Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 29 December 2018

Last Saturday in 2018.  Lord willing, in just a few days we will say a farewell to the year 2018.

We are now more than a week into official Winter.  A long way until official Spring, and longer still until decent weather.  But it could be worse.  Been through worse, so I know.  Tomorrow will be a whole 32 seconds of "day" better than today has been, so right now we are gaining an additional 4 seconds + the amount gained yesterday.  Meaning today was 28 seconds more than yesterday was, tomorrow will be 32 more than today, etc.  So, I guess, in the not too distant future, we'll be gaining more than a minute per day, and that "more" will be increasing in amount.  Long way until 12 hours of "day", but we're heading in the right direction.  But from a mere 9 hours 13 minutes today, we have a very long way to go.

The morning was interesting.  Generally, over the last few years, my sister and her husband come through the area twice per year, and grant me a whole hour or so to meet with them.  Today, this very morning, was that occasion.  Wife was too sick to come along.  They came, and brought middle brother with them.  They just retired, that brother is still about two years away from it.
We spent about 80 minutes talking, then off they went.  Tomorrow morning the plan is to head back to Virginia.  So much for family time for the year.  Better than running into them at funerals, as was too often the case.

I made a stop for Wife, then home.  Then across the yard to next door.  Niece & husband had a sudden errand that could not be delayed, HAD to be done today, without fail, and end-of-the-year thing.  So ....  we "watched" the 6-year-old great-niece and the 18-month-old great-nephew for a couple of hours.   The errand was successful, much more so than they'd expected or even dared to hope, so all is good on that front.

I had to go with Wife on this detail.  She was, and is, in bad shape.  If she's not better by Monday morning, it's time to try to get into doctor.  Failing that, we hear that there is some sort of doc-by-email option.  I think she's been battling yet another of her frequent sinus infections.  All too frequent.  But we shall see:  I've seen instances where she was in good (for her) condition in 36 hours, others where she was in the ER in 36 hours.    Just another day.

Ends of the year like this are not a great time for me.  I don't do the big drunken parties, never have.  Have seen, in my various roles, the less than wonderful results that too often occur.  And the combination of weather, darkness, my own somewhat less than sunny disposition, and the regrets of wasted days and wasted nights, in conjunction with a less than rosy future, don't make for a great atmosphere.  But we shall see.

My sincere wish that all have a safe and wonderful New Year and that 2019 is a wonderful one for all.

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Today, the completion of the book of Zechariah, chapters 13 and 14.

Zechariah 13

1In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

2And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

3And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

4And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:

5But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

6And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

8And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Zechariah 14

1Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

6And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

7But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

9And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

10All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

15And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 26 December 2018

Counting down the remnant of 2018,  Hoping to see Spring in the near future, but that may be a bit of a wait.  Today is set to have a "day" that is all of 16 seconds longer than was yesterday, which itself was 12 seconds longer than the day before.  Tomorrow to be 20 seconds longer than today has been.  One hopes fervently that the increase in that daylight period increases rapidly.  More rapidly than it is so far.
We seem to have survived the Christmas day thing. Wife and I are both world-class introverts, even if it doesn't always "show":  we've learned how to mask the discomfort that often accompanies too much "peopling", as we had yesterday.  We were in a house with a dozen other people.  Mostly in a single room or that room plus the kitchen area.  A monk's cell is really more to our liking, it's one of those things that we have in common.  So today and tomorrow are pretty much dedicated to a recovery period.   We will be required to spend a short time next door today:  Wife's sister's son's kids, the 2nd set of great-niece/great-nephew, are to be over there while their mom is at work and their dad is off somewhere "doing his thing" (not working).  So we were "volunteered" to help keep a lid on their behavior.  We shall see.
In any event, the 6th load of laundry is in the dryer right now.  That will have to do for the day.

Two songs came into the mind during the night, both still rattling around in that empty space.  But first, I was reminded yesterday that yesterday, Christmas Day, was the 200th anniversary of the first public singing of "Silent Night".  Can you imagine Christmas without it?  I think that we are richer for it.
But that is the case for many of these songs.  There are varied tastes, of course.  That's to be expected.  Not just in music.  Why, I am told that some unfortunate people put catsup on hot dogs, rather than mustard or chili.  No accounting for taste, I guess.
Most people who have been around "church music" know names like Fannie Crosby, Charles Wesley, and Ira Sankey.  (OK, I snuck that last one in).  Many of us, but not all, know the name of the late lamented Dottie Rambo.  She was a southern-country-gospel type of singer, which I for one love.  And her gospel songs were quite often the products of her own struggles and experiences, struggles that many of us have known or are in the midst of now, or both.
Check out "He Looked Beyond My Faults And Saw My Need".  First off, can anyone disagree with that?  Sounds to me like a pretty common testimony.

And then,  "Wonderful Grace Of Jesus".  This is suitable for congregational singing, quartets, choirs, duets, solos, all the above.  And, yes, good for singing along with the radio in our cars going somewhere.  Some of us have reason to know, to know at the atomic level even, the truth of this.




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Zechariah 7

1And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

2When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem–melech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,

3And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

4Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,

5Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

6And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

7Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?

8And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,

9Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

10And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

11But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

12Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.

13Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:

14But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Zechariah 8

1Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

2Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

3Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.

4Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

5And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

6Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.

7Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

8And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

9Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lordof hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

10For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

11But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.

12For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

13And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

14For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:

15So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

16These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

17And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.

18And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying,

19Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

20Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

21And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.

22Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

23Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

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Revelation chapter 20

1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.