church in just a bit here. It will be a bit strange, we'll have a guest preacher this morning as our former pastor has left to take up a new ministry in another state. We wish Brother Steve and Sister Rhonda all the best, but it will, as I said, be a bit strange without them.
This morning we continue in the Psalms, looking now at Psalms 93, 94, and 95. These are, all of them, good Psalms to pray, and you will find that phrases from them have been included in a number of hymns and praise songs. They have, for me, a depth of meaning that reminds me of the times I have read, sung, and prayed them. They hold a lot of personal meaning. But they also reflected the experiences of the writers, it makes it clear that they truly knew the Lord in a very real way, and that His inspiration during the composition was not the first encounter they'd had with Him. They left these Psalms as a tribute.
Question for all of us: what have we left as a monument?

Chapter 95
1 O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
Heb 3:7, 4:7
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Heb 3:8, 15

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This evening we return to chapter 11 of Paul's letter to the Romans, starting with verse 22 and continuing to the end of the chapter. Paul is really addressing both the Jewish believers (and unbelievers) and the Gentile Christians. He has a couple of themes here, one being that in Christ there is no distinction between the two - a radical thought at the time - and primarily the doctrine that the distinction in not between Jew and Gentile but in Christ and not. Our focus must be and must remain on Jesus. We see that still today, those groups that lose focus on Jesus and instead place the significance on other things seem to founder and lose their way. Paul speaks to that, and much else besides.

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Isa 59:20
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Isa 59:21
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Isa 40:13
35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Job 41:11
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Politics August 11

I have just added a field on the right side of the page to illustrate some Republican candidates.
For the benefit of those who sometimes catch my comments on places like Lucianne.com, I tend to support the Republicans. But not always, and not blindly, and less so now than at one time. I voted for George Bush in the general elections in 2000 and 2004. But I did not vote for him in the 2000 primary and I did not vote for him in the 2004 primary either. He is a better man than either of his general election candidates, but that is a very low hurdle to surpass. And the experience has not been a good one.
In 1980, 1984, 1988, 2000, and 2004 we hoped we were returning to a time when the federal government would resume its proper, limited role in the life of the Republic. We hoped for a reduction in the number of unconstitutional departments, a return to a true federalist view of government, a lessening of Jacobinism, a recognition that there are some things that government at any level just is not empowered to do, and that there is a difference between the society and the State.
That has not happened. Instead, we've gotten more and more government, more and more intrusion, more and more taxes, more and more officialdom, and less freedom and wisdom. We have departments, Education being a prime example that are not only unconstitutional, they have demonstrably made things far worse. Literacy is now at a lower level than it was 100 years ago, is far more intrusive, and costs far more. The response was to add a No Child Left Behind Act whose true purpose is twofold: to provide yet more jobs for idiot educrats and to ensure that No Child Gets Ahead Either. We now pay for a Department of Energy that produces no energy, and an EPA that seems determined to roll back what we do have. We have bureaucracy that far exceeds anything that King George III ever imagined, and more is threatened.
This is not progress as I measure it.
The Republicans have a large wing determined to put a pro-abortion, pro-sodomy, anti-gun, pro-illegal-aliens, Statist candidate named Giuliani up against the likely Democrat nominee, Hillary Clinton. By my standards, that's a contest between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber. I won't play.
I have not given my support to any candidate. I will use my feeble powers to root for the best of the lot, but I will not ever again fall for a ''lesser of two evils'' vote: the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Your mileage may vary. That's why we have elections. By the way, if a worthwhile Democrat starts to run, I may put that name up too. But I haven't seen one in 40 years, and I'm not holding my breath.

Today's Reading August 11

Continuing in the Psalms (I did say we'd be here a while, right?) we next look into Psalms 90, 91, and 92. These are a bit of a change. One commentator (at least) refers to Psalms 90 - 106 as ''Psalms of the Earth'', They ''...remind us of our wanderings and the Lord's leading in the midst of this journey on earth''. (from Chuck Swindoll's commentary in The Living Insights Study Bible)
Psalm 90 is marked as a prayer of Moses. I think it's held up well over time.

