Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 18 March 2016

Well, we are now seeing more than 12 hours of daylight per the NOAA types.  Sunday marks the first official day of Spring.  Snow is also likely.  There are some reasons that I miss living in the South.  Weather is one of them.

Yet the plans are also for a get-together Sunday afternoon with some old friends.  Back some 40+ years ago, I developed first a business, then a personal friendship with some people.  Been in their home many times, frequently several times a week for months and years on end.  The man was married, had three then four daughters.  The girls almost regarded me as a big brother and we got along well.  What with all of our moves around the country that began nearly 30 years ago, we had less and less contact.  During the absence, the older girl married twice, now has grandchildren herself.  The second daughter is married, and also blind.  The third daughter passed away.  And the youngest of the lot now has two kids (that I know of) but no husband in sight.  And the man's wife has also passed away.  After that he remarried, to someone I had known slightly.  So the oldest and youngest are coming into town from a Loooong way off, and there is a get-together at the man's sister's home.  Whether he will bring the new wife is an open question, there's some hostility there. It seems that, unbeknownst to some of us, he had a second family going, one with with his current wife.  She had two kids, now grown, by him. Needless to say, his legitimate daughters are less than happy.  Could be tense.  But they all would like to see me, so we will do this.  Delicately.

Wife is hurting, the cold front that is headed in hits her built-in barometers.

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 31 and 32 of Deuteronomy.  Tomorrow's reading will complete this run through Deuteronomy for the year.  So this is pretty close to Moses' last words, his will and testament and testimony.

Deuteronomy 31

1	And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
2	And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
3	The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.
4	And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
5	And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.
6	Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
7	And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
8	And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
9	And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
10	And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
11	When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12	Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:
13	And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
14	And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.
15	And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.
16	And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
17	Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
18	And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
19	Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
20	For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
21	And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
22	Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
23	And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
24	And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
25	That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
26	Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
27	For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
28	Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
29	For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
30	And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

Deuteronomy 32

1	Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2	My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
3	Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4	He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
5	They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6	Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
7	Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
8	When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
9	For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10	He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
11	As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
12	So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
13	He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;
14	Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
15	But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16	They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
17	They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
18	Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
19	And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
20	And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
21	They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22	For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23	I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24	They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
25	The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
26	I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27	Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.
28	For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29	O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30	How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
31	For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32	For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33	Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
34	Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35	To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
36	For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37	And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38	Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
39	See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40	For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
41	If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42	I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
43	Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
44	And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
45	And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46	And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
47	For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
48	And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49	Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
50	And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
51	Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52	Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

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The New Testament reading is verses 1-23 in the first chapter in the Gospel of Luke.
This is the account before the birth of Jesus, this gets into the birth of John the Baptist, the (earthly) cousin of Jesus.

Luke 1:1-23

1	Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2	Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3	It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
4	That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
5	THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6	And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7	And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8	And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9	According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10	And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11	And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12	And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13	But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14	And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15	For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16	And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17	And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
18	And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
19	And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
20	And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21	And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
22	And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
23	And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 24 November 2014

another day.  The temp is warm, the winds of 25 miles per hour combined with some rain, a bit less so.  With warnings of gusts up to 50 mph.  Not so good.  Dear Wife is next door "watching" Beloved Grand-Niece.  Niece due back in an hour at which time I have to accompany her to some flea market she frequents in order to fetch & carry some heavy stuff for her.  What fun.
Dear Wife's Disability check is supposed to hit bank in the morning, so I can buy a little bit of gasoline and some other necessities of life.  High point of the month I guess.

Just got a splash on the news that the Grand Jury verdict has been reached in Ferguson, Missouri re the Brown shooting.  No matter what the decision, I do not think this will end well.  I have friends on both sides of the controversy.  I was not there. Neither were any of them, but that does not moderate the upset on either side. 

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 32 and 33 in Ezekiel.  More warnings, judgment, and woe.

