Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Today is the day that the Social Security check hits the bank.  So, off we go to do the month's grocery shopping, the majority of it at least.  Wife felt well enough to come along / oversee my purchases, something she's not always able to do.  It wore her out pretty well, but she managed.  Turns out that one of her meds had an expired prescription, so the interplay between the physician and the pharmacy is going on behind the scenes.  Might be a few days.  But we got there early enough to grab, for example, the meats that were on markdown as their sell-by date was fast approaching.  When we got home, those meats got divided up into meal-sized portions, or ones appropriate for making into something appropriate for our needs.  The whole matter tuckered her out, so she's kicking back some, until around 4:00 when she has to go next door to "watch" the kids.

Tomorrow, we're supposed to make a trip to the pulmonologist.  Long drive, so we'd scheduled it for now, so that we'd have money to go by a gas station, something not done since last month.  Lets us buy some gas and make the co-pay.

Odd it may be, but the song"Tears Will Never Stain The Streets Of That City" was in my head all night long, and well after I woke.  Dottie Rambo is an acquired taste for some, but like many of those who sing the songs that I like, she had quite a testimony and was well acquainted with grief. I believe that she brought us this song as a result.

The same can be said of many, probably all, of those whose recordings that I link to.  Not just the featured singers, but many of those in supporting roles or even in the crowd of other singers.  I know of more than a few who are no longer living, others who were even then battling cancers, or other diseases, or dealing with the same issues in their families and friends.

Here's the lyrics:

If I could count all the tears that have fallen 

They would seem like an Ocean to me, And if 

My heart were a window that you could look through 

All the pain and scars you would see 

 But Tears will never stain the streets of that city 

No wreaths of death on my mansion door 

Teardrops aren't welcome beyond the gates of glory 

Cause the heart will never break anymore 

I'd questioned the loss of a loved one, 

The grave seems so final and cold, 

Oh, but we'll meet again,where death has no victory, 

In a land where we will never grow old. 

Well I've never met one man without sorrow 

Never looked into eyes with no pain 

But I know a land where grief is a total stranger 

And songs of joy are the only songs they sing. 

Tears will never stain the streets of that city 

No wreaths of death on my mansion door 

Teardrops aren't welcome beyond the gates of glory 

Cause the heart will never break anymore 

Cause the heart will never break anymore

 One of  the several things that the Church is too often lacking, is real joy.  I see -- and share in it -- a lot of wallowing in grief and sorrow, in heartbreak and loss.  We've all known it, and probably will know more of it.

But ........  there is a world beyond this one.  A better one, better by far.  And the Lord is expecting us.  He's promised it, and His word is  pretty good.  Let us look beyond the sorrows of the moment, and realize that He waits.

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2nd Kings 23

1  And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.

2  And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

3  And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

4  And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth–el.

5  And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

6  And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.

7  And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove.

8  And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer–sheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

9  Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.

10  And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.

11  And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan–melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12  And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

13  And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.

14  And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.

15  Moreover the altar that was at Beth–el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.

16  And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.

17  Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth–el.

18  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.

19  And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth–el.

20  And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.slew: or, sacrificed

21  And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.

22  Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;

23  But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24  Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

25  And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

26  Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.

27  And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.

28  Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

29  In his days Pharaoh–neco king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.

30  And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.

31  Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.Jehoahaz: also called, Shallum

32  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

33  And Pharaoh–neco put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold

34  And Pharaoh–neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.

35  And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh–neco.

36  Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.

37  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

2nd Kings 24

1  In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

2  And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

3  Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

4  And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.

5  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

6  So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

7  And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

8  Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.Jehoiachin: also called, Jeconiah and Coniah

9  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

10  At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

11  And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

12  And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

13  And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.

14  And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

15  And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

16  And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17  And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

18  Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

19  And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20  For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

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Today, verses 25-32 in Psalm 119.

DALETH.

ד

25  My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

26  I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.

27  Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.

28  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

29  Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.

30  I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.

31  I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.

32  I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

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A thorough pass through the Epistle to the Romans, is a lot like a year or so in the seminary of your choice.  Or should be.  This is another section where you can find several verses that could easily take up a sermon, or several.  See verses 6 and 8, for example.

Romans 5

1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

11  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

13  (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15  But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

16  And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

17  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

21  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.