Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 18 May 2018

Quiet.  Wife is somewhat better, but just told me "my lungs hurt", which is not the most comforting thing to be saying given the few ups and many downs we've been through for the last few weeks months years.  Not feeling that good myself.  I have planned to attend a city-wide gathering later today, but that is very much up in the air at this moment.
The next-door niece and husband still trying to figure out what to do next.  He lost his job about a week ago, they fired him and his manager as well.  That has left niece as the only one with a job.  She has only been working two days a week, particularly since shortly before the baby, now 11 months old, was born.  Having been fired, drawing unemployment is not going to happen.  So they're trying to figure out what happens next.   A very tough time for them.
We've been through some tough stuff ourselves.  Very tough.
But I had to run an errand for Wife just before lunch.  Found myself driving past some empty closed down businesses, a row of abandoned train trestles that carried rail traffic to/from now closed and abandoned factories, abandoned houses, all the rest.  I know, as well as any human does, how quickly one's life can seemingly fall apart, how the things upon which we relied, suddenly aren't there.
And I know how bitter a person can become, how angry/sad/ despairing.  I didn't follow the path into alcohol or drugs, but know quite a few who went that route.  Buried a few, in fact.
We tend to remember, and to fixate, upon those disasters.  We rehearse them in our minds, we too often fall into the trap of making those losses the centerpiece of our attention.
I know.
But I also know, also as well as any human does, of the other side of that.  How unexpected blessings can suddenly appear.  How chance encounters prove to have been the Lord at work behind the scenes.  How the good things that we didn't deserve can obliterate the bad ones, and how quickly it can happen.
I also know that we, and that means I, tend to spend far more time and attention on the bad things, than we do on the good.  The good ones we come to regard as being just our due, and the bad ones not.  That's wrong, and I am very guilty.

Our attitude, day by day and hour by hour, matters.

• Give thanks in all things.
• Pray without ceasing

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2nd Samuel 5

1  Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

2  Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

3  So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel.

4  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

5  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

6  And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.

7  Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

8  And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

9  So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.

10  And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.

11  And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.masons: Heb. hewers of the stone of the wall

12  And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.

13  And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

14  And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

15  Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,

16  And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet.

17  But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.

18  The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

19  And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

20  And David came to Baal–perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal–perazim.

21  And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.

22  And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

23And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

24  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

25  And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gezer.

2nd Samuel 6

1  Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

2  And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.

3  And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzza and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart.

4  And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark.

5  And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

6  And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzza put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

7  And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

8  And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza: and he called the name of the place Perez–uzzah to this day.

9  And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?

10  So David would not remove the ark of the Lord unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed–edom the Gittite.

11  And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed–edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed–edom, and all his household.

12  And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed–edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed–edom into the city of David with gladness.

13  And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.

14  And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

15  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

16  And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

17  And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

18  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

19  And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house.

20  Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

21  And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.

22  And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

23  Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

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Today, Psalm 100.  Good one to memorize.

Psalm 100

A Psalm of praise.

 

1  Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2  Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3  Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5  For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

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Acts 11

1  And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.

2  And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,

3  Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

4  But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,

5  I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:

6  Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

7  And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.

8  But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.

9  But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

10  And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.

11  And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.

12  And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:

13  And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

14  Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.

15  And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

16  Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

17  Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

19  Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.

20  And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.

21  And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.

22  Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

23  Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

24  For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

25  Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:

26  And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

27  And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

28  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

29  Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:

30  Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Today's Readings And Stuff -- Wednesday, 25 October 2017

G'day all.

Another gray and dreary day.  I crawled out of bed, finally, with the temperature outside all of 42°, heading to a "high" of 47° later.

Wife is right now on a  "texting conversation" with one of her kinda-cousins, the sister of the deceased whose passing we will note tomorrow afternoon.  She's crying as she does so.  Why texting is preferred to a voice conversation I won't speculate.  Perhaps there are those at either end who shouldn't be party to the specifics.  But it's good for them to talk, by whatever means.  Beats the old days of having to send letters that might not be received for a week, and a response not mailed out for another week, with another week in transit.  There are advantages, and disadvantages as well, to nearly instant communications.
It is hard, very very hard, to lose those we love.  Wife and I have lost our parents, all of  our aunts and uncles, several cousins, and more than a few friends.  Mostly to death, others to distance, some from expressed desire to cut communications, and several simply fell off the face of the earth and we don't know where they are or what is with them.
This latest is just the latest episode in a very long chain.

So tomorrow afternoon is the funeral.  The day after is older daughter's birthday.  We will, of course, hear nothing from her, not one word.  A tough week, as I said.

