Today's Readings -- 02 October 2010

Good Saturday to all.


This morning's reading is Isaiah 24, 25, 26. So much for those who tell us "God would never do such a thing!".

Isaiah 24

1	Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2	And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3	The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.
4	The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5	The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6	Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
7	The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
8	The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
9	They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10	The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
11	There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12	In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction.
13	When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.
14	They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.
15	Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
16	From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
17	Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18	And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19	The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20	The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21	And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22	And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23	Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Isaiah 25

1	O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2	For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
3	Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4	For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5	Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
6	And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7	And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
8	He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
9	And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
10	For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
11	And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
12	And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

Isaiah 26

1	In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
2	Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3	Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
4	Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
5	For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
6	The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
7	The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
8	Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
9	With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10	Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
11	LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
12	LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
13	O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
14	They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
15	Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
16	LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
17	Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
18	We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19	Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
20	Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21	For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

And for this evening, Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4

1	I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2	With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3	Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4	There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5	One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6	One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7	But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8	Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9	(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10	He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11	And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12	For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13	Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14	That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15	But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16	From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
17	This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18	Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19	Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20	But ye have not so learned Christ;
21	If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22	That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23	And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24	And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25	Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26	Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27	Neither give place to the devil.
28	Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29	Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30	And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31	Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32	And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Today's Readings -- 01 October 2010

The end of the work week and the start of another month. I guess that's OK., though my excitement level is not all that high. I will be leaving here in just a short while to engage what is around the 320th day of the "short stint" on nights that I was "asked" to undertake last year in order to give the person hire for nights a "little break". I did some toting up this morning, and find that I have, already, worked nearly a thousand hours of uncompensated overtime, just in 2010. Tell me again, please, why I bothered to go to university, live on the products of the day-old bread store and store brand rice-a-roni, live in a converted janitor's closet for 3 years, and continually defer gratification, in order to live like this?

This morning's reading is Isaiah 22 and 23.

Isaiah 22

1	The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
2	Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
3	All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.
4	Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
5	For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
6	And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7	And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8	And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
9	Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10	And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
11	Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
12	And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13	And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
14	And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
15	Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
16	What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
17	Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
18	He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
19	And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
20	And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
21	And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
22	And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23	And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
24	And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
25	In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 23

1	The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
2	Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.
3	And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.
4	Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
5	As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
6	Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.
7	Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
8	Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
9	The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
10	Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
11	He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
12	And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.
13	Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
14	Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
15	And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16	Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17	And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
18	And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

This evening, Ephesians 3.

Ephesians 3

1	For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2	If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3	How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4	Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5	Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6	That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7	Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8	Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9	And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10	To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11	According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12	In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
13	Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14	For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15	Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16	That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17	That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18	May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19	And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20	Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21	Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Today'sReadings -- 30 September 2010

The week is passing, and we are on the final day of the month. And I am tired. Long night, and Dear Wife just left for work. We barely saw each other in the brief time between my return home and her departure, and the other turn around later today will be even briefer. Dear Lord, I need a new job! And I need another car!

This morning, Isaiah 19,20, 21

Isaiah 19

1	The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2	And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3	And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4	And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5	And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
6	And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
7	The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8	The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
9	Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.
10	And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.
11	Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
12	Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
13	The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.
14	The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
15	Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.
16	In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.
17	And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
18	In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts; one shall be called, The city of destruction.
19	In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD.
20	And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.
21	And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.
22	And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
23	In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.
24	In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
25	Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Isaiah 20

1	In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
2	At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3	And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
4	So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
5	And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
6	And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

Isaiah 21

1	The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
2	A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
3	Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4	My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
5	Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
6	For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
7	And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
8	And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9	And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
10	O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
11	The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
12	The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
13	The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
14	The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15	For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
16	For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
17	And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.

This evening, Ephesians 2. Good stuff here!

Ephesians 2

1	And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2	Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3	Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4	But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5	Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6	And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7	That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8	For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9	Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10	For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
11	Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12	That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13	But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14	For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15	Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16	And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17	And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18	For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19	Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20	And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21	In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22	In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Today's Readings -- 29 September 2010

short shrift

This morning, Isaiah 16 - 18

Isaiah 16

1	Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2	For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
3	Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.
4	Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5	And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
6	We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.
7	Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.
8	For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
9	Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
10	And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
11	Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.
12	And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
13	This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.
14	But now the LORD hath spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.

Isaiah 17

1	The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2	The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3	The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.
4	And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
5	And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
6	Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.
7	At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
8	And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
9	In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
10	Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
11	In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12	Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13	The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14	And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Isaiah 18

1	Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2	That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!
3	All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.
4	For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
5	For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
6	They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
7	In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.

This evening, Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1

1	Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2	Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3	Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4	According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5	Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6	To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7	In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8	Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9	Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10	That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11	In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12	That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13	In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14	Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
15	Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16	Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17	That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18	The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19	And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20	Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21	Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22	And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23	Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.