1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Psalm 92 is marked as 'for the Sabbath day

1 IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH:
2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

very very good.
But Psalm 91 is one that I have highlighted in my Bibles, it has been a great comfort to me in times of trouble. It might be that for you as well.

Chapter 91
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Mt 4:6
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mt 4:6
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

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This evening we return the book of Romans chapter 11, verses 1 through 21. This section deals with the Remnant of Israel. It starts with an important point, one that too many evangelicals answer wrongly.

1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,
3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
1 Kings 19:10, 14
4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
1 Kings 19:18
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Today's Reading August 10

Happy Friday.
This morning we look at Psalms 88 and 89.
Psalm 88 is noted in one of my Bibles as being a psalm of the sons of Korah.
When we are in trouble and distress, we cry out to the Lord. Why not? Where else could we, should we go? When we need help and comfort, should we not go to the One can is both willing and able? thus

Chapter 88
1 O lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

Now, note something here. He hasn't cried to the Lord just once and 'POOF' it's all better now. Sometimes we wish that would be the case, and sometimes it is, but the Lord of the Universe is just that, and not a waiter in a restaurant.

Psalm 89 is noted as ''a contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite''.
This is a praise Psalm, a good one. A pastor of ours once told us that a good thing to do is to pray Scripture, and a good place to start is in the Psalms. This one would be a good one to use. See how it starts out,

1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
5 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

and it ends with

52 Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

that would, by the way, be a good way to end all of our prayers. 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy Name' is quite all right.

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Romans chapter 10.
This is, like all of Romans, just chock-full of Good Stuff.

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Deut 30:14
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Isa 28:16
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Joel 2:32
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Isa 52:7
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Isa 53:1
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Do you believe that? I do.

Today's Reading August 09

This morning we continue with Psalms 85, 86, and 87

Chapter 86
1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

This evening we turn to Romans chapter 9. Paul is speaking here primarily of the Jews, his own people, as if he could persuade them all. This is a passage that builds on the previous sections, by itself it loses some of the context, some of the richness of the proposition. There is a lot here, a lot that I don't understand fully, and a lot that makes me uncomfortable. There is here some of the inklings of the doctrine sometimes called ''Limited Atonement'', the theory that Jesus did not die for all, but only for those foredestined, sometimes called double predestination. I don't know the answer, and this is a section that all of us need to chew over more.

Air conditioning or prayer?

Sometimes you come across something that makes you ashamed. Happens to me a lot. Don't know what that means. At any rate, over at the 4HisGlory website, there's a fine article entitled Air Conditioned Churches or Perseverance of the Saints?
and the author recounts hearing two urgent prayers at the seminary he attends. One asked the Lord for air conditioning so that things won't be so uncomfortable at church Sunday. The other prayer lifted up the remaining living Korean missionaries, the ones that the Islamic heathens have not yet murdered. Which matter is more important to us?
Which one is more important to me? How many churches around the world will even think of these brave missionaries this Sunday, or even on a Wednesday evening?

Today's Reading August 08

Continuing in the Psalms this morning, we now turn to Psalms 82, 83, and 84. 82 and 83 are psalms of Asaph, while 84 is listed as a psalm of the sons of Korah. One of the great things to be around is someone who knows the Lord, and makes it plain. You see that in all three of these.

Chapter 84
1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

How strongly do we long for the Lord, as spoken in vs. 2? I know that you could make a good sermon out of that verse, and not exhaust the subject.
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And now we continue in chapter 8 of Romans, verses 19 through 39. When we started into Romans, I said some things about how important this book is. Upon re-examination, that was an understatement. Please do not miss any of this.
But where do we start? How about

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Some of us have hung on to that one in times of trouble. Or perhaps

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Which is comforting to remember when the whole world seems to be in battle array against us. But I also love these

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Psa 44:22
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

By the way, it is no accident this intersection between the Psalmists and the words of Paul.

Picture of nephew's stroller

OK, this is a bit weird, I'll admit. We got an e-mail last night from my wife's sister's son. He sent a picture of the new baby in a rather unusual baby carriage. Only in America I guess. I've never seen one quite like it.
If you take from this that our nephew is somewhat overly fond of the whole 'Monster Truck' thing, you would be correct.