But I woke this morning with a song in mind.  Appropriate for about every day, but it's a theme that has been part of my late-night thoughts and prayers and mood.  Another one that is not "high church" nor in the hymnals, but a true cry of the heart.  "Oh, I  Want to Know You More".  Some years ago, and several states back, I was part of a choral group that sang this.  Several times.  And there were ALWAYS those in the congregation and in the choir who had tears running, including several of the men.  The things of this life, good and bad, are dwarfed by the presence of the Lord.  When we are distant from Him, something we've probably all felt, we (hopefully) recognize that and yearn to return to a time of greater intimacy with Him.  Been there.  AM there.  I need Him.  Yes, I need Thee Every Hour, is always appropriate.


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The Old Testament reading for the day is chapters 14, 15, and 16 of the book of Jeremiah.
This gets pretty awful.  And, as we know from our vantage, a few thousand years after the fact, the catastrophic judgments here prophesied, came to pass.    And I am constantly struck by the parallels to our world of today.  Think it can't happen again?  Think that, for example, the rains can't cease to fall, so the crops can grow and the herds can feed?  Think we're safe from plagues?  Or earthquakes, volcanic eruptions  of severe levels, of warfare of various sorts in our own streets and towns?  Why do we somehow think that the "Dust Bowl" days can't recur, or that the famines in, say, the Sahel, can never strike us?  It's certainly not because the Lord owes us anything, and we certainly haven't been faithful to Him, nor keeping His word and  ordinances, nor honoring Him.

Jeremiah 14

1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. 2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. 8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? 9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not. 10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. 13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. 14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them. 17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. 18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! 20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. 22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

Jeremiah 15

1 Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. 3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. 4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. 5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? 6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting. 7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways. 8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. 9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD. 10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. 11 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. 12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel? 13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. 14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you. 15 O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. 16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. 17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? 19 Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. 20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

Jeremiah 16

1 The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, 2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; 4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 5 For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: 7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. 8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. 9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. 10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? 11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; 12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: 13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour. 14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. 18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. 19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? 21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 5 in the first epistle to Timothy.

I Timothy 5

1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; 2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. 3 Honour widows that are widows indeed. 4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. 6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. 7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. 8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man. 10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. 11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; 12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. 13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. 14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 15 For some are already turned aside after Satan. 16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed. 17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. 21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. 23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. 24 Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. 25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 12 February 2017

Second Sunday.
Better weather, slightly, and another two minutes of "day" gained.  Every little bit helps.
Dear Wife is feeling, if not really better, then no worse than the previous day.  Again, that's not much, but it's something.  Every little bit helps.  We grow to appreciate the small blessings that, at a  previous time, we might not have noticed.  They're just as real as the big ones, we just don't notice them, under the assumption that we're somehow entitled to them, until they're not there any more.  Just as serious hunger or the strong prospect of imminent death focus one's attention wonderfully, so do other matters.

So it was a reasonably good day for her.  Not for others.
We got word late Friday evening of her cousin, one of those closer-than-sister cousins, suddenly transported to hospital.  As of later yesterday afternoon, she's still there, and may be there for a few more days;  I'm not a physician, but what it sounds like is that her sugar levels went high, causing her kidneys to go into failure mode.  With a number of not-so-great cascading effects from that.  Diabetes, or nearly across the line, is somewhat of a family trait.  Her previous doctor,now retired, used to check it on every office visit,especially around the time of her knee replacement surgery.  Her new doctor, obeying the imperatives of Obamacare, doesn't check that any more, and hadn't for the last year or so.  Which probably allowed things to roar back during the interval, and now there may be permanent serious implications.  Wife talked with her on phone for the better part of an hour, good for both of them.
Oh, and this is one of those weirdnesses.  Cousin is married to wife's half-brother.  There's no consanguinity there, one of those things it would take too long to explain, so there's no genetic implications.  But a source of some mirth.

And we had another issue.  One of my nephew's wives let us know, from the clinic, that she's just had yet another miscarriage yesterday morning.  This is not the same one who had to make the long trip for her cousin's son's funeral, this is the wife of one of my other nephews.  He's in the Navy too, and is "floating" right now, so she's alone with their son and a couple of her sons.  They have five kids between them (but his daughter doesn't live with them), and there have been several previous miscarriages.  Another of those "serial monogamy" cases.  It's still a heartbreak for them.

They live hundreds of miles from here, and I've met her exactly once, and that was when they were in town for the wedding.  I stayed for the ceremony, left before the drunken revelry began, so it's not exactly a close connection.  Nor am I close with the nephew.  Long story, but for most of his life he was raised by the sister of the mother who abandoned the boys, and I was living a very long way off.  So there's not much outreach opportunity there either. 

