Today's REadings and Stuff -- Saturday, 21 December 2013
Happy Saturday to all to whom these presents shall come, greetings.
And all that.
Heading into the weekend before Christmas.
Today is the birthday of the grand-niece who lives next door and who is named after Dear Wife. It will be her first birthday and the get-together is The Great Event of the Season. Our presence at a birthday party is absolutely required and much anticipated. So my afternoon is pretty well set.
In a bit, I am hoping to sneak outside and do some work around the place during a very brief thaw. Today and tomorrow we are expecting temperatures in the mid-50's, while Monday's high is expected to be around 27 and the same is expected for the next week. Of course, we are also expecting heavy rain today and tomorrow, leading - in combination with snow melt - to flooding. We are situated midway on a long hill, so we're not near the river and should not see flooding in terms of rising water but we may well see a LOT of water running through the lot. Might be interesting.
After spending an hour on a phone interview with the engineering manager at a prospective employer yesterday morning, I later spent another half hour with the executive recruiter who set the thing up. I'm not 100 per cent sure that this is what I want to do, though what I've heard so far is quite interesting. And to be downright mercenary, we're looking at a position with a compensation roughly twice what I'd been getting with the Korean firm I pulled out of back in August. The money would certainly be nice. We could use it. Boy, could we! So we shall see what the Lord has in store for us on this, I'm not driving this bus.
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The Old Testament passage for the day is chapters 6 and 7 of Micah.
1
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Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
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2
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Hear
ye, O mountains, the LORD's controversy, and ye strong foundations of
the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will
plead with Israel.
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3
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O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
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4
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For
I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of
the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
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5
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O
my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what
Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye
may know the righteousness of the LORD.
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6
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Wherewith
shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall
I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
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7
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Will
the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of
rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit
of my body for the sin of my soul?
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8
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He
hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy God?
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9
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The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
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10
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Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?
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11
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Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?
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12
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For
the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof
have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
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13
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Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
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14
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Thou
shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the
midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that
which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
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15
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Thou
shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but
thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink
wine.
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16
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For
the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab,
and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and
the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the
reproach of my people.
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1
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Woe
is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the
grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul
desired the firstripe fruit.
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2
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The
good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among
men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother
with a net.
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3
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That
they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the
judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his
mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
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4
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The
best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn
hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be
their perplexity.
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5
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Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
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6
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For
the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her
mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies
are the men of his own house.
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7
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Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
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8
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Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
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9
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I
will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against
him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring
me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
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10
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Then
she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which
said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now
shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
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11
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In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
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12
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In
that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the
fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea
to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
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13
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Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
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14
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Feed
thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell
solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan
and Gilead, as in the days of old.
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15
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According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
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16
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The
nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay
their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
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17
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They
shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes
like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and
shall fear because of thee.
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18
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Who
is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger
for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
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19
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He
will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the
sea.
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20
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Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
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The New Testament passage is chapter 12 of the Revelation.
1
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And
there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun,
and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
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2
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And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
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3
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And
there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
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4
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And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them
to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to
be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
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5
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And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod
of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
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6
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And
the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days.
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7
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And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
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8
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And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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9
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And
the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him.
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10
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And
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our
God day and night.
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11
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And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
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12
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Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters
of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
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13
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And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
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14
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And
to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly
into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time,
and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
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15
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And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
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16
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And
the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
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17
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And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the
remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
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