Today's Reading August 07

This morning we take up Psalms 79, 80, and 81
These are, like a number of others in this section, psalms of Asaph, not of David.
Psalm 79 is known as an ''imprecatory Psalm'', which is theologian-speak for ''dear Lord, destroy our enemies''. In the Mennonite churches of my youth, these were not much spoken of, they have decided that absolute non-violence is the only Biblical attitude to have and largely ignore Bible passages to the contrary. This is one of them. This passage is felt to correspond to the Babylonian conquering of Israel and Judah and the Captivity there. The psalmist is entreating the Lord to remember His people, to redeem them, to strike down those who mocked Him and His name.

apter 79
1 O god, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.
4 We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
5 How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.
8 O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.
10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
12 And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

Psalm 81 seems to be a liturgical work, a celebration of the harvest, which was one of the annual Jewish festivals, as it still is today.

Chapter 81
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

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This evening we look at Romans chapter 8, verses 1 through 18
Oh my! this is good!

Chapter 8
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

It just gets better and better.

Today's Reading August 06

Happy Monday to all. Just after 0600 here
Today's Old Testament reading takes up Psalms 78
This was composed by Asaph, and his Psalms are liturgical in style. This one is a remembrance, a record of some of the things that the Lord had done for his people. It is good to do this, to keep the recollection fresh. There is a saying that ,''men need more often to be reminded than to be taught''. We too soon forget our blessings, we need to rehearse them. Asaph's psalm here provides some outline for this.

1 Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
Mt 13:35
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

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This evening we turn to the letter to the Romans chapter 7
Paul is speaking about the Law and its effects, its relationship to the sin that it reveals, to the sin nature even within him, and ends with these words,

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Who among us does not know this conflict, a conflict with only one hope.

Today's Reading August 05

Good morning. around 07:30 here. No rain -- we are still in a severe drought here.

This morning we get into Psalms 75, 76, and 77. More of the desperate cries of one who needs the Lord. All of us do, but sometimes we forget that, until circumstances remind us.

Chapter 77
1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?
14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

This evening we turn to chapter 6 of the Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Romans is a very significant book in Christianity, you don't have to go very far to see that. Romans 6 builds throughout, but concludes with a memorable phrase,

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do you believe that? I do. That, my friends, is Good News. That is the Gospel.

Today's Reading August 04

And a good Saturday to all. I hope that the morning is well with you.

This morning we turn to Psalms 73 and 74. These are both of them noted as Psalms of Asaph, rather than of David. And they are part of a group sometimes referred to as Psalms of the Sanctuary, liturgical Psalms if you like, Psalms used in organized praise and worship. There is a regrettable tendency among those of us in the American Anabaptist tradition to be resistant to anything around the heading of ''liturgical'', connecting it with the more 'High Church'' practices of Rome, the various Orthodox and Byzantine Rite churches, the High Church Anglicans, and some others. That may be a mistake - there is something to be said for fostering the sense of awe and majesty that is appropriate when we are in the very Presence of the Living God. But there is also something to be said for the recognition that we are, today, standing in the midst of a long line of those who have brought our lives, our troubles, our needs, our worship and praise to the only One to whom we should bring them. These Psalms, thousands of years old, are to me ever timely. Our situations really are not terrible different. The words here are those any of us in distress might say, perhaps not terribly different from those we have said.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

One thing about liturgical works - they really ought to be read aloud. Unless you are one of those who can read something and hear the oratory in your mind, with emphasis and pauses, you won't get the full effect, the richness, just in silent reading. And, actually, the Psalms beg to be spoken, not just gazed upon. Try it, you'll see what I mean.

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This evening we get into the 5th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans. Like the entire work, this chapter really gets into the meat of the faith. I have been told that Martin Luther thought that all Christians should memorize the entire book. I haven't, not as a deliberate effort, but portions of it are in the memory banks. You may find that to be the case as well. Consider,

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

or

1 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

I can not say this too often: every phrase, every word in this book should be gone over carefully. This is not ''fluff'', this is meaty. Don't miss any of it.