And then in the early evening I heard of yet another.  One of the people that I had some involvement with while working in the area of Montgomery, Alabama was a bi-vocational pastor who also worked "on the line" at the Hyundai assembly plant there in Montgomery.  That's a tough calling in a rough town, especially for a black man from Boston.  He carries it well.  I'd been hearing from him on a fairly regular basis, until the last few weeks.  It happens.  Then I got word from him that he'd had a MASSIVE heart attack on 31 January, and is in pretty rough shape.    We'll keep Lorne in our prayers and thoughts of course,  I truly do not know who the Lord will raise up in the interim.

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The day's Old  Testament reading is chapter 14 of Leviticus.  Yesterday's reading focused on the matter of leprosy, and there is a body of belief that this is sort of a picture of spiritual and moral plagues.  Today's focuses on the "plague" of a house, or a garment.  Again, perhaps a picture of sin in one's surroundings and how seriously it should be taken.

Leviticus 14

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. 9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. 10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. 11 And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: 13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: 14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: 16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD: 17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: 18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. 19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; 22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. 23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: 27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: 28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. 30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; 31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD. 32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing. 33 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; 35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: 36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: 37 And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; 38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: 39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; 40 Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: 41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: 42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house. 43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plastered; 44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house; it is unclean. 45 And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place. 46 Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be unclean until the even. 47 And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes. 48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. 49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water: 51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: 52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: 53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean. 54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall, 55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, 56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot: 57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

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The reading in the New Testament is verses 55-75 of chapter 26 in the Gospel of Matthew.
This is tough reading.  I suspect that for those who lived through it, and had to look back on that awful night, it was as bad as it could get.  Particularly for Peter.
But I have denied Him too. 

Matthew 26:55-75

55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. 57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 63 But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, 68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee? 69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 28 October 2016

Happy Friday!  For our Jewish friends, this day has particular meaning as Shabbas begins at sundown.  And for our still-gainfully-employed friends, some of you at least, this is the last "get-up" of the week.  The weekend is almost upon us.  Some of our fellows will, of course, mark the moment with prayer and praise and study of the Word.  Others will mark it with various sorts of bad behavior, alcohol, "recreational pharmaceuticals", and "meaningful overnight relationships" with persons whose legal names they may not know.  I've been around all of those, though not in Temple I'll admit.  The bad behavior I don't miss, and am frankly ashamed of.  The sense of release at the end of the "normal" work week I do miss, terribly, and the paycheck too.  Oh, well.

Wife is doing a teeny bit better, perhaps the high-potency antibiotics are starting to have some effect.  She did get some decent sleep last night (so I did also) which was very welcome.  And the cats let me sleep in until 05:45, which is quite late for them.  Wife's in recliner, pillows elevating her feet even more, having had an egg (evil things they are!) and coffee and the morning's dose of antibiotic.  Littlest cat at my feet, with some sort of noise-producing toy going, the two boy cats snoozing on our bed, resting up from yesterday's naps and their breakfast. 

I am hoping to do some pre-winter-freeze work around the house today and during the weekend, in a brief  "warm" period before snow hits.  Three years ago, right after our move from the Deep South, we'd already had SNOW on the ground.  None of that yet, but it's coming and the coming winter season is predicted to be unusually cold, bitter, and snowy, even by local standards.  I hate winter, always have.  Cousin of mine posted something on social media the other day expressing the same beliefs (and she has never lived  out of the area), referring to it as "seasonal affective disorder".  I'd not heard the term before, I guess it means "hates snow and cold", which sounds like good sense, not a disorder of any kind.

And, as you will see, the readings for the day, notably meaning the Old Testament passage from Jeremiah, only add to that.  I see the world around me and nearly despair.  Then I look at the time around Jeremiah's ministry, and note what was going on and happening even then, and see the similarities, and realize that the same sort of disaster and judgment then, fully deserved, can happen again.  I fear that it will.

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The Old Testament passage today is chapters 23 and 24 of Jeremiah.  Note well the asides in 24:  judgment and disaster were already going on.  As foretold.  As he, and those before him, had warned.  And were ignored at best, and often persecuted for it.  Some things have not changed, have they?

Jeremiah 23

1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. 5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. 9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. 11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. 12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. 13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. 33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

Jeremiah 24

1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.  

2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 

3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 

4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  

5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.  

6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 

7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 

8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:  

9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. 

10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 2 of 2nd Timothy

II Timothy 2

 

1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  

2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.  

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.  

5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.  

6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.  

7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.  

8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: 

9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.  

10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.  

11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:  

12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:  

13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.  

14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.  

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.  

17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;  

18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.  

19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 

20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 

21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. 

22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  

23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.  

24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  

25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  

26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.