Odd frame of mind today, this week, this month, ..... well, you get the idea.
It is the time of year in which we remember and celebrate that the Lord loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son. Truly, we should celebrate -- in proper fashion -- such great love. At the same time, we need to recall that this was Plan A, not plan B or C or XYZ. The love of God was so great, and the foreknowledge so complete, that the Birth was planned before the world was formed.
And so was the Crucifixion. That is a love so great we truly can not understand it.
Which brings me to a song of the day, a very definite variation from the normal at this time of year. The title is And The Angels Cried. Now, this is very definitely not "high church", and I doubt you'll hear it in very many churches if any. But it bears listening, and it bears consideration.
Can we love Him as much as He loves us?
Rain about all night. At least I don't have to shovel rain. But the weathercasters have consulted their Ouija boards, read the Tarot cards, and informed us that rain will transition to snow. I heard a short while ago from a one-time co-worker who has taken advantage of the Christmas shutdown to drive from central Alabama to central Indiana, and is looking out the window at snow. Probably part of the same system headed in our direction. In the meantime, I'm gulping coffee. Wife is behind me in her recliner, listening to an audio-book that she can stream from the public library, free. One cat on her lap.
We got word that a child connected to friends of ours passed away yesterday. She'd been in real bad shape, but we all had hope. Evidently, there is a better plan, even if we can't see it yet. But it will certainly affect the remaining family members every year at this time.
Saturday morning means that Friday night's activities are past, but the casualty count and arrest records are out there. A homicide yesterday. Three thugs attack a homeless attendant at a salvage yard, beat him with chains and a torch, leaving him in BAD condition, and leave in a stolen wrecker. Drug arrests. OVI arrests. Several alcohol-fueled wrecks. And much else, all of it bad.
This is how we celebrate the birth of the Christ?
Meanwhile, we see confirmation that the perp who deliberately drove into a crowd in Melbourne, Australia the other day, a person of Afghani origin inexplicably permitted into the country, and allowed to remain despite numerous run-ins with the police, told police that the attack was revenge for mistreatment of Muslims. But the official line is that the motive is unknown. Odd, huh?
We see that one Ahmed Aminamin El-Mofty, 51, who had recently returned from the Middle East, was targeting police officers in three separate shootings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. But, again, the matter is downplayed or ignored by the mainstream media. And likewise excused or hidden by the "mainline" churches.
We see that a terrorist attack was fortunately prevented in California, an attack to be launched by a low-life whose preferred name is Abdallah adu Everitt ibn Gordon. But the Lame Stream Media prefer, oddly, to use his given name of Everitt Aaron Jameson. Mmm. I wonder why??
And, also, we see that there is a new outbreak of violence against Christian in Egypt. But, of course, CNN, or MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, HLN, PBS, NPR will ignore or downplay it. And, of course, ignore completely the note that he left, expecting to die in his attack. A note that made his motives and attitude quite evident: Moslem jihad.
See a pattern of evil here?
==============================================
================================================
The Old Testament portion for the day is the book of Habakkuk. This deserves careful verse-by-verse study, and I suggest it. I particularly like the last two verses of chapter 3.
Habakkuk 1
1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. 2
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto
thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause
me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and
there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and
judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the
righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and
regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days
which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of
the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
7 They are terrible and
dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8 Their horses
also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the
evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their
horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth
to eat. 9 They
shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind,
and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10 And they shall scoff at the
kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride
every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
11 Then shall his mind
change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto
his god. 12
Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall
not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty
God, thou hast established them for correction.
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon
them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked
devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
14 And makest men as the fishes of
the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of
them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in
their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto
their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their
portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and
not spare continually to slay the nations?
Habakkuk 2
1 I will
stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see
what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the LORD
answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at
the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it;
because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up
is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
5 Yea also, because he
transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who
enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied,
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
6 Shall not all
these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him,
and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long?
and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that
shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for
booties unto them? 8
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people
shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the
land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil
covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may
be delivered from the power of evil!
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by
cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11 For the stone shall cry
out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him that
buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not
of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and
the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
14 For the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the
sea. 15 Woe
unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to
him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their
nakedness! 16
Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy
foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD's right hand shall be turned
unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.
17 For the violence of Lebanon
shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid,
because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city,
and of all that dwell therein.
18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker
thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that
the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
19 Woe unto him that saith
to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold,
it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in
the midst of it. 20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Habakkuk 3
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2
O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy
work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in
wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran.
Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his
praise. 4 And
his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand:
and there was the hiding of his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 6
He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the
nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual
hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction:
and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 Was the LORD displeased against
the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against
the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of
salvation? 9
Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even
thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw thee,
and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep
uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in
their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the
shining of thy glittering spear.
12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation,
thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy
people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head
out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the
neck. Selah. 14
Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages:
they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to
devour the poor secretly.
15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses,
through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered
at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in
myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto
the people, he will invade them with his troops.
17 Although the fig tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive
shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut
off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19
The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet,
and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer
on my stringed instruments.
============================================
=========================================
The reading in the New Testament is chapter 14 in the Revelation
Revelation 14
1 And I
looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred
forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads. 2
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with
their harps: 3
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the
four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the
hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are
they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are
they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth
was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
6 And I saw
another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel
to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory
to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
8 And there followed
another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,
because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication. 9
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man
worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead,
or in his hand, 10
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured
out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels,
and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for
ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
12 Here is the
patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do
follow them. 14
And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like
unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand
a sharp sickle. 15
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to
him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time
is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sat on
the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
17 And another
angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp
sickle. 18 And
another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and
cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust
in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth;
for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth,
and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress
of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood
came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a
thousand and six hundred furlongs.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You are free to comment.
I am free to moderate, and I do. Profane, lewd, and unlawful comments will be sent to the Great Beyond, never to be seen again. I reserve all rights to do so for any and all reasons and whims.