Today's Reading August 03

Trying to get back on schedule. Yesterday was a very very long day. I think that the meeting/interview went well, but then I have been wrong before.

And sometimes odd things happen. I met an older guy, a security person at one of the airports, sort of a first line before you get to the TSA station. He looked at my ID, and remarked that he'd been a pastor for some time in a town about 15 miles from where I now am. Since that was hundreds of miles and a different time zone from where I now am, that was odd in itself. He told me he'd been a bi-vocational minister, his day job was as an engineer. I told him about our bi-vocational pastor who is leaving us this week. He said, '' why don't you do it?''. Well, as I told him, while I love to teach, and do, I've not ever heard a call to preach and I'm approaching the age that most pastors are thinking about retirement in the not-too-distant future. But it was an interesting exchange - he asked me to convey his regards to his successor in a nearby church, which I will try to do.

Funny how God puts improbable people in your path, though.
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Today's reading from the Old Testament, is Psalms 70, 71, and 72. Psalm 72 is noted as a Psalm of Solomon. But Psalm 70 captures where my head has been sometimes,

Chapter 70
1 MAKE HASTE, O GOD, TO DELIVER ME; MAKE HASTE TO HELP ME, O LORD.
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
5 But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.

Does that sound to you like ''HELP! HELP!!''? It does to me. Been there.

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From the New Testament, Romans 4.
I don't know that it is possible to summarize this chapter. It builds throughout, and you really need to go over it, slowly and thoroughly, and probably several times. Paul is talking about salvation by grace alone by faith alone. He hasn't quite completed it to ''in Jesus Christ, alone'', but that's where it's going.
Romans is as close as I can think of to an outline of the faith. It's very intense and it is very important, and it is very good reading.

Today's Reading August 02

This is being post-dated, mainly just to maintain some continuity. I rolled out of bed at 0320 to get to the airport by 0450 to catch a 0615 flight, the first leg of an air travel ordeal that reminds me why I hate flying. The trip home was worse - our 2-hour layover in Charlotte was closer to 5 hours - good old US Airways, the former 'Agony Airlines' - managed to lose the flight crew for our final hop. Right. Couldn't find them. They actually had to wake up a crew held in reserve and warm them up. Result was that it was pushing midnight before I got home.
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The day's reading in the Old Testament, Psalms 68 and 69

Chapter 69
1 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
John 15:25
5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

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In the New Testament, Romans 3
Here is what we hold to be true, in a concentrated form

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Today's Reading August 01

Today we begin a new month. Happy August.
I am supposed to be traveling tomorrow, so it's not certain when this will be updated. I have to leave here about 0430 or so in order to catch a 0615 flight out and won't be back home until late. This job hunting stuff can wear a person down in so many ways all at once. We ran into one of the deacons at our church last night at the store - with the pastor leaving this week, and us likely to leave soon as well, things are in a bit of an upset. But, as I told him, I'm not driving this bus and have no idea what bends are in the road ahead. So we trust the drive to get us where we're supposed to be.
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The Old Testament portion today is Psalms 65, 66, and 67. Rather a lot of them, aren't there? Sometimes, the shorter ones say it pretty well. Like this one,

Chapter 67
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

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This evening gets to Romans chapter 2. As we said yesterday, you really need to chew on every verse pretty thoroughly. There is a lot in this passage to digest. There is also a stark warning, first to the Jews in Paul's era, but also to the Church in ours,

23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Ezek 36:20, 23

That is as stark and harsh a warning and reproach as one can imagine. And still appropriate.

