23 February 2015

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 23 February 2015

the last Monday if February.  Every day closer to Spring, and, one hopes, Spring-like weather.  Inasmuch as we were seeing -3 degrees at 9:30 this morning, and at 2:20 p.m., somewhere around +6 (HIGHLY variable per the weather stations in the area, "heat island effect" has real meaning), we're not quite there yet.  Supposed to hit -7 tonight, and sub-zero lows three times this week.  Fortunately, we have no frozen pipes at this point today.  I was actually able to take a hot shower last night and wash some towels this morning.  Keep in mind we HAD frozen pipes last week, and after three days without a shower, things were getting real genuine.  So we are thankful for these little things, that seem little until you don't have them.
Nephew took our questionable car battery in to work this morning, verified that it is indeed junk.  Was the wrong battery for the car, was an old WalMart battery anyway, and was D-E-D dead.  Getting us a new one with his discount and should be bringing it home from work tonight.  Would be good to be mobile again.
Dear Wife and I have been married for nearly 27 years.  When we met, she was a single mom in bad shape.  Her ex, a semi-husband, had abandoned her before the baby was born.  Seems that while she thought they were married, it didn't count: he wasn't exactly divorced from his first wife, so theirs was null and void.  He was "connected" to some of the remarkably corrupt public officials, including judges, in this remarkably corrupt area, so any responsibilities for support of the child, etc. were pointless, and he moreover made efforts to ban her from employment, etc.  When we met, she was living in a little house without running water or phone or central heat, and had no car.  Some wonderfully nice people two houses down helped her, "watched" the baby that now calls me daddy, and were generally nice people.  And the mother of that family died yesterday after a lingering illness.  We were afraid that with the car problems, we'd be unable to even go to calling hours, and such.  Now, perhaps, we can.
By the way, re the above, the baby had been quite ill when very small, before I was around. Courts had assigned him responsibility for medical care for her.  Of course, he ignored that.  The doctors took care of the little one, but never got paid and they saw she had no money.  Less than a year after we were married, I was getting dunned for the payments under a "community property" theory.  I assure you, it is hard being in a situation where, for example, in just one week, I received VERY nasty demands for immediate payment of over $30,000 for medical care for a child I had not met at the time care was rendered.  Just in one week.  Before it was all over, I had to declare personal bankruptcy, and lost my reputation and everything I had.
There are reasons that I have the attitude towards the Democrat Party that I do.  It was earned.

=========================================
=======================================================

The Old Testament reading is chapters 8, 9, and 10 of Numbers
Going to be back on the move soon.


1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2
Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.
3
And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.
4
And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.
5
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6
Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7
And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.
8
Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.
9
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:
10
And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:
11
And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.
12
And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.
13
And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD.
14
Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.
15
And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.
16
For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.
17
For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
18
And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
19
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.
20
And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
21
And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.
22
And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
23
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24
This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:
25
And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
26
But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.


1
And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2
Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season.
3
In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it.
4
And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.
5
And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
6
And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
7
And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
8
And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.
9
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.
11
The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12
They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.
13
But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
14
And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.
15
And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
16
So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17
And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
18
At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.
19
And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.
20
And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed.
21
And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
22
Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23
At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.


1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2
Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
3
And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4
And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.
5
When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
6
When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
7
But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
8
And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.
9
And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
10
Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
11
And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony.
12
And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran.
13
And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
14
In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
15
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar.
16
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.
17
And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward, bearing the tabernacle.
18
And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.
19
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
20
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
21
And the Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other did set up the tabernacle against they came.
22
And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
23
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
24
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
25
And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, which was the rearward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
26
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran.
27
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.
28
Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they set forward.
29
And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.
30
And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.
31
And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.
32
And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.
33
And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them.
34
And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp.
35
And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.
36
And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.





==========================================
====================================

The New Testament reading is verses 1-20 in chapter 5 of the Gospel of Mark.
This is really neat!  and it is important.  This gets into a case where Jesus rescues a man from possession.
Begin with where it occurred.  This was on the "wrong" side of the sea, over where "those other" people lived, people that a good Jewish boy would have shunned.  And the man in focus here was not only a Gentile, but he was demon-possessed, and hanging around tombs.  A double shot of "unclean" there, or perhaps more.  Definitely not some God-fearing would-be follower, anything but.  He wasn't seeking Jesus.  But Jesus was seeking him: anyone think Jesus did not know he was there, or the situation? 
Jesus rand the demons out, healing the man.  A great thing.  And sent the crowd of demons into a herd of pigs (another no-no for the devout Jews), who ran off and drowned.
And the neighbors?  were they grateful for what good thing had been done for their neighbor?  not hardly!  they were upset by it all, and asked Jesus to leave and let them get back to their old ways.  None sought to follow Him. 
The man wanted to come too.  Jesus said, no, and told him he had a mission:  tell others what God had done for him.  Those of us who have been touched by the Lord have the same mission.
And he did.  Stories of the early Church record that he carried out that mission, and a great work was advanced because of that man's efforts and testimonies.  Think it can't happen again?  Or are we hiding the blessing the Lord has been to us?


1
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2
And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4
Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7
And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8
For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9
And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10
And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11
Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12
And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13
And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
14
And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15
And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
16
And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17
And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
18
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
20
And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.



No comments:

Post a Comment

You are free to comment.
I am free to moderate, and I do. Profane, lewd, and unlawful comments will be sent to the Great Beyond, never to be seen again. I reserve all rights to do so for any and all reasons and whims.