Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 09 January, 2014

BING!
This is a bit of a milestone for this site.  This is the 2,000th posting on this blog, reaching back to 2006, in now three states (not counting postings from out-of-town trips, of which there have been several.)   I have had several large gaps in postings, in large part due to some of the awful schedules I've had to maintain several times.  I intend to keep going so long as the Lord permits.

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yesterday was a bit weird.  Dear Wife decided to hit the shower immediately on rising.  Shortly thereafter, realized that the tub drain was frozen.  So much for sitting in the tub for a muscle and joint relief soak after washing her hair.  Didn't happen. So she took over the recliner with a heating pad and a heavy blanket.  Tub drain un-froze around noon.
Water lines to the washing machine were froze also.  Got thawing around 2:30 p. m., so ran a single load of stuff really needed.
Got some mail we've been waiting for, some three months later than was promised.  Taking her down to the Social Security-type office this morning, one effect of which is supposed to be putting her on a Medicaid list.  That's not great, but it's all we have.  The hard part, as many know, will be finding a physician and a dentist that will accept Medicaid assignment.  The information we have is that the reimbursements to the providers are so low, that many are "firing" their patients and refusing new ones.  Will be a challenge, but we have not much choice.  This was SUPPOSED to have all been done over the summer, while we were living a very long way from here.  It's been a high stress situation.  And still is, but any progress at all is welcome.
Now if her Disability award would become reality.  We were told back in November that the 2-year-old app was approved, but that determination of the amount could take as much as 60 days.  It's been that long.  We could really use it, we've been barely scraping by, and the pantry's getting a bit bare.

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 23 and 24 from the Genesis.

Genesis 23

1	Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
2	And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3	And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,
4	“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
5	The Hittites answered Abraham,
6	“Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.”
7	Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land.
8	And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar,
9	“that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”
10	Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city,
11	“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.”
12	Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
13	And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.”
14	Ephron answered Abraham,
15	“My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
16	Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.
17	So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over
18	to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
19	After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
20	The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.

Genesis 24

1	Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
2	And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh,
3	“that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,
4	“but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5	The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6	Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there.
7	“The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
8	“But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”
9	So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10	Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.
11	And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
12	And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.
13	“Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
14	“Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’–let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
15	Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
16	The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.
17	Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.”
18	She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.
19	When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
20	So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.
21	The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
22	When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,
23	and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24	She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”
25	She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”
26	The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord
27	and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”
28	Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
29	Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.
30	As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
31	He said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
32	So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
33	Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”
34	So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
35	“The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
36	“And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has.
37	“My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell,
38	“‘but you shall go to my father’s house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’
39	“I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’
40	“But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s house.
41	“‘Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’
42	“I came today to the spring and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go,
43	“‘behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”
44	“‘and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45	“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’
46	“She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.
47	“Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
48	“Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.
49	“Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50	Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good.
51	“Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”
52	When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord.
53	And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.
54	And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.”
55	Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.”
56	But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.”
57	They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.”
58	And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”
59	So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.
60	And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him!”
61	Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
62	Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb.
63	And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.
64	And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel
65	and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
66	And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
67	Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

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The New Testament is chapter 8 of the Gospel of Matthew.  We just read through the account of the Sermon on the Mount.  This is what happens next.

Matthew 8

1	When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
2	And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
3	And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
4	And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
5	When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,
6	“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”
7	And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8	But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
9	“For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10	When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
11	“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12	“while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13	And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
14	And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.
15	He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.
16	That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
17	This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
18	Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.
19	And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20	And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
21	Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22	And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
23	And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.
24	And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
25	And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”
26	And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
27	And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
28	And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
29	And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
30	Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them.
31	And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.”
32	And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.
33	The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
34	And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.