Today's Reading July 31

This morning in the Old Testament we look to Psalms 62, 63, and 64. All of these are from David. I particularly (personal preference, nothing more) love Psalm 63. According to my study Bible, he composed it when he was in the wilderness of Judah. In this case, ''wilderness'' does not mean 'jungle', it's more like a desert plain I guess, or an arid grassland at best. And David is having a hard time, and yet his greatest need is for the Lord. I confess, there have been and are times in my life when I did hunger and thirst for the Lord in the way David does here, but not as often or as deeply as should be the case. David says it well,

1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

To be desperate for the Lord, when NOTHING else will do, that is proper.
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Now we get into Paul's Epistle to the Romans, beginning with all of Romans 1. I have in one of my other study Bibles, the Living Insights Study Bible with commentary by Chuck Swindoll, an account of a great minister named Donald Barnhouse, who, on assuming a new pastorate, stepped into the pulpit the first Sunday and preached on Romans 1, verse 1. The second Sunday he took on Romans 1, verse 2, and didn't quite finish. So on Sunday 3 he took up where he'd left off and continued in this vein for, I believe 42 months never leaving the book of Romans. This was later published in 10 volumes entitled ''Romans''. I'd love to read that work. The book of Romans is one of the most important in all the New Testament. And yes, they're all important. But some really stand out, and Romans is one of them. There's just not much ''filler'' here, it's all good stuff.
For example, look at the very first word. ''Paul ...''. Stop there. That was not his 'given' name, not the one his parents gave, it was not his name at his Bar Mitzvah. Now go back to where Saul of Tarsus became Paul. What caused that change in his life? He met Jesus, that's what happened, and from that moment forth, his whole being changed. See what I mean? You absolutely could make a sermon out of Romans 1:1. Someone did. Read this whole work in that manner, don't fly past anything. There are nuggets of real gold here if we don't speed past them. I call attention to the end of the chapter, verses 28 to the end of the chapter. See if you don't agree that it sounds all too much like our world today, and indeed several 'churches'.

The Book of Romans

Chapter 1
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Hab 2:4 Gal 3:11
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Today's Reading July 30

This morning, we turn to Psalms 59, 60, and 61
My current favorite study Bible, a New King James, has some comments for each of these. For Psalm 59, it says '' .... of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.'' He was right in the midst of trouble, and so he prayed, and recorded it. For Psalm 60, the comment says in part, '' ... When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.'' I am reminded that I have not really made a song, a record, of the times that the Lord has given me the victory in a hopeless situation. But David did, his Psalms are a record of where he has been and what God has done for him.

Chapter 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.
5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

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This evening's New Testament reading completes the final chapter of the book of the Acts, chapter 28 verses 16 through 31. Paul is in Rome, treated essentially as a high-ranking prisoner. He is visited by the Jewish religious leaders and while some receive him, others do not. He sends them off with an admonition:

28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Paul was as free to preach the Gospel as a prisoner as he was unbound. What constrained him was not a prison. How many of us are not in prison but reluctant tot do as he did?

Today's Reading July 29

Good morning. Off to church in just a bit - we don't get going until around 9:30. This will be a tough service, our bi-vocational pastor is leaving after today. He and family have been wonderful, certainly in the year that we have been here. We wish them well. But it will be a strain on the congregation as we begin the process of finding God's will in the matter.
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This morning's Old Testament portion continues in the Psalms (I did say we'd be here a while, recall?) as we turn to Psalms 56, 57, and 58. I love some of the imagery of the Psalmist, little snippets of great insight that come from a person who both knows distress and knows the Lord. For example, from Psalm 56

8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

. He knows firmly that the Lord is present and knows it all, he has not been forgotten. Or,

Chapter 57
1 Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
2 I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

Seems to me someone made a song out of that a few years ago, I was part of a choir that sang it. David's themes are still ours.
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This evening we begin the final chapter of Acts, chapter 28 verses 1 through 15.
Having survived a shipwreck, Paul and his companions, and the Roman soldiers nominally his guards, take shelter on an island. At which point Paul is bitten by a venomous snake, and suffers no ill effects. Shades of Satan again, and it doesn't work this time either, and the snake is cast into a fire. Good imagery there. As a result of all of this, Paul ends up laying hands on and healing the father of the chief man of the island, leading to quite a stir and yet another opportunity to proclaim the Gospel. Eventually they make it to Italy.
I wish I had a good understanding of what happened in these areas and to these people that Paul (and others) just ''happened'' to be preaching to on the way through. What of the soldiers and sailors who were on that ship, what of the inhabitants of that island, what of Agrippa and his court?