Ezekiel 32

1	And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2	Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
3	Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
4	Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5	And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
6	I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7	And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8	All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9	I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
10	Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
11	For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.
12	By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
13	I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14	Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord GOD.
15	When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.
16	This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
17	It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
18	Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19	Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20	They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes.
21	The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
22	Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
23	Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
24	There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25	They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain.
26	There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27	And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28	Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.
29	There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
30	There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
31	Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
32	For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 33

1	Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2	Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3	If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4	Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5	He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6	But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7	So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8	When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9	Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
10	Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
11	Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
12	Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
13	When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14	Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15	If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16	None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17	Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
18	When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19	But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
20	Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
21	And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
22	Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
23	Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
24	Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
25	Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
26	Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
27	Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
28	For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.
29	Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.
30	Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.
31	And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
32	And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
33	And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them

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The New Testament reading is chapter 1 in the first Epistle of Peter.

I Peter 1

1	Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2	Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3	Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4	To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5	Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6	Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7	That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8	Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9	Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10	Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11	Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12	Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
13	Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14	As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15	But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16	Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17	And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18	Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19	But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20	Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21	Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22	Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23	Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24	For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25	But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 14 January, 2014

Happy Tuesday to all.
Getting further into the week.  Dar Wife and I have a duty call this evening -- a close family friend had a sudden death in the family last Friday lost her brother in a traffic accident.  Calling hours are tonight, and we are planning to attend.  Wife knew him as well,. in that small town everyone knew everyone else to some extent, and the sister of the deceased was at one time a close friend of Dear Wife and Sister-in-Law.
Later in the week, a very brief visit is planned by an old friend of mine.  "old" as in we became friends around 1974, so it's been a good while, but he's also a good bit older than I am, mid to late 70's in fact.  His oldest daughter reconnected with me recently and is paying a visit to the area with her husband and daughter and wants to bring him by.  Would like to see them all, when we first met she was perhaps 7 years old or so.  Now she's old enough to be a grandmother in her own right, and for all I know she may be.  She's on her second husband and she made no mention of the two that she bore to her first husband nearly 30 years ago.  So this may be a very interesting time.  My friend is a remarried widower, and his "new" wife is also an old friend from a l-o-n-g time ago.  I guess that if you live long enough, you encounter a lot of circumstances, and we pick up from sorrow and disappointments and carry on as best we can.  Should be an interesting time.
And just above I've shown two more possible reasons for the Lord to send us here.
Dear Wife is "watching" beloved grand-niece next door while I putter around here.

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The reading from the Old Testament today is chapters 33, 34, and 35 from the Genesis.  Jacob has left the inhospitable area of the in-laws and returned to the very slightly less hostile region of his estranged brother Esau.  Turns out better than he'd feared, but still a bit tense.  He sets up in the region and tries to settle in.  Not exactly peaceful or without challenge or sorrow.  And in the midst of it, he is visited by the Lord once again, and gets a new name out of it.  And we start to notice the names of the sons, for these sons, the sons of the man now now named Israel, are the children of Israel, the heads of the 12 tribes.  This will be part of the structure for much of the rest of the Bible, part of the cultural framework.

Genesis 33

1	And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
2	And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3	And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4	And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
5	And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
6	Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7	And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8	And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
9	And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10	And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
11	Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
12	And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
13	And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
14	Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
15	And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
16	So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
17	And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18	And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19	And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20	And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.

Genesis 34

1	And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2	And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
3	And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
4	And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
5	And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
6	And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
7	And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter: which thing ought not to be done.
8	And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
9	And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
10	And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.
11	And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
12	Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.
13	And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
14	And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
15	But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
16	Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17	But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
18	And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19	And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father.
20	And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
21	These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22	Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23	Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
24	And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25	And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
26	And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.
27	The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28	They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29	And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30	And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
31	And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

Genesis 35

1	And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2	Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3	And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4	And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
5	And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6	So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
7	And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8	But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
9	And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
10	And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
11	And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12	And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
13	And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14	And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
15	And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
16	And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.
17	And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18	And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19	And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
20	And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21	And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22	And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
23	The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
24	The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
25	And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26	And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
27	And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28	And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29	And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 10 from the Gospel of Matthew.  Jesus has sent out the Twelve, but that doesn't mean He's taken a break.  He begins by receiving a delegation from His cousin, John the Baptist.

Matthew 11

1	And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
2	Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3	And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4	Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5	The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6	And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
7	And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8	But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9	But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10	For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11	Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12	And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13	For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14	And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
15	He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
16	But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
17	And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
18	For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
19	The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
20	Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21	Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22	But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23	And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24	But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
25	At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26	Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27	All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28	Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29	Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30	For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.