Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 08 March 2015

pretty good day. Made it to church services this morning.  Church had been called off the last two Sundays due to the hideous weather.  A good thing too, our street runs uphill at close to a 30 degree angle from the horizontal, and combining that with half a foot - or more - of snow, with ice both on top and below, is a recipe for catastrophe, and there were a LOT of accidents.  So getting together with other believers was a blessing.  As it always is.
Dear Wife is doing a little bit better, though it looks more and more like she may have torn a tendon lately, probably sprained an ankle as well.  She took a spill when we were walking in after her infusion back two Fridays ago.  She has a doctor appointment set for tomorrow morning, though that will be with the rheumatologist.  Perhaps he can give advice on the matter.
And I am happy that for the first time in two weeks or more, we can get out our back door.  Been frozen shut as well as blocked by the swelling in the step down to the deck.  The temperature, above 40 for the first time in MONTHS, combined with some aggressive stuff I did with salt and ice melt and some tools, finally combined to clear things enough to give us the exit path we needed.  So, perhaps, the worst of the winter weather is behind us.  Perhaps.  This area has a "tradition" of a blizzard that hits on St. Patrick's Day.  That is in just over a week, and the forecast, as of this afternoon, had that day with a high near 45, which is inconsistent with a blizzard.  So we shall see.

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 5, 6, and 7 in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 5

1	And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
2	The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3	The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
4	The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5	(I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
6	I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7	Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8	Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9	Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
10	And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11	Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12	Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13	Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:
14	But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15	And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
16	Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
17	Thou shalt not kill.
18	Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19	Neither shalt thou steal.
20	Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.
21	Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbor's.
22	These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
23	And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
24	And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
25	Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.
26	For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27	Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
28	And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
29	O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
30	Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.
31	But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
32	Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33	Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Deuteronomy 6

1	Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
2	That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
3	Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4	Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5	And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6	And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7	And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8	And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9	And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10	And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11	And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12	Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13	Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14	Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
15	(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16	Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17	Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
18	And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.
19	To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
20	And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
21	Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22	And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23	And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24	And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25	And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Deuteronomy 7

1	When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
2	And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them:
3	Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4	For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5	But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
6	For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7	The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8	But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9	Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
10	And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
11	Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
12	Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
13	And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
14	Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15	And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
16	And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
17	If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
18	Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;
19	The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.
20	Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.
21	Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
22	And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
23	But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.
24	And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.
25	The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
26	Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

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The New Testament reading is verses 1-27 of Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12:1-27

1	And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
2	And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
3	And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
4	And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.
5	And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some.
6	Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
7	But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our's.
8	And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.
9	What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
10	And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
11	This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
12	And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.
13	And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
14	And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
15	Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
16	And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
17	And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.
18	Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
19	Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
20	Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.
21	And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.
22	And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.
23	In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
24	And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
25	For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
26	And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
27	He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.